The history of Hardin county, Ohio, Part 68

Author: Warner Beers & co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago : Warner Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1076

USA > Ohio > Hardin County > The history of Hardin county, Ohio > Part 68

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CHURCHES.

It appears that the religious element of this community took root, shape and form in the way of an organized body in the northeast part of this township, in that portion which has since been cut off and become a part of Wyandot County. There, a church was organized at quite an early day, but, by the erection of Wyandot County, in 1845, the territory embra- cing this church became a part of that county; hence, the full history of the society belongs to a history of Wyandot; but we have mentioned the fact of its early organization, as many of its members and ardent supporters were citizens of Goshen Township.

The first church to effect an organization within Goshen Township, as its boundary lines were established in 1840, was the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church, situated on the northwest corner of Section 30, on the Kenton & Marseilles pike, near the west line of the township. A class was here organized about 1845, consisting of the following persons: David Clayton and wife Mary, John Castor and wife Elizabeth, Paul Castor and wife Eleanor, David Ware and wife Samantha, John Looker and wife Lydia, Daniel Osborn and wife Dorothy, Thomas Miller and wife Margaret, John C. Castor and wife Elizabeth, and some of the children of the above, with, perhaps, a few others whose names are not now remembered. Their meet- ings and services were held in the Clayton Schoolhouse until the summer of 1859, when the present frame church edifice was erected at a cost of $1,300. The house was dedicated to service on Sabbath, the 5th day of June, 1859, Elder E. C. Gavitt preaching the dedicatory sermon. The principal ministers who have served this society since its organization are as follows: Revs. Joseph Good, Joshua Smith, Hamilton Bigley, Jacob Holmes, William J. Peck, Hiram M. Shaffer, Samuel Hagerman. Oscar E. Moore, Ira Jamison, W. S. Ray, James S. G. Reeder, Thomas Harvey Wilson, Daniel Carter, Isaac N. Kalb and Jason Young. Its Class Leaders have been as follows: John Castor, Paul Castor, John Wilmuth, John Looker, T. B. Miller, Lewis Emmons, W. A. Kelly and John Maguea. The following have served as Stewards: John Castor, Paul Castor, William A. Kelly and William P. Castor. The present Trustees are Lewis Emmons, Paul Castor and William A. Kelly. Present membership is about fifty-five. Soon after the organization of the church, a Sabbath school was estab- lished, and has been continued during the summer seasons ever since, with good attendance, and doubtless sowing seed which will spring forth and

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continue to bear precious fruit through ages yet untold. The average at- tendance last summer was about fifty, with William A. Kelly, Superintendent.

Hopewell United Brethren Church was organized in the spring of 1870, by Rev. Thomas Mckinney. The following seven persons con- stituted the first class, viz .: J. R. Burnside and wife Loruhamah, S. P. Bolenbaugh and wife Catharine, Thomas Durnal and wife Hannah, and Adam Starling, with J. R. Burnside as Class Leader and S. P. Bolenbaugh as Steward. They held their meetings and services in the schoolhouse until the summer of 1872, when the present frame church edifice was erected at a cost of $800. The building was dedicated to service by Elder W. J. Shuey, of Dayton, who preached the dedicatory ser- mon September 8, 1872. The following ministers have served as pastors of this church, viz. : Revs. Thomas Mckinney, J. W. Wagoner, T. W. Hughes, William Kiracofe, R. W. Wilgus, C. Bodey, James Wilkison, Reuben Moore, J. W. Wentz, Jacob Kiracofe, Jacob Parthamore and J. C. Montgomery. As Stewards, S. P. Bolenbaugh, Thomas W. Durnal, Hollis James, Geddis Starner, John Spitzer, M. B. Burnside and Thomas Wetherell. Class Leaders, J. R. Burnside and Hezekiah Hemp. Present membership, sixty. The same summer after the organization of the church, a Sabbath school was organized, and has been continued through the sum- mer seasons since, with an average attendance of about sixty; present Su- perintendent, J. R. Burnside.

