County of Williams, Ohio, Historical and Biographical, Part 50

Author: Weston A. Goodspeed, Charles Blanchard
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 885

USA > Ohio > Williams County > County of Williams, Ohio, Historical and Biographical > Part 50

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MILL CREEK TOWNSHIP.

William Waterston, 825; Ezra Welch, 850; Jennett Waterston, $25; Sarah Ann Rainey, $25; the Friends, 845 ; Francis Crawl, 830; Jack- son De Long, $25; George Skinner, $25; John Bailey, $25, and a host of others for small amounts. A Sunday school was started when the church was built. A fine frame union church was built near Mr. Cogs- well's last year, at a cost of about $1,600, all denominations in the neigh- borhood and outsiders uniting means for that purpose. The house was designed for any and every religious creed or class, and for the purpose of holding funeral services in, as it is located near a cemetery of the citi- zens.

MILL CREEK TOWNSHIP.

BY C. F. GRISIER. " Here shall the spring its earliest sweets bestow, Here the first roses of the year shall blow."

Mill Creek Township was settled about as early as any township in the county. The soil is of the best, the lands comparing favorably with any in Northwestern Ohio. Wheat, corn, oats, barley, flax and other grain are always a full crop. Of horses, cattle, sheep and hogs, Mill Creek always furnishes its share. The citizens are thriving, social and accommodating. The Detroit & Butler Division of the Wabash Rail- road runs through the township, and has two stopping places-Mill Creek and Alvordton.

FIRST SETTLERS.

The first settlers were Theron Landon, Josiah Woodworth, George Berone, James Black, Joseph Haines, John Haines and some others who moved in the years of 1835 and 1836. Talman and Joseph Reasoner, Justice Alvord and Samuel G. Wallace were also among the early settlers. Among those who settled in the strip which has since been set off to Ful- ton County were Abijah Coleman, David Severence and John Gillett ; Alanson Pike, Nathan Fellows, Calvin Ackley and Elijah Masters were also among the early settlers of the eastern portion of the township ; Jacob Landis and Joseph Miller of the western portion.

ADVENTURE WITH A BEAR.

In the early days, and before Jackson ran for President the first time, John Gillett had an adventure with a bear, which he used to tell to his neighbors and children in after years. The adventure happened near the Mill Creek River, and we give it in his own words as near as possi- ble : "I had known for some time, by the signs, that there was a nest

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of cub bears somewhere in the neighborhood, so one day I concluded that I would put in my time finding them, as a party in Adrain wanted a pair to send over to Baltimore to a friend who was fond of outlandish pets. You see that it was along about the first of September, and pretty warm at that, and after walking up and down the creek, I began to get pretty tired ; so I sat down by the side of a smooth stump about twelve or four- teen feet high to rest. I hadn't sat there more than a minute until I heard something inside the stump, and soon made out that it was a couple of cub bears playing with one another. I looked on all sides of the stump to find an opening, but none was to be seen. Then I happened to notice the marks of claws up the side of the stump, and I understood it. The hole went in at the top. I set my gun against a bush, up-ended the branch of a tree, and was soon at the top of the stump, looking in at the two cubs, which were about the size of full-grown rat dogs. I was so ex- cited that I jumped down into the stump and grabbed the cubs. They at first began to squeal, and then turned on me for fight. But they were small enough to handle, and in a minute or two I had their mouths tied so they could not bite, and their feet fastened so they could not scratch. I knew that the old bear would be along pretty soon and make it hot for me if she found me in the nest, so I swung the youngsters into my buckskin belt preparatory to getting out. Get out ? Did I get out ? Land of love ! It makes me shiver to think of it yet. I could no more get out of that stump than I could fly. The hollow was bell- shaped, larger at the bottom than at the top-so large, in fact, that I could not put my back against one side and my feet and hands against the other and crawl up, as rabits and other animals climb up inside of hollow trees. In no way could I get up a foot. There were no sticks inside to help me up, and I made up my mind I had to die certain. About the time I came to this conclusion I heard the old bear climbing up the outside of the stump. With only my hunting knife as a means of de- fense,-and in such close quarters, you may possibly imagine the state of my feelings. The old bear was not more than half a minute, at the out- side, climbing up the stump, but it seemed like a month, at least. I thought of all my sins a dozen times over. At last she reached the top, but she didn't seem to suspect my presence at all, as she turned round and began slowly descending, tail foremost. I felt as though my last hour had come, and I began to think seriously about lying down and let the bear kill me, so as to get out of my misery as quickly as possible. Suddenly an idea struck me, and despair gave way to hope. I drew out my hunting-knife and stood on tip-toe. When the bear was about seven feet from the bottom of the hollow, I fastened on her tail with my left hand with a vise-like grip, and with my right hand drove my hunting-

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knife to the hilt in her haunch, at the same time yelling like a whole tribe of Indians. What did she do ? Well, you should have seen the performance. She didn't stop to reflect a moment, but shot out at the top of the stump like a bullet out of a gun. I held on until we struck the ground. Then the old bear went like lightning into the brush, and was out of sight in half a minute. I took the cubs to Adrian the next day and got $5 apiece for them, and in those times $5 was as good as $50 now."

