HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 275 Beatty. The following were early teachers in the brick schoolhouse: Libbie Beatty Gorham ; Rutter Haley ; John Cuff ; Ida Fish ; Edison Waffle and wife; Jessie .Wilson Tallman; John and Olive Clark; and Harvey Dunlap. After thirty years, the building was condemned, and ultimately passed into the possession of- Rutter and Haley, who demolished it and carried away the bricks. In, about, the year 1900, the seventh schoolhouse for the Maple Grove district was built by Mr. Guthrie. This was placed on the same lot, only a little to the north of where the old brick building stood. The new schoolhouse, however; was of frame construction ; and the teachers in this house were Bessie Smith Phelps, Olive and Gertrude Clark. Since the establishment of the large centralized school, in 1916, however; all district schools of Chesterfield Township have been abandoned; and the people of the township are proud now to be able to send their children to one of the best centralized schools in Northwest Ohio. The school history had been gradually veering toward centralization for many years, and in the first decade of the twentieth century, the "Fulton County Tribune" had forcefully and convincingly advocated the change of school system. The people of Chesterfield Township were progressive and receptive, so that when the public schools of the county came under the direct control of the Fulton County Board of Education, under the new school law of 1914, they enthusiastically furthered, as regards the schools of their own township, the plan of the county board, which plan was to give earliest possible attention to the centralization, or consolidation, of rural schools, establishing good schools at the natural community centers, irrespective of township lines, and thereby place within the reach of the rising generation of Fulton County people better educational facilities, and in brighter, and healthier surroundings. Fulton Township had already centralized, and the winter term of Chesterfield schools in 1916 began in a new brick building, which had cost more than $30,000 to erect. On October 5, 1916, nearly 200 people assembled at the school, which was situated seven miles north of Wauseon, and a mile west of Oak Shade ; and thirty-five teams made short work of the grading of the school grounds, preparatory to the opening ceremony. The Chesterfield Centralized School is a high school of the first grade; has four rooms for high school purposes and an equal number for elementary grades. In 1919 thirty-seven students were enrolled in the high school, and in the elementary grades there were 224 pupils. The elementary curriculum includes elementary school agriculture, arithmetic, drawing, geography, grammar; orthography, physiology, reading, U. S. history, and writing; the high school course includes agriculture, algebra, commercial subjects, English, including rhetoric, general history, geometry, literature, U. S. history. The school library comprises more than four hundred volumes. The school is under the able direction of Kenneth M. Whaley, principal, and under the supervision of Earl F. Chase, who is district superintendent. The members of the Chesterfield Centralized School Board, 1920, are: E. B. Beatty, Wauseon, president; A. H. Philips, Morenci, Mich., clerk; D. B. Simpson, Earl Valentine, Clem Smith, and F. A. Bates, all of Morenci postal address, directors. The people of Chesterfield Township might well be satisfied with the school facilities now available in the township. 276 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY CEMETERIES There have been three important cemeteries in the township; the first upon section 9; one on section 28; and the other on section 24. Rose Hill Cemetery, situated on the east line of Chesterfield Township, on Maple Grove Farm, was established on April 1, 1854, when a meeting was held in Maple Grove School House, to form a cemetery association. Citizens of Chesterfield and Royalton townships attending the meeting elected trustees as follows: James Welch, Clark Standish, Holloway H. Beatty, Silas Lusk, Henry J. Clark, and John B. Roos, with Mr. Fordes as chairman, and F. Curtis, secretary. The trustees purchased the land from Philip Roos for ten dollars, the deed being written by Samuel Gillis, probate judge, on February 9, 1855. The burial ground was fenced at a cost of $37.75, and was completed on May 15, 1854. The first burial was on August 8, 1854, when the body of Nehemiah Cone was interred. On April 10, 1886, J. Rutter Haley, Theodore Sebring, and Charles Stutesman, trustees of Chesterfield Township, purchased the ground, which since has been in the possession of the township. EAST CHURCH IN CHRIST In 1857, brothers L. L. Carpenter and James Hadsell held meetings in the Maple Grove schoolhouse, then situated on the north-eastern corner of Philip Roos farm, section 24. At times, when the occasion demanded more commodious quarters, the services were held in the barn of the Roos homestead. In the following year, on April 10, 1858, the church was organized by electing Plyn Hamden, James S. Dean, and George W. Roos, elders, and Philip Roos, Shepherd Davison, and James B. 'Carpenter; deacons. The church at the outset was a strong one, there being seventy, charter members. And after some years the members sought to erect a church building. A site was purchased from William Onweller for fifty dollars, the deed being written under the date of December 17, 1864. A meeting was called by the Rev. J. C. Goodrich for the purpose of organizing a society to build the meeting house. Plyn Hamden, James Onweller; and J. P. Roos were appointed as trustees, and Gorge W. Roos treasurer. They contracted with J. H. Turner and Albert Deyo, who were to furnish a frame structure complete, with the exception of the stone foundation, for the sum of $2,125. Joseph Brown raised it, and as it was war time, when men were scarce, pulley and tackle had to be the main elements in the raising of the timbers; and at that work four lads, George and Jerry Sheffield, G. H. Statesman, and Chester Welch did splendidly. Within contract time the building was ready, and on December 21, 1865, was dedicated as a house of worship by the Rev. L. L. Carpenter, one of the pioneers of the Christian Church in Fulton county. Since that time the house has been remodeled more than once. It is of interest to note that the lumber for the seats was made from two white oak trees, about four feet in diameter, sold for one dollar to the contractors by Mr. Grey, who then lived where Frank Denson now resides. An annex was built in 1912, and dedicated on January 5, 1913, by the Rev, Williston, of Genoa. More than five hundred and sixty members have belonged to that church during the last fifty years. HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 277 The East Church in Christ was so named because of other churches in the township, one at Inlet and the other at Oak Shade. Chesterfield Township is without industries, other than agricultural. It is rich dairying territory, and the progressive farmers of the township have a good outlet for their milk product in the large condensing plant just over the line in Michigan. It was at one time an important cheese-making district, one factory alone, in 1887, making in Chesterfield Township, more than one hundred thousand pounds of cheese. Now its milk product chiefly goes in the liquid state. As will be seen by reference to the map reproduced for this volume, Chesterfield Township is not well served by railroads, but in these days of motor-driven road vehicles the people of the township are not seriously handicapped. Most of the progressive and prosperous farmers have automobiles, and motor trucks. It would not be inappropriate to place in permanent record, by including in this chapter; some further reminiscent stories of "Uncle John" Butler. The reminiscences were gathered, fragment by fragment, by Mr. Frank H. Reighard, in conversations he had with the old pioneer in the last year, or two, of the latter's life. One story begins: "In those early days the pioneers secured their supply of honey from 'bee trees,, which