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 52
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John and Jane (Mason) Nobbs, who were both born, and in fact married, in England, lived in Fulton Township for the remainder of their lives. They were the parents of nine children, and they passed through much privation during the first year in Fulton Town- ship. Their son William died a month or so before their log cabin was ready, and at that time they either lived in their wagon (the month was November), or in the small cabin erected by Isaac Day in Swan Creek; and they had moved into their new cabin only a few months before another child was born to them, their son, James H., who was born on June 2, 1836, and eventually became one of the successful and progressive farmers of the township, active in school and township administrations. John Nobbs reached the age of seventy- four years, and then was killed in a runaway accident. His wife reached the age of seventy-nine years.
James Nobbs, who was one of the first children if not actually the first white child, born in Fulton Township, lived a long and useful life, and in 1907, narrated some of his reminiscences to Mr. Reighard, editor of the "Fulton County Tribune." The article stated that:
"He well remembers the time when the Indians roamed through the forests of the county, when deer and wild turkey were plentiful, and when it was not an uncommon occurrence to run across a big bear, or a wild cat, in going from one settlement to another.
"In his boyhood days, the public highways were only trails blazed through the woods along the ridges. There were no public improve- ments in those days, said Mr. Nobbs, for it was all that those early settlers could do to provide for the necessities of life, let alone look- ing after public improvements. With the exception of the little settle- ment around Ai, our nearest neighbors were several miles away. Delta was then a little settlement, where J. T. Gates kept a small store. The most of the business in those times was transacted at Maumee. I remember well seeing a settler starting for Maumee with his yoke of oxen, and with two or three neighbors' grist piled on his wagon. Sometimes, two or three settlers would go together, and take along enough grist for each family in the settlement. It required three or four days to make the journey .
"During the '40s, Ai was an important trade center of the county. The Toledo and Angola Road was the main route of travel east and west then, as there was not a railroad in the county. It was located about a day's journey out of Toledo, and many a weary traveler was glad to find a welcome, and a place to stay all night, at the tavern at Ai. Many of the smaller Indian traders would come there to secure their stock of goods. With the building of the Lake Shore Railroad, the business at Ai began to decline."
Gideon W. Raymond, one of the pioneer school teachers of Ful- ton and Swan Creek Townships, came in 1834, and settled on sec- tion 32, town 8 north, range 8 east. It has been stated that he "taught school in the first schoolhouse in the Clark District in 1837." That was not possible for the official record for that pioneer school district shows that the log schoolhouse was not raised until November 29, 1838, and there is no record of the appointment of any teacher, or of the holding of school during 1838, in that schoolhouse. The first reference to a teacher, and to a session of school, was
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
on June 8, 1839, when "the householders of School District No. 3, Swan Creek" met, under the chairmanship of Cyrus Clark, and voted: "that we have three months school, to commence during the month of August next, to be taught by a female." It is possible that there was a winter term of school in 1838, and that Gideon W. Raymond was the teacher, but from another record it seems more than probable that that schoolhouse, although built in November of 1838, was al- lowed to remain idle until the Autumn of next year. One record states that "in November 1837 (it must have been 1838), the pio- neers built a log schoolhouse in the district. Isaac Day, wishing his daughter to learn to write, put in a writing desk for her use. Gideon W. Raymond taught the district school that winter." Possibly, Gid- eon Raymond had Isaac Day's daughter as his sole pupil that winter. Gideon Raymond was appointed a director of that school district in 1840, other directors being John Nobbs and George Black. Ray- mond was also appointed clerk and treasurer of that district, and "qualified" by Nathaniel Leggett, who then was clerk of Swan Creek Township. Raymond on December 2, 1840, was also "employed to teach school three months ...... for forty-five dollars"; and in the following March, he agreed to accept forty-four dollars for the three months of teaching. A "female" succeeded him, agreeing to teach for a remuneration of $1.50 a week. But Raymond for several years thereafter taught in the larger Ai school, and for many years was prominent in school affairs. For some years he was also a justice of the peace.
John Viers settled with his family on section 5, town 7 north, range 8 east (Ohio survey), in 1834, and lived for more than forty years in the township. He was one of the pioneer school directors, be- ing "appointed, and authorized, and required to perform the several duties of school director" by William Meeker, town clerk, in 1839; and he was also appointed clerk and treasurer of the same district in that year. He raised a family of thirteen children, nine of whom were boys. Five of these saw military service during the Civil war, and were of good civil record . afterwards.
