History of Sandusky County, Ohio : with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens and pioneers, Part 106

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 106

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the partition of the Firelands, he ac- quired proprietorship of more than four thousand acres, all lying in sections one and four of what now is Lyme township. The father of eleven children, he gave to each an equal, undivided interest in these lands. To the ownership, by his father, of western territory, is due the fact of Gur- don's coming to this locality. Mr. Wood- ward, Sr., came into the possession of his lands November 9, 1808, the date when partition was effected, and died the follow- ing year.

Gurdon Woodward was born February 21, 1795, in New London, Connecticut, and at the age of fourteen, immediately after the death of his parents, went to re- side at Whitestown, New York. There he learned the trade of millwright. His educational advantages were not the best, yet he made wise improvement of such as were afforded, and acquired a thorough knowledge of the practical branches then taught, and, for his day, was more than an average scholar.

Upon the outbreak of the last war with England he volunteered his services in behalf of his country, served her with fidelity, and, at the close of the war, re- ceived an honorable discharge at Sackett's Harbor, New York. This was in 1815. He had at this time reached the age of twenty years. His mind now turned with eager thoughts toward the distant West. At Whitestown, New York, lived at this time a young lady to whom he had be- come attached, Miss Mary Shepard Sav- age, youngest daughter of John and Ra- chel Shepard Savage. She became his betrothed. Amos, the oldest brother of Gurdon, who was the youngest son, had married Rachel, the oldest sister of Mary, who was the youngest daughter.

In 1816 Gurdon Woodward started for the lands of his inheritance, and after a temporary stay in Huron, where his sister

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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

Betsey and her husband, Mr. George Sheffield, located in the same year, he came on to Lyme in the spring of 1817, and made a selection of his lands. His first night in Lyme township, then Wheats- borough, was spent by the remains of an Indian camp fire-his dog and gun his only companions-upon the very ground which was afterwards to be his home dur- ing many years of his life. His dreams that first night must have been filled with thoughts of far-away Whitestown, and of the loved one who awaited there his re- turn.

Two years of heroic toil were now spent in fitting his chosen heritage for the ad- vent of her who, at the expiration of that time, was to be his bride. A log house was erected and portions of the land cleared and fenced. The day finally came when he retraced his steps to his former home, Oneida county, New York, and there, at the village of Whitestown, on the 14th day of April, 1819, he united his for- tunes in holy matrimony with those of Miss Mary Shepard Savage. Westward the star of love, as of empire, took its way. Waiting only to receive the congratulations of their friends, the happy pair started for their Western Ohio home, the husband, however, coming some weeks in advance of his wife, who came accompanied by Amos Woodward, Gurdon's oldest brother. Their journey hither, thus taken separately, was their only wedding tour, and the first days of their wedded life-in their wilder- ness home - their honeymoon. Those first summer days which the young bride, then only eighteen, passed in the rude but comfortable home which her lover had, with dauntless perseverance, prepared for her, must have been in striking contrast to the life she had spent in her father's home in Whitestown. Yet who can doubt that they were happy days ?

With energy and determination, endur-

ing many severe privations, and denied innumerable comforts to which both had been accustomed, they strove together to better their worldly fortunes, to improve the condition of their farm and its sur- roundings, to beautify their home, and to make life attractive. Heaven smiled benignantly upon their constant love and patient labor. Seven children blessed the former, and as a result of the latter, the rude log cabin, in which their wedded life began, gave place, in time, to a large, substantial and comfortable dwelling-at the time of its erection, perhaps, the best in the township. Their beautiful home they christened "Woodlawn." Here they dwelt together for forty years, and here were born to them all their children: Lucy, Abishai, Amos, William, Mary, Ra- chel, and Julia M.

In 1859 Mr. and Mrs. Woodward re- moved to Bellevue, and, purchasing the Dr. Lathrop property, on West Main street, spent there the remainder of their days, receiving kind attentions from rela- tives and friends. Each lived to a ripe old age, the former dying December 8, 1874, in the eightieth year of his life, and the latter February 25, 1879, nearly sev- enty-eight years of age.

