USA > Ohio > Hardin County > A twentieth century history of Hardin County, Ohio : a narrative account of its historical progress its people and principal interests, Vol. I > Part 3
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During the war, the fort was commanded by Captain Robert
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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY
McClelland and was kept as a storehouse for supplies as well as a place of refuge for Americans straggling along the road from one settlement to the other, and for the soldiers who passed up and down the trail. One day a soldier who had ventured outside the stockade was fired upon by an Indian in ambush, and though mortally wounded was able to run to the fort where he fell and died. The alarm spread instantly and it was thought a general attack would follow, but instead of pre- paring for this attack MeClelland rushed out of the stockade gun in hand calling for volunteers to help avenge the death of their comrade. They scoured the woods all around the place, but could find no trace of the savage who fired the shot, nor was the single shot followed by an attack as was expected. Sixteen graves mark the last resting place of soldiers who fell during this war, but their names and the dates of their deaths are forgotten forever. As most of the troops who took part in this memorable campaign were recruited in Vinton and Gallia counties, it is supposed that the men who are buried at the lonely little grave- vard in the woods across from the site of the fort came from that vicin- ity. The course of the Scioto has been slightly changed by dredging, so that the graves appear at some distance from its banks, but when the river was wider than now and spread over the low ground, the burial place must have been a little bluff directly on the bank of the stream. Hon. R. D. Cole, Member of Congress from the Eighth District, which includes ITardin county, has twice introduced a bill to mark these graves with a suitable monument, but so far it has failed to pass. It is to be hoped that in the near future something may be done to recognize the services of the noble soldiers who have been sleeping in unmarked graves for nearly one hundred years.
During the War of 1813 Blackhoof, the celebrated Shawnce chief- tain who was then living at Wapakoneta, paid a visit to the fort, which was then under command of General Tupper. It was in January, 1813, and the chief was talking with some of the officers while seated by the fire one cold night, when suddenly someone pressed a gun close to the rough wall of the cabin and fired through a hole between the logs strik- ing Blackhoof in the cheek. In the excitement that followed the would- be assassin escaped and was never captured, though strenuous efforts were made to find hint. It was at first thought that Blackhoof was dead, as he fell from his seat, but he finally recovered from the severe wound. If prompt action had not been taken to denounce the deed and try to find the cowardly person who did the act, no doubt a general war between the Indians and soldiers would have been precipitated.
INDIAN TREATIES AND PURCHASES THAT CONCERNED HARDIN COUNTY, DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY. Treaty at Ft. McIntosh-Treaty of peace between whites and the Wyandot, Delaware, Ottawa and Chippewa tribes, 1785.
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Treaty of peace at Ft. Finney between Americans and Shawnees, 1786.
Ft. Finney treaty ratified at Ft. Harmar, 1789, by the Delawares, Wyandots, Saes, Pottawatomies, Ottawas and Chippewas.
Treaty of Greenville, 1795. Dividing the state between Indians and Government, by a line running from the present site of Cleveland to the southwest corner of the state. Hardin county included in Indian territory by this treaty, which recognized all previous treaties and was ratified by the Shawnee, Delaware, Miami, Ottawa, Pottawatomie, Eel River, Kickapoo, Kaskaskia, Chippewa, Wyandot and Piankeshaw tribes.
Treaty of 1805. Part of land north of Greenville line ceded to Government.
Treaty of Detroit, 1807. Lands north of Maumee river ceded to Government.
Treaty of 1808. Road granted two miles wide through Black Swamp.
Treaty of Maumee Rapids, 1817. Negotiated by Lewis Cass and Duncan MeArthur. Indians ceded lands to Government and received the following reservations : Wapakoneta, one hundred square miles of territory; Hog Creek, twenty-five square miles; Lewistown, forty-eight square miles, and Upper Sandusky, one hundred and forty-four square miles; Shawnees, Wyandots, Pottawatomies and other tribes partic- ipating.
In 1818 the Miamis ceded their ancient claims to the Government.
In 1829 the claims of the Delawares were purchased.
In 1831 Lewistown and Wapakoneta claims ceded to Government.
In 1831 nearly all Ohio Indians moved to the West by Government.
In 1842 the Wyandot Indian Reservation at Upper Sandusky was purchased.
In 1843 last of the Indians moved West.
