History of Sandusky County, Ohio : with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens and pioneers, Part 100

Author: Everett, Homer, 1813-1887
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : H.Z. Williams
Number of Pages: 1040

USA > Ohio > Sandusky County > History of Sandusky County, Ohio : with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens and pioneers > Part 100

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Dr. Avery was the first physician in the township, but gave most of his attention to farming and clearing land.

William Christie settled on the farm on which John Davenport first settled. It next came into possession of his son-in- law, Nathan P. Birdseye.

The Utbey family settled early on the North ridge.

David Acklar, though generally a fair sort of a man, was in the habit of much drinking, and when under the influence of the beverage, so much used by the pio- neers, was disposed to be quarrelsome. He had the reputation of being a fighter.

Doctor James Strong and Charles F. Drake purchased in the name of Z. Story a lot now occupied by the west part of the village of Bellevue.

Gideon Brayton was a large, good- natured settler of the north part of the township. His presence at a log-rolling or raising was an assurance that fun would be plentifully intermingled with the work. He came to York about 1825.

Return Burlingson was one of the early settlers of Bellevue. He afterwards moved to California, where he died.

Deacon Raymond was one of the first settlers on the pike. He was a local preacher and farmer.

The first tavern on the pike was opened by Reuben Pixley, who had a family of six sons - Reuben, Elanson, Alvah, George, Theron, and Charles. The Pix- ley's were a very religious family, and kept the York Centre tavern after the fashion of the times.

Wesley Anderson was the popular land- lord of the pike at a later date. He moved from York to Hamer's Corners, in Green Creek.

Hiram Baker was born at Homer,

660

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

Courtland county, New York, in the year 1798. His father, John Baker, was one of the early settlers of Lyme township. In 1817, while assisting to raise a log- house in York, he received an injury which resulted in his death the following day. Hiram thus found himself at the early age of eighteen, charged with the management of the farm and support of his mother. In the course of a few years he was obliged to sell the farm his father had purchased, getting some advance for the cost of improvements. He purchased a tract on Butternut ridge, in this county, and moved into an unfinished log-house in midwinter. Mechanics of all kinds were scarce, and Mr. Baker finding him- self in need of shoes began cobbling with an awl made of a piece of fork-tine, pegs whittled out with a penknife, and com- mon knives and hammers. He soon be- came expert in making the fashionable stoga shoes of the day. He could make two pair a day. His neighbors, and every- body within a distance of several miles were neighbors in those days, cheerfully gave a day's work for a pair of shoes and furnish the leather. In this way Mr. Baker soon succeeded in getting his farm under a good state of cultivation. Shoe- making being profitable, he sold his farm and moved to Bellevue, where he em- ployed a journeyman and learned the trade regularly. Eventually his business became quite extensive and brought suffi- cient accumulation of property to make old age comfortable. He died in 1874. In 1826 Mr. Baker married Mary Ann Forbes, by whom he had three children- Arabella, Henry, and Hiram F., the last named being editor of the Bellevue Local News. Mr. Baker's first wife dying in 1835, he married, in 1836, Catharine Hagaman, daughter of John Hagaman. She was born in 1815. John H., her oldest child, died in 1880 leaving a wife and one child,

Grace. David A., the second son, was a member of the Thirteenth Ohio Cavalry and was killed near Petersburg, Virginia, in 1864.

