USA > Ohio > Seneca County > History of Seneca County, from the close of the revolutionary war to July, 1880 > Part 16
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Oakley was the first post-office in Seneca county. At the time this was established there was but one mail route in the county, and this led through the county, from Lower Sandusky to Columbus, Soon after the time the Senecas settled upon their reservation, or about that time, the mail was carried on horseback by a young man named Urich Drake, who was a son of Judge Drake, of Marion county. Young Drake was killed by an Indian, as it was supposed at that time. He was found, torn by the wolves, and marks of a knife were also dis. covered on his body.
In 1830 Judge Drake came to this county to find out, if possible, who it was that murdered his son ; and if it should be ascertained that the murderer was an Indian, then also to find the tribe he belonged to. He called upon Mr. Brish. then agent of the Senecas, and in company with him proceeded to the residence of "The Crow." Martin Lane acted as interpreter. Crow said that the son of Judge Drake was killed by an Indian whose name was "Big Kittles." and that he had fled to ('anada soon after the murder. The Judge returned home, fully satis-
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THE DEATH OF DRAKE.
fied that his son was murdered by a Canadian Indian. But such was
1 not the fact. Mr. Brish, sometime subsequently, asked George Herrin what Indian was called Big Kittles. The reply was that it was Spicer, the white man who lived upon the banks of the Sandusky.
It appears that the young man had passed over to the east side of the river, and when near Spicer's house was met by him and accom- panied to the place where he was to cross back to the west side of the river. Spicer mounted the horse behind Drake, and as soon as they had reached the opposite bank he drew his knife, and reaching around the young man, with one effort cut him nearly in twain.
He then dragged him behind a log, near the spring just below the dam of John Keeller on the Sandusky river, (about three miles north of Tiffin.) As soon as this was done he went to Crow's house, who. observing that he (Spicer) was covered with blood, inquired whether he had killed a deer. Spicer replied that he had killed a white man : whereupon Crow ordered him to be gone, as in all probability he would be pursued, and if traced to his (Crow's) residence, they might suspect him of being accessory to the murder. Spicer fled to Canada, but after awhile returned. These particulars were kept a profound secret until related to Mr. Brish.
The foregoing is taken from Butterfield's History of Seneca County, and is given here for whatever it is worth. The two stories don't agree, and the latter, upon which the greatest stress seems to be laid, is the least likely to be true. The reader will remember that Crow's wife was the daughter of Spicer, and that Crow and Spicer were on intimate terms. There is no evidence that Spicer had ever left the reserve. Herrin, the interpreter, probably lied to Mr. Brish.
This much of the story, however, is true; viz: That the young man was killed about that time, while carrying the mail to Lower Sandusky, and near Fort Seneca. The writer saw and conversed with a brother of the murdered mail-carrier on this subject, a few years ago in Marion. The family were not satisfied as to the manner of the death. It is also true that in front and on the east side of the residence of the Reverend Henry Lang, in Fremont, and about three rods from his door, up on the hill opposite and north of Fort Stephenson, an humble little slab marks the grave of poor Drake. The inscription, which is still legible, is. "('. Drake. 1811."
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CHAPTER IX.
ROCKY CREEK-FORT BALL-COL. BALL ATTACKED BY INDIANS-ERASTUS BOWE-OAKLEY-NEW FORT BALL-FIRST POST OFFICE - MILLS-ARM- STRONG AND McCULLOCH SECTIONS-EARLY SETTLERS IN FORT BALL- LOCATION OF THE COUNTY SEAT-HUNTER'S MILL-EARLY SETTLERS IN THOMPSON, ON HONEY CREEK AND ROCKY CREEK-MELMORE-COL. KIL- BOURNE-HARRY BLACKMAN'S CORNERS -- ANCIENT FORTIFICATIONS-COL. RICHARD JAQUA.
R OCKY CREEK has its source near the south line in section 33. Reed township. Running north about three miles, it takes a westerly direction through the center of Scipio township, entering Eden near the north-east corner, and sweeping through several sections, turns in a north-westerly direction and enters the Sandusky river at its right bank, in the city of Tiffin.
Nearly opposite, and west of the mouth of this stream, on the left bank of the river, where Lafayette street now strikes the same, is a large spring of excellent, cold water. This spring attracted the attention of C'ol. Jas. V. Ball, when in 1813 he was about to build a stockade near the army road on the bank of the river, under instructions from General Harrison. A detachment of men, under the command of the Colonel, built the stockade, and called it "Fort Ball."
