250 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY the present librarian. Its present location is the Board of Electors Room, in the Court House." Several attempts were made early in the new century to interest Mr. Andrew Carnegie in the project of improving the library facilities of Wauseon, but it was not until November 17, 1903, that Prof. C. J. Biery received a response from the great philanthropist. The communication followed the general plan adopted by Mr. Carnegie and his advisers, in donating library buildings to municipalities of the United States, and the proposal to Wauseon brought about the undertaking by the village council to properly maintain the library. So the present library building, on Elm street, was built at a cost to Mr. Carnegie of $7,500. It is a two-story structure of pressed brick, and is stone-faced, the building being of a pleasing colonial design. Miss Mary S. Hunt will ever be remembered for her labors in behalf of the library. For twenty years, or more she was secretary and librarian. And Carl Greenleaf probably did more for the library than any other man. Howard Sohn also did very creditable work as librarian, at a small, wholly inadequate salary ; and the bequest by Mrs. Kelley, in 1892, will not be forgotten. WAUSEON WATER WORKS SYSTEM It seems rather singular that, in a territory which, originally, had. water in abundance, there should come a time when its advancement threatened to be checked, who knows how seriously, by a poor water supply for domestic purposes, and a totally inadequate supply for industrial purposes. Much money has been spent during the last twenty-five years in endeavoring to secure sufficient water for present and prospective uses, and apparently it will be necessary to expend much more, for latterly a serious shortage has made it necessary to pump water from the "big ditch",—open surface water—into the wells; and in consequence, many residents have had to resort to the pumping by hand from private and community wells in the village, in order to supply their personal needs of water for drinking. For fifty or sixty years, Wauseon has had a poor water supply. In June, 1870, the citizens "prayed" for the construction of a reservoir in Barber and Merrill's addition and an artesian well was in that year drilled in Fulton street, at the junction with Leggett street. H; I. Osborne was, on November 11, 1870, paid $125, "for help in drilling" that well. Other wells were sunk in the village, some by private landowners, for their personal needs, and some by the corporation. In 1896, it seemed that the deficiency-would soon be remedied. On July 15, 1896, plans were ordered to be drafted, and specification "for drilling a sufficient number of wells, to supply 500,000 gallons of water daily" and on August 12, 1896, the bid of the Wagoner Water Supply Company, of $2,500, "for the construction of wells" was accepted. At the same meeting the waterworks trustees entered into a contract with B. J. Ashley, civil engineer, to draft plans and specification, and superintend the construction of "a complete system of water works in the village of Wauseon." In consequence, plans and specification "for a complete system of water works" were, on June 10, 1897, presented to the council, and accepted by that body, which decided to advertise their heeds forthwith. Action HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 251 came quickly, and on July 14, 1897, the proposal of C. and T. Ingle-hart, of Chicago, to construct the Waterworks system, in accordance with the plans and specification, for the sum of $18,998, was stated to have been the lowest received, and the contract was awarded to that firm, on August 6, 1897. Work was commenced soon afterwards. William H. Hubble, who was a member of the Wauseon Water Board for. fifteen years, made the following statement, in March, 1919: "For several years prior to 1896, when the plant was built, I had been studying how to give Wauseon better fire protection, and to give to all the citizens the conveniences and privileges that come from a water works system. I had the late John Q. Files draw up a resolution, asking the village council to appropriate a small amount of money to make an investigation, as to a supply of water for the town. Later, I had him prepare a petition, submitting to the voters of Wauseon the question of whether, or not, bonds should be issued to the amount of $25,000, for the purpose of building a water works system. Dr. Myers and C. B. Lyon circulated the petition and the question carried in the election. "We awarded contracts for the drilling of wells which would furnish 500,000 gallons daily. Many test holes were sunk, and a large amount of experimenting was done before we could find the amount of water desired. The wells were submitted to a 48-hour test and met the requirement, but the water head was lowered some thirty feet At the end of the first year's pumping, the water head in the wells had gone down a number of feet, and at the end of the second year it was still lower. This alarmed me, and I went to Dayton to consult the men who drilled the wells, and their answer was that we were pumping out the water faster than it could feed to the wells, and that if new terri- 252 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY tory could not be reached, it would only be a matter of time before other sources of supply would have to be found." The position has not materially changed since. A new source has not yet been found, although the council is optimistic, having more than one plan now under consideration. When the wells were first constructed, the water stood within sixteen feet of the ground surface; its level is now about 160 feet below the surface. Altogether; bonds "have been issued for the construction and improvement of the plant, to the amount of $81,000," and of that amount $60,000 remained unpaid in 1919. It is serious, and more regrettable when one realizes that the natural industrial advancement of Wauseon is in a measure, crippled by the deficiency. INDUSTRIAL WAUSEON Industrially, Wauseon is hampered by an insufficiency of water. When an adequate supply is available for industrial purposes, the town may change materially in class and character. At present it may be truthfully described as a small "city of homes." It may at some time in the future become a large "city of belching chimneys and throbbing machinery." Practically the only smoke stacks that belch forth industrial waste at present are those of the evaporated milk plant and the iron works. The former plant, that of the Van Camp Packing Company, is one of the most important factors to the farmers within its sphere of trading, and its establishment, together with that of the Helvetia Company at Delta, and the plant of the National Dairy Company at Morenci, just over the county line, has materially changed farming methods and prospects throughout Fulton County during the HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 253 last decade or so. The Van Camp Packing Company has more than 1,400 dairymen on the books of the Wauseon plant, these farmers bringing their milk daily to .the plant, and drawing substantial monthly cheques. About two-thirds of the intake at the Van Camp plant at Wauseon is the product of Fulton County farms. The other smoke-stacked plant is that of the Superior Iron and Manufacturing Company, situated near the Wabash Railway station ; it finds employment for about seventy-five men, and is a well-managed industrial concern. The milling industry, that of Lyon, Clement and Greenleaf, has been elsewhere noted in this chapter. It is of course one of the historic early institutions of Wauseon, and has always been one of the most important. At the time of the death of Chas. C. Greenleaf, one of its part-owners, the plant was described thus : "He (Mr. Greenleaf) gave this county a flourishing mill whose capacity is equal to that of any in the state, only one having as large an output as the one here. He made the grain market not only of this but of adjoining counties. The one mill here ground more wheat in a year than the entire county produced in the same time." Apart from these three plants, industrial Wauseon represents just the mechanical service developed by the every-day needs of a community of its size, and sphere of influence. But with the example of Toledo so near, and so evident, to the people of Wauseon, who can reasonably and nearly estimate the probable growth of the county seat of Fulton County during the next few decades? It