History of Sandusky County, Ohio : with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens and pioneers, Part 19

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 19

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SHERIFFS.

Willis E. Brown, 1820-24; Josiah Rumery, 1824-27; Giles Thompson, 1827-31; Samuel O. Crowell, 1831- 33; J. S. Olmstead, 1833-35; J. D. Beaugrand, 1835-39; Homer Everett, 1839-43; John Strohl, 1843- 46; Daniel Burger, 1846-50; James Parks, 1850-52; Jonas Smith, 1852-54; George Engler, 1854-58; Mich- ael Wegstein, 1858-62; A. R. Forguson, 1862-66; S. H. Russel, 1866-70; A. E. Young, 1870-74; Henry Coonrad, 1874-78; Charles F. Pohlman, 1878.

PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.

Jacob Parker, 1820-22; P. Latimore, 1822-24; Increase Graves, 1824-27; R. Dickerson, 1827-28; John Bush, 1828-31; R. Dickerson, 1831-35; W. W. Culver, 1835-36; Samuel Treat, 1836-38; W. W. Culver, 1838-44; L. B. Otis, 1844-50; J. L. Green, 1850-52; E. F. Dickerson, 1852-56; T. P. Finefrock, 1856-60; A. B. Lindsay, 1860-64; W. W. Winslow, I864-66; A. B. Lindsay, 1866-70; A. B. Putman, 1870-74; H. Remsburg, 1874-77; J. T. Garver, 1878.

AUDITORS.

Josiah Rumery, 1820-22; Thomas L. Hawkins, 1822-24; Ammi Williams, 1824-26; Jesse S. Olm- stead, 1826-28; Ezra Williams, 1828-30; Samuel Treat, 1830-36; Nathaniel B. Eddy, 1836-38; Ezra Williams, 1838-40; Nathaniel B. Eddy, 1840-42; A. Coles, 1842-48; Homer Everett, 1848-52; Horace E. Clark, 1852-56; William E. Haynes, 1856-60;

Thomas Tuckerman, 1860-62; Oscar Ball,* 1862- 65; John Lynch, 1865-66; Edwin Hoff, 1866-70; George W. Gust, 1870-74; F. J. Geible, jr., 1874- 78; Adam Hodes, 1878.

TREASURERS.

N. Wittenger, 1820-26; Harvey J. Harınan, 1826- 28; Grant 'T. Forguson, 1828-30 ; Isaac Van Doren, + 1830-38; Jesse S. Olmstead, 1838-42: Isaac Glick, 1842-48; Oliver McIntrye, 1848-52; J. T. R. Sebring, 1852-56; A. D. Downs, 1856-58; Wilson M. Stark, 1858-62; D. L. June, 1862-64; Charles G. Green, 1864-66; John P. Elderkin, 1866-70; J. P. Elderkin, jr., 1870-74; Henry Baker, 1874-78; Elias B. Moore, 1878.

SURVEYORS.

Ezra Willianıs, 1820-28; David Camp, 1828-36; David Reeves, 1836-46; W. B. Stevenson, 1846-47; Horace E. Clark, 1847-52; T. W. Clapp, 1852-56; D. D. Ames, 1856-58; T. W. Clapp, 1858-60; J. L. Rawson, 1860-62; Horace E. Clark, 1862-64; Jere- miah Evans, 1864-76; Michael Putman, jr., 1876.

RECORDERS.

Charles B. Fitch, 1822-25; James A. Scranton, 1825-34; James Robinson, 1834-40; N. S. Cook, 1840-46; Benjamin F. Fletcher, 1846-48; William E. Rearick, 1848-54; Jacob Snyder, 1854-60; A. F. Gallagher, 1860-67; W. W. Stine, 1867-73; James Worst, 1873-79; J. R. Conklin, 1879.

COMMISSIONERS.