On the fiftieth anniversary day of their marriage, April 14, 1869, their relatives and numerous friends assembled at their pleasant home to celebrate their golden wedding. It was a time of joyous greet- ings and hearty congratulations. The aged pair could look back upon a happy, well- spent life, and regard with pleasure their present condition, blessed with every com- fort that heart could wish. Death had robbed them of three of their children, Lucy, William, and Julia, and hence their happiness was tempered with sad recollec- tions, but their surviving sons and daugh- ters were all happily situated in life-a fact that must have been of great gratifi-

Mary & Woodward

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

cation to them. In their declining years, their four children and their grandchildren ministered to them with devoted attentions; and rarely in this life is seen so marked an exhibition of filial affection as was shown Mrs. Woodward by her sons and daughters during the four years of her widowhood.

Of the children, Lucy became the wife of George Sheffield; Abishai married Ma- ry Amsden, the second daughter of Mr. Thomas G. Amsden, and is vice president of the Bellevue bank, and universally es- teemed by his fellow-townsmen ; Amos married Arabella, eldest daughter of Mr. Frederick A. Chapman; is vice presi- dent of the First National bank, and a man of wealth and influence ; William died at about the age of fifteen ; Mary became the wife of Rev. Mr. Hamilton ; Rachel married Mr. Boardman, who died some years ago ; a man of culture and intelligence, and a resident of Lin- coln, Illinois, at the time of his death; Julia M. died in early womanhood.

Gurdon Woodward was a man of marked and clearly defined characteristics. Of commanding person, he was possessed of sound judgment, a strong will and an inflexible purpose. In politics, he was a staunch adherent to the Democratic faith, and never swerved from fidelity to party and Jacksonian principles. In religion, though not a communicant, he was active in church affairs, and liberal in sustaining its service. He was ever a kind and de- voted husband and an affectionate father. Of Mrs. Woodward's religious and do- mestic life the biographer can say nothing more to the purpose than to quote the following just words taken from an obitu- ary notice published in the Standard of the Cross, at the time of her decease, and written by one who knew her intimately : " Amidst the trials and deprivations of pioneer life, she ever retained the grace

and culture of her early life. She loved the church, and as soon as opportunity offered, received the apostolic rite of con- firmation by Bishop McIlvaine. There was nothing ostentatious in her piety, yet she did not hide it under a bushel, but let her light shine before others. She took a deep interest in all that related to the prosperity of the church. She loved with a pure and earnest affection. In every relation of life she was admired and loved, but it was as a Christian woman that they who loved her best, love now to think of her. In her decease the com- munity in which she lived has lost a gen- erous benefactor, the church a devout and exemplary member, and her domestic and social circle a most kind and warm-heart- ed relative and friend. 'Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from hence- forth, yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors.'"

BOURDETT WOOD,

the eldest son of Jasper and Elizabeth (Boylston) Wood, was born at Manlius Square, New York, on the 19th day of February, 1803. The Woods are of Eng- lish origin. Four brothers came to this country about two centuries ago, three of them settling in Massachusetts, and one in Virginia. Aaron, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, with three brothers, had emigrated to the State of New York a short time preceding the Revolutionary struggle, and had settled on the German flats just above Schenectady. All four of the brothers were soldiers in the Revolu- tionary war, and took part in the memor- able battle of Monmouth. Aaron Wood was the father of seven children, as fol- lows: Thaddeus, Benjamin, Jasper, Re- becca, Dorothea, Aaron, and Homer. Thaddeus was a lawyer of distinction and ability. He was, in his time, not only the

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

recognized leader of the bar in Onondaga county, where he resided, but was esteemed as one of the best lawyers of the State. He was an active participant in the war of 1812, and, by reason of meritorious ser- vice, was elevated to the rank of brigadier general in 1818, and to the rank of major general in 1820. Jasper Wood, the father of Bourdett, was born in the year in which the war for Independence was declared, 1776, at Lenox, Massachusetts, where he lived until fourteen years of age, when he went to New York State in the service of a Mr. White, the founder of Whitestown, near Utica, that State. Here he con- tinued to reside for eight or ten years, and then removed to Manlius Square, where he remained until 1815, the date of his re- moval to the Far West. After a temporary stay at Erie, Pennsylvania, of one year's duration, he came on with his family to Huron county, and settled at Blooming- ville. Here he purchased a large tract of land, consisting of about one thousand eight hundred acres, for which he paid about two thousand dollars. Soon after this, the Government lands in the adjoin- ing county of Sandusky came into market, and were sold to purchasers at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. This re- duced the value of Mr. Wood's lands so as to render them comparatively worthless. He died in 1821. He was a man of rather superior education and abilities ; was a good surveyor, and could speak the Iro- quois language with considerable fluency. His wife's name was Elizabeth Boylston, whom he married May 3, 1802. The Boylstons were also English people, and were among the first settlers of Boston. They gave their name to many places con- nected with the early history of that metropolis, such as Boylston Common, Boylston Square, etc., Boylston Bank, Boylston street-places that are still thus designated. The Boylstons were a very i

