History of Richland County, Ohio : (including the original boundaries) ; its past and present, containing a condensed comprehensive history of Ohio, including an outline history of the Northwest, a complete history of Richland county miscellaneous matter, map of the county, biographies and histories of the most prominent families, &c., &c., Part 137

Author: Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Mansfield, O. : A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 968

USA > Ohio > Richland County > History of Richland County, Ohio : (including the original boundaries) ; its past and present, containing a condensed comprehensive history of Ohio, including an outline history of the Northwest, a complete history of Richland county miscellaneous matter, map of the county, biographies and histories of the most prominent families, &c., &c. > Part 137

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SWIGART, L. M., farmer; P. O. Mansfield; his father, John Swigart, was born near Chambersburg, Penn., in 1793 ; he came to Ohio with his father, who settled on a farm near Canton, Stark Co., now used as the county infirmary. He served as a soldier during the war of 1812, and fought under Perry at the battle of Mackinaw ; when the war was ended, he came to Kichland Co., and located in Orange Township, now in Ashland Co., where he taught school for some time. Among his pupils at that time was the lady he after-

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ward married. In 1821, he removed to Monroe Town- ship, where he built a cabin ; in 1826, he built a two- story, hewed-log house, that yet stands, the timber of which is in a good condition. The farm is now owned by Mr. Cailor. In 1831, he sold his place, and bought 320 acres south of Lucas, on Switzer's Run, now called Pleasant Valley. While clearing his land, he and his family occupied a schoolhouse as a residence ; he soon after built a house, which then stood where the present residence of George Swigart now is; in 1835, he built a saw-mill ; in 1860, he moved to Lucas, where he died at the age of 76 years. He was married, in 1816, to Miss Barbara Young, who survives him, and is now a resident of Lucas; she was born in Washington Co., Penn., in 1796, and came with her parents to Ohio in 1804, who first settled on a farm near New Lisbon, Ohio, and, in 1814, removed to Orange Township, Richland Co., now in Ashland Co. Mrs. Swigart remembers meeting Fulton, the inventor, and seeing the first steam- boat on the Ohio River. Mr. L. M. Swigart was born Dec. 31, 1827, in Monroe Township; when of sufficient age, he assisted in clearing land, farming, and hauling lumber to Mansfield, mostly with an ox team; when 27 years of age, having accumulated $500, he bought a farm one mile north of Lucas, which he soon after, with some assistance, paid for in full. He lived on this farm ten years, when he sold it, and bought the Young farm of 240 acres, five miles east of Mansfield, and afterward bought the Leiter farm ; he erected the beautiful busi- ness house on Main street, Mansfield, known as the L. M. Swigart Block, in 1879. He was married to Miss Jane Balliet Feb. 12, 1854, by whom he has had five children-Martha A., born Jan. 19, 1855; Clora E., Dec. 2, 1856; Sarah J., April 13, 1859; John B., April 7, 1864 ; Mary E., Nov. 21, 1871. Mr. Swigart remem- bers seeing the first train of cars that came into Mans- field, and recalls many of the early incidents in the county's history.

SWIGART, GEORGE W., farmer ; P. O. Hastings. Was born in Richland Co., A. D 1820; his father, John Swigart, was born in Franklin Co., Penn., A. D. 1793; when he arrived at the age of 13 years, his father, John Swigart, Sr., removed to Ohio, and settled two miles north of Canton, in Stark Co .; he remained with his father till the beginning of the war of 1812, when he enlisted in the service of the United States, and served his country faithfully during the war ; after the close of the war, he came to Orange Township, in Richland Co., and taught a three- months' term of school. At the close of his school, he married Miss Barbary Young ; Miss Young was born in Washington Co., Penn., in 1797, and removed with her father, Jacob Young, to Richland Co. in 1814; she was a member of a family of twelve children. Mr. Swigart removed to Monroe Township in 1821, and settled on the southwest quarter of Sec. 11; he moved in the morning in the woods, without any shelter but the trees, and in the evening he had a cabin 16x16 feet erected and one-half of the roof on : he moved his family into this cabin the same evening; again, in 1832, he re- moved into the woods, on the farm now owned and oc- cupied by his son, George W., it being a part of Sec. 29 in this township; he continued to reside on this farm, cultivating and improving it, till within a few

