450 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY   John and Jane (Mason) Nobbs, who were both born, and in fact married, in England, lived in Fulton Township for the remainder of their lives. They were the parents of nine children, and they passed through much privation during the first year in Fulton Township. Their son William died a month or so before their log cabin was ready, and at that time they either lived in their wagon (the month was November), or in the small cabin erected by Isaac Day in Swan Creek; and they had moved into their new cabin only a few months before another child was born to them, their son, James H., who was born on June 2, 1836, and eventually became one of the successful and progressive farmers of the township, active in school and township administrations. John Nobbs reached the age of seventy-four years, and then was killed in a runaway accident. His wife reached the ,age of seventy-nine years. James Nobbs, who was one of the first children if not actually the first white child, born in Fulton Township, lived a long and useful life, and in 1907,. narrated some of his reminiscences to Mr. Reighard, editor of the "Fulton County Tribune." The article stated that: "He well remembers the time when the Indians roamed through the forests of the county, when deer and wild turkey were plentiful, and when it was not an uncommon occurrence to run across a big bear, or a wild cat, in going from one settlement to another. "In his boyhood days, the public highways were only trails blazed through the woods along the ridges. There were no public improvements in those days, said Mr. Nobbs, for it was all that those early settlers could do to provide for the necessities of life, let alone looking after public improvements. With the exception of the little settlement around Ai, our nearest neighbors were several miles away. Delta was then a little settlement, where J. T. Gates kept a small store. The most of the business in those times was transacted at Maumee. I remember well seeing a settler starting for Maumee with his yoke of oxen, and with two or three neighbors' grist piled on his wagon. Sometimes, two or three settlers would go together, and take along enough grist for each family in the settlement. It required three or four days to make the journey. . . . . . . . . . . "During the '40s, Ai was an important trade center of the county. The Toledo and Angola Road was the main route of travel east and west then, as there was not a railroad in the county. It was located about a day's journey out of Toledo, and many a weary traveler was glad to find a welcome, and a place to stay all night, at the tavern at Ai. Many of the smaller Indian traders would come there to secure their stock of goods. With the building of the Lake Shore Railroad, the business at Ai began to decline." Gideon W. Raymond, one of the pioneer school teachers of Fulton and Swan Creek Townships, came in 1834, and settled on section 32, town 8 north, range 8 east. It has been stated that he "taught school in the first schoolhouse in the Clark District in 1837." That was not possible for the official record for that pioneer school district shows that the log schoolhouse was not raised until November 29, 1838, and there is no record of the appointment of any teacher, or of the holding of school during 1838, in that schoolhouse. The first reference to a teacher, and to a session of school, was HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 451 on June 8, 1839, when "the householders of School District No. 3, Swan Creek" met, under the chairmanship of Cyrus Clark, and voted: "that we have three months school, to commence during the month of August next, to be taught by a female." It is possible that there was a winter term of school in 1838, and that Gideon W. Raymond was the teacher, but from another record it seems more than probable that that schoolhouse, although built in November of 1838, was allowed to remain idle until the Autumn of next year. One record states that "in November 1837 (it must have been 1838), the pioneers built a log schoolhouse in the district. Isaac Day, wishing his daughter to learn to write, put in a writing desk for her use. Gideon W. Raymond taught the district school that winter." Possibly, Gideon Raymond had Isaac Day's daughter as his sole pupil that winter. Gideon Raymond was appointed a director of that school district in 1840, other directors being John Nobbs and George Black. Raymond was also appointed clerk and treasurer of that district, and "qualified" by Nathaniel Leggett, who then was clerk of Swan Creek Township. Raymond on December 2, 1840, was also "employed to teach school three months for forty-five dollars"; and in the following March, he agreed V. accept forty-four dollars for the three months of teaching. A "female" succeeded him, agreeing to teach for a remuneration of $1.50 a week. But Raymond for several years thereafter taught in the larger Ai school, and for many years was prominent in school affairs. For some years he was also a justice of the peace. John Viers settled with his family on section 5, town 7 north, range 8 east (Ohio survey), in 1834, and lived for more than forty years in the township. He was one of the pioneer school directors, being. "appointed, and authorized, and required to perform the several duties of school director" by William Meeker, town clerk, in 1839; and he was also appointed clerk and treasurer of the same district in that year. He raised a family of thirteen children, nine of whom were boys. Five of these saw military service during the Civil war, and were of good civil record afterwards. Africa Spaulding, also of settlement in 1834, lived in Fulton Town- ship for almost a half-century. He died in 1881, having during his residence developed a good property in section 2, town 7 north, range 8 east. The brothers Ezra and Abraham Willcox came into Fulton in 1835, from Connecticut. Ezra was a typical "Connecticut Yankee"; he peddled clocks of Connecticut make throughout, the township and county. Abraham settled in township 10 south, range 4 east (Michigan survey), where he lived until his death, in 1852. The Dennis family has held connection with Fulton Township since the beginning, Joseph Dennis having settled on section 1, town 10 south, range 4 east, in 1835. Four generations of the family have had residence in Fulton Township, Joseph and Mary (King) Dennis becoming the parents of nine children, including six sons, some of whom remained in Fulton. Joseph Dennis died in Amboy, in 1886. His son Isaac purchased, a property in Fulton Township, adjoining that of his father, and had made it a fine farm when the Civil war began. He enlisted, and met death in national service, at Fort Pow- 452 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY hatan, Virginia, in 1864, a calamitous ending to a worthy patriotic purpose, which set the national cause before personal interests and family ties. He left a widow and eight children, seven of whom were boys. The eldest son followed the father into the Union Army, and was more or less incapacitated for the remainder of his life, in consequence of the hardships he had had to endure while campaigning. Andrew J. purchased the parental farm from his co-heirs, and took active interest in township affairs, undertaking trusteeship and other township responsibilities. His mother lived a widowhood of more than thirty years. Alexander Vaughan came from Holmes county, Ohio, in the spring of 1835, settling on section 3, town 10 south, range 4 east. They were of Irish origin, and before coming to Ohio had lived in Pennsylvania. Alexander Vaughan married Rebecca Jones in 1827, in Tuscarawas county, Ohio. He only lived in Fulton Township for twelve years, death coming in 1847, at the age of forty-seven years; but he was a useful organizer, and took active interest in township work. Ten children were born to him and his wife, who afterwards married Thomas C. Berry. Two of his sons were soldiers in the Union Army; and, it is claimed, that one of them, James C. was the first white child born within the present boundaries of Fulton Township. The date of his birth was August 30, 1835. He was prominently identified with Fulton Township and Swanton affairs for many decades, and at one time held county office, as county commissioner. He was one of the leading republicans of the Swanton district, and one of the oldest Masons of that place. His agricultural property was about four miles distant from Swanton; part of it eventually passed to his son. Jacob Hamp, who came from Holmes county, Ohio, also in 1835, also gave two sons to the nation during the Civil war. Jacob's family consisted of five boys, and he was quite elderly at the time of settling. He died in 