McKendre Chapel, Methodist Episcopal Church .- The first class was or- ganized by Rev. B. B. Powell, in 1858, and was connected with the Pisgah society, Marseilles charge. It consisted of the following persons: W. J. Sanford, -- Sanford, W. J. Emmons, Sarah Emmons, Lewis Emmons, Harrison Barrett, Emma Barrett, G. L. Barrett, Sarah L. Barrett, Leonard Smalley, - - Smalley, John Kneisly, Susan Kneisly, W. W. McFadden, Christena McFadden, P. A. Robinson, James Robinson, Ann Robinson, Eliza D. Wilson, E. J. Barrett, F. A. Clement, Purcell Sanford and wife, Emmerson Sanford and wife, Seldon Sanford and wife, George Sanford and John Haley, with W. J. Sanford as Class Leader. A meeting was held at the house of W. J. Sanford, December 13, 1858, at which time it was resolved to build a church edifice, and W. J. Emmons, L. Smalley and W. J. Sanford were appointed a committee to secure a deed for ground upon which to build. At the same meeting, the fol- lowing persons were appointed trustees: H. Barrett, L. Smalley, P. A. Robinson, W. J. Sanford, L. Emmons, W. J. Emmons, J. Kneisly, W. W. McFaddin and G. L. Barrett. W. J. Sanford and Harrison Barrett donated the land, each one-fourth of an acre. A house was erected, 30x40 feet, at a cost of $900. The church was dedicated in Feb- ruary, 1860, by a sermon from Maxwell P. Gladdis, of the Cincinnati Con- ference, at which time $100 was raised, to complete the payment of the cost of the church, and it was given the name of McKendre Chapel. The following persons have served as Class Leaders: W. J. Sanford, W. J. Emmons, W. C. Ingman, L. Emmons, Henry Haynes, J. B. Pumphrey, A. W. Burnison, Henry Hensel and I. S. Baker. The class was organized as a separate society, apart from the Pisgah society, by Rev. James DeLeil, in 1859, and was first recognized by the Marseilles charge in the quarterly conference, on July 29 of that year. The following pastors have served the society since its organization: Revs. James S. DeLeil, James Jackson, S. L. Roberts, John R. Colgan, D. D. S. Reah, William Boggs, John C. Cas- tor, T. J. Mather, S. M. Boggs, F. Plumb, J. A. Wright, D. R. Cook, John

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. HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

Ormerod, W. W. Lance, J. C. Clemmons, William Dunlap and William Lucas, the latter being the present pastor.

Salem German Reformed Church was organized in June, 1860, by Rev. J. G. Ruhl, of Marion, Ohio, from members of the Evangelical Protestant Reformed Confessionists, consisting of the following persons: Jacob Born, Sr., Jacob Born, Jr., Jacob S. Born, John U. Born, John F. Casper, Samuel Frendiger, John N. Kellerhals, Casper Burkhalter, Jacob Magly, John G. Fisher, Peter McUeller, Jacob Pfeister, John M. Meyer, John N. Seiler and John Schoeneman, Sr. Services were held by both congrega- tions at the old church, by mutual consent, until 1875, when, from exist- ing circumstances, the members of the Salem congregation erected their present church building, which was dedicated to service, November 14, 1875, by Rev. J. G. Ruhl, who was then their pastor. The society was duly incorporated, January 10, 1876, and the articles of incorporation duly recorded at the office of the County Recorder. This society, with the con- gregations of Kenton and Forest, belong to the Heidelberg class of the Cen- tral Synod of the Reformed Church of the United States. The ministers who have served this church as its pastors have been Revs. William Renter, from: 1860 to 1863; Gerhord Kuhlen, from 1864 to 1866; Carl Schaaf, from 1866 to 1869; Isaac Matzinger, from 1869 to 1871; Philip Ruhl, from 1871 to 1874; J. G. Ruhl, from 1874 to 1878; John Heberle, from 1879 to 1881. Since January, 1882, Rev. J. G. Ruhl, of Findlay, Ohio, has served the church, temporarily as its pastor. The Elders of the society have been Jacob Born, Jacob Pfeister, John Kimbeibein, Christian Daniels, John G. Fisher, John Schaffner, Christain Beeler, John F. Casper, Benedict Kanel and W. H. Krimbelbein. Deacons: John G. Fisher, John Shafner, Jacob Born, Jacob Magly, John F. Casper, John G. Born, Jacob Kenzig and Jacob Schoeneman. Present membership, 120; confirmed members, 53. Present officers-Elders: John F. Casper and W. H. Krimbelbein. Dea- cons: Jacob Schoeneman. Jacob Kenzig and John Schoeneman, Sr., Trustees : Jacob Kenzig, Jacob Pfeister and John Schoeneman. Sabbath school was organized in the spring of 1875, with Jonn Schoeneman, Super- intendent, Samuel Baker, Secretary, with an attendance of seventy and an average of fifty-six.