years of his death, when he removed to Lucas ; he was of German and his wife of German and English descent. In his political faith, he was a Democrat of the " Old Hickory " persuasion ; he held some offices of honor and trust in the township; he raised a large family of sons and daughters, several of whom still reside in the county, and are wealthy and enterprising citizens ; Mr. Swigart died in 1872; his wife is yet living. George W. Swigart was reared in the woods, and inured to hardships and toil from his boyhood ; he acquired such education as was to be obtained in the common schools of that day ; he found but little time, however. for lit- erary pursuits, but the time allotted him for that pur- pose was carefully improved, so that he acquired what may be termed a fair common-school education ; being possessed of a well-balanced brain, and very retentive memory, and extremely fond of reading useful books, he has succeeded in storing his mind with a large fund of useful information. Mr. Swigart married Miss Mar- garet Rider, daughter of llenry Rider, an early set- tler of this township; Miss Rider was born in 1824; they are the parents of three children, one son and two daughters ; Mr. Swigart has worked some at stone masoning and carpentering, but the greater part of his life has been devoted to the peaceful pursuits of the husbandman, in which business he has succeeded ad- mirably well; of late years he has paid considerable attention to politics ; he, like his father, is a Democrat of the Jacksonian school, " Retrenchment and Reform " are his favorite themes ; he says, "that for thirty years he has advocated measures, that if adopted would greatly decrease the burden of taxation, and afford a much greater protection to society." For the benefit of future generations, he desires that his theory or plan be inserted in his biography. In the first place, he would reduce the number of the members in the Legislature one-half, and the salary of the remaining members one-half. He claims that when this is done, we would have a better class of legislators, as political tricksters could not, under such circumstances, afford to buy an office for which they were in nowise quali- fied. He claims that we now have too much legislation ; and that too much is more injurious to society than not enough. In the second place he would make some im- provement in county affairs. He would dispense with the office of Probate Judge, as also of a grand jury. He would have the Clerk of the Court attend to the civil duties that are now performed by the Probate Judge. Ile would have Justices of the Peace and Mayors of cities and incorporate villages, to perform the duties now assigned to grand jurors, and would also give them exclusive jurisdiction in minor criminal cases. Lastly, he recommends sure and severe punish- inent to criminals. Mr. Swigart has in his possess:on a cast-iron kettle which holds twenty gallons, that his grandfather bought in Steubenville in 1808, which has remained in the family ever since that period. Mr. Swigart says in regard to roadmaking in his township, " Our first roads were made by cutting paths through the forest, and piling logs and brush in the muddy places. In the course of time, the plow and scraper began to be used. Now we use in addition to these the cart and wagon to haul gravel." At the instigation and through the influence and assistance of Mr. Swi-

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gart and other enterprising men of Monroe Township, many valuable and issting public improvements have been made in the t. .... 'up within the last five years, more especially in roaus and schoolhouses.

