USA > Ohio > Hancock County > History of Hancock County, Ohio : containing a history of the county, its townships, towns portraits of early settlers and prominent men, biographies, history of the Northwest Territory, history of Ohio, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc > Part 46
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 | Part 102
In 1835 Jacob Powell put up a saw-mill on Tiderishi Creek on the site of Willow Creek Station in Section 5. It was operated for many years. Isaac Smith built a saw-mill on Eagle Creek, close to his residence, in 1852, which was running till 1876, his sons taking charge of it at his death in 1869. Some three years ago Jacob B. Smith put up a steam saw-mill a short dis- tance southwest of the old site, which he now operates. A steam saw-mill was built by the Blymyers on the Lima road in Section 8, many years ago, and is still carried on by one of that family. In 1860 Henry and Albert Shank and Augustus Sheffield erected a steam saw-mill on the corner of Mr. Shank's farm in Section 1, which ran till a couple of years ago. G. W. Rinehart had a saw-mill on his farm, but it, too, has ceased operations. Doubtless other small saw-mills have been owned and operated in this town- ship, but the foregoing are those best known and remembered.
Early Education .- In 1834 the first schoolhouse in the township, a small log building, was put up near Eagle Creek, John D. Bishop, Benjamin O. Whitman, Coonrad Line, Jacob Sharp, Amos Crum and some of the Woodruffs being the principal movers in the enterprise. They engaged Miss Rachel McBride to teach, and throughout the winter of . 1834-35, the few children of this locality tramped through the snow-covered forest to this primitive building. In 1838 another small schoolhouse was built on the cor- ner of Jacob Powell's farm; and a year or two afterward a school building was erected on Section 15. The township had now three schoolhouses, and in a few years others made their appearance. These rude log structures soon gave way to frames, and to-day Eagle Township contains nine first class brick schoolhouses, not surpassed by those in any other township of the county, while the standing of the schools is excellent.
Religious Societies. - Though religious services were held quite early in this township, no organization was effected for about ten years after the first settler built his cabin on Eagle Creek. A society of the Evangelical Associa- tion was then organized in the Powell Settlement by Jacob, John, Henry and Samuel Powell and their wives, Peter and Jacob Feller and wives, and per- haps a few others. They erected a church on the farm of Jacob Powell. It was constructed of planks placed upright, and then weather-boarded. In
416
HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
1875 it was superseded by the present brick building. The old structure is now doing service as an outhouse on the farm of Mr. Jacob Powell. A class of the Methodist Episcopal denomination was organized at the house of Joseph D. Keller, by Rev. Wesley J. Wells, about 1845. The seven organ- izers were Joseph D. Keller and wife, Joseph Oman and wife, Polly Houde- shell, Margaret Harris and Ara Rinehart. In 1851 a frame church was built on the farm of Mr. Keller, which served the congregation until the erection of the present handsome brick structure in 1872. The third church building was erected by the United Brethren society on Section 26, in 1854, on the farm of Adam Woodruff. This society was organized a few years be- fore, Mrs. Coonrad Line, Isaac Decker and wife and some of the Woodruffs being among its principal supporters. Their first church was a small hewed-log building, which after about ten years was succeeded by " Pleasant Grove " Church, erected on Section 13. The Lutherans also organized a society and put up a church about the same time as the Methodists and United Brethren. Two other societies have been organized and build- ings erected, viz. : the German Reformed and Methodist Episcopal Churches, near the center of the township, but neither has been used for some time, and both societies are doubtless extinct.
Justices. - The following justices of the peace have served the people of Eagle Township since its organization: Benjamin O. Whitman, Jacob Powell, William Williamson, Jacob Miller, W. W. Hughes, John Miller, Henry Bishop, John Swank, Peter Bender, John Wise, John Croft, Abra- ham Keel, Peter H. Powell, L. W. Scothorn and Jacob B. Smith. The last mentioned and Peter H. Powell are the present incumbents of the office.
Towns and Postoffices. - This is purely an agricultural township, pos- sessing neither village nor hamlet, though an attempt at "town making" was undertaken nearly fifty years ago. On the 30th of September, 1836, Martin Hollabaugh, who had settled in the southeast corner of Eagle the year previous, laid out a village on the southeast quarter of Section 36, Eagle Township, and the southwest quarter of Section 31, Jackson Town- ship, which he recorded as Martins Town. He opened a general store, which he carried on till his death in 1837. If he had lived, a small town might have sprung up here, but his death destroyed all such prospects, and Martins Town never emerged from its shell.
