USA > Ohio > Ohio early state and local history > Part 5
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A man by the name of Levi Crissa had a blacksmith shop where the Camelback bridge is now. His daughter Harriet, was said to have been the first white child brought into Tiffin and she came on horse-back in 1821. She afterwards married a man named Day, and died a few years ago at her home near Maple Grove.
Milton McNeal, a merchant of Fort Ball, came here in 1822 and occupied the block-house with his brother-in-law, Neal McCaffey, where McCaffey kept store. Mr. McNeal brought his bride, Maria Gregory, of Athens, here in 1824. He lived ten years afterwards, leaving his widow with three children,
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all of whom are living in this city: Mrs. J. W. Bayard, Mrs. Truman H. Bagby, and Austin McNeal. Mrs. McNeal afterwards married Abel Rawson, our first lawyer, with whom Robert G. Pennington, Gen. William H. Gibson, John Gibson, and Warren P. Noble, studied law. Mr. Rawson was a quiet man and was noted as a counsellor. He had two sons by a previous marriage.
I remember Mrs. Rawson well. She was a woman who went about among the sick in the early days, and she had a remarkable memory, telling the exact dates of events after years had elapsed.
Andrew Glenn was one of the first dry-goods merchants. There were five children in his family: Frank Glenn, a son, being a resident of Tiffin at this time.
John Searles, when he first came to the country, settled in the block-house, before he removed with his family into the country.
Bowe's tavern was afterwards run by George Park, who also was the ferryman across the river. He was the father of four- teen children by two marriages. His son Peter, was the first white boy born in Tiffin. His second wife was a Daugherty, also of a pioneer family. George Park being annoyed by the discussion of religion at his table, had the following sign placed on his dining room: "All ministers are welcome at my table free, but religion must not be discussed." The Indians fre- quently visited this family and one of the daughters often visited the camp of the Indians; and when the tribe left the county they lined up in front of the Park store to bid them good-bye.
John Park, a brother, came here in 1830, several years later than his brother. Their old home was in Milton, Pennsylvania. He kept the Post Office in the store formerly owned by Jacob Plane, who had died. There were five children in this family, Christopher C. Park being the only one now living. One broth- er, Rockey, went to Salt Lake City and became a prominent Mormon. He amassed a fortune before his death.
Josiah Hedges was the first to lay out the east side of the river, and his brother James Hedges surveyed the land, and the town was called Tiffin. He bought the land when the land
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sales were opened in 1822 at Delaware. He built mills and gave land for the court house, the cemetery, and to two of the churches. He was married three times and was the father of fifteen children, four sons dying young. His other children were Clarinda, who married William Hunter; Juliette, who married Joseph Mason; Quinn Hedges; Rebecca Ann, married Joseph Walker; Cynthia Ann, married Luther A. Hall, a lawyer; Mary Jane, married Absolam C. Baldwin; Minerva, married Harrison Noble; Elizabeth, married John G. Gross; Eva married Dr. Russell; and Sarah, married William W. Armstrong. Mrs. Armstrong is still living in Cleveland. Her husband was an editor of note, and at one time was editor of The Advertiser. Mrs. Noble and Mrs. Baldwin died not long since and were two charming old ladies.
W. D. Searles was a tinner on Washington street. There were four children in the family: Edward, Jennie, Libbie, and Sarah, a very pretty girl, who married a Scott.
Franklin Benham and wife came to Republic from Water- bury, Conneticut, in 1837, and in 1841 came to Tiffin. Ed- ward, James, George Webster, afterward a Colonel in the Regu- lar Army, Amelia, Lenora, Wallace, and Bruce, were the chil- dren in this family. Lenora, the only surviving one, is the wife of Benjamin Tomb.
Hezekiah Groff, and his wife, Julia Warner, were natives of Maryland. Their son Edward, is living in their old home at the corner of Madison and Monroe streets.
David Risden was the surveyor of Fort Ball, and was one of the early cabin owners on that side of the river, as were also Levi Crissa, and a David Smith. Mr. Reid was a merchant in Fort Ball, and later had a grain warehouse. George Knupp was also an early merchant on that side of the river, and was also one of the early postmasters. His wife, Aunt Fannie, was noted for her easy hospitality. She was a woman weighing about 200 pounds, while her husband was tall and slender.
Calvin Bradley, John Goodin, Eli Norris, Richard Sneath, C. Y. Pierson, and John Staub were tavern keepers in pioneer days. John Staub was the envy of all the boys because he could drive four horses. He was quite a character, easy going,
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and somewhat rough. His brother, Dr. Staub, was a man of considerable refinement. Their sisters were the wives of Uriah P. Coonrod, who was in the Woolen Mill, and John Baugher, a carpenter, who built the first court house.