SWITZER, JOSIAH, farmer; P. O. Lucas. Was born on the north bank of the Rocky Fork, in Mifflin Township, on the 21st day of July, 1825 ; his father was of German and his mother of Scotch-Irish descent ; his father's name was Frederick Switzer and his mother's maiden name Issabella Steel. His mother was born in Franklin Co., Penn., on the 19th day of March, 1800; she emigrated to Richland Co., Ohio, in 1815, and set- tled on the north bank of the Rocky Fork, in Mifflin Township, on the farm now owned by Catharine Ross, where she resided for about two years ; from there she removed to Monroe Township, on the farm now owned by the Widow Glenn, where she resided a short time, when she removed to the farm now owned by her son, Hiram Switzer; she continued to reside on this farm till the day of her death, which event took place on the 5th day of July, 1862; she was the mother of four sons-William, born Jan. 12, 1821; Josiah, born as hereinbefore stated ; Andrew Jackson, Jan. 29, 1830, and Hiram, July 12, 1834. She was a woman of more than ordinary intelligence, being passionately fond of reading and possessed of a very retentive memory ; she was better informed on many subjects of inter- est and importance than women ; she was an ultra Democrat of the " Old Hickory " per- suasion, and few men of her township were a match for her in argument. Josiah, her second son and the subject of this biography, remained with his mother and was subject to her instructions and con- trol until he attained his majority. As soon as he was old enough to work, his mother found employment for him ; from the time he was 15 till the date of his mar- riage, he was obliged to labor very hard; his work consisted principally in grubbing, chopping and mak- ing rails through the day, while many nights were spent in coon hunting and in fishing ; his facilities for obtaining an education were quite limited ; however, by close application to his studies during the limited time allotted to him for that purpose, he has been able to acquire a pretty thorough knowledge of the common English branches. Mr. Switzer was united by marriage to Miss Margaret Swigart, eldest daughter of Michael and Nancy Swigart, on the 21st day of January, 1847; his wife's parents were early settlers of Monroe Town- ship and were much respected by their acquaintances ; by this marriage Mr. Switzer had six sons, of whom only two are now living-George J., his eldest son, was born Oct. 31, 1847; Michael T., his second son, Dec. 9, 1850. Mr. Switzer farmed on shares for differ- ent persons from the time of his marriage till about 1862, when he purchased the farm he now owns, being the east half of the southeast quarter of Sec. 21, in Monroe Township. His first wife died Jan. 6, 1857, and was buried at the Hersh (now called the Mt. Olive) Cemetery, but was subsequently taken upand removed to the Pleasant Valley Cemetery. Mr. Switzer married, for his second wife Miss Mary M. Cromer, youngest daughter of Daniel Cromer ; they were married April 19, 1857 ; by this marriage, Mr. Switzer had ten children, tour sons and six daughters, all living but one. He is em-

phatically a self-made man. He was initiated into the mysteries of Odd Fellowship and became a mem- ber of Monroe Lodge, No. 224, located at Lucas, Ohio, about twenty-six years ago, and has been an active member of the lodge and a zealous member of the order ever since; he has attained to the highest position in the lodge. He is also one of the charter members of the Burns Encampment, located at Lu- cas, Ohio; has been an active member thereof ever since it was instituted, and has been the recipient of the highest honors the encampment can con- fer. He has also had the honor of serving in the capacity of District Deputy Grand Master for one term. Mr. Switzer has repeatedly been elected to fill some of the most important offices of his township, in which capacities he gave entire satisfaction. He united with the Lutheran Church at Pleasant Valley about two years ago, during which time he has been an act- ive and zealous member. Monroe Lodge and the vil- lage of Lucas are to some considerable extent indebted to Mr. Switzer and a few more of like energy for the beautiful hall and schoolhouse they now possess. He has, for many years, taken a deep interest in township affairs, and more especially in the cause of education ; he was, for many years, School Director of his district under the old law, and was present at the first meeting of the Board of Education under the new law, and helped to organize the same; he presided at the meet- ings of said board the last five years, during the last two years of which time, four elegant and commodious brick schoolhouses have been erected in the township. Mr. Switzer's farm is a very productive one, well adapted to the raising of all kinds of grain ; his dwell- ing is a large and commodious brick building, and he has a good frame bank barn ; his farm is well watered and well timbered, and he has a thriving young orch- ard thereon.