Africa Spaulding, also of settlement in 1834, lived in Fulton Town- ship for almost a half-century. He died in 1881, having during his residence developed a good property in section 2, town 7 north, range 8 east.
The brothers Ezra and Abraham Willcox came into Fulton in 1835, from Connecticut. Ezra was a typical "Connecticut Yankee"; he peddled clocks of Connecticut make throughout the township and county. Abraham settled in township 10 south, range 4 east (Michi- gan survey), where he lived until his death, in 1852.
The Dennis family has held connection with Fulton Township since the beginning, Joseph Dennis having settled on section 1, town 10 south, range 4 east, in 1835. Four generations of the family have had residence in Fulton Township, Joseph and Mary (King) Dennis becoming the parents of nine children, including six sons, some of whom remained in Fulton. Joseph Dennis died in Amboy, in 1885. . His son Isaac purchased a property in Fulton Township, adjoining that of his father, and had made it a fine farm when the Civil war began. He enlisted, and met death in national service, at Fort Pow-
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
hatan, Virginia, in 1864, a calamitous ending to a worthy patriotic purpose, which set the national cause before personal interests and family ties. He left a widow and eight children, seven of whom were boys. The eldest son followed the father into the Union Army, and was more or less incapacitated for the remainder of his life, in conse- quence of the hardships he had had to endure while campaigning. Andrew J. purchased the parental farm from his co-heirs, and took active interest in township affairs, undertaking trusteeship and other township responsibilities. His mother lived a widowhood of more than thirty years.
Alexander Vaughan came from Holmes county, Ohio, in the spring of 1835, settling on section 3, town 10 south, range 4 east. They were of Irish origin, and before coming to Ohio had lived in Pennsylvania. Alexander Vaughan married Rebecca Jones in 1827, in Tuscarawas county, Ohio. He only lived in Fulton Township for twelve years, death coming in 1847, at the age of forty-seven years; but he was a useful organizer, and took active interest in township work. Ten children were born to him and his wife, who afterwards married Thomas C. Berry. Two of his sons were soldiers in the Union Army; and, it is claimed, that one of them, James C., was the first white child born within the present boundaries of Fulton Township. The date of his birth was August 30, 1835. He was prominently identified with Fulton Township and Swanton affairs for many de- cades, and at one time held county office, as county commissioner. He was one of the leading republicans of the Swanton district, and one of the oldest Masons of that place. His agricultural property was about four miles distant from Swanton ; part of it eventnally passed to his son.
Jacob Hamp, who came from Holmes county, Ohio, also in 1835, also gave two sons to the nation during the Civil war. Jacob's family consisted of five boys, and he was quite elderly at the time of settling. He died in 1850, but his widow lived with her son, John, at 'Ai, for a further twenty-nine years, and attained the extreme age, it is said, of one hundred and seven years. She was a woman of extraordinary endurance, and "was quite a good physician and nurse." It was stated that "on many a night she rode from two to six miles on horseback, at the calls of these pioneers, often through storms and muddy roads, to render relief to the sick."
William and Sarah (Miller) Stair settled on section 35, in 1835 or 1836, coming from Richland county. He cleared, by "herculean labor," 120 acres before he died in 1848. Of his children, two were sons, and both became soldiers during the war, John being twice taken prisoner, and incarcerated, first, in the historic and dreaded Libby Prison, at Richmond, Virginia, and, after parole and recapture, in Andersonville Prison, Georgia, which was worse. John. later, took a farm in Amboy, but Josiah tilled the parental acres in Fulton Town- ship until he died. He was township trustee for some years, and held other offices, and both were classed with the worthy pioneers of the county.
Shubal Nixon came in 1835, but later moved into Michigan. The Haynes family is now in its fifth generation of residence in Fulton county. Jacob Hayes and his father came to Fulton Township in
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
1835, or 1836. The father died five or six years later, but Jacob settled near Luke's Corners, and reared a good family. His son George H. became a resident of Swanton; and his son, Edgar E., also lived most of his life in Swanton.
Joseph Babcock, a pioneer of 1835, was a pioneer school teacher, and a most capable one. He died in 1868, leaving a widow and six children. One son, Robert J., was justice of the peace for some years.
