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 60
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Edwin S. Jones, started the first tanyard in the village on East Front Street. He visited Findlay in May, 1827, and purchased a lot on Front Street, and the following autumn, erected thereon a hewed-log house with shingle roof, the first shingles used in the village, the few other cabins then here being covered with clap boards. He subsequently erected a tannery close to his house. Mr. Jones was clerk of elections in April, 1828, and in October, 1828, was elected county treasurer, which office he filled two years. In 1831 he sold his tannery to Edward Bright, and removed to a farm in Marion Township, whence he afterward went to Chillicothe, Ill., where he died a few years ago.
William Taylor was one of the most prominent pioneers of Findlay, where he settled permanently in June, 1828. He was born in Mifflin County, Penn., May 12, 1798, and there grew to manhood, receiving a very limited education. He was married, in Bedford County, Penn., April 25, 1826, to Miss Margaret Patterson, and the following July removed to Rich- land County, Ohio, where he engaged in farming about eight miles fromn
Andrew Nigh
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Mansfield. In the spring of 1828 Mr. Taylor came to Findlay and engaged Matthew Reighly to build him a log house, 18x32 feet in dimensions, and complete the same for about $350. He then returned for his family, with whom he arrived June 8, 1828. Mr. Taylor brought along a small stock of dry goods, groceries, etc., and opened the second store of the village in one end of the house, which stood on the west side of Main Street, where Roth- child's liquor store now is. He soon afterward weather-boarded the build- ing, and put up a frame addition adjoining, and opened a tavern called the "Findlay Inn." His brother, James, came out soon after and lived with him several years, subsequently residing in Putnam and Allen Counties, and thence removing to Oregon, where he is now living. In 1834-35 Mr. Tay- lor built the front part of the brick store-room now owned by Frank Karst, Sr., on the northwest corner of Main and Main Cross Streets, and removed his business and residence to that building. Besides attending to his store and tavern Mr. Taylor carried on a very profitable trade in peltry with the hunters and Indians who frequented the village. By judicious management, good judgment and strict attention to business he accumulated a large estate, and at the time of his decease he was regarded as one of the wealthy citizens of the town. He was the first surveyor of Hancock County, and filled that office from April, 1828, to April, 1832. In 1835 he was elected county commissioner, and again in 1845. He served in the Ohio Legislature in 1838-39, and in 1856 was the presidential elector from this district on the Fremont and Day- ton ticket. In December, 1849, he was appointed postmaster of Findlay, and held the office till April, 1853. Mr. Taylor was one of the organizers of the Presbyterian Church of Findlay, and a ruling elder of the society until his death, which occurred September 13, 1867, in the seventieth year of his age. His widow survived him only eleven months, dying August 12, 1868, she being also in her seventieth year when called from the scenes of life. Four children survive the parents, viz. : Patterson, of Missouri; Mil- ton, of Toledo, and Mrs. Milton Gray and Mrs. J. S. Patterson, of Findlay, all prominent in the material and social interests of their respective homes.
Parlee Carlin was a pioneer of the fall of 1828, coming to Findlay from the Maumee River, and forming a partnership with his brother Squire. He was born in New York State October 11, 1806, and followed the fortunes of the family, which have been related in his brother's sketch. July 29, 1830. he married Miss Sarah De Witt, daughter of Joseph De Witt, the pioneer blacksmith of the village, who still survives him. Mr. Carlin was promi- uently associated with his brother in all his business enterprises, but at the time of their failure he was more fortunate in saving something from the financial disaster which swept away his brother's fortune. He served as county recorder from June, 1835, to October, 1835, and served three terms in the State Legislature, viz. : 1837-38, 1856-58 and 1864-66, and also one term in the State Senate, to which body he was elected in 1866. Mr. Car- lin and wife reared a family of nine children, all of whom are living. He died July 7, 1883, in his seventy-seventh year, and is still kindly remem- bered by a large circle of friends.
James B. Moore and James Peltier came to the village in the summer of 1828, both being single. The former was a brick-mason and a native of Vir- ginia. After several years' residence in town he settled in the southeast corner of Findlay Township, and thence removed to Jackson, where he died in the winter of 1845-46. Mr. Moore was twice married, and four of his children
29
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are living, two of whom are residents of Findlay. Peltier was a Frenchman, who entered the employ of Squire Carlin, and traveled over the country buying furs. In 1830 the Carlins set him up in business in Allen County, where he married and spent the balance of his life. Moore and Peltier voted at the October election of 1828.
