USA > Ohio > Wood County > Commemorative historical and biographical record of Wood County, Ohio : its past and present : early settlement and development biographies and portraits of early settlers and representative citizens, etc. V. 1 > Part 65
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101
In 1887. Hiram E. Leedy was elected: 1888. D. L. Whitacre: 1889, George W. Friend; 1890, William G. Conkey; 1891, Hiram E. Leedy; 1892, Daniel B. Pugh; 1893, W. G. Conkey : 1894, Horace Mercer; and 1895, Daniel B. Pugh. In 1896 Ashel Sanglier was elected to succeed William G. Conkey.
306
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
John Johnson, in 1869; R. M. Donnelly, in 1872- 81; A. J. McMahan, 1881: B. F. See, 1881; J. D. Mann, 1882; H. B. Saylor, 1883; J. D. Munn, 1884; H. B. Saylor, 1885; W. H. Hull, 1888; B. W. Mercer, 1890; W. J. Digby, 1894-96, re- elected.
Treasurers. - The story of the first treasurer has been told .. John Sargent, elected in 1836, appears to have held the office until 1857, when Abraham Mercer qualified. Caleb Mercer was elected in 1858, Abraham Mercer followed in 1859, then Caleb was re-elected, serving until April, 1862, when A. Abbott was chosen. H. H. Wadsworth appears to have been treasurer from April. 1864, to 1871, when Samuel Mercer suc- ceeded him. On the removal of the latter to Bowling Green, in 1891, the present treasurer, Matt. Schondelmyer, was elected.
Assessors .- In giving a list of assessors, it must be considered that, owing to the want of township records, only a few of the number can be named with certainty. George Cook served in 1842-43; Caleb Mercer, in 1844; George Alberti, in 1845; John Elder, in 1847 to 1860 ( with the exception of John McMahan's term, in 1853-54); Caleb Mercer, 1868; J. H. Whitehead, 1870; Geo. W. McMahan, in 1871; Elisha P. Turner, 1874; M. S. Winton, elected in 1876, served to 1877; L. F. Dubbs, 1877; M. S. Win- ton, 1879; Hiram E. Leedy, 1884; William Camp- bell, 1885; and J. H. McMahan from 1887 to 1896, re-elected. .
MISCELLANEOUS.
Hall .- In June, 1889, the bid of E. E. House- holder for building a town hall, at a cost of $433. 10, was accepted, and in March, 1890, the house was rented to Frank Haskins and others . for Grange meetings, the provision being made that such meetings would not interfere with those of the trustees or school board. In 1895, the tax levy was fixed at 1. 9 mill.
The Perrysburg and Findlay Road, referred 'to in the chapter on Highways, Railroads and Navigation, was authorized February 26, 1820, by the Legislature; but the first county road in the township was cut through in March, 1825, from the N. E. corner of Section I, to the S. W. corner of Section 18, Lee Moore, John Sargent and Morrison McMillen being the viewers, and Nep- tune Nearing, the surveyor. The last-named traveled sixteen miles in the five days passed in surveying, and made a plat of the road for the round sum of $7.50.
The First Ditch petition, filed March 24, 1859, was signed by C. W. Simon, Adam Waltman and
W. S. Ferguson. It asked for the construction of a great drain from Section 13, Jackson town- ship, along the course of the Portage, to the con- fluence of the branchies at Pemberville-a dis- tance of thirty-five miles. The petition was granted, and the ditch made at a cost of $50,000. It drained 8,000 acres of the prairie basin in Liberty, with large areas in Milton and Jackson and the eastern townships, and must be consid- ered the first great ditch excavated in this county.
