History of Crawford County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 64

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 64

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).

411

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

meet the note; time passed until three years rolled by, when Mr. Merriman wrote that at the next payment of the Indians of their an- nuities allowed by the Government he would have the money ready. Gardiner drove across with his wagon; the Government paid the In- dians in silver, and as fast as they were paid off they paid the accounts they owed Mr. Mer- riman, and when Mr. Gardiner returned he took with him over $2,700 in silver, the interest having been 40 per cent compounded annually. The Gardiner Bank is still running, and is now the Norwalk National, with John Gardiner as president, over 90 years of age, and at the of- fice nearly every day. Hetich & Miller were probably more modest in their interest charges, but still their only limit was what the customer would stand.

The exchange office was so successful, that one of the proprietors was known as the "rich Miller." On April 18, they started the Bucy- rus Bank, with a capital stock of $20,000. It was located in the old Ward building, then the Miller Block, where the Flohr shoe store now is. The owners of the bank were Paul I. Hetich, William W. Miller, George Quinby, Franklin Adams of Bucyrus; David Anderson of DeKalb, R. W. Musgrave of Sulphur Springs, Abraham Momnett of Crawford County, John Sherman, James Purdy and William S. Granger of Mansfield. Paul I. Hetich was president and David Anderson, jr., cashier. In 1856 the bank reorganized, He- tich, Miller, Adams and Musgrave becoming the proprietors. Paul I. Hetich was president, with George Quinby as cashier, succeeded by Gerard Reynolds and later in 1856 by Frank Patterson who held the position until Janu- ary I, 1861, when he was succeeded by David L. Fullerton, and on July 1, 1861, the bank discontinued business.

On Monday, April 21, 1856, the Exchange Bank commenced business in a frame building at the west end of the Quinby Block, with George Quinby as president and Gerard Rey- nolds as cashier. James B. Gormly had just completed a business course at the Cincinnati Commercial College, and entered the bank as teller. Mr. Quinby was at that time treasurer of the Ohio and Indiana road and the bank was a depository for the railroad funds. The stock of the road was very low, and the bank fre-

quently bought up the road's certificates at 5 cents on the dollar. The bank once bought of James McLean $2,000 of stock for $100. Later that same year the road was consolidated with the Ohio and Pennsylvania, and stock went up rapidly. The bank removed to No. 2 Quinby Block until Mr. Quinby could erect the three western rooms of his building and when these were completed the bank returned to the old corner. The bank discontinued business in the spring of 1861, Mr. Quinby went into other business and Mr. Reynolds entered the army, became major in the cavalry service and was killed while leading a charge at the battle of Roanoke, on June 25, 1864.

The Peoples Deposit Bank commenced busi- ness on Aug. 1, 1859, and has been in business ever since, the oldest bank in Bucyrus. It was organized by John A. Gormly and his son James B. Their room was the west room of the Rowse Block. John A. Gormly was president and James B. Gormly, cashier. One impor- tant affair occurred in this room. One day in cashing up they found the funds an even one thousand dollars short. There was no way to account for the loss except from an overpay- ment; there was but one transaction in which they believed the error could possibly have oc- cured; the man was seen, but he assured them there was no overpayment in the transaction. There was no proof and the bank fathered the loss. The father and son were both satisfied as to who had the money, but like the bankers they were, the soul of honor and integrity, they never hinted the name to any one, and the identity of the guilty person is known to but one man, the present president of the bank, who has carried the secret for over 50 years. In 1860 James P. Bowman built his block at the corner of Sandusky and Rensselear; the north room was fitted up expressly for the bank, and here it was moved to its new quar- ters in August, 1861. In August, 1862, the bank had $20,000 in gold, and the war had sent gold to a premium. Starting at a small per cent it had gone up to 6 and 8, and was constantly advancing. Finally the president wrote to a personal friend, the president of the Nassau Bank, in New York, asking advice, and he said they had better sell as "he did not see how it could possibly go any higher." In Au- gust of that year it had reached 14 per cent

412

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY

premium, and Mr. John A. Gormly went east to personally look over the situation, and while there sold at 15 per cent, premium, clearing $3,000. (Later gold reached $3.85.)

