USA > Ohio > Fulton County > The County of Fulton: A History of Fulton County, Ohio, from the Earliest Days, with Special Chapters on Various Subjects, Including Each of the Different Townships; Also a Biographical Department. > Part 7
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Ammi Richards was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1805, and was one of the first settlers of Fulton county, moving into the woods of Fulton township, in 1835. He filled the office of township treas- urer several terms and also that of trustee. Alexander Vaughan was one of the pioneers of Fulton township, having settled there in April, 1835, on lands then in the territory of Michigan, or, as will be
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more clearly understood, on the "disputed strip." He was a Penn- sylvanian by birth, being a native of Westmoreland county, but. at the age of eighteen years, removed to Holmes county, Ohio, and from thence to Fulton, in 1835. He died in 1847. Joseph Cottrell was born in Worthington, Hampshire county, Massachusetts, April 4, 1815, and at an early age settled in what is now Gorham township. He was postmaster at Handy for eleven years, and also filled the office of township treasurer. Gorham Cottrell, Sr., was a native of Massachusetts, born in 1780, and came to what is now Fulton county, in 1835. He entered several hundred acres of land, and, with the assistance of his sons, cleared and improved the same. He became a very influential man, and at the organization of Gorham township it was named in honor of him, he being one of the very first settlers in the township. His death occurred in 1853. His son, Sardis Cottrell, also became a prominent citizen of Gorham town- ship, and filled the positions of township treasurer, school director and supervisor. James Baker was born in Massachusetts, December 24, 1803, removed to New York State in early manhood, and came to Fulton county in 1835. William Lee was born at West Bloom- field, New York, in June. 1797, and died in Chesterfield township, in 1854. He settled in Michigan, about 1825, and came to Gorham township, ten years later, where he lived until 1845. He was a tan- ner and currier by trade and upon settling in Gorham became en- gaged in that business. He was justice of the peace and clerk of Chesterfield township at the time of his death.
In 1835, the "Vistula Road," from Toledo west through the dis- puted lands, was laid out and built by the government. This thor- oughfare has otherwise been known as the "Old Territorial Road," and its construction opened an established route of egress and in- gress for the sturdy pioneers of the region, by which they were enabled to convey their products to market, and, returning, carry to their homes such commodities as were needed in the new settle- ments. It opened, furthermore, into the heart of the country, a route which was easy of access and travel for hundreds of new- comers, who were seeking homes in the land now being rapidly de- veloped and occupied.
There came to the region, in 1836, a number of families, among whom are to be found the names of Ansel H. Henderson, Harlow Butler, John P. Roos, John B. Roos. Asher E. Bird, Sr., John Mc- Laughlin, Daniel Donaldson, John Donaldson, and perhaps others, After the coming of these families, and subsequent to the year 1836, the lands became rapidly taken up and settled. "These early pioneers, the advance guard of a new civilization in the wilderness, were the blood and brains of the Eastern States, which formed the main com- position of this growing territory; whose fathers had educated their sons and daughters for the practical work of life, and they have, in turn, left their impress upon the country by their determination, energy, perseverance, thrift, and their stern political integrity and loyalty to government."
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The Indians were disposed to be peaceful, observing their prom- ises recently spoken in the treaties made with them. No trouble whatever was experienced with them, except when under the ex- citement induced by the white man's "fire-water," and this very satisfactory condition of peaceful associations continued unbroken until they bade a final adieu to the hunting grounds of their fathers.
The growth and development of the country in this section of the State had, about the year 1850, become so marked, that it was deemed prudent that a new county should be erected out of parts jof the counties in Northwestern Ohio. Furthermore, the county of Lucas embraced a very large tract of territory, and in the more remote portions thereof, especially in the west and southwest, the convenience of the people demanded the erection of a new county. In this locality then, as well as now, resided men of energy, integrity, and determination, who not only felt the necessity of a new county organization in this region, but who saw the great advantage to the country of such a movement in case it could be carried out success- fully. Among those who took an active interest in the project may be recorded the names of Nathaniel Leggett, William Hall. A. C. Hough, Stephen Springer, Michael Handy, Mortimer D. Hibbard and a few others. These not only discussed the project, but gave such substantial assistance as finally completed and consummated the work, and made the erection of the county of Fulton not only possible, but an established fact.