Maurice A. Newman, Charles B. Fitch, Moses Nichols, 1820; Maurice A. Newman, Moses Nich- ols, Giles Thompson, 1821; Giles Thompson, Elisha W. Howland, Thomas Emerson, 1824; Elisha W. Howland, David Camp, Jared H. Miner, 1825; Elisha W. Howland, David Camp, J. S. Olmstead, 1826; Samuel L. Lockwood, L. G. Harkness, Jere- miah Everett, 1827; L. G. Harkness, Jesse S. Olm- stead, Jeremiah Everett, 1828 ; Jesse S. Olmstead, Samuel Hollingshead, Oliver Comstock, 1830; Sam- uel Hollingshead, Oliver Comstock, Casper Rems- burg, 1834; Samuel Hollingshead, Oliver Comstock, George Overmyer, sr., 1835; Samuel Hollingshead, George Overmyer, sr., Paul Tew, 1837; Samuel Hollingshead, Paul Tew, Ezekiel Rice, 1838; Paul Tew, Ezekiel Rice, Jonas Smith, 1839; Paul Tew, Jonas Smith, John Bell, 1840; Paul Tew, Jonas Sinith, Wilson Teeters, 1841 ; Paul Tew, Jonas Smith, James Rose, 1844; Paul Tew, Jonas Rose, John S. Gardner, 1845; Jonas Rose, John S. Gard- ner, Hiram Hurd, 1846; John S. Gardner, Hiram Hurd, Eleazer Baldwin, 1847; John S. Gardner, Hiram Hurd, Martin Wright, 1850; Hiram Hurd, Martin Wright, Michael Reed, 1851 ; Martin

* Resigned in 1868, being elected to Congress.

t Died July, 1877; J. L .. Green appointed to fill vacancy.

* Elected to fill unexpired term of F. Wilmer.

*Resigned 1865 to accept treasurer's office.

t Re-elected. Died before beginning of second term-Isaac Van Doren appointed to fill vacancy.

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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

Wright, Michael Reed, William Morgan, 1855; Michael Reed, William Morgan, John Orwig, 1856; John Orwig, Sanford G. Baker, Joseph R. Clark, 1858; John Orwig, Joseph R. Clark,. Benjamin In- man, 1860; Joseph R. Clark, Benjamin Inman, John Beery, 1862; Benjamin Inman, John Beery, C. G. Sanford, 1864; Benjamin Inman, C. G. San- ford, S. E. Walters, 1865; Benjamin Inman, S. E. Walters, Henry Reiling, 1867; Benjamin Inman, Henry Reiling, David Fuller, 1868; Benjamin In-

man, Henry M. Reiling, Longanbach, 1872; M. Longanbach, David Fuller, John Morrison, 1873 ; M. Longanbach, John Morrison, F. William Sand- wisch, 1874; John Morrison, F. W. Sandwisch, * Manuel Maurer, 1877; Manuel Maurer, N. G. Rathbun, Byron O'Connor, 1878, N. G. Rathbun, Byron O'Connor, D. S. Tinney, 1880.

* Resigned November 18, 1878 ; Byron O'Connor appoint- ed to fill vacancy.

CHAPTER X.

* DEVELOPMENT-MATERIAL-MORAL-SOCIAL.

Sandusky County a Desolate Wilderness-Early Settlement-Suffering Prevails-Pioneer Hospitality -- Rais- ings, Log-rollings and Dances-Woman's Work-Early Schools and Establishment of the School Sys- tem-Churches-Material Advancement-Comparison of Tax Duplicates-Abstract of Census Since 1820 -The County's Future.