SCHOOLHOUSES AND CHURCHES.

The first school building was built on Section 26, in the old limits, the first in the present limits being erected on the present site of the Lutheran Church, Section 20. This was the first church built in the township, and was dedicated in the winter of 1871. The next one was on Section 5, belonging to the Evangelists. The first school was taught by Joseph Reasoner.

FIRST BIRTH, MARRIAGE, DEATH, ETC.

The first birth was that of Hannah Woodworth. She was born in the spring of 1839.

Mrs. Rachel Aldrich was the first person who died in the township; the date of her death was April 18, 1836. Theron Landon was the first resident of the township who was married. He was also the first Justice of the Peace. The first cemetery was started on Section 34, but was soon vacated, and another, now in use, started on Section 27, and called the "Town Cemetery."

VILLAGES.

Four villages have been started, but until the present time have amounted to very little. Since the railroad went through, Alvordton has taken a jump, and improvements are being made in the town every day. The names of the other places are, Primrose, Millcreek and Hamer. The first store was opened by Landon & Haines in 1853, at Hamer. A post office was kept at this place until 1874. The first saw-mill was erected in 1855, by George Berone. The store kept by O. S. Smith was de- stroyed by fire in 1873. This was the first building destroyed by fire in the township.

GENERAL FEATURES.

The township is drained by Mill Creek and its branches, and is the smallest township in the county. When Mr. Landon settled, he had his choice of going either to Adrian, thirty-seven miles, or to Brunersburgh, thirty miles, to get his milling done. Mr. Landon was a resident of Mill Creek Township until his death, which occurred in the fall of 1879. Of the earliest settlers, only a few remain.

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AMUSING INCIDENT.

Many stories could be told of the early settlers, but Mr. Landon used to tell of one amusing incident that happened to him, which does not look as there was "much fun in it." He was rolling a piece of plowed land, when he slipped and fell. Before he could rise, the roller passed up his legs, and rested in the hollow of his back. At this point the oxen, which were supplying the motive power, becoming conscious of an unusual resistance, and feeling no special inducement to move on, came to a halt, and began to chew the cud in placid enjoyment of an unexpected rest. Manifestly, it would not do for Mr. Landon to start them, for in that case the roller would inevitably pass over his head, to the great detriment of that valuable organ. He accordingly began to dig himself out as noise- lessly as possible, and he had almost succeeded, when the oxen advanced a step, and drew the roller across his shoulders. Thus pinioned, his only resource was to wave his legs silently in the air, in the hopes that some passer-by would be attracted by the unusual spectacle. This tedious maneuver was unsuccessful, but at the end of an hour some men at work in an adjoining field, wondering why the oxen should stand so long in one spot, and unattended, approached to ascertain, and the farmer was res- cued, out of breath, very dusty, but uninjured.

ALVORDTON AT THE PRESENT TIME.

Time with places, as with everything else, brings changes. So it is with the town of Alvordton. Since the railroad has been running through the place everybody is prospering; buildings are going up on every hand, some new business starting up every month. H. D. Alvord, in honor of whom the town is named, is Postmaster and Notary Public. Mr. Alvord has done more for the advancement of the town- than any other man, and at present is erecting one of the largest and finest stone and brick hotel buildings that can be seen in this section of the country, and one of which the citizens of Alvordton may well feel proud. It is far the best construct- ed building in the county, and we might say on this side of Toledo. The building is three stories in height and covers about forty-four by fifty- four feet of ground. The grounds around comprise three lots and are laid out with shade and evergreen trees. But one forgets to think of the outside when once he has entered the door. The interior of the house is simply elegant. The parlor and drawing room, both large rooms, can be thrown into one, at pleasure, having folding doors between them. The dining room is very large and handsomely finished. Single and double bed-rooms are sufficient to accomodate all who may stop at this house. William C. Gill, of West Unity, was the architect. The business men of Alvordton are as follows :

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Catlin & Treat, dry goods, groceries, etc. Their present stock of goods is very large and complete, consisting of a finely arranged stock of notions, a tasty assortment of dry and dress goods, while the shirting and jeans department cannot be beaten. A large portion of the shelving is filled with one of the best boot and shoe stocks in town. The counters are variously piled up with clothing, prints, cloths, muslins, etc., and the show cases are filled with an assortment of lighter articles belonging to this business.

