USA > Ohio > Henry County > History of Henry and Fulton counties, Ohio : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 34
USA > Ohio > Fulton County > History of Henry and Fulton counties, Ohio : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 34
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The county of Wayne was, however, excluded from any representation at Cincinnati in 1800, in forming the first constitution of Ohio, or in the organiza- tion of the State ; nor had the Maumee country any representation in the first Legislature of Ohio, which assembled at Chillicothe on the Ist day of March, 1803.
It was at this time that all of the unorganized territory (after the State of Ohio assumed State relations), was organized under the name of the " Indiana territory." In 1805 the Indiana Territory was subdivided, and the northern part (all north of the Fulton line, the boundary line of the ordinance of 1787),
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was organized into the Territory of Michigan, which gave the northern half of the present limits of Fulton county to the jurisdiction of the Territory of Michi- gan, which she as a territory controlled and held under government relations for thirty years or more, until December, 1836, when the question of jurisdic- tion was settled in Congress, by the Territory of Michigan relinquishing all right to soil and jurisdiction south of what is called the " Harris line " (the pres- ent line of the State).
This territory remained the county of Wayne until 1817, when the Territo- rial Legislature of Michigan organized the county of Monroe, and established the county seat at the city of Monroe, at the mouth of the River Raisin, and so held jurisdiction for nine years.
In 1826 the county of Monroe was further subdivided and the western por- tion erected into the county of Lenawee (an Indian name signifying man), and so remained until the transfer of this territory to Ohio, in December, 1836. Tecumseh was fixed as the county seat.
This county to the Fulton line, was surveyed by one Joseph Fletcher, in 1819, and finished when, by a proclamation of the president of the United States, March 15, 1820, it was ordered to be sold at public sale, July 4, 1820. (Where the sale took place we are not informed.)
Thus, while Michigan was under territorial rule from 1805 to 1835, she was ruled over by the following governors respectively : William Ilull, from 1805 to 1814; Lewis Cass, 1814 to 1832; George B. Porter, of Pennsylvania, 1832 to 1834; Steven T. Mason, 1834 to 1835; John S. Horner, 1835; Steven T. Mason, from 1835 to its admission as a State. It was during the territorial government of the last named governor, Steven T. Mason, that occurred what is known in history as the "Toledo War," which was caused by a misunder- standing about the boundary line between the State of Ohio and the Territory of Michigan, and culminated in calling out the militia upon both sides, in Sep- tember. 1835, by an attempt of Ohio to resurvey the Harris line. Prior to this difficulty the General Assembly of Ohio, in 1807, under a resolution from that body, instructed its representatives in Congress to use their influence to obtain the passage of a law to ascertain and define the northern boundary line of the State, and fix the same agreeable to the proviso.
In 1812, the surveyor-general of the United States caused two lines to be run, one in conformity with the enabling act of Congress, and another as called for by the proviso.
It was not until 1816 that William Harris concluded his survey, to which Ohio claimed as by the proviso. In 1818 John A. Fulton, under instructions from the surveyor-general of the United States, completed his survey under the enabling act of Congress, which is known as the "Fulton line," and claimed by Michigan.
That the Fulton line was recognized as the true line by Ohio for a long
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period of time, there is no doubt, as that State afterwards made and completed' her congressional surveys up to said line, and there stopped, while the United States completed the survey of the Michigan territory down to the Fulton line, and established in its survey the meridian line of the State down to said Fulton line, which was the western boundry line of Hull's treaty with the Indians at Detroit in 1807. In the attempt of Ohio, under Governor Lucas, to resur- vey the Harris line in 1835, " this act fired the heart of the young governor, Stevens T. Mason ; his loyalty and zeal would not brook such an insult. The militia at his disposition was called into requisition early in the spring of 1835. They were first put upon the trail of the commissioners and actually routed them, and took several of the party prisoners on the line some ten miles east of Morenci (near Phillips's Corners, in Royalton township, this county). These they held for a few days, then discharged some on parole, and others on bail, to answer in the district court."