HE Indians of Northwestern Ohio

battled firmly and bravely against progressing civilization, but their conflict was with destiny. At last, weakened, de- moralized and discourged, they sold their birthright for but little more than a "mess of pottage."* Reluctantly and sadly they abandoned their wigwams and corn-fields, and crowded upon the reservations, leav- ing a desolate wilderness, oppressive in the gloom of its solitude. Beautiful words and roseate sentences would be ill-chosen in a description of the forest which baffled the energy of Sandusky county's pioneers. A loam soil of boundless fertility gave rapid growth to trees of nearly every va- riety, except where inundation or fires had left islands of prairie in the sea of heavy forest. Vegetables as well as animals are subject to a common law of nature, which requires the old to give place to the new. A tree grows, matures, dies, and falls to

decay, leaving a young and more vigorous shoot to shade the spot it had darkened, and so on in endless succession. In the forest to which the pioneers of this county came, foliaged branches crowded each other, and enveloped poisonous gasses breathed from decomposing vegetation. Fallen trunks, crossing each other at every angle, closed natural water-courses and made the over-saturated soil a fulsome breeder of malaria. Armies of insects filled the woods with their hungry hum, and howling wolves made night melan- choly. To such a wilderness, every fea- ture of which shot arrows of despondency, brave men brought determined spirits and generous women devoted hearts.

It has been said that the white settle- ment of Sandusky county began before Wayne's war, and that the first settlers were James Whittaker and Isaac Williams, the former having been brought here a captive, and the latter the son of a trader

* About 3 8-10 cents per acre. Treaty of 1817.

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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

at Upper Sandusky and a captive. These two families were indisputably the first permanent white settlers. Arundel and Robbins, the English traders mentioned by Heckwelder in the narrative of his captivity, can not properly be called set- tlers. They were here for the purpose of speculating, and had no intention of re- maining to assist in the development of the country. The War of 1812 brought to the county a company of French from Michigan, who made squatter settlements on the river prairies as soon as peace was established.

In the earlier and poorer days of the Republic there was no public policy for the encouragement of settlement. The public domain was looked upon by Con- gress as an important source of revenue, and laws were passed from time to time making it a criminal offence to settle upon public lands. One dollar and a quarter an acre was the unvarying price, and who- ever paid it received a patent from the Government. Purchasers usually found on their land small clearings and rude cabins lately deserted by that nomadic class of people known as squatters. They are the link which in history connects the native hunters with the pioneer woods- men. Partaking of the character of both, they precede one and follow the other.

There is another class of pioneers who may be termed squatter settlers, for they came to stay, and awaited with patience the opportunity to purchase land. This class a wholesome homestead law would have benefited. Industrious, but poor, they toiled amidst every difficulty of forest life, borne up by the hope of securing an heritage for their children. How discour- aging it must have been, after two or three years of ceaseless toil, to see the title of their prospective homes become the pos- sessions of another-yet such was often the case.

The first settlers of Sandusky county, outside of the old military reservation now included in the city of Fremont, and ex- cepting the French and captive settlers on the Sandusky prairies, penetrated the for- est near the eastern border, and were mostly Eastern people, who had temporari- ly located in the Fire-lands. Land east of the Reserve line was selling at prices ranging from two to four dollars. Preferable land on this side was surveyed and platted, preliminary to being placed on the market at one dollar and a quarter per acre. Emigrants, when on the ground, with their goods packed in large covered wagons, sought out a dry spot in the trackless wilderness, cut out a road just wide enough to pass through and erected a temporary cabin. Two or three fami- lies usually came together, and gave each other such assistance as was needed in raising a house, which was made by the first arrival, of poles. Notches were cut in on each side at the ends, so that the has- tily built structure might stand more firm- ly. Mud, plentifully mixed with leaves, was used to fill the cracks, and a chimney of sticks was built outside. These cabins were little better than Indian huts, but the lone pioneer was unable to erect a hewed-log house, such as he had heard his Eastern parents talk about. He was almost a sol- itary adventurer in an inhospitable forest. Having provided a shelter for his family, this advance guard of the pioneer army next set to work to prepare a spot of ground for corn, which in new settlements is the staff of life. He did not cut down all the trees, as is done in modern clear- ing, but only the underbrush and saplings -the larger trees were girdled to prevent them from leafing. These advance set- tlers often planted considerable corn, with- out even clearing away the water-soaked logs, which covered more than half the surface.