An Adventure on the Prairie .-- The follow- ing story was related by J. F. Dubbs, with the dual object of preserving an incident of early days, and of showing the physical character of a part of the township before the era of drainage was introduced :
In 1851 (says Mr. Dubbs), Nathaniel Badger, nephew of the old missionary, came and fixed up the cabin, got mar- ried and lived there a year or so. Nathaniel had a sister, Stella, a teacher, who lived in Plain township. One bright morning in June Stella and a lady cousin from " York State," nicely mounted on horseback, rode up to our cabin, on the north side of the prairie, to inquire if it would be possible for them to follow the old Indian trail straight across to the Badger cabin. I was a young man at that time. and far too much interested in the two nicely dressed young ladies to see them try to pass over that dangerous, miry trail, and at once advised them to go around by the usual wagon trail, which was of itself bad enough; they took my advice. That even- ing my brothers, Lewis and John, W. R. Carothers and my- self, were chatting around a mosquito smoke at my father's, when, about 9 o'clock, we heard some one hallooing in the distance. I told the boys of the incident of the morning -- that two girls had rode over to Badgers, which I had neg- lected to say was about two miles from our place. Carothers at once said, " that is surely a woman's voice;" we started at once for the prairie, taking with us our two well-trained dogs. When we got through the woods to the prairie we could hear the cries, but very indistinctly, away to the west of us; we shouted so lustily that we made ourselves heard plainly by the lost wanderer, who at once turned back toward us. Soon the dogs were barking away, out in the gloomy waste, in a somewhat different direction. When Lewis and Carothers got to them they found the intelligent brutes had done their part well and faithfully. As if guided by some instinct the dogs had understood what we wanted them to do, and had done it, thereby saving a human life. There, in a grassless spot, in the oozy mire and water, her head barely above the slimy surface, speechless and exhausted, was one of the girls -- the one from New York. She probably could not have survived an hour longer. I need not relate our difficulties in getting the poor girl out, for she was perfectly helpless to walk for some time, even if she had been on good ground. Soon after Stella, whose shouts had first warned us of their danger, was found, and not long after brother John and I and the dogs found the horses, grazing in a place where the water was shallow, and got them out to the woods. It was fortunate for the feelings of the poor girls at that par- ticular time that it was dark, for they were in a sorry plight, indeed. Stella told us how it all happened: They had pro- longed their stay at Badger's until quite late, and then to gain time had attempted to make a short cut by the Indian trai! to our house. The trail crossed a neck of prairie about half a mile wide; it was here they lost their course and went too far east. The prairie, at that time of the year, was wet in those days; no one who has not seen the Wadsworth, or Lib- erty, prairie, as we sometanes called it, in its natural state. before our dramage system went into effect, can form any true conception of its condition, nor picture to himself the magnitude of the change since. The water was from one to
307
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
three feet deep, the grass from three to eight feet high; a great part of the prairie was swampy. It was infested with all sorts of beasts, birds and reptiles common to this country at that time. Wolves, snakes, turtles, frogs, cranes, pumpers, drer fies, and last, but worst in early summer, were the end- les swarms of ravenous mosquitoes. Then the heavy fogs which curtained this gloomy wilderness made the aspect so dismal and forbidding that the strongest man might well recoil from its treacherous borders.
Not long after the horses left the trail they began to swamp down, and the riders were unseated from their sad- dles with no possibility of mounting, even if it had been desirable to do so. In attempting to lead the horses the girls had their skirts trod on and torn off at the waist and were in danger themselves of being tramped into the mire by the floundering animals. By this time they had worked so far east as to be in about the worst part of the swamp, probably not far west of the notorious " Stoga Hole." Here the New York girl gave up to die. Stella left her friend and the horses, and started as she supposed in the direction of her brother's cabin: but how could a woman, wading in water to her knees, in coarse rank grass higher than her head, blinded by mosquitoes and fog, take a course without a single landmark to guide her? She could not even see the woods that bordered the swamp. Fortunately she steered to the woods on the north side, but in a direction almost opposite from what she had intended, and came out about three-quarters of a mile from our house, where she was wandering about when her screams attracted our atten- tion, as previously mentioned.
SCHOOLS.