William H. Harris, who lived on section 4, town 7 north, range 8 east, from 1835 to 1837, was supposed to have been murdered. His death was a sensational happening in that settlement, - where every house was open, and the latch string ever out. His wife died in 1836, and was the first person to be buried in the Viers Cemetery.
David Born, who came from Tuscarawas county, Ohio, in 1853, paid $400 for forty acres of land which either was part of, or adjoined, that which William H. Harris had owned sixteen years earlier; and he paid another $100 for a contiguous acre upon which a log cabin had already been built. That, presumably, was the former home of Mr. Harris. Born used it as a wagon shop, being a wheelwright. He also was a skilful carpenter, and erected many of the frame houses and barns in the township. He was a township trustee during the years of the Civil war, and with Wells Watkins is said to have or- ganized the first Sunday School in the township. One of his sons, Albert, met his death, while campaigning during the Civil war. An- other son, James J., eventually purchased the homestead farm, and took part in the pioneer effort to centralize the schools of Fulton Town- ship. David Born was somewhat gifted in mechanics, and got ap- preciable financial return from the sale of one of his inventions.
Hiram and Cyrus Clark settled in Fulton in 1835, and the name is frequently encountered in pioneer school history of Fulton Town- ship. Hiram was one of the first school directors appointed by the town clerk of Swan Creek, and the first meeting, to organize the school district, was held in his house. Their property passed to members of the Watkins family eventually.
Ami (or Ammi) Richards, and his wife, Percia Pease, came from the East to Medina county, Ohio, in 1835, and in the next year to Lucas county, settling in what became Fulton Township, on sec- tion 9, town 10 south, range 4 east. He lived there for almost fifty years, death coming in 1884, he being then seventy-nine years old. Five years later his widow died. Mr. Richards was of studious inclina- tion, and known as a bibliophile; and he was much respected in the township, for many years serving as township treasurer. They had six children, two of whom were sons. Both served in the army during the Civil war. Henry O., later became a prominent man in the township, was a successful building contractor, and farmer, and held several township offices. He succeeded to his father's farm.
David Springer came with his wife and children from West Sulli- van, Maine, to the village of Maumee in 1836, and seem to have settled on section 4, town 10 south, range 4 east, of Swan Creek, in the same year. That was his home until his death, in 1866. Two of his sons became prominent in county affairs, Stephen in the Lucas county ad- ministration, and Isaac in Fulton county. Isaac Springer's life has been reviewed in the Clinton Township chapter of this volume. He
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was a merchant in Ai from 1853 to 1858, and for many years there- after in Wauseon.
Robert Pennel settled in 1836, but later removed to Napoleon. He, and three of his sons served in the army during the war.
The Watkins family is of record in many townships of Fulton county. Four brothers, two of whom were Christopher and Robert, came into the region in "the early '30s," and entercd 1,000 acres of land in Pike and Fulton townships. Robert settled on seetion 3, town 7 north, range 8 east, of Fulton in 1836; and Christopher also seems to have settled in the township. George W., son of Wesley, and grandson of Christopher Watkins, was born in Fulton Township in 1846, and maintained possession of Fulton Township land through- out his life. And many other men of that patronymic have ereditable record in Fulton and neighboring townships' history.
Samuel Durgin, one of the most prominent and capable of the early settlers of Fulton Township, came front New Hampshire in 1837, and settled on seetion 6, town 10 soutlı, range 4 cast. As the years went by and he took part in publie affairs, he proved himself to be a sincere, capable, and strong man. He was one of the pioneer school teachers; one of the first school examiners; a conscientious and im- partial justice for many years; and a man who exercised strong in- fluence among his fellows throughout his life. He held county office for some years, and in consequence removed to Wauseon, where he died, in 1872 or 1873. His widow, Louisa (Chamberlain) Durgin, lived until January, 1900, being then in her cighty-eighth year. She had lived in Wauseon for twenty-eight years and was lovingly known to very many as "Grandma" Durgin. She was married to Samuel Durgin in 1833, and in the same year they came from New Hamp- shire to Trumbull county, Ohio, and from there, in the spring of 1837, to Maumee. In 1838, an obituary states, the Durgins "came to Fulton county ...... settling first in Amboy Township, and later, in 1841, moving into Fulton Township." As a matter of faet, they located on land which was taken from Amboy and made part of Ful- ton, when the latter township was erected in 1841. "In 1872" states the obituary, "their last change of residence was made-to the village of Wauseon. Ten days after their arrival in their new home Mr. Dur- gin departed this life."