they found in the forest. In the fall of the year, it was not an uncommon occurrence to find a settler going through the woods looking for a bee-tree One fine October morning, a year or so after we had located in Chesterfield Township Mr. Briggs said to me: 'This is a good morning to locate a bee tree, and I guess we had better go to the big timber on Bean Creek, and see what we can find., The necessary outfit was soon put in readiness for the day's hunt, and an hour later we were tramping westward through the big woods, dodging around marshes, crossing streams on fallen lop, looking for bee trees. It was along in the middle of the afternoon when we came to an open place in the woods, where some honey bees were working on some wild flowers. Mr. Briggs tried to get a line on the bees, as they left the flowers for the tree, but after going a short distance in the woods the line was lost. In the outfit which we had brought along was some old honeycomb. He built a small fire and commenced to burn this honeycomb. In a little while the bees were flying around us, having been attracted there by the burning of the comb. By this time Mr. Briggs soon located the beeline, which he had lost. The bees flew thick, and it was not difficult to follow them. He left me to burn the comb, while he followed the line of the tree, for when a bee is loaded with honey it flies directly to its home, and same is true when it leaves the tree—it goes in a straight line to the place where it is working. Near the fire where I was burning the comb was another piece of comb for the bees to feed on. It seemed to me as if I had been. burning that comb long enough for Mr. Briggs to have gone five or six miles, and I was getting rather tired of my job, as it was not the most pleasant thing to be left alone in the center of a big woods. "As I sat there watching the bees feed on the old comb, until they had all they could carry away, then rise a few feet in the air, and start off through the woods in the direction in which I had seen Mr. Briggs leave, I heard a noise a short distance back of me. I was not startled 278 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY at the sound, for it was not uncommon in those days to have an Indian walk up to you, without your seeing or hearing him until he spoke to you, and so, being busy just then fixing the fire and burning a little more comb, I did not look around. A few minutes later I heard the same sound again. Then I heard a sniffing. I did not turn round, but kept perfectly quiet, thinking it was a deer. The nearer the sound came, the less I thought it was a deer. The sniffing was within a few feet of me, and I thought it was time that I found out what it was making the noise. I raised up, and looked around, and there, within ten feet of me, sat a big black bear. I uttered a scream, and with a. bound I was going. down through the woods as fast as my legs would carry me. I called for help, and ran as fast as I could in the direction taken by Mr. Briggs, when he left me burning the comb. At every bound I expected to feel the fangs of that bear sink into my flesh. I did not stop to turn around, but kept on running until I reached Mr. Briggs, who had heard my cries for help, and had hurried back to me. Reaching me he exclaimed: 'What's the matter, John ?' All I could say was 'A bear., He took hold of ml HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 279 hand, and assured me that there was no bear in sight. For a while I was afraid to look around, but upon his assurance that there was no bear I turned around, and, sure enough, he was gone. We walked back to where I was burning the honeycomb, but no bear was there; but the comb that I had left on the ground when I made my hurried flight was gone. It seemed that the bear had been satisfied with the comb which I left, and after eating that had gone his way, not wishing to hurt me, or anyone else. "As we went along our way home that evening, I jumped at every sound that was out of the ordinary, and that night, after I was in bed, I could see that big black bear sitting up on his hind legs looking at me. It was hours before I could go to sleep, and of all the scares that I received those early days none left a more lasting impression on my mind than the one given me by that black bear in the big woods on Bean Creek bottoms, on that October afternoon in the 'thirties. "Mr. Briggs had just located the bee-tree when he heard my screams. A few days later the tree was cut, and the honey we got out of it was enjoyed upon our corn bread for many a day. Describing a visit he made to the Indian Reservation late in life, many decades after the last of the Indians had left Ohio, he said: "I loved the Indian, for he was ever true to him who showed him a kindness. Many a time I have heard the Chiefs Winameg and Ottokee discuss the white man's coming. I have heard them talk of Winslow and Colonel Howard, and praise their goodness...A few years ago I was visiting friends in Kansas who were living near the reservation to which the Indians of this county were sent, and while there I went over to see if I could find an Indian whom I had known here. I asked for the Pottawattamies , and as I passed through their village I saw one face that I thought seemed familiar to me. As I started to go toward the Indian...I noticed that he was watching me, and as I advanced toward him he approached me. I extended my hand, and said in broken Indian tongue: 'I know your face, but I have forgotten your name., He said: 'You are John Butler; the white man's boy, with whom I played beyond the Great Water., It was one of the Indian boys with whom I had played, at Briggs, store. We sat down on the ground and talked for hours. He told me that of all the young men of his tribe who had come West he alone was left. As I took his hand to say 'Goodbye,, tears were streaming down his cheeks, and placing his other hand upon my shoulder, he looked into my face and said: 'White man. A long farewell., And there standing by that lone wigwam on that Kansas reservation, I left the only Indian in the wide world who still remembered John Butler." "Uncle John" Butler ended his reminiscences thus: "Few are the pioneers remaining, and ere long our feet will have touched the Silver Strand, and our mission will be ended." Yes. The feet of John S. Butler; the last of the pioneers of the first years of Chesterfield Township have at last touched the Silver Strand, and he is with his old friends, Indian and white. Just before going to press, the preliminary announcement of population has been issued by the Bureau of the Census, and it is therefore possible to give the 1920 figures for Chesterfield Township. The Census figures are: 1870, 926; 1880, 1,013 ; 1890, 997; 1900, 1,078 ; 1910, 1,010; 920, 1,012. CHAPTER XIII HISTORY OF GERMAN TOWNSHIP Unlike the history of any other township of Fulton county, that of German Township began with the simultaneous settlement within it of many people—more than forty. Other townships experienced a gradual incoming of settlers, but German Township settlement may almost be described as colonization. And to some extent it has maintained that character throughout its history. In 1834 worthy pioneers, men of .strong rebigious faith, and rigid purpose, and simple habits, came into the territory with their families, as will be narrated later in this chapter; and established a small colony ; and they were bound together in sentiment, in general thought, and in rules of life and conduct, by the dictates of a strict church code, that of the Mennonite Church, a branch of which these simple and righteous pioneers, in coming, necessarily established in German Township. And as others of that church came into Fulton county they naturally settled as near as they could to their brethren. German Township therefore has remained distinctive, and its stalwart straight-living and hardworking residents. have created for it an enviable place among the townships of Fulton county. German Township is the largest, in point of acreage, in the county ; and in population it comes next to Clinton, the latter township having now (1920) 4778 inhabitants, and German Township 