USA > Ohio > Sandusky County > History of Sandusky County, Ohio : with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens and pioneers > Part 113
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This brief notice of the settlers of 1833 cannot be closed without speaking of the Havens family. Henry Havens was born in New Jersey in 1809. At an early age his father moved to Ohio. In 1832 Henry married Sarah Iames, and chose for his home the then new country of Jackson township, where he moved soon after. He and his wife bore a full share of the labor and self-sacrifice of pioneer life. Mr. Havens, after serving his community and family faithfully, "closed the earth chapter of life in 1853," at the age of forty-four years. His wife preceded him two years. William J. Havens, oldest child of Henry Havens, was born in this county December 13,
1833. He married Ann M. Paden, who was born in this county the same year. The fruit of this union was ten children, eight of whom are still living. Mr. Havens served his township as treasurer for a period of ten years.
Birchard Havens was born August 16, 1846. He married, in 1867, Elizabeth C. Overmyer, daughter of Lewis Overmyer, They have four children-Clara, Harriet, Myrta, and Adella, all of whom except Myrta are still living.
Six children of the family of Henry Havens survive, vız: William J., Hugh, Mahala (Shawl), Birchard, Orra (Stahl), Jackson township; and Mary J. (Carr), Michigan.
The township after 1833 filled up rap- idly with an industrious class of people, whose axes made the forests ring in every direction. Roads were laid out and the natural water courses cleared of logs and underbrush, so that the fertile soil became dry and ready for the plow. During the winter and spring few days passed without a raising or log-rolling somewhere. Later in the spring the evening sky, in all direc- tions, reflected the leaping flames of burn- ing logs and brush. There is something romantic and fascinating in the imagined scene, but when all the realities of that period of work and privation are contem- plated, the picture loses its agreeable cheerfulness. Looking from this distance we are too apt to see in fancy only the spec- tres outlined on a background of dull horizon, by curling smoke from clearing fires. It is well to appreciate the poetry of pioneer times, for it is the gold which occupies small fissures in the great granite mass of that life.
We will notice briefly a few of the rep- resentative families who have become citizens of Jackson since the period of early settlement, which we have arbitrarily fixed at previous to 1833.
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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY
Elijah Voorhies, a native of Hamilton, New Jersey, emigrated to Ohio in 1834, and settled in the eastern part of the township, where he lived until his death, February 11, 1863. His family consisted of ten children, eight of whom are still living-five boys and three girls. Oliver D., the ninth child, lives on the home- stead on which his father settled in 1834. He was born July 12, 1843. August 22, 1863, he married Lucina Schoch, who died in 1871. In 1872 he married, for his second wife, Sophia Stahl. The fruit of both marriages is five children-Mary J., Vernon B., Benjamin W., George and Frederick.
John Doll, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Ohio in 1834, with his family, and settled near the centre of this town. ship, where he lived until his death, in 1871. He was married in Penn_ sylvania to Catharine Day Hoff, by whom he had a family of eleven children, seven boys and four girls. Samuel, the sixth child, was born in 1835. In 1859 he married Mary A. Hummel, whose father George Hummel, settled in this township in 1833. Eleven children blessed this union, viz: Artemus J., Mary C., Har- manus, John Leroy, Lucy M., Eddie, George W., Elsie E., Orvill, Arvilda, and Estella. Harmanus, John Leroy, Eddie, and George W. are dead.
Daniel Mowry removed from Pennsyl_ vania to Stark county, Ohio, in 1823, and after a residence there of several years he removed to Wayne, whence, in 1834, he came to Sandusky county. His son Sam- uel, who was born in Centre county, Penn- sylvania, in 1820, married, in 1844, Re- becca J. Rosenberger, and is father of a family of five children living, viz: Sarah J., George W., Michael N., Alice I., and Milan E. One son died in the army, Henry A., the oldest.
Silas Kenan emigrated from Virginia to
Perry county, Ohio, where he remained until 1835, when he removed to Jackson township, where he resided till the time of his death, in 1875. His family consisted of eight children, seven of whom are still living-George, Peter, Minerva, Mahala, Francis, Mary A., and Oscar. Peter, the second son, was born in 1828, in Perry county. He has been a resident of Jack- son ever since the settlement of his family here. He married, in 1856, Sarah A. Hodgson. Their family consists of one child, William A., who married, in 1878, Sylvia A. Powell. Mr. William Kenan has a fine collection of Indian relics.