John George Flenner was the pioneer tailor of Findlay, where he located in the spring of 1829. He was a native of Frederick County, Md., born in April, 1776, and there grew to maturity. In his twenty-fourth year he enlisted in the United States Army and served two years. He then entered the navy and did service under Capt. John Rodgers, crossing the Atlantic four times during his term of one year. Quitting the navy he repaired to his early home, and was soon afterward married to Miss Elizabeth Yantiss. After several years spent in Alleghany and Frederick Counties, Md., he removed to Ohio, and settled near Cadiz, Harrison County, soon afterward removing to the Pickaway Plains, near the Scioto River. Here his wife died early in 1826, and three years afterward he came to Findlay. Mr. Flenner married again and followed his trade from the time of his settlement up to within a few years of his death, which occurred November 17, 1861, in the eighty-sixth year of his age.
Joshua Powell and family came in the spring of 1829, and built a log cabin on the alley north of Crawford Street and near East. He cleared and cultivated a small patch of ground about where the residence of E. P. Jones now stands, but the crop of corn which he put in proved a failure, because of the very dry weather which prevailed that season. In the fall of 1829 he rented his cabin to Dr. Bass Rawson, and removed to a tract of land in Marion Township, in the history of which township further mention of him will be found.
Thomas F. Johnston removed from Crawford County, Ohio, to Findlay in the spring of 1829, and took possession of a small cabin immediately west of the fort. He entered 214 acres of land in Sections 11 and 14 the same year, and during his residence here did some farming. In October, 1830, he was elected auditor of the county, and served from March, 1831, until June 4, 1832, when he resigned the office. He owned the lot on which the Humphrey House stands, and erected a two-story frame upon it, but ere its completion, in 1832, he sold it to James H. Wilson, who finished the building. Soon after selling this property he went back to Crawford County.
John Bashore was the third pioneer tavern-keeper of the village. He came here early in 1829, and erected a two-story hewed-log building on the northeast corner of Main and Crawford Streets, and opened "a place of entertainment for man and beast." His brother-in-law, Philip Strohl, came with him and died a year or two afterward. Rev. Thomas Thompson preached the funeral sermon, and Strohl was interred in the old cemetery on Eagle Creek. In May, 1832, Bashore so ldout to Maj. John Patterson, and removed to Lima.
William L. Henderson was one of the few pioneers of Findlay who possessed what was then a rare accomplishment, viz .: a good education. At the time of his settlement, in 1829, he was doubtless the best informed man in the village. He was a native of the County Donegal, Ireland, born May 12, 1800, and in 1818 immigrated to New Brunswick, soon afterward removing to Mt. Eaton, Wayne Co., Ohio, where he married Miss Phœbe
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Patterson. In 1829 he came to Findlay and erected a log house on the west side of Main Street immediately north of Patterson's corner. Mr. Henderson was a practical surveyor, and first served as deputy under Will- iam Taylor, who then held the office of county surveyor. In April, 1832, he succeeded Mr. Taylor and served until October, 1838. In October, 1831, he was elected justice of the peace of Findlay Township, and re- elected in 1834. In October, 1838, Mr. Henderson was elected auditor of Hancock County, and re-elected to the same office, but resigned Septem- ber 29, 1842, to accept the office of clerk of the court of common pleas, which he filled until July, 1848, when he resigned. Mr. Henderson was also one of the first, if not the first notary public appointed in the village. He was an honest, capable official, and recognized as a man of strong convictions and very decided opinions. He possessed that combination of pride and generosity so characteristic of the Irish race, and was ever ready to extend a helping hand in assisting suffering humanity. In the spring of 1855 Mr. Henderson removed to Guthrie County, Iowa, and in 1858 located in Linn County, Kas., where he died May 15, 1863, his widow sur- viving him about two years. They reared a family of five children, viz. : Mrs. Sarah A. Whiteley, Mrs. Ellen E. Benedict, Mrs. Clara J. Carson, Mrs. Kate M. Selkirk and Patterson. Only two of these are now living, Mrs. Benedict and Mrs. Selkirk, both residents of Dixon County, Neb. Mrs. Whiteley, the deceased wife of Judge M. C. Whiteley, is, perhaps, the best remembered of any of Mr. Henderson's children, as she spent more than fifty years of her life in Findlay and died here only a few years ago.