intelligent and well-to-do class of people, and many representatives of the family are now living in Massachusetts, all oc- cupying honorable stations in life.

Mr. and Mrs. Jasper Wood were the parents of six children: Bourdett, Ada- line, Julianne, Juliette, Worthington, and Aramenta. Mrs. Wood died in 1834.

Bourdett received his given name from the Bourdett family, of Fort Lee, New Jersey.

At the age of sixteen he was bound for a term of four years to Judge Timothy Baker, of Norwalk, Ohio. After an expi- ration of two years, his father having died, through the kindly efforts in his behalf, made by Mrs. Baker, he was released from this service. The maintenance of his father's family chiefly devolved upon him, and he was brought in close contact with the utmost severity of labor.

Mr. Wood has been a successful man. To trace his career and bring to light the discovery of how he accomplished so much in the direction of getting on in the world, is an interesting undertaking. His father died when Bourdett was a young man of eighteen years of age, and not only left him no inheritance, but placed him in a position where he must, by the labor of his own hands or the employment of his own wits, provide, not for himself alone, but for others dependent upon him for the necessaries of life. Could the young man, the day after his father's death, have had his future career in life disclosed to him ; could he have seen himself standing on the verge of that career, penniless and seemingly powerless, and then have fol- lowed his course through a term of fifty or nearly sixty years, to behold himself the possessor of hundreds of thousands of dol- lars of this world's goods, he would un- doubtedly have disbelieved the revelation. Yet this is what he has accomplished. The acquisition of great wealth furnishes

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

in itself no marvel, for many men become possessors of it. Some inherit it; some have it thrust upon them by kind for- tune or good luck; and some obtain it by a systematic course of robbery, in which knavery, extortion, and theft, in its various forms, have their part to play.

After leaving the service of Mr. Baker, · Mr. Wood's first employment was in work- ing for Charles F. Drake, of Blooming- ville, for two months, for a barrel of salt and a side of sole leather, each of which was equivalent to about three dollars and fifty cents, and would buy a good two year old steer. The following summer he raised five or six acres of corn. This he was persuaded to apply in the payment of a colt, which Mr. Caldwell had obtained at a cost of eleven dollars, and for which Mr. Wood was influenced to give twenty- five dollars. About one-half this money he got together by putting up four tons of hay for Mr. Caldwell, at one dollar and fifty cents per ton, and by chopping twenty- five cords of wood at twenty-five cents per cord. In piling this wood he showed him- self to be a novice, for he made but about fifteen cords of it, the wood being put up very closely. Eben Dennis, who was pres- ent when it was measured, and who took a friendly interest in the boy, said to Bour- dett, slyly : " You are a little fool to pile wood in that way ; now you go ahead and chop more, and by and by, when the old man Caldwell is not around, I'll come and show you how to cord wood." He did so, readily extending the pile so as to in- clude the requisite twenty-five cords. In process of time he got his colt paid for, and was by and by enabled to buy an old horse, and then exchanged his colt and horse for a yoke of oxen, thus providing himself with a team. In 1823, at the age of twenty, he raised a fair crop of corn, and then went sailing. He sailed to Sault St. Marie, and acted in the capacity of

cook. The mate had laid in a barrel of whisky to supply the soldiers in garrison at St. Mary's, and Bourdett was promised half they could make if he would draw the whisky for those who purchased it.

