History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions, Part 25

Author: Kinder, George D., 1836-
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1744

USA > Ohio > Putnam County > History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions > Part 25

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A WONDERFUL RAIL FENCE.

A short time ago, John F. Clevenger, of Columbus Grove, made an in- teresting discovery while tearing out an old rail fence. He found no less than thirty-two different kinds of timber represented in the old fence row and the enumeration of this varied assortment of timber throws an inter- esting light upon the character of the early forests of Putnam county. The complete list of trees which were represented in this wonderful rail fence is as follows : Buckeye, native poplar, Lombardy poplar, Carolina poplar, black locust, honey locust, black ash, white ash, burr oak, red oak, white oak, jack oak, beech, sugar, maple, sycamore, pawpaw, dogwood, ironwood, linden, willow, cottonwood, black walnut, white walnut, shellbark hickory, smoothbark hickory, white and red elm.

COLORED PEOPLE IN PUTNAM COUNTY.

The colored man has never been a welcome resident in Putnam county and at the present time there are none living in the county. However, there

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PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

have been a few colored people here in the past and history records that at least one colored man, by the name of Mines, voted in Blanchard township. This particular son of Africa worked for William Guy.

THE FIRST DEED RECORDED IN PUTNAM COUNTY, 1827.

"United States to Henry Wing.

"Certificate No. 427. The United States of America :

"To All to Whom These Presents Shall Come Greeting :

"Whereas Henry Wing, of Putnam County, Ohio, has deposited in the General Land Office of the United States a Certificate of the Register of The Land Office at Piqua, Ohio, whereby it appears that Full Payment has been made by the said Henry Wing according to the provisions of the Act of Congress of the 24th of April, 1820 entitled, 'An Act making further pro- visions for the sale of the Public Lands for The North fraction of the North half of Section fourteen, in township one North of Range six east in the district of lands offered for sale at Piqua, Ohio, containing twenty-one acres and thirty-hundredths of an acre, according to the office plat of the survey of the said lands returned to the land office by the Surveyor General,' which said tract has been purchased by the said Henry Wing.

"Now, Know Ye That the United States of America, in consideration of the promises and in conformity with the several acts of Congress in such case made and provided, Have Given and Granted, and by these presents Do Give and Grant unto the said Henry Wing and his heirs the said tract described; To have and to Hold the same, together with all the rights and privileges immunities and appertinances, of whatsoever nature Thereunto belonging, unto the said Henry Wing and to his heirs and assigns forever.

"In Testimony Whereof I, John Quincy Adams, President of the United States of America, have caused These letters to be made Patent and the Seal of the General Land Office to be hereunto affixed.

"Given under my hand, at the City of Washington, The thirteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty- seven and of the Independence of the United States the fifty-first.

"By the President, J. Q. A.

"G. G. Commissioner of the General Land Office.

"Recorded Vol. 60, page 421, Ohio Vol."

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PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

SALOONS OF PUTNAM COUNTY.

When the present liquor law went into effect in the fall of 1913, there were thirty-two saloons in Putnam county. Since the number is now re- stricted to one for every thousand inhabitants, there are only nineteen saloons. They are distributed as follows: Five in Ottawa, two in Continental and one each in the towns of Ottoville, Ft. Jennings, Cloverdale, Gilboa, Kalida, Glandorf, Miller City and West Leipsic. In addition, there is one saloon in Monterey township and one in Jennings township. These two saloons are really in the towns of Ottoville and Ft. Jennings, respectively, but the boards of both towns changed the corporation lines so that the saloons would legally be in the township. There is a saloon in Liberty township, just out- side of the corporate limits of Leipsic, and another in Pleasant township, adjoining the corporation of Columbus Grove. Leipsic and Columbus are both "dry" as the result of local option elections.

Saloon licenses are now granted by a county liquor licensing board appointed by the governor. The first appointees for Putnam county were Frank Gmeiner and Walter Stevenson, both of whom received their com- missions on April 6, 1913. Mr. Stevenson resigned on April 1, 1915, his resignation taking effect on the 15th of the same month. The members receive the nominal sum of twenty dollars a month for their services. When the law went into effect, in October, 1913, there were thirty-two saloons in the county and fifty applications before the board for the nineteen saloons which was the limit allowed by the law. Each applicant must pay five dollars at the time of application, and, if granted, he must pay a county tax of one thousand dollars and a government tax of twenty-five dollars. A renewal or transfer costs sixty dollars.