1850, but his widow lived with her son, John, at Ai, for a further twenty-nine 'years, and attained the extreme age, it is said, of one hundred and seven years. She was a woman of extraordinary endurance, and "was quite a good physician and nurse." It was stated that "on many a night she rode from two to six miles on horseback, at the calls of these pioneers, often through storms and muddy roads, to render relief to the sick." William and Sarah (Miller) Stair settled on section 35, in 1835 or 1836, coming from Richland county. He cleared, by "herculean labor," 120 acres before he died in 1848. Of his children, two were sons, and both became soldiers during the war, John being twice taken prisoner, and incarcerated, first, in the historic and dreaded Libby Prison, at Richmond, Virginia, and, after parole and recapture, in Andersonville Prison, Georgia, which was worse. John, later, took a farm in Amboy, but Josiah tilled the parental acres in Fulton Township until he died. He was township trustee for some years, and held other offices, and both were classed with the worthy pioneers of the county. Shubal Nixon came in 1835, but later moved into Michigan. The Baynes family is now in its fifth generation of residence in Fulton county. Jacob Hayes and his father came to Fulton Township in HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 453 1835, or 1836. The father died five or six years later, but Jacob settled near Luke's Corners, and reared a good family. His son George H. became a resident of Swanton ; and his son, Edgar E., also lived most of his life in Swanton. Joseph Babcock, a pioneer of 1835, was a pioneer school teacher, and a most capable one. He died in 1868, leaving a widow and six children. One son, Robert J., was justice of the peace for some years. William H. Harris, who lived on section 4, town 7 north, range 8 east, from 1835 to 1837, was supposed to have been murdered. His death was a sensational happening in that settlement, where every house was open, and the latch string ever out. His wife died in 1836, and was the first person to be buried in the Viers Cemetery. David Born, who came from Tuscarawas county, Ohio, in 1853, paid $400 for forty acres of land which either was part of, or adjoined, that which William H. Harris had owned sixteen years earlier; and he paid another $100 for a contiguous acre upon which a log cabin had already been built. That, presumably, was the former home of Mr. Harris. Born used it as a wagon shop, being a wheelwright. He also was a skilful carpenter, and erected many of the frame houses and barns in the township. He was a township trustee during the years of the Civil war, and with Wells Watkins is said to have organized the first Sunday School in the township. One of his sons, Albert, met his death, while campaigning during the Civil war. Another son, James J., eventually purchased the homestead farm, and took part in the pioneer effort to centralize the schools of Fulton Township. David Born was somewhat gifted in mechanics, and got appreciable financial return from the sale of one of his inventions. Hiram and Cyrus Clark settled in Fulton in 1835, and the name is frequently encountered in pioneer school history of Fulton Township. Hiram was one of the first school directors appointed by the town clerk of Swan Creek, and the first meeting, to organize the school district, was held in his house. Their property passed to members of the Watkins family eventually. Ami (or Ammi) Richards, and his wife, Percia Pease, came from the East to Medina county, Ohio, in. 1835, and in the next year to Lucas county, settling in what became Fulton Township, on section 9, town 10 south, range 4 east. He lived there for almost fifty years, death coming in 1884, he being then seventy-nine years old. Five years later his widow died. Mr. Richards was of studious inclination, and known as a bibliophile; and he was much respected in the township, for many years serving as township treasurer. They had six children, two.of whom were sons. Both served in the army during the Civil war. Henry 0., later became a prominent man in the township, was a successful building contractor, and farmer, and held several township offices. He succeeded to his father's farm. David Springer came with his wife and children from West Sullivan, Maine, to the village of Maumee in 1836, and seem to have settled on section 4, town 10 south, range 4 east, of Swan Creek, in the same year. That was his home until his death, in 1866. Two of his sons became prominent in county affairs, Stephen in the Lucas county administration, and Isaac in Fulton county. Isaac Springer's life has been reviewed in the Clinton Township chapter of this volume. He 454 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY was a merchant in Ai from 1853 to 1858, and for many years thereafter in Wauseon. Robert Pennel settled in 1836, but later removed to Napoleon. He, and three of his sons served in the army during the war. The Watkins family is of record in many townships of Fulton county. Four brothers, two of whom were Christopher and Robert, came into the region in "the early '30s," and entered 1,000 acres of land in .Pike and Fulton townships. Robert settled on section 3, town 7 north, range 8 east, of Fulton in 1836; and Christopher also seems to have settled in the township. George W., son of Wesley, and grandson of Christopher Watkins, was born in Fulton Township in 1846, and maintained possession of Fulton Township land throughout his life. And many other men of that patronymic have creditable record in Fulton and neighboring townships' history. Samuel Durgin, one of the most prominent and capable of the early settlers of Fulton Township, came from New Hampshire in 1837, and settled on section 6, town 10 south, range 4 east. As the years went by and he took part in public affairs, he proved himself to be a sincere, capable, and strong man. He was one of the pioneer school teachers; one of the first school examiners; a conscientious and impartial justice for many years; and a man who exercised strong influence among his fellows throughout his life. He held county office for some years, and in consequence removed to Wauseon, where he died, in 1872 or 1873. His widow, Louisa (•hamberlain) Durgin, lived until January, 1900, being then in her eighty-eighth year. She had lived in Wauseon for twenty-eight years and was lovingly known to very many as "Grandma" Durgin. She was married to Samuel Durgin in 1833, and in the same year they came from New Hampshire to Trumbull county, Ohio, and from there, in the spring of 1837, to Maumee. In 1838, an obituary states, the Durgins "came to Fulton county settling first in Amboy Township,, and later, in 1841, moving into Fulton Township." As a matter of fact, they located on land which was taken from Amboy and made part of Fulton, when the latter township was erected in 1841. "In 1872" states the obituary, "their last change of residence was made—to the village of Wauseon. Ten days after their arrival in their new home Mr. Durgin departed this life. " The Merrill family is another which has prominent place in Fulton county records. Levi Merrill, with his family, came from Wellington, Maine, in May, 1838, settling on section 4, town 10 south, range 4 east, which was his home for the greater part of his life. He died, of paralysis, at the home of his son-in-law, John Bracken, in Fulton Township, in 1881, being then seventy-nine years old. His wife, Lucy, died in 1872. Their sons Naaman and Ozias were both of notable record in pioneer Fulton—in the county as well as the township record. Naaman's life has been reviewed hereinbefore; Ozias, who died on October 24, 1901, aged seventy-four years, lived a useful life; his public record included six years as county auditor; and in 1873 he was elected to represent Fulton county in the Constitutional Convention, which constitution however was not accepted by the state. His first wife was Jane Vaughan, and one of their children was Frank C., who took over the parental farm, and became a useful HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 455 public worker in Fulton Township. J. E. Merrill, son of Ozias Merrill, was county auditor for two terms in Fulton county, and Horace Merrill, another son, was probate judge of Lucas county. The Merrill family certainly is deserving of good place among the builders of Fulton county. Jonathan Wood is a name frequently encountered in the records of early Fulton. He was one of the pioneer school teachers; was the first clerk of Fulton Township and was one of the charter members of the Presbyterian Church. He was a sincere and active Christian, organizing the first Sabbath school of the Presbyterian denomination in Fulton Township, and for many years he was