Henry Brish, the Indian agent, and his wife, Aunt Eleanor, were well known people in those days. He could tell legends about everything along the river. He bought a number of farms in the county, and his home farm, which is now High- land, was called "Rosewood." His original home was in Frederick County, Maryland. He was fair, with blue eyes. His wife, Aunt Eleanor, loved flowers and worked among them. She brought from her Maryland home what were luxuries to her neighbors. She had ingrain carpets on her floors while her friends had to be content with rag carpets. Her maiden name was Carey, and she was a relative of Phoebe and Alice Carey. Dr. Robert C. Carey, one of the earliest physicians, was her brother and lived with the Brishes. George Richie, a half-brother, lived with the other sister, Aunt Fannie Knupp. Aunt Eleanor had no children. Grandma Brish, and his brother William, followed Henry to Seneca county. They kept a hotel on Sandusky street. At one time the young folks gave a dance there and young men from Sandusky and Melmore came. There was a storm and the rivers were swollen and they were obliged to stay three days. It is said that Wil- liam Brish was a great fisher and that he told good stories about it. He died while his children were young. Mrs. Rush McDonald and Mrs. Cornelia Coxe are the only living children of a family of eleven.
Let us imagine ourselves back in these early days watching the growth of the place, and the every day happenings of inter- est as they must have seemed to Erastus Bowe and Josiah Hedges. There were the arrivals by stage or ox cart, or even on foot; the clamoring for the mail; the dances in which the married folks joined the young folks; the church meetings; and no doubt the women occasionally gathered to gossip. Maria, Jane, or Mary might need a pair of shoes, and Slanker the shoe merchant would supply the demand. If they wanted a hat, one of the Creeger girls supplied them.
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The widow Creeger, with her son and five daughters, lived in the little brick house on Washington street now occupied by Scheib, the tailor. They came from Maryland by wagon, walking part of the way. Her oldest daughter had married Benjamin Pittenger, a native of Graceham, Maryland, but who had come to Tiffin some years before, and they returned to Tiffin with him when he had been east for goods. The Creeger girls married a Kridler, a Miller, and John G. Breslin, Josephine, married Barclay Pennington, the photographer, and Martha, the youngest, married Gen. William H. Gibson, who had come from the country and studied law with Rawson & Pennington.
Benjamin Pittinger afterward was elected Judge. Their daughters, Cornelia and Emma married John M. and Edward T. Naylor. John M. Naylor came here from Wooster in 1845 and the next year started a hardware store, under the name of Naylor & Howard. He had worked in the business for Mr. Howard at Wooster. Mr. Naylor carried on that business for fifty years. His brother Edward T. was associated with him later, coming here in 1857.
Judge Hugh Welch was a brother-in-law of General Gibson, and built the home out on South Washington street known as "Sleepy Hollow." One of his daughters, Maria, became quite an actress, having studied with Edwin Booth.
John Pittinger, a pioneer merchant (and a brother of Benjamin Pittinger, a merchant), moved with his wife, who was Miss Julia Copenhaver, and children, to Tiffin, from Graceham, Maryland, in 1829. Their children were Ann C., John Hanson, Matilda E., Virginia L., and Charles W.
Ann C., married Dr. R. R. McMeens, who was surgeon of an Ohio regiment during the Civil War. Matilda E. married Jesse Stem, their eldest daughter being the wife of Professor Hornung of Heidelberg University, and now residing in Tiffin. Virginia L. married Harry L. Kendig, both now dead, their only child, Harry S. Kendig, now living in Denver. Charles W. was living at Bellefontaine a few years ago. John Hanson, born in Graceham, Maryland, in 1823, and brought by his parents to Tiffin in 1829, resided here until his death in 1885.
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In 1850, he was married at Fremont to Miss Clara P. Meeker, who was born in Stratford, Delaware County, Ohio, in 1830. To them were born four children, three being dead. Hal. L. is now living in Washington, D. C. Mrs. Pittenger continued to live in her old home at the corner of Monroe and Madison streets until her death a few years ago. She was endeared to a large circle of friends, and her pleasant face, encircled with curls, was a familiar sight in the window of her home in which she had lived for so many years.
Edward Cookerly, living with his sister Miss Sophia C. Cookerly, on East Davis street, has been a resident of Tiffin 82 years, having been brought here from Frederick County, Maryland, by his parents when he was six years of age. He, and his sister Sophia, are among Tiffin's oldest citizens, and highly respected. He can tell many interesting stories of the pioneer days of Tiffin.