Isaac Shaeffer, drugs, groceries, paints, etc. A fine apartment amply filled up for the purpose. The shelving on one side is filled with a large stock of prescription drugs, and everything else used by our medical men. On the opposite side is a complete assortment of every imaginable patent medicine, enough, if one-half of their ample promises were true, to for- ever banish disease from this suffering world of ours. A full line of groceries and paints is also kept. The show cases are filled with a tasty variety of the light articles incident to a business of this nature.

Shipman & Page, hardware, etc. The store of this firm is filled with an ample stock of shelf and heavy hardware, iron, stoves, etc. The ex- cellent variety of stoves embraces nearly every size, price and style, suit- ed to a country trade. They deal largely in wagon material and farm implements. A good tinshop is connected with the store.

William Keiser, butcher, carries on quite an extensive meat market, which has a large share of patronage. He is accommodating, and the people find him a clever gentleman to deal with.

William Cassel, harness dealer, deserves attention. He carries a full line of the stock goods incident to the trade, and, being a man of good business ability and an excellent workman, and as his class of goods are a staple, his success is assured.

PRIMROSE.

One mile north of Alvordton is the live little town of Primrose. Be- low we give the names of the different firms doing business at this place :

R. Gamble, dry goods, groceries, etc. This gentleman is a man of recognized business abilities. He has one of the best stocks in the county, and as good a trade as any other house in similar business. The business carried on embraces dry goods, notions, fancy goods, hosiery, gloves, shirts, under garments, laces, hats and caps, boots and shoes, crockery, groceries, etc.

Bricker & Stahl, hardware, etc. This firm is extensively and favor- ably known, although they have only been in business a few years. They keep a full stock of everything in their line, and customers cannot fail to be accommodated. Their trade is constantly increasing and they have a stock second to none in the county.

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William Moyer's nursery. This gentiman has at present the full trade in the nursery line, as he owns the only one in the county. Mr. Moyer has been located many years on this farm and has at present a fine lot of fruit and ornamental trees which he is selling at reasonable rates. For want of a hotel in the village Mr. Moyer accommodates the traveling public with board and lodging.

John Sampson keeps the post office and a full line of fruits and con- fectioneries.

A. A. Yagley is a practical boot and shoemaker, and understands everything connected with his trade. He uses nothing but the best material.

TOWNSHIP OFFICERS.

The Township Trustees of Mill Creek are : Silas Crum, Robert Newcomb and Thomas Moss. Township Clerk, G. W. Cassel. Town- ship Treasurer, John Bavin.

PHYSICIANS.

The doctors of Mill Creek Township are : Dr. William Noff, of Prim- rose, and Dr. A. Flora, of Alvordton.

SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS.

The first school building erected in School District No. 1 was in the year 1851. The first school teacher was Miss Sarah McClean. She is now living five miles east, at Fayette, having married Dr. Allen. A new schoolhouse was built in 1874. The teachers have been as follows : Sarah McClean, Marion Coman, Asher Axtell, William Ogle, Louis Baldwin, from 1857 to 1863; 1863, H. J. Heron; 1864, G. W. Cassel and H. J. Heron ; 1865, Aaron S. Fox; 1866, Amillia Snyder and G. W. Cassel ; 1867, A. M. Coman and G. W. Cassel ; 1868, Malinda Doty and A. Ayers; 1869, Louisa Amsbaugh and A. A. Baxter; 1870, Lizzie Doughton and L. Amsbaugh ; 1871, Sarah B. Doty ; 1872, T. C. Derbin and Malinda Doty ; 1873, Lloyd Mann and Homer Masters; 1874, S. B. Doty and Lloyd Mann ; 1875-76, James Mechan; 1877-78, Emma Gillett and Orlando Hershiser ; 1879-80, Anna Hansey ; 1881, Helen Smith ; 1882, Cassie Shilling.

District No. 2 commenced school in the year 1853; but the records have been destroyed, and we can only go back to the year 1870, when the present schoolhouse was erected. The cost of this building was $600. The teachers were as follows: 1870, S. B. Doty; 1871, John White and Lucy Champion ; 1872, Charley Hill and John M. White; 1873, Julia Spade and Homer Masters ; 1874, Julia Spade and C. W. Marvin ; 1875, Sarah R. Doty ; 1876-77, Adula Huffman; 1878, John B. Brad- hurst ; 1879, Adula Huffman ; 1880, O. H. Nill and John White; 1881,

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Hattie Lovelass and Olive B. Richardson ; 1882, Orlen Heshiser and Alice Stewart.