its superintendent. He settled in the township in 1838, and died in 1879. During the Civil war he was a nurse in a military hospital. The Canfield family also comes prominently into Fulton Township and county records. Of good colonial Connecticut stock, the Canfield family had several representatives in early Fulton, part settling in Chesterfield and Clement and Hartman in Fulton Township, in 1838. Arthur B. Canfield, son of Clement, was treasurer of Fulton county, in the ;60s, and several of the family saw service during the Civil war, keeping up the record of that family, which contributed members to the army of Washington, and the forces of 1812. The name also appears in the list of Fulton county soldiers of the World war. H. A. Canfield's great work in developing the county, by reclaiming the Black Swamp of Bean Creek, in Gorham Township, is worthy of record here. A local quip, which in reality is a serious tribute to his work, states that, "God Almighty made the earth, but Herman Canfield reclaimed the Black Swamp." Luther Dodge, who was early in Fulton Township, probably in, or before, 1838, settled on section 11, town 10 south, range 4 east. He was one of the early school teachers, and upon his farm he conducted a store, probably the first in the township, between the years 1839 and 1844. He then went to Maumee, the county seat, having been elected sheriff of Lucas county. He was a man of good business ability. It was either during his time, or soon after the place had passed' into the possession of the Witt family, that a very palatial residence was built upon that homestead. A family record states that the residence "which ,at the time was looked upon as a veritable mansion" was "erected prior to their removal here.' After a half-century it stood practically intact, as "one of the stately old homes of the county." It was probably built by Luther Dodge, who succeeded well in his early merchandising enterprises. Horatio Witt went to California in 1851, and returned in 1854, having succeeded in gold-mining ventures. Afterwards, he added to his farming acreage, and made his property "one of the model farms of Fulton Township." Isaac Fauble came into the township in 1842, and settled on section 5, town 7 north, range 8 east. He and his wife Rachel A. Watkins) were born in Wayne county, Ohio, and his family was of German origin. Isaac lived in Fulton Township until his death, in 1873, at the age of fifty-eight years. His widow lived for a further thirteen years, and they raised five of their six children. The family is still in the township, their son Robert W., continuing in possession of the 456 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY farm, which passed, in course of time, to his sons. One of the daughters of Isaac Fauble married Andrew J. Fraker. Samuel Dowling came in 1842, from Trumbull county, Ohio, and settled on section 3, town 10 south, range 4 east. He was a typical pioneer, capable, generous, and industrious. He raised a fine family. His son Daniel became sheriff of Fulton county ; and Patrick sheriff of Lucas county, and eventually postmaster at Toledo. His younger son, James, remained on the old homestead in Fulton Township, and a decade or so ago passed it on to his son, Henry. James Dowling was a venerable old man, classed with the pioneers, when, in 1907, he narrated some of his early experiences to Mr. Reighard, then editor of the "Fulton County Tribune." He then stated: "I was born in Trumbull county, this state, in 1835. My father owned a small farm in that county, but he became discontented and wanted to go west. So he sold his farm and, putting his family into a covered wagon, started westward through the forest, for Iowa. Day after day we rode through the forest, fording rivers, building roads over bogs, and ever pushing westward, for my father was a man of determination. Some time we would go days without seeing a settler, and to a boy seven years old the journey became very tiresome. After several weeks' journey we came to what seemed to me to be the sea. It was the Maumee River at Toledo. I remember it well, for, on driving onto the old ferry, which was made of logs pinned together, the team became scared, and threatened to jump over the railing into the water. It was just at sunset, and the. red sky, the dark water, the creaking logs all combined to cast a gloom over me which I will never forget. "After crossing the river, we, camped on the bank that night where the city of Toledo now stands. There was no sign of a city then, and only a few houses could be seen. Father could have bought any of this land at that time for ten dollars per acre. My brother Dan was taken sick, and as we traveled he grew worse. When we reached Ai, my brother was so sick that we were compelled to abandon the wagon, and seek shelter in an old shanty that stood on the farm now owned by Frank Merrill. For several weeks it was a question whether he would recover or not, but finally he began to improve in health, and in a few months we were able to resume our journey. But winter was coming on, and father decided to wait until spring. When spring arrived, we were so pleased with the new country, and the neighbors had been so kind, that we abandoned the idea of going to Iowa, and have lived all these years within a few miles of the place where father first settled—never leaving what is now Fulton Township. "This was a wild country during the '40s, and I remember one evening when my brother, Dan, and I were treed by a wolf, while coming home through the woods from a neighbor's. We were pretty badly scared, and I have ofttimes thought that our ability to climb a tree as quickly as a squirrel saved us much trouble. We boys were always on the lookout for wolves, and they were about the only things that we were afraid of. "Levi Merrill, grandfather of the county auditor, Daniel Berry, Caleb Vaughan. father of our ex-county commissioner, J. C. Vaughan, all lived around Ai, and were very kind and good neighbors. There HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 457 was no Swanton, no Delta, no Wauseon then. The Lake Shore Railroad was unheard of, or thought of, at that time, and all travelling was done by stage, horseback, or in emigrant wagons. You fellows who now fly over the country at the rate of a mile a minute on these fast trains, or who speed across the country in an automobile, at the rate of twenty miles an hour, can realize but little how slow our progress was, winding our way through the forest, searching for the high ground that our team might not mire. In those days, to go from my farm to Wauseon would have been a big journey for one day, whereas now the journey is made in an automobile in an hour. "From 1842 to 1860, nearly every settler in the fall was afflicted with ague and fever. The doctors in those days went on horseback from one settlement to another. Dr. William Ramsay, of Delta, was a young man then, and assisted in relieving the suffering of those early settlers. Many a time has he ridden all night through the woods, to reach some settler's cabin around Ai." Martin and Emery Wilson or (Willson) came into the township and settled in either 1833, or 1834, probably the later date, although a family record asserts that it was in 1834. Martin married Jane Fullerton, who was one of the early teachers in Fulton and Swan Creek, and they raised a large family. Martin lived on his Fulton Township farm, situated about two miles west of Ai, until he had reached nonogenarian age. The Willson family seems originally to have settled in Pike Township, in 1833, or 1834, Nathan and Margaret (Potter) Willson, parents of Martin and Emery (or Emira), the former being then about sixteen years old and Emira two years younger. Nathan Willson settled on Etna Ridge, and there one of their children, Katherine, died of consumption in 1835, her's being the first grave dug by white men on Etna Ridge. Nathan Willson died in 1840 and his wife in 1844; and it is reasonable to suppose that Martin, who would then be about twenty-six years old, had remained with his parents until about that time; and did not take up land in Fulton Township until then, or perhaps not until he married Jane Fullerton in 1845. Emery, or Emira, was a stalwart pioneer. He cleared, or finished the clearing of, three good farms in Fulton Township, and in 1892 moved to Swanton. The Fenton brothers, James and John, were among the leaders of early Fulton. They settled in 1847, and both developed good properties. John was justice of the peace for many years, and held many township offices. In the '70s, he served two terms as State Representative. And so on. Much more could be written of Fulton Township early settlers, but there is not available space. However, many of the