The first log school house is referred to in the history of Portage village. In the fall of 1833, it is said it offered a shelter to Lee Moore and his family. It stood where is now the Drain dwelling, but was not used for school purposes until 1835, when William North organized a class. William Mercer succeeded him in 1836, and A. E. McComber in 1837. Among the pupils were David. Mary Ann and Isabel, chil- dren of George Mercer; Abraham and Charles, children of William Mercer: Wealthy, Henry, Sarah, Cynthia and Charles, children of Collister Haskins; Peter Johnson's children - Fidelia and Lydia; Jacob Eberly's children - John, Joe, Mary and Martha; John Sargent's children - Snowden, Nancy and Sarah; Thomas Well's children - Robert, Lydia and Hannah: David Lyon's children - Mary, Barbara and Jane; John Anderson, who was living with David Anderson; Thomas Cox's children - John and Elizabeth; Francis Carothers' children - William, Samuel, Mariah, Nancy, Mary and Neeley; Ephraim Sim- mons' daughter-Lucinda -- and John M. Jaquis' child - Mary Jane. A second house was erected in 1847, which was opened by Mrs. Lavinia Sar- gent, as teacher. Eight years later, the board of education comprised John McMahan. Thomas Fearnside, George Mercer, John Welton and Cervantez Cook. That board voted $600 for a school building, and ordered a levy of two mills on the dollar to be' made. In the " sixties, " J. G. Smith and Levi Adams were active members
:
of the board; while the names of J. W. Wing and Z. W. McMahan appear, in 1867-68, as mem- bers of the building committee.
The board of education in April, 1873, in- cluded John Johnson (No. 1), J. H. Whitehead (No. 2), (No. 3 unorganized). L. F. Dubbs (No. 4). George W. McMahan (No. 5), William Wal- lace (No. 6), F. Griffin (No. 7), Thomas Mc- Mahan (No. 8), and John Edgar (No. 9). In April, 1874, N. W. Stafford represented District No. 2; Henry Mercer, No. 3; John Bradshaw. No. 5: James McCrory, No. 7; G. D. Insley, No. 8, and Cyrus Fuller, No. 9. In September, 1874, contractor S. L. Sargent was paid $500 for a new house in District No. 1. In 1875 the building in District No. 6 was completed. Abra- ham Mercer, Enos Fellers, Robert Place and George Dipert were among the directors in 1876. John Johnson was chairman of the board in 1877: George W. Robinson, Richard Crocker. Matthew McKee and J. J. Brand, in 1879. In ISSI, there were five Mercers on the board of educa- tion. That year the authority to build a brick house in District No. 5. or the Bradshaw school house, was given, and $800 appropriated out of the contingent fund. About this time the in- troduction of modern school furniture and appa- ratus was noticed. The names of Frank Has- kins, Daniel Pugh, John Anderson. W. R. Ca- rothers, C. A. Mercer, William Kinney, D. L. Whitacre, James E. Kummel and Josiah Smith. The modern board holds but few of the old-time members who did so much to develop the school system in this township. Younger men have taken their places; but the building of school houses, and organization and reorganization of districts go forward as if nothing had hitherto been done. C. A. Mercer has been a director for almost a quarter of a century.
CHURCHES.
Very early in the history of Liberty town- ship a United Brethren preacher came to the dwelling of Collister Haskins and preached his doctrine to the settlers. Some time after the first school house, or rather dwelling. was erected. Rev. Abner C. Cracraft, a Methodist preacher, called the settlers to listen to him.
Mt. Zion Church was organized in 1855, with the following named members: John Osborn. Caleb Mercer. Henry Groves, Elias Cheney. Jonas Henline, J. H. McMahan and their wives. E. Groves, Lonisa Osborn, Matilda Mercer and old Mr. Cheney and his wife. Messrs. Foster. J. F. Seiler and P. W. Tussing have served this Church in the order given. Prior to 1875. the
308
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
district school house, in the neighborhood of Cass' Corners, was used for worship; but in the year named the present building was erected at a cost of $2,205. There are seventy-seven mem- bers belonging to the society.