3137. But in some phases of its activity it is second to none. Its fine farms have been developed from the wilderness by the resolute purpose of God-fearing, honorable, hardworking tillers of the soil. And its succeeding generations from that of the pioneers have been reared in a wholesome home environment and a simple worship of God, such as have maintained in the boys commendable characteristics of their fathers, and in the girls the clean-living, kindly, hospitable traits of their mothers. The people of the Mennonite Church are noted for their hospitality and for their integrity of word. The township of German was organized on March 4, 1839, and from April 1, 1820, when the Legislature of Ohio decreed the organization of counties from Indian territory, until 1850, when Fulton county was established, the territory embraced in German Township came within the jurisdiction of three counties, Wood, Henry, and Williams. In 1835, Lucas county was organized from Wood county, the new county embracing all the territory west of Lake Erie, south of the Fulton Line, to the northern line of Henry county, and running west to the Williams County line. After this territory became part of Lucas county, June 6, 1836, three ranges of townships were organized into the township of York, and elections were held at what was called "York .Center." On March 5, 1838, Clinton Township was organized, embracing ranges five and six west of York, and on March 4, 1839, - 280 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 281 German Township was organized, from towns seven and eight north, range five east. On March 1, 1841, when Franklin Township was organized, German lost to it all of town eight north, range five east, and one tier of sections off the north side of town seven north, range five east. The next aid last change came in 1850, when Fulton county was organized. Then, the territory of German Township was increased by the addition of a strip two miles wide off the north side of town six north, range five east, then Ridgeville Township, Henry county. With the reorganization, German Township at the same time received from Brady Township, Williams County, a strip of land two miles wide, embracing two tiers of sections, with the exception of sections one and two, which were included in Franklin Township boundaries. German Township has therefore fifty-two full sections of land, making an area of fifty-two square miles or 33,280 acres. It is bounded on the east by Clinton Township, on the west by Williams county, on the north by Franklin Township, and on the south by Henry county. German Township is very level, its soil has been brought into good fertility only by much drainage, but it has well repaid the labor expended, and in agricultural product German Township leads. Bean Creek runs through the northwest corner of the township. Brush Creek also passes through it. The first settlement of the township was effected on August 23, 1834, at what is now called Lauber's Hill, two miles east of Burlington. The narrative of the settlement, as told by the Rev. Jacob Binder; one of the pioneers, to J. W. Roseborough, in 1896, gives perhaps' a clearer indication of the rugged simplicity of the people of German Township than could be told in other words. It seems that: "Jacob Binder and his family, on the 8th day of March, 1834, together with Christian Lauber and Christian Rupp, and their respective families, all of Alsace, in the vicinity of Mulhausen started for America. Mr. Lauber's family consisted of his wife, Magdabena, Zimmerman, and four children ; Mr. Rupp's family was 'composed of himself and wife, Christina Stuckey, and four children These three families, numbering twenty-one in all, started together. ......They employed three teams and wagons, and drove through to Havre, France, in 17 days........ About the 8th of April, they took ship, and sailed for New York, consuming about seven weeks in the voyage......They reached New York the latter part of June, without special accident or loss            On their way across the ocean they were passed by a larger vessel, containing many immigrants from Schaffhausen, Switzerland .......Our three families remained only a short time in New York. From that city they came to Buffalo...... From Buffalo, they came on the lake to Cleveland; thence they went on the canal to the little town of Fulton, in Stark county, where they were met by one Peter Schrock, and a number of other generous Amish brethren, who conveyed them to their comfortable homes in the vicinity of what is now called. Marshallville, Wayne County, Ohio. Here they remained ........ for six weeks. There entertainers were blessed with fine farms and handsome buildings. These, or similar ones, our newly-arrived immigrants were unable to purchase, having. but a limited supply of means. During the six weeks the Mubhausen families remained in Wayne county, they met there a number of 282 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY the immigrants from Schaffhausen, Switzerland, who had passed them on the ocean ...... they were all Amish. Of these families from Switzerland were the following: 1st, Jacob Kibler and wife, Susan Meister; and seven children 2nd, John George Meister and wife, Margaret Keller and 12 children ; 3rd, John Van Gundy, a widower; having four children ........ "Our immigrants, in view of their large families and limited means, after due consultation resolved to go further west, and select lands for themselves. The following persons were chosen to make selections: Jacob Kibler, J. George Meister, Christian Rupp, and Peter Wyse. Mr. Wyse, a resident of Wayne county, accompanied them in the capacity of guide and interpreter. In the meantime, the rest of the immigrants remained in Wayne county. The committee appointed proceeded on foot to Putman county, but finding there the land too wet and level, and solid timber too scarce, they Went into the vicinity of Fort Wayne, Indiana. There they found the land and timber much the same as in Putman county. From Fort Wayne they came back to Defiance, Ohio. There they heard of one Joseph Bates, eighteen miles north, a noted hunter; and a man with a broad and accurate knowledge of the country. Mr. Bates then lived on what is now known as the John Shilling Farm, in the southwestern part of Franklin Township, Fulton county. To him they gladly came. They found him to be the man they exactly needed ........... He gave them a cordial reception, and took them six miles east of his place, to what is now called Lauber's Hill .......... then a wild and dreary wilderness. Here they resolved to locate. They selected eight hundred acres of land, went to the U. S. Land Office, at Wapakoneta., and entered the same, after which they returned to Wayne county, having spent two weeks in the business, and having done all the travelling on foot. The next important practical question was how, with their families and goods, to reach their newly-acquired lands in the wild woods, a hundred and sixty, or more, miles distant. To accomplish this five wagons and five yoke of oxen were purchased. Each of the five families that went to the new homes purchased a wagon and yoke of oxen. The following are the families and persons who first came to what is now German Township, and made the first settlement therein : 1st, Jacob Binder and wife and the following of his children : Anna, Jacob, Sophronia, and Regina. Mr. Binder's other daughters came a little later: 2nd, Christian Lauber, wife and four children 3rd, Jacob Kilber and the following of his children: Jacob, George, Heronimus, Elizabeth and Mary. Mrs. Kilber, Susan and Melchoir remained for a time in Wayne county : 4th, J. George Meister; and the following of his children : Jacob, George, John, and Anna. His wife and other children came later; 5th, John Van Gundy, and his three children, Joseph, the fourth and youngest, dying at Providence, on the way out from Wayne county. "Accompanying these families were Nicholas King, Samuel Burkholder; Christian Reigscker and Nicholas Gehr, otherwise called Nicholas Wenger; because Mrs. Wenger, a widow lady, brought him to this country from Switzerland ....... Gehr ....... returned to Wayne county (eventually) with King and Burkholder, who had only come with the settlers to aid them in getting started ........ In their journey to the west, our immigrants came through Wooster; Ashland, Lower Sanduky. now Fremont, to Perrysburgh, where they crossed the Maumee River. 284 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY In crossing the river, there being no bridge. Mr. Binder; with his wagon, struck a large stone, and but for the help of the others would have been unable to extricate himself. Having crossed the river they proceeded westward to Napoleon, which place they reached after a very tedious journey (of sixteen days) having travelled at the rate of about ten miles a day. At this time, there was but one house in Napoleon ........ a log house. This, our subject thinks, was occupied, in part at least, by a man named Wolfe, others say by a Mr. Hueston. It is not improbable that at that time both ....... lived in the house. Now from Napoleon to reach their point of destination, nearly twenty miles north and west through a dense and trackless forest, was a ....... perplexing question. They finally decided to employ a surveyor to locate the most direct route. They estimated that no more than two days would be required to do this. Eight men accompanied the surveyor, to blaze trees, and otherwise assist in the work. At the end of the first day, the company found that they had advanced only eight miles. Here, in the thick woods and countless myriads of mosquitos, they were compelled to camp for the night. Realizing that the supply of food for the trip was inadequate, they despatched two of their men to Napoleon for additional rations, the remaining men continuing the survey. Instead of at Lauber's Hill, the surveyors came out where the village of Burlington now is, two miles west of the point aimed at. When they finally reached the place sought, it was night, and they were without food, shelter; or bed to sleep on. To still further add to their discomfort, a heavy rain and thunderstorm came on, and they abl became thoroughly wet to the skin. They built a large fire and stood about it with clothes wringing wet, the long, long night through, the wind blowing, the tops of the trees waving, the thunder roaring, and the lightning flashing. . . . most of the night. In the morning, without supper or breakfast, without sleep or rest, and still wet, they had no alternative but to begin their return trip to Napoleon. Fortunately ....... about noon, they met the two men with the provisions ordered. Scarcely ever, perhaps, was food devoured with keener relish. The night following they camped where they had . . . . the first night. . . . The next day they reached Napoleon. Here they found six of their companions down, sick with those other plagues of the West, fever and ague. Orders however; were at once issued for all who had 'hands and feet,, to lay hold and open a road on the surveyed line, the wagons and all together advancing as the road was opened. At meal times, forks were driven into the ground, on which poles were placed. On these, pots for cooking were hung. Water was secured, such as it was, from holes dug two or three feet in the ground At night, they slept in their wagons, or otherwise, as best they could, and fought mosquitos with fire and smoke. After eleven long days spent in severe toil and slow movement, they finally reached,. August 22nd, 1834, the point in the forest where they proposed to make their future homes. Here in the deep woods, without a house, or a foot of cleared land, strangers, unacquainted with the laws of the country and its general customs and language, more than four thousand miles from their native land, totally ignorant of frontier life and of its methods and instruments of labor, many of them, too, already sick, and thirty miles or more from market or doctor; the situation was gloomy indeed. In the face of all these difficulties and discouragements, the heroic people resolved bravely to persevere in their effort to make for themselves independent homes. For a time they slept in their wagons, HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 285 and under roofs constructed of brush and leaves. The first house built was a cabin, about 20x24 feet, on Mr. Christian Lauber's land, about thirty rods north of the site of the brick house, in which Samuel Lauber, a grandson, now resides. By reason of sickness, only six men of all the settlers were able to help put up the house. Joseph Bates, and his hired man, kindly came about six miles, and greatly assisted in raising the building. It took them two days of hard labor to erect it . Other buildings, of a similar character, were soon after erected for the different other families, on their respective lands, except that for Mr. Binder; because of his disability occasioned by constant illness for six months, a small cabin was built near Mr. Lauber's house and on his land. Of this cabin, about 12x14 feet, one half the floor was made of split puncheons. The other half was the ground. In this shanty, without chimney—the fire being built on the ground—the Binder family lived their first winter in America. Their little cabin ........ was often so full of smoke that the inmates were often very nearly stifled. In the spring, the family and goods in the house were about the color of smoked ham. While smoke ..... thus gave the settlers annoyance.......it did them........almost invaluable service, in shielding them from...........numberless hosts of mosquitoes. . . Except Mr. Kibler; the settlers were poor; and for a number of years experienced much difficulty in procuring sufficient ......... provisions ......... They had to go to Maumee to mill and market, and to reach it had to go by the way of Napoleon. This made the distance about forty-five miles. It generally took a week's time to drive there and back with there ox teams, over such roads as they then had. The roads, especially in wet weather, were often next to impassable On one occasion Mr. Lauber and another of the settlers, took a wagon and two yoke of oxen, and went to Maumee for provisions. On their way back they reached Brush Creek, about two miles distant from their homes. The creek at that time was wide and deep, the ground underneath soft, and from the long journey with the wagon and load, over bad roads, the oxen were jaded and tired. Still, impelled by a keen sense of their nearness to their homes and with the knowledge of the necessity of being there with the provisions, they urged the oxen into and half way across the stream. There, however; the oxen stopped, being entirly exhausted. All effort to get them to move on was fruitless. It was night, and the men unyoked the wagon, and went to their homes. Returning next morning, they found the wagon and oxen where they had left them the evening before. It was cold, and during the night ice had frozen over the creek. The tails of the cattle were actually frozen fast in the ice. The men broke the ice over the water, waded in and drove the oxen out, and home, leaving the wagon and provisions. The followng night the ice froze so solid that the men came next day and slid the provisions over the stream on the ice. "Sometimes, from waiting too long before starting to mill, or from detention on the way, the settlers came near perishing for want of food. Raccoons, Woodchucks, the flesh of animals that had starved to death, wild weeds, vegetables not esteemed fit for human food, and bran and water mixed, were used for food, in order to keep soul and body together. For the cattle, for sometime after the settlement began, little grass or hay. could be secured. To keep their cattle alive winters—they had no horses for years—trees were cut down by the settlers that 286 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY their animals might eat the tops, which they did with great eagerness; Quite a number of their oxen and cows, however, ..............died for want of food. Why, it may be asked did not these people kill wild game in the woods, where, in large numbers, such game abounded? The answer is, those people were not hunters, and had for quite a time neither guns nor ammunition. Our