probably will go forward more rapidly than it has during the last few. POPULATION The population of Wauseon in 1854 was, one authority states, fifteen ; what it was in 1860 is not known to present compiler; but Brown's "Gazetteer," before referred to in this chapter, states that the population in 1866 was 1,500. In 1870, the federal census figures were 1,474; in 1880, 1,906 ; in 1890, 2,060; in 1900, 2,148 ; in 1910, 2,650 ; and in 1920 the "preliminary announcement of population" issued, in advance of the verified figures, by the Bureau of the Census, credits Wauseon with 3,035 residents. Wauseon has maintained its proportionate decadal advancement, whereas Delta has fallen back, and has now only 1,543 residents. TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES Wauseon has three steam railway systems passing through it, and one electrified railway, so -that, in case industrial development begins in earnest, it will be possible to readily obtain railroad facilities to cope with such advancement. An article written in 1906, on "Wauseon, a railroad centre," gives a good review of the somewhat encouraging position of Wauseon, in this respect, describing Wauseon as "where the railways meet." In part, the article stated : "Few cities of its size in the state have a more metropolitan citizenship, or appearance. The twentieth century has started with fine prospects for Fulton County, more particularly in Wauseon, the county seat, in a material sense. In 1901, the Wabash Railroad built a branch from 254 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY Montpelier to Toledo, passing through Wauseon, and other important towns. In 1903 an electric railway, the Toledo and Indiana Electric railway was built, service from Wauseon beginning April, 1, 1903. In 1905 it was extended west to Bryan, and by this line Swanton, Delta, Wauseon, Pettisville, Archbold are each given the advantages of an electric road Speaking of railroads, we must not overlook the fact that Wauseon is located on the main line of the great L. S. & M. S. Railroad (New York Central) We have still another railway, now known as the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton, which gives us a direct line north and south from Detroit, Michigan, to Cincinnati, 0. thus giving to Wauseon three great steam railway systems and an electric road Here capital finds a profitable field for investment." HOTELS Wauseon's first hotel, the Estelle House, has already been referred to. Its first proprietors, the Livermore Brothers, had much part in early Wauseon affairs. The Estelle Hotel was the leading hotel of the county for many years, but not always under that name. It later became the Clinton House, and still later the Sherman House, pissing into the ownership of the Brothers Cornell. It was destroyed by fire in 1872. The next hotel was the Wauseon House, which presumably was in existence in the 'sixties, and certainly in the early seventies, standing on Depot street, just east of the City Hall. Its popular landlord for many years was George M. Hawes, who made it a good commercial house. The reputation it gained then has continued until the present, for its site was eventually taken by the Hotel Blair, which for more than a generation has been the leading hotel and commercial house of the county seat. Mr. Crawford Blair bought the old Wauseon House from Jake Ash, and conducted it for four years—until it was destroyed by fire. He then built the present Hotel Blair, a substantial brick 256 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY building, harmonizing with the adjoining City Hall. He remained in the Hotel Blair for nineteen years, selling it a few years ago to M. Dinerberger, of Buffalo, who, in June, 1920, transferred ownership and occupation to Tony H. Dolf, of an old Wauseon family, but for many years resident in Oklahoma, where he has had the managerial responsibility of first-class hotels. The Hotel Blair is the only Wauseon hotel at present, but there have been several other hotels. The most notable, perhaps, was the Eager House, a large three-story brick building, which was built in 1875 at the corner of Fulton and Commercial streets, where now stands the Peonies' Bank building, and where originally stood the first Eager House, a frame building erected by, or for; Colonel Hayes, for mercantile purposes, Zina Eager becoming his partner. In 1868 was built the Clinton House, on the corner of Clinton and Depot streets, a frame house. Its site is now occupied by the City Hall. The Clinton House was built by J. C. French, but was later sold to J. F. Baumgartner; who moved the hotel when its site was needed for the City Hall. In front of the Clinton House, according to James Hogeboom, "was a swamp, where the boys on the Fourth of July used to catch bullhead." He added: "I presume the present generation will scarcely believe this statement, but if they will ask Mr. Baumgartner, he can tell them all about it. There has been six or seven feet of fill made in this low ground, and that is why things present such a different appearance now, as to what they were then." There have been other hotels; there was a Fountain City Hotel, near the courthouse, almost forty years ago ; and at about that time the Farmers' Hotel was opened on North Fulton street, near Oak street. There have, of course, been innumerable saloons, unfortunately, that have served no good purpose. Residential hotels are an essential to the proper commercial intercourse between communities, but the drinking saloon has always been a detriment. They are now no more, having been swept away, perhaps temporarily, perhaps for all time, by the national prohibition measures enacted while the nation was in the throes of the greatest war of all times. MAYORAL SUCCESSION Earlier in this chapter the names have been stated of those citizens who presided over the administrative affairs of the incorporated village of Wauseon during the early years, to 1870: From that year, many public-spirited men have given creditable service as mayor; and all must have been unselfish in service, for the office has always been practically an honorary one. The list is as follows: Sydenham Snyder was mayor in 1871; Naaman Merrill in 1872-73; W. C. Kelley, from 1874 to 1877 ; Joel Brigham during the next three years; Jas. S. Brailey in 1881; L. M. Murphy, from 1882 to 1885 ; E. S. Blake from 1886 to 1894; Fred J. Bollinger; in 1895 ; John C. Rorick in 1896 ; E. S. Blake again from 1897 to 1899 ; J. C.. Palmer; in 1900 and 1901; E. H. Harrison, in 1902 ; A. P. Biddle in 1903-04-05 ; J. S. Brailey, from 1906 to 1908 ; C. A. Cole, in 1909; G. B. Heise, in 1910-11; W. C. Fink, 1912-13 ; R. Hoy, from 1914 to 1917 ; and Chas. M. Bulger; since 1918. HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 257 The present village administration is constituted as follows : Chas. M. Bulger; mayor; L. H. Deyo, treasurer; James C. King, clerk ; Geo. J. Oakley, H. J. Bachman, D. E. Barkdull, H. H. Davenport, H. H. Hough, and H J. Schlatter; members of council ; F. R.. Harper; G. V. Soule, and F. J. Spencer; board of trustees of public affairs. J. C. Paxson is city solicitor, and Robert Sweeney, marshal. Some of the men who carried on the work of the founders of Wauseon were very capable administrators. Some became prominent in the county administration, and some, indeed, in state affairs. Michael Handy was one of the most capable of the pioneer members of the Fulton County Legal Bar; and in 1879 was admitted to practice at the bar of the District Court of the United States. His name appears among the elected mayors of Wauseon, but he did not serve, the judges of election, upon a review being made, deciding that no one had been legally elected. Mr. Handy was not a candidate at the second election, which was in 1874, his opponent being William C. Kelley, who, at the second polling, was elected. He also was a prominent attorney, and was mayor of Wauseon for four years. Regarding the irregular election, and that which followed, J. W. Roseborough, who probably was the most ardent and forceful prohibitionist in the county in his active days, wrote: "They have been having an unusually lively time in the election of their local officers in Wauseon. At the first election, Mr. Handy was declared elected mayor of the village. His competitor; however, contested the election, and the judges declared that no one was legally elected. A new election was ordered. On the 11th inst., a caucus was held, and a candidate for mayor nominated in the name of the Republican party. The temperance men nominated a man for the same office. The election came off on the 12th, and resulted in the election of the anti-temperance ....... candidate ...... The Whiskey element rallied to a man to this side ........