History of Crawford County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 10

Author: Hopley, John E. (John Edward), 1850-
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago,Ill., Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1302

USA > Ohio > Crawford County > History of Crawford County, Ohio, and representative citizens > Part 10

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The Plains were so unhealthy from the dis- ease that lurked in the swampy ground that many an early settler abandoned his claim in disgust, leaving behind an empty cabin and a few unmarked graves of those of his family who died before he could leave the unhealthy spot. When Abraham Monnett reached Craw- ford in 1835, he states that on the Plains he could count at least 40 abandoned cabins of settlers who had given up the hopeless fight. It was impossible to get pure water in this region. Bourne says in his notes: "Nearly all the water I get by digging in the prairie is strongly impregnated with copperas; so much

so as to be very disagreeable to the taste." Along the river he writes: "There are many springs along the banks of the Sandusky river, below the high water mark, impregnated with sulphur, some with iron, and some with cop- peras, and some with all of these." When Nail made his trip in 1821, across northern Whetstone nearly to Bucyrus, and then north to the Cranberry marsh, he summed it up : "As long as we followed the army road the weeds were as high as the horses' heads, and from there the country was heavily timbered. We concluded this country would never be set- tled."

This was Crawford county in its crude state, just as nature had formed it, and before the hand of civilization had touched it. This was the land to which the early pioneers came, the wilderness which they transformed into the cultivated farms of today, with the rich fields of waving grain on every hand, and hun- dreds of miles of pikes to take the place of that solitary army road which wound its way through the swamps and forests of the virgin soil.

In 1809 Huron county was organized, which bordered on the seven eastern miles of Craw- ford's present northern boundary. In 1813 Richland county was organized, and included in that county was all of the present Auburn, Vernon, Jackson, the two eastern miles of Jefferson and the four eastern miles of Polk.

All of Huron and Richland counties had be- come open for settlement by the treaty of July 4, 1805, and settlers began taking up land in those counties. But settlement was partly stopped by the breaking out of the war of 1812. After peace was declared in 1815 the west- ward movement again commenced, and from Huron and from Richland the settlers drifted over into what later became known as the "Old Purchase," of which the seven eastern miles of Crawford were a part.

Prior to 1815 there had been whites resid- ing in this section. Not bona fide settlers, but hunters and trappers, who with the Indians wandered all over the region, erecting their small cabins, and making their living from the skins and furs they gathered during the sea- son. Many of these were men whose business was hunting and trapping. There were others who for some offense had fled from civiliza-

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

tion to find safety beyond the reach of all law. These were little better than desperadoes, and this class were the men who in the earlier days by their treatment of the Indians, stealing their horses, robbing their traps, and even shooting them without provocation, engen- dered much of the bitterness which later caused the savages to fall with barbarous cruelties on the innocent and harmless settler. Around the Plains were the bee-hunters, who in the sum- mer season traced the bees to their hiding places, marked the trees, and in the Fall gathered the honey. These were the first white residents of Crawford, and as the real pioneer came they went farther into the wilderness.

One of these hunters and trappers who built a home for himself and family in Auburn township, this county, was Jedediah Morehead; he was what was known as a "squatter," own- ing no land, but "squatting" wherever it was most convenient for his hunting. He was the first white man to build a real cabin for him- self in the county. He came with his wife and a large family of children, and built his prim- itive cabin on a narrow neck of land in Au- burn township on the Honey Creek, convenient to the marshes, where he trapped the beaver and the otter, the most valuable furs in those days, the skins of these animals having a mar- ket value of $5 to $8, the otter having the higher value. His cabin was of brush, bark, and small logs, and some of the old settlers of half a century ago were of the opinion he came there during the War of 1812; he was cer- tainly there in 1815, and probably in 1814, and his cabin, crude though it was, is reported as being the first cabin erected in the county. His business was exclusively hunting and trapping; he was on friendly terms with the Indians, and was sometimes absent for weeks at a time on his hunting expeditions, return- ing loaded with skins. He is also reported as having a cabin and living a part of the time in northern Vernon. He cleared no land, and when the real pioneer came he moved farther west with his family, but the site of his first cabin in Crawford county is still known as Morehead's Point.