But the end was not yet. A majority of those living on the disputed ter- ritory in Monroe county were late emigrants from Ohio and Pennsylvania. They were thoroughly impressed with the importance to them of being a part of Ohio. The port of Toledo was just opening to the traffic of the lakes. The States of Ohio and Indiana were ready to bring in the great Wabash canal, pro- vided it could tap the lake on Ohio soil, and besides Ohio was already quite an old State and would be able to develop the territory much quicker. The territorial interest was all centered at Detroit, and Toledo, if it remained to Michigan, would only be a dependency paying tribute. With these sentiments. prevailing the governor of Ohio was induced to put in force the laws of the State. Proclamation was issued giving boundaries to towns and counties, and for the election of civil officers. The election was held, officers chosen, and they assumed their duties. The militia was organized and commenced drill- ing. In short, we had two active and efficient governments, each striving to excel, and, as may be naturally inferred, the relations between them were not of a very friendly nature. The one acting as informers to Governor Mason, and the other mostly engaged in procuring bail to be relieved from arrests, preferring to have their transgressions settled by the courts to an open and violent conflict of arms.
The governor's quick, impulsive nature would brook this double entendre no longer. The general government did not respond to this call; Ohio would not stop at his bidding; the subjects were disloyal and refractory in their every act ; therefore it became him as governor to put a quietus on the whole difficulty. He called out the militia of the territory, to the number of about one thousand five hundred, early in the month of September, 1835, to prevent any further inroads upon the territory in dispute, and particularly to prevent the holding of Circuit Court in Lucas county, which had just been organized, with Toledo as the county seat, where the first session of the court was ap- pointed to be held.
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FULTON COUNTY.
This call was responded to readily in many parts of the territory, but by a very few, perhaps, from this county. They rendezvoused in Monroe county, and from there marched to Tremainsville on the afternoon before the court was to convene, where they bivouacked for the night. They were here three miles out from the objective point, and much hard work was to be done in a very short time to meet the emergency of the morrow, for an army was to be organized out of the material presented. Upon inspection it was found that some had muskets, others had clubs, but most had trusty rifles. These were assigned to companies and battalions, and in the morning marshaled for in- spection by the commander-in-chief. They were by him pronounced com- petent, and ordered to March to the scene of the conflict.
In entering the city they actually marched by the door where the court, of which they were in search, was in full operation, without knowing it. They had expected to find it guarded by an army that would be worthy of their steel. But where could they be ? They certainly could not be in Toledo, for the great army of our noble commander-in-chief covered the whole city and some of its suburbs. There could be but one conclusion. They had of course hied themselves to the spot from whence they came, and must be now on their way through the defiles of the Black Swamp. A council of war was held. The surroundings looked dark. They had come for blood, and without it there could be no remission, the enemy having ignobly fled the field.
The usages of war would therefore make their way clear, and reprisals would be in order. If they would not let the issue be decided by force of arms, they could expect nothing less, and must abide by these rules which had been recognized by all nations.
In this strait it did not take the brave commander long to decide His forces were soon marshaled - formed in two batalions, the one ordered to make an attack on the cellars and larders of the inhabitants, the others to move upon the magazines and commissary of the enemy, that a wag had informed them was stored in a barn owned by Platt Card, who was known as one of the moving spirits in the rebellion, and who was then in bonds to answer for what he had heretofore done in inciting it. This last work was not to be trusted to raw recruits, or committed to an inferior officer. It was virtually the conquer- ing of an army, and none knew how strongly it was guarded within, or what might be the dangers of approach.
That the work might be quick and effectual it was decided that the brave commander should lead the charge. In reconnoitering the premises all was still, yet there were certain holes in the walls, reminding them of the post holes in ancient forts, and in which they fancied they saw grim messengers of death staring them boldly in the face. This could be endured no longer, the order was quick given and a broadside was poured into the pine siding of the barn, approaches were made stealthly and cautiously until they reached the
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HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
door, which obeyed the mandate of the hand, and readily swung on its hinges. To the surprise of the noble commander and his comrades in arms, they found they had captured a very fine horse, as the warm blood flowing from many bullet holes attested.
They had come for blood as a sacrifice to sprinkle upon the altar of their loyalty and devotion to their country, and who will deny at this late day that they found it?
Returning to head-quarters it was found that the other battalion had made a successful raid, especially in the line of Major Stickney's wine-cellar, and from some others that gave a more exhilarating beverage, sufficient was ob- tained with which to wash down the hard army biscuit of which their knap- sacks contained an ample supply. Night approaching, each drew his cloak around him and gave himself to pleasant dreams over the experiences and es- capes of the last twelve hours.