CHAPTER II. FIRST FEEBLE SETTLEMENTS IN HARDIN COUNTY
FUR TRADERS AND TRAPPERS-MILITARY ROAD-FAMILY OF ALFRED HALE-FIRST WHITE CHILD BORN IN HARDIN COUNTY-INDIAN VILLAGE OF ROUNDHEAD-MCARTHUR FAMILY FIRST PERMANENT SETTLERS- ALLEN F. MCARTHUR-GRASSY POINT-OLD SHAWNEE FORD-SETTLERS ON BLANCHARD RIVER.
Of the settlements made in Hardin county prior to 1820 most of the accounts are but tradition. In every new country before the per- manent settlers begin to arrive, there is a class of wandering adventur- ers, who flee at the approach of civilization, and doubtless this county had its full share of these nomads-never very plentiful and never re- maining long in one place. We know that various fur companies sent their men into the then unbroken forest to buy skins of wild animals, and these men established little stations here and there for the con- venience of trappers and hunters, white and savage, but they did nothing to help the country. Often they only aroused the ire of the savages and incited them to bloodshed, with their whiskey that they traded for the skins. Money was very scarce in those days and would have done the Indians no good if they could have obtained it, so they came through the forests over their rude trails bringing their valuable furs, and re- ceived in exchange powder, whiskey, tobacco and trinkets. The MeKees were notable fur traders in Logan and Hardin counties, and the HIol- lister Fur Company also did a thriving business. However, the latter was a little later on the ground, for Harvey Buckminster acted as their agent in the thirties, and bought thousands of dollars' worth of pelts for the concern, dealing mostly in those days with the settlers, instead of savages.
The opening of the Military Road and the establishment of a fort on the Scioto, naturally made that part of the country the first to attract settlers. In the unstable days when the British were using every means to arouse the savages and kill off the American settlers in the disputed territory, it was unsafe to live far from protection by soldiers. The road was used much by settlers passing from the southern part of the
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state to the Maumee country, and it is safe to say that there were "squatters" in cabins near the fort. The only family of which there is an authentic account now is that of Alfred Hale who seems to have been one of those restless, roving spirits just ahead of the van of civ- ilization. This family came to the fort, or its vicinity, in 1817, and lived there a few years. They had several children when they settled there and in 1819 Jonas Hale was born. This child was without doubt the first white child born in Hardin county, so far as early records or even tradition show. The mother, Mary Hale, died shortly after this, and was buried in a walnut canoe made by the Indians close to the fort, and yet not with the soldiers who fell during the time Ft. McArthur was occupied. Some authorities state that Ft. McArthur was occupied as a military post until 1816, while others say it was kept up much later to protect the men passing up and down the Hull Trail, which was then an important highway through this part of the state. There is an old account of several lawyers making their way home from court at Ft. Finley to Urbana, who stopped all night at Ft. McArthur in 1824, and while there Mrs. Hale died; but others are of the opinion that Alfred Hale did not remain that long in Hardin county. It is more likely that other families lived near the fort, and the woman who died belonged to some white squatters whose names are lost. It was a very sickly location and as milk sickness and ague were common, doubtless many of the unfortunate pioneers lie buried in this vicinity. Several sunken places in the ground in an old orchard on what is known as the Old Fort Farm are still pointed out as the last resting places of Mary Hale and other people who fell victims to the scourges of pioneer life. No one knows what became of the Hale family, but tradition says Alfred Hale after the death of his wife moved West.
Roundhead was an Indian village in 1800, and no doubt for a long time before that had been a permanent home for certain Indians, so that the white people looked with envious eyes on a place already slight- ly made ready for occupancy. Roundhead, the celebrated chief, lived here and had his fields of corn and his herds of swine, from which he and his followers obtained part of their living. With a cleared place to begin on, the white settlers were wise in choosing this location, and it is not surprsing that this place boasts the first permanent occupation of the county. The McArthur family, to one branch of which Duncan McArthur belonged, furnished several men who are closely indentified with the history of this county. Of sturdy Scotch parentage Donald McArthur came to make a home for his family in the wilderness, and to stamp his name indelibly on the annals of the county. Donald Mc Arthur was born in Scotland November 8, 1742, and came to Hardin county in 1822, where he lived until his death, January 10, 1835. To his son belongs the honor of being the first permanent settler in the county.
