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SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP - 537 CHAPTER XXVI. SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP. THE name of this township was singularly well chosen. It is true that the traveler will look in vain for those sanguinary savages, after whom the town was named; he will not find more than a souvenir of those painted rascals, who aided their white military brethren in 1794-1812-13, to scalp and burn and murder the soldiers and citizens of the Union. He will find none of this; even the wilderness is gone and in its place a hundred happy homes, well cultivated farms, railroads, pike-roads, schools, churches, and with all this, an intelligent people, appear to testify to the present and give hope for the future. ORGANIZATION. The commissioners, in session December 1, 1834, granted the petition of the people of Shawnee to set off Township 4, Range 6, as a separate township from the Hog Creek Reservation, under the name of its original inhabitants. The first meeting was held December 13, 1834, within the log-house of Ezekiel Hover, when Griffith Breese, Joseph Hover and Benjamin SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP - 539 Jacob Helsel, section 5, 1834. George Bolander, section 5, 1834. Thomas Bane, section 5, 1834. Henry Kridler, section 6, 1836. Peter Apgar, section 6, 1837. John Ireland, section 6, 1836. John Bates, section 6, 1839. Peter Specht, section 7, 1836. Elijah G. Barney, section 7, 1838. Hamilton Davison, section 7, 1851. Philip Herzing, section 7, 1837. Samuel Rinehart, section 8, 1836. James A. Anderson, section 8, 1836. Thomas Furness, section 8, 1836. Jas. Loveridge, Jr., section 8, 1836. Peter Specht, section 8, 1836. Philip Herzing, section 8, 1837. Daniel Boyer, section 8, 1836. Samuel Fritz, section 9, 1833. Thomas Flinn, section 9, 1836. Geo. Sheldon, section 9, 1833. Griffith Breese, section 9, 1834. Samuel Kridler, section 9, 1835. James Williby, section 9, 1836. Wesley Coon, section 9, 1833. Alexander Coon, section 9, 1834. Joseph Homel, section 10, 1832. Joseph Hover, section 10, 1832. Griffith Breese, section 10, 1832. Isaac Decorsey, section 10, 1833. Joseph Barnet, section 10, 1832 Ezekiel Hover, section 11, 1833. Alexander Beatty, section 11, 1832. Abraham Swither, section 11, 1835. Gustavus Swan, section 11, 1835. Jonathan K. Wiles, section 11, 1832. Joseph Barnet, section 11, 1832. Thos. B. Van Horn, section 12, 1835. Griffith Breese, section 12, 1833. Joseph Crandall, section 12, 1833. Joseph Brittain, section 12. 1834. Wm. Corns, scction 12, 1833. Ann Darling, section 12, 1833. Joseph Dixon, section 12, 1833. Jacob Dixon, section 12, 1833. Jesse Kelsey, sectron 13, 1833. Andrew Corns, section 13, 1833. Manuel Reed, section 13, 1833. Jesse Kelsey, section 14, 1835. Hugh B. Stephenson, section 14, 1834. Griffith Breese, section 14, 1833. Thomas Rosier, section 14, 1836. Wm. Megrady, section 14, 1836. Nathaniel Hardin, section 14, 1834. James Hardin, section 14, 1834. Joseph Hover, section 15, 1832. Francis Lucas, section 15, 1832. Jesse Kelsey, section 15, 1832. Joseph Barnet, section 15, 1832. Ezekiel Hover, section 15, 1832. Joseph Hover, section 16, 1842. Samuel Smedley, section 16, 1842. Richard E. Thomas, section 16, 1842. Wm. D. Breese, section 16, 1842. Amasa Smedley, section 16, 1842. Thomas Furness, section 17, 1836. Enoch Pearson, section 17, 1837. Wm. McClure, section 17, 1836. Richard Malone, section 17, 1836. Henry W. Munsell, section 17, 1836. Daniel Boyer, section 17, 1836. Julius A. Hover, section 17, 1841. Wm. Brandt, section 17, 1838. John Anderson, section 17, 1836. Jacob Brandt, section 17, 1836. Wm. Anderson, section 18, 1836. Jacob Brandt, section 18, 1836. George Swartz, section 18, 1850. James Yoakum, section 18, 1848. Aquilla Armstrong, section 18, 1848. Andrew Brentlinger, section 18, 1849. John Siferd, section 18, 1850. John Truesdale, section 18, 1856. James F. Francis, section 19, 1836. Jacob Addleman, section 19, 1836. Henry Wm. Munsell, section 19, 1836. James Williams, section 19, 1848. Jesse A. M. Overhultz, section 19, 1852 Wm. Graham, section 19, 1851. Paul Edmon, section 19, 1853. John J. Graham, section 19, 1850. Joseph Dickey, section 20, 1836. . Samuel Dickey, section 20, 1836. James F. Francis, section 20, 1836. Wm. Francis, section 20, 1836. John Bunion, section 20, 1834. Benjamin Reed, section 21, 1832. Griffith Breese, section 21, 1832. George Breese, section 21, 1836. Jesse Kelsey, section 21, 1833. Samuel Rinehart, section 22, 1836. Thomas Hoholer, section 22, 1836. Samuel Chambers, section 22, 1836. Jesse Kelsey, section 22, 1832. 