Clements postoffice was established at the house of Amos Crum, on Sec- tion 13, in 1845, with Mr. Crum as postmaster. Upon his death Mrs. Crum attended to the office, and she was succeeded by John Crossly, of Jackson Township, to whose house the office was removed. Noah Sherrick, of Jackson, succeeded Crossly, and in 1858, John Swank, of Eagle, became postmaster. In 1862 he moved across the road into Jackson Township and held the office until its discontinuance in 1866.
The Lake Erie & Western Railroad crosses the northeast corner of the township, and Willow Creek is a flag station located on Section 5, for the accommodation of that neighborhood. The township possesses no other railroad facilities, though Findlay, Rawson, Mt. Cory, Jenera and Arlington are within easy communication for shipping purposes. There is, perhaps, no township in Hancock County that excels Eagle in improvements and gen- eral appearances. Fine houses and barns greet the eye on every section, while there is not a foot of land but what is rich and subject to cultivation. Nature has done much for this part of the county, but the energy and en- terprise of its citizens have in a great measure improved nature's handiwork.
417
JACKSON TOWNSHIP.
CHAPTER XVII.
JACKSON TOWNSHIP.
ERECTION OF THE TOWNSHIP AND ORIGIN OF ITS NAME-AREA, BOUNDARIES AND POPULATION-DRAINAGE AND SOIL-FIRST SETTLERS-GOING TO MILL -JUSTICES-SCHOOLS-CHURCHES-TOWNS AND POSTOFFICES.
TACKSON was one of the earliest settled townships of Hancock County, and the fifth erected and organized. On the 7th of December, 1829, certain residents of Amanda and Delaware Townships petitioned the board of commissioners to erect Township 1 south, Range 11, into a new politi- cal subdivision to be named Jackson, which request was accordingly granted. The name was chosen in honor of Gen. Andrew Jackson, elected the pre- vious year to the Presidency, who had many warm admirers in this part of the county. No change occurred in its territory till March 5, 1845, when the commissioners ordered the eastern tier of sections, from 1 to 36 inclu- sive, to be attached to Amanda. Since that time Jackson has contained thirty sections, or an area of 19,200 acres. It is bounded on the north by Find- lay and Marion Townships, on the east by Amanda, on the south by Dela- ware and Madison, and on the west by Eagle. In 1840 its population was 631; 1850. 830; 1860, 1,272; 1870, 1,209, and 1880, 1,338, or more than 44 inhabitants to the square mile.
The Blanchard River enters the southeast corner of the township on Section 35, thence passes northeastward into Amanda, and meandering up the western side of that subdivision, crosses back into Jackson near its north - east corner. It thus assists in draining the eastern side of this township. Lye Creek rises in Madison Township, enters Jackson on Section 32, and, winding in a general northeast direction, strikes the northern line on Sec- tion 3; thence turns to the northwest, and passing onward empties into the Blanchard a short distance east of Findlay. A small run flows into Lye Creek from the southeast, affording good surface drainage between that stream and the Blanchard. The western part of Jackson drains mainly into Eagle Creek, which flows northward along the eastern side of Eagle Town- ship. Good water is readily found in every part of this subdivision. The timber in Jackson is generally the same as found in other portions of the county, differing only as to the amount of each particular kind. Along the streams the soil is a vegetable loam, mixed with alluvial deposits; while away from the water courses it is a clay and sandy loam soil, with a gravel mixture in some places. Taking it as a whole, the soil of Jackson will com- pare favorably with the surrounding townships.
First Settlers .- On the 21st of November, 1823, Peter George, the " pio- neer land hunter," entered the east half of the northeast quarter of Section 35. which was the first entry made in the township. He, however, became a settler of Amanda. William J. Greer entered the east half of the south- east quarter of the same section, adjoining George's entry on the south,
418
HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
December 10, 1823, but he subsequently settled in Delaware Township. The next entry was made by Mordecai Hammond May 30, 1827. He took up the west half of the northeast quarter and the west half of the southeast quarter of Section 35, upon which he located the following autumn, and was therefore the first settler of Jackson Township. Mr. Hammond was born in Maryland April 27, 1791, removed to York County, Penn., and there mar- ried Zilla Gilbert, a native of that State, and in 1826 located in Pickaway County, Ohio. In the fall of 1827, with his brother-in-law, Aquilla Gilbert, he left Pickaway County and took up his abode on the east bank of the Blanchard, in Section 35. In April, 1828, he took part in the first county election of Hancock, and in October, 1829, was elected county commissioner, and served one term. In 1842 Mr. Hammond was appointed associate judge, which position he filled seven years. Nine children were born to him, of whom six survive, and four reside in this county. Judge Hammond died on the old homestead in Section 35, February 25, 1855, his widow sur- viving him nearly twenty-two years, dying February 4, 1877, in the eightieth year of her age. Throughout his residence in this township, Judge Ham- mond was regarded as an upright, worthy man, and one of the leading citi- zens of his adopted county.