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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

Skirmishers of the pioneer army made their appearance in Townsend in 1818, and about the same time in Green Creek and York. This year, also, the incipient village of Lower Sandusky extended up the river as far as the second rapids, and a few openings were made in the forest ad- joining the bottoms below town.

' Sandusky county did not present the true picture of pioneer life until after the public lands were platted and placed upon the market. Huron county was by that time well advanced in settlement, and gen- eral improvement under rapid way. The fame of the exhaustless fertility of San- dusky's fertile vegetable soil had reached New York, and a stream of emigration turned westward. Some came in large covered wagons all the way, but by far a larger proportion utilized lake transporta- tion from Buffalo to Huron, and thence in wagons. Many Huron settlers abandoned unfinished improvements, and began anew in the adjoining forest. York, Townsend, and Green Creek townships received their immigration mostly from New York. A few years later Central Ohio caught the pioneer fever, and many people of Penn- sylvania stock joined axes with the New York Yankees in a general war against the forest.

Below the falls, on the Sandusky, the dry river hills were entered early, and a French colony gathered about the head of the Bay, where many of their descendants are yet living. The Black Swamp west of the river was for many years viewed with an eye of despair, and abandoned to wolves, frogs and mud hens. This dismal region was first penetrated for purposes of settle- ment in 1826. Its rapid development did not begin until near the close of 1830. The black swamp was a subject for con- versation in nearly every country house in Perry county, Ohio. The settlers, then nearly all sturdy of Pennsylvania stock, in-

ured to rugged work, looked with favor upon this rejected tract which concealed its fertility beneath vegetation and water. Old men with their families abandoned the homes they had made, and young men bade farewell to the firesides of their fathers, all seeking fortune in a new coun- try.

Farther west, in Scott and Madison townships, the pioneers came from the Seven Ranges, many of them from Colum- biana county, Ohio. They trace their genealogies back to New England. The complement of settlement is made up of people of Pennsylvania German descent, who came to this county from Central Ohio-Perry, Guernsey, Columbiana, and Wayne counties have contributed more to the settlement of the Black Swamp than any other part of the country. The pio- neer community of Woodville was charac- teristically Yankee.

Pioneer life, particularly in such a wil- derness as primitive Sandusky county, is a most thorough test of strength of char- acter, a test which only the fittest survive. Many were induced to leave cultured homes and communities by the delusive hope of accumulating a fortune amidst surroundings such as are pictured by ro- mantic fiction; a few knew something of pioneer life in other places, where nature's wild beauty and a healthful air lightened the woodman's task. But Sandusky county's forest taxed not only the spirit but the bodies of the pioneers. It is esti- mated that less than two-thirds of all who joined the advanced settlers endured the conflict. Some who had purchased land sickened at the sight, and, if they were able, either turned back to the homes of their childhood, or pushed westward to fairer lands. Others entered upon their task with spirit and resolution. A willing hand sank the axe deep at every stroke, and a buzzing wheel furnished music to

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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

the cabin. All went well till poverty came -poverty with every discouraging accom- paniment. A crop almost ready for the harvest became the plunder of animals and birds. Reserved capital was soon ex- hausted, and nothing remained to supply the necessities of life. The awful picture of starvation impressed itself upon a trou- bled fancy. Disease and distressing sick- ness completed the desolation of spirit, and often grim death entered the loving family circle and wrecked every hope. All the past was lost, and nothing in future seemed attainable. Prudence counseled desertion of an undertaking whose only end seemed desolation and ruin. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that many of the early immigrants deserted im- provements commenced and lands partially paid for. Only those excelling in bravery, sturdiness, and determination, continued the battle of the wilderness to a successful issue. The survivors of that trying period have a right to recite the story of their hardships, and we of a younger generation would be ungrateful to refuse to listen. Their life was one of stern reality and work-disinterested work-having for its affectionate inspiration a desire to leave their children the heritage of an estate. But pioneer life had its amusements and good cheer as well as toil, privation, and sadness. A few outline sketches of early scenes may be of interest in this connec- tion.

