HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 375 where they took their grain and corn for grinding was at Maumee, twenty miles away; and generally, the roads were in such a state of muddiness, being practically a morass, that the journeys to the mill had, in most years, to be deferred until the winter season, when the ground was frozen. Lucius P. Taylor raised a large family, and gave two sons to the nation during the Civil war. J. H. Tappan, of the pioneer Pike family of that name, wrote in the "Toledo Times," of October 9, 1905, regarding "Winameg and the Council Tree," and of a visit he paid to the Howard family. He wrote: "Fulton County, like the Maumee Valley, is full of historical interest. Perhaps one of the most interesting is the farm and house of the late D. W. H. Howard, who was the first white man to come into that part of Fulton county. His name, for over half a century, has been a household word in the homes of the great Maumee Valley. No one of the pioneers of northwestern Ohio had a larger personal experience with the different Indian tribes than he. Being appointed Indian interpreter by President Jackson, he often held councils with the Indians under the famous Council tree that stands near his house in Winameg. "The writer . . . . . . had the pleasure of visiting the Howard house a few days ago. It stands on high . . . . . . ground, surrounded by many shade trees planted by Mr. Howard's own hand many years ago. On entering the room, the visitor faces the old-time brick fireplace, and the andirons so common in those early days for holding the wood fires. In this room, the visitor will notice a picture of Peter Navarre, General Harrison's Indian scout, mounted on horseback, dressed in Indian garb. Navarre was a personal friend of Mr. Howard. . “. . . . . .We were invited to descend the hill, and see the Council tree. This hill is of an angle of forty-five degrees, and . . . . . arriving at the base we stood in front of the tomb of the late D. W. H. Howard. erected in solid stone and concrete masonry, as per order by himself, prior to his death. "Near the same place is the large oak Council tree, a monarch of the forest, and one hundred feet high. It was under this tree that Mr. Howard held a council with the Indians in 1832, the time of the Black Hawk war, and he did more in that council to prevent the Indian war than any other man in northwestern Ohio. Under this tree the noted Indian chief, Winameg, is buried. "Mr. Howard's daughter informed me one of the Indians would lean against this tree while the others would shoot, to determine who could come the nearest to his head without hitting him. She pointed to bullet holes that were yet visible . .. . . . . “ That giant oak becomes historic, if only for the fact that at some time during each day its shadow would probably rest upon the burial place, or the sacrificial altars, of the ancient people, called the Mound Builders, of Fulton county ; and it surely each day casts its shade over the last resting place of two worthy men, of like thought; both true lovers of nature; both of like nobility -of character ; and both men of commanding influence in their respective circles. These two men, Winameg and Howard, noble chiefs, both of them, one of red skin, the other with white (while still seeking to secure fair treatment for the red), lie almost side by side. A visit to the spot prompted Frank 376 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY S. Ham, who had a, profound respect for the late Col. D. W. H. Howard, to write the following verses, which are entitled : "At the Tomb of Winameg's Friend" : "0 brave and noble old pioneer— Civilization's herald, who knew no fear— Whose bones are resting here! I come but to drop a tear. Friend of a bygone race, Whom the white man did efface! Thy life did'st span the space, 'Twixt then and now, both interlace. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * And when you sickened and died 'Twas by an old warrior's side You chose in death to reside— With old Chief Winameg to abide. Thy dust and his mingle—bone to bone— And, when the legions gather at the throne, The old. chief will not stand alone Thy voice his defense will make known." The Council Oak is historic also as the scene of an important council between white men and red ; between the representative of the Federal Government, through young Dresden W. H. Howard, as interpreter, and Chief Winameg. That, according to Colonel Howard's own version, took place "in the spring of 1827, or 1828." That being so, it is probably erroneous to connect the council with the Black Hawk war, for it was at another camp, that of Kin-jo-i-no, on the south bank of the Maumee, at the Rapids, and in the year 1832, that young Howard, then only fifteen years old, was so useful to the United States Government, in circumventing the machinations of the Sac chief, Black Hawk, who sought to disaffect, and stir to warlike action, the Ottawa and other tribes of northwestern Ohio. The council at Winameg presumably had as its purpose the honest purchase from the Indians of their priority rights to Fulton county territory ; and Indian Agent Jackson, a near relative of President Jackson, in a letter written in 1832 to Edward Howard, father of D. W. H., referred to the boy, Dresden, who "speaks the dialects of the Indians, as I was pleased to learn on a former occasion," which presumably was that occasion in 1827 or 1828 when the boy interpreted the treaty between Chief Winameg and the Government. Colonel Howard, in the last year of his life waited calmly for the end, and deliberately planned, the order his obsequies should follow. Regarding the place of burial, he wrote: "I was an interpreter for the Government at a council held under the Council Oak, by the aged Sachem (Chief) Winameg, who lies buried in the hill. "At the foot of the Great Council Oak the Indian council fire burned out, and he sleeps his last sleep in the hill by the spring. HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 377 "And may we, too, when the drum beats the last roll call, be permitted to pitch Eternity's Bivouac on the hillside, in the shade of the beautiful trees planted by our own hands, and so bountifully watered by his loving kindness. So may it be." His wife, Mary B. Copeland Howard, who survived him for many years, stated, soon after his death: "When I first saw this spot, the old Council Oak was pointed out to me. Upon its trunk were places cut where a prisoner, had been tied by the Indians. Thousands of bullets were to be seen embedded about the spot where the unfortunate victim had come to his death. They had stood on the hill above, and, evidently from what we could learn, shot not to kill, but to see how near they could strike his body without inflicting death. The marks were plainly discernible for many years." "The oak tree will always be historic, perhaps, indeed, chiefly historic to Fulton county, because it was under its shade that the Fourth of July celebration was held by the pioneers of the township in 1848, or 1849, as has been described in the narrative by Mrs. McClarren. "Winameg, and that vicinity, also will be full of historic interest to the people of the county, because of its Indian history. Its Indian name was Neshc-naw-ba, although it had another French-Indian name, and "at a still earlier day" was called De-Mutre, meaning "the beaver," 378 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY that name having been applied to it because "the many ponds in the immediate vicinity were numerously inhabited by this sagacious little animal." J. H. Tappan, in the article before-quoted, refers to a visit to the Indian camp, Yoxey (Wyoxie), stating that: "Leaving the Council tree, we proceeded to the large woods, and followed the old Indian trail that still exists. At the east end of the woods, and north of the trail, the Indian camp Yoxey (Wyoxie) was located. In the winter of 1841, here Chief Yoxey (Wyoxie) died. The writer, and three others, including my father, made a rude box in which to lay the dead chief ; also his gun and tomahawk, and some powder. When the lid was being nailed fast, that part of the program was stopped by the Indians. They claimed the chief Would get out at a better hunting ground some day." This evidently was not the Indian death and burial of which Mrs. Mary B. Howard wrote, and to which reference has been made in an earlier chapter of this work; but it is clear that in 1841 there were many Indians still in the neighborhood. Mrs. McClarren's article