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 56
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 56
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Africa Spaulding settled on section 2, town 7 north, range 8 east, in 1834, and died in 1881. There is but one of this family now living, a daughter, who resides in Swan Creek, this county.
Mr. Haynes settled here in 1836, where he continued to reside until his death in 1841 or 1842. He had one son, Jacob Haynes, who now resides near Luke's Corners, in this township.
William H. Harris settled on section 4, town 7 north, range 8 east, in 1835. He was supposed to have been murdered in 1837. His wife died in 1836, and was the first person buried in the Viers cemetery, this township. David Born has resided on this farm that Harris owned for the past thirty-five years. He has been a quiet and useful citizen.
Hiram Clark settled here in 1835, and in 1843 sold to Thomas Watkins. Cyrus Clark settled here about the same time as his brother Hiram. His place is now owned by John Watkins, of Delta.
Luther Dodge, mentioned heretofore in connection with the first store of the township, settled here, on section number II, town 10 south, range four east, at a very early day, on the farm now owned by Horatio Witt. Mr. Witt came with his parents in 1848 or 1849. He has been assessor and trustee of the township a number of years. He is a practical farmer and a kind and val- uable citizen. He was in the Union army.
George W. Thompson settled here in 1836, where he soon after died. His son, Orrin Thompson, has been in the hotel business for the past twenty years at Lyons, Wauseon and Napoleon.
Josiah W. Bartlett settled here in 1843, and sold to Calvin Quiggle in 1853, on the land now owned by J. W. Deck. Calvin Quiggle engaged in the drug business and died 1873. His widow was a very intelligent woman, formerly from Wilbersham, Mass., and now resides at Delta. One son, R. C. Quiggle, has been clerk of Lucas county for two successive terms, and now resides at Toledo. Three of these boys were soldiers in the Union service and one was killed in 1864.
James Fenton, a prominent and successful farmer, came into this township
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at a still later period of its history, 1847. He was a young man and married a daughter of one of its early pioneers, Miss Hannah Lake, in 1849. He re- sides now at Swanton.
John Fenton, a brother of James Fenton, came about the same time, and soon became the owner of the property originally the homestead of Alexan- der Boyd. He has ever since occupied a position of influence in the political field, and an unenviable position among his brother farmers. He has held many important offices in the township, serving a long time as justice of the peace. He served this county as a member of the Legislature of Ohio for four years, being two terms, from 1870 to 1874. IIe is now successfully re- tired from the duties of active life and devoted alone to the farm. He is one of the respected and honored citizens of Fulton county.
Historical Incidents .- In the fall of 1834, Mr. Harter, before spoken of as the first settler, finding the Six-Mile Woods settling apparently with permanent inhabitants, went back to Huron county, his former home, and induced a mill- wright by the name of Bryant Hanly to accompany him back to his new resi- dence. In the spring of 1835 they built a grist-mill on the north part of his land, near where Winfield Cline's house now stands. This mill was known as the "Horse Mill." Mr. Hanley superintended its construction, and Thomas C., Nicholas Q., and William Berry doing the most of the work. The two latter named men sawed all the lumber for the mill with a whip-saw. This was done by rolling a log on a skidway, high enough for one man to stand under the log to manage the lower end of the saw, who was designated as the "pit-saw- yer." The top sawyer stood on the top of the log and managed the upper end of the saw. It required great muscular power to run this kind of a saw-mill, the first in the township, a qualification possessed by Nicholas Q. and William
Berry, far above the average man. They were expert sawyers and made lumber in this primitive manner, not inferior to that made by the mills of more modern times. Ozias Merrill says, "I have a piece of sassafras board given me by N. Q. Berry, sawed in this manner in 1834, and will deposit it in our log cabin, at the fair ground, to take its place among other relics of pioneer days." This horse saw-mill had also a grinding capacity of from two to five bushels per hour. The horse would trot around the circle designated, hitched to a sweep sixteen feet long. Horses being very scarce, oxen had to be used on many occasions, for the propelling power to the mill. On such occasions the motion proved too slow for doing good work, and through the mechanical skill of Thomas C. Berry, the mill was geared so that oxen could be successfully used. The bolt of this mill was turned by hand, similar to turning a grind- stone. Although the flour made would hardly compare with the roller pro- cess of to-day, yet those pioneers ate their bread and cake with as good a relish, and enjoyed their buckwheat cakes or corn dodgers, prepared from the flour thus obtained, as we of to-day with all our modern mill improvements.