prominent families of later Fulton will have notice in the biographical volume of this work. EARLY INDUSTRIES John W. Harter was the first to establish a grist milling business in Fulton Township. In 1835, he caused to be erected a grist-mill, for horse power, on the north part of his land, near where Winfield Cline's house later stood. The mill was known as the "Horse Mill," and had a capacity of from two to five bushels an hour. It might 458 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY have been appropriately termed the "Ox Mill," for oxen furnished the propelling power oftener than horses. The bolt of the mill was turned by hand, as one would turn a grindstone. Altogether, the mill was a primitive one, yet the flour made was probably more wholesome and nourishing than the highly bolted, or denatured, product of pres- ent-day mills. The mill was moved in 1840 one mile south to Swan Creek, and made a water mill, Harter and Stair being in partnership. Where the Horse Mill originally stood, Michael Cline, in 1853, erected a sawmill, which however was burned three years later. A grist-mill was erected at Ai, in 1866, by Miles Hayes. It ran for very many years, eventually passing into the ownership of C. Pack-ham. And Pilliod Brothers, in 1887, went into the milling business. Nicholas Q. Berry built the first sawmill, establishing it on their own farm, through which ran Swan Creek. It could only be used, however, when there was plenty of water. Tram Strong built a steam sawmill in 1852, about a mile north of Luke's Corners; in 1856 Michael Kreiger built a mill; and in about 1860 Miles Hayes put one up a short distance north of Swanton. Later, J. D. Hall built a saw and planing mill in Swanton. THE VILLAGE OF AI Ai may be supposed to have had its origin in the establishment of a postoffice, under that name, in the log-house of David Springer, at that place, in 1843. Luther Dodge had quite a large store on his land, section 11, town 10 south, range 4 east, from 1839 to 1844, but the first store in Ai was built in 1849, by Thomas C. Berry, who sold in 1851 to Henry Haughton. In 1853 Isaac Springer bought a half-interest, and in the following year Samuel Smout became his partner. In 1854 Ozias Merrill purchased Springer's interest. In connection with the store was an ashery, which brought trade. However, Ai's chances of rapid development passed when the railway was built in 1853-55. The little hamlet of Lytton, situated northwest of Ai consists mainly of a large country store, which is credited with doing a larger hardware business than that of the whole of Swanton. Regarding Ai, James Dowling, hereinbefore referred to, stated: "This being a part of Lucas county, all the business was transacted at Maumee, which was then the county seat. Here was where we went to mill, and did all our trading Ai, being located on the Toledo and Angola road, soon grew to be quite a trading center. The late Isaac Springer and 0. Merrill, conducted a store there for several years. At one time, Ai was the trading centre of the eastern part of this county, and the western part of Lucas. The Angola road was one of the principal roads of the county, and a settler coming from the east took this road, or the Plank Road, some six or eight miles north of it. With the coming of the steam and electric roads and the stoning and graveling of the public highway, Ai, like the old Roman empire lost her prestige as a commercial centre." Today, Ai is of importance only as the place in which is the excellent centralized school of Fulton Township. HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 459 THE VILLAGE OF SWANTON The promising Village of Swanton is situated partly in Fulton Township, and partly in Swan Creek. In point of population, Swanton of Swan Creek is of slightly greater importance, and the history of the village, as a whole, will be found in the chapter regarding Swan Creek Township. The pioneer settler was Joseph Miller, who owned the greater part of the land where Swanton now stands. Swanton, in 1866, was thus described by the compiler of Brown's "Gazetteer of the Michigan Southern Railroad" : "'Swanton, late Centreville, Fulton County. . . . There are only three business places there. Dr. A. L. Bassett keeps a general assortment of drugs and merchandise, and a tavern; Paul Beard, grocer; Joseph Miller, dry goods and merchandise, also station agent. There is a saw-mill half a mile north, and the town is located one-half mile south, comprising two stores, hotel, and blacksmith's shop. Swanton, from which more recently the station was named, is one and a half miles southeast; has a hotel, store, wagon, and blacksmith's shop." The population of that part of Swanton which is in Fulton Township can be separately given, for the decadal census of 1890, when it was 310 persons; in 1900 the population had increased to 465; and in 1910 to 493. During the three periods, the figures for Swanton in Swan Creek Township were: 1890, 198; 1900, 422; 1910, 565. The separate figures for 1920 cannot yet be given, but the preliminary announcement of population issued by the Bureau of the Census in June, 1920, shows Swanton to have a combined population of 1,248. SCHOOLS OF FULTON TOWNSHIP The first schoolhouse built in Fulton Township, or rather in that part of Swan Creek Township, as it then was, was erected on the southeast corner of the eastern half of the northeast quarter of section ten, town ten south, range four east, in 1836, or 1837. It was on land upon which the Rev. John Shaw had settled in 1834, but had vacated in 1835, and it was built to serve the needs of most of the families who came in 1834 and 1835, probably drawing its first pupils from the Teachworth, Lake, Boyd, Berry, Welch, Wilcox and Babcock families. It may have been the schoolhouse at which Gideon W. Raymond was the pioneer teacher, although early teachers in that house were Joseph Babcock, and Luther Dodge. It was of course built of logs, and its furnishings were of the primitive kind generally associated with such times and houses. The second schoolhouse was established in 1837, and was probably the little log house at Ai, at which Julia Chamberlain, sister of Samuel Durgin, taught the first session, in 1837. The third schoolhouse was that designated the Clark District, or District No. 3, as it officially was. That was built in 1838, and Gideon W. Raymond may have taught school there in the winter of 1838, although there is no record of a school term before that of August, 1839, when it was decided to employ a "female." Who she was is not recorded, although a statement, in an earlier historical work on Fulton county, that Harriet O'Brien "taught the first sum- 460 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY mer term in the Clark district, but was taken sick, Miss Huldah Merrill finished the term" is not quite correct, for the school records show that emergency arrangement was made in the winter session of 1841-42. Harriet O'Brien receiving $1.50 a week from November 15, 1841, to January, 1842, the entry reading "Directors agree with Huldah Merrill to continue the school commenced by Miss O'Brien (and left in consequence of sickness) and to continue it twelve weeks from the time it commenced." The Clark District was organized on July 28, 1838. On August 7, 1838, the directors met to view ground for a site, "and stuck a stake for said site on a piece of ground near the quarter post on the north line of section five, township seven." There, on November 24th, of that year, they met "according to appointment" and "commenced chopping the logs;" and five days later, on November 29, 1838, "the district met and raised a schoolhouse in said district." That schoolhouse is described in the article before-referred to by James Nobbs, whose parents settle in the neighborhood in 1835. He said: "The schoolhouse where I attended school was a log building, with desks fastened to the walls of the building. Our desks were boards fastened on wooden pins driven into the wall, while the seats were slabs split from logs put on wooden legs." School discipline was somewhat different than now. Mr. Nobbs said : "Talk about school government! That was when we had it. The teacher who could not thrash the biggest boy in school, or at least was not afraid to try it, didn't last very long. Every teacher had his water beech, and the first fellow who broke a rule was sure to receive a flogging. The first thing the teacher did was to secure order, and then came instruction ; and the question has sometimes come to me whether we had not gone to the other extreme now, and was giving too much instruction these days, without paying enough attention to discipline and order." The first frame schoolhouse in the township was probably that built in 