Henry and Peter Shaw came to Findlay in September, 1829, the former having a wife and five children, and the latter a wife only. They were natives of Pennsylvania, whence they had removed to Richland County, Ohio, in 1812, and seventeen years afterward to Hancock. They lived for a short time in the old log schoolhouse and then took a contract from Rob- ert L. Strother to clear off a piece of land north of the river, where both families spent the winter of 1829-30, and then returned to the village. Pe- ter subsequently located southeast of the town on Lye Creek. Henry was something of a carpenter, and in 1830 built the old log jail that once stood upon the public square. In 1832 he erected a horse-mill on Front Street, on the south end of the lot now occupied by the "Church of God," which he operated a few years. This old grist-mill is yet well remembered by many of the inhabitants of Findlay. In 1836 Henry removed to a farm near Van Buren, and in 1842 to Marshall County, Ind., where he died in 1872.
Frederick Henderson was one of the pioneer merchants of Findlay, where he settled in the fall of 1831. He was a native of Muskingum County, Ohio, and first visited Findlay in the summer of 1831, at which time he decided to locate here. Returning to Muskingum County for his family, which then consisted of his wife, Margaret, and one child, he was there joined by Jonathan Parker, who accompanied Mr. Henderson to this vil- lage, the trip being made in a wagon drawn by four horses. Mr. Henderson was a cabinet-maker, and followed his trade in Findlay for several years after coming, a portion of the time in connection with Hugh Newell. In 1840 he and Mr. Newell purchased the stock of William Taylor, and for a short time carried on a store in Mr. Taylor's building, now owned and oc- cupied by Frank Karst, Sr. They soon afterward erected a frame store- room on the east side of Main Street, a little south of Crawford, to which
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
they removed their stock. This partnership lasted till 1846, when it was dissolved, Mr. Henderson retaining possession of the business. In 1849 he took in J. S. Patterson, who continued as one of the firm until 1857. Mr. Henderson erected the three-story brick block on the southeast corner of Main and Crawford Streets, which he occupied at the time of his death. He was a very successful merchant, and did a large share of the business in his line. Courteous and affable at all times, he won and retained the good will of all with whom he came in contact. He was one of the pioneer Presby- terians of Findlay, and died in that faith August 21, 1866, in his sixty- first year. His widow survived him till January 13, 1870, leaving a family of four children, none of whom are now residents of the county.
Jonathan Parker accompanied Mr. Henderson to Findlay, where they arrived toward the close of October, 1831. He was born in Loudoun County, Va., in 1808, and in the spring of 1814 removed with his parents to Morgan County, Ohio, where he learned the carpenter trade, afterward removing to Muskingum County, whence he came to Findlay. Mr. Parker followed his trade of carpenter and builder in this county for many years. He built a steam saw-mill on the north bank of the river in 1846, which was in success- ful operation till March 10, 1874, when it was completely wrecked by its boiler exploding. It was then the property of J. C. Powell, and has not been rebuilt. In 1857 Mr. Parker erected a steam planing-mill in the southwest part of the village, to which he added a grist-mill, which began operations in the spring of 1858. These were known as the "Hancock Mills," and the flonring-mill is still operated by his son John. Mr. Parker took for his first wife Miss Elizabeth Hamilton, who died, leaving no issue. He then married Miss Lucinda Workman, who bore him three children (two of whom are living), and died May 15, 1844. In 1846 he was married to Miss Nancy A. Workman, to which union three children were born, two of whom, with the mother, survive, the father having died September 27, 1879. Mr. Parker was one of the most enterprising citizens that Findlay has ever pos- sessed. He also took a deep interest in pioneer matters, and his reminis- cences delivered at the meetings of the Pioneer Association, of which he was a leading member, have been of much assistance in compiling this history of the village. Upright, straightforward, industrious and enterprising, he was highly respected by a very wide circle of the best people of Hancock County. He carried his Christian character into every-day life, and was a prominent example of practical Christianity.