(and) the result was celebrated by a public libation of several kegs of beer, offered, too,   ............ in the public street, opposite the only concern in the village where liquor is sold." Michael Handy lived until March, 1886, death coming then quickly, in an apoplectic seizure. He was then seventy-three years old, and had lived a useful public-spirited life. In the last year or two of his life he was nearly blind, yet his cheeriness of disposition remained to the end. He was "a genial kindly man, and an estimable citizen." William C. Kelley died of cancer of the throat, and was buried in Wauseon Cemetery. He came to Wauseon in 1864, and held no public office excepting that of mayor, but he had an extensive law practice. He served as a commissioned officer through part of the Civil War. James S. Brailey died of apoplexy in 1916, in Toledo. "For over a quarter of a century Mr. Brailey had been active in state and district politics." He was the son of General James S. Brailey. He, James S., Jr., had a splendid Civil War record, and, after he returned to civil life, came to Wauseon, and interested himself in real estate and town planning. He was postmaster of Wauseon at one time, and was three times elected mayor. Linne M. Murphy was an attorney, and took up residence in Wauseon n 1880. He saw some service during the Civil War, although at its termination he was not yet sixteen years old. On his mother's side he came from a famous family of Indian fighters, one of whom once, to 258 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY escape from pursuing Indians, is supposed to have leaped on horseback from the summit of a cliff, 150 feet high, on the eastern side of the Ohio River, into the stream below, escaping unharmed. Eugene Stephenson Blake) who died in 1910, served many terms as mayor, and was one of the leading merchants of the place, partner in the firm of Brigham, Springer and Company, gaining that position by faithful work as a clerk. His was a meritorious life, lived "on a high moral plane." Fred J. Bollinger was barely twenty-one years old when he was elected mayor of Wauseon. He was very popular, and was the son of the editor-owner of the Democratic Expositor; of Wauseon. He died in Toledo when about thirty-eight years old. John C. Rorick is another of the capable members of a prominent Fulton county family. He was prominent in state administration ; was senator; and for many years member of the State Board of Equalization. At one time he owned the Sherman House of Wauseon, and was a successful inventor. John C. Palmer was the second Democrat to succeed in becoming mayor of Wauseon. He was in business with his father, Myron T. Palmer; a successful contractor, in Wauseon. The latter died in 1903, aged sixty-two years. He was esteemed as a veteran of the Civil War, Myron T. Palmer's war service record covering a longer period than that of any other member of the Losure Post of G. A. R. He held several offices of public trust, and at one time was Chief Deputy for Fulton county of the Deputy State Supervisiors of Elections of Ohio. Eugene H. Harrison was a most enterprising merchant of Wauseon. He was born in a log house near Wauseon in 1853, and died in 1913. In addition to one term as mayor, he served for two terms as township treasurer, and three terms as president and secretary of the Board of Public Affairs, and he worked earnestly for the advancement of Wauseon. HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 259 Hon. A. P. Biddle died in 1911. He was an able attorney, and for some years a justice of the peace. George B. Heise was originally a school teacher; later being admitted to the Fulton county legal bar; and still later entering into mercantile trading in Wauseon. Before closing the chapter reference must be made to some other prominent and now deceased residents of Wauseon. Colonel J. H. Brigham, who rose to the distinction of the assistant secretaryship of the United States Department of Agriculture, under President McKinley, was one of the ablest of Fulton county's sons. He was with the President on the day previous to that upon which McKinley was assassinated, and both before and after the latter's death, Colonel Brigham was prominent in federal circles. Wauseon shared with Delta the right to claim him as a resident, and he was necessarily much in evidence in Wauseon, the county seat. He served through the Civil War; was sheriff of Fulton county in 1868, and served the county in that office for three terms. He became state senator in 1881. Always at heart a farmer; Colonel Brigham actively entered into the development of the Grange movement, and for ten years was master of the state grange. In 1888, he was elected master of the national grange, and that position he held until appointed Assistant Secretary of Agriculture by President McKinley. He died in 1904. In physique, he was a giant, being 6 feet 6 inches in height. His mental calibre was in proportion, and his broad shoulders typified his broadness of vision, and stability of purpose. John Q. Riddle was one of the prominent early merchants, but he went to Cleveland to live in 1884, and there acquired much wealth in business. He died in Cleveland in 1912. Christ Domitio, for almost fifty years a tailor and clothier in Wauseon, died in 1912, in Toledo, in which city he had taken up residence four years earlier. He lost heavily when the Bank of Wauseon failed. Myron Whitehorne was, with his brother J. C., in business in Wauseon from 1865 almost until his death in 1901. He was an honored Civil War soldier. George Haumesser was for twenty-five years in business, as a hay and corn and fodder dealer; in Wauseon ; was postmaster of the village under President Cleveland, and "became one of the best-liked men of the town." He died in 1916. Henry Dolf, who died in 1919, lived in Wauseon for more than fifty years, and for thirty years was one of the town's successful business men. He was in partnership with Frank Haumesser for many years. Joseph Mattison, for fifty-two years a resident and business man in Wauseon; died in September, 1919. He held a commission in E. L. Haye's regiment, and after the war came to Wauseon. Hiram L. Moseley and his wife were separated by death for only eighteen days, both dying in April, 1919, after fifty-one years of residence in Wauseon. Hiram L. Moseley was in business for many years, and took part in administrative affairs of the county also. For twelve years 'he was a county school examiner; served two terms as county treasurer; and for a while was probate judge. He was an ardent Baptist. 260 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY Daniel Ritzenthaler, who died in 1917, was perhaps one of the best known business men of Wauseon for very many years. For fifty-four years he conducted a shoe store in the village, and for some years was councilman. Henry Holmes Williams was for fifty years part of the business life of Wauseon. He and his associates gave Wauseon its first electric light system. He was a Civil War veteran, and was an octogenarian in the year of his death, 1918. Captain William F. Williams, son of Elisha, died in 1914, respected and mourned by many of the older residents of Wauseon, especially by his Civil War comrades. William H. Sohn lived in Wauseon from 1877 until he died in 1916, and during that time was in business. He was a man of versatility; learned the trade of sculptor and monumental mason, in which business he engaged for some years, then entering store business as a furniture dealer; later he was an undertaker. A useful hobby made of him quite a creditable architect, knowledge of which 'brought him into leading place in many projected public improvements in Wauseon. His wife, Harriet Brigham Sohn, was also prominent in social and community work in Wauseon, in connection with the many societies to which she belonged. Clarence E. Brigham, son of Joel, and senior member of the firm of Brigham, Guilford and Company, was city treasurer for some years, and until his death was prominent in fraternal societies. For more than thirty years he was identified with leading business in the county seat. Albert Deyo had much to do with, and in, Wauseon during his public life; he was clerk of Fulton county from 1872 until 1878; was representative for two terms; and in 1900 came