has covered most of the essential history of Pike Township. Verity records that the Poplar Grove church was built about 1848, by United Brethren members, and the Bueler Church, in 1881, by the same church sect; that the St. Paul's Church, of the Evangelical faith, was built in 1881, in which year also a church of the Disciples was "rigged up for worship;" in the Trowbridge school district; and that a church of the Seventh Day Adventists was built in 1881, in the Whitcomb school district, under the labors of .A. Bigelow. The two present churches are moderately strong in membership, there being about one hundred members of the Disciples Church, and about seventy-five of the United Brethren. The present schools. of Pike Township are about equal to those of similar townships. There are no high schools, but the excellent school of Delta is within easy access to those elder scholars of Pike Township people who seek high school education. There are seven one-room schoolhouses, of rural class, in the township. These are valued at HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 379 $8,700, and are adequate for the elementary education of the children of the township. The enrollment in 1919 totaled to 170. The following are ,the present members of the Pike Township Board of Education: Frank Waldeck, president; W. B. Denius, clerk; O. S. Geer, W. L. Campbell, D. B. Cook, Harry Double, directors. POPULATION All the statistics for Pike Township are not available, but such particulars of population as have been verified are given. They are: 1870, 878; 1880, 1147; 1890, 1142; 1900, 1147; 1910, 1099; 1920, 1001. It is obvious, therefore, that, as a purely agricultural community, Pike Township was fully settled in the '70s; and as a railroad does not touch any part of the township it has had little opportunity of developing in other industrial lines. It is, in places, however, beautiful country in which to live. CHAPTER XVIII HISTORY OF YORK TOWNSHIP York is the oldest of all the townships of Fulton county; in fact, the greater part of the land embraced in all the other townships of the 'county was at one time within the bounds of York. Prior to the establishment of Lucas county, the land was within the jurisdiction of Wood and Henry counties. Lucas county was created in 1835, and the whole of the present area of Fulton county, with the exception of a strip taken from Williams county on the west and from Henry county on the south when Fulton county was erected in 1850, was organized into one large township, called York. Subdivisions, however, came quickly. York Township was formed on June 6, 1836, but in the same year the organization of Swan Creek Township took a big slice off the eastern side of York. Chesterfield, Royalton, and Amboy were all formed in 1837, and possibly very few of the settlers within that northern strip (for the possession of which there was such a serious contention in 1835 between Ohio and Michigan), took the trouble to vote in the first York Township election, held in 1836. The organization of Clinton Township, in 1838, restricted York on the west. Pike Township was organized in 1841, and Dover in 1843, and York Township boundaries have been the same ever since, save that in 1850, a strip two miles wide was added to York, and other southern townships of Fulton county, that strip being ceded by Henry county. York Township is generally level; its soil is inclined to be heavy, the greater part of York being in the Black Swamp area, and the soil is very near to clay. Yet, there is a dearth of water in dry summers, the watercourses being apt to dry completely. In the northern part of .the township the soil is sandy, and there is much gravel. Bad Creek runs through the township in a southerly direction. There is some doubt as to who was the pioneer settler of York Township. William Jones is said, and is generally supposed, to have beer, the first settler, coming in May, 1834; yet, it is recorded that William, John, and James King came into the township also in May, of that year, and, by their testimony, William Jones was not then, to their knowledge, "in the woods." John S. Trowbridge, the pioneer of Delta, was also in York in 1834, as were Cornelius and Alanson Trowbridge, and the Hampton family. The King record also refers to Elisha Trowbridge and a Swiss family, named Schlappi, as being "in the woods" in 1834, early. Of course, most of the pioneers of York Township, may strictly he considered to be pioneers of York Township, as that township, when organized in 1836, embraced almost all of present Fulton county ; but the endeavor of the compiler of this work is to place the records in the history of the township of which the land entered by the respective settlers ultimately became a part. - 380 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 381 Settlers during the next five or six years included : 1835, Abram Cole; and family; 1835, or 1836, Peter Wise, Gilman Cheedle, William Fowler, David Childs, Bethuel Gould, Jefferson Van Fleet, Martin Butler, Charles Gray, Thomas Wardley ; 1836, Robert McClarren, Gardner Tremain, and his wife Elizabeth; 1837, James Trowbridge and family; 1838, Moyer family; Henry Fluhart, H. Whitney, James McQuilling, and G. B. Lewis were also early settlers, but the year of their coming is not known. During the '40s, the settlers included : John Batdorf, Samuel and Elizabeth Biddle, Alfred B. Gunn, Elijah Smith, S. R. Stebbins, George Wright, William Markle, Calvin Biddle, Mark Berry; Abner P. Brainard, John Harrison, S. B. Skeels, McLasky family, Adam Zedaker, George Wood, and many others. William King, with his wife, three sons and one daughter, and also his father and mother, were truly emigrants, for they came direct from Londonderry, Ireland. They intended going on to Defiance, but were persuaded by Peter Manor, a hotelkeeper at Providence, with whom they stayed for a night while en route in their wagon, to first go twelve miles north, to what was then known as Six Mile Woods. Accompanied by Manor they went. On the edge of Six Mile Woods they came to the cabin of William Meeker, who had settled in what is now Swan Creek Township, in the previous year, 1833. They hired him to guide them over the land, which the U. S. Government was prepared to sell for $1.50 an acre. They went due west to where Delta how stands; thence to York Center where they turned and went one mile south, thence east to the "oak openings," finally selecting land on section twenty-four. Then they returned to Providence, and King made a journey, on foot, to ,the land office at Waupakonetta. The road was so slushy that it took him three days, the route being along a "blazed" trail. Upon his return, he took his family onto the land he had entered, and erected his cabin, the family meanwhile living in the wagon. Within a month, they experienced one of the terrifying tornadoes which periodically leave a trail of devastation in Fulton county. That visitation left a track "two miles wide and thirty miles long" through the dense forest. "Its duration was about twenty minutes, and almost destroyed the forest; everything was a wreck in its path," and "everything" could have meant only the standing timber, for there was nothing else in its way, there being no habitations, save the "shanty" of Mr. King, which seems to have been almost miraculously "saved, amid the falling and crashing of timber," but "it required of the settlers eight days of steady work to cut their way out of this windfall." John S. Trowbridge settled nearly a mile west of the present village of Delta, and eventually became a merchant in Delta. The Trowbridge family has good place in the records of York Township and Delta, and were good members of the Presbyterian Church of Delta. They were formerly from Saratoga., New York. He and his wife, Hannah Compton, became the parents of nine children, all. of whom were born in Ohio. His wife's father, came into Fulton county at the same time, and purchased from William King an entry of eighty acres the latter had made in that year. James Trowbridge, who came with his wife and two children from Saratoga, landed at Perrysburgh 382 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY on July 17, 1837, having made the trip from Albany, New York State to Toledo, and perhaps on to Perrysburgh, wholly by water, taking the canal route from Albany to Buffalo, then on Lake Erie to Toledo. At the time of their arrival at Maumee, the Trowbridge family found a great gathering of Indians had centered there, preparatory to being