William Fisher, a soldier of the War of 1812, was born in Virginia in 1789. He settled in Jackson township in 1836. He had previously lived in Perry county, where his first wife, whose maiden name was Jane Anderson, died in 1833, leaving five children living: James A., in Colora-
do; George W., Harriet H. (Fought), Margaret (Hummel), and Mary E. (Huf- ford), this county. Mr. Fisher married for his second wife, in 1833, Mary Mc- Cullough. The fruit of this union was eleven children, six of whom are living, viz: Belinda (Miller), William T., Thomas H., Peter B., Sarah (Klotz), and Flora. Six of Mr. Fisher's sons served in the army-William T., Thomas H., John, and Austin T. in the Seventy-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and Sardis B. and Peter B. in the one hundred days' service. Mr. Fisher died in 1872. George W., the oldest son living in this county, was born in 1819. In 1844 he married Clara Black, and has a family of three children living-Rhoda J. (Hathaway), John C., and William F. John C. Fisher was born in 1848. He married Celia Moore in 1873. They have five children -- Claude, Guy, Webb, James, and Maud.
William Boor emigrated from Pennsyl- vania to Ohio in 1836, and settled in the
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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
northwestern part of Jackson township. He was the father of six sons and five daughters. Five sons and four daughters are yet living. All of the sons, excepting the oldest, were in the army. The sons are: Josiah, Steuben county, Indiana; William C., Wood county; Samuel, Jack- son township; James H., died in the war; .Silas C., Blackhawk county, Iowa; and Francis M., Jackson township. The daughters are: Mary Ellen (Robbins), In- diana; Margaret (Grimes), St. Joseph county, Michigan ; Eliza Jane (Rickle), Berry county, Michigan; and Elizabeth Ann (Garn), Steuben county, Indiana. Martha died in Pennsylvania when about two years old. Samuel Boor was born in Pennsylvania the year before the family came to Ohio. He married, in 1869, Mary E. Snyder, and settled on a farm in Scott township. They have three chil- dren -- Mary, Jessie, and John. Mr. Boor served throughout the war as a member of the Seventy-second Ohio Volunteer In- fantry. Francis M. Boor, youngest of the eleven children of William Boor, was born in Jackson township in 1845. He mar- ried Elizabeth N. King in 1867, daughter of George King. Their family consists of two children-Charlotte and Charles.
Peter Nickles was born in France in 1815. He emigrated from that country in 1836, and, after stopping a short time in New York, settled in Jackson township in the fall of the same year. In 1858 he settled on his present farm in Washington township. He married Sarah Joseph in 1845, who has borne eleven children, viz: Sophia (Hufford), Washington township; Mary A., deceased; Christina (Mapes), Iowa; Margaret (Wengert), deceased; Sarah (Ross), Fremont; John G., Wash- ington township; Anna, deceased ; Jennie C., Lydia E., George H., and Minnie.
John and Nicholas Shale, two sons of Nicholas Shale, sr., emigrated with their
family to Wayne county, and subsequently settled in Jackson township, where they still reside. They were originally from Baltimore, Maryland, but came to this State from Pennsylvania. John was born in Baltimore in 1808. He came to Wayne county in 1826, and to Jackson township in 1836. Two years later he married Catharine Crites, a native of Stark county. Ten children blessed this union: Valentine, Abraham (deceased), Isaac, Jacob, Elizabeth, Mary C. (de- ceased), William, Lydia, Mary, and John. Before coming to this county Mr. Shale worked at the carpenter trade.
Isaac Shale, the third child of John Shale, was born in Jackson township in 1841. He married first Barbara Myers in 1865, who died in 1870, aged twenty- eight years. He married for his second wife, in 1871, Lavina Clapper. The chil- dren by the first marriage were : William F., Ida E., and Samuel C .; by the second, Solomon C. and Harvey L. Mr. Shale, besides his farming operations, was in the grain trade at Burgoon for about three years.
Nicholas Shale, jr., was born in Balti- more in 1810. About 1835 he came to Ohio, and in 1836 settled in Jackson township. For his first wife he married Elizabeth Herring, a native of Bedford, Pennsylvania, who bore one child, now dead. His second wife is Mary Herring, a sister of the first. They have had no children. The Shale family are all mem- bers of the Evangelical Association.
John Vandersall has been living on the same farm since 1838. He was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, in 1814. His father, Jacob Vandersall, removed to Stark county in 1818. In 1837 Mr. Vandersall married Susan Kaler, a native of Pennsylvania, and in 1838 he settled on the farm, where he now resides. The family consisted of eight children, four of
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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
whom survive: Jacob, William, John and George. Two sons were in the late war. Jacob Vandersall, jr., was born in Stark county in 1818. He married in 1842, Lucetta Hair, and the following year settled in Jackson township. The fruit of this union was two children-Isaiah and Maria. Isaiah married for his first wife, Mary J. Feasel. After her death he married for his second wife Mary E. Swickard.