Elder John Mugg settled on the South ridge in 1822. Being a man of more than ordinary piety and a devout member of the Baptist church he at once began to plan for the organization of a religious society. His desire was realized in 1825, as will be seen further along in this chap- ter. He eventually became a preacher and exhorter. He bore the reputation of being a truly good man. His children were: Thomas, John B., William, Mar- cus, and Jesse, sons, and two daughters, Mary (Bennett), and Harriet (Colvin). Thomas, Mary, and Jesse died in Indiana ; Marcus became a preacher and removed to Michigan, where . he died; William farmed on the South ridge until his death; Mrs. Colvin died in this township. John B. Mugg, who was more intimately identified with the affairs of York than any of the other children, was born in New York in 1801. He married, in 1823, Susan Wheeler, and soon after removed to Ohio and settled in this township; but after a residence in the pioneer country of two years, they returned to New York, where they remained till 1836. Returning to York, they settled on the farm on which he died. Their family consisted of nine children, only two of whom are living- William A. and George H., the last named of whom was born in 1838, mar- ried Adelia Hitt in 1860, and has three children-Elmer E., Luella E., and Su- san M. He was in the nursery busi- ness in Green Creek township from 1872 to 1874.

In October, 1822, a party of four men, William McPherson, his brother-in-law Norton Russel, Lyman Babcock, and James Birdseye, left their homes in Ontario county, New York, for the purpose of

66 1

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

seeking new homes in the West. All, ex- cept Mr. Russel, were married, but left their families behind until a location could be selected. At Buffalo they engaged passage on a packet, but fearing robbery and personal violence at the hands of the crew, they concluded at the harbor at Ashtabula that safety was preferable to · ease, and started for the Sandusky terri- tory on foot. After two or three weary days' walking Mr. Birdseye, who was the oldest member of the party, became ex- ceedingly tired, and throwing himself down by the roadside, insisted that his hips had penetrated his body at least two inches. But the tiresome journey was at last finished, and as a result of it the county gained four good citizens. They each entered a quarter section of land, all in York, except Mr. McPherson, who settled in Green Creek. All except Mr. Russel returned to New York for their wives. A full sketch of the Birdseye family is found at the conclusion of this chapter. Further mention is made of Mr. McPherson in connection with Green Creek. Mr. Babcock was a worthy and respected citizen of York for many years. Mr. Russel married, in 1825, Sibyl Mc- Millen, a daughter of Samuel McMillen, of Green Creek. The wedding ceremony was performed by James McIntyre, the Methodist preacher of this circuit for that year. He had by this time made consid- erable improvement on his farm on the North ridge, where he lived and raised a family of seven children, viz: John N. and William M., Clyde; Charles P., York; Phœbe S., wife of William Mugg, York; Sarah R. (Bell), Clyde; Mary M. (Taylor), Colorado Springs; and Belle R. (Culver), Cleveland. The chil- dren and grandchildren held a reunion at Mr. Russel's residence in Clyde, June 15, 1881, the occasion being the eightieth an- niversary of his birth. Twenty-two grand-

children and one great-grandchild are living.

Joseph George, the oldest man now liv- ing in Clyde, and also one of the earliest pioneers, was born in Vermont, in 1795. He belonged to the volunteer militia of New York, when the British made the raid through Western New York and burned Buffalo, and at that time he was on the march. The war over, he married Sarah McMillen, and in 1819 came to Ohio, first stopping where Bellevue now is, at the frontier tavern kept by his cousin, Elnathan George. He first settled in Thompson township, but after a few years bought turnpike land, near the centre of York, which he improved after the fashion of the day. The land was not well adapted to agriculture and was therefore sold by Mr. George after a residence of nine years, at an advance barely covering the cost of improvements. This has since become a valuable tract on account of inexhaustible deposits of fine gravel. It is now owned by the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad company. Soon after Mr. George moved to York an incident occurred which shows the friendly disposition of the Indians who roamed through the extensive woodlands, hunting. Mrs. George started on horseback to the cabin on the pike, where Rollin Benson was disposing of a small stock of goods. In sight of the little store her horse fright- ened and threw her violently to the ground, inflicting a severe stunning and painful bruises. A party of Indians loaf- ing near by seeing what had happened promptly came to her rescue, carried her to Amsden's Corners, and summoned medical aid. Mr. George removed from York to Townsend, where he lived thirty- three years, and then retired in Clyde, where he yet resides in the fullness of his years, being in the eighty-seventh year of his age. Mrs. George died in 1880, hav-

662

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

ing borne a family of fourteen children, thirteen of whom came to maturity. Nine are yet living: Lorenzo D., Allen county, Indiana; Alfred, Bowling Green, Ohio; Rev. Norton R., Hill City, Kansas, Joseph, jr., Clyde; Mrs. Archibald Rich- ards, Clyde; Mrs. Joseph Whitehead, Clyde; Mrs. George McFarland, Bowling Green, Ohio; Mrs. Milton Gaskill, Medi- na, Michigan; and Mrs. James May, Fairfield, Michigan.