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HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
Many of the settlers had no teams and they would carry their grist of wheat, corn or buckwheat, on their shoulders, or haul, in the winter season, on hand sleds to this mill, some two to six miles, guided only by blazed trees, or Indian trails, and in many instances, returning long after dark. This mill, in 1840,. was moved one mile south on Swan Creek, and converted into a water-mill by Harter and Stair. It sustained a good mill reputation and proved to be of great convenience to the early settlers.
Aside from Harter's primitive mode in the manufacture of lumber for his grist-mill, in 1835, the first saw-mill built in Fulton township, and owned by Nicholas Q. Berry, was on Swan Creek, which ran through Berry's farm, and was run by water power. This required a mill- race about fifty rods long, and from ten to fifteen feet wide, and from three to four feet deep. This race N. Q. Berry dug with his shovel, most of the work being done at noon-time and evening, after his day's work on the farm was completed. He would com- mence work on the mill-race and frequently work until late in the night. The " head " of water was somewhat deficient, causing a slow motion of the saw, but when there was plenty of water no time was lost in running the mill, and many logs were by this mill converted into good lumber.
In 1853 Michael Cline built a steam saw-mill near where once stood the famous "Horse Mill." The steam mill was burned three years after its con- struction.
Iram Strong built a steam saw-mill in 1852, about one mile north of Luke's Corners. Michael Kreiger built another steam saw-mill in 1856; Miles Hays built another about 1860, a short distance north of Swanton. There is at present a saw-mill, with planing attachments, at Swanton, owned and managed by J. D. Hall. Pilliod Brothers, in 1887, put up a flouring-mill, which is now in successful operation.
The grist-mill at Ai was built by Miles Hayes, in 1866, and is now owned by C. Packham.
School-Houses .- The first school-house built in this township was in 1836, on the southeast corner of the east half of the northeast quarter of section ten, town ten south, range four east. It was built of logs, and finished and fur- nished without taxing the land-all contributed. It was " chinked " and plastered with mud from the adjoining soil. It had a fire-place made of clay and sticks built up " cob house style," and cropping out just above the ridge of the roof, and plastered upon the inside with clay mortar. This formed a safe as well as a comfortable heating apparatus. The seats were made of logs about ten inches in diameter, and ten or twelve feet in length, and split into halves and hewed to smooth them upon the split side. They were then mounted, the split side up, on wooden legs of proper height for the scholars. For writing desks they bored holes into the logs about three feet from the floor, into which they drove pins, projecting in the room far enough to support
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a board or slab placed on the pins. For windows they would cut out one log the whole length of the building, and stop the opening with oiled paper. This would admit some light, and keep out the cold. Some were furnished with glass, 7 by 9, and when this school-house was completed, with a good fire nearly the entire length of one end of the building, it furnished a good and comfortable institution for training the young minds successfully in the element- ary branches. Another school house, of the same character, was built the next winter, 1837, in the Clark neighborhood, not far from the residence of Daniel Snyder. Others of like description were built as the township was set- tled. In 1842 the first frame school-house was built by David Springer, at Ai, and since moved across the road and remodeled for a dwelling, now owned by James Wheaton. Another school-house was soon after built in the Dodge, or Witt district. Still later they became quite numerous. Now, in 1887, Fulton township contains eleven school-houses-seven brick and four frame -all in good condition.
Miss Julia Chamberlain, with her sister (Mrs. Samuel Durgin), came to this township in 1837, and taught the first school in a small, log school-house, which stood where the present school now stands, in the Ai district. Miss Chamberlain afterwards married Davenport Williams, of Maumee City (now South Toledo), where she now resides. The wages paid teachers from 1837 to 1850, was from twelve to fifteen dollars per month, and from one to two dollars per week allowed for female teachers boarding around among the fam- ilies in the district.
Miss Harriet O'Brien taught the first summer term in the Clark district, but being taken sick, Miss Huldah Merrill finished the term. Miss O'Brien was soon after married to Dr. Colton, one of this township's first physicians.
Among the early teachers were Mr. Reed, Luther Dodge, Miss Almeda Doughty, A. Sawyer, Samuel Durgin, G. W. Raymond, Miss Lucy Clough, Margaret Emery, Jonathan Woods, Joseph Babcock, Ezra Tunison, John Clen- dening, Miss Julia Chamberlain, Harriet O'Brien, Huldah Merrill, and Miss Elenor Johnson.
