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 56
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The year 1833 brought into the township William Eckels, Caleb Roller, Elijah R. Anderson, William Day, William Fox and Robert Hales. Mr. Eck- els and his wife, Elizabeth, and eight unmarried children came from Holmes County, Ohio, in the spring of 1833, and took up their residence on the southwest quarter of Section 7, near the west line of the township, which he had entered June 14, 1832. In 1835 he was elected justice of the peace, and served one term. Many years ago the parents and most of the chil- dren removed to Wisconsin. Caleb Roller was a native of Pennsylvania, but came here from Fairfield County, Ohio. He entered land in November, 1830, but did not locate till 1833. His house stood on the southeast quar- ter of Section 5, and shortly before the war he removed to Michigan. Elijah R. Anderson came here from Richland County in the spring of 1833, and settled on the southeast quarter of Section 18, entered in August, 1832, where he resided till death. Several of his children yet live in the town- ship. William Day joined the settlement in 1833. locating on Section 4, east of his brother Oliver, with whom he subsequently removed to Iowa. William and Elizabeth Fox moved from Fairfield County to Seneca County, Ohio, at an early day, and in 1827 came into Washington Township, where both spent the rest of their days. They had a large family, only one of whom, Elias, survives. He was born here in 1834, and is a leading farmer of his native township. Robert Hales settled on the northeast quar- ter of Section 21 in the fall of 1833. He and his wife died in Findlay, whither they removed from the farm.
Charles E. Jordan was born in what is now Belmont County, Ohio, May 28, 1800, whither his father had emigrated from Pennsylvania three years before. On the 21st of February, 1826, Mr. Jordan was married to Miss Margaret Moore, and in 1828 removed to what is now Harrison County, but then in Tuscarawas. He was a shoe-maker by trade, and followed that bus- iness a few years. Early in the fall of 1833 he visited Hancock County, and on the 26th of October entered the north half of the southeast quarter of Section 19, and the east half of the northeast quarter of Section 20, Washington Township. He returned for his wife and three children, whom he brought out in a wagon. arriving at the site of his future home early in November, 1833. Here he reared a family of nine children, five of whom are now living. He sent five sons into the army, one of whom (James) was killed at Dallas, Ga. His wife died May 21, 1873, and on the 10th of Sep- tember, 1874, he married Mrs. Elizabeth Winders, and removed to Find- lay, whence he has recently returned to this township. His second wife died October 7, 1881, leaving no issue by this marriage. Mr. Jordan was elected justice of the peace in 1859, and re-elected to the same office. He was one of the organizers and principal supporters of the Lutheran Church of Arcadia. Mr. Jordan is one of the few living pioneers who have wit- nessed the transformation of Hancock County from a wilderness into its present prosperous condition.
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
Randle and Ann Hales were natives of Maryland, whence they removed to Jefferson County, Ohio, and in the spring of 1834 came to this township and settled on the northwest quarter of Section 9, where he had entered 120 acres October 17, 1833. They had a family of ten children, Charles, Joel and Joseph being well remembered in the township, and Isaac T. is still a resident thereof. Joel was elected justice of the peace in 1841. Randle was a hotel-keeper in Fostoria for some years, but afterward returned to this township and here died.
Baker Hales came from Brooke County, Va., in the spring of 1834, and located on the southwest quarter of Section 15, which he entered October 17, 1833. His father, William, came with him, and died at his son's home. Baker reared a family of six children, two of whom reside in the township, and died upon the home farm. His widow lives in Fostoria.
Grafton Baker and William Ferrall also came in 1834. The former was a native of Maryland, and his wife, Mary, of Pennsylvania, but came here from Carroll County, Ohio. Mr. Baker learned the carpenter's trade, and subsequently served in the war of 1812. He and his wife were earnest Meth- odists, and both died in this county. Of their seven children, Garrett, now one of the aged pioneers of the township, is the only survivor, and lives upon the old homestead on Section 22. William and Jane Ferrall were na- tives of Pennsylvania, and the parents of twelve children. They settled on Section 6, and died many years ago. Some of their descendants yet reside in Hancock County.
Other settlers of 1834 were John Wickard, Peter Fulk and Martin, Hen- ry, John and David Brown. Mr. Wickard and wife, Elizabeth, settled on Section 7, and reared a large family, none of whom now live in this town- ship. The parents died on the old place. Peter Fulk located on Section 25, and the Browns on Section 36. All sold out and left the county, except Martin Brown, who resided in the township till his death.