On the following morning an order was issued from the governor disband- ing the forces, allowing each to find his way home as best he could. Thus. ended the great Toledo war and all strife on the disputed tract.
The people of Michigan having called a convention and framed a State constitution, petitioned the Congress of the United States to be admitted into the Union, claiming as a part of their territory, the tract in dispute with Ohio. Congress, however, decided in favor of Ohio's claim to said tract and gave in compensation, as a compromise, to Michigan in place of this fertile strip along her southern border, about twenty-five thousand square miles of territory along the southern shore of Lake Superior, then only valuable for its wilderness, but now known to be rich in mineral wealth.
Michigan came into the federal Union as the thirteenth State, January 26, 1837, and this strip of land so long in dispute, forever after became an integral part of Ohio and was attached respectively to the counties of Lucas and Wil- liams.
It was out of the throes of this very eventful struggle that Lucas county was formed, in the year 1835, from portions of Wood and Sandusky counties, in Ohio, and of what had been Monroe and Lenawee counties in Michigan, over which territory, however, Wood county had exercised jurisdiction from April 1, 1820, then being one of the fourteen counties at that date, by the legislature, organized from Indian territory, the county seat being at Perrys- burgh on the Maumee River. In the year 1849, there arose a demand for a new county in northwestern Ohio, the projectors of which were such prominent men as Nathaniel Leggett, of Swan Creek; William Hall, Hon. A. C. Hough, of Chesterfield ; Stephen and Isaac Springer, Samuel Durgin and others, of Fulton; Michael Handy, Hon. D. W. H. Howard, Robert Howard and Ly- man Parcher, of Pike; Mortimer D. Hibbard and Reuben Tiffany, of Dover; Ezekiel Masters and Joseph Ely, of Franklin; William Sutton, Israel Mattern,
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WV. A. Mace and Oliver B. Verity, of Gorham, to be composed of parts of Wil- liams county, Henry county, and the larger part from Lucas county. . \c- cordingly the necessary legislation was had in the general assembly of Ohio, and in the winter of 1850, February 28, the Legislature of Ohio set off and erected into a new county, the following described territory: Beginning on the State line between the States of Ohio and Michigan, at the northeast cor- ner of township nine, south of range four east, of the Michigan meridian. Thence south on the township line, to the southeast corner of township ten, south of range four east, on the Fulton line; thence west on said Fulton line, to the northeast corner of township eight north, range eight cast; thience south to the southeast corner of section number twelve in township six north, range eight east, Ohio survey. Thence west on section lines to the southwest corner of section number seven, in township six north, range five cast, on the county line, between the counties of Henry and Williams; thence north on said line to the southeast corner of township seven north, range four east; thence west on said township line to the southwest corner of section number thirty-five in said township seven north, range four east, (leaving the county of Defiance intact); thence north on section line, to the Fulton line (being the original line between Ohio and Michigan), to the southwest corner of section number cleven, in town- ship ten south, range one west of meridian ; thence north on section lines to the State line (called the Harris line) ; thence easterly with said State line, to the place of beginning, and named it the county of Fulton, in honor of Robert A. Fulton, the inventor of application of steam for power. Nearly one-half of this county was of the Michigan survey, which had become an integral part of Lucas and Williams counties; hence the greatest part of the territory was orig- inally from Lucas when organized into the county of Fulton. The act of Feb- ruary 28, 1850, creating the county of Fulton, gave all civil and criminal suits which were and should be pending in the counties of Lucas, Henry and Wil- liams on the first Monday in April, 1850, to the respective counties, and were to be prosecuted to final judgment in said counties as though the said county of Fulton had not been erected. All justices of the peace were to hold their offices until their services expired, or until their successors were elected or commissioned for the county of Fulton.
All writs or other legal processes were to be styled as of the county of Ful- ton, on and after the first day of April, 1850.
The legal voters residing within the limits of said county, were to assemble on the first Monday in April, 1850, to elect officers of the county, to serve until the next annual election in October, 1850, and the courts were to be held in the township of Pike, at some convenient house (place to be designated by the associate judges of said county), until a permanent seat of justice should be established within and for the said county.
