USA > Ohio > Wyandot County > Past and present of Wyandot County, Ohio; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievemen, Vol. I > Part 32
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36
"The next day I set Orra Harris, the young man who came with me, to digging a well. I took Mr. Carey's horse to Squire Hodges, and he soon discovered that all was not right with me. He therefore immediately set about to aid me to obviate my difficulties by telling me a long flattering story, the purport of which was that he had not the least doubt that should I set in and continue with determined per- severance, my undertaking would be crowned with complete success, that I would not only make a good living, but that, in a few years, I would become independent.
"This story, although I knew it was much exaggerated. gave me considerable relief. I returned to our encampment
342
PAST AND PRESENT OF WYANDOT COUNTY
about dusk and was greeted with the joyful news that Orra had got water! The next morning the clouds dispersed and the sun once more visited our lonesome woods.
"Squire Hodges' flattering advice, getting water so con- veniently, and the appearance of fair weather, in a great measure dissipated my dreadful forebodings, and I began work quite cheerfully. We remained six weeks, built a cabin, laid the lower floor, put up the chimney to the man- tel-piece, laid the back wall and hearth and returned home. * * *
"April 5, 1824, set out with my horses, wagon, plows, etc., for Squire Hodges' for the purpose of raising corn.
"July 1, returned home; July 15, returned again to my land to finish my cabin. September 1, home again.
"October 7, loaded up my goods and chattels and with my family 'set sail' for my intended home. After a prosperous journey of four and one-half days we landed at our lone- some abode October 12, 1824.
"October 22, my wife had a fine daughter, which we named Ellen.
"May 22, 1825, planted fourteen acres of corn."
Here the entries of the old diary, now yellow with age, close, so far as they pertain to the settlement of the family in this township.
CRAWFORD AND CRAWFORDSVILLE
Crawford is a local stop on the Hocking Valley railroad between Lovell and Carey, and is adjacent to Crawfords- ville, a hamlet in Crawford township, founded shortly after the organization of the county. It was platted with about twenty lots and the place has not improved nor the popula- tion increased as the years went by.
At present it is more a locality than a village.
EDEN TOWNSHIP
The first road regularly laid out in the township extended through sections 34 and 27, and was opened in 1839, though prior to this the Indian trails and "blazed tracks" were no doubt quite numerous and considerably used. The Oceola road from Indian Run to Rock Run was opened by the Wyan-
343
PAST AND PRESENT OF WYANDOT COUNTY
dot Indians, under the supervision of Isaac Miller. Some of these earlier roads or "trails" led to the Indian resorts, one of which was in the locality of the springs, which was sup- posed to be medicinal in their qualities, one of which is lo- cated in section 22, and the two others on the Oceola State road. There is also an Indian burial ground in this town- ship.
This township when originally erected was a part of Leith, a township of Crawford county, and was created by the com- missioners of that county in March, 1838. It lies east of Crane township, and between Sycamore on the north and Antrim on the south; the east being bounded by Crawford county. On the 2d day of June, 1845, the first commissioners of this county, Stephen Fowler, William Griffith and Ethan Terry, ordered "That sections 1, 12, 13, 24, 25 and 36 of the original surveyed township, of range 14 east, No. 2 south, be attached to township No. 2 south of range 15 east, and the same be designated as Eden township." These boundaries continue to the present time. The township derived its name from the heavy growth of excellent timber, poplar, walnut and other varieties, and the fertility of its soil, which qualified it for the operations of husbandmen, and not, perhaps from the "fig leaf attire" of its original inhabitants, the red men. It contains thirty sections, about three-fourths of which are drained by Peter Run, Negro Run, and its tributary, Kisor Run, and a few others, all of which empty into the Sandusky river. The southeast quarter is drained by Indian Spring Run and its tributaries, which in Antrim township take the name of Broken Sword creek.
The first white man who established himself in this town- ship was, perhaps, Isaac Miller, a native of Rockingham county, Virginia, who, with his family of five to seven chil- dren, located on section 29, near the present town of Nevada, in 1836. He was familiarly known as Congress Miller, and for seven years leased land of Jacob Young, a Wyandot In- dian. In 1837, Mr. Miller was joined by George W. Leith, better known as Judge Leith, who settled on a quarter-sec- tion of section No. 10, and John Horick on quarter-section 27. Judge Leith was a man of considerable prominence in the early history of the county, having served as justice of the peace in Crawford county, and as associate judge of Wy- andot county for a period of eight years. In 1839, John
344
PAST AND PRESENT OF WYANDOT COUNTY
Welsh, Morgan Carter, Zaccheus Lea, Mr. Hill, Charles Cald- well, Samuel Snyder and a Mr. Cook were added to the list on sections 34, 10, 10, 3, 34, 28 and 27 respectively. In 1840, 1841 and 1842 these were re-enforced by others who followed in rapid succession till quite a settlement was formed.