THE GREATEST FLOOD OF OTTAWA.

In the latter part of March, 1913, Ottawa emerged from the greatest flood of its history. No loss of life occurred. The hungry waters got no victims. The loss in dollars ran into hundreds of thousands. The town was swept by water many feet deep. Out of the darkness of Monday night, March 24, 1913, came the rising, rushing, raging flood. Swift and sure it went high, then higher, then highest in the history of the town. Homes had to be deserted, and on Tuesday morning the town sent out a cry for help. The quiet citizen saw the need of quick and daring action. As the night brings out the stars, so did the flood bring out the good there is in men. No

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PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

one faltered. The man from the common walks of life became the real hero. Wind, water, cold and storm were laughed at by men who met the occasion and were equal to the task. All railways were paralyzed. Boats were lacking. Travel was at a standstill. But lightning flashed a message over the wires, and soon men, boats, food and help were on the way. From Leipsic, Columbus Grove, Lima, Toledo, St. Marys and other places relief came at double quick. That it did, was a blessing, for Ottawa was in dire distress and sore need. Out of the whole situation came a spirit of human- ity, heroism, and helpfulness that was almost sublime. Lives were risked to save other lives. Property was secondary and the welfare of human beings was the first concern.

Farmers came with wagon loads of supplies of food and fuel. This kindly action was of their own motion. They did not wait to be asked to help. On this Sunday morning, Ottawa has the appearance of a flood-swept town. Wreckage, debris, washouts, and a hundred tokens showed the power of little drops of water when angry and united into torrents and currents.

THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.

When Putnam county was organized in 1834, the Democratic and Whig parties were just getting definitely separated. The twenty years preceding this time had seen only one party, the Democratic, and whatever differences existed politically were personal. Adams, Jackson and Clay ran for Presi- dent on the same ticket, their followers being known as Adams, Jackson or Clay men.

In the early thirties the old Democratic party, dominated by the hero of the battle of New Orleans, began to disintegrate and by 1832 it was evident that Jackson's control of the party was fast slipping away from him. Clay, his greatest opponent, was forging to the front as a leader and seriously dis- puting the old warrior's leadership. It was in the midst of this new align- ment of political parties that Putnam county came onto the scene of action, and both of the parties began to lay their plans to capture the township and county offices.

The history of political control in Putnam county may be very briefly summed up. The Democrats have been in complete control ever since the county was organized with the exception of a brief period when the Repub- licans elected three county officials. In 1852-53 there was a big effort made by the Whigs to gain control and with the aid of the disgruntled Democrats, they came very near succeeding. A secret organization, political in nature,

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PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

known as the Knownothings, came into existence at this time, which osten- sibly sought to confine all offices to native-born Americans. Several lodges were organized in Putnam county, the largest being in Gilboa, Blanchard township. To combat this organization, the Democrats organized an equal number of lodges under the name of the "Sag Nichts" or "Say Nothings." Both organizations used all the tricks of seasoned politicians, but the result terminated favorably to the Democrats in the succeeding election.

The decade preceding the Civil War was one of great strife in political matters and scores of anti-slavery Democrats left the old party and allied themselves with the new Republican party. However, the supremacy of the Democrats was never seriously threatened, in Putnam county, although its majorities were cut down. From 1855 to the opening of the war, the tension in political affairs was often at the breaking point, and it took cool heads to keep matters from degenerating into open encounters at times. Following the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska act, the Whig party went out of existence and in the two following years the Democratic party lost hundreds of thou- sands of its leaders in the Northern states. In Ohio the new party at first styled itself the Union party, and later hyphenated itself into the Union- Republican party. Although many of the Democrats joined the new party, there was a corresponding shift from the old Whig party to the Democrats, the defection being due to the slavery question. The net result was that the Democrats were able to maintain their hold on political affairs in the county.

While ante-bellum politics were in such a seething state, there were large political gatherings in every town and village of the county and enthusiasm often outran men's better judgment. The greatest gathering, however, oc- curred the second year after the close of the war. It was held in Ottawa, on September 19, 1867, and Hon. Clement L. Vallandigham was the orator of the day. The newspapers of the day said that there were twenty thousand people present and that the parade was two and a half miles in length. It consisted of decorated floats, wagons, horsemen, bands, etc., and must have been an imposing spectacle. Many big meetings have been held since then, but none to compare with this particular one in magnitude.