to live in Wauseon. He died in 1912. Albert S. Bloomer resided in Wauseon for forty-nine years; and after a meritorious war service took much part in civil affairs. He was county recorder for seven years; for sixteen years was a justice of the peace; and for a number of years was village clerk. He died in 1913. C. E. Guilford, who died in 1906, aged forty-eight years, was active in public as well as in business affairs. He was township clerk for some years; was a member of the Wauseon Board of Education; was postmaster in Wauseon at one time; and lastly, but not least, was elected county treasurer. He "was a man of strong convictions." J. S. Newcomer; of the pioneer Wauseon family, was for nearly forty years in business in Wauseon, for the greater part of the time as a druggist. This brief review by no means exhausts the list of worthy residents. of Wauseon. Many will have extensive reference in the second volume of this work, while some will be referred to in other chapters. Taken as a whole, the people of Wauseon are of a prosperous, capable, clean-living class; steady and consistent in their general life, and, mostly, earnest church members. Wauseon's future should be bright. CLINTON TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS And now, to close the Clinton Township chapter. It is regrettable that the most important of the township official records are not avail- HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 261 able. As to the township trustees, it is not possible to give a complete list. Two of the trustees in 1838 were Thomas Bayes and Jonathan Barnes. From that year until 1867 the record is missing, but the trustees in 1867 were Abram Falconer, James Cornell, and Reason Campbell. Another gap of thirteen years must be recorded, but from 1880 until the present the record is complete. Joel Brigham was trustee from 1880 to 1883; Jesse Pocock for the same years; Ebenezer Bradley, in 1880 and 1881; W. W. Pike, in 1882; Allen Shadle, 1884-86; Thomas Miley, 1884-86; Tilden Williams, 1884 to 1890; Eugene S. Blake, 1885 to 1891, also in 1893 and 1896; R. W. Scott, in 1887; S. L. Foncannon, in 1888 to 1892; William H. Campbell, 1891 to 1896; W. C. Barnes, 1892; Isaac Springer, 1894 and 1895 ; S. B. McLain, 1893 to 1898, and again from 1902 to 1905; G. D. Newcomer, 1897 to 1901; M. A. Emmons, 1897 to 1900; Cal Williams, 1899 to 1901; R. H. Dunham, 1901 to 1904; J. F. Campbell, 1902 to 1907; 0. L. Smith, 1905 to 1911; R. W. Scott, 1906 to 1911; C. B. Hine, 1908 to 1911. The trustees in the years 1912-13-14 and 15 were F. M. Newcomer; J. C. Miley, and P. Garmon ; those for 1916 to 1919 were R. S. Blair, J. D. Snyder, and Val Snyder: while the present trustees are N. W. McConkey, R. E. Bonar, and Clarence Rychener. Township clerk for many years has been J. F. Dimke. POPULATION The early statistics cannot be given, but the Federal Census Bureau figures for Clinton Township from 1870 are : 1870, 3,235 ; 1880, 3,719 ; 1890, 3,898; 1900, 3,934; 1910, 4,383; and 1920, 4,778. These figures are inclusive of Wauseon population, and the 1920 figures are subject to correction, the final announcement not yet having been made by the Bureau of the Census. CHAPTER XII HISTORY OF CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP Chesterfield Township was one of the northern townships organized on June 4, 1837, after the settlement of the territorial dispute which almost plunged the states of Michigan and Ohio into war; as has been elsewhere described in this volume. It is bounded on the north by the State of Michigan on the east by Royalton Township on the south by Dover Township; and on the west by Gorham. Oak Shade, Denson and Inlet are what might be termed communities within its borders, but not one of these places is dignified by separate classification, as a village, in official statistics, and the total population of the township in 1910 was 1,010. While the dispute between the states of. Ohio and Michigan proceeded, the lands were, in the winter of 1834, placed under the township jurisdiction of Seneca, Michigan, and so remained until the last month of 1836, when by the Harris line it became a part of Ohio, and lost the name of Seneca, and was unorganized territory until 1837, when it was given the name of Chesterfield, in honor of Chesterfield Clemons, the first white man to settle within its borders. He settled on the west part of section 14 on October 6, 1834, and until he had built a log cabin he and his family lived in the emigrant wagon, in which they had come from Paynesville, Ohio. His daughter; who later became the wife of John Butler; remembered "well the day that she and her parents in an emigrant wagon stopped in the woods where her father said that he had bought a farm ....There was not a stick of timber cut on the place, neither was there any kind of a building... . The family lived in this wagon until a log house could be built., And more than a year passed before they again saw a white face not of their own household. They might have been isolated for much longer had not an Indian made a chance remark at a nearby trading post. Alanson Briggs, an Indian trader; came into Chesterfield Township in the fall of 1834, and bought a large tract of land from the government. He built a house on what was later known as the J. H. Turner farm in Chesterfield Township. It was in section 12. Having built his house Alanson Briggs returned to Cleveland. In the early spring of 1835, he started from Cleveland with his family and belongings. What might almost be called with his belongings was a bound boy, eleven years old, by name John Butler, son of Asa H. Butler; who had bound the boy to Alanson Briggs a year or so earlier. The boy was alert and active, and ultimately became one of the most respected pioneers of Fulton County: Describing his coming to, and early life in, Chesterfield Township, John Butler; "Uncle John," as he was familiarly known in the county later in life, said: "The trip was made overland, and it gave me my first experience of pioneer life. Mr. Briggs was very wealthy and his object in coming here was to establish an Indian trading post. He brought with - 262 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 263 him a large stock of merchandise, and so it was for those days, although it would make a small showing by the side of the stock carried by some of the stores of the county today. I do not know exactly how long we were making that trip, only that it took weeks. In crossing the black swamp we did not travel more than four or five miles in a day. Our teams would frequently get stalled, and we would have to find a settler to pull us out. In addition to bringing a large stock of merchandise, Mr. Briggs brought a lot of cattle with him and many and many a night have I roamed through the woods looking for the cows. I was then 'John, the chore boy', and as you can well imagine, there was plenty for a boy of my age to do. "Mr. Briggs was a very busy man, and sometimes would be away from home for weeks at a time, and during his absence the care of the store fell upon me. Our only customers were the Indians, and in a short time I could talk the Indian language as readily as I could the English. The only playmates I had for nearly a year were the little Indian boys, and our chief pastime was shooting at a mark. As I grew older, I acted as Indian interpreter on many occasions, and when the government transferred the Indians to the West. I helped the government agents in closing up their contracts with the Indians. and getting them together for transportation. 