Nathaniel Leggett, one of the most useful citizens of Fulton county in that early day, was stricken down by the grim reaper in the prime of life, during the month of February, 1862. Of his early career but little can be ascertained, but before the formation of Fulton county he resided in that part of it now embraced in Swan Creek township, where he hunted and cleared the land surrounding him, and engaged somewhat in farming. Making the acquaintance of members of the Lucas county bar at Maumee City, he conceived the idea of becoming a lawyer, and with that in view borrowed books of Hosmer & Hall, of Maumee City, and in the solitude of the then almost unbroken wilderness of the southeastern part of the county, began and prosecuted his studies, and was admitted to prac- tice early in the fifties. His natural qualifications for business were excellent and he was of valuable service to the company then building the "Air Line" railway in assisting to procure the right of way through Lucas and Fulton counties. He was also treasurer of Fulton county two terms. Together with Messrs. Barber and Sargent he laid out the village of Wauseon, and became the owner of considerable valuable real estate in the village. Being immersed In matters of general business he never found the time, or so ad- justed the circumstances of his life as to devote himself exclusively to his chosen profession. He is spoken of by those who knew him best, as of sterling mental qualities and full of energy and ambition. He contracted the disease which culminated in his death in Ken- tucky, whither he had gone on official business connected with the
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Union army. His remains were laid to rest in the beautiful ceme- tery of Wauseon, his body being the first to be buried therein. A modest memorial stone, placed there by his old friend and business associate, Col. E. L. Barber, marks the location of his last cartlily home.
As there has been no event of greater importance to the county or its people than that which gave it an existence, it is deemed proper that the essential portions of the enactment which created the .county should be given. The act was passed, February 28, 1850, and its first section reads as follows :
"Sec. I. Be it enacted, etc., That such parts of the counties of Lucas, Henry and Williams, as are embraced in the boundaries hereinafter described, be, and the same are hereby created into a separate and distinct county, which shall be known by the name of Fulton, to-wit: Beginning on the State line between the States of Ohio and Michigan, at the northeast corner of township nine, south of range four, east of the Michigan meridian; thence south on the township line to the southeast corner of town ten, south of range four, east. on the Fulton line; thence west on said Fulton line to the northeast corner of town eight, north of range eight, east; thence south to the southeast corner of section number twelve in township six, north of range eight, east ; thence west on seection lines to the southwest corner of section number seven in township six, range five, east. on the county line between the counties of Henry and Williams; thence north on said line to the southeast corner of town seven, north of range four, east; thence north on section lines to the Fulton line; thence west on said Fulton line to the southwest corner of section number eleven, in town ten, south of range one, west of the Michigan meridian: thence north on section lines to said State line; thence easterly with said State line to the place of beginning."
The name "Fulton" is said to have been chosen in honor of Robert Fulton, the eminent inventor and builder of the first steam- boat, and not John A. Fulton, the surveyor who ran the Fulton line, as might be naturally inferred. Fulton was the eighty-seventh, and last but one, of the counties organized within the limits of the State, Noble county alone being younger. The original territory of the county, as defined above, has never been changed. Having described the boundaries, the legislature next made provision for the administration of county affairs, by section two of the same act, as follows: All suits, whether of a civil or criminal nature, which shall be pending within those parts of the counties of Lucas, Henry and Williams, so set off and erected into a new county, previous to the first Monday in April, one thousand eight hundred and fifty, shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution within the counties of Lucas, Henry and Williams, respectively, in the same manner as though the said county of Fulton had not been erected, and the officers of said counties, respectively, shall execute all such process as shall be necessary to carry into effect such suits, prosecutions
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and judgments; and the collectors of taxes for the counties, respect- ively, shall collect all taxes that shall be levied and unpaid within the aforesaid portions of their respective counties at the time of the passage of this act.