John Riddell, a native of Pennsylvania, removed to New York in 1824, at the age of twenty-four years. He married, in New York, in 1828, Laura Haynes, and three years later removed to Ohio and settled in York township, near York cen- tre. They had one child, William B., who was one year old when his parents came to Ohio. In 1853 he married Barbara Cupp, and has a family of three children : Ida (Angel), Emma, and John C. John Riddell is one of the few old settlers still living. His wife died about nine years ago. He belongs to the Christian church. His son, W. B. Riddell, does a good farm- ing business.

Isaac Slocum was born in Rhode Island, in 1775. He married, in Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Patrick, and they emigrated to Huron county, Ohio, in 1824, settling in Lyme township, where they remained five years, and then, in 1829, removed to York. Mr. Slocum died in York in 1858. The family consisted of twelve children, five of whom are living, viz : Isaac, in Minnesota; William, in Iowa; Abel, in Wisconsin ; Giles, in Minnesota ; Elizabeth, the only daughter living, is the widow of Mason Kinney, and lives in York town- ship.

Mason Kinney was born in 1806. In 1833 he married Elizabeth Slocum, by whom he had a family of seven children, six of whom are living: Mary, George, Sarah ( Bachman), William. Joseph, and

Erastus W. All the children, except Joseph, live in York township.

Prominent among the Pennsylvania German families of this township are the Harpsters. Jacob Harpster was born in Pennsylvania in 1811. He came to Ohio in 1834, and settled in Seneca county, where he lived five years, and then made York his permanent residence. He married, in 1838, Elizabeth Mook, and has a family of four children-Frederick, Jacob D., Benjamin F., who live in Kan- sas, and Eliza S., wife of Henry Miller, of York township.

Isaac Parker and family emigrated from Pennsylvania to Ohio in 1842, and re- mained in Huron county one year, then came to York township. Mr. Parker mar- ried Elizabeth Mook, also of Pennsylva- nia. He is still living; his wife died sev- eral years ago. They had nine children, seven of whom are living-Levi, in York township; Isaac, in Michigan; Jackson, in Erie county; Solomon, in Michigan; Anna (Rupert), in Michigan; Andrew, in the West; and Henry, in Iowa.

Levi Parker was born in Pennsylvania in 1823. In 1861 he married Caroline Michael, to whom seven children were born-George, Charles, Isaac, Mary, Oren, Emma, and Nettie.

Ephraim Sparks was born in New Jer- sey in 1790. He settled in Pennsylva- nia, and there married Sarah Cook in 1813. Four years later they removed to Tuscarawas county, Ohio, where Mrs. Sparks died, in 1828, and her husband in 1871. Four of their seven children are still living, two in this county-Randall and Isaac. The latter resides in Clyde. David died in Carroll county, Ohio, in February, 1881. The daughters now liv- ing are: Mrs. Elizabeth Tressel, Tusca- rawas county, and Mrs. Mary Neal, West- moreland county, Pennsylvania.