1842, or earlier, in District No. t, "near the house of L. Dodge," as an entry in the school records of District No. 3, reads. In 1843, the directors of the Clark district arranged with Bradley Wood for a frame house, he having undertaken to build one "the size of the one in District No. 1, in this town, near the house of L. Dodge" for two hundred dollars. The frame schoolhouse built in the Ai District has been stated to have been the first built in the township, but that is not borne out by other records. James Dowling, who came into the township in 1842, in the autumn, and was then a boy of seven years, stated that : "The first schoolhouse that I know of in what is now Fulton Township was an old log building standing a short distance east of the present residence of Richard Pinkstock. It was some three or four miles from our home, and here was where I first attended school. A little later a schoolhouse was built at Ai. Like the children of all pioneers, our education was very limited. You must remember there were no free schools in those days, like we have now. Then, a school was supported by each family agreeing to give so much to pay the teacher, and to board her or him a portion of the time there was school." HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 461 A schoolhouse was opened at East Swanton in 1839, but that record will be included in the Swanton section of Swan Creek Township chapter. Samuel Durgin taught for some years in the Ai school, and Gideon W. Raymond was the teacher for at least four of its early years. Other pioneer teachers were Luther Dodge, Almeda Doughty, A. Sawyer, Lucy Clough, Margaret Emery, Jonathan Woods, Ezra Tunison, John Clendening, Elenor Johnson, Persis Scott, Ruthett Deblin, Caroline Wood, Moses Curtis, D. Allen, Lemuel Johnson, M. McCoy, William Lewis, Hartley Clute, N. S. Merrill, Eli J. Reed, Mary M. Barrett, Charles Thompson, Jane Templeton, Fanny Wood, Bethulia Day, Eliza E. McCaskey, Warren A. Harrington, Hannah Morel, (or Merrill) J. W. Taft, Esther Merrill, Charles B. Hayes, 0. W. Parrish, Alvina Griffin, C. A. Harmer, Hester Trowbridge, Amelia Quiggle, D. C. Baxter, Moses D. Grandy, Elizabeth Mack, E. Van Fleet, (or Van Vleet) David Swank, Ruth Fewless, Lisa (or Elizabeth) Lucas, Mary Fraker, E. Fassett, Clarry A. Tappan, Agnes Mecologue, Louisa Cameron, John Raker and Frank Beard. Early school directors include James Egnew, George Curtis, Thomas S. Sabin, Charles Fairchilds, Reuben Hastings, W. D. Herrick, Chester Scott, George Black, Hiram Clark, Charles Gunn, Cyrus Clark, Daniel Hollinshead, J. Thrasher, F. Chamberlain, John Viers, Gideon W. Raymond, John Nobbs, Isaac Day, Eli J. Reed, Samuel Cable, L. Dodge, Daniel H. Petteys, Thomas Watkins, Epaphrus Thompson, Stephen Watkins, William Critzer, James Watkins, Wesley Watkins, Isaac Fauble, E. S. Munger, and Thomas Martin. As to salaries paid to teachers; Gideon W. Raymond in 1840 contracted to teach a winter term of school for a stipend of fifteen dollars a month; in 1879, "Jim" (James F.) Burroughs was "hired to teach school," in District No. 4, of Fulton Township, for thirty-five dollars a month, with the possibility of dismissal at any time, the minute book of the school directors stating that "he is to quitt any time we think he don't do justice for the school. . . and he has the same right on his part to stop any time he can't get along with the school." Today, the salary expected by teachers is very near to $100 a month, or should be. As to cost of maintaining a school district, there is probably not a school district of today (certainly there is not in Fulton Township, where all have been centralized) that would not require many times the amount yearly that was needed to keep District No. 3 of Fulton Township in operation for the school year of 1841, when the cost was $44.00, $10.86 of which was borne by the county. The original log houses cost practically nothing but labor; and the first frame buildings erected in Fulton Township for school purposes cost not more than two hundred dollars; but the present fine centralized school at Ai is valued at $26,750, with fittings. The centralization of schools is a very creditable page in the history of Fulton Township. Mr: Reighard's newspaper in issue of December 18, 1908, explained briefly its development and consummation, stating, in part: "The schoolhouse of sub-district No. 2, known as Ai school, was situated almost exactly at the geographical centre of the township, This was a two-story, two-room building, and in it was maintained a 462 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY. graded school with two teachers in charge. With the gradual decline of the Village of Ai, the school enumeration became gradually smaller, consequently the attendancee was not as large as could be conveniently accommodated. When, in the spring of 1903, the teacher of the adjoining district to the west, No. 3, resigned about two months before the school term was completed, the board of education made .arrangements for the transportation of the pupils to the Ai school." Thus centralization began in Northwest Ohio, Fulton Township being the first throughout all that area to bring the theory into practice; and while their pioneer effort arose because of the exigency of the moment, the school directors who guided the change through to complete success (and there were many perplexing problems to solve before success could come) deserve to be placed on the county historical record. They were, states the "Fulton County Tribune" of December 18, 1908: Ed Smith, Henry Dowling, H. E. Wilson, John Hable, F. C. Merrill, with I. L. Richards, clerk. Of course, it was long after centralization began in Fulton Township before a much larger schoolhouse became necessary. The directors went steadily forward with their plans until in 1912 the present fine schoolhouse at Ai was in course of erection. In 1919, it was attended by 230 pupils, of high and elementary grades. Its teaching staff numbers seven, and the school is well adapted to the needs of the township, its curriculum including courses in agriculture and domestic science. In addition, Fulton Township scholars also have the Swanton school within reach. That is a special school district, and serves Swan Creek as well as Fulton Township; and it is one of the fine schoolhouses of Fulton county, having cost $35,000, when built in 1904. Then, Fulton Township has a special fractional school district, Amboy-Fulton, in which district is a one-room schoolhouse, of rural class. FULTON CENTRALIZED SCHOOL DISTRICT The present boards of education are as follows : A. B. Putman, president; John M. Estell, clerk; John Fauble, Geo. R. McQuillan, A. A. Kline, and Vern Robasser, directors. AMBOY-FULTON- SPECIAL DISTRICT Ed. Luke, president; Burton Wilson, clerk; Vern Luke, John Fife, E. T. Penny, and Peter Libeler, directors. SWANTON DISTRICT F. A. Carpenter, president ; Mrs. Laura Reed, clerk ; Dr. H. E. Brailey, Dr. L. C. Cosgrove and A. K. Keener, directors. EARLY CHURCH HISTORY It may be presumed that the Rev. John Shaw, who came to Fulton Township in 1834, conducted religious services in his, or other log cabins. But he did not remain long. Verity says that J. W. Harter 's cabin was used in the summer and autumn of 1834 and 1835, Mr. Shaw conducting the services. There was a Presbyterian Society in the HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 463 township very early in its settlement, Jonathan Wood being one of the most active pioneer members. In 1842, the Rev. Gideon Johnson came from the state of New Hampshire, and formed a circuit, holding services in the schoolhouse of Ai, and district No. 1, known as the Dodge, and later as the Witt, district. Amboy and Pike Townships were also in his circuit. It is stated that Jonathan Wood organized the first Sabbath School—probably the first Presbyterian Sunday School; for it has been .claimed that David Born and Wells Watkins organized the first Sunday School in the township. Charles V. Merrill, who came from Maine in 1837, and settled on section four, town ten south, range four east, was a minister of the Christian Church, and the first to take up permanent residence in Fulton Township. He was active in pioneer church work in many townships of Lucas, and later Fulton, County, and he remained in church work until he died. POPULATION The statistics for 1840, 1850, and 1860 cannot be given, but the population of Fulton Township in 1870 was 1,328, and it then stood third in point of population, among the twelve townships of Fulton County; in 1880 it was fifth, with 1,555 persons; in 1890, the population was 1,580; in 1900, 1,693; in 1910, 1,637; and in 1920, the "Preliminary Announcement of Population" issued by the federal authorities