538 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY. Reed were elected trustees, and Ezekiel Hover, clerk. The list of voters comprised twelve names. In 1848 the southern tier of sections was attached to the new county of Auglaize, and in May, 1857 the northeast quarter of Section 1 was attached to the new township of Ottawa. Almost the entire territory, now embraced in Shawnee Township, (a half mile strip of the western sections and a quarter mile strip of the eastern sections excepted), was included in the Indian reservation, of twenty-five square miles, named in the treaty of September 29, 1817, and was organized under Chief Pht, or Falling Tree, and Onowaskemo, or Resolute Man. PIONEERS. The first settlers on the Indian reservation of Hog Creek, were Griffith Breese, who settled on Section 10 in November 1832, with his family, and resided there until his death in 1848 ; George Coon, Sr., settled on Section 11 in 1832, died in 1877 ; William Denniston on Section 11 in 1832, and Thomas Flynn on Section 12 in 1832. John Dowling arrived early in 1833. Joseph Hover and family, Ezekiel Hover and Emanuel Hover arrived in April, 1833. Joseph Hover settled on Section 1 ; Ezekiel Hover took possession of the Indian farm, and completed the council house on the plan which Falling Tree adopted in 1831, when the building was commenced; Emanuel Hover located his property in the neighborhood. Benjamin Reed and Samuel Sprague, the Decorseys, Edwards, Fritzes, Adgates, Roses, Hales, Daniels, Lowrie and Boyer may be named among the pioneers. In the following roll of purchasers of United States lands on the Hog Creek reservation, as well as in the tax list of 1834, given in the pioneer chapter, an authentic pioneer record is found. William Chaffe, section 1, 1832. John Campbell, section 1, 1832. Joseph Hover, section 1, 1832. John H. Porter, section 1, 1832. Northeast quarter, section 1, over in Ottawa Township. Joseph Barnet, section 2, 1832. Jas. P. Gardiner, section 2, 1832. Ezekiel Hover, section 3. 1834. Hamilton Davison, section 3, 1835. Burgess Dickey, section 3, 1884. Thomas Hanthorn, section 3, 1834. Griffith Breese, section, 3, 1833. John Lowry, section 3, 1833. Ezekiel Hover, section 4, 1836. Thomas Hanthorn, section 4, 1834. Jonathan Wilds, section 4, 1834. Joseph Edwards, section 4, 1833. Wrn. Deniston, section 4, 1833. Michael Bower, section 4, 1834. Reuben Wait, section 4, 1834. Wm. Lippincott, section 4, 1833. George Coon, section 4, 1833. Michael Bower, section 5, 1834. 540 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY James Nicholas, section 22, 1832. Ezekiel Hover, section 22, 1833. John Dills, section 22, 1836. Campbell Dowling, section 23, 1833. George Sprague, section 23, 1835. Abraham S. Kellar, section 23, 1836. Derrick P. C. Darling, section 23, 1836. Samuel Rinehart, section 23, 1836. Samuel Chambers, section 23, 1836. John Chambers, section 23, 1836. Wm. Kelsey, section 23, 1835. Henry Williams, section 13, 1833. Demas Adams, section 24, 1836. Campbell Dowling, section 24, 1833. Abiathar Newton, section 24, 1835. Lorenzo Dow Gilbert, section 24, 1836. Harrison Maltbie, section 24, 1834. Campbell Dowling, section 24, 1833. John Robbins, section 25, 1836. Chatman Hawley, section 25, 1836. Elias N. D. Williams, section 25, 1834. John W. Williams, section 25, 1834. James Mendenhall, section 25, 1835. Vincent D. Engart, section 25, 1837. Joseph Haskell, section 26, 1832. George Strickler, section 26, 1835. H. D. V. Williams. section 26, 1836. Samuel Sprague, section 26, 1833. George Sprague, section 26, 1835. Henry Sprague, section 26, 1835. Levi Goodnow, section 26, 1836. Joseph Haskell, section 27, 1832. Francis Brock, section 27, 1832. Solomon Sprague, section 27, 1836. Jno. Harper Brock, section 27, 1835. David Stebolton, section 27, 1836. Jacob Delong, section 27, 1833. Robert J. Skinner, section 28, 1832. Jesse Kelsey, section 28, 1835. Adam Overholser, section 28, 1834. James Reed, section 28, 1836. Jacob Stebolton, section 28, 1836. John Runion, section 29, 1834. Michael Shaffcr, section 29, 1836. Henry Shaffer, section 29, 1836. Wm. Solomon, section 29, 1836. Isaac Spellman, section 29, 1838. John A. Smith, section 29, 1836. Andrew Kessler, section 29, 1835. John Utley, section 29, 1836. John Garnier, section 29, 1836. Andrew Kessler, section 30, 1835. Henry Shaffer, section 30, 1836. Christopher Graham, section 30, 1847. John Graham, section 30, 1847. Elizabeth Trissell, section 30, 1847. John Boner, section 30, 1834. Samuel Boner, section 30, 1834. Peter Kauffman, section 30, 1836. Jno. B. Hoopes, section 30, 1836. HUME VILLAGE. Hume Village, Section 29, Shawnee Township, was platted as a railroad town. The Lake Erie & Western