St. John's Lutheran Church was organized with the following constit- uent male members, viz .: Adam Pfeiffer, George Pfeiffer, Christian Althouser, Adam Millar, Christian Daniels, Jacob Born, Samuel Strauser, Jacob Wolfe, John N. Kellerhouse, John Sherman, Jacob Born, Jr., John N. Born, John Pfeiffer, Sr., John Elsassor, Samuel Frediker, George Bishop, Jacob Feister and Louis Rannagier. They erected their present church building in 1850, which was duly dedicated to service. The follow- ing ministers have served this church since its organization: Revs. Mr. Herman, Mr. Kisler, Mr. Helfer, Mr. Betchler, Mr. Dimpler, Mr. Crusy, Mr. Hembler, Mr. Surnadem, Mr. Diel, Mr. Munk, Mr. Sickle, and Mr. Betz, who is the present pastor in charge. The present officers are George Pfeiffer, John Shoefner, Nicholas Bloom and Peter Daniels. Its present members are as follows: John Blankner, Peter Pfeiffer, Louis Pfeiffer, George Pfeiffer, Jr., Henry Pfeiffer, Adam Pfeiffer, Jr., John Heilman, Samuel Pfeiffer, George W. Althouser, Frederick Wolf, Andrew Briden- stine, Thomas Ramgier, Henry Bouse, Frederick Shoefner, Casper Kader and Rinehart Loubus.

GRANGE.

Goshen Grange, No. 578, was organized in February, 1872, by Deputy

J & Jurnes

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CESSNA TOWNSHIP.

Parks Snodgrass, with the following charter members: R. D. Millar, James R. Millar. Thomas B. Millar, George W. Ramge, Thomas Ramge, W. A. Kelly, John Haley, John Heilman, Jacob Pfeister, Peter Pfeiffer, Samuel Pfeiffer, Lewis Pfeiffer, John Stoll, David Swartz, Joel Russell, William Dickerson, Casper Stoll, Andrew Stoll, George Pfeiffer, D. K. Boyd, Joseph Cowen, John Cowen, Philip Daniels, Martha Millar, Ida Millar, Permelia Millar, Mrs. S. A. Boyd, Mrs. Martha Dikerson, Mrs. S. A. Haley, Margaret Kelly, Mrs. E. J. Kelly, Margaret Heil- man and Rebecca Swartz. Officers: R. D. Millar, M .; Joel Russell, O .; John Stoll, S .; John Cowen, A. S .; George Ramge, G. K .; William A. Kelly, L .; Thomas Ramge, Treas .; John Haley, Sec. ; Thomas B. Mil- lar, Chap .; Martha Millar, Po .; Ida Millar, L. A. S .; Permelia Millar, Flo. ; Mrs. E. J. Kelly, Ceres. They held their meetings in the Millar Schoolhouse until the spring of 1877, when their present Grange Hall was erected -- a frame building, 22x34 feet, containing three rooms. The society meets regularly every Tuesday evening. This has been a very pros perous society, increasing in membership and strength till it has become one of the largest and strongest Granges in the county. At one time it reached a membership of 100. Present membership, eighty-one. Present officers: Alonzo Dickson, M .; John Heilman, O .; Lewis Dickson, S .; Lewis Emmons, A. S .; Willis Hodge, G. K .; Robert D. Millar, Sec .; C. B. Drum, Treas .; W. A. Kelly, Sec .; Mrs. R. D. Millar, Chap .; Mrs. W. A. Kelly, Po .; Mattie Walters, Flo .; John Reeder, Cer., and Mattie Charlton, A. L. Sec.

