YORK TOWNSHIP.

(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE)

York Township was constituted by the Board of County Commissioners in June, 1837. Its territory was taken from Richland Township. and contained all of the county north of a line commencing at the southeast corner of Section 15, Township 11 north. Range 3 east. and running west to the southwest corner of Section 13, Township 13. Range 2. In June, 1841, all of York Township lying north of a line commencing at the southeast corner of Section 22, Township 12 north. Range 3 east. and running west to the southwest corner of Section 24, Township 14, Range 2, was formed into a new township, called Wabash.

By the last census, the population was 797, of whom thirty-six were foreign born ; the inhabitants now number fully 1.000. The southern portion of York is level. and is somewhat clayey. presenting to the eye the appearance of prairie, except that probably one-fifth of the surface is covered with thrifty timber, mostly second growth of the original unbroken forest. The timber is hardwood— oak, hickory, maple, beech and some walnut, though the latter has been pretty generally cut down. Near the center of the township there is more of the burr- oak, and the soil is a sandy loam, very productive. especially along Indian Creek, which rises in the northern part of Brown Township and flows southeast, diagonally across York. Ia the vicinity of Brock. which is located upon the St. Mary's Pike, and about one and a half miles north of Indian Creek, the surface

406 - HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY.

of the country. undulating. is almost hilly. and the soil is lighter or clayey, with a larger proportion of beech in the wooded portions. About one-fifth of the land is uncleared. There are 4,667 acres cultivated, 812 in pasture, 3,593 in woodland, and 289 denominated waste lands. The total of land owned in 1878 was 9,361 acres.

Swamp Creek rises midway on the boundary of York, and flows southeastward. The belt of country along this stream is also very productive, the soil I wing a warm loam. The principal dependence of the farmers of York has been corn and oats, and the fattening of hogs. The average crop of oats is about forty bushels to the acre. and as high as seventy have been raised. The following statistics exhibit the productive capacity of the York Township farm lands : - Wheat crop for 1879—from 1,343 acres, 29,258 bushels ; rye, 12 acres, 167 bushels ; buckwheat-5 acres, 39 bushels ; oats-748 acres, 25,495 bushels ; barley-20 acres, 335 bushels ; corn-1,665 acres, 65,150 bushels ; flax-58 acres, 615 bush- els ; potatoes-48 acres, 2,955 bushels ; apples-191 acres, 940 bushels. From :343 acres of meadow, 453 tons of hay were cut ; 63 acres of clover were plowed under for manure ; tobacco-27 acres, 29,550 pounds raised ; butter, 20,010 pounds manufactured. Besides these, there were produced considerable sorghum and honey, and some wool was shorn.

The soil along Indian and Swamp Creeks is not adapted to peach growing. As yet, with two or three exceptions, no special attention has been given to raising and improving stock. N. S. and Irving York are the principal men who have given special attention to the raising of good stock.

There are six turnpikes in the township, and only one road that is not piked —the one extending a short distance west from Brock. Generally speaking, the farmhouses are of the better class, decidedly, and, with the barns, outbuildings, windmills, labor-saving machinery, good fences and cultivated acreage, give unmistakable evidence of prosperity as the reward of industry. Nearly all the older settlers are out of debt and comfortably situated. Some of them are wealthy, among the foremost of whom may be named David Eury, Samuel Wilson. N. S. York, W. Bayman, David Duncan, Samuel Sherry, Lewis Sherry, David Lyons, William Miller and Mahlon Martin.

In pioneer days, most of the farms were small, being generally entered in forty or eighty acre parcels, but the forehanded have purchased from their less fortunate and more restless neighbors, and several large farms are the result. Such is the farm of David Eury, numbering 320 acres ; David Lyons. 200 ; Samuel Wilson, 250 ; Washington Bayman, nearly 200 ; N. S. York. Lemuel Reigel and M. Martin, each from 150 to 160 acres. The south part of the township was settled first,, and the first clearings were found mostly along the banks of Indian Creek. There is a disagreement between reports published and the testimony of those who are now in the best position to know the facts concerning the first improvement in and settlement of the township. The following is a phonographic report taken by H. Freeman of a recital made by Nicholas S. York, Esq., concerning his father Newberry York. " My father was born in Georgia near Augusta, and came from there to Ohio in 1810, to Preble County. He remained there about one year. and then went to Illinois: Two years later, he moved back to Preble County ; thence he moved to Darke County in 1817, and went into Wayne Township near Versailles, where he entered eighty acres. He traded this entry for land now the site of Versailles. He did not lay off any lots, but there were a few laid off on the part next to his east line. He sold this property in 1833 to James C. Woods, who afterward laid it out in lots. Then my father came to Richland Township. and entered eighty acres of Section 15. Town 11, Range 3, upon which he passed his life. Dying in 1870. at the advanced age of eighty-two years. He was Justice of the Peace in 1834, and had filled that office years before in Wayne Township. He was afterward an Associate Judge.. Mother's maiden name was Nancy Slade ; they were married in Georgia. There were nine children

HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY - 407

—Joseph. William. Jerry. Nicholas. Jeptha, Newberry and Lewis, Diadama and Rebecca. .Joseph moved in with his father. They are all gone but Nicholas and the two daughters." Samuel Reigel moved from Adams County, Penn., in 1837 or 1838. and has been a resident of York Township till the present. On his arrival. he selected and entered the quarter-section upon which he has lived so many years. He is now seventy-eight years of age. David Lyons married in 1830, and two years later removed to York Township. James Winget had entered eighty acres of Section 9. Range 3. which he afterward deeded to his son Joseph W. Winget. who sold to Lyons. David Lyons' son and a present resident says, When I came here, the St. Mary's road had just been opened up, and the trees that were chopped down were partly removed out of the way, but the road was full of stumps. and there were no bridges. At that time, there were not more than two or three wagons in the township; one of them belonged to Judge York, and another to Mr. Spindler. The Judge's wagon was a great convenience. We used to double teams and go around through the hills ten miles to get to Versailles. when it was only four and a half miles across in a direct line, and there was no telling how long we would have to wait our turn. Generally, we had to go to the falls of Greenville and Covington for milling, and usually on horseback. There was a mill on the creek. half a mile below Versailles, called the 'Thundergust Mill: because there was not water enough to run it except on rainy days or after a smart shower. There wils a mill in the early day at Webster, whose remains may lie seen. although another has taken its place." David Williams came from Preble County in 1840. and settled on Harris Creek. A son entered forty acres there, which were bought by Mr. Gibson who in 1843 moved to Indian Creek, on Section 9. Range 3. where in time lie died ; his son David Gibson resides upon the laud to which he has added until he now owns 108 acres.

The oldest settler now living is “Mother Sonday" who is now in her ninety- second year. As her faculties are tailing. and she can speak but little English, little information could be gained from her. She has a son named August Sonday, who is nearly seventy years of age. He has never married, and has always lived with his mother. How unusual this—seventy years of a mother's care and of filial solicitude. while several generations have hastened away from their old homes to embark giddily. recklessly and yet often. with fortune for themselves. How few those who deny themselves homes to attend parents ! Samuel Sherry came from Montgomery County to York Township. in October. 1842. and lived with the Sundays until we could get a house put up. George Sherry, his father, hid died in 1836. Samuel Sherry married a daughter of the Lanock family, who entered seventy-one acres southeast of Brock. about half a mile ; 120 acres northwest, and then bought two eighties : one right above Brock. the other to the east of it. November 7. 1837. a patent was issued to Samuel Lanick. for the southeast quarter of Section 4. Township 11, Range 3 east. in the district of lands, subject to sale at

Cincinnati. tract said to contain 142-Av acres. Mrs. Sarah Sonday gives the following We came to this county in 1834. from Montgomery County, to which place we had come from Pennsylvania. and moved on to what is now known as the Grisom Place." Among the first settlers of this township was Newberry York. at whose house we staved until we could get a house built. William A. Sunday moved in a year later—in 1835. William Miller, Mahlon Martin, Samuel Winbigler and Samuel Hughes were among the early settlers. Zachariah Miller and family, from Pennsylvania, settled first in Franklin County. Ohio, and in the fall of 1834, settled near Versailles. In 1840, he died ; a year later, his wife died. A son. William. came to York Township. March 1, 1858, and from that time has lived upon the farm composed of an eighty from each of Sections 8 and 9, Range 3. Township 11. Jacob Martin came from Pennsylvania to Warren County, Ohio, in 1797. He moved to Miami County in 1831. A son. Mahlon, was then ten years of age. In 1851. he moved to Darke, having bought forty acres adjoining his present farm. on Swamp Creek. for $110 and just prior to moving, he bought a

408 - HISTORY OF DARKS COUNTY.

second forty of improved land for $480. Three years later. he sold the eighty for $1,300, and bought of Solomon Christian the quarter-section. now his farm. Mr. Martin runs a large tile factory. whose product has been in good demand with great advantage to the lands. In 1844. Samuel Winbigler settled in York. on the Irving York place : later he purchased the Ezra Marks farm. where he died in 1876. He officiated as Postmaster and .Justice of the Peace. and had a family of nine children. Such details as we have given in the foregoing are applicable to many residents of York and other townships. Their lives abound. not in tales of savage combat, perilous journeys. or treacherous schemes. Their years pass away in seedtime and harvest : death comes. and the child grown to manhood tills the oh I fields his father cleared. and growing affluent. he tears down the old house in which were passed the happy days of childhood. and upbuilds the more modern, better furnished, but no more comfortable mansion. The first roads were crooked. running zigzag from house to house. Prior to these were the bridle paths for home- back riding or pedestrians. The " blazed" routes and Indian traces. superseded by " cut out" roads, were discontinued. and then came the surveyed muddy roads. and later. the permanent pike. No railroads touch the township. There are no grist-mills within its bounds. About 1868. there was a saw-mill on what is now the farm of William Miller. A few years. and it was moved to Brock, and from there to Patterson. and it is in operation at Versailles.

There is a blended nationality of the population. There are Eastern people. southerners and Pennsylvania Germans. Politically. the township was for a long time about equally balanced between the two Treat parties. but now. the Democratic majority on a full vote is about forty.