By section three it was provided: That all justices of the peace and other township officers within those parts of the counties of Lucas, Henry and Williams, which are, by this act, erected into the county of Fulton, shall continue to exercise the functions and dis- charge the duties of their respective offices until their term of ser- vice shall expire, and until their successors shall be elected and qualified, in the same manner as if they had been elected or commis- sioned for the county of Fulton ; and all writs and other legal process within the territory hereby erected into the county of Fulton, shall be styled as of the county of Fulton, on and after the Ist day of April, 1850.
The election of officers for the county was provided for as fol- lows :
Sec. 4. The legal voters residing within the limits of the county of Fulton shall, on the first Monday in April, in the year 1850, as- semble in their respective townships, at the usual places of holding elections (the voters residing in each of the fractional townships taken from the counties of Henry and Williams, shall assemble in the township immediately adjoining such fractional township and lying towards the center of said county of Fulton), and proceed to elect the different county officers, in the manner prescribed in the act to regulate elections, who shall hold their offices until the next annual election, and until their successors are elected and qualified.
The next section provides for the annexing of the fractional town- ships not taken for the new county, and annexing the same to adjoining townships, or creating new townships out of them, as the commissioners of the counties of Henry and Williams may deem ex- pedient; also, empowering the commissioners of the county of Ful- ton to annex the fractional parts taken from Henry and Williams counties to the adjoining townships already established within Ful- ton county, or to erect them into new townships, as, in their judg- ment, shall seem prudent.
Section six of the act provides that the county of Fulton shall be attached to, and made a part of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of the State of Ohio, and the Courts of Common Pleas and Supreme Court of the county of Fulton, shall be holden at some convenient house in the township of Pike, until the permanent seat of justice shall be established within and for said county.
The next section provides, That Laurin Dewey, of Franklin county, Mathias H. Nichols, of Allen county, and John Riley, of Carroll county, be appointed commissioners to fix upon and locate the seat of justice of said new county of Fulton, agreeably to the provisions of the act entitled "an act for the establishment of seats of justice."
At that time there were but five official positions in the county,
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the incumbents of which were required to run the gauntlet of pop- ular approval and have their merits passed upon at the ballot box. These elective positions were: auditor, sheriff, recorder, treasurer and board of commissioners. The first election to fill these posi- tions was held "on the first Monday of April," as ordered, and the balloting resulted in the choice of the following gentlemen, who were the first to don the official garments at the behest of vox populi in Fulton county: Auditor, Mortimer D. Hibbard; sheriff, George B. Brown; recorder, Carl C. Allman; treasurer, Nathaniel Leggett; commissioners, William Sutton, Christopher Watkins, and Jonathan Barnes. The first constitution of the State, which was then in force provided for the election of only two county officials-sheriff and coroner-but gave to the Legislature power to create other posi- tions and prescribe the mode of filling them. Associate judges, clerk of courts and the prosecuting attorney were appointive officers at that time, and the following gentlemen were appointed: Asso- ciate judges, John Kendall, Alfred C. Hough and Socrates H. Cate- ly; clerk of courts, Samuel Durgin; prosecuting attorney, John A. Read. The burning of the court house, in 1864, and the destruction of the county records, make it impossible to give an authentic his- tory of the early transactions, and the curtain has fallen upon events that doubtless would be of much value in a historical sense.
The establishment of courts of justice, however, and the installation of public officers were naturally the first work attending the organiza- tion of Fulton county. It was provided by the act creating the county, that the courts should be held at some convenient house in Pike township, until the seat of justice should be decided upon. In pursuance thereof the associate justices designated the residence of Robert A. Howard as the place for holding courts, and there the first term was held, in 1850. Owing to the fact that the transfers of cases to the counties from which Fulton was formed was incom- plete, and the further fact that there was but little or no business demanding attention, in lieu of the usual routine, those attending engaged in a game of ball. It is said that on that memorable occa- sion, such staid and grave personages as Oliver B. Verity, W. A. Bates, Spencer T. Snow, Benjamin Hallet, William Sutton, James, Augustus and William Howard, and others of equal dignity, but whose names are not recalled, took part in the sport, and thus early was official endorsement given to the national game in Fulton county. Judge Saddler came on horseback to preside at this first session of court.