removed further west. On July 20, 1837, the Trowbridge family had reached the section in York Township upon which they were destined to live for very many years. James Trowbridge is stated to have been the first settler to conduct a store within what became the limits of the village of Delta. It appears, however, that Eli Kitts, of Maumee City, was the first storekeeper, James Trowbridge being second. The Fowlers were from Pennsylvania, and later from Fairfield County, Ohio. It is believed that they came into the county of Lucas in August, 1835, settling in York. There were three sons, William, Thomas, and Robert, in the family at that time, and they all lived to establish worthy branches and to take good part in the development of Fulton county. William E. Fowler, son of Thomas, became a leading resident of Delta. He was twice mayor of Delta, being re-elected in 1902. Gilman Cheadle and his wife, Susanna Rockafellow, came from Morgan County, Ohio, in 1836. The family lived in York Township HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 383 until 1870, when Mr. Cheadle retired to Wauseon. Ten children were born to them, and as a family they were much respected. Gilman Cheadle was postmaster for fourteen years, having been appointed by President Jackson. Martin H. Butler was in the township certainly in 1836, and probably in 1835. He was the first township clerk of York and was one of the first school examiners. Also he was one of the pioneer teachers. Charles Gray headed a family of good record. He was of English birth, emigrating as a young man. He married Marina Donaldson, who died in 1850. Charles Gray was married four times, and lived to a good old age. He cleared 120 acres in York Township. James Gray, his son, by his first wife, enlisted as a drummer-boy in the Union Army, when only fifteen years old, and saw some of the hardest war service with the Thirty-eighth Regiment, O. V. I. He died in 1909. George was a successful builder and contractor in Lyons, and also had a good Civil war record. Edward Gray, who died in 1913, as the result of a fall from a scaffold at his home, near Wauseon, was at that time one of the oldest of the early residents of York Township. He was eighty-two years old. and he only lived for three days after the fall. He also was a soldier during the years of stress, 1861-65. Thomas Murray and his wife, Mary Huffteller, settled on section twenty-six in 1836. They were from Pennsylvania. The McClarren family, originally from Scotland, has been associated with Fulton county since 1836. Robert McClarren, the progenitor, in Fulton county, of the family married Catherine Jones, sister of William Jones. the first settler in York. William McClarren, a worthy soldier of more than three years of Civil war service, was "well-known to a large circle of friends in Fulton county." He probably was the first born of the children of William and Catherine (Jones) McClarren. He was born in York Township on December 13, 1837, and died September 16, 1912, in Sandusky. To him, by his wife, Rebecca Alwood, were born seven children, including William B. McClarren, of Winameg, and Judson McClarren, of Wauseon.. Peter and Elizabeth (Monasmith) Zimmerman came from Wayne County, Ohio, in 1845, and located at Delta, where they died. They had nine children, including Martin, who was a drummer boy during the Civil war. Mart Zimmerman will be remembered by many for his activity in organizing, or being one of the principal organizers of the Grand Army Drum Corps, and the Fulton County. Martial Band, which eventually took the place of the G. A. R. Drum Corps. For more than a generation he was prominent in such connection, the last occasion being that of the appearance of the band at the Grand Review of the G. A. R., at the -Toledo Encampment, in 1908. He died in 1910. For thirty years he was a member of the U. B. Church. Simon Zimmerman, his brother, was throughout his life a prominent resident of Delta. For fifty-seven years he was a carriage and wagon builder in Delta, and was eighty-seven years old in the year of his death, 1911. He was one of the thirty-eight men who voted at the pioneer election of the village of Delta; and he held several official connections with the local administration in later years. For eleven years he was township trustee, and was thrice elected mayor of Delta. 384 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY Garner Tremain settled on sections 25 and 36. He and his wife, Elizabeth, were formerly of New York State. John and Elizabeth Batdorf settled on section 21 in 1842, where they raised a large family, including Aley M., "one of the pioneer teachers of the county," and for many years a deputy surveyor of Fulton county, and Aaron B., who became an active and useful citizen of Wauseon. He died in December, 1918, and his brother, Aley M., not long afterwards. The latter was a teacher in Fulton county schools for thirty-seven winters. Henry Fluhart located on section seven, and was one of the most hospitable of the invariably hospitable and openhearted pioneers. His son, James, is referred to -in the Press chapter, he being among the pioneer newspaper editors of the county. The Rev. Uriah Spencer was one of the settlers in 1835, located on section 17. He was at one time auditor of Lucas county, and was one of the pioneer Methodist preachers of the neighborhood, although he came into the region to settle, and not to take clerical charge, his health having broken down. There are many references to his work elsewhere in this volume. Uriah Spencer married into the Mikesell family, and his son William married Emma Donaldson, who bore her husband eleven children, among them Frank, who still has the homestead in York Township, and is a successful farmer. James Donaldson, who came into York Township in 1835, or 1836, was a veteran of the War of 1812 and although there is no record of it, it is believed that he was buried in Fulton county. Stephen R. Stebbins settled in York Township in 1844, entering land in section seven. His wife, whom he married in Cuyahoga County, Ohio," in 1840, was Sarah Abbott. Mr. Stebbins was early a justice of the peace in York Township, and also held other minor offices. He retired to Wauseon in 1883. The Biddle family has been prominent in Fulton county history, especially in Wauseon. Samuel Biddle and his wife, Elizabeth, settled in York Township in 1842,on section seventeen. They allowed their cabin to be used as a school building, in the early '40s, some of the pupils being their own children. One of them, Stillman C., was for twenty-one years a justice of the peace in York Township, and for a period was township clerk. He later .took up residence in Wauseon, and was long a member of the Baptist Church of that place. He died in 1916, aged eighty-two years. Many other men of worthy record in Fulton county are of the same patryonymic, but are not of the family of Samuel. George D. Biddle settled in York Township in 1855, coming from Richland County, Ohio and he also had a son named Stillman, and one named Samuel A. They were both successful farmers in York. Another of his sons was John L. who developed a fine farm in York Township, and later retired to Delta. Another Biddle family was that headed by Jacob Biddle, who settled in Clinton Township in 1855, buying a farm from Elisha Williams, the pioneer settler of that township. Mark Berry came from Holmes County, Ohio, in 1842. His son, Mark W. Berry, who died in 1913, aged seventy-seven years, was well-known in Wauseon. For forty years he was a member of the Christian Church. HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 385 John Harrison is supposed to have come into York Township in 1840, or in about that year, and settled on section seventeen.. For many years after locating in the township, he conducted a blacksmithing business on his farm. He married Elizabeth Wardley. Their son, Alfred D. Harrison, for the greater part of his life was a successful farmer in York. Benjamin Skeels was a stalwart pioneer. He and his wife and family came in 1840, and suffered many hardships during the first few years; in fact, Mrs. Skeels died three years after coming to Lucas county. An incident connected with her burial will give an indication of some of the handicaps under which the pioneers labored. It appears that the day of the funeral was a wet one, and owing to the state of the roads only the male members of the family accompanied the body to the graveside. The coffin, a roughly hewn one, was placed into an ox-wagon, and