Peter C. McArthur made his way through the forests from Ross
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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY
county to Hardin in 1818, and in company with Daniel Campbell of the same place erected cabins and cleared some land, intending to return for their families as soon as a little work had been done. About that time Indians were again troublesome owing to the fact that some of the braves objected to the various treaties that were depriving them rap- idly of their hunting grounds, and the MeArthurs and Campbells deemed it unwise to move at once to their new possessions. However. in 1822, the entire MeArthur family, the children of Donald MeArthur and their father, moved to the new home, and the Campbell family re- turned with them. In a few years Daniel Campbell became despondent because of the death of his children, and returned with his wife to Ross county, leaving the MeArthurs as the only settlers in that part of the country, of which we have any record. Later the Campbells moved back again and lived there until their deaths. Their children are married
and settled in the vicinity. The McArthurs and Campbells were of an entirely different type from the migratory families that had lived a short time in the county, and then wandered on where game was more plen- tiful, for they came to stay and to build up the new community. From all accounts and from their descendants, they were sturdy, brave, well educated for those times, and fine specimens of the men and women who conquered the wilderness. Allen F. MeArthur who was born in Sep- tember, 1824, was no doubt the first white child born in Hardin county after it became a county, though it was still attached at that time to Logan. The MeArthurs were originally Presbyterians, but as the Meth- odists were the first to establish a church in their vicinity they freely gave their aid to this church, and many of them lived and died in this faith.
Grassy Point in what is now Hale township was another vantage point because there was cleared lands and Indian corn fields in this neighborhood, and very early in the history of the county, settlers gath- ered there. There was a station for the purchase of furs at that point as it was on the old Shawnee trail, but no record remains of the families who lived there. The Old Sandusky Road follows the Shawnee trail through the county, and is noted as being the place where settlers early gathered. Then, as now, the inhabitants of the county liked best the locations that put them in the public eye, and the Sandusky Road was the most popular thoroughfare through the county for many years. Later on at Grassy Point, Harvey Buckminster kept tavern, and down at the old ford in what is now Dudley township, there was another inn, known as Wheeler's Tavern, though of course, neither of these hostel- ries did business when the county was unorganized. Up in what is now Blanchard and Jackson townships there were attractive spots and adventurers from older counties were spying them out for future set- tlement. Down on the eastern borders and up on the way to the old town of Upper Sandusky people were exploring with an eye to locating
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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY
there as soon as it would be safe, and everything was in readiness for the influx of pioneers that came a little later. The opening of lands for settlement. the great wave of civilization that was sweeping west- ward and the settled condition of affairs that came about with the re- moval of the Indians to the West, brought in a tide of emigration between 1828 and 1840 that established the new county securely, and helped it to gain the place it now occupies in the great state of Ohio.
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CHAPTER III. ORGANIZATION OF HARDIN COUNTY
DATE OF ORGANIZATION-EARLY HISTORY OF TOWNSHIPS-ROUND- HEAD, TAYLOR CREEK, CESSNA, DUDLEY, BUCK, GOSHEN, BLANCHARD, HALE, MCDONALD, PLEASANT, JACKSON, LIBERTY, WASHINGTON, MARION AND LYNN.
Hardin conuty was organized in 1820 by act of the Legislature of the State of Ohio, but for some years was attached to Logan county, and it was not until 1833 that it began its separate existenee. The date will ever be remembered as it is now a holiday, Lineoln's birthday- February 12th-when the county was organized and named for the gallant Colonel John H. Hardin of Virginia, who served with sueh dis- tinetion in the Revolutionary and Indian wars. It is not known that Colonel Hardin ever set foot on the soil that now bears his name, as he was basely murdered in Shelby county in 1792 by the Indians for what personal property he had with him, while on a mission of peace to them, but it is fitting that this brave man should thus be remembered. The little town of Hardin in Shelby county, marks the place where he fell.
What few settlers were in Hardin eounty prior to 1833 had to trans- act all their public business in Bellefontaine, necessitating a tedious and perilous journey through the forest. However, the people began eoming in such numbers about 1830 that the legislature granted the county a separate government, and sent a committee-Ira Page, Abner Snoddy and Edward Morgan-to select a site for the county seat on April 16. 1833. This committee reported that they agreed upon a piece of land on the north bank of the Scioto near the center of the county, and about two miles from Ft. McArthur, on the first day of June of the same year. Various locations had been considered and pioneers had bought land in the vieinity of where they thought the town would go, but when George and Jacob Houser and Lemuel Wilmoth offered to donate forty aeres of land for the benefit of the new town, it was settled that the pres- ent loeation should be the seat of justice for the new organization. In
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the fall of the same year these lands were sold at public auction, and the town immediately began to grow.