subject (Jacob Binder; Jr.) ............... says they never had any relish for hunting. He, in common with the rest of the first settlers, very much preferred chopping, rail-making, and clearing, to hunting or fishing .................. But for the faithful service and kindness of his three sisters, Catherine, Anne, and Barbara, who obtained from fifty to seventy-five cents a week by employment among residents along the Maumee River, Mr. Binder tells us, he believes his father and the family would have certainly perished." Despite all handicaps, however; these determined pioneers eventually conquered, and gradually won much more than the mere wherewithal to live; they developed agricultural estates such as they never thought, while they were still in their native land, it would be ever their good fortune to own. There were no other settlers in German Township in 1834, and before the end of that year two of the sons of Mr. Meister died of ague. Physicians were unobtainable, and only simple home medicines were available. The settlers in 1835, according to Albert S. Fleet, who wrote a "History of German Township," in about 1876, were Augustus Hull and wife; Peter Wyse, wife, and children; Christian Funkhouser ; Peter Leithy ; Peter Rupp; W. Grisier and family; Christian Beck and family; Nathan, Job and John Borton and their mother; Bethuel Borton and wife; Joseph Borton and family. The last named family came from New Jersey, and settled on Bean Creek. In 1836, John Reynolds and his sons, Isaac, Adna and John came from Vermont, and settled on the east bank of Bean Creek, on land now in Franklin Township ; Jonathan and Dorsey Barnes, with their came from Virginia; George Ditto and family came from Seneca. County, Ohio; Daniel Schad (Shorr) and family, direct from France; HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 287 Peter &had (Shorr) and family ; Christian Schad (Shorr) and family ; Peter G. Gull and family, all from France. Settlers in German Township in 1837 were Samuel Burkholder and family; Peter Naufsinger (Nofziger) and John Rivnaugh (Rufenact), from Europe; John Lutes, Henry Lutes and family, from another part of Ohio; George Johnson, William Johnson, and Benjamin Lee, from England; 'Samuel Gibbons and family, and Joseph Naufsinger (Nofziger), from France. Roswell Reynolds and family also came and settled near his father, John Reynolds. About the same time, says Roseborough, "old Mr. Eaton came out from Seneca county purchased a farm on the west bank of Bean Creek, about a mile south of where Johnson's mill was subsequently erected, laid out a portion of it into town lots, and called it Eatonburg. A few log houses were put up, and a small store started by one Montgomery Hooker Fitch, a half-breed Indian, who sold the first goods that were ever sold in German Township. One Hastings was, it is thought, the next merchant. Eatonburg was the first village in the township. There is but little of it now remaining, and what does remain looks shabby enough to warrant one in believing that it was built at least a century before Noah's Ark," stated J. W. Roseborough, writing of German Township in 1870. Another settler in 1837 was Benjamin Brown, who later 'became prominent in the township. He came from Vermont and settled on section 17. He was a son-in-law of John Reynolds. In 1838, among the incoming settlers were John Wyse, James and Joel Smith and families, Christian Becknor (Rychener), Peter and Jacob Rupp and families and Jacob Deppler. Verity also recorded the following as among the immigrants of that year: Samuel B. Darby ; Jacob G. Wilden (or Wildin) and family ; Jonathan Rogers and family; James F. Rogers and family; Michael Gish; John Reid, and Henry Roth. Fleet's version is that James Rogers and wife came in 1842; Jonathan Rogers in 1846; and the Wilden family in 1842. Albert G. Fleet came in 1840, and became quite prominent in agricultural movements, being president of the county agricultural society for many years; therefore it is probable he was able to become very intimate with the farming families of his own township. His record is consequently here given first place. He stated that Joseph Sander and family, Hugh Fairfield and family, and Augustus Clair and family came in 1839; that Joseph Schad (Short), Fred Crouse (Krauss), Peter Weaver (Weber), and Jacob Leininger, with their families, came in 1840; that John Leininger and family came in 1841; that Peter Clopfenstein (Klopfenstein), and Anthony T. Moine and families, settled in 1842; that Joseph Rupp came in 1843; Joel Smucher (Schmucher) and family, in 1844; Moses Stutzman, Warren McCutcheon and family, Peter Grim and family, and A. Grim and family, in 1845. Other recorders agree that the following named pioneers came into German Township, to settle therein, between 1840 and 1850: George Gasche, Jacob Lipe (Lupp), Samuel Ames, Peter Short, George Betts, John L. Betts, Jacob Vernier; George Vernier; J. A. Wolverton, J. P. Flory, Jacques Grisier, and many others. Henry and John Lutes were both local preachers of the M. E. church. Both later took active and leading part in the affairs of the community. 288 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY The Johnsons carried on a profitable milling business, building a saw and grist mill on Bean Creek. Verity wrote: "The first mill put up in German that was worth any great credit to the township, as an industry, was put up on the west bank of Bean Creek, where the State road crosses the creek upon section 7, running to West Unity. A grist and saw mill, run by the waters of Bean Creek, was put up by the two brothers, William and George Johnson, on lands bought by them as early as 1836. They were Englishmen. They commenced building the mills in 1841, and completed them in 1842, so as to saw and grind for the inhabitants. The industry was a good one, and the proprietors made themselves well off. Before the erection of this mill in German Township, the nearest mill was at Evansport, on Bean Creek, ten miles southwest; the next was at Medina and Canandaigua, Mich., some 25 miles north; and one at Defiance, Gilead and Maumee, on the Maumee. This forever after put a stop to long trips, to a large scope of country, and very much lightened the burdens of pioneer life. The Johnsons carried on the (milling business until about 1857, when George Johnson, one of the firm, died. The labor was assumed by the sole partner; William, and afterwards sold and transferred to Reverend Cook, who successfully handled the industry until the burning of the mills some time in the latter part of the '70s. The milling business there has never been revived, as competition is so strong at more favorable points as to make the industry unprofitable away from railroad centers. " Jonathan Barnes was always a leader in the township. The first election was held in his house, and he was the first resident of German Township to be honored by election to a county office. He became county commissioner; and filled the office with much credit until shortly before he died. Warren McCutcheon took his place for the unexpired portion of his term. Samuel B. Darby was the first justice of the peace, and also the first school teacher. He was also the first postmaster in the county, stated J. W. Roseborough, the mail route being from Defiance to Michigan. He died in 1884, aged 77 years. He was also the first township clerk, and was sworn into office by "Long Bill" Jones, of Clinton, afterwards of Dover. Jacob G. Wildin was "the most active and useful man of his time" in the township. He baid out the town of Burlington in 1839. He was the first merchant in Burlington. He erected a log building for a store-room, and catered especially to the needs of the incoming settlers, maintaining a good supply of goods such as the settlers would be likely to need. And in 1843, he built an ashery, nearby, or adjoining. "This store and ashery were just what the people needed, and Mr. Wildin was just the active, liberal, public-spirited man required. He sold the settlers what they needed, and took pay in work, ashes, deerskins, and anything else they had to sell. He owned land, and ran a blacksmith shop, by means