as the wagon with attendants passed what is now known as the Segrist farm, the state of the road at that point was so bad that the water almost ran into the wagon box. Upon. another occasion, Benjamin Skeels worked for George Wright for twenty-two days, in order to earn sufficient to purchase a barrel of flour (worth at that time about fifty cents a bushel, at the mill). And in order to get the flour he had to go to Maumee, the journey both ways taking five days. Thus he labored for practically four weeks for a barrel of flour. Later, Benjamin Skeels carried the United States mail, from Waterville to Fort Wayne, passing over the old plank road, which went through Delta. His daughter' Sarah Skeels, recollected that her father once stated that at Emerling's Corners, east of Delta, there was a toll gate during the days of the plank road. The mail route passed through West Barre and Ridgeville. R. C. Skeels, now of Wauseon and in his eighty-fourth year, narrated some of his pioneer experiences in 1918. He is now practically confined to. his couch, by paralysis, but his recollection of early days in York Township is vivid. He was, in 1918, somewhat amused at the complaints made at that time by people who felt the "hard times" brought to the country by prosecution of the World War. He said: 386 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY "With all the restrictions that the government is placing upon U.S that we might win the war, we scarcely know what poverty, or hard times, means. I was born in Seneca county, this state, and when three and a half years old came to this county, April 20, 1840. My parents located on the farm now owned by A. T. Skeels, in York Township. There was not a foot of it cleared, and for miles and miles it was a dense forest. "Within one week after our arrival, we were in our own home, a log shanty built without the use of a nail. This new home had a door and two windows. "We had to go to Waterville for mail and flour, and it took us from two to four days to make the trip. The roads in York Township were trails, which wound over the ridges. Two of these old trails, from Providence and Waterville, met near where the Raker Church now stands in Swan Creek Township. Over these trails we used to drive with our oxen and lumber wagons, and we were just as happy as the boys and girls of today, as they go gliding along over the fine roads in their autos. I am glad they have things better than we had it, though I doubt if they have any more real pleasures than we. The gasless Sunday, and the two pounds of sugar, did not bother us in those days. Gasoline was unknown, and to have had two pounds of sugar would have been a luxury. "There were only twelve voters in the township when we first located in York. There were no schoolhouses, but a little later Mrs. Pray taught in a log house "When we came here the Indians had gone, but a number of their log, or pole, houses with pole roofs, still stood. There were plenty of wolves here in those days, but they did not molest the people, but bothered the sheep and poultry. "I was married to Elizabeth Frederick, January 13, 1859, and we started housekeeping in a log house, on what is now Jonah Seymour's farm. We hauled all our household goods in a wagon, in one load "Of that (Skeels) pioneer family, one brother was killed at Atlanta in the Civil war another brother, A. T., lives on the old home farm; and two half-sisters, Sarah and Callie Skeels, reside in Wauseon. “The pioneers who lived in the county (York Township) when we first came here, and whom I remember, were: John Wise, who lived on the Jas. Schamp farm; Garner and Warren Tremain, (who lived where Jud Smith now lives; William Cheadle owned the Jacob Segrist farm ; John Miller lived across the road from us, in what was then Henry county ; Nate Wright, father of N. C: Wright, of this city, owned the George Myers farm." The Segrist family is one of long residence in York Township, although it can hardly be termed one of the pioneer families, excepting insofar as it has participated in pioneer clearing of wild land. Jacob Segrist bought the William Cheadle farm. The first of the Segrist family to come into York Township was John B., who came in 1853 from Stark County, Ohio. He developed a valuable farm of 240 acres, and built a fine farm home. The Segrist family record is extensively referred to in the second volume of this work, and further reference is unnecessary here, unless one gives a personal reminiscence of Jacob Segrist, who remembered "pounding stakes for the Lake Shore HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 387 Railroad" in 1853 ; and at that time, at Wauseon, "there were two. swamps where the railroad park is now situated," he stated ; also saying that "a north and south Indian trail traversed what is now Ottokee Street, Wauseon, from the north, and passed near the alleyway of the present Ham Block, on Depot Street; and from there it went south, near the Omler Building, and on to the southeast near Barber's old residence, on East Leggett Street." Jacob Segrist, in 1915, was eighty-seven years old, and "looked spry and walked more like a man of fifty," commented a local newspaper. Mr. Segrist asserted that he had only been sick "one or two times in his life," and had "only had the doctor once." Of the early residents in York Township, probably one of the most widely-known in that part was Dr. William Ramsay, who for more than fifty years practiced in the county. He died in October; 1909, aged eighty-two years, fifty-seven of which had been spent in Fulton county. After he had graduated from the Reserve Medical College, at Cleveland, he returned to his home in Bolivar, Ohio, to resume school teaching and to practice medicine, but "the Great West beckoned to him, and he obeyed," states an obituary, which continues: "Taking his horse and pill bags, he started across the country to find a location, and after several days travelling arrived at Napoleon, where he expected to locate. The evening of his arrival he met a contractor, who said: "Young man! This is no place for you. Go to Delta. It's a prosperous settlement, and with the building of a railroad it will be a good location." The next morning "found Dr. Ramsay seated in his two-wheeled gig, with his horse headed for Delta. While crossing the creek, just north of Napoleon, he lost his saddlebags and medicine. He arrived in Delta with his horse, gig, and seven dollars in money. In the forests which spread over Fulton county in 1852, Dr. Ramsay found his gig of very little use to him, as most of his trips were made over cow-paths, or Indian trails. Only the physician of the pioneer days can tell of the hardships which were endured by them, as they were enroute to some settlers' cabin to offer relief, or how they became lost in the woods and were compelled to sleep out-of-doors all night. Dr. Ramsay knew what this meant, as he had endured it all." For many years Dr. Ramsay was the principal owner, latterly sole owner, of a banking business in Delta. The Bank of Delta was founded by him, and by David C. Teeple, in 1868, and it was successfully operated until the death of Dr. Ramsay, in 1909. Valentine Emerling settled in York Township in the '50s, and lived there until 1911, when he died at the age of ninety-one years. He was a man of strong character, and fine personality, and was widely-known as "Grandpa" Emerling. A reviewing of the lives of worthy York Township residents could take up many more pages of this chapter, but as many of the prominent families will be given extensive review in the second volume, the remainder of this chapter will be chiefly confined to township and town history, thus avoiding unnecessary double recording. TOWNSHIP RECORDS Unfortunately, the township records of the first thirty years have been lost, and with the exception of the fact that Martin H. Butler 388 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY. was the township clerk elected at the first election in 1836, there is nothing on record until the year 1866, when the township officers were : Simon Zimmerman, William Struble, and J. H. Williams, trustees ; Matthew Sutton, -clerk ; A. H. Smith, treasurer; Emanuel Batdorf, assessor; E. W. Cleveland, and Isaac Pontius, constables; Samuel Gertgey, John McQuilling, S. B. Brown, Charles Wright, Calvin Biddle, B. B. Biddle, Daniel Saulpaugh, John Gee, Andrew Biddle, A. H. Smith, S. G. Aumend, Samuel Pontius, R. C. Skeels, William Struble, John Elton, E. Batdorf, J. B. Segrist, and Eli Timbers, supervisors. From that time forward the record of trustees is complete. The succession is as follows: "1867, same as 1866; 1868, Simon Zimmerman, Silas B. Skeels, and Thomas Wardley ; 1868, 1870-71, Samuel O. Ayers, .S. B. Skeels, and Thomas Wardley ; 1872-73, S. O. Ayers, S. G. Aumend, T. Wardley; 1874, the same; 1875, ,S. O. Ayers, V Reuben Bond, J. B. Fashbaugh; 1876, S. O. Ayers, E. R. Bowerman, J. B. Fashbaugh; 1877, S. O. Ayers, E. R. Bowerman, George D. Biddle; 1878, Simon Zimmerman, George D. Biddle, E. R. Bowerman ; 1879, S. Zimmerman, E. R. Bowerman, J. Botsford ; 1880, same; 1881, S. Zimmerman, E. R. Bowerman, John S. Wise; 1882, S. Zimmerman, E. R. Bowerman, and J. Batdorf ; 1883, S. Zimmerman, E. R. Bowerman, Reuben Bond; 1884, Andrew J. Fralter, E. R. Bowerman, Reuben Ford; 1885, Andrew Fraker, Fayette S. Wolcott, and Reuben Ford; 1886, A. J. Fraker, E. R. 