CESSNA TOWNSHIP.

This township is situated near the center of Hardin County, and is bounded on the north by Washington Township, on the east by Pleasant, on the south by the Scioto River, and on the west by Marion Township. It is six miles from east to west, and has an average breadth of about four miles from north to south, containing twenty-two and a half square miles, or 14,400 acres, appraised in 1880 at $303,890, an average of $21.10 per acre, about one- third of its present cash value. In 1880, nearly one-half, viz., 6,587 acres, were reported as wood lands, 6,000 acres as plowed lands, and the balance, 1,814 acres, as meadow lands. The township is situated on the water-shed or backbone of the State, as the water from the southern part of the township finds its way to the Gulf of Mexico through the Scioto, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, while the waters falling on the north part of the township find their way to the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, through the Blanchard, Hog Creek, the Maumee and the Great Lakes.

SOIL, TIMBER, PRODUCTS, ETC.

The township is generally level, with gentle undulations, and with many small marshes-bear or buffalo wallows, as they are generally called-many of which are drained, and are very fertile. The whole township, with the excep- tion of a little of the Scioto Marsh, which lies in the southwest corner, is sus- ceptible of easy drainage. Considerable tile is already laid in the township.

The soil is a deep black vegetable mold, resting on a limestone clay sub- soil. The stone is white or water limestone, but no quarries of good building stone, gravel or sand have been found in the township. Bowlders, or drift rock, are found scattered over the township, but not in such profusion as to be cum- bersome.

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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

The township was originally very heavily timbered, with the exception of / a few small prairies with elm, ash, beech, soft maple, sugar maple, hickory, basswood or lynn, burr oak, with some white oak, pine or Spanish oak, walnut and hackberry. Her forest is being very rapidly denuded, that her rich lands may be made available for the production of grain and grass.

The soil is well suited to the production of all the cereals, but wheat and corn are the staple crops. The average yield of wheat, from 1870 to 1880, was 15.42 bushels per acre, and of corn, for the same time, 36.6 bushels per acre. But with the drainage and better culture of the present, it may be in- increased very materially, if not almost doubled. The grasses all seem to do well ; clover and millet are most extensively cultivated, and clover-seed is quite generally raised for market. Cattle are only found in small herds, while hogs and sheep are more extensively raised. Some very nice droves of each are found, and a nice flock of sheep is seen on almost every farm.

PIONEERS.

There is probably no doubt that Charles Cessna was the first white settler in what is now Cessna Township. He was a native of Coshocton County, Ohio, but came to this county and settled in the then wilderness of this town- ship, locating on Section 12, in 1830, where he resided until his death. He was buried in the Salem Cemetery. He had a large family of children, some of whom were as follows : Rachel, James, Jonathan, Rebecca and Colonel.

Isaac Gray was, perhaps, the second settler. He came here from Franklin County, Ohio, and settled in the west part of the township, on the borders of the marsh, in 1832, where he remained through life. He was an industrious, honest and worthy citizen, and a member of the Disciple Church. He was twice married. By his first wife, Catharine, he had the following children : Thomas, Jesse, Johnson, James, Mary Ann, Gilbert, Adeline, Isaac, William and Catharine. His second wife was a Miss Hamilton, by whom he had one child, Wesley.

Daniel Trump came here from Licking County, Ohio, and settled near Mr. Gray and close to the Marion Township line, in 1832-33. He married Sarah Walker. Their children were Abigail, Jacob, and others. After several years' residence here, he removed with his family to the West. Thomas McGoldrick settled on Section 25, in 1832-33, but, after a few years, sold out and moved away.