of hired help. The men he sometimes had to work for him were so numerous as to resemble a small army. He built a saw-mill also, and without doubt materially aided the pioneers to prosperity. In the earliest days in German Township, the settlers were so poor that they wore wooden shoes, some had only HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 289 wooden knives and forks, with "a huge log, levelled on the top, for a table"; while their bed-ticks would be filled with dry leaves, and placed upon bedsteads made out of poles cut from the forest, with basswood bark for cords. But, stated Fleet, with the establishment of "Johnson's mills, and Wildin's ashery and store, the people became almost extravagant. Cornbread and wooden shoes were not sought for; a new era had commenced and we began to feel like shouting. The day began to dawn; our roads were getting good, and life was pleasant." It was in boring for water, with which to supply the needs of his ashery, that Jacob Wildin and others became cognizant of the presence of natural gas in the township. His was probably the first well boring in the township, and Albert S. Fleet, who lived within a mile or so, describes the disastrous happenings that followed' the boring thus: "Sometime in 1843, or 1844, from scarcity of water, Mr. J. G. Wildin commenced digging a well, to get water to supply his ashery; after digging some forty feet in the blue clay, and no signs of water; he caused the well to be curbed with a substantial framework, or at least I thought so. He reached the hard pan, as it is called, and at this point found some water, and a strong supply of gas. The water raised some inches in the &Atom of the well, and the gas blowed profusely. The auger refused to take in the hard-pan, and cons& quently one hand could play it like a top. At this point of time, I visited. the well, went to the bottom, saw a Mr. Beck turning the auger; an and standing in the water half-leg deep, and the gas rushing up through the water, making a great bubbling. Feeling somewhat uneasy I ascended, and felt like keeping out of that place. The next morning, we heard something like a cannon, and soon heard that Mr. Wildin's well had blown up I visited the spot soon, and 'found the framework of the well in bad condition. Mr. Wildin was very badly burned in the face, and injured otherwise, Philander and Othello Church were somewhat injured; one was thrown on the top of the ashery, and Othello coming down lit on some fixings over the well, and escaped without injury." The incident, as narrated by Verity, is as follows: "Jacob G. Wildin ....... when at a depth of forty feet left the well for the night. Before renewing their digging in the morning, they tested the well, by letting down a lighted candle; it went down safely until very near the bottom, when the candle ignited what was supposed to be gas, but no explosion followed; the flames gradually arose in the well until near the surface, when a terrible explosion took place, which was heard seven or eight miles distant. Several persons were injured, among them Mr. Wildin himself, who by the seriousness of the accident was compelled to retire from business. The well was allowed to fill up, and was never completed for use." Jacob Wildin died in, about, 1864.. He married Anna, daughter of Jacob Binder, the pioneer settler and minister. While on the subject of wells, it may not be amiss to record here some other early borings, in German Township, as noted by Fleet, who, after describing the Wildin disaster, continued: "Soon after, James Smith bored for water to the hard-pan; found 290 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY plenty of gas, but no water to any amount, and abandoned the well. Mr. Smith, passing the well with a light in the evening, ignited the gas, and it made a warm time until it was put out. After this, Solomon Rogers confined the gas in boxing, or tubing, and at evening would ignite it, for diversion. It would make a beautiful light, illuminating the town (Burlington) beautifully. Soon after this it became a common occurrence to get gas-wells with water; and without water; the strongest fountains were got with the least gas. Mr. Quillet got a very strong gas and water fountain. It would throw a stream of water and gravel as high as the tallest trees, and some stones that resembled stone coal. Mr. Schad struck gas very strong; it would boil a five pail kettle full of water in fifteen minutes. It burned one time three weeks steady ; and in case of sickness in his family, it being near his house, he did not burn any other light. On Christian Schad's place the gas was so strong that it made a blaze as large as a large brush-heap, and it made such a light that one could see to read a quarter of a mile from the well in the night. Joseph Clair struck the gas in force; it made lively times; threw stone and water 100 feet high it threw one stone that fell several rods from the well; that weighed twenty-two pounds. Fountains, or fountain-wells, are quite common in the township at present (1870)." The first marriages in German Township were: that of a daughter of John Reynolds to ............. Holt, in 1887, they being married by Erastus Crandall, J. P.; that of David Ely to a Miss Schafer, in the same year; and that of Ransom Reynolds to Perlona Crandall, on July 28, 1838, the ceremony being solemnized by Nathan Barton, a justice of the peace. The first stores and businesses established in German Township were probably those of the town of Eatonburg (or Edinburgh, as one records the name), but as that town was only actively so for about four years—from 1838 to 1842—they have been overlooked. - Michael Gish built and ran a tavern in Edinburgh; a saddler; named Aberight, had a harness shop in the town; there was a tailor shop, that of Mr. Case; and Milton Sawyer had a cabinet and carpenter's shop in that place. The first English preachers in the township were Henry and John Lutes, and Joel Smith, the three being local preachers of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The first religious service conducted in the English language in German Township was that held in the house of John Reynolds, probably in 1837, Henry Lutes conducting the service. John Bowser was also a pioneer preacher; he belonged to the United Brethren Society, and was "a most devout and excellent man." The first religious meeting held in the township was, however, undoubtedly that held in Christian Lauber's house in the fall of 1835, presided over, as preacher; by Christian Beck, of the Mennonite Church. Elizabeth Wyse, it seems, was the first white child born in German Township, her birth date being in October; of 1837; the second birth was that of Lorena Holt, on January 29, 1838. The pioneer physician was I. K. Carpenter; who took up residence in Burlington in 1844. He "was a Thompsonian." The first wagon shop was probably that established by Jacob Noffsinger; the first blacksmith, it is said, was John Reed, who was HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 291 set to work by Samuel B. Darby. The first shoemaker was Henry Roth. The first postmaster was Samuel B. Darby. It was through his efforts that an office was established in May, 1839. It was named Elmira, and eleven years later was removed to the village of Burlington. THE FIRST TOWNSHIP ELECTION German Township was organized, as hereinbefore stated, on March 4, 1839, and in the following month the first election was held. The polling place was in the residence of Jonathan Barnes, on section 14, near Lauber Hill, and thirteen votes were cast. (In the election of the previous year; 1838, the settlers had to go all the way to the cabin of Isaac Tedrow, in Clinton Township, to cast their votes; and in 1837 even further, the polling place being in York Center). The first German Township election, in 1839, resulted in the following named settlers being elected .to the respective township offices: Trustees: Jonathan Barnes, Samuel Gibbeny, Amos Garrett. Clerk : Samuel B. Darby. Treasurer: Nathan Bolton. Overseers of Poor: D. Campbell, and Adam Bolton. Constables: Joseph A. Borton, and Adna Reynolds. Supervisors: Thomas B. Walters, John