Railroad intersects the village ; twenty-two lots lying northwest of the railroad and fifty-seven lots southwest. Main Street runs parallel with the railroad ; Crider Street runs due north and Spencer Street due west. It is the center of a rich agricultural district, about eight miles southwest of Lima by railroad, and ten by pike-road, within the limits of the old Hog Creek reservation. REMINISCENCES OF SETTLEMENT. The following relations are culled from various written statements made by the pioneers, and are given here as an addition to the history of early settlement. The Ezekiel Hover farm was the site of a Shawnee village, and during the campaigns of Harmer, St. Clair and Wayne, was often the SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP - 541 headquarters of the warriors. Here Blue Jacket and other chiefs often met the venerable chief and warrior Black Hoof in consultation. Many French also met here during the campaign of Wayne. The Indians were induced to plant an orchard in and about the village. Many of the apple trees are yet standing, and continue to bear fruit. There is one of extraordinary size still bearing fruit. It is about three feet in diameter, and measures about ten feet in circumference. The relations of Pht, it is stated, returned to the site of his burial with a view of finding and removing his bones to the far West, but did not succeed. The old, council house and the apple trees are the only relics to be found of the palmy days of the Shawnees on the Ottawa. William D. Breese in his reminiscences states that his father settled on Section 10, a part of an old Indian farm, where he found two orchards containing about forty apple trees each ; many of those trees being yet alive and bearing. There were at the time about seven Indian cabins scattered over the land, which had evidently been the site of a Shawnee village, It is stated by W. U. Hover that the Shawnees had removed from that region about one year before his arrival, and before his father had located the home farm. There were, however, a few Indians who remained and hunted with the Wyandots until their removal. Many of the Shawnees came back in 1834 and visited the graves of their ancestors in and about the old village on Section 11, before their final departure to the West. Many years after they came back and dug in many places for hidden relics, and the bones of their people. They seemed to regret their removal to the West, and often viewed the localities most dear to their younger days, and finally bid adieu to the Indian hunting grounds. The family, of Ezekiel Hover reside on the farm included in the old Indian village, where the remains of the Chief Pht were buried, and where the old Council House still stands. When Ezekiel Hover first took possession of the farm, he had the Council House refitted for the use of his family. George Coon, a settler of 1832, came from Bellefontaine by the way of what is now Westminster and Lima, to Section 11 in Shawnee Township. It was all in woods at that time, and there were no roads except Indian trails. When he came, his neighbors were Isaac Boyer, Samuel Sprague, and Dye Sunderland, very much scattered. He was soon 32 542 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY. joined by William Deniston and family on the same section; soon after, by Thomas Flinn, an Irishman, who settled near him on Section 12. The first cabin had been occupied by a Shawnee family. The forests seemed to have been often burned over by the Indians, and the young trees have grown within the last fifty years. The first schoolhouse was built on Section 11, about 1837, and taught by Constant Southworth. The first preachers spoke in the cabins of the settlers. The usual place for speaking was at the house of Mr. Coon. The earliest preacher remembered was Thomas Hicknell, a Winebrennerian. A congregation was formed and a church built about 1840, in Allentown, Mr. Coon and many of the early settlers were compelled to attend the mills of Piqua and Cherokee to obtain grinding, over mere paths in the forests. He often attended the government mill built by the Quakers at Wapakonetta, and sometimes changed to St. Mary's, and finally to Lima. Col. George C. Johnson, of Piqua, writing in 1874, relates the following story of the burial of Blackhoof : "The Shawnees never bury their dead until the sun is in the tree-tops, late in the afternoon. On such occasions they generally select six pall-bearers, who carry the corpse to the grave and place it therein, the grave being two-and-a-half or three feet deep. When the chief Blackhoof was buried, in 1831, it was in the Indian manner; the corpse was wrapped in a clean, new Indian blanket, and a