Jacob Ryan came here from Coshocton County, Ohio, and settled on the southwest quarter of Section 14, where he entered 120 acres in the fall of 1832. He married Catharine Alkire, and resided on the place where he first settled till his death. His wife survived him, and died in Coshocton County, while living with her daughter. Mr. Ryan was an excellent man, a good farmer, and highly respected by all who knew him. He was the father of the following children : Mary, George, Christena, Nancy, Rachel, Susan, and two or three who died young.

Jacob Beem was born in Rockingham County, Va., September 9, 1785 ; removed to Belmont County about 1803, where he married Elizabeth Mc- Millan, a native of Scotland; subsequently they removed to several other counties, and in 1833-34 came to Hardin County, and settled on the north- east quarter of Section 14, in this township, where he entered eighty acres of land, opened out a farm, and made a good home, where he resided until his death, August 12, 1872 His wife died August 21, 1866. Mr. Beem was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was a true type of the honest old pioneer farmer, and took great delight in hunting in those days of abundance of game. They were parents of eight children, of whom three now survive-James, Will- iam and Sarah. The deceased were Elizabeth, Eda, Jemima, Hester and Gilman.

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CESSNA TOWNSHIP.

Levi Mathews was born in Stark County, Ohio, January 20, 1811. He mar- ried Elizabeth Whetsel, who was born in Pickaway County, February 20, 1811. In May, 1834, they removed to this township and settled on the northeast quar- ter of Section 5, where he still lives and has resided a period of nearly half a century. His wife died in 1867. They had three children, viz .: Milton (de- ceased), Mortimer and Elmer. Jonathan Mathews, a brother of the above, came here in August, 1834, and settled on the northeast quarter of Section 7. He married Rebecca Donaldson in 1833, by whom he had the following chil- dren: Elizabeth J., William R., Phebe Ellen, Joseph, Melvin, Lovinia and Gen- evra. Mr. Mathews died in 1875. His wife still survives, and now resides in Ada. Smiley Mathews was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, and, in Febru- ary, 1835, came here and settled on the southwest quarter of Section 5. He married Phebe Donaldson. and resided on this farm until his death, in 1868. His widow still survives him, and resides on the home place. They were not blessed with any children of their own, but their kindness and generosity were abundantly extended to others, several of whom they raised and to whom they extended a father's and mother's care and attention. Isaac Mathews, the father of the above mentioned Levi, Jonathan and Smiley Mathews, came here in No- vember, 1834, and settled, with his family, on the northwest quarter of Section 5, where he died, aged sixty-six years. He married Nancy Hamilton, a native of Columbiana County, Ohio. She survived Mr. Mathews twenty-one years, and died at the advanced age of eighty-one years. Their children were as follows : Smiley, Jonathan, Levi, Rachel, Susanna, William, Lovina, James, Elihu, Re- becca and Harvey ; the latter died in infancy. This family have been among the most prominent and prosperous farmers of Cessna Township, and are well known for their high moral and Christian character.

Joseph Wilson was a native of Pennsylvania, and married Martha Holmes, born in Eastern Ohio. In the fall of 1834, Mr. Wilson, accompanied by his two eldest sons, Thomas H. and Isaac H., came from Carroll County, Ohio. and erected a house on land previously entered by him in Section 1, Cessna Town- ship, Hardin County, Ohio, and then returned for the balance of his family, who, with his wife, were Amos, Elizabeth, Mary, George and Samuel C., arriving at their destination in February, 1835. After a residence of some seven years, the parents returned on a visit to Carroll County, where the father died, and Mrs. Wilson, after burying her husband, came back to Hardin County and re- moved her family to Carroll, where they lived about fifteen years ere again set- tling in this county. She still survives, and resides with her daughter Mary, now Mrs. William Deming, of Kenton. Isaac H. and Samuel C. are also resi- dents of Hardin County, while Amos lives in Kansas, and Elizabeth in Harri- son County, Ohio; Thomas H. and George are deceased. Joseph Wilson and his wife "Aunt Patty," as she is most familiarly known, were the first Method- ists who settled in Cessna Township, and may justly be called the founders of Salem Church.