The Bethel Church may be said to date back to 1840, when George Lucy, a Disciple preacher, came to visit his sister-Mrs. Martha Whitacre- and with the Whitacres visited the Mercer settle- ment, where he preached the first sermon of that denomination at William Mercer's house. [He organized a class at the Whitacre school house, near the north line of Bloom. ] Caleb and Abra- ham Mercer and Mrs. Groves were induced to accept his teachings at that time. In 1842, Ben- jamin Alton preached here, and, shortly after, John and William Mercer joined in a call to their friends to assemble for worship. After a few years had passed over. Mahlon Whitacre heard of Moses Bonham's preaching in Putnam coun- ty, and walked to the principal settlement of that county to meet hint. He brought Bon- ham home with him, and, during the services which ensued, Daniel Mercer, John and James McCrory, Dr. Hutchins and George Mercer, Sr .. were immersed. Bonham was then hired to preach one year, for which Whitacre agreed to give and did give him forty acres in the S. E. } of Sec. 31, Portage. Mahlon Whitacre and John Mercer were chosen elders with Edward Whitacre, and William Mercer, deacons. Meet- ings were held in the Mercer school house. John Whitacre a preacher from Columbiana county, came a year or two later, held services in a school house northwest of Merinill, and re- ceived many into the society, among the number being Charles Mercer, Jane Mercer, Mary Ann McCrory, Harriet Mercer, Ellisa, and Elizabeth and David Mercer. William Wilson, a preacher, came in 1850, followed by Joseph Wade, Thomas Holmes and Zophar Green, of the Christian Bible Society. In 1853, John Harrison moved into Portage; and, in 1858, a Methodist peacher, Mr. Shirk, preached for the Disciples, assisted by Nelson Piper, a Disciple, and Silas Foster, a United Brethren preacher. At that time, thirty persons were baptized, and on April II, 1858, the society was organized-John and Daniel Mercer, elders, Abraham Mercer and James McCrory. deacons, and twenty-seven others forming the first society; the Whitacres and others holding the Whitacre class. Others united with the United Brethren Society; but Mr. Piper continued to preach, receiving pay at the rate of one dollar for each sermon.
In 1859. Dana Call was hired to preach, and
continued here until July 23, 1861, many men- bers being added during his ministration. Orange Higgins, Michael Riddle, William Dow- ling and Jackson Dowling preached here in the meantime, or until the society was reorganized in March, 1863, with twenty male and thirty-five female members. William Dowling was en- gaged as pastor for one year, the salary being $75 per annum, and after the expiration of his term remained as pastor for five years. In 1865, the first church house was erected at a cost of $1, 200-John, Daniel, Abraham, and Charles Mercer, giving $550; Robert Miller, $80: A. Van- Blarcum, $75; and John Mercer, Jr., $50, to- ward the building fund. In 1868, Mr. Dowling retired, and Dana Call preached here in 1869. Several preachers were here prior to November. 1872, when Mr. Dowling returned at a salary of $420. In 1880. after many preachers filled the pulpit, J. V. Updike agreed to give quarter time to this church, and was the pastor unti! 1886, when the plan of having preachers fill the pulpit for short periods was adopted. The society was incorporated in 1888, and Daniel Mercer. Robert Miller, Joseph Horn and William Kinney were chosen trustees, with Andrew Welton, clerk. In 1889, William Dowling resumed his pastoral po- sition, and in 1890, G. W. Cline, whose salary was placed at $200 per annum, became pastor. From 1858 to 1890, no less than 597 were re- corded as members, and of the total there were 160 members at the close of 1890. [This sketch is based on the records of the Church in posses- sion of H. J. Rudolph-records which can be truly called the only complete ones in the whole township. ]
HAMLETS.
Stockwell post office was established in June. 1888. with John F. Carmody, master. The Laney oil well, in the vicinity, was then in charge of Mr. Carmody. The office was discon- tinued when Wingston was established.
Ducat was surveyed by D. D. Ames in Feb- ruary, 1890, for Exea Ducat, Thomas J. Ducat and Quincy A. Mercer. John Bash is the pres- ent postmaster at that place.
Ross Creek, about a quarter mile northwest of the present village of Mermill, was the site of Robert Mackey's store, of 1836. The little building was burned in 1837, and the owner moved away. Reason Whitacre remembers Mackey as a tall, gaunt man, who carried a fair stock of general merchandise, and knew the value of a coon skin or a bushel of corn.
Bars was surveyed by R. F. Baker, in ISgo.