Public Worship .- The first building used for public worship in this town- ship was J. W. Harter's log cabin, where the Rev. - Shaw held religious services during the summer and autumn of 1834 and 1835. Rev. Gideon Johnson came from the State of New Hampshire in 1842, an ordained minis- ter of the Presbyterian Church. He soon formed a circuit, holding religious services at the Ai and Dodge school-houses in this, and at the Bartlett school- house, in Amboy. township; also at the Parcher school-house, in Pike town- ship. He was an earnest worker in his ministerial labors, and a good citizen. He is now in Illinois, and has been some thirty-three or thirty-four years. Since the early pioneer ministers have died or moved away, Fulton township has been well supplied by ministers of various denominations, mostly residing
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HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
in other townships. There are now three churches. The town hall is used when desirable for church services. Jonathan Wood organized the first Sab- bath-school, and for a number of years superintended the same, at Ai. His attention was wholly given to Sabbath-school labois, and it always prospered while under his charge.
Post-offices .- The first post-office in the township was kept in David Springer's log house. It was established in 1843, and named Ai. Isaac Springer was appointed postmaster. Miss Julia Springer, Ozias Merrill, Will- iam Critzer, David Yonkman, and James Grove have since held the office, Grove being the present postmaster. There is at present another office at Swanton, established in 1854.
Mercantile .- The first store was built on the east half of the southwest quarter of section eleven, town ten south, range four east, and a general sup- ply store was carried on in the same by Luther Dodge, from 1839 to 1844, when he was elected sheriff of Lucas county, and left for Maumee. A good exchange business was done in butter, eggs, corn, dried deer skins, and kirka- man (golden seal) roots. The latter grew very common on the higher bottom- lands of the forest, and was, by the children, dug, washed and dried. When so cured and in good order it was bought by Luther Dodge for fifty cents a pound in trade. Dodge was very courteous and obliging as a tradesman. This store enterprise was very profitable to him, as well as a great convenience to his many patrons. Luther Dodge has since died, and his widow now re- sides at Toledo with Charles Dodge, her brother-in-law, a prominent attorney of the Toledo bar.
Ai .- Thomas C. Berry built a small store building at Ai in 1849, in which he carried on a small grocery trade until 1851, when he sold out to Henry Haughton. In 1853 Isaac Springer bought a half interest, and soon after en- larged the building. In 1854 Samuel Smout bought the half interest of Henry Haughton. About this time Isaac Springer was elected treasurer of Fulton county, and, in 1856, Ozias Merrill purchased Springer's interest in the store, and soon after William E. Haughton purchased the interest of Smout. In 1857 Isaac Springer again connected himself in the interest of said store by purchasing W. E. Haughton's interest; and, in 1858, a larger building was built by the firm. In connection with their store they built and run an ashery, and took, in exchange for their goods, all kinds of farm produce, ashes, salts and potash, and hauled the same to Toledo. Since then the mercantile busi- ness at Ai has been carried on by Ozias Merrill, Edward Vaughn, David Yonk- man, A. B. Canfield, Whitfield Manly, Thomas O. Williams, Calvin Quiggle, William Critzer, Elijah Gambell, James Grove, and Dr. J. B. Taylor ; the two latter being all engaged at present in the trade of Ai.
Swanton .- From 1858 to 1875 Joseph H. Miller was engaged in the mer- cantile business at Swanton, this township, and was also agent for the railroad
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company for sixteen years of the time. He has been successful and has ac- cumulated sufficient for himself and family. William Guyser has followed the mercantile trade since he came out of the rebellion of 1861, and is a general produce dealer. Mr. Charles was a partner until about one year ago. Will- iam Guyser is yet in the business with Charles Marsh, his son-in-law, as partner.
Swanton now contains two good hardware stores, one by I. D. Boyer, and the other by Hubbell & Drening. It also has one drug store, conducted by A. Q. Price, with a branch at Ai, by Mrs. Amelia Critzer. Charles Hilton and Joseph H. Miller care for the hungry and weary at the only hotels now in the township. Prior to the days of steam railways Mr. Stair kept a hotel, then styled " Farmers' Inn," where Josiah Stair now resides. One other was kept one-half mile from Mr. Stair's, by John J. Teachworth. They were for the purpose of accommodating those early settlers in locating for themselves homes in this unbroken forest. It was not infrequent that three or four canvas- covered wagons, filled with emigrants, would be accommodated at one of these hotels over night. Another large hotel was built by Christopher Watkins, on section five, town seven north, four east, in 1850, which building was used in part for a store. A large trade was done by Watkins until the building of the railroad, when business declined. It is now owned by Mr. Fauble, and used as a residence.