In September. 1833, a company muster was held near the place where the old fort used to be. There was an open space between this point and where the stove works now are. The trees were cut, but very many stumps still remaining, interfered very much with the evo- " lutions of the "army." My lamented friend, Christopher Snyder. ( a sketch of whose life will be found elsewhere herein.) and myself at- tended this company muster. It was the first display of American military either of us ever saw. The sun shone very hot, and to get into some kind of shade we both sat down under a small sycamore bush that grew out from under an old log, bedded half way into the ground. This log was a part of the old fort, and the little sycamore bush grew up into a tree that stands close by the residence of Dr. Hovey at this writing. This camp was built as a temporary place of security in case of necessity, and as a magazine for supplies. It consisted of stakes a foot in thickness fixed in the ground, with old bayonets driven through
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FORT BALL.
them horizontally, near the tops. Against these logs were piled upon the outside, and over the logs dirt was thrown from a ditch, which sur- rounded the whole. There was room in the interior for five hundred men.
After the battle of Tippecanoe, and while General Harrison was at Fort Seneca, he sent a detachment of men up the river to strengthen this camp. The soldiers were quartered here several days, during which time they were very short of provisions, and, being compelled to subsist on fish, a part stood guard while the rest were fishing, to protect them, if necessary, from the lurking savages. Before the battle of Fort Stephenson this detachment left for the Maumee, but the post was occupied occasionally until General Harrison left the country.
The remains of several soldiers that had been buried near the fort were afterwards found in digging in the vicinity. One was exhumed last summer when laying pipes for the water works in the street, about half way between the river and the stove works.
Col. Ball with his troops on their way to the Maumee, about a half mile south-west of Ballville in Sandusky county, and a day or two previous to the assault upon Fort Stephenson, had a skirmish with a number of Indians. The squadron was moving towards the fort, when suddenly they were fired upon by the Indians from the west side of the road, whereupon Col. Ball ordered a charge. He, with his suit and the right flank, came into the action immediately. The Colonel struck the first blow. He dashed in between two savages and cut down the one on the right; the other, being slightly in the rear, made a blow with a tomahawk at his back, when a spring of his horse to one side let the tomahawk cut deep into the cantel and pad of his saddle. Before the savage could repeat the blow he was shot by Corporal Ryan. Lieutenant-afterwards General James Hedges, of Mansfield, Ohio- the surveyor of Tiffin, and brother of Mr. Josiah Hedges, the proprietor of Tiffin, following in the rear mounted on a small horse, pursued a large Indian, and just as he came up to him his stirrup broke and Hedges fell from his horse, head first, knocking the Indian down. Both sprang to their feet, when Hedges struck the Indian across the head, and as he fell ran him through with his sword. It is said that many years thereafter, the stirrup was found and sent to the gallant Hedge -. at Mansfield.
At this time Captain Hopkins was pursuing a powerful savage on the left. The savage turned and struck a blow at the captain with a toma- hawk; the captain's horse sprang to one side, and the blow failed of execution. Cornet Hays and Sergeant Anderson ran up and soon dis-
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
patched the savage. The Indians were twenty in number, of whom seventeen were left dead on the ground.
On the 18th of November, 1817, Mr. Erastus Bowe, the first settler in Seneca county, arrived at Camp Ball, where some hired men had erected for him a double log house within the limits of the camp. Many of the stakes were then still standing. This was the first settle- ment in the county. Here Mr. Bowe kept tavern, which was the first in Seneca. Hotel bills must have been high in those days, because butter cost two shillings a pound, pork six dollars per hundred, and flour twelve dollars a barrel. The house of Mr. Bowe was the only one on the left bank of the river within the present limits of Tiffin, when the town of Oakley was surveyed and platted.
In 1819 Mr. Joseph Vanse surveyed a town upon land granted to one Robert Armstrong, known as the Armstrong section, and called it Oakley. This was the first town surveyed and platted in the county. Bowe's tavern was in that survey.
Mr. David Risdon, who took a very active part in opening up the county to civilization, and who became very popularly known as a sur- veyor and citizen, was appointed the first post-master in the county, the office being located here at Oakley. There was then but one mail route in or through the county, and that extended from Columbus to Lower Sandusky, along the army road.