309
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
for Theophilus P. Brown, trustee. M. L. Devore is now postmaster. Miss Lucy Cook was the first mistress; Arthur Cook succeeded her; Orrin Dills was the next, preceding M. L. Devore.
Damtown was established at the time of the building of the Coldwater railroad, when R. W. McMahan established a general store, and J. D. Haley (who established a store at Mermill) opened a drug and grocery house.
Mercers (now called Rudolph) was surveyed by W. H. Wood, May 13, 1890, for Daniel Mer- cer, on the S. E. corner of Section 14. A few days after, J. D. Mercer's addition was surveyed, and in 1893 Place's addition was recorded. H. J. Rudolph is the principal merchant of the village.
Old Mungen, established at the time the Coldwater railroad was constructed to the S. E. corner of Liberty township, boasted of the stores of R. W. McMahan, in the Reed building, the houses of T. Ireland and John Mercer, and the Grange Hall, all built late in 1875, or in Janu- ary, 1876. A. Welton was master of the Grange; James McCrory, overseer; E. Gorton, lecturer; and P. McCrory, secretary. Almost a decade after, Rev. J. V. Updike organized the Disciples Church. and erected the present church building. Among the first members were the McCrorys, Thomas T. and Dr. Knight, John and Samuel Knight, the Whitacres and Groves, and a few of the Mercers. In July, 1895, there were 200 members.
Town Line was surveyed in November, 1892, by W. H. Wood, for the Dewey Stave Co., on the S. E. 4 of Sec. 30, T. 4, R. 10. The re-
moval of the Dewey industry may be said to have left the village where it was in IS91.
Woodbury, noticed in the history of Henry township, had a post office as early as 1835. The name was dropped in May, 1876.
CONCLUSION.
There are but few of the pioneers left to re- late the stories of early days. Local records, dealing with the township from 1835 to 1870, are equally scarce, but a determined effort has been made, by both the historical and biograph- ical workers, to bring forth the story of the old settlers. When the vanguard of the pioneers lo- cated here, Findlay, to the south, and Water- ville, to the northwest, were the nearest signals of civilization. Liberty township was truly a wilderness.
The Indian came to the Portage to hunt or to scan the faces of the whites, who were gradually spreading over their former territory. Sometimes they would camp within sight of the pioneer's cabin, as they did when Haskins located here in 1825; generally they would appear suddenly, spend a few days in conviviality and disappear as suddenly. The remnants of once powerful tribes. bowed down under inherited and acquired vices, felt that there was no place for them here, and in a few years were transported westward, never to return. Their successors, as claimants to the land, suffered many bitter trials and hardships: but came out of the ordeal stronger and better peo- ple to enjoy a beautiful land, which their labor reclaimed from the swamp and forest.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
MIDDLETON TOWNSHIP.
ITS SURVEY AND EARLY HISTORY-MEN OF 1839-THE PIONEERS-TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION- TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS-SCHOOLS-CEMETERIES ; MILTONVILLE-HULL PRAIRIE-DUNBRIDGE- ROACHTON-DOWLING-SUGAR RIDGE-HASKINS-POST OFFICES-CHURCHES-SOCIETIES, ETC.
T HE survey ot the exterior lines of this town- ship was made by I. T. Worthington in the west part, and by Holmes brothers in the east part, in 1819, while the section lines were surveyed in 1821 by Worthington and Kellogg. The population in 1890 was 1, 606.