For the greater part of their supplies the first settlers of Eden township, as well as of other townships, went to San- dusky City and Fremont. In 1849 the first sawmill was erected by Crawford & Lance. The first store in the town- ship was kept by William Jobs, on section 9. The first dwell- ing was a log cabin, 14 x 18, by Congress Miller. The first schoolhouse in Eden township was built of logs and was very small in dimension. Nancy Steele was the first school teacher. The first schoolhouse was built on section 10. The first church building was erected on section 3, by the combined forces of the Methodists, United Brethren and Congrega- tional denominations, in 1851. Although there was no church building until the above date, religious services were held as early as 1848, but these were held at private houses.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF LITTLE YORK
The history of the Methodist Episcopal church of Little York properly begins with a class that, as far back as 1840, used to meet in a log schoolhouse that stood on the northeast corner of the farm then owned by Zacchaeus P. Lea. The pio- neer itinerants had found their way into this neighborhood and held meetings in the barns and farm houses on week days, usually on Friday and Saturday. The need of a regular place of worship began to be felt, and then the old log schoolhouse was turned into a meeting house.
It was frightfully dirty, but Mrs. Polly Lea, of precious memory, and Mrs. Harriet Eyestone, scrubbed, whitewashed and cleaned it thoroughly, and Messrs. Zacchaeus Lea and Geo. Eyestone bought a stove and some puncheon seats, and these with other conveniences were put in place. There the M. E. Society began housekeeping. The original class con- sisted of Geo. Eyestone and wife, Levi Bunn and wife, Samuel Gregg and wife, John Armstrong and wife, Zacchaeus Lea and wife, Thomas Lea and wife, Loren Pease, Mrs. Amy Per- dew, Mr. and Mrs. Wren, John Foster and Mrs. Charity
345
PAST AND PRESENT OF WYANDOT COUNTY
Elliott, who a little later was married to Father Bemis of Oceola, in the old log schoolhouse, on Sunday morning, by Reverend Warner; Father Bemis became a worthy member of the class. Under the fostering care of such men as Orr, Hill, Jarvies, Thompson, Warner, Wilcox, Johnson and Breckinridge, the cause of Christ was strengthened and the class grew in numbers and influence. Thomas Lea was class leader.
In 1851, in order to be more centrally located, the class moved to Leith's schoolhouse, now known as Maple Grove. The Congregationalists, United Brethren and Methodists repaired and used the building for some years as a house of worship. Later, Captain Wheeler having built a new school- house for the Maple Grove district and being rejected by the trustees, James Pease, of the Congregational church; Ran- som Wilcox, of the United Brethren church ; and Loren Pease, of the Methodist Episcopal church, bought it, each paying $50. It served as a house of worship until 1869, when the class once more moved and settled in the schoolhouse in Little York. There had been revivals and many added to the class through the labors of Reverend Painter and others. Reverend Disney, a beloved and useful minister, went with the class to York. There, under the ministry of Rev. E. A. Berry, a revival broke out which swept all the surrounding country. Many were added to the church, and they at once began to plan for building a house of worship. Reverend Berry circulated a subscription paper, and sufficient pledges were secured to build, it being completed at a cost of about two thousand dol- lars. The first class leader in the new church was Milton James. The church was dedicated in 1870.
The following pastors have served this society: Reverend Roberts, one year ; Reverend Berry, one year ; Reverend Phil- lips, two years; H. Wallace, one year; R. Freshwater, one year; Reverend Conley, two years; Reverend Faut, three years; C. F. Johnson, two years; W. B. Taggart, two years; James Barnes, two years; A. E. Thomas, two years; E. S. Tompkins, four years; N. W. Wagar, one year, 1893; E. D. Smith, five years; J. W. Dowds, three years ; Fred E. Baker, one year, eight months ; N. E. Davis, two years, eight months ; E. E. Loose, seven months; L. R. Akers, four years, and the present pastor, L. A. Ensley, was appointed in September, 1911. The society has been connected with the Nevada charge
.