Richard Sneath, Sr., came to Tiffin from Frederick County, Maryland, in 1826, and kept a tavern on Washington street. In 1828 his son, Samuel B. Sneath, still living here and with as keen a mind as one would wish to see, was born. He has the distinction of being the oldest native male citizen of Tiffin. He had five sisters: Eliza and Catherine whose married names were Drake; Mrs. Jane Rummel, Mrs. Mary Keilholtz, and Mrs. Henrietta Lord, and one brother, Richard, who went to California among the Forty-Niners.
There were several other Sneath men who came to the coun- ty; J. B., Isaac, William, A. G., and a sister, Mary Bell, cousins of Samuel B. Sneath.
Squire Levi Davis lived in a log house on Sandusky street, and on the same lot afterwards built what is now the Simon A. Leister home. He married two sisters by the name of Shriver, there being eight children in all; Henry, Jesse, Mary, Anna, Isaac, Levi, Charles and Ella. Mary married Samuel B. Sneath.
Dr. Eli Dresbach was the first physician. He was much beloved, was fond of telling stories, and wore very fine clothes, his shirts being made of linen with hem-stitched ruffles. He never married, but lived, after his brother Charles Frederick
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came to Tiffin, with his brother's family. Their home was originally in Circleville, Ohio. The Misses Jennie and Maria, are daughters of Charles F. Dresbach.
Dr. Henry Kuhn was another of the early physicians. He was splendid in his profession. He was married twice, first to a Baltzell, and then to a Pennington. On one of his first trips to Washington in the interest of the Indians, Henry Brish brought back with him Caroline Kuhn, a niece of Dr. Kuhn. Her father had been a Naval officer and married while in Spain. His daughter was born in the Island of Minorca, and after- wards became the wife of Robert G. Pennington. She was a remarkable woman, living to be more than ninety years of age, in the possession of all her faculties, and she was constantly sought by her many friends because of her cheerful disposition.
The Pennington family were Quakers, and there were several children in the family-an odd coincidence being three marriages into the Kuhn family.
Dr. Samuel W. Bricker came to Tiffin in 1844, from Co- lumbiana county. His first wife was Jemima Kelley. Four children were born to them, all of whom are dead. Dr. Bricker was much beloved by his patients, and many amusing stories are told of his peculiarities.
John Berkey, and his wife (Lydia Reem), came to Seneca county, in 1828. They were the parents of seven children: William A., who married Mary Springer; David, who married Elizabeth Kemp; Susannah, who married John Knox; Kath- erine, who married Edmund Wagner; Julius, who married Emely Baker; Rachael, who married Dr. John W. Martin; and Martha and Sophia.
Daniel Dildine, Sr., and his wife (Margaret McEwen) came to Tiffin in a very early day. To them were born five children: Andrew, who married Jane Owen; William, who married Christena Ann Berger; Daniel, Jr., who married Laura E. Perkins; Ann E., who married John M. Wolf; and John, who married Betsey Hines.
Squire Gabriel J. Keen, Squire D. J. Goodsell, a peculiar man whose daughter married William Rockefeller, Mr. Loomis, who had a mill down the river where the first homespun was
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made. Judge J. K. Hord, Joseph Howard, an aristocratic gentleman, David Bishop, auctioneer and sheriff, Marquis Groff, the first railroad engineer, Lawyer Williams, a one armed man, Jefferson Freeze, a tailor, George W. Gist, a real estate man, Philetus Nyman, and John D. Loomis, prominent man- ufacturers, Col. J. W. Patterson, Rev. Henry G. Spayth, Rev. John Souder, whose wife was Elizabeth Walker, Dr. H. B. Martin, Dennis Cramer, Dr. Henry K. Hershiser, John M. Kaull, Squire Daniel Dildine, George Taylor, a merchant, John Houck, a sterling man in the shoe business, Dr. E. J. McCollum, and their families, were all among the early set- tlers.
Jacob Huss was an early saddler. There were four children in his family: George R., John T., Sarah and Hannah. George R. for years kept about the earliest book-store in Tiffin. Mrs. Henry L. Wenner is his daughter.
Education seemed to be quite a factor among the more well to do of that day. At first, the schools were not graded, and the various teachers were Squire Keen, Dodge, Crockett, and Nolan, on the east side of the river. Nolan was also one of the teachers on the Fort Ball side. Afterward, some of the ladies taught, teaching at first in the residence part of the log jail: Martha Creeger, Ann Pittinger, Elizabeth Cronise, and probably others. However, many of the young ladies were sent away to the early Seminaries. Norwalk and Milan were famous as schools at that time, and the Academy at Republic gave promise of lasting. Some of the boys were sent away to college, William Hedges being a classmate of Rutherford B. Hayes, at Harvard.