Alpheus Ralston is believed to have been the next to locate in this sub- division. In September, 1829, he entered the southwest quarter of Section 7. upon which he settled permanently in October, 1830, where he has ever since resided. He is a native of Rockingham County, Va., born in June, 1801, whence he removed with his parents to Wood County of that State. In 1826 he came to Pickaway County, Ohio, where he soon afterward mar- ried Miss Elizabeth Williamson, sister of Mrs. Thomas Thompson, whose husband was the first settler of Amanda Township. After a residence of some four years in Pickaway County, Mr. Ralston, with his wife and two children, removed to the farm, upon which he has spent fifty-five years of his life. His cabin was at that time in the heart of a wilderness; a rude wagon track led through the forest to Findlay, and his nearest neighbors were about three miles distant. His first wife dying he married her sister, Julia A. Williamson, who yet survives. Eight children were born to him, four of whom are living. Mr. Ralston is now the oldest surviving pioneer of Jack- son Township.
In 1831 Henry and Jacob Cooper, with their mother and one sister, came from Fairfield County, Ohio, and built a cabin in Section 14. Henry was but fourteen years old, when his father died and the care of the family largely devolved upon him. As an illustration of some of the hardships undergone by the pioneers, the following was often related by Mr. Cooper during his life-time. Soon after settling in this county, he started one morning on a trip to Findlay, with William Ebright and son,. Philip. The ground was covered with snow, and the journey was made in a sled. They had to cut out a road with their axes as they went along, and by hard work were thus enabled to reach the cabin of Michael Myers, in Section 28, Mar- ion Township, about dark. Here they spent the night sleeping on the clay floor of Myers' cabin, and the next morning resumed their journey to Findlay, where they arrived before noon, the whole distance traveled being only about seven miles. Henry Cooper married a sister of Nutter Powell, and both died on the old homstead. Jacob removed to Indiana.
The Williamsons came to the township in 1831, from Pickaway County,
419
JACKSON TOWNSHIP.
Ohio. Aaron settled in Section 6, where both he and his wife, Margaret, re- sided till death. Five of their children are residents of the county. Levi and his mother located in Section 18, immediately south of Mr. Ralston, his brother-in-law, but subsequently removed across the road into Eagle Town- ship. The mother died here, and in 1857 he sold out and went to Iowa.
During the succeeding four years Jackson Township received several fami- lies, viz. : the Tisdalls, Hemrys, Petermans, Hoys, Biblers, Newells and Bears. Mrs. Tisdall, with her sons, James and Lucian, settled in Section 18 in 1832- 33, but in a few years removed from the county. Henry Hemry, with his wife, Sarah, and eight children, some of whom were full grown, settled in Section 3 in the spring of 1834. He was a native of Virginia, and removed to Carroll County, Ohio, where he married and lived until his coming to Hancock. He accumulated a large amount of land in this county, though he died about five years after settling on Lye Creek. Six of his children are residents of Hancock County. John and Mary A. Peterman came from Holmes County, Ohio, in 1834, and built their cabin in the southwest quarter of Section S, where he died in 1862. Three of his sons live in this township. Abraham Hoy settled in Section 21, but died in Findlay. Abraham and Elizabeth Bibler came here from Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1835, their son, David. having preceded them the previous year. They settled in Section 17, where the parents died. Two of the sons, John and David, are leading citizens of Jackson. William Newell, a son-in-law of Abraham Bibler, came the same time, and also settled in Section 17. The family removed to Putnam County, Ohio, some years ago. William was an elder brother of Joseph and James Newell, who came later. Samuel Bear, of York County, Penn., lo- cated east of the Biblers, and both he and his wife died upon the farm, which they settled. Mrs. John C. Hayes, of Jackson, is one of their children. Other settlers of this period were Rufus Bennett in Section 10, in 1834; Simeon Butler in the same section, in 1835; and the Maphets in Section 9 during the latter year, all of whom are well remembered.