ยท
346
PAST AND PRESENT OF WYANDOT COUNTY
since 1887. The society has about eighty members and wields great influence for righteousness in the community.
. The following compose the official board: Neil Gardner, Charles Rosnich, U. G. Lambright, J. C. Beidleman, Conrad Gilliland, George Armstrong, Mrs. J. C. Beidleman, Wm. Walton, James Sankey.
JACKSON TOWNSHIP
Jackson is bounded on the north by Richland township, on the east by Mifflin township, on the south by Marseilles township and part of Hardin county, and on the west by Hardin county.
Jackson township, which comprises townships 3 and 4 south, range 12 east, received its name in honor of Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States. It lies in the southwest part of Wyandot county and was at one time a component part of Hardin county, being a portion of the township lying west of it in said county, and organized some time before its annexation to Wyandot, on the erection of the latter in 1845, in which year it was detached from Hardin.
Jackson township presented many obstacles to the first settlers, owing to the heavy timbers covering it and the level character of its surface. Owing to these conditions, the set- tlement of the township was rather slow, but time, industry and perseverance have converted the forest into a fine agri- cultural garden. Drainage has done much for the township, and it is now second to none in the county.
Several small tributaries of the Sandusky river have their sources in this township. Three running eastward take birth -the most northerly one in section 10; the next southward, in section 23, on S. F. Walker's farm, and the most southerly, also in section 23. The two first mentioned unite on section 13, and the stream shortly afterward leaves Jackson on sec- tion 13, for Mifflin township; the third stream leaves Jack- son for Mifflin on section 13, and the two meeting in the lat- ter township form what is known as Oak Run. Three streams running southeast have their sources-the most northerly about sections 28 and 33, flowing southeast till it crosses the northwest corner of Marseilles township (where it adjoins section 34), then entering Jackson township again, courses southward and unites on section 3 south, with the next south-
347
1
PAST AND PRESENT OF WYANDOT COUNTY
erly run, which rises in Hardin county, enters Jackson in section 4 south, flows east and southeast, and, before bidding adieu to Jackson township; the third and most southerly stream, which also rises in Hardin county, flowing northeast and east, adds its quota to the two first streams in the south- east corner of section 3 south, at which point the trio, now unified, enters Marseilles township when it babbles onward to its goal under the euphonious title "Little Tymochtee Creek." There are a few smaller runs in the extreme northern part of the township, but they are comparatively insignificant. They all ultimately, however, serve to swell the Sandusky river, each modest little stream being quite as indus- trious and honest on its journey to its final destination as its more pretentious and noisy neighbor. It will thus be seen that for the most part this township is well watered. Good, substantial roads intersect the township from all points of the compass, the first cut and first regularly laid out being the Findlay & Marion road.
The first election held in Jackson township was at the house of Isaac Yarian, on which occasion there were twelve voters present. The first death in the township was that of Elijah Warner. For groceries, dry goods, etc., the early set- tlers had to go to Marseilles village, in the same township, or to Patterson, in Hardin county. An early settler narrated that when they had any milling to be done, they had to go a distance of twenty miles, often through mud and slush to buy a bushel or so of corn, which they had to carry to a horse-mill to get ground, and then perhaps have to wait twenty-four hours for the grist to be ground. And after a hard day's work, their rest at night would be disturbed by the frightful and incessant howling of ferocious wild beasts.
The first school was held in section 15, and the first school- house was built in 1840. The first school teacher was Hen- rietta Henderson.
The first white settler in Jackson township was old Mr. Hooey. Thomas C. Beaven and his son, Henry, came in 1826. Henry S. Bowers, born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 1805, came to this township in 1832, traveling a distance of 350 miles with his family in a covered wagon. He entered 350 acres of land, and was the second settler in Jackson town- ship. J. D. Bowers, born in New York state in 1824, came
)
348
PAST AND PRESENT OF WYANDOT COUNTY
to this township with his father, Henry S. Bowers, in 1832. He was a leading farmer of the county, residing on section 36.
John Abbott, a married man with a family of six children, born in New York State, came in 1833, settling on section 3. Samuel M. Burnett, born February 19, 1820, in New York State, came to Wyandot county, with his parents, Elisha and Polly (Howe) Burnett, in 1834, and settled in this township.