John Pettigon was a soldier in the War of 1812, and during the latter part of the war he purchased a small tract of land in the southern portion of Auburn township; on this he built a

small cabin in 1814, and moved into it with his wife and family. He was the first land owner in the county, but he devoted his time to hunting and trapping. Like Morehead the support of his family was his rifle, the sale of furs procuring what necessaries of life the for- est would not furnish. He carried his furs on his back to Huron on Lake Erie, exchanging them for ammunition, salt and flour. He also had a cabin in northern Vernon, to be more convenient for deer. On what is known as the Cummins farm, in Vernon, was a deer lick, and here it was easy to secrete himself and kill the deer as they came to drink. His principal associates were the Indian hunters, and as the settlers began entering land in his section, he, too, left for the more unsettled western regions.

In 1815 the first real pioneer arrived in what is now Crawford county. It was William Green. He came from Massachusetts, and en- tered 160 acres of land in the southeastern part of Auburn township, section 27. He built his log cabin in the woods in the fall of 1815. Then he returned to Licking county, where he had left his wife and children with relatives or friends until he could prepare a home for them. He spent the winter in Licking county, and in the spring of 1816 came with his wife and family to their new home and commenced the work immediately of clearing the land and in the fall of that year gathered his first crop. His descendants are still residents of Auburn township.

. A man named Deardorff entered a quarter section in Auburn in 1815, on which he lived for several years and then sold out and moved away. About this time came Jacob Coyken- dall, settling in section 15 on a small stream in the eastern part of the township, which gave the stream the name of Coykendall Run. He became active in the affairs of the township, and early built a saw and grist mill on the little stream.

William Cole came in 1817, and remained a resident of the township until his death, leav- ing a large family of descendants, many still living in that section. Charles Morrow settled in Auburn the same year, but after remaining a few years he left.

In 1818, the new settlers were David Cum- mins, William Laugherty, Charles Dewitt, and

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY

the Bodleys-Levi, Lester, Jesse and John. Probably about the same time Henry Reif set- tled in the township, but no record can be dis- covered as to the date.

In 1819 Adam Aumend arrived with his wife and daughter, both named Mary. He was a shoemaker by trade, and was the first shoe- maker to work at his trade in the county, and after his day's work was done, in the evening and on rainy days he made shoes for his fam- ily and the neighbors. His land was 320 acres, which he purchased of Henry Reif at $2.50 per acre. It was in the northwestern part of the township. One of his sons, Adam, who came with him was a young man of age. Samuel Hanna came in 1819, and remained a resident of the township until his death, and the original land is still in the possession of his descendants.

Resolved White and his wife Lucy came in 1819. He was a lineal descendant of Peregrine White, the first Pilgrim child born in Amer- ica. He was born on the Mayflower while it was lying at anchor off Plymouth Rock. In an old New England Bible is the following rec- ord of this first birth: "Sonne born to Sus- anna Whie (White) Dec. 19, 1620, yt six o'clock morning. Next day we meet for prayer and thanksgiving." The record would seem to indicate that in those days the father was not of sufficient importance to receive men- tion. His name was William White. Re- solved White bought 160 acres of land of William Laugherty in section 29, a mile north of the present village of Tiro. It is still owned by his descendants.

In 1816 Aaron B. Howe came, one of the active men in the affairs of the township. He settled on section 16, and the second election in the township was held at his cabin in 1822.

In 1820 Rodolphus Morse came with his wife Huldah, and son Amos, an infant one year old. He purchased 160 acres of land in sec- tion 29 of William Laugherty at $3.75 per acre. Morse immediately took an active hand in township affairs, and in 1824 secured the establishment of a post office, which was called both Tiro and Auburn, and he was appointed Postmaster by President Monroe. The office was in his log cabin two miles north of the present village of Tiro, where it remained for many years.

John Webber and Palmer and Daniel Hulse

were settlers prior to 1820. The Hulses were brothers, and probably lived in the eastern part of the township, in what is today Richland county. They were active in the early affairs of the new township, gave it its name and the first election of township officers was held at the cabin of Palmer Hulse, on April 12, 1821.

Other early settlers were the Sniders and Kelloggs, as on Dec. 9, 1822, the first known wedding took place in the township when Sal- lie Snider was married to Erastus Kellogg.