It was said of Mr. Risdon, that while he was post-master he used to go fishing occasionally, and carry the mail matter with 'him in his hat. People that were anxious to get their mail, and could not wait for his return, would follow him up, along the river. Mr. Risdon would then take the post office from his head, and look for papers and letters.
In 1821 two brothers, Ezra and Case Brown, erected the first grist- mill in the county, upon Honey creek, near Melmore. A Mr. Free, from Bloom township had the first grist ground there. The event was hailed with great joy amongst the early settlers, who had hitherto been compelled to go to Monroeville, Cold Creek, Upper Sandusky or Mount Vernon, to get their grinding done. John Knitzer, an early settler from the state of Pennsylvania, also erected a grist-mill a short distance down the creek from Melmore, in 1827. Mr. Knitzer was es- teemed by those who knew him, for his intelligence and manly qualities.
In 1819 Abner Pike settled in Oakley, and afterwards located on the farm of the late Ezra Baker, near where the mill by that name still stands on the Sandusky.
In 1824 the town of Fort Ball was surveyed by David Risdon. This included the whole of Oakley. Some people, who knew but little of
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ARMSTRONG RESERVATION.
the sagacity of Josiah Hedges, were of the opinion that if the lands on the west bank of the river had not belonged to Robert Armstrong, the county seat of Seneca would have been located there.
At the treaty of the Miami of lake Erie, the United States granted this tract to Robert Armstrong. It was a section of six hundred and forty acres, and known as the "Armstrong reservation."
Armstrong was taken captive by the Wyandots when a child three years old, in Pennsylvania. He married a half-blood, and was much respected. He spoke excellent English, and one could scarcely dis- cover that he was raised amongst the savages. This land was granted to him by the United States for his services as interpreter. He died in 1825, in the Wyandot reserve, about two miles from Upper Sandusky. At the same treaty the United States also granted to the children of William McCulloch a section of six hundred and forty acres, lying just north of and adjoining the Armstrong reserve. McCulloch was killed by a cannon ball at the siege of Fort Meigs, while sitting in General Harrison's tent, and was at that time employed by the United States as interpreter.
Ely Dresbach, from Circleville, a graduate of the Ohio Medical Col- lege, also settled in Fort Ball, on the 17th of February, 1823.
Rodolphus Dickinson, from New York, the first lawyer in Seneca county, also settled in Fort Ball in 1824.
Abel Rawson, from Massachusetts, arrived on the 15th of February, 1826, and settled in Fort Ball.
A Mr. Jesse Spencer, the proprietor of Fort Ball, and Mr. Josiah Hedges, the proprietor of Tiffin, two towns adjoining on the river, were each striving to secure the location of the county seat in their respective towns. Other people became interested, and for a long time there was a very bitter conflict between these rival parties for suc- cess. They sometimes came to blows about it. The brush dam was also a bone of contention, and one time, even after the county seat was located in Tiffin and Mr. Hedges had the two story frame building put up, (which will be further described,) for a court house, he knocked Mr. Spencer down, for which Hedges was arrested and for a short time imprisoned in this court house. Finally Mr. Hedges bought out Jesse Spencer, and became the owner of Fort Ball. Thereupon Mr. Hedges had additions surveyed and platted by James Durbin, re-num- bering the lots and extending the limits of Fort Ball, which from that time forward was known by the name of New Fort Ball, until it was finally merged into, and became a part of, the city of Tiffin.
The open square across the street, south of and opposite McNeal's 10
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
store, was the place intended for the location of the court house. New Fort Ball was surveyed and platted in 1837. It is situated upon the eastern portion of the Armstrong section, and contained six hundred and twenty in-lots, together with several additions that had then al- ready been made to Tiffin, "Pan Yan" among them, which was situated between the iron bridge and the tunnel.
In 1821 Josiah Hedges entered the land where the old town of Tiffin was afterwards located, at the Delaware land office. The town was surveyed and platted by the brother of the proprietor, General James Hedges, of Mansfield. The first stick was cut upon the town plat in March, 1822, and soon thereafter Henry Welch, of Eden township, John Mim and two other men, Wetz and Drennon, had each a lot given to them, with the condition that each should build a cabin on his lot and move into it with his family, which was done; accordingly.
James Spink, of Wooster, came here in the same inonth, and brought with him a stock of goods. In the following winter his store was bro- ken open and robbed of nearly all its contents. This so discouraged Mr. Spink that he left in disgust.