On May 28, 1864, the bank was reorganized as the First National Bank with a capital stock of $100,000, its number being 443. There were a thousand shares of $100 each, and there were 34 stockholders, and of these but two are still living, James B. Gormly and Benjamin Sears. They met on April 18, 1864, to organ- ize, and a committee of three consisting of John A. Gormly, James P. Bowman, and William M. Reid were appointed to report the names of seven directors. When the committee retired, Mr. Gormly regretted be- ing on the committee as he expected to be one of the new directors; Mr. Bowman ex- pressed a similar view, Mr. Reid said they cer- tainly ought to be on, and wrote the names of the seven directors, naming everyone himself; they were reported to the stockholders and promptly elected. These first directors were John A. Gormly, James P. Bowman, James S. Kerr, John Kaler, Horace Rowse, Benjamin Sears and John Monnett, Mr. Sears being the only one still living. The directors organ- ized by electing John A. Gormly president, and James B. Gormly cashier. By Jan. 2, 1865, there was another accumulation of gold, amounting to $1,500, and this was sold at $2.25 amounting to $3,375. In June, 1864, George C. Gormly entered the bank as assistant cashier. On May 8, 1868, John A. Gormly died and James B. Gormly became president with George C. Gormly as cashier. The charter was re- newed in 1884 and again in 1904. In 1893, the bank was officered by the Gormlys, James B. Gormly being president; his brother George C., vice-president ; John Clark Gormly, son of the vice-president, cashier, and James B., jr., son of the president, assistant cashier. Clark Gormly went into business at Cleveland, and was succeeded as cashier by James B. Gormly, jr., and on his death H. E. Valentine was cashier with Edwin G. Beal as assistant cashier. On the retiring of Mr. Valentine, Edwin G. Beal was elected cashier. While Mr. James B. Gormly is president the active duties of the office are cared for by his son-in-law, W H. Picking, one of the vice-presidents.

In 1867, John Scott, J. N. Biddle and R. W.

Musgrave, organized the banking house of Scott Biddle & Co., their bank being what is now the south room of the Deal House, the present office of the Bucyrus and Marion elec- tric. May 18, 1868, on the death of Mr. Mus- grave, his interest was transferred to Franklin Adams as trustee. In 1873 the bank was re- organized as the Scott & Adams Bank and so continued until Jan. 1, 1879, when the bank was discontinued, Mr. Scott going to Cleve- land.

On Dec. 12, 1881, the Monnett Bank was or- ganized, with a capital stock of $50,000, the following being the organizers: E. B., J. T., A. E., M. H., and M. W. Monnett, J. H. Malcolm, J. C. Tobias, L. H. Ross, and George Donnenwirth, every one being a son or son-in- law of Abraham Monnett, excepting Mr. Don- nenwirth. The bank was opened in the Miller Block, now the Flohr shoe store, and its first officers were E. B. Monnett, president; George Donnenwirth vice-president; M. W. Monnett cashier, W. A. Blicke assistant cashier. In 1892 it was reorganized as the Bucyrus City Bank with a capital stock of $60,000. By de- grees the Monnetts all disposed of their stock with the exception of J. C. Tobias, and George Donnenwirth became president, J. H. Robin- son, cashier, and W. A. Blicke as assistant cashier. In 1897 they bought the corner they now occupy and built the three-story brick. Mr. Donnenwirth has remained as president ever since his first election. Mr. Robinson be- came vice-president and W. A. Blicke, cashier. It is the only private bank in the city, and has resources of over a million dollars.

On Jan. 1, 1878, the Crawford County bank commenced business in the old Boeman Block, which stood where the present Second National Bank building is located. It was organized with a capital stock of $50,000 by Abraham Monnett, George W. Hull, L. W. Hull, E. Blair, and Lovell B. Harris of Upper Sandusky. Abraham Monnett was president; G. W. Hull, vice-president; L. W. Hull, cashier, and M. W. Monnett, assistant cashier. On March 19, 1881, Abraham Monnett died, and George W. Hull became president. On Jan. 1, 1885 it was reorganized as the Second National Bank, with G. W. Hull as president, M. J. Monnett, vice- president ; J. C. F. Hull as cashier ; W. P. Row- land, assistant cashier ; J. H. Robinson, teller.

413

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

On the death of G. W. Hull in 1890, M. J. Monnett became president, filling the position until he went west when E. Blair became presi- dent, a position he held until his death in June of this year, when G. K. Zeigler was elected. J. C. F Hull continued as cashier until he joined his brother-in-law M. J. Monnett, in the west, in 1907, when A. G. Stoltz became cashier.

The Farmers and Citizens Banking and Sav- ings Company was organized as a State bank on Oct. 5, 1907. The first board of directors was C. R. Rowe, R. O. Perrott, F C. Heinlen, Fred Schiefer, D. B. Eichelberger, Henry H.