large quantity of new fine goods, consisting of calico, belts and ribbons were placed about the deceased, who was laid upon a new, clean slab, prepared for the purpose. His gun, tomahawk. knife and, pipe were by his side. All the Indians present were in deep distress, having their clothes hanging loosely about them, their hair down on their shoulders, and were painted after the- ancient manner. The chiefs sat about smoking, looking in solemn silence upon the remains of the great chief who had led the tribe for nearly one hundred years, had been their faithful counsellor in peace and war, had been present at Brad- dock's defeat, seventy-six years before, and for nearly a century had been in all the expeditions against the 'Long Knives. ' " For some months before their final departure, the young men of the Shawnees, and the middle-aged, who had not abandoned their old customs, were engaged in a round of dissipation brought on by the mean tricks of wicked traders to cheat the Indians out of every dollar of SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP - 543 property they could obtain. Whisky, that bane of the Indian, was largely distributed among the Indians by traders; in fact, all decency was violated by the wretches who dealt in fire-water. The better portion of the Shawnees were engaged for weeks in religious ceremonies, dances, and amusements preparatory to their departure. They carefully levelled the graves of their dead, and removed all traces of the same. Hon. John Mcllvain accompanied the Lewistown Indians, and James B. Gardner those of Wapakonetta. The route was by way of Greenville, Richmond and Indianapolis. The Indians commenced to assemble in September, 1832, and mounted their horses, and such as had wagons seated themselves, while the Government teams hauled their provisions and clothing. Many of them bid a sad adieu to the hunting-grounds and graves of their fathers. All things being ready their High Priest, bearing a large gourd and the bones of a deer's leg attached to his neck, led the advance. At the moment of starting on this journey the High Priest sounded the trumpet three times, repeated this signal when halting at night, and followed this course until the tribe settled on their Kansas reservation. The Shawnees who emigrated numbered 700 souls, and the Senecas, who emigrated at the same time, 350. When they arrived at Greenville, they encamped at Tecumseh's Point and remained a day or two to take a final farewell of that place, so dear to their memories as the home of their fathers and the scene of so many Indian assemblies and heroic exploits. They had before them a journey of over 800 miles across the open prairie, in an uninhabited country. About one-fifth of the tribe remained at Wapakonetta and among the Wyandots at Upper Sandusky, until the spring of 1833. The Indians arrived at their new home about Christmas, 1832. Gardner accompanied them to the Mississippi and turned back, when Joseph Parks, a half- blood Quaker, who had the job of removing them, conducted them safely to their new home They at• once proceeded to raise cabins, split rails, and make fences, but were very short of provisions, and had to depend largely upon such game as they could find. SCHOOLS. During the winter of 1834-35 the pioneer school of Shawnee Town- 544 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY. ship was inaugurated, with Miss Maria Hover, teacher, in a cabin which was formerly the home of Chief Pht, just northwest of the Shawnee council house. In 1837 a schoolhouse was erected on Section 11, presided over by Constant Southworth. The growth of the school system in this division of the county is shown in the following abstract of report for 1884: Revenue for 1884 was $3,546; expenditure, $4,196. Of the nine school buildings, valued at about $11,000, one was erected in 1884 at a cost of $750. There are 478 pupils-230 boys and 248 girls. Fourteen teachers were employed. CHURCHES. The first religious society in Shawnee may be said to have been formed by Rev. James B. Finley, a Methodist itinerant, who preached in the homes of the people, particularly at George Coon's house. The first house of worship, however, was erected on Section 27, Shawnee, by the Lutherans. Thomas Hicknell, a Winebrennerian, was the first preacher. The Methodist Episcopal Church stands just west of the old Shawnee Council House. MISCELLANEOUS. The Lake Erie & Western Railroad passes through Shawnee ,Township from northeast to southwest, the Dayton & Michigan through the westerly and southwesterly sections, and the Chicago & Atlantic runs through the most northerly sections from east to west. The only post- office in the township is Hume. |