In March, 1835, Peter and Elizabeth Wyant came from Carroll County, Ohio, and settled on the northeast quarter of Section 34. Here Mr. Wyant died many years past, but his aged widow is still living upon the farm where she began the life of a pioneer more than fifty years ago.
In 1834 or 1835 three brothers, Ephraim, Ambrose and David Peters, natives of Virginia, settled on the site of Arcadia, and in 1854 the two last mentioned laid out that village. Ephraim was elected justice of the peace in 1844, and both he and David died in the township. Ambrose removed to Indiana and there died. Some of their children are residents of the county. Bartley Wyant and his wife, Mary Ann, and several children also came in the spring of 1836, and located where John Wyant now resides. George, an older son, was married when they came, and Peter had preceded them one year. The parents soon moved into Big Lick Township, where they died. Michael Roller came in 1837, served five terms as justice of the peace, and now lives in Arcadia. John P. Ebersole, a leading preacher of the German Baptist Church, settled in Big Lick in 1835, but in a few years removed to the southeast quarter of Section 25, Washington Township, where he is yet living. The father of Henry and George Slosser, built a saw-mill about 1833, on Portage Creek in Section 5, which the Slossers operated at inter- vals, though the brothers did not locate permanently for several years after that date. Henry sold his land to William Church and left the county. George is still a resident of the township.
509
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP.
Churches .- This township contains six churches, viz .: two Methodist Episcopal, and one each of the Lutheran, Presbyterian, German Baptist and the United Brethren denominations. The first religious society in this part of the county was organized by members of the Methodist Episcopal faith in 1832, at the house of John Gorsuch. Services were afterward held alternately at the cabins of John Gorsuch, James G. Wiseman, James Swaney. Elijah McRill and Oliver Day, all of whom were ardent Methodists. About 1833 the society undertook the erection of a hewed-log church near the center of Section 5, but during the raising William Eckels got one of his legs broken, and work on the building ceased. It was not for several years afterward that the structure was completed. A frame church owned by the Methodists now occupies the old site. In the meantime, another hewed-log building 26x36 feet in size was put up on Section 1, in the northeast corner of the township, and now included in West Fostoria. The Methodists also erected the first church in Arcadia, in 1858, where regular services are still held.
The Lutheran Church was organized by Rev. George Hammer, in the barn of Jacob Heistand, whose wife was the first Lutheran in the township. Among the organizers were Jacob Heistand and wife, Henry Heistand and wife, Charles E. Jordan and wife, John and Andrew Zimmerman and wives, Abel Smart and wife, and a Mr. Bultz and wife. The society first met at the houses of members and afterward in the hewed-log schoolhouse erected about one-half mile north of Arcadia. A log church was finally built close to this schoolhouse, and used until unroofed by a storm. In Septem- ber, 1872, the present brick structure in Arcadia was dedicated.
The German Baptists held meetings at an early day in this township, some of the pioneers adhering to that faith. Their church stands on the northeast corner of Section 35.
The Presbyterians built their present frame church in Arcadia, in 1862. Its first members came principally from Enon Valley Church, in Big Lick Township. The society was organized January 28, 1860, the original mem- bers being as follows: Samuel Creighton, Samuel McConnell, Rachel McCon- nell, Rebecca T. McConnell, Edward Wagoner, Eliza Wagoner, Margaret Achan, Margaret Thomas, William Warren, Rachel Warren, Jane Moore, Jemima A. Harbaugh, Peter Millburn, Mary Millburn, and Margaret Fred- erick. Samuel McConnell and Peter Millburn were the first elders of this society.
The United Brethren Church stands on Section 4, and is one of the later additions to the religious history of the township. The German Reformed denomination used to have a church in the southeast corner of Section 11, but the society built a new one in Fostoria, and the old structure was torn down and removed.
Education. - In 1833 or 1834 a small round-log schoolhouse was built on the farm of James G. Wiseman, in Section 12. It was of the early regulation pattern, containing slab desks, benches and floor, and greased paper windows. Isaac Wiseman was the first teacher, and the Gorsuches, Wisemans, Swaneys, Thomases, McRills, Kelleys, Norrises, and Hunts were the pupils in attendance. Some two or three years after the erection of this little building, another similar in construction was built on Section 5. in which the Days, Ferralls, Bryans, Rollers, and others received their instruction. Isaac Wiseman, David Headley, Anthony Strother and Clarissa Whitmore
510
HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
were the earliest school teachers in this locality. It was not long until other schools were opened, and the interest in education kept pace with the growth in population. The township now boasts of nine schoolhouses, the one in Arcadia being a graded school with three teachers. The United Brethren Academy, in Fostoria, is also within the bounds of Washington Township, so that this portion of the county is well supplied with educational facilities.