Heiser, Samuel Fouser, James Decker, Jacob Bach, W H. Angene, A. S. Leuthold.

The directors organized by electing G. W Miller, president; Amos Keller and T. M. Kennedy, vice-presidents; H. E. Kiess, cashier, They opened in the Lake room in the Quinby Block on Jan. 6, 1908, and removed to their present room on May 9 of the same year.

Bucyrus has also two flourishing Building and Loan Associations which have been in ex- istence twenty years. The Bucyrus Building and Loan Association, with James W. Miller as secretary, and the People's Savings, Loan and Building Company, A. J. Richards, sec- retary.

USA

CENTRAL PART OF BUCYRUS, 1846

CHAPTER XXV

CITY OF GALION.

First House in Galion Pioneers of Galion-Arrival of Asa Hosford-His Enterprise- The Part Played by Col. Kilbourne in Locating Site of Galion- Various Names of the Early Settlement-Agreement Between Samuel Brown and John Ruhl-The Two Ga- lions-First Business Industry-Post Office Established-Postmasters-Coming of the Railroad and Subsequent Prosperity-Visit of Kossuth-The Part Played by German Settlers in Galion's Upbuilding-John Kraft-Population-Incorporation as a City- Public Buildings-Opera House-First Theatrical Entertainment-Religious Develop- ment-Schools-Societies-Graveyards and Cemeteries-Fire Department-Lighting System-Street and Sewer Improvements-Banks-Building and Loan Associations -- Hotels-Public Library-Police Department-Telephone Service-Honor to Galion's Founders.

Who'll press for gold this crowded street, A hundred years to come? Who'll tread yon church with willing feet, A hundred years to come? -ANONYMOUS.

The first known house erected on the pres- ent site of Galion was on the south bank of the Whetstone on Union street. It was of poles and bark and was built by the Indians, they having a village on that stream, and a few of their houses and wigwams were there when the first pioneers arrived. The first settlers came in 1817, and were Benjamin Leveridge and his two sons, Nathaniel and James. At that time there were a number of springs southwest of where the large central school building is, and here Benjamin Lever- idge and his sons cut down the trees and built a small log cabin, with one window and no floor, and as soon as it was under cover, an- other was built for James a short distance south, on what is now Grove avenue. The third was built for Nathaniel on what is now the public square, and he dug the first well. He had selected the high ground, and was com- pelled to carry his water at the start from the springs near his father's place; water was easily obtainable at a very little depth so he put in a well of his own.

The next year saw several more arrivals, David Gill and his brother-in-law, George Wood, John Sturgis, John Williamson, Na- thaniel and Nehemiah Story, and John Kit- teridge. In erecting a cabin for John Wil- liamson, southeast of the square, while raising one of the logs- into position, John Leveridge was killed, an unmarried son of Benjamin Leveridge. He was buried on the northeast corner of his father's land, where Boston street joins Main, and the first graveyard was started. Gill and Wood entered land north of the Whetstone, where they built their cabins. Sturgis built a small log cabin west of the Whetstone and north of the Galion road. When young Leveridge was killed, William- son left his cabin unfinished, returned to the Williamson settlement east of Galion, and later came back and built a new cabin. The Storys and John Kitteridge arrived late in the year, and took possession of the abandoned Williamson cabin, which they completed and here they spent the winter, the next spring building a cabin, on the east bank of the Whet- stone where the Galion road now crosses the river, Benjamin Sharrock came the same year, built a cabin near the Storys, where his family made their home until he could build on his

414

415

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

land further down the river, and when his log cabin was completed moved there with his family.

Benjamin Leveridge was the headquarters of the little settlement. The year 1820 saw the arrival of William Hosford, and his two sons, Asa and Horace; also, John Atwood, John Bashford, James Dickerson, Samuel Brown, Samuel Doney, John Dunmeier. Of these Brown, Dunmeier and Doney entered land outside of what is now Galion.

Settlers at a distance were now speaking of the settlement as Leveridge's, although it was only half a dozen log houses scattered over three or four square miles. Of these first settlers the Storys and Kitteridge devoted their time to hunting and trapping; George Wood was a carpenter and David Gill was a man of good education, but as there was as yet no use to which he could put his knowledge, he assisted his brother-in-law at carpentering.