The story that is always told in connection with the name of the county seat is that the committee could not decide what would be the best name, so they allowed Mrs. William McCloud, who then lived at Ft. McArthur, to name it. Without hesitation she called the town Ken- ton, after the noted Indian figliter. Court continued to be held at the fort and the postoffice was located there for some years, but in time everything in the way of county business was transacted at Kenton.
The new county was made up of Virginia Military Lands and Con- gress Lands, and the latter had subdivisions known as School and Canal Lands. Each township was divided into thirty-six sections in the Con- gress lands of six hundred and forty acres each, of which Sections 8, 11, 26 and 29 were reserved for the Government and Section 16 for a school fund. The land north of the Scioto was Congress and south Virginia Military Survey, which accounts for the regular lines and straight roads of certain townships and the irregular boundaries of others.
The woods of Hardin county were rapidly filling up with sturdy pioneers, so that the establishment of the county seat was a great con- venience to them. Just about this time the restless spirits in the older states began to turn their eyes to the West, and Pennsylvania wagons and common two horse ones, began creaking and groaning over the boggy roads, and very soon the general organization had to be supplemented by cutting the county into smaller subdivisions for various purposes. Although at first there were only a few very large townships, the sep- arate history of each of the present townships is here given together" with the prominent pioneers of each.
ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIPS. Roundhead Township, so named for the famous chief who lived in the little Indian village that is now the thriving town of Roundhead, was organized one year before the county was made a separate division from Logan. It was at first much larger than at present, other townships being cut from it as the country be- came more populous. The first county election was held in Roundhead township at Jonathan Carter's cabin, April 1, 1833, that being deemed the most convenient place, and just sixty-three votes were cast. Whether other voters did not hear of the election, or found it impossible to be on hand that day, history does not state, but it is safe to say the county could hardly muster more than seventy men at most at that early period. Lying as it does on both sides of the Scioto, it is composed of both Con- gress and Military Survey lands. The soil is wonderfully productive, and from the days of the red men produced fine corn. As had the rest of the county at the time the white settlers came, Roundhead township had a heavy growth of timber which has almost entirely disappeared. Vol. I-2
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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY
As McDonald township was originally a part of Roundhead, the Mc Arthurs were the first settlers, together with Daniel Campbell. However, as they must be considered as belonging to the new organ- ization, Samuel Tidd should probably be mentioned as the first pioneer of Roundhead township. He was a blacksmith, a very necessary crafts- man in those days, and had a little shop about two miles from the pres- ent village of Roundhead. Jonathan Carter soon followed, and when the first election was held, which was for the township office of justice of the peace, eleven men appeared to cast their votes. Matthew Mahan, a well remembered resident of this section, had the honor of being the first man elected on Hardin county soil. That the following year there were sixty-three men in the county shows that a healthy growth in population was going on.
The early settlers of this township were intelligent, progressive and active, as we find that in 1837 subscriptions were taken among the pioneers, and a little school started with Peter C. McArthur as teacher. That they were of a religious character is shown by the fact that a little company of Methodists got together and organized a class somewhere among the cabins, for there was no church, with eleven or twelve members. Tradition says this class was organized in Donald Mc Arthur's cabin, and that services were held in the homes of Jonathan Carter, William Given and others until a church was erected in 1840. The first members of this little band were Rebecca Campbell, Donald McArthur and wife, William and Jane Given, James D. Lay, Margaret Mc Arthur, Jonathan and Nancy Carter and John McArthur and his wife. When school houses and churches did begin to spring up here and there through the forests, they were of the most primitive sort, with greased paper for windows, often the earth for a floor, and hewed logs for benches, but the pioneers rejoiced that all the blessings of civ- ilization had not been left behind, and enjoyed the life that now seems so rude and hard to the people living on the farms they cleared and made ready for a more prosperous era.