Simeon B. Howard, from the eastern part of Ohio, also located in Tiffin about that time.
Finally the day arrived when the great trouble about locating the county seat was to come to an end. The legislature, during the winter session of 1822, had appointed three commissioners to locate the county seat for Seneca county, viz : Messrs. Herford, Miner and Cyrus Spink. These gentlemen arrived here on the 25th of March, 1822, and located the seat of justice for Seneca county at Tiffin, where it has ever since remained. The Fort Ballites were very much chagrined and put out about it, but finally came down.
Very soon thereafter Mr. Hedges built a mill on the right bank of the river, immediately north of Tiffin, where the present brick mill now stands, the dam of which is still flowing back the water of the river throughout the whole extent of the city along the river. The mill was known by the name of the "Hunter mill," because Mr. Samuel Hunter, the oldest son-in-law of Mr. Hedges, had charge of it. To show how great a spite the principal inhabitants on the Fort Ball side of the river entertained against Mr. Hedges, they influenced Mr. Spencer to bring an action against Mr. Hedges, for flowing Spencer's land by the dam. They also decried the mill, and said all the hard things of Mr. Hedges and his mill they could. Soon the patronage of the mill fell off, and the enterprise seemed to fail, however necessary and scarce the mills were.
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HEDGES' MILL-TIFFIN.
Then Mr. Hedges resorted to a stratagem, which soon proved to have the desired effect. Hedges sent out word to all his customers and the people far and near, that he would likely be compelled to take his mill away, and that if they wished their grinding done they must hurry up, etc. This notice raised such general indignation in the country against the enemies of Mr. Hedges that it turned the tide in his favor, and Hunter's mill became the most popular mill on the river. Mr. Hedges bought Spencer's Fort Ball, and peace was restored to the border. At the time the commissioners located the county seat at Tiffin, there were but six cabins in it. The greater number of the early settlers were on the Fort Ball side, and the lawyers, doctors, merchants and all, were in unison in their fight upon Mr. Hedges, but he outgen- eraled them all.
Tiffin was named after Governor Edward Tiffin, the first governor of Ohio, who was a particular friend of Mr. Hedges. At this writing three daughters of Governor Tiffin are still living-two in the town of Chillicothe, Ross county, and Mrs. Dr. Comegys, in Cincinnati- the only surviving members of the governor's family.
The location of the county seat took place two years before Seneca county was really organized and clothed with judicial or municipal powers.
During the latter part of the year 1819, and during 1820, the beauty of the "oak openings" and the richness of the soil attracted quite a number of people to Thompson, and the Whitneys, Underhills, Purdys, Clarks, Demicks, Twisses and others became squatters, awaiting the land sales.
About the same time the towering oaks, soil and scenery along the banks of Honey creek and Rocky creek, made the immigrants say, with the disciples of old: " It is good for us to be here; let us make here three tabernacles : one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias." --
Here came the Welches, the Clarks, the Sponables, the Browns, the Bakers, the Searleses, the Pratts, the Craws, the Knapps, the Cornells, the Houghs, the Bretses, the Downses, the Jaquas, the Gibsons, the Bun- dages, the Kagys, the Penningtons, the Fleets, the Watsons, the Kol- lers, the Eastmans, the Omsteds, etc.
With the exception of a few early settlers in Fort Ball and near Fort Seneca, all the early settlements were made on the east side of the river, especially along Honey creek and Rocky creek. West of the river was nearly all forest and water, sometimes badly mixed, an !! there were no settlements at all.
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
Col. Kilbourn, also a pioneer surveyor in Seneca county, took a very active part in its organization. He surveyed the state road already described and known by his name; also the towns of Melmore and Caroline in this county.
Among my first acquaintances in America, was my friend James M. Stevens, of Melmore. He and I were apprentices and learned our trades at the same time, in the same shop, in Tiffin. James is a great singer-was at that time-and among the many songs he sang was the poem composed by Col. Kilbourn on Melmore. James used to sing it to the tune of "How tedious and tasteless the hours."
Friend Stevens-well, I don't like to say much of the living-but James is a very clever man. He lost an arm in the war of the rebel- lion, and is now familiarly known as Colonel Stevens. The poetry on Melmore is recorded here, not so much for its poetic excellence, but because James used to sing it.
MELMORE.