Samuel and Elizabeth Ludwig with their family removed from Berks county, Pennsylvania, to Crawford' county, Ohio, in 1831. Jeremiah, the second child, was born in Berks county, in'1811. In 1836 he married Rachel Meller, and in 1839 removed to Jackson township, where he still lives. They have eight children living-Elizabeth, Rachel, Samuel J., Thomas I., Mary J., Geneva, Jeremiah M., and Michael W. Mr. Ludwig was well known in former years as a stock. buyer and drover. Henry Ludwig, the ninth child of Samuel Ludwig, was b.rn in Berks county, Pennsylvania, in 1826. In 1857 he married Anna Townsend, 'of Erie county, and two years later settled on the farm on which he now resides. Mrs. Ludwig died in 1864. In 1875 he married Loretta Hodgson, by whom two children were born-A. C. and Anna. Henry Ludwig has also engaged in the stock trade.
There is near Millersville a German settlement composed mostly of industrious, hard-working people, whose labor has as- sisted materially in the economic develop- ment of the township. A representative family of this class are the Hoffmans. John G. Hoffman, a son of Frederick Hoffman, was born in Loteringen, France, in 1814. The family came to America and settled in Stark county in 1831. In 1834 they removed to Ottawa county. John G. married, in 1839, Catharine
Young, a native of Loteringen, and set- tled where he now lives, in Jackson town- ship. Twelve children blessed this union, seven of whom are living. The children were: John, Mary, Catharine, George, Barbara, Henry, Catharine, Joseph, Flora, Michael, Rose M., and Fred. Mr. Hoff- man worked at tailoring for about twelve years. The children are all married except the youngest. Henry L. Hoffman was born in 1843. He married, in 1870, Mary C. Weible, and settled on a farm in Scott township. Their family consists of three children, -Agnes R., Lawrence, and Jacob. Henry Hoffman was born in Loteringen, in 1813. He married, in 1840, Barbara Livingston, a native of Stark county. In 1848 he came to San- dusky county, settling first in Sandusky township, then in Riley. He settled per- manently in Jackson in 1861. Six of their nine children are still living,-George W., Henry L., Elizabeth, Barbara, Charles, and Jacob. The Hoffmans were early settlers of Ottawa county, and bore brave- ly the hardships of pioneer life. They settled there about 1835.
David Koleman came, in 1826, from Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1809, to Ohio and settled in Wayne county. In 1833 he removed > Stark county, and in 1847 settled in Jackson township. He married for his first wife, in 1841, Cath- arine Carr, who died in 1851. Four years later he married Lucinda Carr. The children by his first wife were: Mary E., Lucinda (deceased), and Harriet (de- ceased); by the second. Rosetta C., Jacob F., Perry E., and William A. Mr. Kole- man served his township as clerk fifteen years and as treasurer seven years.
Most of the settlers of a later period came to the township from Wayne, Frank- lin, Perry, Stark, and other counties of Central Ohio. They were originally, however, Pennsylvania or Maryland people.
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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
Otho Lease, a native of Maryland, came to Ohio in 1834 and settled in Wayne county, whence he removed to Seneca county, and thence to Sandusky county, and settled in this township, where he lived until his death, in 1876. His family consisted of six boys and three girls. Jefferson, the eighth child, was born · in Seneca county in 1843. He married, in 1864, Rebecca Carr, a daughter of James Carr, of Ballville township. The fruit of this union was four children, only one of whom is living-Maria B. Mr. Lease owned the saw-mill at Jackson for about six years.
Samuel M. Smith was born in Wayne county, Ohio, in 1825. He married, in 1857, Elizabeth Deahofr, and settled in Seneca county. The following year he removed to Sandusky county, and has been a resident of this township since that time. Their children are John W., Alfred, and Samuel.
John H. Feasel was born in Franklin county in 1822. In 1843 he married Martha J. Bowers, and in 1853 made permanent settlement in this township. The children were Mary J., Susan, Alex- ander, and Amanda E., all deceased.
John King was born in Perry county, Ohio, in 1819. He married Mary Mowry in 1841, and, in 1851, settled in this town- ship, where he remained twenty-five years, then removed to Ballville township, where he still lives. He has seven children liv- ing -- Mary (Musier), Allen county ; Lydia Reichelderfer, Auglaize county ; George, Allen county; Sarah (Mowry), Ballvilie ; John, this township; Jacob and Perry, Ballville; and Elmira (Searfoss), Scott township.