John Vanorsdall came in 1834; John Flower and Jacob' Derringer in 1835; Abraham Dean, born August 10, 1808, in Cayuga county, New York, came with his family to this county and settled in this township in 1836; he died Octo- ber 20, 1873. William Fitch came in 1837. Walter Sanford, another of the pioneers, was born in New York in 1832, and came to this township not many years after. Other settlers of that period were Thomas Shank, James McDaniels, Isaac Yorringer, Christian Roof, John Fink and Elisha Burnett, who died in 1872, at the patriarchal age of ninety-eight years. At a later day came John Sturm, an Albright preacher, Rich- ard Bainbridge, a local Methodist Episcopal preacher, Dr. Cope, Thomas Scott, Abraham Tilberry, Joseph Barns, Isaac Lane, A. H. Vanorsdall, Walter Simmonson and others.
As was customary in all early settlements, preachings in the primitive times of Jackson township for the most part were held in some convenient schoolhouse, or more fre- quently, in the cabins of the pioneers. In this section the earliest expounders of the Gospel were John Sturm, an Al- bright preacher of some merit as an orator, and Richard Bain- bridge, an adherent of the Methodist Episcopal church. The first regular place of worship attended was "Shiloh," of the Christian Union denomination, located on section 3.
The Church of God, sometimes called "Kirby Bethel," within the precinct of Kirby village, was organized in 1855 by Moses Coates, missionary of the Church of God in Ohio, at the residence of James Warren.
KIRBY
The village of Kirby is situated in the northeast corner of Jackson township, and was surveyed by Dr. J. H. Williams for M. H. Kirby. The Pennsylvania railroad passes through the village. It has become quite a prosperous place, and is surrounded by a fine agricultural and stock raising district.
CATHOLIC CHURCH, KIRBY
CATHOLIC SCHOOL AND CHURCH, KIRBY
349
PAST AND PRESENT OF WYANDOT COUNTY
It was laid out in 1854, and the first store was kept by Philip and Frederick Hineman. The present population is about two hundred.
MARSEILLES TOWNSHIP
There is no better soil in the county than that found in this township, and is especially adapted to wheat and other grains. The forest and prairie lands required sometime to clear and drain, but it now shows evidence of the fruitfulness of the land under the care of the agriculturist, as is attested by its very many prosperous farms.
This township, which comprises township 4 south, ranges 12 and 13 east, is what is termed a fractional township, being longer, by an average of five miles from east to west, than it is in breadth from north to south. It was organized in 1824. Part of it was formerly Grand township, Marion county, and part was separated from Goshen township, Hardin county, by the erection of Wyandot county in 1845, when it derived its name from its chief village, Marseilles. It is bounded on the north by Jackson and Mifflin townships; on the east by Pitt township; on the south by Marion and Hardin counties, and on the west by Hardin county and Jackson township.
The principal stream that pursues its meandering course through Marseilles township is known as Tymochtee creek. Entering from Marion county, on the farm of Frederick Fehl. in the southeast corner of section 17; the creek takes an al- most due northerly course, and, after skirting the western limits of Marseilles village, it passes through sections 8 and 5 in a somewhat serpentine manner, and makes its exit into Mifflin township on the farm of Isaac Johnson, in sec- tion 5. Most of the tributaries which give birth to the Tymochtee have their sources in the northwest quarter of Marion county ; some of them rise in Hardin county, and the Little Tymochtee, which pours its water into its more preten- tious namesake in Marion county, has its genesis partly in Hardin county and partly in Jackson township. The main artery of this tributary peragrates the western portion of Marseilles township from northwest to southeast, entering at the southwest corner of section 2 west, and in passing through the northeast quarter of section 11 west, it picks up a stream- let (which has its rise in Hardin county, flowing northeast),
350
PAST AND PRESENT OF WYANDOT COUNTY
and, after coursing through sections 12 west, 13 west and 18, it forsakes this township on the farm of Adam M. Hartle, at a point where the old Bellefontaine road crosses it on the southern edge of section 18. A small bend of one of the feed- ers of the Little Tymochtee dodges across the northwest cor- ner of section 10 west, on the farm of James B. Pool, and other than a rill that rises in the west of section 7, on the farm of Michael Bower, and trills eastward into Tymochtee creek at Marseilles village. There is no other stream of any moment in the township.
The first highway to be regularly laid out, in this town- ship, was the State or Bellefontaine road in 1822, which en- ters from Mifflin township in section 4, and, after traversing the township in a southwesterly direction and passing through Marseilles village, it enters Marion county at the southern edge of section 18. Two roads enter from Pitt township in. the east at sections 1 and 13 respectively, the more northerly of which runs about due west, and strikes Jackson township at section 2 west; the other road leads due west till it reaches the western edge of section 16, when it proceeds due north a short distance; then due west again for a quarter of a mile; then northwest till it terminates in Marseilles village. From the old Bellefontaine road two other diverge, one leading northwest into Jackson township, and the other taking a some- what irregular route northwest, west and southwest, into Hardin county.