The next, and perhaps the most important duty in connection with the organization was that of locating the seat of justice in the newly created county. On meeting for this purpose several sites were recommended to the commissioners-Etna, Fluhart's Corners, Delta, Spring Hill, and a site near the center of the county. After much deliberation and the hearing of arguments from those inter- ested in the various places named, the commissioners decided upon the site nearest the center of the county, in the township of Dover,
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at a point that then had no distinguishing name. Several cogno- mens were suggested by persons present, but none seemed to meet with general approval. One of the commissioners, observing Dres- den W. H. Howard on the outer line of spectators, asked that gen- tlemen to suggest a name for the county seat, and the reply came immediately-"Ottokee!" This was the name of a chief among the Ottawa Indians, who formerly inhabited this region, and it was at once declared to be the name of the seat of justice of the county of Fulton.
The question of confirming this point as the county seat was then submitted to a vote of the people of the county, and at the first election, while Ottokee received more votes than any other site, still it had not a majority of the ballots. On the occasion of the second election the town had a clear majority, and became by the will of the people the seat of justice of Fulton county But there had been a marked opposition to its selection, which by no means disappeared after the matter had been settled, and it manifested itself by frequent murmurings of discontent from various quarters. The town of Otto- kee was situated in the southeastern part of Dover township, on an elevated tract of land, and as near the geographical center of the county as it well could have been. In fact, the location was well chosen, and had it not been for the building of a railroad through the county, several miles south of the place, it is much doubted whether the seat of justice would not have remained there.
The seat of justice having been located at Ottokee, the first requi- site in the embryo town was buildings in which to hold court and house the county officials. As. may be readily inferred, the first county buildings were simple and in keeping with their surroundings. The court house was built in 1851; it was a frame structure, two stories high, having a frontage of about forty or fifty feet, and a depth of about eighty feet. The court and jury rooms were on the upper floor, while the offices for the county officials were below. It was a large, commodious and airy building, presenting a very good appearance with a large dome on the top. It was erected by Amos H. Jordon, and was in continuous use until destroyed by fire, in July, 1864.
In 1853, the first jail was built at the county seat. It was an un- pretentious, though substantial frame building, lined with heavy, hard wood plank, and thoroughly spiked. Although built of wood, there was never an escape from it on account of its weak construc- tion, and it housed the county's criminals until the seat of justice was removed from Ottokee to Wauseon. Then, for several years, it was used as one of the county infirmary buildings.
The importance of the opening of a railroad was early impressed upon the minds of the enterprising citizens of the county, and about 1846-47, a project, originating with the late Ebenezer Lane and others, was undertaken to build a road from Cleveland or Norwalk, running westward, and crossing the Maumee river at the foot of the rapids, and from thence making its way on a west line to Chicago.
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It was known as the Junction railroad and a considerable amount of work was performed on it, including massive stone abutments for the bridge which was to cross the river to the northern bank at Maumee City. The corporation, in order to facilitate operations west of that point, solicited aid of stock subscriptions by individuals, towns, townships and counties, and succeeded in gathering an amount which aggregated a considerable sum. But another movement was on foot which was destined to defeat the above mentioned project, even if it had, in fact, any prospect of realization. The Southern Michigan & Northern Indiana Railroad Company, realizing the dam- age it would be to their interests if the Junction enterprise should be successful, resolved upon the construction of an airline west- ward from Toledo to connect with their main line at Elkhart, Indi- ana. In 1852, representatives of this company (whose corporate name is now The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern), appeared quietly in the field with a corps of engineers and surveyed the route, asking no aid of stock subscriptions-only right of way and dona- tion of sufficient ground for passenger and freight conveniences.