In the spring of 1836, Levi and Eli Sampson, natives of Baltimore County, Md., came from Richland County, Ohio, and settled in Sections 22 and 23, re- spectively, erecting their cabins across the road from each other. In 1851 Levi was appointed associate judge, which position he held until the spring of 1852, when, under the operation of the new constitution, the office was abolished. Judge Sampson possessed a very limited education, but he had a great deal of strong common sense and practical experience. He was a genial, whole- souled man, familiarly called "Sunny" Sampson, synonymous with that warm friendly good-nature, which he always exhibited. At the time of his death, March 13, 1879, Judge Sampson was regarded as one of the wealthy farm- ers of the county. Eli resided on his farm till 1876, when he removed to Mt. Blanchard, where he is at present living.
James Newell, with his mother, Barbara, and three sisters, Sarah, Eliza- beth and Salome, settled in the township in 1835. The parents removed from Shenandoah County, Va., to Fairfield County, Ohio, when the sons were quite small, where both grew to manhood. Joseph and his wife came to the township a short time after James and the rest of the family, William having also settled here in 1835. James and Joseph located on adjoining farms in Section 8. The Newells were among the first Methodists of this part of the county, and were prominent in organizing the Methodist Epis- copal Church of their neighborhood, the first building being erected on
420
HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
land donated by Joseph for that purpose. The mother died here and James and family left the county prior to the late war. Joseph married Bar- bara, a daughter of Abraham Bibler, raised a family of seven children and still lives on a part of the old homestead.
In 1836 and 1837, James Shelden, Jacob F. Houck, William Harris and John Orwick settled in the township. Mr. Shelden, his wife, Mary, and seven children came here from Belmont County, Ohio, in the fall of 1836 and built their cabin in the south part of Section 23. The parents, who were Pennsylvanians, died on the old farm, but some of their children are residents of the county. Jacob F. and Eva Houck, natives of Balti- more County, Md., settled in Section 27. In 1853 he laid out North Liberty, which is better known as Houcktown. William and Nancy Harris came from Columbiana County, Ohio, about 1836, and both spent their lives in this township. Several of their descendants reside in Delaware Township, where their son, Jacob, died in 1880. John and Margaret Orwick and family, natives of Pennsylvania, came to Hancock County in the fall of 1835, and in 1837 located southwest of the site of Houcktown. Mrs. Orwick died in 1840, and he afterward married a Mrs. Franklin, and died in this township. Two sons, Jacob and George, and two daughters, Mrs. David Bibler and Mrs. John Russell, are residents of Jackson. Some. other settlers, doubtless, came in during the ten years from 1827 to 1837, among whom were John Treese, Benjamin Wiseman, John, Henry and Sylvester Bell, Reuben Fabun, Hathaway R. Warner and Thomas Marlow; but our list embraces those best remembered by the few living pioneers left to tell the tale of early settlements made in the forest of what is now Jackson Township.
Going to Mill .- The territory now embraced in Jackson Township has never possessed a grist-mill, and the settlers had to go to Wolford's mill in Delaware Township, Campbell's (now Carlin's) mill at Findlay, Bishop's mill in Eagle Township, or Misamore's mill in Amanda, to get their grind- ing done; while some patronized mills located outside the county. Prior to 1845 Misamore's mill was in this township, but in that year the eastern tier of sections was attached to Amanda, and thus Jackson lost the mill. Aquilla Gilbert says: "The first hand-mill in the southern part of the county was owned by Godfrey Wolford, of Delaware Township, and Judge. Hammond (with whom I resided throughout the winter of 1828-29), and I used to go to Wolford's three times a week to grind corn meal-the only sort of grain we then possessed." The present generation can scarcely realize the great boon a neighborhood mill was fifty years ago. In fact, a settler who came in and erected a grist-mill was looked upon as a benefactor. But those days of privation have long since passed away never to return, and good mills and good flour are plentiful.
Justices. - Aquilla Gilbert, the first justice of Jackson, was thrown into Amanda Township in 1845, and a sketch of him will be found at page 359. His successors have been George Hemry, Joseph Twining, Arthur Russell, Charles O. Mann, John Teems, Andrew W. Houck, D. W. Engle, Joseph S. Struble, James Waltermire, Henry Bowers, Thomas Waltermire, Eli J. Shelden, Israel Sampson, John C. Hayes and Henry Bowers.
Schools .- In the fall of 1832, a few settlers living along the Blanchard in Jackson and Amanda Townships, erected a log schoolhouse in Section 13, on the east bank of the Blanchard, then in Jackson Township, and employed
421
JACKSON TOWNSHIP.