SNYDER, DANIEL, pioneer farmer; P. O. Mans- field ; familiarly known as the "old pioneer;" was born in Washington Co., Penn., March 8, 1808 ; his father's name was Peter Snyder ; his mother's maiden name was Drusilla Metcalf; his father was of German and his mother of Scotch English descent ; his parents came to Richland Co. in the fall of 1815; his father bought the northeast quarter of Sec. 6, in Mifflin Town- ship, on which he settled with his family, consisting of his wife and four children, three sons and one daughter ; their farm was a dense forest, with the exception of a few acres that the timber had been chopped off ; there was a small cabin thereon, built in the primitive style of those early days ; it was destitute of floor and without doors, windows or chimney ; an Indian trail ran near the cabin of the Snyders ; the children, among whom was Daniel, would run and hide when they saw an Indian approaching, having, no doubt, frequently heard thrilling stories of their cruelty to the whites ; if they happened to notice the trepidation of the children, one of their number would almost invariably say: " We no hurt ; we no hurt." The Snyders were not in the least discouraged by the gloomy prospect before them ; both father and sons went to work in earnest to prepare their ground for cultivation ; from morning till night the sound of their axes was heard, and the mighty monarchs of the forest soon gave way before their

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sturdy strokes ; in the course of a few years, a great transformation had taken place. Peter Snyder and wife are the parents of seven children, five sons and two daughters, named, in the order of their births, Vatchel, Peter, Daniel M., Rachel, Catharine, Thomas and John C .: Vatchel married Mary Hull, and raised a family of four children, one son and three daughters ; l'eter married Elizabeth Good and raised a family of seven children, four sons and three daughters ; he died about the year 1837. Rachel married John Hull, and raised a family ; she and her husband reside in Wash -. ington Township. Catharine married Robert Henry ; they raised a large family of children ; she died five or six years ago. John C. married Christina Swarts ; they have a family of children, and reside in Mifflin Township. At the time of his decease, Peter Snyder was the owner of 207 acres of land in Mifflin Township. Hle and his wife were both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and, like a large majority of the pioneers of our county, they were kind, hospitable and generous ; he died about the year 1860; his wife sur- vived him about ten years ; they are buried in the Em - manuel Graveyard, in Mifflin Township. Daniel M. Snyder was married to Miss Margaret Good, fourth daughter of John and Fanny Good, March 24, 1830; Miss Good was born April 8, 1811, in Cumberland Co., l'enn .; her mother's maiden name was Rinehart; her parents came to this county in 1822; they settled in Mifflin Township; they lived on a rented farm about twelve years, when they purchased a farm in Washing- ton Township, where they continued to reside as long as they lived ; they are buried in Piper's graveyard, in Washington Township. Soon after his marriage, Mr. Snyder rented a farm north of Mansfield and inoved thereon ; he resided on this farm about seven years; he then purchased 86 acres in Sec. 6, Monroe Township ; at the time he purchased this farm. it was unimproved : a great deal of hard labor was required to prepare it for cultivation ; but Mr. Snyder was equal to the emergency : he built a cabin, into which he moved his family, and, by persevering industry, in the course of a few years he had his farm in a good state of culture : Mr. Snyder has added piece by piece to this farm till he now owns 187 acres of choice land ; being reared in the woods, Mr. Snyder and wife have been inured from childhood to toil, hardship and privation ; their labors, however, have not been unre- warded, for now, in their declining years, they are prepared to give over their toils and cares, and pass their remaining days in ease and comfort ; they are the parents of ten children, seven sons and three daughters. Samuel R., born Oct. 15, 1838, married to Drusilla Hull, by whom he had seven children ; he died May 17, 1865, and lies buried in Emmanuel Graveyard. Peter, born Oct. 27, 1832, married Sarah Hamilton, by whom he has three children living and two dead. Drusilla, born Dec. 7, 1837, married Joseph Richey, by whom she had two children, a son and a daughter ; her first husband dying, she married for her second husband William Pike, by whom she had three children ; they reside in Huron Co., Ohio. John C., born June 27, 1837 ; married Esther Boals ; have one child, and reside in Virginia City, Nev. Rachel J., born Nov. 27, 1839, married William McBride ; have