'Bowerman, Charles Harrison ; 1887, the same; 1888, A. J. Fraker, W. P. Miller, Charles Harrison; 1889, A: S. Trowbridge, W. T. Miller, Chas. Harrison; 1890, A. S. Trowbridge, W. T. Miller,, A. Waldeck; 1891, A. S. Trowbridge, S. G. Aumend, A. Waldeck ; 1892-93, the same; 1894-95, A. S. Trowbridge, Jacob Shinaberger, A. Waldeck ; 1896, A. S. Trowbridge, J. Shinaberger, and George Koos; 1897, C. F. Trowbridge, George Koos, Charles C. Wilson ; 1898-1900, C. F. Trowbridge, Alfred Rex, Charles C. Wilson ; 1901-04, J. G. Stiriz, Alfred Rex, C. C. Wilson ; 1905, Jerry Williams, A. Rex, C. C. Wilson; 1906-07, J. Williams, J. W. Miller, C. C. Wilson; 1908-09, J. Williams, J. W. Miller, T. E. Goodwin ; 1910-11, H. B. Geringer, N. J. Snyder, T. E. Goodwin; 1912-13, H. B. Geringer, N. J. Snyder, F. E. Terwilliger; 1914, H. B. Geringer, A. D. Mann, F. E. Terwilliger; 1915, K. H. Trowbridge, A. D. Mann, F. E. Terwilliger; 1916-17, K. H. Trowbridge, A. D. Mann, J. W. Leist; 1918-19, K. H. Trowbridge, C. D. Eberly, J. W. Leist; 1920, M. A. Batdorf, C. D. Eberly, J. Segrist." The present township clerk is C. F. Bower, who is also clerk of the Board of Education, and of the Delta Council. He succeeded Addison B. Thompson, as township clerk, in 1920, the latter having held the office for very many years. Addison Thompson for a generation was one of the successful business men of Delta. He was the head of a large cheese manufacturing plant established by his father in 1869. A. S. Thompson was one of the founders of the Farmers National Bank of Delta, in 1900. He was at one time county commissioner. Allen S. Trowbridge, who was a township trustee for eight years, died in 1911, aged eighty-six years. He was a Presbyterian, and was well-known throughout the county. Edward R. Bowerman, trustee for more than a decade, was "one HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 389 of the county's most prosperous and progressive farmers . . . . . . a man of strict integrity, of high moral principle and of a sunny, genial disposition." He owned a large farm in, York and Swan (Creek townships, until he retired to Delta, where he died. Andrew J. Fraker, trustee for five years, is known to most of the agriculturalists of Fulton county, in his capacity of president of the Fulton County Agricultural Society. He is a successful retired business man, and banker. For some years he was township treasurer. At the outset, the settlers in York Township had to go from twelve to twenty miles to the river for their mail, the delivery passing up the river weekly. Later, Benjamin Skeels carried the mail between the river and Fort Wayne, over the Plank Road, and then probably there were two deliveries weekly to the postoffice's along the road It is understood that the first post route established was from Toledo, via Delta, west to West Unity, in 1838, running upon the state road, which was opened in September, 1834, after a survey carried through in that year by Judge Ambrose Rice, who some years later settled in Dover Township, but only for a few years, as he died of consumption in the early '40s. York Center was the first postoffice established in York Township, that office being two and a half miles west and one mile south of Delta. There was a postoffice named Delta established by William Meeker, on the farm of S. H. Cately, in Swan Creek Township in 1838, and it became the postoffice for York Township residents. In 1842, however, the postoffice was removed to Delta. Thus, the village which 390 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY developed near the Trowbridge settlement received a name. Another postoffice, on the south, was that of Beta, which strictly was in Henry county until 1850, it being within the two mile strip then ceded from Henry county to Fulton. DELTA The village of Delta for many years was a keen rival of Wauseon, and it is still the second in importance of the incorporated places of Fulton county. It is probably the oldest village in the county, its beginning dating back to 1834, when the Trowbridge family settled nearly a mile west of the present village. In 1838 there were two families living on the banks of the creek : that of James McQuilling, on the south side of the state road ; and that of G. B. Lewis on the north side. McQuilling ran a saw and water mill, and Lewis seems to have catered to travelers. He opened what probably was the first temperance hotel in the county ; and he conducted a certain amount of trading in tea and tobacco, and maybe in other stores; although he is not considered to have been the first merchant of Delta. That honor seems to have been allotted to Eli Kitts, or James Trowbridge. James Trowbridge's store was on his farm, but Eli Kitts came from Maumee City, in 1841, and opened a store on, or near, the present site of Delta. In the next year he died, and at that time the families of Delta numbered four, the McQuilling, McKaskey, Zedaker, and Woods; and in that year, by the removal to it of the Delta postoffice, before-mentioned, the little hamlet became recognized under that name. The next storekeeper, after Kitts, was a man named Griswold. Next came Dan Cummings. By 1850, the community had undoubtedly grown to such a point that those who lived in it were justified in laying its claims to consideration before the State Commissioners, who were then in the county for the purpose of locating the seat of justice for the new county. The geographical center, where at that time no community had settled, was selected, but with the coming of the railroad, in 1854, Delta, rapidly forged ahead, and another determined effort was made in the '60s to secure the county seat. At that time, however, Wauseon had become of even greater importance, and Delta was again denied. It has, however, always been an active town ; and it comes rather as a surprise to find that the 1920 census records a decrease during the last decade. The first white child born in Delta was Mary Augusta Wood, who was born in 1841. She became a talented authoress, internationally-known. The first marriage was of William Spencer, son of Rev. Uriah Spencer, to Emma, daughter of James Donaldson. The first election was held at York Center on June 30, 1836. One of the first justices was Alfred B. Gunn, who later became a county commissioner. Dr. Erastus Lathrop was the first physician, and he lived in the first frame house built in the township. Dr. Lathrop, however, only lived in it for a few months, both he and his wife dying in 1841, the Lathrop property then passing to J. T. Gates and George Wood. In 1850, when the laying of a plank road through the township HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 391 gave good communication east and west, it spurred on the growth of Delta, but within a year after it was completed, the Lake Shore Railroad came. Thereafter,, the rapid growth of Delta seemed certain. The "Delta Independent Press," which was founded in 1854, stated in its tenth issue, that of June 7, 1854; "A connection is now formed by railway between this place and Toledo. A daily train leaves Delta at 12 noon, and returns at 7:30. It is a new era in our history The station buildings are in process of construction, and will be ready for the reception of goods by the 15th inst The rails are being rapidly laid, and soon, Wauseon, the next station, will be reached." There surely was need for better marketing facilities at that time, for, from the "Delta Market" report published in the same issue of the "Delta Independent Press," one learns that: fresh pork then sold at 4 cents a pound; salt pork at 7 cents; hams at 8 cents; butter at 10 cents; lard, 8 cents ; eggs, 8 cents; corn at 50 