Aquilla Gilbert to teach throughout the winter of 1832-33. "I was paid," says Mr. Gilbert, "by a voluntary quarterly subscription at $1.50 per scholar, and I boarded at home. The children came from both Jackson and Amanda, as the country was very sparsely settled." In 1834-35 a school was taught by Nancy Burns at the house of Alpheus Ralston, which was the first in the township west of the Blanchard. The Ralstons, Petermans, Crums and Williamsons attended here. A log schoolhouse was built on Mr. Ralston's farm in the fall of 1835-36, and a school was afterward taught here by Miss Julia Parker. Their second teacher was Miss Jane Wilson, and the children of the surrounding settlers patronized this pioneer institution. Such was the beginning of education in the township, which now contains nine good schoolhouses, wherein the children of both rich and poor may re- ceive a fair English education.
Churches .- In 1835-36 a class of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in the northwest corner of the township, the Newells being the prime movers in this good work. For a few years the society met at private houses and the old log schoolhouse, and then erected a building in the southwest corner of Joseph Newell's farm. This was the first church build- ing in the township, and served the congregation for many years, when it was succeeded by the present structure, half a mile north of the old site. With the passing years the Methodist Protestant, United Brethren and Bap- tist denominations organized classes, each of which have a church in Jack- son Township. That of the United Brethren stands in Section 14, the Bap- tist in Section 20 and the Methodist Protestant in Section 23. During the political excitement of the war, the Methodists became divided, and to har- monize the two elements the Christian Union Church was afterward organ- ized, and a building erected in Section 30, near the west line of the town- ship. The Methodist Episcopal denomination has two church buildings in Jackson Township, and is quite strong in numbers.
Towns and Postoffices .- Martins Town was laid out by Martin Holla- baugh, September 30, 1836, in the southwest quarter of Section 31, extend- ing across the range line into the southeast quarter of Section 36, Eagle Township, where Mr. Hollabaugh lived. Nothing ever came of this first at- tempt at town building, and the recorded plat is all that remains to show that such place was ever contemplated. Early in 1838 a postoffice called Martins Town was established at the house of Hathaway R. Warner, in Section 31, on the Bellefontaine road. Mr. Warner was postmaster till 1846, when the office was removed to Arlington.
April 20, 1853, Jacob F. Houck laid out fifteen lots in the north- west corner of Section 27, which he recorded as North Liberty. Two addi- tions have since been made to the plat. About three years after the town was laid out a postoffice named Houcktown was established here, with Robert Davidson as postmaster, and the village thus began to be called Houcktown, by which it is most familiarly known. Mr. Davidson's successors have been as follows: J. R. Babcock, John Garst, Israel Sampson, Eli Gorsuch, John Ebaugh, David Beagle and H. L. Hatcher. Though located in the center of a rich agricultural district, North Liberty has never made much progress. Its business interests consist of one general store, a grocery store, a saw and shingle-mill, a wagon factory, a blacksmith shop, a shoe shop and one phy- sician. There are also a schoolhouse and a church within its limits. The official census of 1880 gave the village a population of 112, and there has been since no perceptible increase.
422
HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
Clements postoffice, established at the house of Amos Crum in Eagle Township in 1845, was upon Mr. Crum's death attended to by his widow. John Crossly and Noah Sherrick, both of Jackson Township, were the next postmasters, and in 1858 John Swank of Eagle Township got the office. In 1862 he removed across the Bellefontaine road into Jackson, and held the office till 1866, when it was abolished. Another office named " Swank," was established at Mr. Swank's store in 1882, but was discontinued in Decem- ber, 1884, as most of the farmers in that vicinity perferred to go to Findlay for their mail.
Ewing's Corners was another postoffice that once existed in this town- ship. It was established in 1863, at the house of Jesse Ewing, in Section 15, northeast of Houcktown. Mr. Ewing died in the fall of 1872, and was succeeded by S. S. Huffman who held the office until it was abolished. Though such free offices as those mentioned were for the time an accommo- dation to the neighborhoods in which they existed, yet their absence is now little felt, and their discontinuance not much regretted.
CHAPTER XVIII.
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP.
ERECTION OF OLD TOWN AND THE TROUBLE WHICH AROSE THEREFROM-LIB- ERTY ERECTED, AND FIRST ELECTION FOR JUSTICE OF THE PEACE HELD IN THE TOWNSHIP-CHANGES IN ITS TERRITORY, AREA, BOUNDARIES AND POP- ULATION BY DECADES-STREAMS AND RUNS-TOPOGRAPHY AND SOIL-IN- DIAN GREEN, CEMETERY AND PLUM ORCHARD-FIRST SETTLERS-FIRST MARRIAGE AND BIRTH-JUSTICES-MILLS-EARLY SCHOOLS- RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES-ALBA POSTOFFICE-CEMETERIES.
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.