In Vernon township the first early settlers were the two hunters, Jedediah Morehead and John Pettigon, both of whom built cabins in the northern part of the township and lived there with their families, but clearing no land; hunting and trapping their sole occupation, and on the arrival of early settlers they took their departure.

The first real pioneer in Vernon was George Byers, who built his cabin on or near the pres- ent site of the village of West Liberty in 1817 or 1818. He was more of a hunter than pio- neer. He trapped bears, wolves and foxes; in one winter he secured a hundred mink, be- sides many coons, a number of beaver and a few otter, the swampy regions in Vernon mak- ing it a home for these fur bearing animals, al- though, like bears, they were not very plenti- ful. He did some farming, as in 1820 he had several acres cleared, and as his occupation was chiefly hunting the size of the clearing in- dicates he had been there two or three years at that time. Andrew Dixon and David Ander- son are both reported as settling in Vernon in 1819. Both of these men became prominent in the affairs of the township, and many of the descendants of the Dixons are still in the township.

In what is, now Jackson township the first settler was Joseph Russell, who entered land about a mile south of the present town of Crestline, and built his cabin there in 1820. His entire tract was a dense forest, and his first work was to clear the land for farming purposes. Soon after he settled there another pioneer arrived in John Doyle, who entered a tract near him. Early pioneers mention two other families of whose names there is no rec- ord. Of one of these is handed down by the descendants of Christian Snyder, who settled in Jefferson township in 1817, the first fatal ac-

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

cident among the pioneers. In the clearing of the forest the first work of the pioneer was to fell the trees and cut them into logs; then the neighbors came willingly from miles around; the logs were rolled to one or more points in the clearing, piled into great heaps, and set on fire. The pioneer had cleared his ground, the neighbors had responded, and the fire started. The man himself was keeping watch to see that the logs were properly burned,-"mending up" it was called. The clearing was some distance from his cabin, and the wife, finishing her evening work, had gone to bed. In those days, a trail after game, a visit to some neighbor several miles distant, might take a man away from home for sev- eral hours, so there was no anxiety on the part of the wife when the husband was absent for a few hours. The next morning her husband not having arrived she started in search of him, and found that in attempting to keep the logs in position on the burning pile, one long heavy log had fallen, pinned him to the earth, and he was burned to death.

The first settler in the present township of Jefferson was Jacob Fisher, who came in 1816, settling on land he had entered, just south of the gravel bank of the Pennsylvania road. He bought the land for $1.25 per acre, and ar- rived in a two-horse wagon with his wife and eight children. His cabin was of unhewn logs, the usual crude structure, about 18 or 20 feet in length. He lived there until 1860, when he sold out and moved to the newer country of Missouri.

Westall Ridgley came to the township in 1816 or 1817. He came in a wagon with his wife and eight children, four sons and four daughters, some grown. He was well-to-do for those days and brought cattle and hogs with him and many useful articles for the household. He built a large cabin and was one of the prominent men in the early affairs of the county. His sons had no love for farm- ing, and spent their time in the woods on hunt- ing expeditions with the Indians, but they brought in the game for the support of the family. The girls were true pioneers, and were of much assistance in the house, and at times in the work of the farm in the busy sea- son. The forr daughters made the Ridgley

home the popular headquarters of the young men for miles around.

Christian Snyder came in 1817, settling on section 17, purchasing 160 acres of Jacob Fisher at $3 per acre, some of the land Fisher had entered the year previous at $1.25. The family consisted of himself, wife and eleven children. They drove through from West- moreland county, Pennsylvania, in a two- horse wagon, and from Mansfield he came ahead on foot to erect a cabin prior to their arrival. The old road from Mansfield started northwest from that place and after a few miles turned southwest, following almost the present Pennsylvania road from Mansfield to Crestline. When the family came to follow they took an old trail directly west from Mans- field, which for a time was passable for their wagon, but later became only a trail through the forest, so they were obliged to make a way for themselves through the woods, cutting down the small trees, and their trip from Mans- field to their new home north of Galion, took them nearly a month, and about a mile east of their destination they crossed the old army road they should have taken. However, the family were in plenty of time, as Snyder had experienced some delay in getting to his land, and the only part of the cabin built on their ar- rival was the foundation on which a rude floor had been laid, but on this floor, in the open air, they spent their first night, and awoke in the morning to find that a snow-storm had given them an additional covering of six inches. The arrival of the new settlers was soon known, and the neighbors responded, and the cabin was erected, and even the Indians made friendly calls and left venison and game for the newcomers.