John W. King, son of John King, sr., and Mary (Mowry) King, was born in this township in 1853. He married, in 1875, Clara B. Hunlock, and has one child- John C.
Frederick Miller, a native of Wurtem- berg, Germany, came to America and set- tled in New York in 1828. In 1854 he came to Ohio and settled in this township. He married, in 1831, Sarah Hoil, a native of Pennsylvania, and has a family of five children living-Christian F., William S., Sarah, John R., and Frederick C. Chris- tian, William, and John, were in the army, and one of the sons-in-law, J. R. Rosen- berger, died in the service. Christian, the oldest son, is married to Sarah Zink, and lives on the homestead. He has one child-Esther A.
Joseph Burgett, second child of John Burgett, was born in Mahoning county in 1832, and in 1856 he settled on the farm on which he now lives. He married, in 1855, Malinda Hammon, who died in 1879. In 1880 he married Alma Flood. The family consists of three children. Mr. Burgett worked at blacksmithing in Ma- honing county about ten years. During the war he was appointed to supervise the Greenbrier road in West Virginia.
Jacob Andress settled in Ballville town- ship in 1835, being a native of Buffalo, New York, where Joseph L. Andress, his son, now living in Jackson, was born in 1834. In 1859 he married Anna Young, a daughter of Michael Young, and settled in Jackson township. Their family con- sists of eight children-Mary A., Jacob, Catharine, Johanna, Magdaline, Rosa, Theresa, and Joseph L.
Michael Ickes settled in this township in 1856. He was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, in 1817, where he was mar- ried, in 1839, to Hannah Ow. Six of their children are living-Joseph H., Jack- son; Harmonous, Anna M. (Oswald), Jackson; Margaret I. (Kenan), Illinois; Sarah C., Jackson; and Lucinda J. (Garn), Jackson.
James W. Laird was born in York county, Pennsylvania, in 1818. He settled
95
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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
in Perry county, Ohio, in 1836, and in 1 1856 came to Seneca county, where he re- mained six years, and has since been a resident of this township. He married Eliza C. Wilson, and has seven children : Calvin, Elijah H., Mary E., Emma J., Minerva E., Anna, and William. Mrs. Laird died in 1866. He is a blacksmith by trade, but is now living a retired life.
Alexander Smith, fourth child of Rich- ard Smith, was born in York county, Penn- sylvania, in 1824. He married in 1846, Catharine Richerd, a native of Germany. This union was blessed with twelve chil- dren, seven of whom are living: Mary J., Elizabeth, Alexander, Anna, William H., Matilda, and Josephine C. Before com- ing to this county Mr. Smith worked at blacksmithing for a period of twenty years.
David A. Pence, son of David L. Pence, was born in Seneca county in 1844. He settled in this township in 1871. In 1866 he married Henrietta Gallant, who died in 1877, leaving three children, William D., Oliver L., and Carrie E. Mr. Pence married for his second wife, in 1880, Amelia Finkbeiner,
Rev. Joseph Blaser, pastor of the Catho- lic church of Jackson, was born at Wur- temberg, Germany, in 1846. He came to America in 1874, and began pastoral duties in Defiance county, Ohio. Since 1877 he has been officiating in Jackson.
THE LAST BEAR.
The last of the tribe of bruin seen in this township was shot in the fall of 1833 by Mr. Zimmerman, who lived on Mus- kallonge. This species of forest inhab- itant prefer hills and clear, flowing, rapid currents, and were consequently infre- quent visitors of this flat country. Now and then one, however, sought refuge in the deep shade of this impenetrable forest, and having sought out some hollow tree or stump, lived a quiet life. But the time came when even the "Black Swamp" | flocks.
ceased to be a refuge. The last one seen in Jackson fell a victim the fourth year of the settlement. Zimmerman was quietly strolling along the bank of Muskallonge, carrying his gun, when a little black ani- mal arrested his attention, which, after sneaking up to within fair shooting dis- tance, was seen to be *a fine fat cub. A well aimed ball made the youngster his victim. But the sound of the gun and smell of blood brought an angry mother from her quiet den. A moment later the composed hunter was confronted by the fiery eyes and open red mouth of the en- raged beast. "A message of death," dir- rected by a steady hand, did its work. One more cub was seen and quickly dis- patched. The settlers, who were all recent arrivals, purchased the meat. The cubs were especially "fine eating."
DESTRUCTION OF CROPS.