264 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY "When I came here we knew of no white person living in the country; nor did I see a white person until in the fall of the same year.. ....One October day, some Indians came into the store and told Mr. Briggs that they had seen a white man. Owning a large amount Bland, Mr. Briggs was anxious to sell to any speculator, or settler who .was looking for an investment or home, and so he had me find out from the Indians what the white man was doing. But I was unable to make them understand A few days later Chief Winameg accompanied by one or two of the Indians who had told us of the white man came to the store. The Chief had visited the store many times and had learned a few English words, but when I asked him if the white man was a trader, or not, he shook his head, and said: 'White man build wigwam'. I knew then that it was a settler, and that he was building himself a home. I asked the chief to tell me where I could find him. To answer this question seemed to bother him. He walked away and sat on a stump, and seemed to be lost in thought. In a little while he came up to me, and taking me by the arm led me to a section corner stone, which the government surveyors had planted a few years before. Pointing at the stone, and then in a certain direction, he made a certain number of motions with his arm, then stopped, and pointing in another direction, he again pointed at the stone, made two motions with his arm and said: 'There, white man'. We knew that each motion of the chief's arm meant a mile, and the next day Mr. Briggs and I started out to find our neighbors. We followed the courses given us by the Indian, and as we came to the end of the last mile, as marked by the Indian, we looked off to our right, and saw a settlement. We received a hearty welcome into this home, for we were the first white people that they had seen in over a year." That was how it happened that Chesterfield Clemons and his family saw a "paleface", after a year spent in the territory of the Indians, who at the best were uncertain neighbors. As to how it happened that settlers could be in almost adjoining sections, and for a year be unaware of each other's proximity; was explained by John Butler. He said: "You may think it strange that living so near as that, we should not have known of the Clemons' settlement long before we did, or they of our Indian trading post, until we found their settlement that pleasant October day When you stop to think that, with the exception of the Old Plank Road, there was not another road in the north part of the county, and that the travellers going through the country followed only the well-known Indian trails, it is not in the least surprising. When Chesterfield Clemons came to this county, he came in over the Rice Trail, which led from the Maumee, over the river to Hillsdale, Michigan, whilst Mr. Briggs came in over the Terri- torial Road from Toledo. His store was on what is now (1907) the J. H. Turner Farm, east of Morenci, on the old Territorial Road, and as he brought his goods from the East he had no occasion to leave this well-known route. Mr. Clemons came here to make a home out of the wilderness. He brought a large number of cattle with him, and in a few years had quite a respectable farm." HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 265 Chesterfield Clemons was born in New York state in 1797 ; and died in Chesterfield Township, Fulton county, in 1842. In the eight years of his residence there he had wrought a wonderful change in the section upon which he had settled, and at his death left his wife, Fannie Downing, and their six daughters, comparatively well circumstanced. The widow subsequently married Samuel Gillis, a vet- eran of the War of 1812, and an early settler in Chesterfield ship. He was the first probate judge of Fulton county, and filled other county and township offices. It appears to have been generally acknowledged by the early settlers of that township that Chesterfield Clemons was the first to come into it. Alanson Briggs was in the township probably earlier in 1834, for he built a house and returned to Cleveland again in the fall. But his year of settling must be put as 1835, for it was in the spring of that year that he brought his family and belongings from Cleveland, and took up permanent residence on section 12. (Micksell's "History of Fulton County" gives it as section 5.) Still, at least two other pioneers had settled in Chesterfield Township in the fall of 1834, Daniel Parsons, and George P. Clark. Daniel and Esperance Parsons, with their daughter Harriet, who later married David Willets, came from Maine. George P. Clark and his wife Elizabeth were both natives of Rhode Island; they settled upon section 23, but some years later went into Michigan to live. Alanson Briggs had originally intended to conduct a trading post, expecting that his only customers would be the Indians of the neighborhood. But, as the white settlers came in increasing numbers during the next few years, Briggs found that he could do quite a respectable store business with the immigrants. So that his Indian trading post may be considered to have been the first store in Chesterfield Township. It might also be considered to have been the first hotel also, for Alanson Briggs afforded accommodation to passing immigrants. The settlers had not only to guard against the dangers of the forest, with its wolves and other wild animals and poisonous snakes, they had always to be on the alert because of the unreliable temperament of the Indians, who, while generally peaceable were apt to get beyond control, in which event they would recognize no law or order, save their primitive understanding of justice, and their natural rights. The encroachment of white men in their hunting grounds was a constant irritant to the Indians, and it would not have been surprising had the history of Fulton- county recorded much more friction between the settlers and the Indians than did actually occur. "Uncle John" Butler; in 1907, put into print his remembrance of one thrilling experience he went through, in the store of Mr. Briggs, in 1836. His narrative began : "We had been there for a year or two when two of the wildest Indians of the tribe came to the store and wanted to buy some whisky. Every storekeeper in those days had a barrel or two of liquor, but Mr. Briggs, who was very good to the Indians, was very careful how much he let them have at a time. On this occasion it happened that he was at home when they came for their liquor. The Indians stayed at the store nearly all afternoon, smoking and chewing tobacco, telling of 266 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY their hunting experiences, and now and then buying a drink of whisky so that at supper time they were feeling pretty good, as we would express it today, and were getting pretty boisterous. As Mr. Briggs started to go into the kitchen for his supper they demanded more liquor, which he refused to give them. He told me to lock the door to the room where the whisky was kept, and went on to his supper. The two Indians left the store, and in a few minutes they returned and came into the kitchen, where we were eating supper. Each Indian took Mr. Briggs by an arm and led him into the store, and commanded him to give them more liquor. As. they were leading him toward the room where the liquor was kept, he broke loose from them, and grabbing them by the throats hurled them across the room with terrific force. .Briggs was a powerful man, standing six feet and seven inches in his stocking feet, and when they were once in his grasp there was no getting away. I expected he would break their necks before he let go of them. The two Indians were glad to leave the store, when Briggs got through with them, and they went limping down the trail through the woods. "But this was not the end of our trouble. The next day the two Indians whom Briggs had thrown from the store accompanied by six warriors, returned and demanded to see Mr. Briggs. They had their war paint on, and carried their tomahawks and scalping knives. I knew it meant trouble and that likely it would be the last day for us, and of the little Indian trading post. As Mr. Briggs came into the store one of them, who seemed to take the place of the chief, raised his tomahawk, and pointed to the two Indians who had been thrown out the night before. It seemed 'as if my heart would stop beating, as I waited for him to strike the expected blow. Briggs stood unmoved, and not even his voice faltered, as he told the Indian how the two had tried to overpower him the night before. As Briggs could not talk the Indian language, and as the big Indian could not understand English very well, he asked me to tell them all about it. As I 'began to speak the Indian tongue the other warriors drew around me and listened to the story. I told them every detail of the fight, just as I had seen it, realizing that our lives depended upon the truthfulness of my story, and knowing that the Indians are the quickest people in the world to detect a falsehood, and the surest people to mete out punishment for false swearing. They heard my story all through without interrupting me, and when I had finished, the warriors walked over to the Indians, whose necks- were black and blue from the grip Briggs had given them, and asked them if my story was true. When they said it was, the warriors left the store, without saying another word. I knew that we had escaped a terrible