The most distinguishing characteristic of the pioneers, was their generous, social disposition to give each other assistance in every time of need. Sincere, welcoming generosity shone from every fire-place, and when a new comer into a community was received with his family into a cabin, and entertained with the best its scanty accommodations could furnish. The site of a house being selected, neighbors for miles around welcomed their new neigh-

bor by building a cabin for him. Such a company was always in the best of humor, for a raising was one of those holiday oc- casions which break in on the,dull monot- ony of life, dispelling doubt and gloom, and leaving only jollity. After a general hand shaking with their new neighbor, the company organized for work by appointing a captain, whose business it was to direct the work of the day. Then trees about the chosen site of the cabin were cut down, the large, straight-grained trunks being split into puncheons for the floor and door. The ground once cleared, the raising commenced. A skilled axeman stood at each corner, and when, with many a "heave, oh heave!" a log tumbled into position, it was notched near the ends so that the next, crossing at right-angles, would rest more firmly. Thus log by log the cabin was raised, while another party of men, better skilled in woodcraft, was dressing puncheons and splitting shakes or clapboards for the roof. The first houses were rarely more than one low story high, so that by means of skids, logs were easily placed in position. The logs which built up the gable were smaller and were secured by poles running the whole length of the building, at intervals of about three feet. On these, clapboards were laid in such a way as to make a tight roof. The roof was weighted down by poles laid over the rafter poles, and held in position by blocks at the ends, running from one to the other. A puncheon floor vindi- cates the axemanship of our pioneer fathers. Many of them were as smooth as plane dressed floors, yet no other tool was used than an axe. One side was hewn smooth, and the others notched so that the sleep- ers brought them exactly to the same height. A chimney, a window, and a door completed the structure.

The chimney was built of poles imbed- ded in mud mortar, on a foundation of

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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

stone, and was usually placed outside of the house against one end ; a large open- ing was cut out to form a fire-place. A fire-chamber. was formed of stone to keep the poles of the chimney from burning.

An opening about five and one-half feet high and four feet wide was cut into the side for a door-way. The door was made of puncheons pinned to cleats at each end, and was hung on squeaking wooden hinges. A window was made by cutting out a piece of one or two logs, pinning bars at right-angles across the centre, and pasting over the opening greased paper. Glass in the West was a rare luxury, and sold at a price far beyond the reach of early settlers.

The cabin completed, the company in- dulged in various amusements, such as wrestling, running races, lifting, and shoot- ing at a mark. Whiskey, always free on such occasions, increased the general hilarity, and at times was the cause of a friendly fight.

Cabin furniture corresponded with the simplicity of the building. A bedstead was made by joining two poles, one into the end, the other into the side of the cabin near one corner. The two other ends were tied together with bark, and supported by a post resting upon the floor. Pins were driven into a log of the side of the cabin, and into the pole oppo- site, to which was fastened strips of bark in such a way as to form a matting. Un- der the bed was a convenient place for packing articles not in every-day use. A white linen curtain concealed from view this useful, though suspicious looking corner.

Few cabins afforded more than two split bottom chairs. These, however, were generally easy and comfortable, ele- gance being a secondary consideration. Benches were in common use. They were made by driving into wide punch-

eons long pins, for legs. The table was generally the product of a cabinet shop, and constituted part of the outfit pur- chased before leaving home.

One or two kettles and a spider consti- tuted the cooking furniture. The table fare consisted of corn bread, pork, and wild meats.

Articles of dress were largely of home manufacture, and were made either of flax or wool. Every pioneer in the more fa- vored and earlier settled part of the coun- ty, had a few sheep and a flax patch. The flax was pulled, bleached, and dressed. The tow was then cleanly carded with a hand card. The spinning-wheel prepared it for the shuttle. Spinning was at one time the National employment of American women. It is particularly an occupation of pioneer life and the ac- companiment of penury. There is real beauty in that picture representing virtue, which figures a devoted wife and mother, busily spinning with both hands; one foot is on the treadle which moves the whirling wheel, while the other is rocking, in a cradle, her tender offspring, quieted by the rythmic hum to sweet, innocent sleep.