Early Election and Justices .- On the 21st of July, 1832, an election was held in this township for justice of the peace. James G. Wiseman, David Heaston and James Swaney were the judges; and John Swaney and John Norris clerks. Thirteen votes were cast as follows: Joseph Berdine, Michael Thomas, David Heaston, John Norris, James Swaney, Thomas Kelley, Oliver Day, James G. Wiseman, John McRill, John Swaney, Liver- ton Thomas, Micajah Gorsuch and Elijah McRill. Liverton Thomas was elected justice of the peace. His successors have been Isaac Wiseman, William Eckels, Oliver Day, Joel Hales, Michael Roller. Ephraim Peters, William Baker, Thomas Buckley, Charles S. Kelley, Wesley Bradford, An- thony Fox, Charles E. Jordan, Jacob Peters, James McCauley, Ezra B. Warner, George W. Grubb, D. P. Loyd, J. W. Fisher, Christian German and Joseph Dillery.
Risdon and Arcadia .- On the 6th of September, 1832, the village of Risdon, named in honor of Daniel Risdon, the surveyor, was laid out by John Gorsuch, thirty lots being on the west half of the northwest quarter of Section 6, Township 2 north, Range 13, in the county of Seneca; and thirty lots on the east half of the northeast quarter of Section 1, Township 2 north, Range 12, in Hancock County, the center of Main Street being the county line. Risdon postoffice was established January 28, 1837, with Alvin Coles as postmaster; and his successors were William N. Morgan, Robert C. Caples, Alonzo Lockwood, Robert Russell, William Braden, William Thomas, Enos W. Thomas and William Weaver. The office was discontinued January 17, 1855, and Risdon and Rome were amalgamated the same year under the name of Fostoria, in honor of Charles W. Foster, one of the founders of Rome. That portion of Fostoria lying in Hancock had a population in 1880 of 371. Several manufacturing establishments are located here, also the United Brethren College, and it thus forms a very important addition to Fostoria.
Arcadia was laid out on the southwest quarter of Section 20, by David and Ambrose Peters, in September, 1854, and the plat recorded July 17, 1855. Additions to the original plat have been made by Will- iam Wheland, William Jordan, D. Y. Searles and Dillery & Miniger. David Peters opened the first store in the village. Other early business men were A. W. Frederick, William Marvin, O. I. Garrl, Samuel Myers, Samuel B. Moore and Alfred Miller. In 1858-59, a steam grist-mill was erected in Arcadia by Samuel Blackford. After passing through several ownerships the mill was burned down in 1873 and never rebuilt. The town was incorporated May 19, 1859, and at the first election George W. Kim- mell was chosen mayor, and Dr. D. B. Spahr, recorder. The mayoralty has since been filled by the following citizens in the order named: Jacob Peters, Joseph Dillery, Ezra B. Warner, Charles E. Jordan, Jacob E. Bee- son, A. D. Harbaugh, George Stahl, J. W. Fisher, Joseph Dillery, Michael Roller and William Karn. In 1859 a postoffice was established here, with A. W. Frederick as postmaster. His successors have been David Peters,
7
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WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP.
Jacob Peters, William Karn, Joseph Smart, William Moffett, J. H. Beeson and Samuel B. Moore.
Arcadia lies nine miles northeast of Findlay, at the crossing of the Lake Erie & Western, and the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroads. The former was completed through the village in the fall of 1859, and the latter in the summer of 1881. Its business interests consist of one dry goods store, three grocery stores, one druggist, one hardware store, a harness and saddlery shop, two shoe shops, a cabinet and undertaker's shop, a tin shop, a bakery, a barber shop, one wagon shop, two blacksmith shops, a saloon, one saloon and restaurant, a pump factory, a broom factory, a good steam flouring-mill and elevator, a steam saw and planing-mil', three handle factories and two hotels. Four physicians are located in the village: Drs. John Fisher, W. G. Brayton, M. S. Williamson and Abraham Bricker. The Methodist Episcopal, Lutheran and Presbyterian denominations have each a church in Arcadia, and there is also a fine two-story brick school- house of four rooms, where three teachers are employed in instructing the youth of Arcadia and surrounding country. Arcadia Lodge, No. 595, I. O. O. F., was instituted in July, 1874, with fifteen charter members, and now has a membership of forty-two. In 1870 the census gave Arcadia a population of 288, and in 1880, 396; while the town now claims about 500. It is a very thriving village, and affords first-class traveling and ship- ping facilities for the people of this portion of Hancock County. In the southeast suburb of the town is located a handsome little cemetery, beauti- fied by shade trees and containing many costly monuments.