James Kilbourne had surveyed a road from Columbus to Lake Erie known as the Colum- bus and Portland road, and when the survey reached what is now Galion he made overtures to the Leveridges to run the road over their land and lay out a town, but Leveridge did not take kindly to the giving of half the re- ceipts for the sale of the lots to Kilbourne, and besides he objected to cutting up his good farm land. Kilbourne stopped with Benja- min Leveridge for several days while survey- ing the road, and there was a dispute over the prices charged, so when the road was finally laid out it passed west of Benjamin Leveridge's land, along the east bank of the Whetstone, where the ground was low, and overflowed in the spring.

It was the idea of Col. Kilbourne to lay out a town half way between Columbus and the Lakes, and the ideal spot he found was on the high ground on the Leveridge land. Be- ing unable to make any arrangement with Leveridge, he continued north with his survey and he met Asa and Horace Hosford, who had come from the east and were looking for a location. He told them of an excellent site for a town, where the land was good, and if a part of the Leveridge land could be secured the town would be laid out there; if not the road would be changed so as to pass just west of that land. Asa Hosford was at that time

a young man of 20, and already showed signs of that strong force of character and shrewd business ability which were his predominating characteristics later in life. He and his brother went to the Leveridge settlement to look over the location. It was on Saturday, Sept. 19, 1819, that Asa Hosford and his brother Horace walked into what is now Galion, and went direct to the cabin of Ben- jamin Leveridge. Here they spent Sunday, and while Leveridge urged the young men to settle in that locality, he absolutely refused to give up any of his own land, but showed them other available sites. The Hosfords returned to Norwalk and spent the winter writing their father of the location they had selected, and in the spring of 1820 William Hosford, with his family, joined his two sons at Norwalk and they settled on the half section west of Leveridge, where later the Portland road was located, as stated it would be by Col. Kil- bourne. What is now Main street, Galion was a half section line, and where this line crosses the Portland road it was originally an old Indian trail that led to the Indian village at Upper Sandusky. This trail was developing into a road by being used by settlers going west to the new lands. At the junction of the Portland road and this pioneer road the Hosfords settled. William Hosford erected a double log cabin on the south side of the road a few rods east of the crossing, which he used for a dwelling and also for the enter- tainment of travelers.

Horace, one of the sons of William, erected a blacksmith shop on the southeast corner of the crossing just east of his father's, where he followed his trade. George Wood estab- lished a wagon and cabinet-maker's shop on the northeast corner; John Kitteridge a shoe shop and tannery on the northwest corner, and a little later William Hosford started a general store on the southwest corner. When William Hosford sold his double log cabin to his son Asa, he built another log cabin on the east side of the Portland road, just south of the crossing, and in this he lived until he built his store at the crossing, which was known by the various names of "Moccasin," "Horseshoe," "Hard Scrabble," "Spang Town," "Hosfords" and "Goshen." It was called "The Corners" from its location at the

416

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY

crossing of the two roads; "Hosford's Settle- ment," as there were three Hosfords there in business. These names were the popular names among the residents in that section. "Moccasin" and "Horseshoe" were names given it by the Indians, and referred to John Kitteridge's shoe shop and Horace Hosford's blacksmith shop, both largely patronized by the Indians. Spang Town and Hard Scrabble were names bestowed upon it by the residents of the settlement, or those who had land near the Leveridges, half a mile east, and were jealous of the town. The Leveridge settle- ment referred to it as a place where it was hard scrabbling to make a living, while those proud of the little cluster of houses spoke of it as a spang town in which to live. The name Goshen was given it by William Hosford in honor of his native village, which was Goshen, Litchfield county, Conn.

As the adjoining lands were entered and settled upon by the early pioneers, and the surrounding country became more thickly in- habited, the necessity of a post office became more and more apparent. Accordingly a peti- tion was signed by the citizens in 1824, and forwarded to the Post Office Department at Washington requesting that a post office be established at the "Corners," and that it be named Goshen, and that Horace Hosford be appointed postmaster.

John McLean of Cincinnati was postmaster general, and when he took that office in 1823 the department was in a very disordered and inefficient condition, and under him it was reduced to some system. In the early days post offices were always established near some section where there were a number of settlers, and long before a town or village was started, and the post office was given the name of the township in which it was located. In this county, the offices of Auburn, Chatfield, Lykens, and Whetstone were started for the convenience of settlers living in the neighbor- hood, and were named after the township in which they were located. At the time the re- quest was made for the name of Goshen, there were already six townships of that name in the state, and a post office of the same name in Clermont county. So the postmaster general wrote them it would only add to the confusion existing by establishing another