The settlers of the spring of 1833, by dint of hard labor, succeeded in getting into ground a few acres of corn-enough in the event of a good crop to keep their families in corn-bread over winter. The work required to raise corn on this new, black soil, can be imagined only by the ex- perienced. Although standing trees were only deadened and not cut down, an enor- mous mass of deraying logs had to be cleared away, underbrush grubbed out, and the water drained into its natural channels. After the planting has been accomplished, the difficulty of keeping down the weeds will readily be appreci- ated. But this small patch of grain was all the newcomer, without money, had to depend upon for his next year's living. He cultivated and watched, therefore, with zealous care. The season of 1833 was fortunately good. Corn promised well, and all things were encouraging un- til about ripening time.
First came the blackbirds in darkening The numerous deadened trees
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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
furnished them a perching and roosting place, while heavy ears were being rapidly stripped of their yellow fruit. The black- birds were not long alone. A larger and more destructive fowl played havoc with the corn. Wild turkeys were so plenty that it was almost impossible to discharge a load of shot into the field without bring- ing one or more of these ravenous in- truders to the ground. Blackbirds and turkeys were not alone in the general cam- paign against these first cornfields. The raccoon tribe carried on an active and powerful warfare, while squirrels of all kinds lost no time in laying aside for winter use a fair share of the crop. It is unnecessary to state that this activity was of short duration. Grainless cobs were the only mementoes of what had been.
Mr. Jacob Winter informs us that of five acres which, at roasting ear time, promised a good crop, not a full ear and scarcely a grain was left. Some became discouraged and left the country. Faith in a better day ahead detained others. There was, indeed, occasion for discouragement. Flies and mosquitoes made war upon the household and stock no less industriously than the birds, turkeys, raccoons, and squirrels upon the corn, the only difference being in degree of accomplishment. To add to this more or less sickness incident to a new and wet country, we have a pic- ture of distress seldom equalled.
ORGANIZATION.
The first election was held at the resi- dence of Henry Stultz on Christmas Day, 1829. We regret that the first records were either not preserved at the time or have since been lost, for it would be a satisfaction to give the · names of the set- tiers who had conferred upon them honor- able Christmas gifts. John Garn, George Overmyer, Jacob Winter, and Henry Ha- ven were among the early justices of the peace.
SCHOOLS.
The first school-house in the township was a log building which stood near the bridge, across Mud Creek on the pike. James Drake was the teacher. This house was built by Campbell, Klutz, Garn, and a few others, about 1832. Webster's spelling book was the standard for spell- ing, and at the same time served as pri- mary reader. "The English Reader" was the consummation of an English edu- cation, and very few pushed beyond the "rule of three" in arithmetic.
The first school-house in the southern part of the township was located on Mus- kallonge, and built about 1834. The school board as constituted by the act of 1852, the act which provided for and enforced a free public school system, met the first time in April, 1853. There were at that time five school-houses. Eighty- three dollars were ordered expended on repairs.
A public library-the Ohio School Li- brary-was furnished the schools, and for a time faithfully managed according to the rules. But like all other libraries of this sort, it was in a few years dissolved by neglect.
Rev. Father Young, pastor of the Cath- olic church, founded a parochial school in 1871; a building was erected the same year at a cost of six hundred dollars. This school is in a flourishing condition, the average attendance during the winter of 1880-81 being about seventy-five.
There are in Jackson at present twelve public school-houses, including the double brick building at Burgoon. This district employs two teachers, one for the primary and one for the higher grade.
PHYSICIANS.
Jackson has had a doctor's office within her boundaries, with but few intermissions, for the last twenty-five years. We shall
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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
give the names only of a few who re- mained to establish themselves in a prac- tice. Dr. Moore opened an office at Winter Station before the war. He went into the army as a volunteer and never returned to the county. Dr. Lee and Dr. Orwich were successive practitioners at Winter's Station.
Dr. Andrews removed from Fremont to Millersville in 1872, being the first physi- cian at the place. In 1875 he removed to Genoa, where he is continuing the prac- tice. Dr. Paul succeeded him at Millers- ville and remained a few years. In 1879 W. J. Gillette, a graduate of Cleveland Medical college, located at that point.
MILLS.
We do not know the exact year of the building of the first saw-mill, but it was during the period of early settlement. It was located on Muskallonge and owned by Henry Stultz. The machinery has long since been removed and but few traces of its existence remain.
The second mill was built and operated by John Garn, on Mud Creek. Like its predecessor it has also passed away.
Jacob Winter built a mill on Muskal- longe in 1843. Considerable work was turned out in wet seasons. .As the coun- try became more generally cleared the stream became less reliable as a source of power.
The fourth saw-mill, and the only one remaining, except the steam mill and factory at Burgoon, was built by Joshua Smith, and is located on Muskallonge, near Winter Station It is now operated by Thomas Fleming, and steam power is depended upon.
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