Lawrence Dewey, of Franklin county, Mathias H. Nichols, of Allen county, 40
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HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
and John Riley, of Carroll county, were appointed by the Legislature of Ohio, commissioners to fix and locate the seat of justice in said new county of Fulton. Pending said location, the associate judges, who had by said act been ap- pointed, to wit: John Kendall, Alfred C. Hough, and Socrates H. Cately, fixed the courts at the house of Robert A. Howard, of said Pike township. After the creation of the county of Fulton, and until the change in the constitution of Ohio, Nathaniel Leggett, of Swan Creek, John Kendall, of Franklin, Socra- tes H. Cately, of Swan Creek, Alfred C. Hough, and William E. Parmelee, of Chesterfield, and B. W. Fleckinger, of Gorham, severally served as associate judges of the court of common pleas; -- Saddler, president judge. At the April election of 1850, the following named officers were elected and en- tered upon the duties of their respective offices under the act to-wit: Mortimer D. Hibbard, auditor; Nathaniel Leggett, treasurer; George W. Brown, of Roy- alton, sheriff; Carl C. Allman, of Delta, recorder; John H. Reid, of Pike, prose- cuting attorney ; William Sutton, of Gorham, Christopher Watkins, of Fulton, and Jonathan Barns, of German, commissioners ; Samuel Durgin, of Fulton, was appointed clerk of courts. (Then the common pleas judges had probate jurisdiction.)
The locating commissioners appointed by the Legislature of Ohio, in the summer of 1850, came to the county for the purpose of designating the county seat, there being several points to them presented by the people of the county as their choice. One the center of the county ; Robert A. Howard's, in Pike ; Etna, in Pike; Fluhart Corners, in York; Delta, in York ; and Spring Hill, in Dover. The commissioners after carefully examining all the points presented, and hearing the statements of citizens, pro and con, decided upon the center of the county, and accordingly stuck the stakes, and at the suggestion of D. W. H. Howard, named the place Ottokee. (After an Indian chief of that name, who once resided and roamed over this territory of the Ottawa tribe.) The question yet had to go to the people for their endorsement, and after two strenuous trials by ballot by the people, the action of the locating commissioners was confirmed, and Ottokee was established as the seat of justice of the county of Fulton, and suitable temporary buildings were by the county commissioners forthwith pro- vided for the county offices and the holding of courts. Proposals for the build- ing of a court-house were given out by the commissioners, and at the time fixed, bids were opened, and it was found that A. H. Jordan, of Royalton, was the successful man, who immediately entered upon his contract to build a court- house, which was duly completed in the season of 1851, at that day, a nice and very commodious structure of the kind, built entirely of wood, stone foun- dation ; and for a time Ottokee seemed to bid fair for a large county town, but the construction of the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad (now Lake Shore), seemed to check its growth and prospects, and Wauseon soon after 1854 became a prominent railroad point in the county four miles
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south of Ottokee, and thereafter became a strong rival for the county seat, which was thereafter for a time upon the wing. In the winter of 1864 the Leg- islature of Ohio passed an act fixing the seat of justice at Delta, and the sub- mission of the question to a vote of the people at the next general election in October, which was largely defeated. During the contest between Delta and Ottokee, the court-house was burned, together with all the records of the county. The fire occurred about midnight of July 15 and 16, 1864, and was supposed to be the work of an incendiary.
This same season the commissioners caused to be constructed a large line of brick offices for the county, and on December of the same year, the several officers of the county took possession of the same, under the approval of the commissioners.
In the summer of 1865, the commissioners caused to be further erected a new court-house of brick, Hiram Prichard, contractor, and completed the same so that the October term of the court of common pleas was held therein the same year, Judge Alexander S. Latty, of Defiance, presiding.
In the winter of 1869 another enabling act was passed by the Legislature of Ohio, fixing the seat of justice at Wauseon. At the October election of 1869 the people decided by a very small majority upon removal; whereupon in the spring of 1870 the commissioners of Fulton county to wit, Joseph Ely, of Frank- lin, Alfred B. Gunn, of York, and Milton McCaskey, of Fulton, fixed upon the present site, and commenced the building of a court-house at Wauseon, which was completed and accepted and declared ready for occupancy about the first of January, 1872, and all public records and business of officers were removed from Ottokee to Wauseon, in that month and year.