512
HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
HISTORY OF FINDLAY
TOWNSHIP-VILLAGE.
CHAPTER XXVII.
FINDLAY TOWNSHIP.
ERECTION OF THE TOWNSHIP, AND DERIVATION OF NAME-SUBSEQUENT CHANGES IN ITS TERRITORY, AND PRESENT AREA - BOUNDARIES, STREAMS AND WATER PRIVILEGES-TOPOGRAPIIY AND SOIL-PIONEERS- COMING OF BENJAMIN J. COX TO FORT FINDLAY-FIRST WHITE CHILD BORN IN THE TOWNSHIP- SKETCHES OF THE SHIRLEYS, MORELANDS, SIMPSONS, CHAMBERLINS, HAMILTONS, SLIGHTS, GARDNERS, HEDGESES, AND ALL OF THE EARLIEST SETTLERS OF THE TOWNSHIP OUTSIDE OF TIIE VILLAGE-SUSPICIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF DR. WOLVERTON FROM WINIT- LOCK'S TAVERN-FIRST ELECTIONS AND TOWNSHIP OFFICERS, AND LIST OF JUSTICES-CHURCHIES AND SCHOOLS-ROADS AND POPULATION-FAC- TORIES.
THE history of Findlay Township extends back to the 28th of May, 1823, on which date the commissioners of Wood County, to which Han- cock was then attached, ordered, "That so much of the township of Waynes- field as is included in the unorganized county of Hancock, be set off and organized, and the same is hereby organized into a township by the name of Findlay, and that the election for township officers be held on the 1st day of July, A. D. 1823, at the house of Wilson Vance, in the said township." The township derived its name from the fort once standing on the site of Findlay, which was commenced by Col. James Findlay, in June, 1812, and named in honor of that officer. Soon after the organization of the county, in the spring of 1828, Amanda and Welfare (now Dela- ware) Townships were formed from the southeast portion of Findlay, and then included the present townships of Amanda, Delaware, Jack- son and Big Lick, the east half of Madison, and a part of Marion; also the townships of Ridge and Richland taken from Hancock, in 1845, in the erection of Wyandot County. September 17, 1829, Old Town Township was erected from the western portion of Findlay, comprising all of the county west of the section line one mile west of the Bellefontaine & Perrysburg Road. This act of the commissioners engendered considerable ill feeling, the final result of which was a suit to set it aside, and in November, 1830, the court of common pleas declared the erection and organization of Old Town Township null and void. On the 6th of the following month all of the county west of the present western boundary of Findlay Township was erected as Liberty, and on the same date the territory embraced in Marion and Cass Townships was cut off from Findlay and Amanda and organized as Marion.
William Ne Ho Finley
515
FINDLAY TOWNSHIP.
Findlay Township then comprised the lands lying within the following boundaries: "Commencing at the southeast corner of Section 32, Township 1 north, Range 11; thence north to the northeast corner of Section 5, Town- ship 2 north, Range 11; thence west to the northwest corner of Section 2, Range 10; thence south to the southwest corner of Section 35, Township 2 south; thence east to the southeast corner of Section 36, Range 10; thence north to the southeast corner of Section 36, Township 1 north; thence east to the place of beginning, which shall be a body corporate and politic, retaining the name of Findlay." These bounds embrace the present town- ships of Findlay and Allen, also a strip two miles wide, west of the Belle- fontaine & Perrysburg Road, extending from the sonth line of Findlay Township to the north line of Hardin County. This strip is now the two eastern tiers of sections of Eagle Township and the two western tiers of Madison Township. March 7, 1831. Townships 1 and 2 south, Range 10, were cut off of Liberty and Findlay and erected as Van Buren, the narrow strip previously spoken of being taken from Findlay Township. What is now Allen Township was taken from Findlay March 4, 1833, in the erec- tion of Cass and Portage, leaving this township with its present area of twenty-four square miles, or 15,360 acres, including the village of Findlay.