Like other counties in the state of Ohio, Putnam has had its Prohibition, Socialist. Progressive, Independent and People's parties, yet they have been but as "side shows" traveling with the two great parties. As has been said, the Democrats have always been in power in the county, with the exception of a short time. At one time (in the early nineties) some Democratic officials became derelict in their duties and three of them were sent to the penitentiary. The people rose up in their might and elected a Republican county treasurer,

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PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

prosecuting attorney and clerk for two years each and a county auditor for two terms of three years each.

CELEBRATION OVER THE VICTORY OF DEWEY.

The most enthusiastic celebration ever held in Ottawa followed the re- ceipt of the news of Dewey's bloodless victory at Manila bay, May 1, 1898. The celebration occurred the night of May 2, and for hours bells were rung, whistles blown and general pandemonium reigned. Red-fire lighted up the main streets and a happy people gave vent to their heartfelt appreciation of Admiral Dewey and his splendid victory.

FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION.

The greatest Fourth of July celebration ever held in the county occurred in 1876. Ottawa and Columbus Grove both celebrated that year and each town tried to outdo the other and get the largest crowd. For weeks be- fore that day, both towns used every effort to advertise their attractions and a number of unusual features were promised by the committees who had charge of affairs in the respective towns. As might be expected, Ottawa had the largest crowd, although Columbus Grove was not far behind in point of attendance. The crowd at Ottawa was estimated at from twelve to fifteen thousand people, and such another celebration was never held be- fore or since. More noise was made, more popcorn consumed, more lemonade drunk and more powder burned on that day than any other in the history of the town.

POPULATION STATISTICS.

1910

1900

1890

Blanchard township, including Gilboa village

1,605

1,778

1,688

Gilboa village

345

346

264

Greensburg township

1,078

1,2II

1,098

Jackson township

I,II3

1,308,

1,235

Jennings township, including Fort Jennings vil-

lage

1,629

1,787

1,74I

Fort Jennings village

336

322

286

Liberty township, including West Leipsic village 1,608

2,775

2,697

West Leipsic village

253

346

502

Monroe township, including Continental village __ 2,439

2,775

2,697

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PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

1910

1900

1890

Continental village

1,074

1,104

895

Monterey township, including Ottoville village_

1,652

1,7II

1,507

Ottoville village

477

369

Ottawa township, including Glandorf and Ottawa villages

3,805

4,207

3,38I

Glandorf village

558

749

57I

Ottawa village

2,182

2,322

1,717

Palmer township, including Miller City village.

1,612

1,990

1,864

Miller City village

218

163

Perry township, including Cloverdale and Dupont village

1,581

1,736

1,710

Cloverdale village

222

Dupont village

334

370

531

Pleasant township, including Columbus Grove vil- lage

3,194

3,40I

3,286

Columbus Grove village

1,802

1,935

1,677

Riley township, including Pandora village

1,975

1,83I

1,566

Pandora village

562

409

Sugar Creek township

1,337

1,416

1,429

Union township, including Kalida village

1,810

1,619

1,482

Kalida village

770

622

444

Van Buren township, including Belmore and Leipsic

villages

3,534

3,687

3,444

Belmore village

298

334

414

Leipsic village

1,773

1,726

1,353

Total

29,972

32,525

30,188

The population of Putnam county for the decades prior to 1890 was as follows : 1830, 230; 1840, 5,189; 1850, 7,221; 1860, 12,808; 1870, 17,081 ; 1880, 23.713.

HIGHWAY STATISTICS.

The following highway statistics are taken from the last annual report of James R. Marker, state highway commissioner of Ohio, issued on March 15, 1915. The first table exhibits the mileage and type of roads in the county outside of the municipalities.

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PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

Total

Inter-Co. Miles Imp. Roads Roads on Roads

January

March

January Imp. by

Type of Road.

1, 1915.

15, 1915.

II, 1915.

State.

Concrete

0.6I

Macadam

467

498

IOI.4

6.08

Gravel

IIO

15.8

Earth

590

II.I

Total

1,167

588

128.3

6.69

The statement of road and bridge expenditures for the four years ( 1910- 1913) discloses the fact that the county has spent nearly three hundred and fifty thousand dollars in that short time on roads and bridges. The figures for 1913 include all expenditures up to and including August 31, 1914, paid out by the county commissioners and township trustees, exclusive of the money expended by the state.