Randall Sparks was born in Pennsylva-

663

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY

nia in 1814. He married Ann Wingate in 1835, and settled in York township, his present residence. Mr. Sparks has served as justice of the peace six years, and has held other local offices. He is the father of eight children, only two of whom are living. Lemuel, the oldest, enlisted in company B, Seventy-second Ohio infantry, November 9, 186 1, and participated in the battle of Shiloh. He died in camp before Corinth, May 16, 1862, in the twenty- sixth year of his age. Catharine died Jan- uary 5, 1858, in her nineteenth year; Al- bert died May 31, 1861, in his twentieth year. Leslie E. was mustered in as a mem- ber of company M, First regiment Ohio Heavy Artillery; he was drowned in the Tennessee River, near Loudon, Tennessee, June 2, 1864, in the twenty-first year of his age. Melissa died November 6. 1869,, in her twenty-second year; Elinda Jane died April 25, 1872, in the twenty-second year of her age. The surviving children are Wilbur L., born February 27, 1854, and Ella B., born June 15, 1859 ; both re -. side at home.

Samuel Shutts was a native of New Jer- sey, and was born in 1797. His family moved to New York while he was young. He married in New York, and in 1847, with his wife and five children, removed to Sandusky county, and settled in York township, where his wife died in 1855, leaving five children-Oliver J., Mary, Sarah H., John, and Emma. Mr. Shutts removed to Ballville township in 1861. Oliver J., the oldest child, was born in New York in 1828; he married, in 1859, Margaret Barlow, of York township; their children are all deceased. Mr. Shutts was one of the founders of the Diabetic Cure at Green Springs.

John Mook was born in Pennsylvania in 1765. He was married in Pennsylva- nia, in 1818, to Mary Baughy, and in 1836 removed to Western New York. In 1844

they came to Ohio, and settled in this township. Seven of their nine children are yet living-Mary, wife of Isaac Parker, York township; Abraham, New York State; Effie, wife of Lewis Burgess, New York State; Solomon, living in Illinois; Sampson, in New York, and Benjamin, in York township. The last named was born in Pennsylvania in 1820; he came to Ohio with his parents, and in 1848 mai- ried Susan Boyer, who was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, in 1827. Their family consists of nine children, viz .: Simon B., Fidelia, Malcomb, Samuel E., Elmer J., Clara, Emma and Emerson (twins), and William G. Mr. Mook made carpentering a business while living in New York. John Mook, father of the Mooks of this township, died in 1848. His wife survived him ten years.

William, the only living child of William and Mary Mills, was born of Jersey par- entage, in 1809. He married Cornelia Berry in 1857, and has a family of two children -- Eliza J., Huron county, and Mary E., York township.

William Dymond was born in England, in 1811. He married Elizabeth Green- slade, in 1838. The family consists of eleven children, viz .: James, resides in Kansas; John, Huron county ; Anna (Coleman), Clyde; William, jr., Kansas Richard, died in 1872; Samuel; Alice (Clacknor); Alfred, York township; Eliza- beth (Stutler), Toledo; Mary, Frank, and Frederick, York township. Mr. Dymond is a mason, and followed that trade thirty years. He has resided in this county since 1848.

James F. Smith was born in New York, in 1809. He removed to Pennsylvania in 1823, where he married, in 1833, Eliza- beth Alexander. They settled in Huron county, Ohio, in 1843, and removed to York township five years later. Six of their eleven children are living, viz: Mary

664

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

J., York township; Charles, Kansas ; John, Kansas; Alice, York township; Samuel and Clara B., York township. Mr. Smith is a carpenter, and worked at that trade twenty years. He has been extensively engaged in the manufacture of lime for about twenty years.

Joseph P. Roush was born in Pennsyl- vania, in 1814. In 1839 he married Catharine Kreisher, and with his family moved to York township in 1856. Five children are living and two are dead. Charles F. and James P. reside in York township; John Henry, at Lindsey; Mary E. (Williams), in Huron county; and Wil- liam A., in York. Alice and George W. are deceased. Mr. Roush attends his farm, but during the winter works at tailor- ing. He has about two hundred acres of good land. Mr. and Mrs. Roush, and Charles, belong to the Reformed church. Mrs. Williams is a Methodist.