Though being north of the center, Findlay is generally recognized as the central subdivision of the county, and as it was the first one settled and also contains the seat of justice, it is certainly the township around which centers the deepest historic interest. It is bounded on the north by Allen Township, on the east by Marion, on the south by Jackson and Eagle, and on the west by Liberty. The township was originally covered with a heavy growth of fine timber, though a considerable strip of prairie or bottom land extended along the river in the vicinity of Findlay. The Blanchard River passes through the center of the township from east to west, taking a gen- eral northwestward course. Its largest tributaries in this township are Eagle and Lye Creeks, which flow in from the south and discharge their waters into the Blanchard within the corporate limits of Findlay. Several small streams feed the river from the north, Strother's and Hedges' Runs, named in honor of Robert L. Strother and Joshua Hedges, two deceased pio- neers, being the largest. Whitney's Run, named after Jesse Whitney, a peculiar character who once lived upon it, was a small tributary located west of town between the two brickyards, and drained northward into the river. It was an old-time fishing place for the youngsters of the village. but has since been converted into an open ditch, and the land that was in early days covered with water is now under tillage. Water for stock is abundant in every part of the township, and the several streams and runs furnish am- ple natural drainage facilities. Very good drinking water is found at a reasonable depth in the limestone formation underlying the upper soils, but many of the wells, especially in Findlay, do not go sufficiently deep to escape the filterings from the surface, and the water in such wells is very apt to breed disease.
The topography of Findlay is little different from the adjoining town- ships. The Blanchard forms a bed toward which the surface tips from both the north and south, as evidenced by the course of the streams flowing into the river. South of the Blanchard the comparative level is broken by the limestone ridge, locally known as "Chamberlin's Hill." This elevation lies about a mile south of the city, and stretches westward from Eagle
516
HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
Creek bottom. North of the river the surface is quite rolling. but not bro- ken, the lands being easily tillable, and well adapted for grazing purposes. Much of the township was originally quite wet, especially along Eagle Creek, but judicious drainage has brought these lands under cultivation. The soil on the bottoms along the water courses is generally a silt or sandy loam. Away from the streams a vegetable soil, with sand or clay mixture, according to locality, predominates in the more level portions, while the higher lands are principally clay. Limestone underlies the whole township, and crops out so close to the surface south of the river that stone for foun- dations, roads, lime, etc., is easily quarried, and therefore abundant.
Pioneers. - In the general history of the county is mentioned briefly the coming of the first settlers to Findlay, and are given the names of those pioneers who located here prior to 1830. The first permanent settler, or rather "squatter," in what is now Findlay Township, as well as in the county, was Benjamin J. Cox. He was a native of Virginia, where he grew to manhood and married Mary Hughes. Early in the present century, with his wife and four children-two sons and two daughters-he removed to Ohio, locating near Yellow Springs, in Greene County, where Elizabeth, now the wife of Jacob Eberly, of Portage, Wood County, was born Septem- ber 20, 1806. From Greene the Cox family removed to the south part of Logan County, where they lived during the war of 1812, four children hav- ing been born there, one of whom died. Mr. Cox, who was a one- eyed man, served as a scout in the armies of Hull and Harrison. Upon the close of the war and the evacuation of Fort Findlay, in 1815, Mr. Cox, who had often been to the fort, brought his family to this point and took possession of a story and a half hewed-log house, erected and previously occupied by Thorp, the sutler of the garrison, while the war lasted. Here in 1816 another daughter, Lydia, was born, she being the first white child born in the township, as well as in what is now Hancock County. She is at present a resident of Michigan, herself and Mrs. Eberly being the only survivors of the family. Mr. Cox was a typical backwoodsman-a man who never thought of the morrow, and was only happy when following the chase. He cleared and cultivated some land near the fort, and also kept a sort of a frontier tavern, but most of his time was passed in hunting. He lived in harmony with the Indians, who then dwelt at several points along the Blanchard, and in 1818 when they removed to their reservation around Big Springs, the chief, Kuqua, offered Mr. Cox a farm if he would go and live with them, but he refused the offer. The land upon which Mr. Cox lived was entered by Hon. Joseph Vance, William Neill and Elnathan Cory, in July, 1821, and in the fall of 1821 he had to give up his house to Wilson Vance and remove to a smaller cabin, which stood a little southwest of it. In 1823 Mr. Cox left Findlay and went to the Maumee, subsequently locat- ing near Portage, Wood County, whence he and his wife removed to Indiana and there died.
Among the first settlers of Defiance County was the family of Robert Shirley, and his daughter, Mrs. Ruth Austin, widow of Rev. James B. Aus- tin, in her " Recollections of Pioneer Life in the Maumee Valley," alludes as follows to their previous attempted settlement in Hancock County:
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