punishment and that the Indians had a sense of justice. Mr. Briggs had always been very good and kind to the Indians, and it was this kindness that had brought the warriors to see him, before burning his store and killing him and his family." Alanson Briggs was, in the early years of the settlement of Fulton County, one of the leaders among the settlers. The first election in Chesterfield Township was held in his house, and he was colonel of the state militia for many years and was the commanding officer when the militia mustered for the last time, at Etna, Pike Township, in HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 267 1843. His hotel appears to have been located upon the premises later owned by Eleazer Clark. Alanson Briggs died in 1879, many years after the death of his wife Lucinda. John S. Butler. son of Asa H. and Sarah (Daggett) Butler, who settled in Gorham Township in 1835, was of course one of the pioneer settlers of Chesterfield, coming as has been before narrated, with Alan-son Briggs, in his boyhood. For several years he carried the mails on the route from Toledo to Lima, Indiana, traveling the route of ninety, miles twice weekly, while still in his early teens. Reference has elsewhere herein been made to some of his adventures along the Indian trails through the dense forest during his post-boy days. Eventually, he married Lovina, daughter of Chesterfield Clemons, and was a successful farmer, settling on section 32. Harlow Butler arrived from New York state in. 1835, and took claim to part of section 28. He returned to his family in the fall, and in 1836 brought them to Ohio, and settled on the land he had chosen, in section 28. He became one of the leading citizens of the township; was the first justice of the .peace in Chesterfield; and was one of the first school examiners, issuing the first forty-seven certificates granted to teachers. Another of the early school examiners of the territory, while it was still part of Lucas County, was Alfred C. Hough, also of Chesterfield Township. Whether they were county school examiners is not clear. "Uncle John" Butler, who was one of the most reliable authorities on the early history of Chesterfield Township stated: "At that time each township had three school examiners, and at this election (1837) Alfred C. Hough, who in after years became prominent in county affairs, was elected one of the school examiners." Darwin E. Butler, son of Harlow, lived fifty years in the township, and was a very useful citizen: He married Aurelia Hibbard, and died in 1886. William Onweller also came in 1835, settling upon section 23. He and his wife came from Maryland, and became wealthy, eventually. They were prominent in the meetings of the church society, for a short while after his death a church was built on part of his land. He died in 1864. Jacob Boynton came in 1835, settling on section 14, *having bought thirty acres from Chesterfield Clemons. He eventually sold to Eleazer Clark, and left the county. Nehemiah Cone arrived in 1835, settling on section 24. John S. Butler; who early in that year had found only Indian children with whom he could play, was delighted when two other white boys, sons of Nehemiah. Cone, came into the neighborhood. One of the earliest settlers in 1835 was Nathaniel Parsons, who arrived in the township, with his family, in February. Living was precarious for the early settlers. In 1835, the nearest grist mill was at Tecumseh, thirty miles away, and in that year the Parsons stock of flour became so low that while Mr. Parsons was away from home, having gone with corn for grinding to the mill, the family divided what bread was left in the house, and lived on reduced rations until his return. "Uncle John" Butler said in 1907: "I could spend hours in telling you how we lived through withers, the first years we were here, on corn bread and pumpkin butter, and venison, and not grow 268 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY tired of telling about them." At all events, the corn bread seemed to build sturdy constitutions. A story is told of Colonel J. H. Brigham, who was one of the earliest resident of Wauseon, and one of the most famous men of Fulton County. It appears that one day, in Washington, D. C., while he was in office as Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, a call was made upon him by a scientist employed by the department to investigate properties of various articles of human food. He stated that corn was not an article of human food, the grain not containing a proper amount of nutriment. Colonel Brigham listened to the argument, and then stalked up and down the room, his towering figure rising about six feet and a half in the air. "That accounts for my stunted growth," he remarked, expanding his chest to about fifty inches. "I knew something was the matter with me, but could never locate it. I was raised on corn bread until I was sixteen. If I had kept off that stuff, I suppose I might have grown to a man's size, instead of being the midget I am, and weighing only about 250 pounds." Other settlers in 1835 were Samuel Ranger; Thomas Welch, and Amaziah Turner. Others may have come in that year; but the records are not available. Still between 1834 and 1840, the following had settled in Chesterfield Township: Garner Willett, John B. Roos, John P. Roos, Samuel Statesman, Heman A. Canfield, Alfred C. Hough, James AL Hough, George Patterson, Lyman L. Beebe, Jeremiah Sheffield, James S. Dean, Sr., Gersham Livesay, David Lee, Nathaniel Butler, Hiram Butler, Manley Hawley, Flavel Butler; Daniel Fausey, James Aldrich, Hyson Aldrich, Cicero H. Shaw, James M. Bates, George W. Bates, David L. Beebe, George W. Roos, Isaac Stites, Benjamin Stites, William Stites, William Richards, Lothrop 'Briggs, James Livesay, Joel Briggs, Warren Beebe, George W. Kellogg, Eleazer Clark, Gideon Clark, Amy, Mariette, and Adaline, daughters of George P. Clark. There were others probably, and in many cases the junior members of the families are not here named. From 1840 to 1850 there was a steady influx of settlers, among whom were: David Marks; William E. Pennington, Ephraim Pennington, who came with his son William;. Joseph Lee, who settled on section 22, in 1845.; Eustice Leggett, on section 28; Peter Powers. on section 19, in 1849: Henri L. Smith; Charles Bowen; William Lee, from Gorham; William A Wibliams and his brother: Ezra Mead; William E. Parmalee ; Thomas Cuff; Asahel Kennedy; John W. Bradley, James H. Turner, Jesse Thorpe, Washington Thorpe, Chauncey Bulkley, Asahel Scofield, John Moffatt, Fletcher Bishop, Lewis A. Lee, Almon M. Lee, Charles McKenzie, Clarkson Warne, Lafayette Sherman, Peter Romans, Oliver Todd, Oliver Griffith, John H. Martin, John Smith, Isaac Jones, Peter Jones, Jackson Jones, I. Schoonover, Holloway H. Beatty and his sons Sidney S. and Whitfield, Eustice Leggett, John Stites, and Samuel Gillis. Garner Willett "drifted" into Chesterfield Township in 1836 or 1837. He had left his home in New York, in 1835, and with thirty-five dollars and a rifle started for the frontier; he being then nineteen years old. The next year or so he passed in hunting in the wilds of Michigan, eventually coming into Chesterfield, and there settling in 1837, having purchased a farm. When he first came into the Town- HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 269 ship, he was given employment by Alanson Briggs. In 1837 he paid $120 for a farm of forty acres, and 20 years later he acquired another of 160 acres. He lived to see the twentieth century come in. The Roos family has been prominent in Chesterfield development practically throughout its history. John B. Roos settled on section 24, in 1836. He died in 1856. His son John Philip, who came at the same time, lived in the township until his death in 1896, and was one of the first members of the Christian Church, organized in East Chesterfield, in 1858, by Elders Hadsell and Carpenter. His brother George W. lived until 1908, a period of seventy-two years spent wholly in Chesterfield Township. He was five years old when the family settled in Chesterfield in 1836. During his life he filled every office in the township ; was an active justice of the peace for twenty-five years; was one of the earliest members of Chesterfield Grange; was a charter member of the Christian Church in East Chester- field; was Sunday school superintendent for twenty-one years in succession ; and when he died the county lost "one of its best types of an honest, industrious Christian citizen." Herman A. Canfield came