That the old buildings so vacated at Ottokee, were, by the commissioners of the county, in March, 1874, set over to the county for an infirmary, and after purchasing in addition somewhere near three hundred acres of land, and build- ing a large and commodious barn, got the same ready for occupancy May 1, 1874, whereupon they appointed James S. Riddle, of Franklin, Oscar A. Cobb, of Dover, and Robert P. Lewis, of Swan Creek, as directors, who thereupon qualified, and all further business was by the commissioners turned over to them, and they immediately made choice of Oliver B. Verity and his wife super- intendent and matron respectively, who entered upon the duties of their posi- tion, May 2, 1874, and served until March, 1880.
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HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
METEOROLOGY OF FULTON COUNTY .:
IN all ages of the world, and in all conditions of life men have been led, from interest or necessity, to study the appearance of the atmosphere and sky to arrive at some conclusion as to what the weather will be.
It is not my province to give a treatise on the science of meteorolgy, but only to give a compend of my observations during the last eighteen years. My place of observation is in north latitude about 41º 36', west longitude 84° 7', and elevation above sea level, 800 feet. The instruments used are a barome- ter, thermometer, rain- gauge and wind-vane. Observations are made three times each day, at 7 A. M., 2 and 9 P. M. All readings of the barometer are reduced to the uniform temperature of 32º, corrected for instrumental error, and reduced to sea level, so as to make them comparable with observations made at other places.
The following is a brief synopsis of the more important of my observations for the entire period from January, 1870, to July, 1887, inclusive :
The average mean temperature for each month during the years 1870 to 1887, inclusive, was for January 22.5, February 25.6, March, 32.4, April 46.3, May 59., June 68.4, July 72.8, August 69.6, September 62.8, October 51.3, November 35.5, and December 26.3 degrees. The annual mean temperature was 47.7 ; Winter 24.9, Spring 45.9, Summer 70.1, Autumn 49.9; from No- vember Ist to March 3Ist 28.5, from May Ist to September 30th 66.4, and fron April Ist to October 3Ist 61.4 degrees.
The average range of temperature from 1870 to 1887, was for January 64. 1, February 61.5, March 60.8, April 63.2, May 58., June 51.5, July 47.6, August 49.9, September 56.8, October 59, November 58.1, December 61.4 degrees. The annual range of temperature was 116.2; Winter 74.3, Spring 85.8, Summer 56.7, and Autumn 83. degrees.
The highest temperature occurring in any one month from 1870 to 1887, was on January 1, 1876, 69.5, February 27, 1880, 62.7, March 31, 1875, 79.5, April 26, 1872, 87., May 29, 1874, 103.2, June 28, 1874, 99., July 7, 1874, 104.5, August 20, 1874, 102., September 5, 1881, 100.3, October 4, 1884, 87.7, November 11, 1882, 74.6, December 31, 1875, 70. degrees. The highest temperature during this period, 104.5 degrees, occurring on July 7, 1874.
The lowest temperature occurring in any one month from 1870 to 1887, was January 25, 1884, -31.7, February 13, 1885, -24.3, March 20, 1883, - 17.4, April 5, 1881, -5.2, May 3, 1885, 21., June 1, 1883, 34.5, July 20, 1871, 43.2, August 24, 1884, 38.9, September 30, 1871, 24.9, October 14, 1874, 12., No-
1 Compiled specially for this work by Thomas Mikesell, esq., of Wauseon.
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vember 19, 1880, -8.5, December 19, 1884, -32.4 degrees. The lowest tem- perature, -32.4 degrees, occurring December 19, 1884.
The average mean temperature of the warmest days from 1870 to 1887, was January 1, 1876, 63.3, February 28, 1880, 56.1, March 31, 1875, 64 2, April 26, 1872, 73-4, May 30, 1874, 80.7, June 28, 1874. 88.5, July 7, 1874. 86.6, August 11, 1874, 85.2, September 6, 1881, 84.7, October 5, 1884, 76.6, November 11, 1882, 66.1, December 31, 1875, 62.8 degrees.
The average mean temperature of the coldest days in each month from 1870 to 1887, was January 9, 1875, - 16.4, February 10, 1885, - 12.6, March 4, 1873, 2.5, April 4, 1874, 17.3, May 21, 1883, 33.9, June 4, 1882, 49.6, July 20, 1871, 57.9. August 27, 1885, 53.2, September 27, 1876, 42., October 31, 1873, 25.8, November 21, 1880, 3., December 29, 1880, - 13.8 degrees.
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