Cents; oats at 37 cents; beans, $1.25 a bushel; and other prices equally low. COUNCIL RECORDS Unfortunately, the first council records are not available. Still, from the Ordinance Book it is clear that the first mayor of Delta was William Critzer. And, through the courtesy of Editor Waltz, of the Delta "Atlas," it is possible to embody in this history of Delta, an important initial record, that of the original election of officers in the incorporated village. The paper gives the "Names and number of persons voting, and votes cast, at an election for one mayor, one recorder, and five trustees, for the incorporated village of Delta, held on the 10th day of October, 1863." The voters were: L. H. Upham, George Wood, B. Sanger, Peter Zimmerman, O. Waters, Wm. Zimmerman, Simon Elliott, Michael Carr, G. W. Miller, A. M. Carpenter, James Trowbridge, S. Zimmerman, J. S. Trowbridge, B. Zimmerman, W. H. Brinkham, J. D. Colt, Thomas Martin, E. W. Cleveland, G. W. Elwell, Wm. Critzer, John Odell, Thomas Gleason, Wm. Brown, T. C. Brown, Robert Hatton, D. B. Mack, J. K. Crockett, Peter Hancock, Ansel Pease, R. S. Merrill, R. J. Lee, R. Steadman, J. J. Cash, Cyrus Abbott. The judges of election were Robert Hatton, George Wood, James K. Crockett ; and they recorded the voting as follows: "For Mayor: Wm. Critzer received 16 votes; James Trowbridge received 12 votes ; Charles Cullen, 4 votes; L. H. Upham, 1 vote; for recorder, Charles Cullen, 29 votes; Wm. Critzer, 4 votes; for trustees, O. T. Clark, 30 votes; Simon Zimmerman, 30 votes; J. T. Gates, 21 votes; A. M. Carpenter, 19 votes ; D. H. Pettys, 18 votes." A lesser number of votes for election to office of trustee were cast in favor of : Peter Hancock, Thomas Kelly, J. S. Trowbridge, L. H. Upham,, Thomas Martin, George Wood, Wm. Ramsey, John Frounfelter, Wm. Critzer, and William Baker. Wm. Critzer was therefore the first mayor of the incorporated village of Delta; and Charles Cullen, the first recorder, or clerk. As far as the record can be compiled from the first Ordinance Book. of the Delta corporation, the succession of mayors is as follows: "1863, William Critzer ; 1864, L. H. Upham ; 1868, D. N. Poe; 1870-71, L. H. Upham ; 1872, Robert Hatton ; 1873-75, William H. Gavett; 392 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY 1876, L. H. Upham; 1877, W. H. Gavett; 1878, W. W. Williams; 1879, W. W. Williams; 1880, L. H. Upham ; 1881-83, Simon Zimmerman; 1884, L. H. Upham; 1888-89, Chas. Blake; 1890-93, L. H. Upham; 1894-99, N. E. Bolles; 1900-02, Wm. E. Fowler; 1903-05, George A. Everett; 1906-07, A. Y. Montgomery; 1908-09, N. E. Bolles; 1910-11, John A. Wilkins; 1912-13, F. M. Planson ; 1914-17, R. C. Holloway ; 1918-20, N. F. Carmon." The Delta Council now consists of M. W. Casler, N. S. Newill, F. J. Shumaker, F. E. Snyder, George Waldeck, B. M. Williams; clerk, C. F. Bower; treasurer, A. T. McComb. The first village ordinance was passed on March 14, 1864. On February 13, 1865, an ordinance was passed calling for the election of a treasurer and street commisisoner. The latter was to have specific duties, being required "to keep the streets clear of all wood and 'other encumbrances." The first ordinance regarding sidewalk construction was passed on May 8, 1865, and called for the construction of a board sidewalk on Adrian Street, the sidewalk commencing six feet north of south line of West Street, and extending to lot No. 74. On March 11, 1874, an ordinance was passed "to provide for the cutting down, or mowing, of all thistles and weeds, growing on the streets, or public highways, of the village." Another ordinance forbade the slaughtering of cattle before the stalls of butchers in the streets of Delta. FIRE COMPANY The Fire Department of Delta seems to have had its inception in the action of the village council in appropriating, or in authorizing the appropriation of two thousand dollars "to provide for the purchasing of a hand fire engine, hose, hose cart, and ladder wagon" for the use of the incorporated village of Delta, "or any regular organized fire department that may hereafter be formed." That ordinance was passed on September 18, 1873. A brick fire station was eventually occupied, but it cannot be determined whether the brick fire station had any connection with the action of the village council in appropriating $3,500, on November 11, 1878, "for the erection of a village hall." In March, 1880, an ordinance "to regulate the Fire Department was passed." The next reference to the subject in the Council Record Book was under date of March 30, 1885, when it was recorded that the village had purchased from Edward C. Crile, lot No. 97 in Gates' Addition for $750, with improvements thereon, "to house Fire Engine and Hook and Ladder implements." It is understood that the brick fire station (which may have been the "improvements thereon" purchased with Lot No. 97) collapsed in 1893, and that the present Town Hall was built on its site. THE TOWN HALL The collapse of the Engine House was attributable to damage sustained in the great fire which devastated the business section of Delta in 1892. But it cleared the way for the building of a town hall more in keeping with the importance of the place. On March 17, 1893, $12,000 was appropriated "to provide for purchasing a site, and HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 393 erecting a town hall thereon" and on April 23, 1894, the council authorized the acquirement "of lot No. 96, and twelve feet off lot No. 97, in J. T. Gates' Addition," for the sum of $1,950.00. The Delta Town Hall is a well-constructed public building, and provides for township as well as town offices. There is also an auditorium, and quarters for the fire station. LIGHTING On November 23, 1885, an ordinance "to allow the Delta Natural Gas Company to lay gas pipes along the streets and alleys of the village of Delta" was passed. An ordinance passed on December 16, 1889, provided "for lighting of Adrian, Main, Delta, Wood, Mill, 'Providence, and Short streets by gasoline or oil lamps." Eventually, of course, came the electric lighting. The telephone system was established in Delta in 1899; and on August 31, 1901, right was granted to "the Toledo-Bryan Air Line Railway Company to lay and operate a line of railroad along and upon Main Street." REMUNERATION TO OFFICIALS An interesting entry in the Council Records is that of April 25, 1881, when the salary of the mayor was fixed at $50.00 a year. At the same time it was decided that the clerk should receive $75.00, and the marshal $50.00, and fees. The present marshal has held office for almost twenty-five years, and the remuneration is still the same as it was in the old days. However, since Prohibition became the low of the land his fees have fallen to practically nothing; his work, likewise. In fact, whereas under the old order, the marshal was customarily 394 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY called out twice or thrice nightly, to settle some brawl, a call after nightfall would now be most unusual. Nowadays, the cell at the Town Hall is very rarely occupied. DELTA IN 1867 Interesting information as to the business section of Delta is contained in "Brown's Gazetteer of the Michigan Southern Railroad" for the year 1868, the compilation thus presumably having been made in 1867. Summarizing the village, as then developed, the "Gazetteer" stated that : "Delta contains a population of about 2,000 . . . . . . There are many good farmers, yet they have not arrived to that perfection of those along the main line. “..........Of mills there are 1 flour mill, 1 saw mill, 1 shingle mill, 1 tannery, 1 pearl ashery, 1 brick yard, 1 hotel, and about 18 stores of all kinds. Nearly three years ago it was discovered that oil could be had here by boring for it. At length a company was organized and operations commenced. After arriving at a depth of 275 feet they struck oil, coming to the top, meanwhile their tools became fast, and unable to extricate them, they were forced to abandon their enterprise, for want of energy and means. In its present condition, enough water flows from it to drive, or rather supply one steam flour mill. At a later date, the citizens, by subscription, have succeeded in boring, and have an excellent artesian well at a depth of 70 feet. This supplies the public highway with water. Churches there are three, Episcopal Methodist, Protestant Methodist, and Presbyterian ; the two latter are about erecting a large brick house for worship. Of schools, little can be said praiseworthy, except