after the first count, records Fulton Township population as 1,677 persons. In only three townships of Fulton County was there an increase in population during the last decadal period, Fulton Township being the third. The figures given above include the figures for that part of the Village of Swanton which is in Fulton Township. CHAPTER XXII HISTORY OF SWAN CREEK TOWNSHIP The Township of Swan Creek was the second to be organized after Lucas County was erected, in 1835, as has elsewhere in this volume been explained. York Township was the first, it embracing originally all the territory with the county, excepting that portion ceded by Williams and Henry Counties in 1850, when Fulton County was formed. York Township was organized on June 6, 1836, and Swan Creek sometime later in the same year, its western boundary having never since been changed. Its southern boundary was extended two miles south into Henry County, and for the whole six miles of its latitudinal extent, when Fulton County was erected in 1850, and it lost territory from the Fulton line (e. g., from the boundary line surveyed by Mr. Fulton, and designated Fulton's line, to distinguish it from the other state and county boundary line surveyed by Mr. Harris, and called Harris' line), to its present boundary, when Fulton Township, Lucas County, was organized in 1841. Apart from these changes, the area of Swan Creek Township has remained as it now is, and its present boundaries are clearly marked on map reproduced on one of the earlier pages of this work. The township takes its name, as will be surmised, from Swan Creek, which runs almost due east through .the township, and eventually passes into the Maumee River. Other streams are Blue Creek and Bad Creek, both coursing in a southeasterly direction, and both being somewhat sluggish. The soil is in places heavy, and in other parts sandy. Much of the land was actually under water in the early decades of settlement, and had, literally, to be reclaimed; and much of it was almost bare of vegetation, i. e., of large standing timber, being designated "openings." These parts were sandy, and considered unfertile. Undoubtedly, without treatment and patient and skilful cultivation, these sandy stretches would not be as productive as the heavier soil; and in the early years of settlement, those families that settled upon the open land had to exist as best they could on poor yields. Those that settled upon the wet lands also had a trying time, and had to reclaim their land tract by tract, and also clear the standing timber. Much ditching, or draining, must have been done, in the early years of settlement, upon the initiative of individual landowners, but the first reference made to such work in township records was in 1855, when, on March 12th, the Township Trustees met and "sold out" a contract for building of a portion of a ditch. The record reads: "John King bid off 115 rods.. . . at 44 cents a rod." The work of draining continued through the sixties, seventies, and eighties, and much under-draining by tiling was done by farmers, so that the township today compares, in agricultural yield, with most of the other similar areas of the county. - 464 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 465 EARLY SETTLERS The first settler was William Meeker, it is universally acknowleged. He probably is deserving of place with Eli Phillips and Joseph Bates, as the pioneer settlers of Fulton County. He is believe to have been in the township, also in 1833, the year in which Phillips and Bates are recorded as having settled. William King, who settled in York Township in May, 1834, referred to Meeker in his reminiscences, stating that upon the entreaty of Peter Manor, a hotelkeeper at Providence, he (King) "was induced to go some twelve miles north, to what was then called the Six Mile Woods" and there he found William Meeker, "who had settled in the edge of this woods in 1833, or the year before, now in Swan Creek." Eli Phillips settled in 1833, but Joseph Bates was stated by his daughter to have been in Franklin Township earlier. However, William Meeker was undoubtedly the pioneer settler of Swan Creek Township. Peter Manor, who probably was the most reliable authority, testified that Meeker settled in the Six Mile Woods in 1833. And the early settlers within Swan Creek Township seemed to have recognized the priority of Meeker. He was the first, or at least one of the first clerks of the township (the early records are not available, but there is a document on file showing that he was clerk In 1839) ; and he was the first postmaster, that office being established on the farm of S. H. Cately (or rather, where he eventually located) in 1838. That office also served the people of York Township, and, singularly enough, was named Delta. In 1834, incoming settlers included John Witmer, John Fassett, Thomas Gleason, David Williams, Looman Hall, Nathaniel Leggett, Eccles Nay, Sidney Hawley, and William Fewless; in 1836, Jesse Browning, George Curtis, Ormand Pray came in; in 1838, Wells Watkins; in 1839, Jacob Reighard ; in 1844, S. H. Cately ; in 1848, Palmer Lewis; in 1852, Ora Blake; in 1853, John Templeton and Wesley Knight; and in 1857, Moses R. Brailey. These were prominent settlers. Township records of the first years of Fulton County show that in the early fifties there were the Stall, Cullen, Johnson, Mead, Coss, Roos, Waldron, Wyman, Chamberlin, Allman, Carpenter, Earl and Teach-man families resident in Swan Creek ; and a Swanton list of early settlers compiled and published some years ago gives the year of settlement of some of the more prominent residents as follows: Joseph H. Miller, 1840; B. W. Bayes, 1847; A. C. Tremain, 1848; S. S. Carter, 1847; William Lewis, 1850; J. H. Brigham, 1852; John McLaughlin, 1852; George H. Haynes, 1852; G. W. Hoffman, 1857; Thomas Elton, 1861; Jeff. Lutz, Wm. Geyser, R. C. Brattin, and O. N. Detwiler, in 1865; H. B. Smith, in 1867; A. J. Hart, in 1868; William Perkins, in 1870; C. J. Brindley, in 1873; A. Q. Price, in 1877, and the Pilliod brothers in 1883. Other records show that residents during the sixties included: John de la Mare, John Westbrook, Thomas Waffle, the Sheffield, Geere, Brice, Harrison, Hoyt, Horton, Houge, Whitmore, Warren, Immel, Fox, Farren, Ransom, Keith, Barr, Raker, Bixler, Moyer, Swartz, Jay, Montgomery and Brewster families; and there were many other families probably of the same praiseworthy usefulness as pioneers and home builders. John Witmer settled on section 17. He was a worthy man of 466 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY Swiss birth, born in Berne. Their first cabin was of bark, and there the wife and children lived until a small piece of ground had been cleared and planted. Then a more substantial log house was erected. The family is of good Civil War record, one of the sons giving his life to the nation. Nathaniel Leggett was one of the strong men of the settlement. He came in, about 1834, and his personality soon became evident. He was a man of athletic inclinations, and of pronounced administrative ability. His life has been reviewed elsewhere in this work, mention being made of him in many connections, as was of course proper for his activities were evident in many phases of the history of Fulton County. He was a clerk of Swan Creek Township in 1840, and will always be referred to with pride by the people of Swan Creek Township, in which was his first home in Fulton County, and in which he found his first opportunity to participate in public work. He was one of the most active workers for the separation of Fulton County from Lucas, or rather, for the erection of Fulton County from part of Lucas. Eccles Nay entered government land in 1834, coming from Jefferson County, Ohio, and earlier from New England. It is said that after paying for his land, Nay had no personal property of any kind except an ox team, yet with the aid of kind neighbors he struggled through the hard times. In 1834, William Fewless settled. He came from Long Island, New York, and was so discouraged by his early experiences in the swampy and mosquito-ridden country of Lucas County, that he returned to Long Island. He, however, was soon again in Swan Creek, and hereafter made it his home until he died in 1881. Members of his family have place in pioneer school history. George Curtis, and two brothers-in-law, left Orleans County, New York, in 1836, and "after several weeks of toil and hardship, over muddy trails and swollen streams, the little wagon train arrived at the Maumee River, near Perrysburg, where they met an old acquaintance named Browning. Browning was also looking for land. The acquaintance, Browning, was evidently Jesse Browning, who settled in Swan Creek about that time, and lived there