Shaffer; and Hy Lutes. Some historians have stated that the first election was held in 1840, but while the official township records do not give the date of the first election, they make it quite certain that the year in which the first election was held 1839, not 1840. The "Town Good of German Township" (which was saved for posterity from a pile of discarded justice records about twenty years ago, by Archbold's present mayor, August Ruihley), appears at first glance to be merely an inexpensive note book, such as would be used nowadays for penciled notes. It in reality was the original record book of the trustees of German Township. The first entry, under date of April 29, 1839, records the names of men elected to township offices at first annual election; and from that record the names given above were taken. German Township is unique in one respect; no other township in the county has preserved its trustee records intact. The destruction of records has been due to various causes, chief among them being probably, fire, although many records have undoubtedly been lost by the indifference of some township clerks to records other than those of the present. The distinctive position of German Township in this respect, thanks to the timely recognition by the present mayor of Archbold of the historical value of the cheaply-bound but all-important original volume, is worthy of being perpetuated, by here naming all the trustees elected since the first board was constituted in 1839. The succession of trustees is as follows: Jonathan Barnes, 1839, 1840, 1844, 1847 and 1848; Samuel Gibbeny, 1839 to 1842; Amos. Garrett, 1839; Nathan Borton, 1840 and 1841; Dorsey Barnes, 1841; Peter Andre, 1841; Joel Smith, 1842 to 1844; John Mason, 1842; John Lutes, 1843, 1846, 1847, 1849, 1850; Nathan Borton, 1843; Henry Lutes, 1844-45; Peter Wyse, 292 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY 1845-48; James F. Rogers, 1845-46, 1848; 1853-55, 1857-58, and 1860; George Ditto, 1849-50, 1855; Jacob Nofzinger 1849; Jonathan Rogers, 1850 and 1851; John Wyse, 1851-54, 1856; Jacob Feather, 1851-52; Warren McCutcheon 1852; Anthony Moine, 185354, 1857-59, 1866-69; John Wolverton, 1855-56; Lewis Theobald, 1856; Christian Aeschliman, 1857-58; George R. Betts, 1859-62, 1866-67, 1870, 1872-81, 1884, and from 1886 to 1892; S. D. Dailey, 1869; Peter Short, 186062; Jacob Gaiman, 1861-62; A. Markley, 1863-64, 1877; Jacob Gasche, 1863-64; F. J. Beauclaire, 1863; Peter Bourquin, 1864; A. N. Cart, 1865; William Dickerson, 1865; Peter Grimm, 1865; John Baker; 1866; Wm. Sloan, 1867; C. Druhot, Jr., 1868-69; John Leininger; 1868-70, 1872-73, 1875-76; Jacob Vernier, 1870-71, 1872-75; Geo. Vernier; 1871; Jacob Bourquin, 1871; D. E. Clark, 1874; J. F. Beucler; 1875; John Haumesser, 1876; Martin Palmer, 1878-1887; Christian Gaiman, 1877; George Leininger, 1878; John. Yaeger; 1879-80', Geo. Leininger; 1881; Hy Leininger; 1882 to 1884; Sylvarius Walters, 1882-83; Geo. Deihlman, 1885; Charles Bourquin, 1885; Martin Buehrer, 1886; John U. Funkhauser; 1887-95; Henry Grim, 1888-97; H. G. Britsch, 1893-1900; Henry Stamm, 1896-1905; F. Funkhouser, 1898-1902; Wm. Harsch, 1901-1907; Gideon D. Wyse, 1903; Jacob C. Leu, 1904-07, 1910-14; Christian Yoder, 1906-09; J. F. Steensen, 1908; Leonard Stine 1908-10; G. R. Shafer; 1908-10; Wm. A. Leininger; 1910-17; Lewis G. Moine, 1910-14; Ed. Crossgrove, 191620; F. A. Graf, 1916-17; ,Geo. S. Leininger, 1918-20; Jacob Maudley, 1918-20. Samuel B. Darby and Jonathan Barnes were elected justices of the peace in May, 1840. Henry Bredt was township clerk for many years, and August Ruihley was for about fifteen years. The last-named has been justice of the peace from 1895 until the present (1920). The frugal manner of life of the early inhabitants of German Township is seen in the public. expenditures by township officers during the first years of its existence, the "Treasurer's Report," for the year ending March 1, 1841, recording a total expenditure during the period of $13.23. Another indication of the careful conservation of public funds is seen in the following notice, which was spread in full upon the minutes of the township trustees: Lucas County, German Township. To Joseph Borton, Constable of said Township; Greeting. Whereas we, the undersigned Overseers of the Poor of the Township aforesaid, have received information that there has lately come into said township a certain poor and dissipated man named Horace Crandall, who is not a legal resident thereof, and will be likely to become a township charge, you are therefore commanded forthwith to warn said Horace Crandall to depart out of said township Served by reading January 29, 1849. DORSEY BARNES, DILLON CAMPBELL, Overseers of the Poor. JOSEPH BORTON, Const. HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 293 That the township properly cared for those who were legitimate residents of the township, and had become destitute, is proved by the following, which was copied from the trustees minutes: Article of Agreement entered into this 10th day of March, A. 1852, between Jacob Fisher of the first part; and John Wyse, Jacob Feather, and Warren McCutcheon as trustees of German Township, Fulton county, and their successors in office, of the second part, witnesseth: That the said Jacob Fisher agrees to support for the ensuing year commencing on the 16th day of March, 1853, Mariah Hatt and Coonrad Hatt, paupers of the Township aforesaid, for the sum of Eighty Eight dollars ($88.00) and the said trustees agree to pay the sum aforesaid as follows: ten bushells of wheat, at 57 1/2 cents per busheal, on demand; ten dollars in cash, on the 15th day of May, 1852, and seventy-two dollars and twenty-five cents at the expiration of the yeyear;n cash; and said trustees agree to clothe said paupers, and pay bills of physician, also to find material to repair Clothes belonging to said paupers, if needed. JACOB FISHER. WARREN M'CUTCHEON, JOHN WYSE, Trustees. Upon the township trustees minutes also were spread the particulars of another instrument, by which the trustees recorded dispositions made by them in the interest of the same poor family. The entry was entitled "An Endenture of Apprenticeship which "Indenture of Apprenticeship, under date of March 18, 1850, bound the township trustees, of the first part; Franz Hatt, of the second part; and Henry Roth of the third part, as follows: "That the said Franz Hatt, aged twelve years hath and doth hereby bind himself, as an apprentis, unto the said Henry Roth, until the eighteenth day of February, 1859, to Labour in occupation of a fafarmer;nd the said Franz Hatt, who is a child of Ann Maria Hatt, cloth hereby consent with the said Henry Roth to faithfully serve him and correctly Demean himself during the term of his apprentisship ; and the said Henry Roth doth hereby covenant with said John Lutes and George Ditto, Trustees of said township, and Franz Hatt, and each of them, that he will teach him the said occupation, and will provide him during said apprenticeship with Meat, Loging, Medicine, Washing, Clothing, and all other necessaries suitable for an apprentice and will teach him, or cause him to be taught to Read and Write, and so Much of Arithmetic as Will enable the Single Rule of three; and at the expiration of said, term of service Will furnish the said Franz Hatt With a New bible, and Least two suits of Wearing Apparel, and one Hundred Dollars in cash." The settlers were, mostly, of humble origin, and of very little means when they came into the township. They lived simple lives, had few wants, and for the most part were happy and contented in the hard work of clearing and cultivating their farms. They were, mostly, of kindly hospitable nature, and were 'ever ready to rally around one of their number who might, through the death of the bread-winner, or from other unavoidable cause, have become destitute. 