19IO

I9II $20,058

1912

1913

Road repairs

$ 25,956

$ 388

$ 2,387

Road construction

82,379

50,304

17,127

93,277

Bridge and culvert repairs

1,53I

1,788

4,202

2,925

Bridge & Culvert construc'n

6,216

3,536

5,849

14,205

Total

$116,082

$75,686

$27,566

$112,794

John Edwards,

BIOGRAPHICAL

JOHN EDWARDS.

In the golden sayings of Epictetus there is no nobler utterance than this = "What wouldst thou be found doing when overtaken by Death? If I might. choose, I would be found doing some deed of true humanity, of wide import, beneficent and noble. But if I may not be found engaged in aught so lofty, let me hope at least for this-what none may hinder, what is surely in my power -- that I may be found raising up in myself that which had fallen ;. learning to deal more wisely with the things of sense; working out my own tranquillity, and thus rendering that which is due to every relation of life.

"If death surprise me thus employed, it is enough if I can stretch forth. my hands to God and say, 'The faculties which I received at Thy hands for apprehending this Thine administration, I have not neglected. As far as in me lay, I have done Thee no dishonor. Behold how I have used the senses, the primary conceptions which Thou gavest me. Have I ever laid anything. to Thy charge? Have I ever murmured at aught that came to pass, or wished it otherwise? Have I in anything transgressed the relations of life? For that Thou didst beget me, I thank Thee for that Thou hast given; for the- time during which I have used the things that were Thine, it suffices me .. Take them back and place them wherever Thou wilt! They were all Thine,. and Thou gavest them me. If a man depart thus minded, is it not enough ? What life is fairer or more noble, what end happier than his?"

The above impressive thoughts are suggested by a review of the life of the late John Edwards, of this county, whose passing in the year 1901 was. the occasion of such general and sincere mourning throughout this whole region. In making up a history of Putnam county it would be impossible to. disregard the great part which Mr. Edwards took in the industrial and financial development of the commonwealth, a part the value of which to the community the present historian hardly dare estimate, for the service which

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PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

he gave was cumulative in its value, its effects being still widely apparent and growing in value, even as the enterprises which he promoted in his life are growing in extent. It therefore must be left to the future historian to at- tempt a proper estimate of the service which Mr. Edwards rendered to his community, the present reviewer contenting himself with the presentation here of those interesting biographical facts in the career of the late deceased which now have become a part of the common interest of this people.

On other pages of this volume, in the biographical sketches relating to his elder brother, William W. Edwards, also deceased, and his surviving brother, Joseph H. Edwards, the well-known banker at Leipsic, the genealogy of the Edwards family in this country is set out at informative length and it therefore will be sufficient to say here that the late John Edwards was born in Licking county, Ohio, January 27, 1850, a son of Thomas W. and Isabel Edwards, and when but eight years of age moved with his parents to Morrow county, in the same state, the family, in the year 1861, coming to Putnam county, where they settled on a farm in section 27, Van Buren township, and there John Edwards grew to manhood, receiving the training and acquiring the unusual physical vigor which later and during his life of active service stood him in such good stead.

Mr. Edwards' early manhood was spent on his father's farm, his larger business career not beginning until he was twenty-eight years of age. This was in 1878, in which year he purchased an interest in the stave manufac- turing business of Henry and Jonas Lenhart. In 1886, the great possibilities of this business having then become apparent, the company was enlarged and Mr. Edwards, in association with his brother, William W. Edwards, I. N. Bushong, J. S. Lenhart and D. L. Critten, organized the Buckeye Stave Company, of which Joseph H. Edwards soon after became a member. The growth of this business was phenomenal, the energy and far-sighted business sagacity of the directors thereof soon making it one of the most extensive enterprises in this section of Ohio. Originally the company owned mills only at Leipsic, Continental and Columbus Grove, in this county, but in 1890 a mill was added at Pleasant Bend; in 13391 mills were located at Kalida and at Avis; in 1892 at Elm Center and at Mancelona, Michigan, and in 1894 at Gladstone, Michigan. The business grew by leaps and bounds, until, at the time of Mr. Edwards' death in 1901, the company owned twenty- three mills in Ohio and southern Michigan and was interested in five more in the northern peninsula of Michigan, the company at that time employing more than a thousand men and being recognized as the largest stave com-