The whirl of the wheel and thud of the loom, mingled with the echoing stroke of axes, the crash of falling trees, and roar of clearing fires. The music of the wife's industry did not cease at nightfall, but wolves heard the sound and owls hooted its melody. Shirts, trowsers, bed-clothing and dresses were all the product of wo- man's busy hands. But upon the woman rested more than the burden of spinning and weaving and sewing and cooking and rearing her family. and hunting cows in a fenceless forest and milking and making butter. Mills, during the first years of settlement, were inaccessible, and the preparation of corn for food involved great labor. As among the Indians, corn was used considerably in the form of

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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

hominy, ashes being used to take off the outside shell. Corn was prepared for "johnny-cake" by cracking it with a ham- mer or wooden mallet, on a block hol- lowed out for the purpose. It took one woman an hour to prepare in this way sufficient meal to supply the appetites of three men. It was not long, however, until mills with very simple machinery were constructed where a creek of suffi- cient size offered a favorable site. Most of these consisted simply of a buhr driven by an undershot or breast wheel. The bolting was all done by hand. Corn was sifted before using, by the cook herself, while wheat flour was bolted through a web of cloth hung on rollers and turned by hand. The customer always had to turn the bolt for his own grist. These mills, on account of their slowness, were wholly in- adequate even to the simple wants of the pioneers. People came long distances through the woods to bring such grists as they could carry on the back of a horse, and when once at the end of their tedious journey, were compelled to wait one, two, and sometimes even three days for . their turn. The mills built by Chambers and Moore, on Sandusky River, were more efficient. Being centrally located, an ex_ tensive business made the best machinery of the time profitable, and the water sup- ply. furnished all the power necessary. We say improved machinery for the time, for Moore's mill of sixty years ago would be an insignificant establishment, com- pared with Moore's mill of the present. The pioneers, speaking of the old mills, very appropriately termed them "corn crackers." But people who had cracked grain got along very well; all were not so fortunate as to have that. It is a signifi- cant fact that many of the early settlers of this county were poor, sometimes even to the point of physical want.

Very few of the pioneers had more

than enough money to bring them here. They depended for a start upon their own labor and the resources of the coun- try, about which so much had been said in the old communities. The first sea- son's planting, owing to the difficulty of preparing the, soil, was small, but under favorable conditions would have been suf- ficient to furnish bread, had the destroyer remained away. What must have been the hard-working farmer's disappointment and chagrin, to see his crop at ripening time become the feast of all the multitude of animals and birds, which filled the woods. Blackbirds, squirrels, raccoons, and turkeys literally devoured the droop- ing ears of an entire field, upon which the hard-pressed family placed sole de- pendence for their winter's food.

Another and prevalent cause of poverty and want in pioneer Sandusky county, was fever and ague, which visited almost every cabin. Scarcely a spring opened but the old, unwelcome visitor returned in its most malignant form. At places clear- ing fires died out for want of attention, and weeds smothered the growing corn. The spinning-wheel, perchance, ceased its cheerful whirl, and the dismal prospect, amid desolate surroundings, day by day, became more gloomy. All were not thus unhappily afflicted, but all had generous hearts and were willing to lend assistance in a day of need. As the forest gradually be- came more broken the years grew brighter and crops increased in fullness. Hewed log and frame houses took the place of the first rude cabins; and when at evening the family gathered round the great brick fire-place, the parents and older children told and retold to the interested little ones, melancholy experiences of sickness, want, and hardship. Those experiences are, thanks to our hardy and resolute ances- tors, happily past. Events live only in imagination and history; very few memo-

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History of Sandusky County, Ohio : with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens and pioneers, Part 19

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