that all are schooled ; $5,000 have been raised towards erecting a new brick school building to be a graded school. Delta is a great stave station, manufacturing and shipping a large amount, some of which go to New York and Europe. Eggs and butter come next, as one of the principal exports. Of eggs alone, Messrs. Moore and Howard ship from 60 to 80 barrels every week during the season, averaging 80 dozen to the barrel." The directory showed that: "Chas. Cullin was the proprietor of the Delta Flour Mill, on Mill Street; J. T. Gates and William S. Schlappi conducted the saw mill and pearl ashery; John M. Hall ran the shingle mill, and was also a splint seat chair maker; Bates and Miller were the tanners; John H. Sheffield was the brickmaker; Christopher M. Watkins was landlord of Watkins' (or the Exchange) Hotel, on Main, corner Adrian streets; the following were grocers, or general store keepers: J. Allman and Co.; Wm. Baker, Abner P. Brainard, Chas. Canfield, Orris V. Crosby; Chas. MT. Hatton, Wm. R. Huntington, Jacob Huth, Alex G. Montgomery, John R. Parker, Jas. W. Patterson, Calvin 'Taylor, John S. Trowbridge, Richard M. Watkins; the following were druggists: Frank Briggs, W. B. Brinkham and Dr. Wm. Ramsey, the three trading as Brinkham, Briggs and Company ; Jas. W. Hatton ; Brinkham, Briggs and Company also dealt in tinware, and stoves; and Thomas Martin in the same; Miss Helen Masker was a hoop skirt manufacturer; Mrs. J. M. Butler, Mrs. Mary Hancock, Miss Millie 0. Merrill, and Mrs. S. J. Stillson dealt in millinery and straw goods; Brinkham and Kohl HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 395 were saddlers ; Michael Carr and Simon Zimmerman were wagon makers; J. N. Cleland was a painter ; Chas. C. Crile and Henry H. Reighard were in partnership as blacksmiths, other blacksmiths being Geo. E. Elwell and Co., Wm. Matley ; Wm. H. Garrison was the village barber; Rufus S. Merrill was postmaster ; J. Denham Mosey was station agent; D. W. Poe and L. H. Upham were attorneys; S. P. Bishop, John Odell, Wm. Ramsey, and W. S. Webb were physicians, Dr. Ramsey being listed as 'physician for county ;' Miles S. Pray was a watchmaker; Ansel Pease a butcher; Peter Hancock, a cooper; Daniel Lilly a shoemaker; Lyman Riley, a marble worker; N. H. Simmon a stave and lumber dealer; and Wm. W. Williams the owner of a billiard saloon. There apparently was not a drinking saloon in Delta at that time." THE GREAT FIRE In 1892 the main business section of the village of Delta was almost wiped out by a destructive fire which started in the livery barn of John P. Holt, on Mill Street, just south of the Hotel Central, and swept rapidly up Main Street. The newspaper headings described it as "the most destructive fire that ever visited Fulton county" making "the beautiful village of Delta a sea of seething flame." Describing it, the Delta "Atlas" reported : "The fire was discovered in the livery barn of John P. Holt    The flames rushed out of the front doors as if from a huge furnace Almost immediately the hotel barn across the alley was on fire, and the flames reaching across the street east, and the Masonic Hall, in which was the 'Atlas' office, was doomed. "The firemen did all that men could do but the fiery fiend was master. Despatches were sent to Wauseon and Toledo, from which engines were immediately sent, which did noble work. The Delta and Wauseon engines very nearly exhausted the water supply, but fortunately the Toledo steamer had hose enough to reach the creek south of town. The sun was, fast sinking before the fire was under control. "The following is, as near as possible, a list of the losses. On Mill Street, the Hotel Central barn, Holt's livery barn, H. H. Reighard's dwelling, Reighard and Reed's blacksmith shop, and A. B. Thompson and Son's office ; "On south side of Main (Street, the residence of Mrs. Hon. O. Waters, Sam Henrick's real estate and insurance office, Masonic hall and Atlas Printing Co., Hotel Central, J. Y. Casler's barber shop, Sherm Trowbridge's saloon, building owned by E. O. Newell, Riley Allen's saloon, building owned by Snellbaker, C. A. Scott, and Son's grocery, building owned by John Thompson, W. L. Smith's grocery, building owned by H. H. Quiggle, Zelner's restaurant, Pease's meat market, and Breckenridge's barber shop; "On the north side (of Main Street), the Engine House, Houghton's grocery, Mrs. Thompson's dwelling, Dr. Bishop's residence and office, Mrs. Griffin's millinery store and Zimmerman's grocery, buildings owned by Dr. Bishop, O. A. Walker's Art Gallery, Hatfield's meat market, Montgomery's grocery, and U. S. Express office, John Atkinson's grocery and warehouse,. Mrs. Casler's residence, Sargent Bros. & Saxton s dry goods store, Fowler Bros' clothing and Crisman Bros. Hardware. All the warehouses and packing houses in the rear of these also went; 396 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY "On Front Street, all of the Briggs' warehouses. Dr. Worden's barn, J. W. Davis' brick building, Dr: Wilkins' office, Bolles' livery barn, Gilbert's dwelling and barn, C. Zerman's residence, buildings owned by Montgomery and McGurer's livery barn. "The loss will run to nearly $200,000. Very' little contents were saved." The "Atlas" printing plant was completely destroyed, and some of the issues of the following weeks were printed on the press of the "Tribune", at Wauseon. The fire occurred on August 18, 1892. The Masonic Hall was one of the first buildings to be destroyed. However the Masonic bodies are very strong in Delta, and ere long an imposing new brick temple took the place of the old Masonic Hall. It stands on the south side of Main Street, almost opposite the town hall, and is used by the Fulton Lodge, No. 248, of Delta F. & A. M.; by the Octavius Waters Chapter, No. 154, R. A. M.; and by the Aurora Chapter, No. 75, Delta, Order of Eastern Star. The original charters of two of these Masonic bodies were destroyed in the fire, but the following information is on record: "Fulton Lodge, No. 248, F. & A. M. was organized on October 19, 1854, with the following charter members: Daniel Knowles, Octavius Waters, Robert Bloomfield, Daniel W. Fashbaugh, Martin H. Butler, W. D. Herrick, Myron Williams, Julius N. Marsh, Isaac Springer, Elisha Williams, Chester Scott. It was thus the first Masonic Lodge organized in Fulton county, and as will be noted, it drew members from other townships than York. "Octavius Waters Chapter, No. 154, of Royal Arch Masons, was formed on October 8, 1886. The charter members were: Octavius Waters, N. E. Bolles, S. B. Skeels, Frank Briggs, Ed. E. Harris, A. Y, Montgomery, D. W. Fashbaugh, John W. Crisman, E. R. Bowerman, James Fenton, John Shoffner, Thomas B. Waters, L. D. Boyer, C. W. Hatton, H. S. Isbell, W. J. Clizbe, S. G. Aumend, C. J. Wilford, S. P. Bishop, A. L. Sargent, Chas. Blake, Frank Hatton, R. N. Murray J. C. Vaughn, J. B. Fashbaugh, Eli Timbers, J. A. Wilkins, Ozias Mer- HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 397 rill, A. B. Thompson, S. T. Worden, M. S. Sargent, Henry Knepper, and A. Q. Price. By the consent of the Fulton Chapter, of Wauseon, a dispensation was granted for the organization of the Octavius Waters Chapter, on April 26, 1886. The first officers were: Frank Hatton, high priest; A. B. Thompson, king; Frank Briggs, scribe; S. T. Worden, c. of h. ; Jacob Pratt, r. s. ; N. H. Keiser, r. a. c. ; N. E. Bolles, 3rd v. ; A. Y. Montgomery, 2nd v. ; C. J. Willford, 1st v..; J. A. Wilkins, treas.; W. H. Gavitt, sec. ; John Shoffner, guard. "Aurora Chapter, No. 75, Delta Order of Eastern Star, was organized in October, 1897, with the following charter members: Z. Maud Ramsey, W. E. Ramsey, Hattie Thompson, Addison B. Thompson, Ira Thompson, Dora Thompson, Eva Grandy, Fred Grandy, Carrie Miller, Louisa Quiggle, Clarence C. Quiggle, Meda Longnecker, Grace Waltz, C. R. P. Waltz, Mary E. Montgomery, Mary J. Huntington, Julia Hatton, Emma Crisman, Minnie Sargent, Octavia Saxton, W. T. Saxton, A. B. Thompson. The first officers were: Z. Maud Ramsey, w. m.; A. Y. Montgomery, w. p. ; Hattie Thompson, assoc. m." CHURCHES The present churches of Delta are the Presbyterian, Methodist Episcopal, United Brethren, liberal branch, the United Brethren, original constitution, and the Church of Christ. The Presbyterian Church of Delta has the right to the first place in the record, for it was the first to be established in the village, and township. The Presbyterian Society was active in York Township almost from the bginning of its settlement, and