In 1818 John Adrian settled west of the Snyders on section 13, the first Frenchman to make his home in the county. He did very little in the way of clearing his land, but started a distillery instead, the first in the county. He was a man of tremendous strength and it is reported of him that he could pick up a barrel and take his drink from the bung- hole. It is probable that the frequency with which he performed this feat for the astonish- ment of his neighbors, was the reason he be- came his own best customer, and his distillery

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY

became unprofitable and was discontinued. He became early a prominent man in that sec- Besides whisky was then only seven dollars a tion. barrel. Since that first distillery, whisky in this county has gone up very largely in price and gone down very largely in quantity.

About 1818 Lewis Leiberger settled about two miles north of Galion, and was joined in 1819 by James Nail, who entered 160 acres of Government land at $1.25 per acre adjoin- ing Leiberger's tract and made his home with the latter until the fall of 1821, when he mar- ried a daughter of William Brown, a sister of Mrs. Leiberger, walking to Delaware to get his license.

Other settlers in Jefferson prior to 1820 were Thomas Ferguson, J. S. Griswell, and Peter Beebout, all settling on the high ground near the Sandusky river.

The first settlers in what is now Polk town- ship were Benjamin Leveridge and his two sons, James and Nathaniel. They came in 1817, the latter part of their journey cutting their way through the woods. Benjamin Leveridge built his cabin on what is now At- wood street, near the springs; James built his on the ground which for so many years was the residence of David Mackey; Nathaniel built his on what is now the Public Square. His father and brother had water in abundance from the springs in their neighborhood, but on the high ground Nathaniel. had no water, and dug a well, and traces of this old well were found when the Square was improved in 1880.

George Wood and David Gill arrived in 1818, and settled north of the Whetstone, near the military road of 1812. They were brothers-in-law and came from Pennsylvania. Wood was a carpenter and Gill had a much better education than the average pioneer, and later taught school and became the clerical of- ficial for the township.

Benjamin Sharrock came in 1818, and built himself a temporary cabin in the western part of the city of Galion near where the Portland road crosses the Bucyrus and Galion road. Here his family lived while he walked every day to his land a few miles south, where on the banks of the Whetstone he built his cabin. to which he removed with his family, later building a saw and grist mill and a distillery.

On Saturday, Dec. 19, 1819, on foot, with his axe and his rifle over his shoulder, Asa Hosford walked into what is now the city of Galion, of which city, although not the foun- der, he became the father. He was accom- panied by his brother Horace, and they stopped with Benjamin Leveridge. Horace Hosford erected a blacksmith shop at where is now the crossing of the Portland and Galion road. Asa Hosford later built a saw and grist mill on the Whetstone, southwest of Galion, still known as Hosford's mill.

Samuel Brown and his son Michael came in 1819, settling on section 27, now the Beltz farm three miles west of Galion. One of his daughters married Lewis Leiberger and an- other James Nail.

In 1818 Nehemiah Story came with his fam- ily; his son Nathaniel was of age, and with them was Father Kitteridge. The first winter they occupied a cabin belonging to John Leveridge, southwest of the Public Square, and the next Spring Nathaniel's home was west of Galion on the brow of the hill on the north side of the Galion road, which had been oc- cupied by a man named Sturges. Father Kit- teridge made his home with Story, and devoted all his time to hunting. Other ar- rivals about this time were J. Dickerson, whose cabin stood on what is now the Gill property on West Main street. David Reid and a man named Pletcher were also there.

In 1819 Disberry Johnson came to Polk township, numerically the "star" pioneer of the county. He came to Ohio after the war of 1812, settling in Harrison county. His wife died leaving him a widower with six children. He married a Mrs Cooper, a widow with six children. By this marriage there was six chil- dren, and Johnson decided to move to a new home. One of his daughters was married, so he started with his wife and his five original children, the six Cooper children, and the six Johnson-Cooper children, nineteen in all and- they settled on section 26, just east of William Brown. Johnson was prominent in the town- ship, was Justice of the Peace for many years, and died in 1868 at the advanced age of 104, leaving many descendants all over the county.