Where honey-dews from the mild heaven, Distil on the foliage below- Where Honey creek's waters are given T' enrich the sweet vales as they flow :- Where playful the heart-cheering breeze Sweeps o'er the sweet bosom of flowers-
There Melmore is seen through the trees, With fragrance and health in her bowers.
This country and village to prove, Of pleasure and health the abode. Kind Nature has found in her, love. And on her good children bestowed. The fees to her agents are small, For titles in form which they give; Then come, men of enterprise-all Accept, and in happiness live.
Merchants and laborers come, A fortune is offered you near ; Here make it your permanent home, The country will cherish you here. Come taste the Melmorian springs, Possess the Melmorian lands,
Wealth. honor and pleasure they'll bring, To strengthen your hearts and your hands.
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EARLY SETTLERS.
So healthy the country is, 'round. That doctors have little to do ; So moral the people are found, They live without ministers, too ; So honest our neighbors we call, So peaceful and happy at home, They've need of no lawyers at all, And none are desired to come.
On the 5th of April, 1822, Noah Seits, from Fairfield county, settled upon the north-east quarter of section twenty, in what is now Bloom township. This was the first settlement within its limits. Thomas Boyd came with his sister, Mrs. Mary Donnel, in the spring of the same year, and also settled here. Mr. Boyd was a native of Pennsylvania, much esteemed among his neighbors.
In the same year, Joseph McClelland and James Boyd settled upon Honey Creek, in Bloom, and were soon followed by Abraham Kagg, Lowell Robinson and Nehemiah Hadley. The following year John Seitz, George Free and Jacob Bretz became citizens of this township. John Seitz passed through this county during the late war, in company with twenty others, with wagons loaded with clothing for the soldiers at Fort Stephenson, where they arrived three weeks after the battle.
Harry Blackman, from Genesee county, New York, settled here in Bloom, on a farm that became afterwards very familiarly known as "Blackman's Corners." After residing here sixteen years, he removed into Eden township, where his place was again called "Blackman's Corners." The town that was afterwards laid out here by Dr. James Fisher, and surveyed by James Durbin, in 1830, called Elizabethtown, (after the name of the doctor's wife, Elizabeth, who was a daughter of Dr. Boyer, of Tiffin), never flourished, and at this time there is no trace of it left. At one time it had a blacksmith shop, a wagon shop, some dwellings and a tavern.
William Anway, soon after the land sales at Delaware, in 1821, came from the town of Scipio, in Cayuga county, New York, and settled in what now constitutes Scipio township. This township was so named at the request of Mr. Anway. He was the first settler in this neighbor- hood. Mr. Timothy P. Roberts came in 1824, and erected the first frame dwelling house in the county, in which he resided to the time of his death.
William Anway built a log house at the corners where the South Tiffin road and the Marion State road cross each other. The spot where the house stood is now covered with a circle of evergreens that were planted there in memory of the Anway family.
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
Moses Smith put up a small frame' building across the road from Anway's house, in which he kept a store for awhile. Robert Dutton was the first man that died in the township, and was buried on his farm, which is now owned by Frederick Fox. William Pierce, a colored man, put up and carried on the first blacksmith shop in the township. Mary, daughter of John Anway, was the, first child that was born in the township. She is the wife of Mr. John Wilcox, of Republic. A Mr. Langley-was also among the first settlers.
These names, with a few others, made up the white population of Seneca county to about the time of the land sales.
This Col. Kilbourn, the surveyor above spoken of, was a man about five feet eight inches high; he had a nose somewhat Roman shaped. In 1843, he was bald and gray; he had blue eyes, prominent features and expressive countenance. He was a great talker, and very inter- esting in conversation. He lived in Columbus, where he associated with the best society, and was highly esteemed. He was a great singer, and often produced his own poetry, adapted to some familiar tune. The widow of one of his sons became the wife of Mr. Reber, a lawyer in Sandusky City. This son was a phrenologist of some note, in Columbus.
Honey creek is the largest affluent of the Sandusky river at its right bank. It rises near New Haven, in Huron county, in the marshes, and near the point where Richland, Huron, Crawford and Seneca counties corner. It enters Venice township immediately after it leaves the marshes, and taking a northwesterly direction through Venice, it enters Bloom near its northeast corner. Then, taking a westerly direction through Bloom, it flows into Eden township, and making a large curve in Eden, it cuts across the southwest corner of Clinton and enters Hopewell in section thirty-six, and there the Sandusky river at the right bank.
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