Districts No. 3, 4 and 5 have kept no record of teachers employed.

The first school in District No. 6 was taught in 1853. David Black was the first teacher ; Jacob Clay, Chairman ; Samuel Amsbaugh, Secre- tary of first School Board. Below we give the names of teachers from the commencement to 1881: 1854, Mahala A. Masters and M. H. Smith ; 1855, Anette Ely and M. H. Smith ; 1856, Sarah J. Baxter and M. H. Smith; 1857, Agnes M. Heron and Samuel Amsbaugh ; 1858-59, Ellen Grant and M. H. Smith. In 1859, the school was repaired and remodeled. 1860, Charlotte Cogswell and D. K. Bushong ; 1861, Anna Rings and M. H. Smith ; 1862, Mary A. McMahan and D. Booth ; 1863, D. Booth and Elanda Clay. In 1864, the board passed a resolu- tion to build a new school building, and the contract was given to Philip and George Widner for $600. The old school building was sold for $5. The next teachers were : In 1865, Theodosia Snyder and Martha Snyder ; 1866, Martha Snyder and W. H. Tiffany ; 1867, Martin Hart and M. H. Doty ; 1868, Miss S. Baxter and L. Baxter; 1870, Margaret Spade and L. Baxter; 1871, John Jones and Margaret Spade; 1872, W. B. Greek and Matilda Beck ; 1873, Marcus Moris. (No record for 1874.) 1875, James Crawford and George W. Finch; 1876, Elizabeth Bryan and F. Cooper ; 1877, Ellen Smith and William Baltosser ; 1878, Maggie Huffman and William Baltosser; 1879, Anny Hansey and D. C. Kim- mell ; 1880, Adula Huffman and H. C. Smith ; 1881, Alice M. Stewart and E. S. Gay.

NORTHWEST TOWNSHIP. BY WESTON A. GOODSPEED.

The territory embraced within the present limits of Northwest Town- ship belonged to that historic ground which, in early years, involved two States in what was known as the " Ohio and Michigan Boundary War." Bounded on the north by the Harris line, the one which Ohio maintained was the true boundary ; and on the south by the Fulton line, which Michigan claimed was the true boundary, the territory of Northwest, with the strip of land of which it was a part, became the subject of a protracted and bitter controversy, that was not adjusted until the year 1836, at which time Michigan lost the disputed ground, more from her lack of power to enforce her claim, than from any other cause. Had Michigan been as powerful, numerically, as Ohio, she, with that old hero, President Jackson, as her friend and supporter, would undoubtedly have se-

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cured the coveted territory. As it was, the entire strip between the Har- ris line and the Fulton line, became part and parcel of the Buckeye State.

OWNERSHIP OF LAND.

The situation of Northwest Township in the extreme corner of the county and State, and the fact that a portion of its territory was very low and wet in early years, postponed the settlement of the land until sur- rounding and better lands had been occupied and partially improved. It thus occurred, that nearly all the land in the township, except a few tracts of marsh, was entered by speculators and others, who never expect- ed to reside in the township, but who designed to hold possession until the soil had risen in value, when it was sold, not to other speculators, but to those who expected to become actual and permanent settlers. In 1841, the following men, so far as the records show, were the only land owners in the township: Calet Dodge, Township 4, Range 9, Section 12; Ben- jamin Joy, Township 4, Range 9, Section 10; Matthew Keith, Township 4, Range 9, Section 12; Israel Parish, Township 4, Range 9, Sections 9 and 15; Robert Talbot, Township 4, Range 9, Sections 10, 13 and 14. During the same year, the following were the only men who paid tax on personal property ; William Billings, Ozias Billings, James Knight, Richard Parish, Asa Parish, Adolphus Rogers and Thomas Whaley. These men, with perhaps a few others, were then the only residents of the township. At this time there was not a horse in the township, and only twenty-three cattle, valued at $184, the tax on the same being $2.42, all the tax paid that year, on personal property, by the township. In 1842, the following men owned land in the township : William Bancroft, James Beatholf, N. C. Baldwin, Amos Bigelow, Enos Beals, William Barnes, Edward Ripell, M. F. Baker, Lyman Brewer, Irvin Camp, Na- than Comstock, Calet Dodge, J. W. Devoe, Townsend Ellis, Russell For- sythe, Pliny Foster, Mr. Lester, Mr. Hance, W. P. Green, Benjamin Hornbeck, Jedediah Huntington, James H. Johnson, James D. Johnson, Benjamin Jey, Charles and Dwight Johnson, Matthew Keith, A. H. Morris, James M-ther, Israel Parish, G. L. Perkins, John Reed, F. Q. Root, Peter C. Rowe, M. Steely, Mr. Sumner, Stiles Stanton, Thomas Southard, Robert Talbot, J. F. Trumbull, James White, Oliver Prescott, W. R. Rodman, C. W. Morgan, Thomas Whaley, James White, William Watson, Lucius Watson, Noah A. Whitney, Horace Waite, Calvin Welcher and Jonathan Petty. In 1842, those who paid personal property tax (on horses or cat- tle), were J. B. Butler, William Billings, Ozias Billings, George Mat- thews, Richard Parish, Asa Parish, Adolphus Rogers, Thomas Whaley, Jr., and Thomas Whaley, Sr. Not a horse was taxed this year, and only