Gideon Billman and family, originally from Berks county, Pennsylvania, moved to Sandusky county in 1848, and settled where the sons now live, in York town- ship. Mr. Billman married Hannah Don- ner, and to them were born six sons and three daughters. Three of the sons and all of the daughters survive. George re- sides near Burr Oak, Michigan; John and George, on the home farm; Susan is the wife of John Bauchman, York township; Sarah is the wife of Joseph Smith, Erie county; Mary Jane, the wife of Henry Toogood, resides in Sturgis, Michigan. The father and mother have both died within the past six years.

George Billman was married, in 1876, to Mary Ann Boop, a native of Groton township, Huron county. They have five sons-Joseph, James, George, Cloyd, and Frank. Mr. Billman and his brother are Democrats. They worked at fence-mak- ing several years, and have been carrying on the same business in connection with

their farming for the last fifteen years.

M. J. Tichenor removed from New York to York township in 1851. He was born in 1821, and, in 1827, married Joanna Tor- rence, a daughter of William H. and Sa- lome Torrence. Nine children blessed this union-Mary A. (Tea), Clyde; Helen (Kline), York township; Zachariah, Kan- sas; Salome (Lemmon), Townsend town- ship; George, Ida, Elizabeth (Haff), Jessie, and John, York township. Mr. Tichenor was an active, energetic citizen until his death. Mrs. Tichenor continues a resi- dent of York.

Jacob Kopp was born in Pennsylvania in 1827. In 1851 he removed to Erie county, Ohio, and in 1859 to York town- ship. He married Matilda E. McCauley in 1853. The fruit of this union is six children, as follows: John P., Minnesota ; Frances (Hoy), Erie county ; Benjamin F., Anna E., Abraham L., and Alice E., York township. Mr. Kopp is a Republican. He and his family belong to the Reformed church. He has five hundred and fifty- four acres, and does an extensive farming business. Commencing with little, he is now in very good circumstances as the re- ward of his untiring energy.

One of the first of the "Pennsylvania Dutch" settlers in York was Adam Jordan. He was born in 1803, and in 1829 mar- ried, in Pennsylvania, Sophia Orwig. They came directly to York and settled on the farm on which he died in 1861. She died in 1872. Their family consisted of eight children, viz : Sarah (Weaver), Lucas county ; Martin, Lucas county ; Lucy (Mc- Cauley), York township; Joseph, Mary, Hannah M., James, and George W. live in York township.

William Frederick was born in Pennsyl- vania in 1796. He married, in 1835, Catharine Kline, who was born in Penn- sylvania in 1809. In 1861 they removed to York, where they still live. Their eight 1

665

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

children are: George, York township; · Jesse, Maumee, Ohio; William, jr., York township; James, Michigan; Samuel, York township, and Henry, Riley township. Reuben and Robert are dead. Mr. Fred- erick, though well advanced in years, en- joys good health.

Godfrey Deck, one of the later settlers . of this county, was born in Pennsylvania in 1805; He married Christiana Bixler in 1827; settled in York in 1864. He had a family of five children. He died in York in 1871. She is yet living. John, the oldest child, was born in Pennsylvania in 1828. In 1852 he married Sarah Klingman, who bore a family of eight children, five of whom are living: A. H. and Sarah C., York township; Anna M. (Bradley), Canada; John F. and William G., York township. The names of those that are deceased were Christiana, Charley, and Joseph. All died young.

Edward Kern was born in Pennsylvania in 1825. He came to Ohio in 1833, and settled in Seneca county, where he married Sarah Stetler in 1846. In 1871 he re- moved to York township. His family consists of six children, viz: A. J. and Jacob H., Seneca county; Samuel E., York township; Mary F., wife of John Swartz, Michigan; Laura E. (Stewart), York township, and Abbie E. (Ebbersol), Missouri. Mr. Kern's parents were George Jacob and Elizabeth (Shuck) Kern, both natives of Pennsylvania. After coming to Ohio they lived and died in Seneca county. They brought up a family of five sons and five daughters. All, excepting three daugh- ters, are still living. The sons are: Yost, St. Joseph county, Michigan; George, Bellevue; Isaac, Seneca county ; Edward, York township; Bennel, in Iowa. The daughters: Sophia, deceased; Sarah, de- ceased, was the wife of John Romick, Seneca county; Hannah, wife of George Heater, Bellevue; Mary married Jacob

Miller, and died at Coldwater, Michigan ; Rachel, the widow of Jac- 5 Sieber, resides in Seneca county.