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PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

pany in the world. In addition to its great manufacturing interests, the Buckeye Stave Company extensively engaged in the banking business. In 1887 the company purchased the bank at Leipsic and in 1891 established the bank at Continental, both in this county, the same being operated as private concerns, the stock controlled by the stockholders of the stave company, the Edwards connection later extending its banking interests to Toledo and Findlay, Ohio. In all his large and growing business activities Mr. Edwards gave himself unsparingly. From the very inception of this business he displayed an untiring zeal in the extension of the company's affairs, con- tinually taking a most active and important part in the development of the business. His untimely death, on September 30, 1901, was a great blow to the company as well as a real shock to the community. Taken at the age of fifty-one, in the very prime of his life, it was difficult for many to reconcile themselves to what they regarded as his untimely departure, and he was sincerely mourned.

To the death of John Edwards the noble Epictetan concept which intro- duces this biography seems peculiarly applicable. He indeed had been true in all the relations of life, diligent in business, serving the Lord, and in his passing he left a memory which long shall be honored in the community which knew him so well. Though his life was one of commonplace begin- nings, in its entirety it was far from commonplace. Endowed by nature with an excellent physique and a most gracious and engaging personality, he was a natural leader of men and his great business success hardly could have been otherwise. Greater, however, than his mere outward endowments were those fine traits of character which made him a strong and an upright man. Possessed of exceptional executive ability and far-sightedness in matters of business policy, together with a native will-power and a habit of constantly striving to do more and to do it better, he was successful in business far beyond the measure of the success of the average man. This success was not achieved, however, at the expense of character, but rather because of char- acter. Of his honesty and sincerity much could be said, for they were essen- tial characteristics with him. His kindliness of heart and generosity of nature were traits that endeared him to all with whom he came in contact. This generosity found expression, not only in countless private benefactions of which the public had no information, for Mr. Edwards was not one to let his right hand know what his left was doing in such matters, but colleges, , churches and many worthy institutions found him a liberal giver. He, in- deed, gave a good account "for the time during which I have used the things

284

PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

that were Thine," and it sufficed him. He regarded himself as a mere steward of the great worldly wealth which was given him and sought ever to govern his giving accordingly. In a quiet way he also was public-spirited and his influence was always exerted in behalf of such measures of public con- cern as promised the greatest advancement of the common weal, the weight of his counsels ever being on the side of the right. With quiet reticence, the charming modesty of the truly great, Mr. Edwards avoided all ostenta- tion and, despite the power which his wealth inevitably gave him, was kindly and considerate to all, so that in his passing there was sincere mourning among all classes. Working out his own tranquillity, he thus had rendered that which is due to every relation of life.

On August 21, 1873, John Edwards was united in marriage to Mary E. Lenhart, who was born a mile west of Leipsic, in this county, the daughter of Henry S. and Adaline ( Braucht ) Lenhart, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania who moved to Hancock county, Ohio, in his young manhood and there married Adaline Braucht, who was born in that county, a member of one of the pioneer families. In 1854 the Lenharts came to this county and located on a farm west of the town of Leipsic, where Mrs. Len- hart died in 1869. Mr. Lenhart married a second time, taking as his wife Mrs. Anna (McConnell) Reed, and moved into Leipsic where his death occurred in 1904.

To John and Mary E. (Lenhart) Edwards were born four sons, Henry Clyde, Thomas Charles, William Earl and Oliver Pearl, the latter of whom are twins. Henry C. Edwards, who lives on an extensive ranch in Texas, married Bertha Hadsell and has one son, Max Hadsell, now sixteen years of age. Thomas C. Edwards, who represents his late father's interest in the bank at Leipsic, married Blanche Patterson, of Manchester, Ohio, to which union were born four children, John Leon, Thomas Robert, Mary Elizabeth and Janet Virginia. William E. Edwards is a teacher in the high school at Leipsic and Oliver P. Edwards, who is one of the leading directors of the celebrated Temco Electric Motor Company at Leipsic, married Josephine Niblick, of Decatur, Indiana, and has one daughter, Harriet.

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History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions, Part 25

Author: Kinder, George D., 1836- Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1744

Author: Kinder, George D., 1836-
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1744