HISTORY
OF
ALLEN COUNTY,
OHIO.
CONTAINING A HISTORY OF THE COUNTY, ITS TOWNSHIPS, TOWNS,
VILLAGES, SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, INDUSTRIES, ETC.; PORTRAITS OF
EARLY SETTLERS AND PROMINENT MEN; BIOGRAPHIES;
HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY; HIS-
TORY OF OHIO; STATISTICAL AND MIS-
CELLANEOUS MATTER, ETC., ETC,
ILLUSTRATED.
CHICAGO:
WARNER, BEERS & CO.,
1885.
PREFACE
THAT the history of the past should be commemorated, and that of the present placed on record form a dual duty to civilization. A consideration of the people and events connected with the settlement and progress of any political or geographical division of this country, must be a work of deep interest to the writers as well as to those who made subject for history. Even more, it must be an enduring memorial, formed to give pleasure and instruction to the people who will come after us; teaching them the value and beauty of industry, and inciting them to excel in the labors which brought such rich rewards to the people of this county within a half century after the era of progress was introduced.
In local history is found the power to accomplish all this. Steel may wear away, rust efface the inscription on iron, wood decay, and even the marble rock break to pieces, but the page of history, once printed, is carried down the river of time unchanging and unchangeable. How swiftly are those men and women, who entered the wilderness in their youth, passing away! The great majority, even now, are in the homes of the silent, and few remain who can give all the details of the earliest settlement. Fortunately, their recollections are now preserved. A. few more years and the whole unwritten history of Allen County should remain unwritten—lost for ever. Another few years and the brilliant story of progress would have to be based on fragmentary relations —disconnected, unsatisfactory, aggravating. Local history comes forward to rescue ten thousand facts and names from oblivion, and place them where the historian of the future may grasp the whole Union and give to each of its parts a complete sketch. Not alone should the history of pioneer times be treated fully and impartially, but also the present. The whole fabric of society,—the home, school, church, governmental and benevolent organizations, and all these industries and associations which bind men's interests together—should be traced down from the humble beginnings of 1831 to our own days, making a record complete and impartial for the future. This age of progress is reviewed and compared with the quiet, unostentatious long ago. Commercial, military and political enterprises are detailed, nothing which might be thought worthy of mention is omitted, and thus every name and deed are entwined with the history of the country.
In presenting this volume to the people of Allen County, we feel that another valuable contribution to the history of Ohio has been
iv - PREFACE.
added to the record of settlement and progress. The First Part, de- voted to the early history of the Northwest, contains direct references to this portion of Ohio. The Second Part treats on the military, politi- cal and civil history of Ohio. In this section of the work the history of Indian occupation is very fully related, and to it the reader is referred for much of the history of the Shawnees and their warriors. The history of Allen County, forming the Third Part, contains many most important chap- ters, each one treating fully the subject, so far as names or events are iden- tified with this county. In the Political Chapter the vote of the county, alone, is given; so with the military history, the names of Allen County soldiers, only, finding mention. The Pioneer history, contained in the chap- ter on Occupation and Settlement, embraces the tax roll of the county in 1834. The history of Townships, Cities and Villages embraces the history of land purchases, early industries, schools, churches and.societies. This sec- tion of the work is so closely allied with the general history of the county, great care had to be manifested in distinguishing between the varied items, which belonged specially to each township, and those which had a direct bearing on the history of the whole county. An instance of this may be adduced. In the history of Lima a simple mention of the court house and jail is made. This is not discriminating against Lima; for the history of these buildings belongs to the whole county, even as do the buildings them- selves, and has special reference to the Organic Chapter, in which it appears. So with the tax roll of 1834, it would not bear distribution without mutila- tion, and thus it was necessary to make it a part of the general history. The history of the county and townships,was written and compiled from most authentic records by the general historian, M. A. Leeson. The Biographical history is embraced in the Fourth Part. This important branch of history has claimed a great deal of attention: it has been collected and compiled at great expense, the work faithfully performed by our staff of biographical historians, corrected as far as possible by direct cor- respondence with the parties concerned, and then edited and sent through the press under the closest supervision.
To the people who made the publication of a work of this magnitude possible, we extend our hearty thanks. To the county officers, who aided the general historian so materially, we express our gratitude; to the gentle- men of the press, our indebtedness for the unanimity of their support, and to all the people, a hope that the history of the first half-century of their county shall prove itself authentic and be acceptable.
THE PUBLISHERS.
CHICAGO, August 1, 1885.
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Allen County Courthouse, Lima, Ohio
CONTENTS.
PART I.
HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.