The Merrill family is another which has prominent place in Ful- ton county records. Levi Merrill, with his family, came from Welling- ton, Maine, in May, 1838, settling on section 4, town 10 south, range 4 east, which was his home for the greater part of his life. He died, of paralysis, at the home of his son-in-law, John Bracken, in Fulton Township, in 1881, being then seventy-nine years old. His wife, Lucy, died in 1872. Their sons Naaman and. Ozias were both of notable record in pioneer Fulton-in the county as well as the township record. Naaman's life has been reviewed hereinbefore; Ozias, who dicd on October 24, 1901, aged seventy-four years, lived a useful life; his public record included six years as county auditor; and in 1873 he was clected to represent Fulton county in the Constitutional Con- vention, which constitution however was not accepted by the statc. His first wife was Jane Vaughan, and one of their children was Frank C., who took over the parental farm, and became a useful
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public worker in Fulton Township. J. E. Merrill, son of Ozias Mer- rill, was county auditor for two terms in Fulton county, and Horace Merrill, another son, was probate judge of Lucas county. The Mer- rill family certainly is deserving of good place among the builders of Fulton county.
Jonathan Wood is a name frequently encountered in the records of early Fulton. He was one of the pioneer school teachers; was the first clerk of Fulton Township; and was one of the charter members of the Presbyterian Church. He was a sincere and active Christian, organizing the first Sabbath school of the Presbyterian denomination in Fulton Township, and for many years he was its superintendent. He settled in the township in 1838, and died in 1879. During the Civil war he was a nurse in a military hospital.
The Canfield family also comes prominently into Fulton Town- ship and county records. Of good colonial Connecticut stock, the Can- field family had several representatives in early Fulton, part settling in Chesterfield and Clement and Hartman in Fulton Township, in 1838. Arthur B. Canfield, son of Clement, was treasurer of Fulton county, in the '60s, and several of the family saw service during the Civil war, keeping up the record of that family, which contributed members to the army of Washington, and the forces of 1812. The name also appears in the list of Fulton county soldiers of the World war.
H. A. Canfield's great work in developing the county, by reclaim- ing the Black Swamp of Bean Creek, in Gorham Township, is worthy of record here. A local quip, which in reality is a serious tribute to his work, states that, "God Almighty made the earth, but Herman Canfield reclaimed the Black Swamp."
Luther Dodge, who was early in Fulton Township, probably in, or before, 1838, settled on section 11, town 10 south, range 4 east. He was one of the early school teachers, and upon his farm he conducted a store, probably the first in the township, between the years 1839 and 1844. He then went to Maumee, the county seat, having been elected sheriff of Lucas county. He was a man of good business ability. It was either during his time, or soon after the place had passed into the possession of the Witt family, that a very palatial residence was built upon that homestead. A family record states that the residence "which at the time was looked upon as a veritable man- sion" was "erected prior to their removal here." After a half-century it stood practically intact, as "one of the stately old homes of the county." It was probably built by Luther Dodge, who succeeded well in his early merchandising enterprises. Horatio Witt went to Cali- fornia in 1851, and returned in 1854, having succeeded in gold-min- ing ventures. Afterwards, he added to his farming acreage, and made his property "one of the model farms of Fulton Township."
Isaac Fauble came into the township in 1842, and settled on sec- tion 5, town 7 north, range 8 east. He and his wife Rachel A. Wat- kins) were born in Wayne county, Ohio, and his family was of Ger- man origin. Isaac lived in Fulton Township until his death, in 1873, at the age of fifty-eight years. His widow lived for a further thirteen years, and they raised five of their six children. The family is still in the township, their son Robert W., continuing in possession of the
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farm, which passed, in course of time, to his sons. One of the daugh- ters of Isaac Fauble married Andrew J. Fraker.