The first conductor on the road after passenger trains commenced running, in 1856, was David Moore, and the first printed through "Time Table, No. I," took effect "on Monday, June 8, 1857, at 5 o'clock a. m." The stations named on the table were Toledo, Spring- field, Centreville, Delta, Wauseon, Archbold, Stryker, Bryan, Edger- ton, Butler, Waterloo, Corunna, Kendallville, Rome, Wawaka, Ligo- nier, Millersburg, Goshen and Elkhart. Going west, the train left Toledo at 9:00 a. m., and reached Elkhart at 7:10 p. m., making the distance between the two points in a little over nine hours, barring accidental delays. Another train moved from Elkhart on its east- ward trip at 9:40 a. m., and was due in Toledo at 6:40 p. m. Trains passed each other at Edgerton, that station being 64.3 miles west of Toledo, and 68.5 miles east of Elkhart. The trains were decidedly, if not badly, "mixed"-a locomotive, tender, one passenger and one freight car. Two trains, thus formed, made up the entire rolling stock of the road.
It is interesting to make comparison between the service then and that which is given to the people today. Now, one of the least powerful of the many locomotives, which almost hourly pass over the several railroads that thread the county, would draw with ease a train consisting of at least three times the tonnage of all the rolling stock in use on the Air-Line in 1857. Sixteen passenger trains, two fast mail and one fast express, pass over the Lake Shore daily ; and on an average twenty-five through and local freights, with a capacity of 40,000 to 80,000 pounds per car. The Wabash railroad doubtless approaches the above showing in magnitude, and the De- troit Southern and the Fayette branch of the Lake Shore, each has a large and growing business. Two electric railways pass through the county, affording excellent passenger service, and the numerous tele- graph and telephone lines have completely annihilated distance in the matter of communication. What marvelous changes in the
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means of transmitting intelligence have been produced in a period of less than half a century! Today, at any railroad station in Ful- ton county, connected with which is a telegraph office, one may transmit a message two thousand miles distant, or even to Europe or the Orient, and receive to it an answer in less space of time than, a half century ago, would be consumed by the speediest mode of travel to make the distance from Metamora to Archbold and return, and, during the January and June floods that then appeared as regu- larly as the seasons, to communicate with a neighbor ten miles dis- tant. Imagine a pioneer who, about three months after the presi- dential election of 1832, had received an Eastern letter or newspaper conveying intelligence that Andrew Jackson had been re-elected President of the United States in the preceding November. If the settler is a Jackson man, he dons his hunting shirt and coon-skin cap and sallies forth in search of neighbors of his political faith to communicate the glad tidings, and mingle rejoicings. News of the result of a presidential election would now be known in every con- siderable city and town in the United States and Europe within twenty-four hours after the close of the polls.
No community in these days can be said to have reached the pro- gressive state until that infallible index to prosperous conditions-3 newspaper-makes its periodical visits to an intelligent constitueney. But it was not always thus. Fifty years ago, "journalists" were not as plentiful as they are today, and the appetite for printed news was not sufficiently keen to cause one to endure martrydom in at- tempting to "fill a long-felt want." So, at the time of its organiza- tion, Fulton county could not boast of a newspaper within her con- fines. Some time during the winter of 1851-52, however, a sheet, six-column folio in size, made its appearance in Delta with the ex- pressive title, Fulton County Democrat, under the management of Lewis W. Stum, who continued its publication with varying success for about one year, when the office and paper were sold to Frank Rosenberg. The latter moved the office to Ottokee, the county seat, but a few months later he sold to J. W. Carter and H. B. Bayes. Carter & Bayes continued it some six months, when Carter bought the interest of his partner and became its sole editor and proprietor. He made an arrangement or lease with one Topliff, who was con- nected with its editorial department for. a time, but about the spring of the year 1856, the establishment was sold and the plant removed to Morenci, Michigan. The Democrat was, as its name implied, a democratic paper, and the organ of that party, which, during the early days of the county was numerically in the ascendancy.
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