This division of the county was established December 3, 1832, within the following described
boundaries: Commencing at the river on the line between River Tract, No. 55, and Sec. 15. T. 1, U. S. R., thence east to the line between T. 1 and 4. U. S. R. of twelve miles square: thence to the S. W. corner of T. 4: thence east to the S. E. corner of that township; thence south to the S. E. corner of T. 5, R. It; thence west to the S. W. corner of T. 5. R. to; thence north
310
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
to the Maumee river, and along the river to the place of beginning. Waterville township, estab- lished December 6, 1830, included Grangers (now Dodds), Roche de Boeuf and Missionary Islands, thus cutting off Middleton from any claim to these river formations. On June 3. 1833, that part of Middleton in T. 5, R. II, and so much of T. 5, R. 10, as lay south of a line drawn between the second and third tier of sections in its northern half, were attached to Portage township, and subsequently other changes in boundaries were made, until the irregular lines of to-day were con- firmed. On December 3, 1838, the commis- sioners refused to consider a petition for attaching this township to Washington. In June, IS39, Secs. 13, 14, 15, 22, 23. 24, 25, 26, 27, 34, 35 and 36, of Fr. T. 6, were attached to Perrysburg; while on March 3, 1840, River Tracts 56, 57, 58 and 59, with the S. E. } of Sec. 16 in original survey of U. S. R., and Fr. Secs. 16, 17, 20 and 21 of Washington were attached to Middleton township; but in June, 1841, all this territory, except Fr. Secs. 17, 20 and 21, was set off to Perrysburg township. Again, in 1844, Middle- ton lost the south 3 of Sec. 36, T. 6, R. Io, set off to Plain, and the south 3 of Sec. 31, T. 6, R. II, set off to Center township.
In traveling down the river road, from Mil- tonville to Perrysburg, one may look across the river and see the site of the home established by Count Pierre Louis La Point, who left France in boyhood to take part with La Fayette in aiding the Continental army under Washington. He did not return home, but selected a spot west of Presque Isle hill for a large residence, surrounded himself with male attendants, and held two re- ceptions there annually until his death. He was buried in the orchard, with an apple tree for a headstone. Joel Foote states that he was much beloved by the settlers.
Men of 1839. - The male inhabitants of Middleton, in 1839, over twenty-one years of age, were Andrew Hood, Andrew Hood, Jr., James Robertson, James Robertson, Jr., John Robertson, John Nicholson, Epaphroditus Foote, G. W. Baird, Moses Decker, Isaac Allen. Abra- hanı Yount, Henry Hanford, Andrew Race, John W. Ulrich, H. H. Smith, Silas W. Reed, William R. Peck, George Loomis, William Ewing, W. L. Fowler, Samuel Pierce, James Fowler, Guy Nearing, James Pierce, Emileus Nearing (deaf and dumb), John White, L. E. Ellsworth, Richard Foster, Joseph Zerbe, John- ston White, Gabriel Yount, Nathan and John White. Joel Foote was then in Perrysburg. They with their families were the pioneers who
cleared away the forest, and converted the town- ship into one of the richest agricultural districts of the county, alinost sixty years before the oil men came to create a new industry, and ten years after Michael Sypher made his temporary home a half mile above Miltonville.
The Pioneers .-- The pioneer arrived in ISIO, from New York State, traveling overland to Buffalo, thence by schooner to Port Clinton, thence overland to Orleans, where he halted at Aurora Spafford's house, while exploring the country. The name of this adventurer was Jesse Skin- ner, who selected what was afterward known as River Tract, No. 50. Samuel H. Ewing, Andrew Race, Samuel Merritt, Jesse Murray, Cyrus Hitchcock, Robert Race, David Race and others accompanied the pioneer to Orleans, but did not select land in this township. Samuel Ewing selected land three miles away. Some returned to New York State the same year; but in June, 18:2, the majority of them brought their families to settle in the wilderness. His fellow travelers assisted Shinner in building a cabin (just east of the south approach of the Waterville bridge), and, with Ewing and a French-Canadian trader named Lumbar, who lived at the mouth of Tontogany creek, occupied the south side of the river above the site of the Spafford settlement. The British, in 1813, ordered the Indians to drive the settlers on the Maumee from their homes. In 1815-16, most of them returned to find that their homes had been destroyed. In 1822, David Hull, also a New York man, located some one and one-half miles north of the present village of Haskins (afterward the eighty acres owned by Epaphroditus . Foote). Some years after, the sheriff called to levy on his property, and seized on a favorite pony. This act grieved the pio- neer, who proceeded to cut his throat. The sheriff sent for Dr. Conant, the unfortunate man's life was saved, but his reason was gone. Years afterward he died in a lunatic asylum, one of the martyrs to pioneer times in this county.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.