Marriage. - The first marriage alliance formed in this township was that of Nicholas Q. Berry and Miss Catharine Burgtuff, both from the State of New York, in December, 1834. They went to Maumee and were married by Dr. Conant. Their wedding tour was from that city to Berry's log cabin, in a lum- ber wagon, a distance of sixteen miles over crooked roads and logs, through creeks without bridges and around swamps. They have ever since resided on the same farm, but instead of the log cabin they have a good frame house, and a carriage has supplied the place of the old wagon. They have five children. There has not been a death in the family of this first marriage in the fifty-two years, nor have they ever changed location. Yet they have been residents of Lenawee county, Fairfield township, Michigan territory, Amboy and Fulton townships, Lucas county, and afterwards Fulton county, O.
James C. Vaughn, at present commissioner of the county, was the first white child born in what is now Fulton township. His birth dates August 30, 1835. His mother would frequently have fires built around the cabin to frighten away the wolves, fearing they would carry away and devour her boy.
The first building destroyed by fire was the log cabin owned by Joseph Bab- cock, in 1841, near where the town hall now stands. The next was the log cabin of Joel Johnson, near Luke's Corners, in the fall of 1843. Johnson and his wife were gathering hickory nuts some distance from the house, leaving two small children in the care of Joel's father, an old gentleman, and quite deaf, who
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HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
was near shaving shingles; when G. C. Babcock, who was returning to his home some distance north, discovered that the house was on fire, and immedi- ately gave the alarm. When help arrived it proved too late to save the build- ing, but not until the arrival of Johnson and his wife was it known that the two children were burning in the building. Nothing then could be done to save them from a horrible death. Their bodies or what was left of them, were found where the bed stood, thus indicating that under that they had fled to seek ref- uge from the flames which so mercilessly consumed them The later 'fires in the township were P. Berry's wagon shop at Ai, in 1862, and one other in same place in 1870; John Nobbs and John C. Merrill's store and contents, at Ai, in 1870 were burned; in 1875 Isaac Berry's barn, and soon after Eli Haup's saloon, John Viers's house, and the residence of David Swank, at Swanton, were burned and all their contents; the barn and contents upon the old homestead of Daniel Dowling, sr., burned in the fall of 1886; the residence of Emery Wilson with most of its contents, and some $400 in currency, was burned January, 1887. In the spring of 1839 a daughter of William Pennell was burned to death. The parents were making sugar some distance from their cabin, and were startled by the frantic screams of their little girl, whose clothes had in some way caught fire at the house; becoming alarmed, the child started for her parents in the sugar camp for help, and her cries attracted their attention, and they hastened to her assistance, but the flames from the clothing had accomplished its work. After three months of untold suffering, death came to her relief. She was the second person laid away in Ai cemetery.
It would not be amiss to relate an event that has proved to be a mystery so far, and the facts should be saved to generations to come as the story is told by neighbors. Barnet R. Poorman, one of the early pioneers, continued his residence on the place he first settled in 1836, until he sold his farm to Jacob Luke in 1849. In 1842 Poorman, who was quite an elderly gentleman, mar- ried Belissa Johnson, a sprightly young lady some twenty-five years younger than himself. In 1849 one Griffith, on his return from the Mexican war in which he served, made his home with Elijah Blubaugh living near Poorman's, and soon after formed a friendly acquaintance with Poorman's wife. His visits soon became too frequent for the now indignant husband. He then sold the farm to Jacob Luke, receiving $1,000 in gold. Soon after the sale of the place this Griffith and Poorman's wife were suddenly missed in the neighborhood. Poorman's story was that his wife and Griffith had taken one-half of the pur- chase money received of Jacob Luke, and left the country. This was accepted of him in good faith throughout the township ; but in 1870 while one of Jacob Luke's boys was at play near the school-house, and where Mr. Poorman was, while in possession, in the habit of burying his potatoes, there was discovered some bones. On examination made by the neighbors they were found to be human bones, and as the early settlers had never known of any one being bur-
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ied in that vicinity, it created quite an excitement throughout the township, and rumor soon adopted the theory that the bones thus found were all that remained of what was Belissa Poorman. An inquest was held, but no definite conclusion was ever arrived at as to the identity of these decomposed bones. Mrs. Poorman's near relatives as well as many of the neighbors, will, with a great deal of plausibility, always maintain the theory that the unfortunate wo- man was willfully murdered and buried there, instead of accompanying Griffith to any distant home. Neither Griffith or Mrs. Poorman have, since 1849, been heard from by any of the friends or neighbors.