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

In 1819 Samuel Knisely settled in Sandusky township, and since that date the Kniselys have been prominent in the county, a descendant, Richard Knisely, being president of the Craw- ford County Pioneer Association for years. James Gwell is reported as settling in San- dusky in 1819 and a man named Elder in 1820. Samuel Shull settled in Sandusky township in 1820.

No record is found of any pioneer in Cran- berry township prior to 1820; many hunters had been all over this region, notably More- head and Pettigon, living in huts of bark and brush, but the tide of immigration had ignored it, and it was still a swampy, virgin soil, the home of the rattlesnake and the beaver, and the hiding place for wild game, with its only product an annual harvest of cranberries.

The eastern portion of the present county had been purchased from the Indians in 1805, surveyed in 1807, but owing to the Indians and the War of 1812 the taking up of this land was delayed, but from 1815 on these lands became settled, and the pioneers in their west- ward march cast their greedy eyes on the hunting grounds reserved to the Indians just beyond, which included all of Northwestern Ohio, in this county that reservation being two miles in Cranberry, and all of Liberty and Whetstone; Lykins, Holmes and Bucyrus, Texas, Tod and Dallas.

In 1817 Lewis Cass and Duncan McArthur, met with the sachems, chiefs and warriors of the Wyandot, Seneca, Delaware, Shawanese, Pottawatomie, Ottawa and Chippewa tribes, at the foot of the rapids of the Maumee, and on Sept. 20. 1817, a treaty was signed by which the United States secured all this land, all of northwestern Ohio, barring a few reservations. The sections of the treaty relating to Craw- ford were as follows :

Article II .- The Wyandot tribe of Indians, in consideration of the stipulations herein made, on the part of the United States, do hereby forever cede to the United States, the lands comprehended within the following lines and boundaries: Beginning at a point on the southern shore of Lake Erie, where the present Indian boundary line intersects the same, be- tween the mouth of Sandusky Bay and the Portage river, thence running south* with said line to the

*The line passing through Crawford was the present dividing line between Sandusky, Jefferson and Polk on the east and Liberty and Whetstone on the west. In Cranberry the line ran about one and a half miles east of the present western boundary of that township. 4

line establishedt in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five by the treaty of Greenville which runs from the crossing place above Ft. Laur- ens# to Loromie's store; || thence westerly with the last mentioned line to the eastern line of the reserve at Loromie's store; thence with the line of said re- serve north and west to the northwest corner there- of; thence to the northwestern corner of the reserve on the river St. Mary's at the navigable head there- of; thence east to the western bank of the St. Mary's river aforesaid; thence down the western bank of said river to the reserve at Ft. Wayne; thence with the line of the last mentioned reserve, easterly and northerly, to the river Miami* of Lake Erie; thence down on the north bank of said river to the western line of the land ceded to the United States by the treaty of Detroit, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seven; thence with the said line south to the middle of said Maumee river, and easterly with the linc of the tract ceded to the United States by the treaty of Detroit aforesaid, so far that a south line will strike the place of beginning.

Article III .- The Wyandot, Seneca, Delaware, Shawanese, Pottawatomie, Ottawa and Chippewa tribes of Indians accede to the cession mentioned.

Article VI .- The United States agree to grant by patent, in fee simple, to Doanquod, Howoner, Ron- tondee, Tanyau, Rontayau, Dawatont Manocue, Tauyandautanson, and Haudawaugh, chiefs of the Wyandot tribes, and their successors in office, chiefs of the said tribes, for the use of the persons, and for the purposes mentioned in the annexed schedule, a tract of land twelve miles square, at Upper San- dusky, the center of which shall be the place where Fort Ferree stands; and also a tract of one mile square, to be located where the chiefs direct, on a cranberry swamp on Brokensword creek, and to be held for the use of the tribe.

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History of Crawford County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 10

Author: Hopley, John E. (John Edward), 1850- Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago,Ill., Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1302

Author: Hopley, John E. (John Edward), 1850-
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago,Ill., Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1302