He had the good fortune to obtain quite a nice little sum of money in his sailing operations. This money he invested in calves. In 1825 he worked in the Bloom- ingville brick-yard for Dr. Strong. In 1826 he returned to Manlius, New York, and was employed in making water lines for the Oswego Canal, the building of which had at that time just been com- menced. In 1827 he bought fifty-seven acres of land for two hundred and fifty dollars, a part of the old Wood homestead in Oxford, now owned by his son Thomas. On this purchase he was enabled to pay sixty dollars. In 1829; he carried the mail from Sandusky to Bucyrus, receiving four dollars and fifty cents per trip.

On the Ist day of January, 1829, he was married to Miss Rhoda, daughter of Mr. Seth Harrington. £ Industrious and frugal, Mrs. Wood furnished valuable as- sistance to her husband in his efforts to get a start in life. He soon found him- self the possessor of surplus funds, which he generously loaned to his neighbors upon application. Finally, old man Coggswell said to him: "Charge for the use of your money. It is no use to keep a cow unless you milk her." Adopting this sage advice, he began to loan money in small sums, and the accruing interest soon began to tell in his favor. About the year 1840 he began to buy and sell stock. He and Un- cle Nat. Chapman associated themselves together in the business of buying horses and sheep, for cash, in Holmes and Tus- carawas counties, bringing them to Huron and Erie counties, and selling them on credit to responsible farmers. And in 1844 he and Mr. Chapman began the pur- chase of Western lands. About this time

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

they secured fifteen hundred acres of the Wyandot reservation, and in 1853 they bought twenty-three hundred acres in Iowa, mostly in Tama county. He began the purchase of lands also in Erie county, buying and selling, and always reaping a gain.

In 1846 he removed to Bellevue with his family, and from this time forward made money-lending the leading specialty of his business. In 1871 he associated himself with Abishai Woodward and E. J. Sheffield in the banking business, under the firm name of Wood, Woodward & Co., and when the bank was reorganized as a stock company, Mr. Wood was made pres- ident of the institution-a position he still retains.

Mr. and Mrs. Wood are the parents of the following children: I. Jasper, born November 15, 1829. He is a resident of Bureau county, Illinois, and a very suc- cessful farmer and stock raiser. 2. Eme- line Adelia, born May 6, 1831. She is the wife of Peter G. Sharp, and resides near Stockton, California. 3. Richard Boylston, born December 2, 1832, was killed at the battle of Tunnel Hill, Geor- gia, February 25, 1864. He was captain of a company of cavalry soldiers, and a gallant soldier, a brave and efficient officer. 4. Henry Bourdett, born July 25, 1834, died April, 1873. 5. Elizabeth Malvina, born March 19, 1836. She is the wife of Adam Burgett, a wholesale boot and shoe merchant of Toledo, Ohio. 6. Benjamin Les- ter, born June 21, 1838. 7. Florella Sophia, born September 7, 1840, died May 14, 1866, of consumption. She was a young lady of much attractiveness and superior mental qualities. 8. Thomas Corwin, born April 27, 1842. He resides in Belle- vue. 9. Susan C., born August 7, 1844. She became the wife of W. W. Williams April 9, 1868, and died of consumption November 5, 1872. In the Western home

in which she lived during her wedded life, she won many friends, by whom her mem- ory is cherished with pleasing recollections. 10. Julia Louisa, born February 28, 1847. She is the wife of James B. Wood, of Bellevue, Ohio, whose home she renders blessed.

On the Ist day of January, 1879, the rel- atives and friends of Mr. and Mrs. Wood assembled at their residence in Bellevue, and celebrated with them their golden wedding. The occasion was one of the pleasantest, to all participants, that ever took place within that quiet village.

Mr. Wood is now in his seventy-ninth year, but possesses as much vitality as the average man of fifty. He has hardly ever known a sick day, and the prospect that a dozen years or more may yet be added to his days is not discouraging. Physically so sound and well-preserved, he is no less so mentally. He attends to all the details of his extensive business, and, though his memory is becoming treacherous, his judg- ment is as unerring, his discernment as acute, his reasoning faculties as sound, as they ever have been.

Mr. Wood is a man of clearly-defined traits of character and mental characteris- tics. In manner often abrupt and blunt, he nevertheless posresses a kindliness of heart that is rarely found beneath so rough an exterior. No man in need, whom he believes to be deserving, has ever appealed to him in vain. Schooled in the methods of money-lending, and having become naturally cautious and careful as to his se- curities, he has loaned money to hundreds of people who had no security to offer him, and toward whom he has stood wholly in the light of their benefactor.