Rev. Thomas Harvey Wilson was born in Carroll County, Ohio, March 29, 1817, and died in Fremont, Ohio, March 26, 1883, aged sixty-five years eleven months and twenty-seven days. He emigrated with his parents, Joseph and Patty (Holmes) Wilson, to Hardin County, in February, 1835. The family settled in Cessna Township, and were among the early settlers of the county. Here he became familiar with the hardships incident to pioneer life. In his latter years, he took great satisfaction in meeting with the pioneers and living over again the early incidents of his life. He experienced religion and united with the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1839, at a camp-meeting held about two miles west of Kenton, on the Scioto River. This marked a change in the course of his life. Such were his gifts and graces that in a few weeks after his conversion he was licensed as a local preacher. He was at once eur-

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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

ployed by the Presiding Elder as a supply on Richwood Circuit, and, in 1842, was admitted into the North Ohio Conference. He was first married to Miss Sarah Olney, in 1844. They lived happily together for thirty-three years, and were blessed with four children, only one of whom survives. Under circumstances most painful indeed, the wife and daughter were called away in August, 1877. His next wife was Mrs. Sarah Harris, of Fremont, Ohio, whom he married De- cember 1, 1881, and she still survives. He enjoyed an unbroken member- ship in the church of forty-six years, and in the Conference of forty-one. He was Presiding Elder eleven years, on the best stations of the Conference, Cen- tenary Agent one, and sixteen years on circuits. He was twice honored by an election by his brethren of the Conference to represent them in the General Conference. When he commenced his itinerate ministry, the country was new, circuits large, the roads almost impassable, the people poor, and the salaries very meager. No man in the Conference had a more vivid recollection of the hardships of the early preachers, and no man took more satisfaction in recount- ing them, or could more vividly describe them. Though he had been in very imperfect health during the winter, the last severe sickness was of short dura- tion. For some days in the former part of his affliction, his mind wandered; but before the closing hours, consciousness returned, and he died, as he had lived, in the full possession of his faculties, and with a conscious sense of the favor and presence of his Savior. Mr. Wilson was a genial companion. Few men were blessed with better or more interesting conversational powers. His fine imagination, combined with his ample fund of varied and interesting anecdotes, made him the center of attraction in any social circle. He was specially endowed with great kindness of heart, and knew how to speak words of kindness and comfort to others. He possessed the rare faculty of entering into their feelings, and leading them from their grief to happier thoughts. His preaching was peculiar to himself. Its marked characteristic was a peculiar pathos that at once arrested attention, and awakened sympathy for himself and theme. When aroused, his powers of imagination and delineation were wonderful. It was no uncommon occurrence for his audiences to be swayed as a forest and melted to tears. He understood well the doctrines of his church, and was capable of stating them clearly and ably defending them. He was an evangelist in the true sense of the word. He understood the art of winning souls. Few men were more successful in leading men to Christ. He had fine executive abilities and a clear weight into character. He studied men closely, and possessed a wonderful power over them. In his work, he was al- ways master of the situation; full of resources, his good sense .never failed him, and he was always capable of measuring up to the emergency. He was brought to Kenton, the scene of his carly manhood, to find his last resting place.

Allen Leper came from Richland County, Ohio, and settled on the southwest quarter of Section 9, in April. 1834, where he and his wife resided until their death. They had the following children : John, James, Jane, Mary, Rachel, Kanhoppock, Catharine, Robert, Samuel, Asher and one daughter, the second child, whose name we could not obtain.

John Houser settled on the northeast quarter of Section 10, in 1835, where his wife died, after which he married, for his second wife, a Miss McBride, and subsequently moved to Indiana.

Stephen Cessna, from Coshocton County, Ohio, settled on Section 17, but resided here only a few years till he died. He was a man of fine ability, and possessed of a character above reproach, and had his life been spared, would evidently have made a success in life, and have been a useful citizen in this community.

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The history of Hardin county, Ohio, Part 68

Author: Warner Beers & co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago : Warner Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1076

Author: Warner Beers & co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago : Warner Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1076