The township had other churches also organized at an early date, for being so large it was impossible for the pioneers to make their way over the soft roads to the church that afterwards became known as Roundhead, so a class was organized in the Bowdle settlement, meeting at the cabin of James Bowdle. This class was organized in 1832 with Joseph Bowdle as class leader. It was a little larger than the Round- head church, having the following members: James, Elizabeth, Jesse L., Lucretia, Priscilla, Joseph and Rebecca Bowdle, James, Sarah, John, Martin, Nancy and James, Jr. Hill, David and Sarah Groves and Richard, Mary and Harriet Rutledge. It is not known how long services were held in the cabins, but a log house was erected that served as a church until it burned down in 1860. This was also a Methodist church, and is at present housed in a frame building.
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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY
In 1835 the Pleasant Hill congregation was formed at the residenee of James Hill with James and Viletta Lay, James and Elizabeth Hill, Samuel and Rosanna Rutledge and several others whose names are lost, as charter members. They also held serviees in eabins, until a log house could be built for a church in 1848. The Methodists were the pioneer church builders in this township, and many men and women who baek in their native counties had been members of other denominations will- ingly joined them, since the church of their faith was not represented in the wilderness.
The town of Roundhead is older than the county seat, being laid out by Jonathan Carter in 1832. The county surveyor of Logan eounty to which Hardin was then attached, James W. Marmon, laid it out and recorded it in the records of Logan county. Then as now it was an im- portant factor in the growth of the township, and as early as 1834 boasted a mill and a tavern or two. The mill, which was owned by John Mahan, was a rude affair with hickory bark for a belt and "nigger heads" for burrs, and it did little more than to crack the eorn, but it saved the long trip to Cherokee or West Liberty to get eorn ground, and there was much rejoieing when it was ready for business. John Moore and a man named Livingston were the inn keepers, and in 1835 Alexander Templeton established a general store in the village. A doctor named Smith was early in the village to look after the health of the pioneers, but the exact date of his eoming is not known. Jonathan Carter on whose land the village was located, was the first treasurer of the county. and carried the funds he colleeted for taxes in his pocket for safety until he could turn them in to the proper official. The greatest trouble the pioneers had, except sickness. was the getting together of enough money to pay their taxes, and about the only way any money could be obtained was to trap animals and sell their hides. The little corn grown in the clearings had to be used for food, and there was little else that had a money value for the pioneers, so everybody engaged in hunting and trapping in winter. Everything was "bartered" in those days. and the few coins that did get into the community were carefully hoarded.
As nearly as possible the names of the Roundhead township pion- eers are here given with the dates when they settled in the county : Samuel Tidd, 1822; James and Sarah Hill, 1825; Mrs. Mary Ritehey, 1825; William, Andrew and Samuel Ritehey, 1825; Jonathan and Nancy Carter. 1829; William and Jane Given, 1829; Hugh H. Tidd, 1828; William and Elizabeth Ford, 1831; John and Susannah Mahan, 1828; James Hilt, 1825; Joseph W. and Lucretia Bowdle, 1831; Jesse and Lillie Bowdle. 1832; George Blaloek. 1831; Matthew Mahan, 1831; Alexander and Mary Given, 1831; Lorenzo Dow Lay, 1832; Riehard and Mary Rutledge, 1832; Henry and Ann Stamitzl, 1832; Jaeob and Eliz- abeth Thompson, 1832; Alexander and Mary Ann Templeton, 1833;
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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY
David and Sarah Groves, 1833; Thomas and Nancy Livingston, 1834; Uriah MeKennan, 1834; William Irwin, 1835; Thompson Irwin, 1835; Robert Irwin, 1835; Andrew and Ruth Zimmerman, 1835; Reuben HIenkle, 1838; John and Sarah Henkle, 1835; William and Sarah Moore, 1834; Michael and Barbara Zimmerman, 1835; Watson and Nellie Spencer, 1835, and Jacob and Elizabeth Claypool, 1838.
The pioneers of Hardin county were so busy collecting sufficient money for taxes, clearing the forests, building roads, fighting fever and agne and keeping starvation from their homes, that it is little wonder the records were imperfectly kept-some not kept at all-if we may judge from the conflicting statements in regard to certain events. With the burning of the Hardin county court house in 1853, and the loss of almost all the records, many of the events connected with the early history of the county had to be dated according to statements made by pioneers then living. In this way innumerable errors crept in, and to this date nothing is certainly known about many of the hap- penings that vitally concern the county. In giving the date when Taylor Creek township became a separate organization it is better to say between 1833 and 1835, as authorities differ.
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