in 1838, located a farm on sections 32 and 33, built a log house, and in the autumn returned to his home in West Bloomfield, Ontario county, New York state, where in October he married Amanda G. Brown. He passed the winter as a teacher in the academy at West Bloomfield, but early in the spring of 1839 he and his wife left for Ohio. For twenty-two years they lived in Chesterfield Township, later living in Gorham Township. He died in Fayette, May 10, 1901, aged 85 years. Mrs. Cora Spillane, a lifelong friend and neighbor of both Mr. and Mrs. Canfield, contributed the following beautiful tribute, to and reminiscence of, the character of her fellow pioneer: "Blessed be the tie that binds the hearts of the old pioneers. Ties strengthened by years of mutual helpful sympathy and neighborly kindness. "But they are passing away, one by one. "There are still some living who remember Herman Canfield's strong young voice, as he led the singing, or read the sermon at our Sunday meetings in the log school house, where we met Baptists, Congregationalists, Methodists—all who loved the. Lord. Creeds were mostly ignored in those days. "And there may be some old men living yet who helped to raise the big log barn on the old Canfield farm, and heard him thank his neighbors for the kind help, and express his regret that he had no wife, to get for them a good supper; and say: 'I have nothing to offer you to drink but spring water. I have got no whisky for you, and I never will., " Alfred C. Hough, who settled on section 21, in 1836, was prominent in county as well as township affairs.. He succeeded Harlow Butler as school examiner, receiving that office by appointment, under Lucas County administration. He served three terms as auditor of Fulton County, after it had been organized. He lived the greater part of his life in Chesterfield. His wife outlived him, reaching the age of ninety-five years before she died in 1905. One of their children was later prominent in Wauseon school administration. For thirty- 270 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY two years Addie Hough, better known by her marital name, Mrs. Addie DeMeritt, taught the second grade pupils of the Wauseon public school beginning in the "Little White School House." James M. Hough settled on section 21, coming from New York state. He was township treasurer at one time, and an early postmaster at Oak Shade. George W. Patterson came in 1838, to section 31, but in 1849 sold, and moved into Dover Township, where he died in 1869. Ed. ward Patterson died at his home, near Oak Shade, in March of 1916, having reached the age of ninety-four years. Jeremiah Sheffield and his wife spent their honeymoon journeying from New York to Ohio in October of 1838. They reached Chesterfield Township on November 11th. It appears. that Indians helped to raise their log cabin to a height of three logs, when the whisky was passed, immediately after drinking which the Indians stopped working. Mr. and Mrs. Sheffield were not able to move into their log cabin until about the middle of December. In the following August, the Indians of the neighborhood, and many hundreds more from Illinois, executed a war dance near the Sheffield cabin. Fortunately no fighting followed. Sarah Waite was only fifteen years old when she married Jeremiah Sheffield, and came with him into the wilderness. She bore him twelve children, six of whom were sons, among them Frederick B., who served with honor during the Civil War; and was later prominent in township affairs of Chesterfield. Lyman L. Beebe settled on six acres of wild land on section 27. He built the first steam sawmill in the township, in 1844, and ran it for about twelve years on what was later the Crittenden farm. In 1856 he removed the saw mill to section 13, where he operated it for a number of years. Eventually, he owned more than five hundred acres in Chesterfield Township. He was captain of the Chesterfield company of State Militia, and was present at the final mustering of that body at Etna, in 1843. James S. Dean, originally from New York, settled in Michigan in 1831, and in 1838 came into Chesterfield Township settling upon sections 24 and 25. He died in 1901, having lived in Chesterfield for more than sixty years. For. forty years he was an active church member. He married Eunice Clemons in 1847. David Lee settled in Chesterfield in 1837. His son Peleg S., later became the directing head of an important industry of the township. He had a cheese plant, and in the '80s was manufacturing 150,000 to 200,000 pounds of cheese each year. The Stites family had considerable part in early Chesterfield development. Jacob Stites, who was only seven years old when his parents brought him to Chesterfield, in 1843, met death by accident in his seventy-third year; falling heavily from a high truckload of hay. He lived sixty-five years in the township. The Thorpe family was of good record also in Chesterfield, Joseph Thorpe being among the earliest residents; and his sons, Washington, Lewis and Jesse, having good part in development work. Rebecca, wife of Joseph died in 1912, at the home of her son, Washington, with whom she had lived for eighteen years, since the death of her husband. She was almost eighty-five years old when death came. The Marks family has been one of the home builders of Chester- HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 271 field Township. David Marks came in the forties from New York state, and the family has been consistently prosperous. Elias Marks who was killed by an enraged bull in March, 1920, was one of the most progressive farmers of the county, and, it has been stated, had one of the finest herds of Holstein cattle in northwestern Ohio. William Lee came from Gorham Township in 1846. He died in Chesterfield in 1854, but his wife Sarah (Marlatt) lived until 1878. He was one of the early justices of the township, and in his last years was township clerk. His son, Lewis A., was Township Trustee, and later postmaster at Oak Shade. Another son, Almon M., became Recorder of Fulton County, and died while holding that office, the County Commissioners then appointing George W. Lee to succeed his father. William A. Williams who came with his brother Edward in 1845, was a capable educator. He was appointed county school examiner, by Judge 0. B. Verity, in 1876, or 1877, and held that office with distinction for about eleven years. William E. Parmalee, a settler of 1840, was an associate judge for a brief period, succeeding Alfred C. Hough, and he was chosen as deputy marshal, in 1850, to take the census of part of Fulton County. The public record of Albert Deyo is one of which the people of Chesterfield Township are proud. He did not come to Chesterfield Township until 1855, but he was nevertheless a pioneer; for he took 160 acres of forest, a short distance west of Denson Station, and "with indomitable will" set himself the task of "carving a home out of the wilderness." All of the clearing of his land he did not do himself, but as a carpenter he contributed to the upbuilding of the neighborhood. In the early days of the Civil War he served in the militia, in the grade of captain, and later joined the Union army, as a private, rising to a captaincy, when the company was reorganized. In 1872 he was elected Clerk of Fulton County, serving as such for six years; in 1883 he was elected to represent the county in the state legislature, and was re-elected in 1885. Albert Deyo's name is encountered in the records of very, many of the worth-while public movements in Fulton County, during the latter half of the nineteenth century, and "when the call came (in 1912) to Albert Deyo....he could answer in an abiding conviction of a life well lived and of duties well done." The substantial brick, mansion-like home he erected on his farm is indicative of the prosperity that came to him by his labor. The first white child born in Chesterfield was Martha, daughter of Amaziah Turner, who settled in the township in 1835. The date of her birth was July 29, 1835. The first storekeeper in the township was, as before explained, Alanson Briggs. He also was the first hotel-keeper. Alfred C. Hough to some extent traded in groceries, in the early days of his settlement, selling from his cabin. The first cheese factory was that conducted by John R. Roberts, and later transferred to Peleg S. Lee, who considerably developed the enterprise. The first marriage was that of Sallie A. Clemons to Elias Salisbury, in 1840. The following-named early settlers of Chesterfield Township