five children, and reside in California. Thomas, born June 3, 1843, married Mary Miller, by whom he has had three children ; they resi.' . . Ruggles Co., Kan. Catharine, born March 3, 1. 13, married David H. Bell, reside in Madison Township, and have two chil- dren. William H., born Feb. 10. 1850, died in Vir- ginia City, Nev., Nov. 20, 1875, and is buried there. Franklin P., born June 26, 1852, married Amanda Ross, by whom he has had three children ; he lives in a part of his father's house. Daniel is one of the lead- ing men of his township; he is a Democrat of the " Old Hickory" persuasion ; he has held many offices of trust in his township, which positions he filled with credit ; he served as Commissioner of this county for one term, but, through political trickery, was defeated on being a candidate for a second term; he discharged the duties of this responsible office to the satisfaction of nearly all concerned. Mr. Snyder has been a mem- ber of the Masonic Fraternity about twenty years ; he and his good wife have been members of the Evangel- ical Lutheran Church many years : they are not only hearers of the Word, but doers, as the needy and dis- tressed of their neighborhood will testify.

TUCKER, DAVID. He was born in Merrimack Co., N. H., June 15, 1798; his father, John Tucker, was of Irish descent, and his mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Lucas, was of Scotch-Irish descent : Mr. Tucker came to Richland Co. in the fall of 1819, and entered the northeast quarter of Sec. 19, in Monroe Township ; also the east half of the northwest quarter of Sec. 21, in the same township ; also, one halt-quar- ter where the village of Lucas now stands ; he remained in this county seven years, during which time he la- bored hard at clearing and cultivating his farm ; he erected a cabin on the northeast quarter of Sec. 19, where he continued to reside during the seven years he remained in the county ; but three families resided in this part of the township at that time. Mr. Tucker was attacked by a pack of hungry wolves, one night while returning home from the cabin of his brother ; he armed himself with a handspike, by means of which, together with loud and repeated yells as they ap- proached him, he succeeded in keeping the beasts at bay, though they returned to the attack twice before they gave it up; at that time there were but few churches and schoolhouses in the county, but in nearly every settlement there was a still-house; whisky was considered an indispensable article in those days; at the expiration of seven years, Mr. Tucker returned to New Hampshire. He was married to Miss Clarissa, daughter of Jesse and Mary Patten, of his native county, Oct. 9, 1829 ; her parents were of Scotch- Irish descent. He remained in New Ilampshire till the year 1849, when he removed with his family to his farm in this county, where he still continues to reside. He is the father of six children, three sons and three daughters-Norman, Alfred G., Clarissa L., David F. and Sophronia. Norman married Nancy Williams ; Alfred, Elizabeth Slosher : Mary, James M. K. Reed ; Clarissa L., single ; David F. married Mary Welty. Mrs. Tucker died March 14, 1872, and was buried at the St. Johns Cemetery ; she was a member of the Con gregational' Church for about thirty-five years, and was a woman of many rare qualities of heart and mind.

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MONROE TOWNSHIP.

Mr. Tucker has been a member of the Masonic Fra- ternity about fifty years.