Sidney Sea, whose name was changed from Smith by the legislature, was a unique character. He lived at one time in the one story brick house on North Washington street, still standing next door to the residence of Dr. J. W. Martin. He was a bright lawyer, but eccentric; was a millitary man and rode a white horse, making a conspicuously imposing figure. One story told of him was that wanting a drink one day he rode his horse right up the steps and into the saloon.
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Dr. J. W. Martin, living on North Washington street, and a resident of the city for more than eighty years, was born in the country just outside the city. His father, John Martin, wife, and one child, came from Maryland in the early days. Dr. Martin practiced dentistry in Tiffin for thirty years. His wife was Rachael Berkey, also of a pioneer family. An uncle, William, lived in the brick house now occupied by Mrs. William Holt.
Joshua Seney was an early merchant, his wife being an Ebbert. Their children were Tillie, Josephine, Francis, Sarah, George, Henry, and Joshua. One of the daughters was the wife of Robert Crum, one of the prominent merchants. Both George and Henry became fine lawyers. A grand-daughter is on the stage under the name of Elizabeth Brice.
Auntie Dorsey, a bright clever little woman, was a sister of Mrs. Seney, as she was also of George Ebbert, a bachelor, and Henry Ebbert, a pioneer merchant. Henry Ebbert and wife had no children, but they raised three: Anna and Eva Phillips, her nieces, and Charlotte Hoffman, a little German girl whose parents died of cholera shortly after arriving here.
The first German dance was given in their tavern on Christ- mas Eve., 1833. Auntie Ebbert, who was dearly loved by everybody for her kindness and loving help, took the little orphan and raised her as their own, sending her away to school like the other young misses. She married General John C. Lee, and her body was brought back here today (January 6, 1913) to be laid beside that of her husband in Greenlawn.
Henry's nephew, Jacob Ebbert, was a saddler, and lived where Dr. Henry L. Wenner now lives. The children were Annie, Edward, Mary, Dorsey, William, and Libbie.
There were many old German families that settled here: The Langs, one of whose sons, Judge William Lang, wrote the most complete history of the county we have; Philip Scheib, Abner Neibel, and Mrs. Durley; John Snyder, a shoemaker, his brother Christopher, a store-keeper, whose wife was one of the Augsberger twins, who lived to be past eighty-nine years. Miss Eva is still living in her ninety-first year, and with a remarkable memory. The twins came to this country on a
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visit, because a sister, Mrs. Scheidinger, was homesick. Mrs. Scheidinger came to this country because all of her children died of croup, and a gypsy told her she would have to move to another country to raise any. She had two after coming to America, and they both grew up.
The Schrickels, who were musicians, kept a tavern on Mar- ket street, and many German dances were given there, and some of the other young fellows attended also.
Peter Von Blon settled in the country and one of the daugh- ters married John Fiege, a cabinet maker by trade, who came her in 1834 and became a substantial business man on the site where the present jail stands. Three sons grew to manhood, Henry, George, and John, the latter still living.
Andrew Albrecht arrived here early. He was a mason and there were four children in the family: Philip having died recently. His daughter Catherine was the wife of John Merkle- baugh. The other two were Christopher and Martin.
Elizabeth Augsberger kept German school on Madison street in the forties or fifties.
Philip Seewald was a jeweler and was established at the north-east corner of Madison and Washington streets. He had a family of seven children: Kate, Henry, Louis, Phoebe, Louise, Philip, and Sophia.
The Cradlebaughs, who occupied one of the first cabins on the Tiffin side of the river, the Zahms, the Armbrusters, Rank, a school-teacher, George Roller, who had the first tannery, the Trumplers, the Schabachers, and the Rankers, were also German people. Joseph Baumgardner, a brick-layer, built the Edward Naylor property and lived there with his eight children. John Hartman was probably the first silver-smith in the town, arriving in the thirties. Among the German citizens it was the custom to teach the father's trade to the children, some of them continuing in the same, while of course some afterwards followed other occupations.
Henry St. John was an early merchant, keeping store where the Maiberger cigar store is now.
A well known figure on the streets was "Niggah" Bibbs, the barber. He at one time had considerable means, and built a nice residence on the corner of Monroe and Circular streets.