Joseph C. Shannon is said to have been a native of Ireland, who at an early day immigrated to Fairfield County, Ohio, and thence removed to the Tymochtee, in what is now Wyandot County. His first wife was a sister of George F. Algire, of Pleasant Township, whom he married in Fairfield County. Upon her death he was married to Vesta, daughter of Job Cham- berlin, Sr., who also died after a brief married life. In 1831 he came to Findlay, and June 4, 1832, he was appointed auditor of Hancock County, vice Thomas F. Johnston (resigned). He was elected as his own successor in October, 1832, and re-elected to the same office. While holding the auditorship he was married to Miss Malinda V. Strother, sister of Judge Robert L. Strother, and died in May, 1836, ere the expiration of his second term.
E. D. Nightengale located in the village in 1831, and resided here many years. He was a clock repairer and a sort of "jack of all trades," and
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VILLAGE OF FINDLAY.
never amounted to much. In fact he was one of those peculiar characters found in every town, who in some way manage to eke out a living. Night- engale's name appears among the voters of Findlay in October, 1831, and his card can be found in the Courier of different years up to 1848, about which time he is believed to have left the county.
Christian Barnd, though a pioneer of 1831, did ,not settle in Findlay until the following year, his first residence being near Van Buren. He opened a small tavern and soon afterward a tannery on the site of the old brick jail west of the park, and carried on business there for several years. In 1834 he was elected sheriff and re-elected in 1836. About 1839 he started a small grocery store on Main Street north of Main Cross, which he carried on about eight years. Mr. Barnd died November 3, 1847. Three of his sons, John, Gamaliel C. and Elijah, are residents of the county, the last two mentioned having lived in Findlay for more than half a century.
John W. Baldwin was a cousin of Dr. William H. Baldwin and came to Findlay from Champaign County, Ohio, in the spring of 1832. He opened a general store in partnership with Wilson Vance, which continued some time after he left the village. In March, 1835, Mr. Baldwin was elected associate judge, but resigned the office in July of the same year. He soon afterward went to New York, and subsequently sold his interest in the store to Mr. Vance. After many years spent in the great Eastern metropolis Mr. Baldwin returned to Springfield, Ohio, and there died a few years ago. He is best remembered in Findlay because of his gigantic size, being the largest man that ever lived in Hancock County.
James H. Wilson, a native of Pennsylvania, is one of the few pioneer business men of Findlay who are yet living. He first came to the village in the summer of 1832, and purchased of Thomas F. Johnston the corner on which the "Humphrey House" now stands, and on which an unfinished two- story frame was in process of erection. In 1833 Mr. Wilson settled perma- nently, and being a carpenter worked at his trade for a short time. He then began clerking for the Carlins and afterward for B. L. Caples, also one of Findlay's early merchants. Having finished the building on his lot he rented the property to Jeremiah Case, who kept a tavern in it one year. In the spring of 1834 he traded it to Maj. John Patterson for the Carnahan Corner and 160 acres of land, and the following year put up a frame store- room on the former. In 1838 he opened a general store in that building, where he continued in business for ten years, the frame being replaced in 1848 by a three-story brick known as the "Melodeon Building," then the most imposing business block in Findlay, as its successor, the Carnahan Block, also is. Mr. Wilson conducted a mercantile business in his new building until retiring in 1854. He subsequently engaged in farming and has been a stockholder and director of the First National Bank of Findlay since 1866. Mr. Wilson has been a very successful business man, and is now enjoying the fruits of his early industry, inherent courtesy and business integrity.
John Ewing was for many years one of the leading merchants of Find- lay. He came here from Pennsylvania in 1833, and at once engaged in merchandising. At quite an early day he erected the three-story brick long known as the " White Corner," and was a man of considerable wealth. In March, 1842, Mr. Ewing was elected associate judge and served on the bench seven years. He was the member who represented this senatorial
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district in the constitutional convention of 1850-51. Judge Ewing was dignified and exclusive in his habits, and not very popular in the social cir- cles of the village. In 1860 he removed to Springfield, Ohio, and after- ward to Wisconsin, dying in Milwaukee in 1880. He united with the Pres- byterian Church of Findlay in 1835, and remained a member of that denomination during the balance of his life. The people of Findlay claim if it had not been for Judge Ewing's opposition and influence in favor of the Findlay Branch, the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad would have been located through the town, which ever since would have been enjoying the advantages of that great trunk line.