for more than thirty years. The narrative continues: "They proceeded up the river, expecting to cross by ferry at Damascus. When near Rouche de Bouef, just below Turkey Foot Rock, they met a man who was unfriendly to the ferryman. He advised them that it was unnecessary to pay a fee to the ferryman, as the river could easily be forded with perfect safety. An attempt to ford the stream nearily cost them their lives. "Pushing on, they arrived at a settlement of half a-dozen log cabins, called Centreville. The Curtis family, and Browning, decided to locate there, while the two brothers proceeded farther into the wilderness, one locating in what is now Chesterfield Township, and the other in Michigan. For about six weeks, the Curtis family occupied a location near where James Gibbs' residence now stands, until the father could procure some land. He finally entered and bought from the government, three hundred acres, and built a log cabin on the bank of the creek, where the country home of N. B. Cairl later was. "When the Curtis family had located, their neighbors were three HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 467 hundred Indians, camped on the opposite bank of the creek, on the farm now owned by J. E. Coon. The Indian children were the playmates of the Curtis boys. The family was on fairly good terms with the redmen, and one day two Indians called at the home and inquired for the father, who had gone to the little trading post of Maumee, to procure provisions. The mother readily guessed the object of their visit, and not wishing to divulge his absence, and made some excuse when they asked for 'Firewater, which was plentiful with the settlers, and was used for pickling. She told the Indian she would give him all his basket. would hold. The Indian left, and soon returned, with a basket coated inside and out with ice, and received the 'firewater'." The Curtis family has maintained connection with Swanton to this day, and own an up-to-date dry goods store in the growing village. Ormand Pray arrived in 1836, and settled on, or near section thirty-four. which was very swampy. Wells Watkins, a settler of '38, became one of the leading men of the township, and one of the most popular. He came from Wayne county, Ohio, in August, 1838, with his newly-wedded wife, and nine days later settled on section ten of Swan Creek. It is recorded that he took his first grain, on his back, to Harter's horse mill, three miles distant. And when it was necessary to make a trip to Maumee, the journey would occupy the greater part of a week. So that his family adopted every means possible to make all they could at home. His wife, Sarah Newhouse, made clothing of buckskin, linsey, and coarse linen, "around the cabin hearth" at home, and they reared a large family, many of whom became prominently indentified with township and school and church administration. Also, Wells Watkins, and a son, rallied to the call of the Nation in the 'sixties, and thus have place upon the roll of the country's truest patriots. The coming of Jacob Reighard, in 1839, began a connection which has been strongly maintained, in useful participation in various phases of the development and life of Fulton county from the pioneer period to the present. The record is elsewhere reviewed, so that not more than passing mention is necessary here. Some of the family still have possession of the land entered by Jacob Reighard, and cleared by him and his sons; while the family record runs through township, county, and state records, and comes into national records in the Civil War service of some of its members. The record of Frank H. Reighard, as school teacher, newspaper editor, county surveyor, and especially as state representative, is perhaps the most prominent, although he would agree that the most vital was the pioneer labor of his stalwart ancestors. And, it is hoped, that this historical work, of which Frank H. Reighard is the capable and interested supervising editor, will constitute one additional and appreciated service he will have rendered his home county. Joseph H. Miller, who owned the greater part of the land upon which Swanton eventually developed, is, strictly, a pioneer of Fulton Township, but as the history of Swanton is shown, in whole, in this chapter, it will not be inappropriate also to make some reference here to Mr. Miller. He came in 1840, and then was a young man of twenty-eight years, the adult age of which had been somewhat adventurously spent. He was undoubtedly well able to care for himself when he came to Lucas county, and settled in Swan Creek. He had been for 468 - HISTORY Oh FULTON COUNTY a short while employed on the Miami and Erie Canal, driving towboats, and three years after he settled at Swanton he married Lydia Cass, a Canadian. They had four children, among them James W., who for long was a resident of Swanton. They live together in marital helpfulness for more than forty years, Mrs. Miller dying in 1884 in Swanton. Joseph Miller worked at railroad construction, when the Air Line was being built in 1853-54, receiving seventy-five cents a day for his labor. And he did much trading, in farm produce, soon becoming established in a lucrative store business in Swanton. That, added to his farm holdings there, to his salary as station agent at Swanton, and the ever-increasing value of his land, eventually made him a man of considerable means. He added to it during the year in which; he was also an innkeeper in Swanton; and although it was to his interest to encourage, by donations of land, the development of the community, he undoubtedly showed in many of his actions that he was a man of helpful public spirit, even though, with some basis, he may be criticized for his slowness, at the outset, in grasping the possibilities that were before him, as land owner, after railway connection had been established. Socrates H. Cately took up residence in Swan Creek Township in 1844, and soon became prominent in township and county affairs. He was a very active and capable man, and had part in the agitation which resulted in the creation of Fulton county, in 1850. David Williams and S. H. Cately were the representatives of Swan Creek Township at a meeting of township delegates of the democratic party, held at the house of Daniel Knowles, in Pike Township, on March 20, 1850, "to form a democratic ticket." At that meeting they decided to "run" Nathaniel Leggett for treasurer. Leggett, however, had been appointed associate judge of the Common Pleas Court by the governor, who under the old constitution had such power, and had to decide whether to accept the judgeship, or the nomination for county treasurer. He decided on the latter, seeing that the whigs had also nominated him for that office, thus assuring him election unopposed; and as he could not hold the judgeship also he declined to accept that appointment, and, stated James S. Riddle in his "Short History of Fulton County," S. H. Cately was appointed in his place. There are some conflicting records, as has been noted in an earlier chapter, but undoubtedly S. H. Cately sat in the first, or second session of the Common Pleas Court of Fulton County. He was assessor of Swan Creek Township in 1852, which is the earliest year for which township records are available, and in all probability he held other township offices prior to that. For forty-two years he was a resident in Swan Creek Township, and latterly lived in Delta. He also served for three years as probate judge, succeeding L. H. Upham, who was unseated because of irregularity in election. Judge Cately took keen interest in historical matters, and was one of the vice-presidents of the Fulton County Pioneer and Historical Society. He was twice married, and to the second marriage there were ten children. Palmer Lewis came from New York state to Erie county, Ohio, where he married, and in 1848 settled in Swan Creek. He was justice of the peace, and township trustee for many years. John Templeton was a man of extraordinary physique, reputed HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 469 to have been almost 450 pounds in weight, and to have had proportionate strength. He was a conspicuous figure in the township—a man of strong frame, and, by the record, his abnormal weight seems to have been more muscle than flesh. John Templeton came in 1853; and an extensive review of the Templeton family history will be found in volume two of this work. Jane Templeton, presumably of this family„ was one of the early school teachers of Fulton Township. The grandfather of John Templeton was with Colonel Crawford in 1782 at the battle of Sandusky Plains, which ended in the capture, torture and death of Colonel Crawford, in the presence of the notorious and inhuman renegade, Simon Girty. The