Religious services were held for some time in the schoolhouses. but the Trustees, thinking the protracted meetings of injury to the progress of the pupils. at last refused their use except upon the Sabbath. The first preaching in this township was by ministers of the German Lutheran denomination at private houses. Isaac Hirsh preached in 1842. and Rev. Carlter. a German Reformed minister. Revs. Weisner and Klopp, preached in 1844 and 1845. Revs. Locker and Cornflower preached in an old log church. of which there is further mention. The next regular services were held by Rev. George Shafer during two years ; he was succeeded by Jacob Weaver. Revs. Hoffman. Hochman. Valentine Koch and Isaac Hirsh this was in the fall of 1878. when he removed to Illinois. Since that time. there has been no regular preaching. The church is open to all denominations for funerals. Deaths and removals have reduced the membership. In the days of the old church, there were about fifty members. but the average since the new church was built is not to exceed forty. The original Trustees were Samuel Winbigler and Samuel Sherry. The former haying died and the other having been chosen, Mr. Sherry is now the sole Trustee. The Sabbath school has been regularly maintained at times, but at this time none is held. The first church in York Township was built in 1848. It was a log house that would seat about one hundred persons. The neighbors clubbed together and built it. The inside work on this pioneer edifice was done by David Grisom. In the spring of 1848, Ezra Marker deeded an acre of ground to the Trustees of the society for church and cemetery. It is of pleasing location. on elevated ground. The first adult buried in the graveyard was David Gibson. Sr.. who died August 12. 1851 : two or three children had been interred previously. The old church was torn down at length. and. on April 30. 1856. the new frame church. a neat place of worship, was completed. and as stated, is used on funeral occasions and occasionally for services.

The pioneer Methodist minister within the limits of the township was Rev. Barr. who is remembered by settlers of 1846. Henry Burns. now of Versailles. was local preacher for many years. Alexander Armstrong. another old settler, was also a local exhorter : he is now a resident of Iowa. Services were held once a fortnight. in a log schoolhouse situated about three-fourths of a mile from the

HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY - 409

present site of Brock. The frame Methodist Church at Brock was built in 1857, and dedicated by Rev. Henry Sheldon. Among tin' leading members of the denomination years ago. may be named John and Hannah Miller, Joseph and Catharine Boyd. Samuel and Rebecca Armstrong, James and Sally Medford. Samuel and Rhoda Ilughes. Stephen and Susan Miller. Mary Oliver. William and Mary Boyd. and Zackariah and Elmira Miller. The Methodist cemetery is located half a mile west of Brock. near the southwest corner of Section 33. being a part or what is known as the place of Jesse Boyd.

The first school taught in York Township was by J. P. Hafer, in an old cabin. prior to the erection of a schoolhouse. He died in March. 1839. and was buried in the woods. there being no graveyard. The snow was over two feet in depth the day of the funeral. A Mr. McMahon was also a teacher -in-the early day. In the summer of 1837. a log schoolhouse was built on the land of .Judge York. There are now six school districts. Some ten years ago. the township was re-districted and new frame schoolhouses were built of uniform style. equal cost and capacity. for from thirty to forty-five children.

N. York was the first Justice after the organization of the township. Mr. Collins erected the first house. It stood on the school-lease, and was raised, probably. in 1830. Merchandising was begun by .Josiah .Johnson at the cross-roads at Brook. The is' now in use as a pout office. Jefferson Shook was the pioneer smith. whose t1n.ge was located in the southeast corner of the township, where now David Oliver lives. Ezra Marker. George Bertram and others. laid off the hamlet of Brock. and sold the first lots. Then Jacob Winbigler and Egbert Winterworth bought a tract of Peter Lechman. and made some sales, and S. Winogler also sold lots from the north end of his farm.

Brock has a population of about one hundred. The following presents an outline of its business and importance. There is the smithery of Reser & Crick, the wagon-shop of W. H. Reser. built by James Deam in the spring of 1877 ; shoeshop. located in the first building erected in the place. in 1848 ; a brickyard, run by A. G Clark: a grocery and a general store. The place has somewhat of enterprise. as is evidenced by the possession of an organized brass band.

The first post office was established in Brock in 1848, Jacob Miller. Postmaster Samuel Winbigler was his successer. and kept the office at his residence. The first mail-carrier between Versailles and Celina was Freeman Whittaker. The present carrier is George Stevens. whose route is from North Star to Greenville, eighteen miles. The following have been Postmasters : Isaac Boyd. Jackson Holloway. J. B. Werts. Lewis Kendig. Isaac Bolton. R. Probasco. and B. F. Crick, incumbent since 1877. Brock has a fairly commodious and pleasant schoolhouse ; average attendance. torts. The Methodist Church being dilapidated, meetings are sometimes held in the schoolhouse by that and other denominations. It is also used for election purposes. band practice. exhibitions. etc. The following are the present township officers : Clerk. John Brown : Trustees. Samuel McGriff, .Jeptha Armstrong and William Rue ; Assessor. -James Miller : Treasurer. M. Crushet ; Constable, N. Lyons.