He is not a member of any church, but Mrs. Wood has been for many years a faithful and consistent member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and is active in her zeal for its prosperity.

TOWNSEND.

'S ANDUSKY Bay and Erie county on the north, Erie connty on the east, York township on the south, and Riley township on the west, form the boundaries of Townsend. It was ordered by the county commissioners at their April ses- sion, 1820:

That a township be detached from the town of Croghanville, to be known by the name of "Town send," bounded as follows: Beginning on the east bank of Green Creek, at the division line between Sandusky and Seneca counties, thence east with said line to the east line of Seneca reservation, thence north along said line until it shall intersect the road leading from Croghanville to Strong's settlement, thence along said road until it shall reach the Huron county line, thence north along said line to Sandusky Bay, thence along the shore of the bay until it shall reach Green Creek, thence along the bank of the creek to the place of beginning.

An old document says there were within this territory at that time more than twenty voters, but their names are not given, and early election records are lost. 'The estab- lishment of Green Creek in 1822, and Riley in 1823, reduced Townsend to its present size. The first election was held at the house of M. Wilson. The town government of that year was as simple as possible. It was, indeed, little more than a law and order society. The land had not yet come into market, and conse- quently the principal business of our pres- ent official system-the collection and ex penditure of taxes-was a thing of the future. Indeed, as we shall see further along in this sketch, officers for the pro- tection of personal property were unneces- sary, for the citizens took into their own hands the business of inflicting punish- ments.

Prior to the settlement the southern part of the township was all heavily tim bered. Extensive prairies broke the forest in the northern part. These prairies were covered with a heavy marsh grass, inter- spersed with an occasional branch of a more nutritious variety, which attracted the cows of the early settlers.

The surface slope of the township is uniformly toward the northwest, and a number of small streams flow rapidly in that direction. There is but one mill-site in the township, that being in the eastern part, just below "Rockwell Spring." This spring is the source of the most beautiful stream in the township-a rapid current of clear mineral water.

The most valuable feature of the water supply of Townsend is the under surface currents which are the source of artesian wells. These fountains of cold water, pleasantly tinctured with mineral matter, are found in all parts of the township. The first well was sunk by C. G. Sanford about 1850. Some difficulty was exper- ienced in this operation. After penetrat- ing the surface soil and a stratum of blue clay, quicksand, saturated with water, baffled further progress. Mr. Sanford overcame the difficulty by constructing a casing of stovepipe through the sand to the top of a stratum of hard conglomer- ate rock. A hole was drilled through this rock, which at that place was about fifteen inches in thickness. The drill being re- moved the well soon filled with pure water and became the source of a living stream. By means of casing the water

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was raised high enough to fill a trough.

The geological conformation is much the same in all parts of the township, but a number of attempts to obtain wells have failed. The water filling a net-work of fissures seems to be bound down by the stratum of conglomerate above spoken of. When one of these fissures is struck the experiment of obtaining a well never fails. It is possible, however, that after a time a fissure may become clogged, and a well once strong cease to flow. One of the best wells in the township-one on the Beebe farm-became dry after a number of years. A new shaft in the immediate vicinity brought to the surface a strong current.

It is probable that Rockwell Spring and Cold Spring, in Erie county, draw their water from the same source through natural fissures or breaks in this layer of conglomerate or covering of an under- ground system of currents, whose source is higher than the surface of the soil. The depth of these wells varies from twenty to fifty feet. Some places water can be raised six feet above the surface.

The utility of such a system of water- works is inestimable. With proper drain- age, two or three wells can be made to supply all parts of the farm with fresh, pure water, making stock-raising at once more profitable and easy. It is by no means utopian to say, that as population grows, and, as a consequence, the profits of agri- culture increase, such a system of drainage and water supply will be effected as will render the injury of crops by draught an impossibility.

Only a faint idea can be formed by our own generation of the "appearance of things" before the white man's axe changed the condition of nature. Except in the marshy northern sections, heavy trees unit- ed their tops and completely excluded the sun. Smaller trees filled the intervening

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History of Sandusky County, Ohio : with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens and pioneers, Part 106

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