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He would quote Scripture by the hour and would go along the street talking to himself. He would be heard saying: "Who built dat fine house up dere? Why Niggah Bibbs. Niggah Bibbs, de barber? Yes, Niggah Bibbs, de barber."
Bibbs had been a slave before the war, but escaped from his master by means of the Underground Railroad and went to Canada. After some time spent there, he returned to Tiffin and made this place his home. His wife was a Janet, a grand- daughter of a Southern planter, and it was from his wife's property that he received his financial start. She was a grad- uate of Oberlin College. They afterwards lost their money. In their old age they celebrated their Golden wedding at the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which they were members, many of the prominent people of the city attending.
"Black Hank" Windsor, a colored man, was also an early character, and amusing stories are told of him; and of Neddy Quinn, an Irishman, who lived on Sandusky street.
Another pioneer from Frederick County, Maryland, who held an important place among the early settlers, was Henry Cronise, who came here in 1826, with his wife (Susan Funden- berg), and five children. He had his home and store where the Mabury, Nicolai, and Volkmor stores now are. He, at one time was a member of the Ohio Legislature. To them were born seven children: Henry George Washington, Walter Fundenberg, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, Charles, Elizabeth, and Katherine Barbara.
Katherine Barbara married Jacob Staub, to whom were born three children: Florence, Alice, and Nettie, who married Nelson B. Lutes. By an act of the Legislature, their names were changed from Staub to Cronise. This family has the distinction of having produced three women lawyers, Florence and Nettie, admitted to the Bar in 1873, being the first women to be admitted to the Bar in Ohio, and Eleanor, the daughter of Nettie.
The Singers afterward kept hotel where the Sneaths form- erly did. There were four children in the family: Mary, afterwards Mrs. Warren P. Noble; Isabel, afterwards Mrs. George E. Seney; Livingston, and Warren. Many of the young men in the town boarded there: General William H.
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Gibson, Warren P. Noble, Silas St. John, I. L. St. John, Jake Barber, John Gibson, and others.
Warren P. Noble came here in 1842, and when through with his law studies he and William H. Gibson started out to look for a location. They went to Chicago, but it looked to them like a mud-hole, so they came back and located in Tiffin.
I. L. St. John, who for years was one of the queer characters of the city, hailed originally from New Jersey, and his mother, a charming woman, used to visit him. He was a good dresser in his younger days and quite a beaux among the girls, dropping down from crowd to crowd. He would never let anyone know his age.
Mary Boyer eloped with Lloyd Norris and came out here on horseback behind her husband from Maryland. They built a cabin where Lake Mohawk is now, and the Indians who often visited her, called her the white squaw. All her children died. Her father, Dr. Boyer, soon followed in 1832, with the rest of his family and bought land. He had been a fine surgeon in the east but did not practice here. There were several children: Richard, who always lived here; one son went out west and was lost track of; Elizabeth, married Dr. Fisher, a prominent physician; and Frances Hannah who married Joseph Steiner.
Jacob Stem built the old Steiner home down the river in 1832, now owned by Judge Scott Wagner. He afterwards was the founder of Green Springs. Mrs. C. Hornung is a grand-daughter.
Grandma Steiner bought the place and brought up her large family there. Before she left the east, she leased for ninety-nine years what afterwards was a valuable piece of property in Baltimore, for four barrels of salt. The family never recovered the title.
William Campbell, a cabinet-maker, married a sister of Dr. Kuhn, the widow Staley. She had two little daughters. In her youth she had attended a reception given to Lafayette. They had three children, Mrs. Fanny Ourand, still living here, being one. Another one of her daughters married Dr. J. A. McFarland, a splendid physician, the father of Mrs. Maurice Leahy.
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Let us join one of the early merchants on the trip east for goods. If he chose Baltimore as his destination, a three week's trip was probably ahead of him by stage, ferrying across rivers; and the return trip would be in a covered wagon to protect his property. If, on the other hand, New York was his market, the trip was somewhat easier, by stage or wagon to Sandusky, by boat to Buffalo, and then the canal and the Hudson River. When The Mad River Railroad came to Tiffin in 1841, it made the trip somewhat easier. The Shawhans, Lorenzo D. and Rezin W., probably took such trips to stock their store, as did also John Pittenger, who kept store on opposite corners, where are now the Harvey, and the Weidling stores. The cost of transportation was heavy, and when one of Pittenger's clerks asked how to mark the goods he was told to double the cost mark. R. W. Shawhan had the reputation of being a shrewd business man, and a good business man, as few amassed a fortune. It was the custom in those days for everyone to drink moderately, and in the cellar of Shawhan's store, as in other places, people were expected to help them- selves.
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