One of the first settlers in the township was Samuel Simp- son, who was born in 1815 and located here in 1821. In his association with the Indians, he learned to speak their lan- guage, and still possesses that acquirement. Garrett Fitz- gerald; a native of Virginia and a married man with a family of seven children, settled in the southeast quarter section in 1822. In the same year came David and Jerry Terry. In 1823, William Renick, a native of Virginia, and Charles Cros- berry; in 1824, Thomas Wallace; in 1825, A. Renick, James Brown, Robert Ward, Richard Lee, Harvey Buckmeister, Col- onel Hunt, William Bowsher, Anthony Bowsher, David Harp- ster, David Miller. In 1826, Daniel and Samuel Straw and Joseph Parish; John Heckathorn came in 1828, and Maj. Hugh Long, a tanner, located in the village of Marseilles in 1832. He was born in West Liberty, Virginia, April 12, 1794, and served in the War of 1812 as a member of a Light Horse
351
PAST AND PRESENT OF WYANDOT COUNTY
Company, commanded by Capt. Ichabod Nye, of Knox county. They camped on what is now known as "Armstrong's Bot- tom," about two miles south of Upper Sandusky. When Major Long came to engage in the business of tanning in Mar- seilles in 1832, Charles Merriman owned the only frame house in the village, which then consisted of some six or eight cabins. The Major filled, in his lifetime, nearly every township office, and he did much toward building up the village to what it now is. During the latter years of his life, he drew a pension from the government for his services.
John Fehl, a native of Pennsylvania, was born September 1, 1792; came to this township in 1834, and entered eighty acres of land. He was the father of nine children. His death occurred July 8, 1871. Mrs. Fehl, his widow, was born April 16, 1794.
Alexander Pool, born in Pennsylvania in July, 1799, came to Marseilles township in the spring of 1834, and entered eighty acres of land. He died December 24, 1880. John W. Kennedy settled in Marseilles in 1835.
In 1823 the first schoolhouse was built in the township. It was of hewed logs with puncheon floors and greased paper windows. The first teacher was Jerry Terry, and the second one was Silas Unten. The first election held in this town- ship, then known as Grand township, was held in the village of Marseilles in 1829. The first white child was born in this township in 1832. The first wedding was in 1844, the con- tracting parties being Samuel Simpson and Ann E. Kennedy. The first death was that of John Crosberry, in 1826. Dr. Westbrook is said to have been the first physician in the town- ship. Before any stores were opened here, settlers had to go to Upper Sandusky, West Liberty or Bellefontaine for their supplies. Charles Merriman opened the first store in the township. The first sawmill and grist mill stood on section 17, and were driven by Tymochtee creek water power. The remains of some Indian camps were found in sections 8 and 17
MARSEILLES
About the year 1827, Garrett Fitzgerald, a native of Vir- ginia, who emigrated to this county in 1825, and entered eighty acres of land in section 8, this township, laid out a
352
PAST AND PRESENT OF WYANDOT COUNTY
small town on said section, which he called Burlington, sit- uated on the north of and adjoining the south line of section 8. In 1828, Josiah Robinson, also a Virginian, who emigrated to this county and settled in Antrim township in 1822, and who a few years later became owner of 160 acres of land in Marseilles township, section 17, also laid out a small town in his section, which he named Marseilles. In 1845, C. Merri- man, owning a small strip of land lying between and adjoin- ing "Burlington" and "Marseilles," a little later laid out another addition, and the entire village soon became the Mar- seilles village of to day.
About 1837, William Welsh opened out a small grocery store, which he carried on a short time and then sold out to Joseph Shilling, who occupied the store mainly as a saloon. In 1847, Charles Merriman built on lot 10, Robinson's addi- tion, a two-story brick block, 22 x 40, where he conducted a general merchandise business for a few years, when his son, Calvin Davis, succeeded him and continued several years. until Shaver Bros. came into possession. The latter firm built, in 1857, on lot 10, a two-story frame business room, where they carried on mercantile trade for about two years, and then closed out their stock, sold their property to John Fehl, and removed to Delaware. Fehl sold this property to Dr. Gates, who disposed of same soon after to J. O. Stude- baker, who resold about 1881 to Dr. Gates.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.