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twenty-one cattle, the tax being $2.35. At this time there were not more than twelve families living in the township.

THE FIRST SETTLER.

As near as can be learned, the first settler in the township was Aaron Burr Goodwin, about whose life a great deal of romance and mystery lingers. He was a man of fine education, was an excellent surveyor, and for years before the settlement of the township had been an Indian trader in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. He was possessed of a violent temper, which, when kindled, raged like a conflagration within him. He was brave, but cautious, and was wholly unscrupulous in his dealings, not only with the Indians, but also with the white settlers who were associated with him. He appeared in the township as early as the autumn of 1837, and might have been in a year or two before, as the exact time of his arrival could not be determined. He had taken two orphan children (a girl and a boy) from Cleveland, Ohio, to rear. The girl, Anna, afterward became the wife of Hiram Russell, who owned the land in the extreme northwest corner of the township, upon which the log cabin of Goodwin was located. The cabin was situated about forty rods northwest of the present residence of the old settler, Aldis Johnson, and was within about forty rods of the State lines of both Ohio and Indiana. Goodwin was an experienced gun-smith, and derived no little revenue from the Indians in tinkering their guns. He kept powder and lead, tobacco, calico, whisky and various trinkets and ornaments for the Indian trade. He kept just such things as the Indians must have, and, when his unscrupulous character and violent disposition are taken into considera- tion, the result of his constant intercourse with the red men may be easily guessed. His business was to take constant advantage of their wants by getting them drunk, and fleecing them to the uttermost farthing of their annuities and their valuable furs. He had many severe altercations with them, but managed to shield himself and his property from their attacks. It is said that he once shot an Indian whom he found stealing his potatoes, though this circumstance is purely traditionary. He told Aldis Johnson that on one occasion he succeeded in getting one hundred Indians drunk in the woods near his cabin, at which time he cheated them of large quan- tities of valuable skins and furs. One of the Indians, when thus drunk, was ugly, and wanted more whisky, but was refused. He drew his toma- hawk and struck a violent blow at Goodwin ; but the latter avoided the stroke, and sprang into the cabin, quickly closing and barring the door. The infuriated Indian split the door down with his tomahawk, but was driven away by the rifle of Goodwin. On another occasion a very un- tractable and savage Indian was cheated of an unusually large and fine

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bear skin, whereupon he threatened to kill Goodwin at the first opportu- nity. The Indian, whose name was Big Jack, was one of the most des- perate and revengeful of his band, and was greatly feared by Goodwin, who knew that he would lose no chance of putting his threat into direful execution. This threat and other hostile demonstrations from Indians who had been cheated and abused, rendered the situation of Goodwin precarious, and he became very cautious in all his movements. He scarcely dared to venture from his cabin at night, and was constantly on his guard during his cabin at night, and was constantly on his guard during the day. This led to the report that he was cowardly, but pre- cisely the reverse was the case. He was simply prudent. and had reason to be so. At last, when he found that Big Jack was slowly and stealthily getting the advantage of him, he offered Thomas Knight a $10 gold-piece to shoot the Indian, but the latter refused to commit the murder. Events went on without any serious occurrence until a short time afterward, when the removal of the Indians westward terminated the siege of Goodwin's cabin. Goodwin had formerly lived, it is said, near Jackson, Mich., where he had been an Indian trader. He was for a time mail-carrier in that section of country, and carried the valuables of Uncle Sam in his hat, if reports are reliable. After a residence in the township of some six or eight years, he moved to Iowa or Illinois. His subsequent move- ments are unknown.

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County of Williams, Ohio, Historical and Biographical, Part 50

Author: Weston A. Goodspeed, Charles Blanchard Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Number of Pages: 885

Author: Weston A. Goodspeed, Charles Blanchard
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 885