Goshen and suggested the name of Galion. And on June 24, 1825, the Galion post office was established with Horace Hosford as post- master. Just as the settlement was known by several names, so was the post office given several spellings, and in the files of the papers the records of the court house, and even the gazeteers prior to 1840, it is spelled sometimes with an "e" and sometimes with a double "1," but these spellings were all erroneous, as the post office department states the name has always been carried on their records as Galion, the same spelling as today. Where the Post- master General found the name, it is impossible to say; he objected to Goshen, on the ground of duplication, and now nearly a century has passed since he gave it its name, and nowhere in the United States is there a town of the same name; the nearest approach to it is a place called Galleon, about twenty miles from Paris, France. Even in the early days it was impossible to find a reason for the name. John Kilbourne, who published the first gazeteers in the State, and tried to give the origin of all names, in his Gazeteer of 1831, published the following: "Galion-the name of a post office in Richland county, supposed to be that in Sandusky township. It is one of that numerous class of worse than useless and insignificant names, which confound the nomenclature of towns and post offices in the western country."

The permanent arrival of Asa Hosford with his father and brother, in 1820 was the commencement of Galion, and for more than sixty years practically every interest and every improvement in that city found as its warmest supporter, and its recognized head, Asa Hos- ford. In times of emergency, and in times of depression all looked to him, and he re- sponded with all his vigor and his genius, and practically all that Galion is today it owes to Asa Hosford. And when the time comes, as come it will, that the city he builded lavs out some park, it would be only a just and fitting tribute to the memory of Galion's most pro- gressive citizens that it should be called Hos- ford.

In the next few years there was quite a settlement in that section; John Cracroft and Jacob Miller came in 1821 : Rev. James Dun- lap, William Murray, John Eysman, John

417

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

Hauck, John Jeffrey, Wm. Murray, Alexander McGrew and Rev. John Rhinehart in 1822; Owen Tuttle in 1823; James Auten and Na- than Merriman in 1824; William Neal, George Row, James Reeves, and John Schawber in 1825; John Ashcroft, Jonathan Ayres, Thomas Harding, Phares Jackson, and John Sedous in 1826; Francis Clymer and Rev. John Smith in 1828 and Samuel Gerbrecht in 1829. Many of these settled at the corners; others in the Leveridge part, and still others on farms near the two settlements.

When Asa Hosford, at the suggestion of Col. Kilbourne, endeavored to secure a part of the Leveridge land, a friendship was formed between the two which existed through life. Hosford had confidence the section was a site for a thriving town, but like Kilbourne he was satisfied the place was on the higher ground. But Hosford had no money, and Col. Kil- bourne had surveyed a new road from Colum- bus to Sandusky, eleven miles further west, and had laid out the town of Bucyrus. Hos- ford in the meantime assisted his brother in the blacksmith shop, and helped Wood at the carpentering business, and turned his atten- tion to whatever odd jobs he could secure. His father's double log cabin at the Corners was the largest building, and here travelers were given meals and lodging, but William Hosford had no desire to run a tavern, only caring for travelers as an accommodation, and in 1824, Asa Hosford took charge of the tavern, and his father built and opened a store. Asa Hosford ran a regular tavern, and being single his sister assisted him as the landlady. In 1825 he secured a permanent landlady by marrying Miss Alta Kent of Bucyrus, and he ran the tavern for several years. In the meantime he had saved $100, and with this he bought 43 acres on the higher ground to the east, on the advice of Col. Kilbourne, as both agreed this was the proper place for the town. He built a frame barn at the Corners, and later the first frame house in Galion, on the north- east corner of the Square. He did fairly well with his hotel, and in 1829 entered into nego- tiations with Samuel Brown to join with him and lay out a town.

In 1830 John Ruhl arrived with his family, a wife and five sons, Michael, Jacob. Levy, Henry and Peter, and a daughter Rebecca.

who later married Isaac Criley. When they arrived the Ruhls made their home at the Cor- ners in a log cabin without a floor. John Ruhl came from York county, Pa., where he had prospered, and for those days was wealthy. He was a man of good judgment and the strictest business integrity. He had the means, and purchased much of the land where the city of Galion now stands. The centre of section 31 is two blocks west of the Square, at the junction of Boston and Main street. The northeast quarter of this section he sold to his son Jacob, and the southeast quarter of the same section he sold to his son Michael. This land extended from Boston street east to South street. Near this land was the 43 acres owned by Asa Hosford. The northeast quar- ter was bought from Samuel Brown, and the contract between Ruhl and Brown for this quarter section is interesting :

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.

History of Crawford County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 64

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