Jacob Hilbish, a native of Pennsylvania, came to York township in 1871, and set- tled on the farm which he now occupies. He married Susannah Paulin, also a native of Pennsylvania. They have had six sons and three daughters, viz: Harriet, wife of Nathan Knauer, Pennsylvania; Agnes, wife of Daniel Cleckner, Seneca county ; Ammon, Pennsylvania; Aaron, in the West; Matilda, wife of George Hassenplug, York township; Charles, Kansas; Wilson, at home; James, Indiana; David, Illinois. Mr. Hilbish has a good farm of one hun- dred and thirty-seven acres, situated near town, and does a good farming business.

A WEDDING EPISODE.

A wedding in a new country is a particularly interesting event. Our pio- neer fathers and mothers had no news- papers to interest them with the events of the world at large, nor did many of them have books to occupy an oc- casional hour stolen from the clearing or farm. Similar surroundings and pursuits effected a kind of homogenity in the community. These two circumstances conduced to a social feeling and interest which it is impossible to appreciate at the present day. Marriage is the second great event in the life of an individual, and the one in which people generally are more in- terested than any other. It is but natural, therefore, that in a community bound to- gether by personal friendship and social unity, the prospect of a wedding became the family talk of every cabin.

The story of an early wedding in York, as told by a gay and favorite beau among the red-cheeked lasses of the time, fur- nishes a pleasing episode to the naturally dry chronicle of prosy facts.

Miss Abigail Bardman, a gay, vivacious, and handsome girl just past her teens,

666

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

tired of the changeless succession of events at her home in New York, and captivated by the romance of border life as pictured in the letters of her sister, Mrs. Knicker- bocker, from York, resolved upon a visit to the new Sandusky country. Having packed the plainest articles of her wardrobe she started upon the long journey, and in a few weeks was the guest of her sister's cabin home. She at once conquered the rural beaux, while on the other hand the strong and manly knights of the forest found favor in her sight. Mr. Platt, from Huron county, pushed his suit most ar- dently and won the pearl. The pain of · jealousy was part of the price, for he sus- pected Norton Russel of being a rival and feared the issue. The load bore heavily upon Mr. Platt's heart. One day he and Mr. Russel were teaming together. Determined to know whether his compan- ion was a stumbling-block in the way of his most cherished ambition, he asked in the most confidential manner possible the exact status of affairs. On being informed by Mr. Russel that there was no cause for anxiety, deep melancholy took rapid wings and the pathway of the lovers was straight and clear until the eventful wed- ding day. That consummation is best told in the following lines, written by another :* When York was wild, when in her woods

The clearings' timbers nightly blazed;

When deer grazcd in those solitudes, And but few hardy men had raised Their cabin roofs; it chanced a pair Of lovers from an Eastern State

Here met, and here agreed to share Their lives, and leave the rest to fate. The records say not whether it Was when the woods leaf, or when the wheat

Was ripe, or when the wild gecse quit This clime, or 'mid the snow and sleet

The day was set; but we judge it Was in the scason for bare feet -- The sequel shows. Enough to tell, One smiling morn, a smiling set

Of settlers, friends from hill and dell. Had, in invited concourse, met

* W. G. Zeigler.

To witness the solemnities

Of marriage in New England style. The bride in white, all blushes, sighs,

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Sandusky County, Ohio : with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens and pioneers, Part 100

Author: Everett, Homer, 1813-1887 Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : H.Z. Williams Number of Pages: 1040

Author: Everett, Homer, 1813-1887
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : H.Z. Williams
Number of Pages: 1040