Abraham Danghenbaugh and wife came to the village in the spring of 1833. He was born at or near Williamsport. Penn., December 29, 1799, and there grew to manhood, thence removed to Canton, Ohio, and learned the carpenter trade. In the spring of 1833 he married Miss Mary Dewalt, of Canton, and soon after marriage came to Findlay and purchased William Taylor's tavern. which he ran a few years. He also followed carpentering and building. Three children were born to him, viz. : Ann, Dewalt and. Harriet, the last two mentioned being residents of Findlay. Mr. Daughen- baugh died in 1866, and his widow the following year.
Garrett D. and James Teatsorth came from eastern Ohio to Findlay in the fall of 1833. Their father, Isaac, an old Revolutionary soldier, came with them, and died December 25, 1834. James Teatsorth ran the old Shaw horse-mill on Front Street for some years, and in 1849 he went to California, whence in two or three years he returned to Findlay. He after- ward purchased the mills erected by Edson Goit, in Union Township, where he resided until his death. Garrett D. started a blacksmith shop soon after coming to Findlay, north of Main Cross Street. In 1837 he purchased the Rising Sun Hotel, built by Mr. Erb, the tailor, on east Main Cross, and turned over the blacksmith shop to his son-in-law, David Webster. He car- ried on the tavern for many years, but finally gave up the business, and died in Findlay September 8, 1872. The brothers each have a couple of children living in the county.
Joseph D. Ford came to the village from Virginia with his mother in 1832, but was then only a boy of sixteen. He learned the tailors' trade with Mr. Erb after coming, and about 1836 opened a shop. In 1839 he mar- ried Miss Mary Parker, sister of Jonathan Parker, who survives him. Mr. Ford continued to follow his business till his death in March, 1875.
Peter Byal was born in Huntington County, Penn., July 8, 1806, and four years afterward his parents removed to Stark County, Ohio. In 1821 he went to Cleveland and learned the hatter's trade, which he followed for twenty-seven years. He was married in Wooster, Ohio, in 1828, to Eliza McFall, and in December, 1833, located in Findlay, following his brother, John, and father. William, to this county. Mr. Byal made the first hat that was manufactured in Findlay. In October, 1836, he was elected coroner, but served only one year, as he did not want the office. He removed to a farm south of town, but after several years came back to the village, and has been janitor of the high school building for the past sixteen years. Mr. Byal and wife reared a family of ten children, all of whom are living, but the mother died September 22, 1879.
Maj. John Patterson, though dead over thirty-three years, is one of the well remembered pioneers of the town. He was born in Maryland, November
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9, 1784, and removed when quite young with his parents to Pennsylvania, and subsequently to what is now Jefferson County, Ohio, where they settled soon after the organization of the Northwest Territory. He there grew to manhood, and August 17, 1809, was married to Miss Elizabeth Alban. He served in the war of 1812, and at the close of that struggle removed to Har- rison County. In May, 1832, he visited Findlay and purchased the log tav- ern of John Bashore, which stood on the Carnahan corner. He did not set- tle here, however, till the spring of 1834, when he brought out his family, consisting of his wife and nine children-four sons and five daughters. He at once traded the property he had purchased of Bashore and 160 acres of land to James H. Wilson, for the "Humphrey House" corner, upon which a two-story frame was standing, and opened the "Findlay Caravansary, " then the only tavern in the village where no intoxicating drink was sold. When- ever a thirsty traveler would call for something to drink, which of course gen- erally meant whisky, Mr. Patterson would point to the pump near the door and answer: "There's plenty of pump-water, sir, I do not sell whisky." He soon got the nickname of "old pump-water," which stuck to him through life. In September, 1840, he traded the tavern to Samuel Leard for a farm in Washington Township, upon which he settled and lived about two years, and then returned to Findlay. In 1843 he was elected justice of the peace of Findlay Township, and served one term. From that time until his death, March 8, 1853, he lived retired from the active duties of life. His widow survived him until October, 1877, and of his children only one son, Milton B., and two daughters are living, all residents of the county.
James Robinson was born in Lancaster County, Penn., in 1809, and learned the carpenter's trade in Maryland. In March, 1834, he located in Findlay, and the following spring (1835) was married to Miss Delilah Bohart, a native of Carroll County, Ohio, who came to the village with her brother Jacob the previous fall. Of this union six children were born, four of whom are yet living, two, with the mother, being residents of Findlay. Mr. Robinson was elected sheriff in 1852, and served one term. He died April 8, 1884.
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