TUCKER, JOHN (deceased) ; he was born in the township of Hemmicker, county of Hillsboro, N. H., Dec. 20, 1792. His father's name was the same as his own, and his mother's maiden name Elizabeth Lucas He was of Scotch-Irish descent. His parents, however, were both American born. He was pretty thoroughly educated in his youth. In 1816, he left the parental roof, and started on foot to seek a home and fortune in the wilds of Indiana. Terre Haute, which he made his stopping place while in the West, at that time contained but one house besides the post. While he was there, a council was held for the purpose of purchasing the land from the Indians. Gens. Taylor and Posey, together with five prominent chiefs, consti- tuted this council. After the council was concluded, the soldiers and Indians had a jubilee, in which fire- water flowed freely, and the frolic terminated in a drunken row. Gen. Taylor had a leg fractured by be- ing tripped while dancing with an Indian. While there, Mr. Tucker was almost the constant companion of Gen. Taylor. lle remained at the fort until the General recovered, and was fit for duty, when he started on foot through the wilderness on his return. He returned by way of Cincinnati. While in that place, he was offered 10 acres of land, in what is now the heart of that city, for $100. In 1818, he came to Richland Co .; made the entire trip on foot. He entered the north half of Sec. 28, in Monroe Township ; he erected a cabin thereon, and made some other improvements in the way of clear- ing, when he returned as he came to his native State. He was married, April 3, 1821, to Miss Mary Ward, of his native town. Soon after their marriage, they stowed their scanty wardrobe, with a few indispensable articles of household goods, in a one-horse wagon, and by this conveyance they made the trip through the wilderness, to their future home in this county. They finally reached their destination, and commenced house- keeping in primitive style. Mr. Tucker was both farmer and school teacher. He taught school in winter, and labored on his farm during the warm seasons. When he first came to the county, there were but few schools, and for a year or two he went to Stark Co. to teach. He taught in all, about sixty terms of school; was among the first teachers in the county, and was con- sidered one of the best ; he was also a skillful surveyor, and was engaged to some extent in that business ; prac- ticed medicine for some time, on the Thomsonian sys- tem, but seldom, if ever, did he charge for his services. Besides the feats of pedestrianism already spoken of, he took a trip to the Black Swamp region, east of Fort Wayne, in 1828. In 1838, he went to Kosciusko Co., Ind., where he purchased 1,600 acres of land, which he subsequently divided among his children. In 1846, he made a trip to Missouri on foot, to see that country, but soon became disgusted with it on account of the scarcity and bad quality of water. He continued to reside in Monroe Township till 1853, when he sold his farm to his son Aurelius, and removed to Kosciusko Co., Ind., where he continued to reside till the death of his wife, which took place March 11, 1876; he then made a ¿livision of his property, and spent the remainder of his days in visiting his children. He was the father of

nine children, six sons and three daughters ; has four sons and two daughters living-Aurelius, of Monroe Township; Mrs. F. Wager, of Cleveland ; Regulus Tucker, of Tennessee ; Horace and Albert Tucker, and Mrs. Vandermark, of Kosciusko Co., Ind. Mr. Tucker is entitled to credit for introducing good fruit into the county at an early day. He never could be prevailed upon to assist in butchering hogs, or any other animals ; never fired a gun at a living creature, nor with a leaden missile in it. In his political views, he was an (ld Line Whig, and subsequently a Republican. In his religion he was a firm believer in the Swedenborgian doctrine. He departed this life Dec. 25, 1879. His remains were sent to Palestine, Ind., and interred alongside of those of his wife.

TUCKER, D. F., farmer : P. O. Lucas ; he was born in Merrimack Co., N. H., Nov. 2, 1841 ; he is the young- est son of David and Clarissa Tucker ; when he was about 8 years old, his father removed with his family to the farm on which he now resides in Monroe Town- ship ; he was trained by his parents to excellent hab- its ; his education was about as thorough as is usually acquired in the common schools ; he remained with his father, assisting him in his farm work, till the 10th day of November, 1864, when he was married to Miss Mary, only daughter of Christian and Mary Welty ; the marriage ceremony was performed by the Rev. H. L. Wiles, a Lutheran minister ; since his marriage, Mr. Tucker has continued to reside on the old farm, and has been engaged chiefly in farming ; he is an excel- lent farmer ; during the last few years, he has dealt considerably in hogs, and has met with pretty fair suc- cess. He is now one of the Justices of the Peace of his township. Mr. and Mrs. Tucker are the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters-John Al- fred, born Nov. 17, 1865 ; Norman Webster, May 29, 1867; Eceum Sophronia, June 25, 1869; Clinton Welty, Jan. 7, 1872; Clarissa Euphemia, April 3, 1874 : Mary Etta, Sept. 11, 1877. Their mother was born Nov. 10, 1846; she was trained by her parents to hab- its of industry and economy.

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Author: Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848- Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Mansfield, O. : A. A. Graham & co. Number of Pages: 968

Author: Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Mansfield, O. : A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 968