meetings were undoubtedly held in log cabins before the church was built. The first Presbyterian Church was built on Adrian Street, Delta, "at a very early date", stated Historian Verity ; and the present fine brick church building, which stands on the opposite side of Main Street, near the Delta trolley station, was built more than thirty-five. years ago. It suffered during a recent storm, and it was thought at one time that it would be abandoned, but it is now in comparatively good repair, and in constant use for the strong Presbyterian society of Delta. The present pastor is the Rev. Addison V. Wilson. Methodist Episcopal Church. What follows has been extracted, mainly, from the "History of the Central Ohio Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church," which stated regarding the Methodist Episcopal Society of York Township, and Delta: "In May, 1834, at the residence of Sidney Halley, located in what was known as the Six Mile Woods, now Delta, was held the first Methodist prayer meeting. The meeting was led by Sidney Halley. There were present at this meeting Halley and his wife, William Meeker and his wife, Willard Trowbridge, Lydia Trowbridge, William Fewless, Caroline Fewless, Eccles Nay, and Elizabeth Nay. In August 1834, the second public service was held, at the Eccles Nay residence. "In 1835, at his residence, Rev. Elisha Trowbridge   a local preacher .. . . . . .organized. .. . the first Methodist Episcopal society...The first Methodist Episcopal Church built in this section was built on ground donated by Rev. Elisha Trowbridge, located about one mile west of Delta. In this church, Rev. Elisha Trowbridge spent his life in faithful work for humanity, he being the only preacher in the sec- 398 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY tion for many years. The second church was built just north of the first church, on the farm of Thomas Bayes, and was ever afterwards called the Bayes appointment. "William Fewless was the original class leader. The first local preachers were Rev. Elisha Trowbridge, George Wood, and Russell Kimbel. The first regular itinerant Methodist preacher in the Delta district, which was in the Waterville circuit, was the Rev. C. Brooks. He was followed by Shortiss and Coleman, Brooks and Fleming being on the year before. Presumably, the first presiding elder, after Delta became an appointment, was John James, a good preacher, and a very sharp debater. The next preachers were A. Coleman, Chas. Thomas, and Hatch James was followed on the district by John J. Kellam. Afterwards, a man named Campbell travelled the circuit; then Liberty Prentiss and Cushman; then William Thatcher and Samuel Mower. J. J. Kellam was succeeded on the district by Wesley Brooks. The next preacher, on the then Waterville circuit, was T. J. Pope, 1845, Rev. Thomas Barkdull, presiding elder. "In August, 1847, the. North Ohio Conference formed a new mission, called Clinton (Wauseon) Mission, consisting of the following appointments, viz: Delta (then called Bayes .Meeting House, about one mile north-west of the village of Delta), York Centre, William Bayes, Clinton Township, Lutes, in German township, Gorham, and Chesterfield. "In 1847, B. Herbert was the preacher on the mission, with T. Barkdull presiding elder, Barkdull was a very fine preacher and long lived in the affection of the people. When B. Herbert travelled Clinton Mission, in 1847, the most prominent villages west of Maumee and Toledo, and north of Defiance, were Bryan, West Unity, and Hicksville. There were but few brick or frame houses west of Maumee River, and Maumee City then was the place where the principal milling and trading was done as far west as Wauseon. "In 1848, the Rev. A. Foster was sent to the Mission. Geo. W. Breckenridge was presiding elder in 1849, and Octavius Waters in 1850. "In the Bayes Church, the Rev. Octavius Waters held one of the greatest revivals of religion ever witnessed in this section. In 1849, the name was changed from Clinton Mission, to Chesterfield Circuit. In 1851 James McKern was the preacher-in-charge, and Wm. C. Pierce was presiding elder. In 1852, John Crabbs and A. Hollington were the preachers; in 1853 James Evans and John Frounfelter. In 1854, James Evans and J. W. Thompson, with David Gray, presiding elder. In 1855, the circuit was first named Delta Circuit, with Martin Perky, pastor, who also travelled the circuit in 1856. "The first Methodist Episcopal Church in Delta was built by the Rev. Wood in 1856, at a cost to the society of $1,000. Rev. Georg, Wood often preached there, but the first pastor to occupy the pulpit was Rev. Martin Perky. Rev. David Gray was on the circuit at the time of the dedication of the original church in Delta. "The pastoral succession from 1856 to the present, as nearly as can be ascertained is as follows: W. W. Winters and D. D. S. Reigh; D. D. S. Reigh and G. W. Money; A. B. Poe and P. S. Slevin ; A. M. Carey, G. W. Miller, B. Herbert and C. Hoag, S. B. Maltbie, A. C. Barnes, John R. Colgan, A. Coleman, N. B. C. Love, Wm. Deal, John F. Davies, Nathaniel Barter, G. W. Miller, Rd. Wallace, C. W. Taney- HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 399 hill, J. A. Ferguson, J. H. Fitzwater, P. Biggs, J. M. Mills, Jefferson Williams, Isaac Newton, Daniel Carter, Fs ederick Miller, W. W. Scoles, Jacob Baumgartner, F. W. Stanton, F. A. Zimmerman, A. S. Watkins, J. W. Donnan, M. D. Scott, C. A. Moore, P. Ross Parrish, and H. W. Hodge (the present pastor). "Delta was first made a station in September, 1871 N. B. C. Love was the first resident pastor, and L. A. Belt presiding elder. In 1881, the parsonage was sold, and the proceeds, with additional subscriptions, invested in building the present brick parsonage adjacent to the church. "On September 15, 1889, Dr. Earl Cranston, of Cincinnati, Ohio, dedicated a new church building, erected of brick, at a cost of $10,000. "The Delta church has a notable record in Sunday School work. It has been stated that the first Sunday school in that section was a Methodist Episcopal Sunday school. It was organized in 1839, by Willard Trowbridge, Joseph Jones, and William Fewless. Mrs. Mary McClure, Mrs. Sylvia Thayer, and Mrs. Hannah Carpenter were prominent in the early years of the establishment of the school in Delta proper, and from that organization has grown the present prosperous Sunday school of more than three hundred. "For Sunday school purposes, an addition was made to the church in 1908, at a cost of $2,500." United Brethren Church (Liberal Branch), ' was organized in Delta by the Rev. Samuel Klotz, revivalist, who began to preach in the circuit in 1876. At first the meetings were held in the hall above Trowbridge's dry goods store. Later, an arrangement was made whereby the U. B. Society might have the use of the Free Methodist church for their meetings. About thirty-five years ago the members built a frame church 'building, on the corner of Madison and Palm-wood streets, and have since worshipped in that building, which has been twice added to. The church building was dedicated by Bishop Weaver, and was erected during the pastorate of the Rev. George Crawford. The present (1920.), pastor is the Rev. Lewis Moore, and the church has about one hundred members, also a strong Sunday school. The United Brethren Church (old order, or as it is sometimes termed, radical branch, to distinguish it from the liberal branch) separated from the other part of the U. B. Society of Delta in 1889, not being able to countenace modern interpretations of the original constitution of 1841, to which they desired to adhere strictly and rigidly. The members were of the original Delta U. B. Society, and felt that instead of being the offshoot, they were the original society, and as such were entitled to have the use of the frame church that had been built. They were opposed in such desire by the liberal branch, and the resulting litigation went even to the Supreme Court of the United States. William H. Taft, later president of the United States, was at that time a justice of the Supreme Court, and he decided in favor of the liberal branch of the U. B. society. Consequently, the radicals were compelled to seek another meeting house. They erected a church building of concrete blocks about ten years ago, at a cost of $2,300, and have since been governed by the rigid requirements, as to personal conduct and particularly as to the rule on secrecy, of the original constitution of their church. The Delta (radical) Society now numbers about fifty members.