294 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY But they were mostly people of upright life, commendable thrift, and a consistent endeavor to become useful citizens, and therefore could not countenance poverty that came by dissoluteness of habits, by laziness, or improvidence. The average settler was not very much richer; when he first came, than was James F. Rogers, who, in 1842, came to his log cabin, 16x18 feet, possessed, it is true of eighty acres of wild land, but of only $1.50 in cash. His life-story has been duplicated in that of more than one of the successful pioneers of German Township. He lived more than fifty years of his life in German Township, and at his death, in 1893, his biography was written by one who knew him for the greater part of his life. It appears that: "James F., son of Jonathan and Martha (Haviland) Rogers, was born in 1814... .In 1838, he purchased of one Nathan Dix, for the sum of $175, eighty acres of land, then in Lucas county but now in German Township, Fulton county, Ohio. In the fall of 1839, Mr. Rogers, A. S. Fleet, John Baker, one Gehring, and a McEaton, founder of Eatonburgh, better known as Edinburgh, all residents of Seneca county, came together in a wagon to German Township, where and when Mr. Rogers first saw the land he had purchased the previous year. After remaining a few weeks and doing some under-brushing on his land, he returned to Seneca county. In the autumn of 1840 he came again to German, and there erected on his new farm a neat little cabin of 16x18 feet, into which Mr. 'Albert S. Fleet, with his wife, moved soon after its erection. After the completion of the cabin, Mr. Rogers again returned to Seneca county." In early 1842, James F. Rogers married Eliza Crosson, of New York state, and both for the spring and summer of that year were in the service of Sylvanus Arnold, a wealthy farmer and merchant of Melmore, Seneca county, Ohio. "In the fall of that year (1842) they moved to German Township, and began housekeeping in the little cabin he had built in 1840. One George Blackman moved them to their little home. Their personal effects, all told, consisted of one cow; one chest, containing his clothing; a small trunk with his wife's apparel; a box with a meagre supply of household goods; and another with a part of a set of cooper's tools. These, with $1.50 in his pocket, and an indebtedness of $25.00, constituted the total invoice of his goods and chattels. Thus, without money or friends, with no improved land, in the deep unbroken wilderness, with wolves howling hideously about their lone cabin at night, without roads, churches, schoolhouses, mills, stores, or postoffices, did this plucky couple begin pioneer life in this township In the spring of 1843, Mr. Rogers was chosen overseer of the poor, a township trustee the next spring, and from that time up to almost the time of his death, he was almost constantly a public officer of some kind." He was a member of the Methodist Church at Elmira for more than forty years, and was an active church and Sunday- school worker until his death. He had twelve children, and was a man of very strong character. Smoked and chewed tobacco for thirty years, and at 45 years of age "was an abject slave to the habit." Then, "thoroughly convinced of the sinfulness of the habit, he was by God's help enabled to. abandon its use instantaneously" and never again used it, "for which I am thankful for sustaining grace," he testified more than thirty years later. HISTORY, OF FULTON COUNTY - 295 Many incidents of Mr. Rogers, life were common to pioneer life in German Township. "When he came into the township, there were but about a dozen votes in the entire township Maumee was then the county seat, and many a weary trip thither did Mr. R. perform, in order to do jury service, or pay taxes One of the difficulties (of pioneer life) arose from distance of mills, and markets, and the absence or badness of roads. It was very often, he said, worth more than the market price of grain to get it to the mill and back again, or to deliver it at the market, owing to the distance and to the condition of the roads. At one time, he said, he carried a bushel of corn five miles to Bird's mill, and brought the meal home on his back, through the dense forest, and over innumerable logs. Pork used to be hauled by ox-teams to Maumee, and there sold for 11/4 cents per pound. Wheat, he said there sold for fifty cents a bushel, and this not infrequently the farmer had to take in trade. To reach Maumee from German, they had to go by way of Ottokee, Weir's tavern, Watkins, and Swanton, three full days being required to make the round trip. Ten cents was more difficult to get then than is a dollar now (1893), and yet, to purchase goods a dollar then had vastly less purchasing power than it has now. One wonders how some of the pioneers managed to exist. They did so, presumably, only by the exercise of almost inconceivable thrift, and simpleness of life. The "Bird's Mill" referred to was probably the first erected in the township. It was situated in the northwestern corner; in territory which later formed part of Franklin Township. Fleet wrote : "Mills, were far away, with the exception of Mr. Bird's, in the northwest corner of German, and was taken with the territory from German to make Franklin; but the mill was the same, and never have we had a better one for good work than when Mr. Bird was miller himself. But the water failed in dry weather. Mr. Bird built his mill some time before the organization of the township." 296 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY Regarding pioneer conditions, in general, Fleet wrote: "Taking it all in all, there was about as much sunshine as shade in the pioneer life of German Township." Burlington was the second town to be established, and until the coming of the railroad and the founding of Archbold, it was a prosperous and busy trading centre. THE INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF ARCHBOLD Archbold came into being with the coming of the "Air-Line" Railway, in 1855. Fleet asserts that it was originally named Archbald, "a compound word, composed of Arch and Bald, names of two engineers of the R. R." That spelling seems to be corroborated, by the municipal records. The first volume of council records contains, upon one of its first pages, a copy of the petition, which eventually brought corporate powers to the community. The handwriting is not very regular; but the name as there written seems to be Archbald, not Archbold. Early printed references also, almost invariably follow the first spelling. One of the principal founders of the town, and for many years one of its most active and responsible residents, was George Ditto. Fleet records the laying out of the first division by Heywood and Ditto, and the second addition by Wentzler, Schnetzler and Deppler. The first ten years of the existence of Archbald (or bold), were so encouraging, that the responsible residents sought to obtain corporate powers for it in 1865. A petition, bearing date of December 23, 1865, was circulated, said petition reading as follows: To the Commissioners of Fulton County, Ohio: The undersigned citizens and inhabitants of the county of Fulton aforesaid, hereby respectfully ask your honorable body for an order authorizing the incorporation and organization of the following described territory, situate in the County of Fulton, and State of Ohio, to-wit: The northwest quarter and the southwest quarter of section thirty-three, and the northeast quarter, and the southeast quarter of HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 297 section thirty-two, all of said quarter-sections being in the Township of German, county and state aforesaid. Your petitioners ask That said territory may be incorporated and organized as a village, to be called Archbald. A further description of said territory will be found in the plat hereto (annexed) attached. Your petitioners further represent that there are more than fifty qualified voters actually residing within the (limits) territory above described; and that the undersigned are a majority of the qualified voters, and actual residents thereof. We further respectfully inform you that Capt. Charles P. Schafer; Dr. S. Hubbard, and John B. Schnetzler are our authorized agents, and J. W. Roseborough our authorized attorney, to attend to and prosecute this our petition before your Honorable Board. Very respectfully, December 23, 1865.