also married daughters of Chesterfield and Fannie (Down- 272 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY ing) Clemons: James S. Dean, Delvan C. Gillis, John S. Butler; and James Hough. There was no post office in the township for many years; but eventually one, called "Oak Shade" was established near the geographical center; and supplied three times each week from a mail route running from Morenci, Michigan, to Wauseon. The first mail service in the county was that established in the fall of 1836, to run from Toledo, Ohio, to Lima, Indiana, over the old territorial road, sometimes called the Vistula road, a distance of 110 miles, ninety miles of which John S. Butler; a boy passed along twice weekly carrying the mails. He died in Chesterfield, in 1907, aged eighty-three years, his widow, Lovina Chesterfield, soon following him. She was a venerable old lady, and in her old age was honored by election to the dignity of president of the Fulton County Pioneer and Historical Society. Space is not available unfortunately, otherwise it would be pleasing to make reference to other worthy pioneers and prominent citizens of Chesterfield Township, by whose efforts the district has been made a rich part of the county. It is however gratifying to know that some have been given somewhat extensive mention in the biographical volume of this historical work. THE FIRST ELECTION According to John 8. Butler; who was present, and in later life had in his possession the book in which the official record was written, the first election in Chesterfield Township was held in Briggs, store on July 19, 1837. Historian Aldrich states that the house of Chesterfield Clemons was the place of election. In Butler's own words, the story of the first election runs: "Although a boy but thirteen years of age, I remember well the first election ever held in Chesterfield. It was held in Briggs, store July 19, 1837. It was at this meeting that the township was organized. Briggs was a very wealthy man for those days, and he had many papers to sign that required an acknowledgment before a justice of the peace, and the nearest justice was at Sylvania, so each time he had to make this long trip. To avoid this inconvenience, and to make it more convenient for the settlers to transact business, he and Clemons set out to have the township organized. I can seem to hear those pioneers, now, discussing township organization. Finally a day was set, and word was sent to all the settlers to meet at Briggs' store, and this they did on the date given above. Everybody was enthusiastic over the organization, and when it came to proposing a name for the township all agreed that it should be called 'Chesterfield,' in honor of Chesterfield Clemons, the first permanent white settler in the township. "Dover and Gorham townships were not organized at that time, and under the law the settlers of these townships were allowed to vote at Chesterfield. There were twelve votes cast at this election. Gersham Livesay, Gorham Cottrell, and John B. Roe were judges of the election, and Alanson Briggs, and Jesse Oles were clerks.. . . Mr. Briggs was elected clerk, and as there was no one in the township qualified to administer the oath of office, Mr. Briggs went to Sylvania and was sworn HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 273 in, and upon his return home administered the oath of office to the other newly elected officials." CHESTERFIELD SCHOOL HISTORY Historians Micksell and Aldrich state that the first school house built in Chesterfield was that "hastily constructed . ...on section 16, on the north-east corner, just south of the Hawley Cemetery" in 1837; further stating that "Flavel Butler taught the first school in the winter of 1837, and this was the first school ever taught in the township." Butler, however; gives the date of the building of the first schoolhouse as in 1838, and his version is strengthened by the fact, recorded by Aldrich, that "the first attempt of the people to levy a tax for school purposes failed at the first election, but at the next election it was carried by a majority vote of the people." Butler's version reads: "In the summer of 1838 the first school house in Chesterfield was built. The Government had set apart for school purposes section 16 in every township, and in locating the new schoolhouse, it was decided to build it in this section ....It was a crude affair. . built of logs and roofed with clapboards, which those early pioneers had split out of logs cut from trees in the adjacent forest. In the end of the building was constructed a large fireplace which was to warm the entire room. Many a log was carried in and rolled into the fireplace by the teacher and big boys. The desks were puncheon, logs split in halves with the flat side turned up, fastened to pins driven into the side of the walls. The seats were made of the same material, into which legs were driven. There were no backs to these seats. Neither were there seats in the center of the room, as there was no place to fasten a desk. The teacher; by his water beech rod, reigned in this room as an absolute monarch ... About all we were taught in those days were included in. the three R's---`reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic'." It was not long before the children needing schooling became too many to be accommodated in that central school house so other districts were organized. Records are not available, excepting of School District No. 3, of which Miss Olive Roos, now of Wauseon, but formerly of the Chesterfield Township family of that name, preserved much historical data. That school district was more generally known as the Maple Grove School District. It appears that the first school in that district, East Chesterfield, was held in the early forties. Miss Roos' record is as follows: "The first school in the Roos district was in a log cabin of Mr. Livesay's situated a short distance west of Fred Weatherby's. The first teacher was Mr. Henman. The second schoolhouse was on the flats north of William Onweller's barn, on his Brookside farm. The first teachers were Conant and Baxter. The third schoolhouse was where the church now stands. The teacher was Flavel Butler. The fourth schoolhouse was situated on the opposite corner, north of the church. The teachers were Laura Ranger and Mary Ann Stevenson. All of these schoolhouses were of log, filled in with split timber, like rails, covered with clay instead of plaster; as there was no lime. The floors were of split puncheon, hewed upon the face; the seats and 274 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY desks the same, being the length of the room on three sides, one seat on each side with the desk placed next to the. wall. There were three small windows made lengthwise, and one door. The fifth school was situated on the north-west corner of the J. P. Roos farm, a frame building built by Chapin Daniels and Perry Hamlin. It is used at present for a grain house on the Maple Grove Farm." Regarding the Maple Grove School, much information is contained in an available school register covering the period of 1865-71. Earlier teachers in that school were F. F. Curtis, Milton Cass, Pauline Huit, Lydia Sanford Daniels, three Bennett sisters, Dallas Brown, Mary Jane Sanford Dunn, Minta Parker Hoover; and Julia Root Rich. The school register shows that: during that summer of 1866 Helen Bennett Foote taught for three months at $10 a month; that Julia Root Rich taught in the winter of that year and the following summer term. She was considered one of the best teachers in the county and received twenty dollars a. month during the winter term and thirteen dollars a month in summer. Ire 1868, Milton Cass was the teacher, receiving $30 a month, and board. In the summer of that year; Jennie Agnew Gorsuch, of Wauseon, taught for $9 a month. Anna Fleet Bloomer, also of Wauseon, was the next teacher, and she was followed by Libbie Roos Haley, of Delta. In the winter of 1870 Dallas Brown received $33.50 a month; and in the following winter term Libbie Beatty Gorham, of Morenci, taught in the new brick building. The books used during the period were: reader and speller, McGuffey's; writing, Spencerian mental and written arithmetic, Ray's; geography, Colton and Fitche's; grammar, Pinneo's. Miss Roos, record shows that the- brick schoolhouse built in 1871 was the sixth schoolhouse erected for District No. 3, and that: James Onweler and Philin Roos furnished the material and superintended the construction. The land was purchased from Holloway