It has been said at the beginning of this chapter that there were, as near as can now be ascertained, twenty-five families within the present limits of Fulton township up to 1836, then an unorganized territory. They were John W. Harter, May, 1834; John J. Teachworth, Charles Welch, Daniel Q. Berry, Judge Thatcher, Peter Broadsword, Isaac Day, John Viers, Alfred Spaulding, Henry Lake, George Black, all in 1834. In 1835 were Alexander Boyd, Abraham Wilcox, Alexander Vaughn, Ezra Willcox, Rev. John Shaw, - - Maxfield, Jacob Hamp, jr., John Nobbs, John Day, William Stair, Gideon W. Raymond, Shubal Nixon, Joseph Babcock, Joseph Dennis, W. H. Harris, Hiram Clark, Cyrus Clark, Luther Dodge. In 1836 a further increase by Ami Richards, Robert Pennel, Robert Watkins and G. W. Thompson, and perhaps others concerning whom the time of their coming cannot be definitely settled at this day. With these early pioneers, in those primitive days, life was remarkably social. They had no jealousies or neighborhood differences to disturb the harmony of their intercourse in all their friendly gatherings, and some of these were the happiest days of their lives. To-day, when the more mature boy and girl looks back over the many splendid farms and farm-houses now seen all over the township, they hardly realize the fact that this country, a little over forty years ago, was then a mighty unbroken forest, without roads, and nothing but trails or blazed trees to guide the movement of the early settlers. Soon after the arrival of the first settlers, the procession of canvas- wagons, filled with emigrants, dropping out to settle here and there, and others going on, was quite a curiosity, and from early in 1834 to 1840 this township was settled, and settled too by as noble a class of men and women
as any country may well feel proud of. The great mass of them were from New England, New York, and some from Pennsylvania. They were, speak- ing within bounds, men and women of character and intelligence ; full of enterprise, far above the age. They came west to found a new empire, and how faithfully have they accomplished their mission! Fulton township has furnished to this and Lucas county, five sheriffs, one city marshal, three at- torneys at law, one banker, two members of the Legislature of Ohio, one member of the Constitutional Convention of 1871, two auditors, two clerks of the Court of Common Pleas, one prosecuting attorney, one clerk of the court
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HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
for Lucas county, one postmaster in Toledo, one judge, three commissioners, two treasurers of the county, besides many other subordinate situations ; and a class of educators, the first upon the soil, not excelled by the more modern style of to-day. The coldness and selfish exclusiveness which now, too often, separates those living in the same neighborhood into cliques and castes, mak- ing distinction in society, was unknown in the early days of this township.
In conclusion it may be said that this township is one purely agricultural. She has a rich soil, and may be said to be well watered ; that since 1834 an unbroken wilderness of very heavy timber, has, by the diligent use of the ax and hand-spike and maul, been converted into fertile fields and pleasant homes. In area it contains 18,213 acres; assessed value for 1887, real and personal, is $464,890, with a population in 1880 of 1,563. Ai was for many years the center of trade of the township, but the incoming of the railroad, and its passage at a distant point, drew away her trade and turned it into other channels.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
HISTORY OF GERMAN TOWNSHIP.
T HIS township at present embraces a part of three county organizations, to wit: The counties of Wood, Henry and Williams, which were by the Legislature of Ohio organized from Indian territory April 1, 1820, south of the Fulton line. In 1835 Lucas county was organized from Wood county, embracing all the territory west of Lake Erie south of said line to the northern line of Henry county, and running west to the Williams county line. After this territory became a part of Lucas county, June 6, 1836, three ranges of townships were organized into the township of York, and the elections were held at what is called "York Center." About two years thereafter, March 5, 1838, by the commissioners of Lucas county, Clinton township was organized, embracing ranges five and six west of York, formerly under its municipal con- trol, and the first election for Clinton township was held at the cabin of Isaac Tedrow, then living on section nine, town seven north, range six east. On March 4, 1839, German township was organized by the commissioners of Lucas county from towns seven and eight north, range five east. The first election was held at the residence of Jonathan Barnes, on section fourteen. On the Ist of March, 1841, the commissioners took from German township all of town eight north, range five east, and one tier of sections off the north side of town seven north, range five east, and organized it, with other territory,
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