Samuel Dowling came in 1842, from Trumbull county, Ohio, and settled on section 3, town 10 south, range 4 east. He was a typical pioneer, capable, generous, and industrious. He raised a fine family. His son Daniel became sheriff of Fulton county; and Patrick sheriff of Lucas county, and eventually postmaster at Toledo. His younger son, James, remained on the old homestead in Fulton Township, and a decade or so ago passed it on to his son, Henry. James Dowling was a venerable old man, classcd with the pioncers, when, in 1907, he narrated some of his early experiences to Mr. Reighard, then editor of the "Fulton County Tribune." He then stated :
"I was born in Trumbull county, this state, in 1835. My father owned a small farm in that county, but he became discontented and wanted to go west. So he sold his farm and, putting his family into a covered wagon, started westward through the forest, for Iowa. Day after day we rode through the forest, fording rivers, building roads over bogs, and ever pushing westward, for my father was a man of de- termination. Some time we would go days without seeing a settler, and to a boy seven years old the journey became very tiresome. After several weeks' journey we came to what seemed to me to be the sea. It was the Maumee River ...... at Toledo. I remember it well, for, on driving onto the old ferry, which was made of logs pinned together, the team became scared, and threatened to jump over the railing into the water. It was just at sunset, and the red sky, the dark water, the creaking logs all combined to cast a gloom over me which I will never forget.
"After crossing the river, we camped on the bank that night where the city of Toledo now stands. There was no sign of a city then, and only a few houses could be seen. Father could have bought any of this land at that time for ten dollars per acre. My brother Dan was taken sick, and as we traveled he grew worse. When we reached Ai, my brother was so sick that we were compelled to abandon the wagon, and seek shelter in an old shanty that stood on the farm now owned by Frank Merrill. For several weeks it was a question whether he would recover or not, but finally he began to improve in health, and in a few months we were able to resume our journey. But winter was coming on, and father decided to wait until spring. When spring arrived, we were so pleased with the new country, and the neighbors had been so kind, that we abandoned the idea of going to Iowa, and have lived all these years within a few miles of the place where father first settled-never leaving what is now Fulton Township.
"This was a wild country during the '40s, and I remember one evening when my brother, Dan, and I were treed by a wolf, while coming home through the woods from a neighbor's. We were pretty badly scared, and I have ofttimes thought that our ability to climb a tree as quickly as a squirrel saved us much trouble. We boys were always on the lookout for wolves, and they were about the only things that we were afraid of.
"Levi Merrill, grandfather of the county auditor, Daniel Berry, Caleb Vaughan. father of our ex-county commissioner, J. C. Vaughan, all lived around Ai, and were very kind and good neighbors. There
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was no Swanton, no Delta, no Wauseon then. The Lake Shore Rail- road was unheard of, or thought of, at that time, and all travelling was done by stage, horseback, or in emigrant wagons. You fellows who now fly over the country at the rate of a mile a minute on these fast trains, or who speed across the country in an automobile, at the rate of twenty miles an hour, can realize but little how slow our prog- ress was, winding our way through the forest, searching for the high ground that our team might not mire. In those days, to go from my farm to Wauseon would have been a big journey . for one day, whereas now the journey is made in an automobile in an hour.
"From 1842 to 1860, nearly every settler in the fall was afflicted with ague and fever. The doctors in those days went on horseback from one settlement to another. Dr. William Ramsay, of Delta, was a young man then, and assisted in relieving the suffering of those early settlers. Many a time has he ridden all night through the woods, to reach some settler's cabin around Ai."
Martin and Emery Wilson or (Willson) came into the township and settled in either 1833, or 1834, probably the later date, although a family record asserts that it was in 1834. Martin married Jane Ful- lerton, who was one of the early teachers in Fulton and Swan Creek, and they raised a large family. Martin lived on his Fulton Town- ship farm, situated about two miles west of Ai, until he had reached nonogenarian age. The Willson family seems originally to have set- tled in Pike Township, in 1833, or 1834, Nathan and Margaret (Pot- ter) Willson, parents of Martin and Emery (or Emira), the former being then about sixteen years old and Emira two years younger. Nathan Willson settled on Etna Ridge, and there one of their chil- dren, Katherine, died of consumption in 1835, her's being the first grave dug by white men on Etna Ridge. Nathan Willson died in 1840 and his wife in 1844; and it is reasonable to suppose that Mar- tin, who would then be about twenty-six years old, had remained with his parents until about that time; and did not take up land in Fulton Township until then, or perhaps not until he married Jane Fuller- ton in 1845. Emery, or Emira, was a stalwart pioneer. He cleared, or finished the clearing of, three good farms in Fulton Township, and in 1892 moved to Swanton.
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