Brailey family is one of the leading families of Swan Creek, and the name has been conspicious in many public records. Moses R. Brailey settled on section twenty-two, in 1856, or 1857, was an attorney, and while he was active in that profession, his inclination seemed to be to agricultural life, possibly that of a gentleman-farmer. The "Fulton County Tribune" reviewing the life of General Brailey, for he attained the rank of brigadier-general of volunteers during the Civil War, stated: "General Moses Randolph Brailey was one of the county's most popular and prominent men. General Brailey was a native of Canandaigua County, New York, where he was born, November 2, 1817 . . . . . . . . He removed to Norwalk, where he engaged in farming and lumber business. Here he was elected a justice of the peace, the beginning of his highly successful public career. He studied law . . . . . . . and was admitted to practice in 1846, and for eleven years practiced in that city (Norwalk). In 1852 he was . . . . . prosecuting attorney . . . . . . and two years later re-elected. In 1857 he removed to Fulton county, where he continued to pratcice law, and was twice elected prosecuting attorney, in 1858 and 1860. Before the expiration of the second term, the Civil War broke out. Resigning his office, he 470 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY tendered his services to his country, although considerably past the age for military duty. His first enlistment was early in 1861, for a period of three months. He re-enlisted on August 21, . . . . . . . as captain of Company I, of the Thirty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Having been wounded in a skirmish, near Spring Mill, Ky., he was discharged in March, 1862. On May following, he again entered the service, as captain of Company G, of the Eighty-fifth Ohio Regiment, and on August 22nd was transferred to the One Hundred and Eleventh Ohio Regiment. Major Brailey participated in the battles of Kentucky and East Tennessee, and in January, 1863, was promoted to brevet-colonel of the regular army, and brigadier-general of volunteers. By reason of impaired health, occasioned principally by his former wounds, he was obliged to leave the service, receiving an honorable discharge during the winter of 1863-64 . . . . . He .. . . . . at the solicitation of Governor Brough, accepted the office of paymaster . . . . . . until the close of the war. In 1865, he was elected comptroller of the treasury of the State of Ohio, serving until 1871  . . . . . . . In 1876, he returned to Fulton county." General Brailey built a magnificent home upon his estate in Brailey, Swan Creek, quite a baronial mansion, it seems, with massive walnut staircase, after the style of the old English country houses. The "Fulton County Tribune," July 5, 1907, featured this fine old mansion, stating: "It was erected in 1865 (Verity says 1869), and cost $5,500. At the time of erecting this, then palatial, home Colonel Brailey owned six or seven hundred acres of land surrounding this home. The house stands upon a hill, and in a silent language it speaks of the enterprise and the high ideals of its builder, and of his conception of what the future of this county would be. It was erected at the close of the Civil War.. . .Building such a home at the close of so terrible a conflict. ..... it speaks for his faith in the stability of the Government. "The home was erected in the midst of a dense forest. To the west, a few miles, were the Lewis and Adams settlements; to the east, about the same distance, was the settlement of Wm. Perkins; on the south W. J. Lutz and William Phare had built homes; while to the north were the settlements of B. Bixler and Ora Blake. To build a home like this, nearly a half-century ago was a gigantic undertaking. The brick for the building was made in Gates' tile yard, in Delta, some eight miles distant. "The building was fashioned after the most modern homes of the Eastern states of that time. It has a broad open stairway, in the center of the building, leading to the upper rooms. The front doors, and the inside woodwork were of black walnut, and hand-carved. The building is a large one, and is divided into reception halls, parlors, dining rooms, libraries, art rooms, and chambers. "The old mansion still stands on the hill south of the Brailey Station, but the hands that laid the walls, that moulded the brick for its construction, or shaped the wood to .add beauty to its interior, have laid their last wall, have manufactured their last brick, have moulded their last piece of wood, and are now quietly resting in their narrow home. A number of changes in the interior of the building have been made but the outside remains unchanged, as designed by Colonel Brailey, and builded by a Mr. Hogel." HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 471 In the eighties, General Brailey and his wife removed to Wauseon, where they spent the remainder of their lives, both eventually being laid in the Wauseon Cemetery. The Brailey family comes prominently into Wauseon history, as has been noted in the Clinton Township chapter; and have to this day held connection with Swan Creek Township, and Swanton. Ora (or Orra) Blake, who came from Allegany county, New York, in 1852, with his wife, Catherine E. Osterhout, and was a comparatively near neighbor of General Brailey for many years, lived the greater part of his life in swan Creek, and was a useful settler. He built many of the farm buildings of the neighborhood. For the last four years of his life, which ended in 1911, at the venerable age of ninety, he lived with his son at Emmenlaw, State of Washington, where he was buried. Wesley Knight was one of the helpful settlers. He had courageous enterprise and worthy principle when he ventured into a country in which whiskey and alcoholic liquors were freely sold, and extensively consumed, and out of the dregs of a reeking saloon made a temperance tavern at Centreville, such as did credit to that community and the county., His coming is referred to in the narrative of his son, Theodore, which story has been specially written for this chapter. Thomas Elton will be remembered as a worthy pioneer, a home builder, one of those who worked hard through poverty to a worthy. independence. He contributed to the wealth of the county by his indefatigable labors. He was born in England, and married there, and his son William H., who died in 1906 and is classed with the pioneers, was six years old when the family emigrated, taking up residence in Medina county, Ohio, and in 1861, or 1862, moving to Swan Creek. The son, William H., lived in Swan Creek from his twelfth year, and at his death an obituary stated that "in the development of the township . . . . . . . Mr. Elton contributed his full share. Beginning in poverty, by industry, economy and close application to business, he acquired considerable wealth, which he used for the betterment of mankind, and the industrial improvement of his community. He was a kind, genial, and benevolent citizen." He was buried in the Raker Cemetery, which was established in 1836, and where lie many of the Reighard and Elton families. Elizabeth Elton, who married George Reighard, father of Frank H. was a daughter of Thomas Elton, the pioneer. Another of the grand old settlers is William Jefferson Lutz, who was born in 1833., and is still alive, and comparatively vigorous—particularly so, mentally—and latterly has lived in Swanton. He reached Swanton, then known as Centreville, on a memorable day. in American history—that upon which Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, in 1865. At that time, there were only three houses in the place: that of "Joe" Miller, who owned practically all the land of present Swanton ; a little shoe shop ; and another small shanty. At that time, or rather in that year, and for many years afterwards, where now the town stands one would. only see waving wheat. "Jeff" Lutz remembers that on the Fourth of July, 1870, binder contests were held on Miller's' land where Main street now is. Mr. Lutz was a man of remarkable energy, and his public work has been notable. He bought four hundred acres of land, for which he paid $2,000, and at that time much of it was actually under water, and there was only 472 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY a log cabin upon the land. One of his neighbors was General Brailey, who, he states, bought six hundred acres at only one dollar an acre. Lutz built a frame house in 1875, and lived on his farm until 1918, when he sold the 320 acres he then owned, and retired to Swanton. At one time he owned a thousand acres in the swamp, and he labored indefatigably to drain and ditch it. He is now probably the oldest resident in Swan Creek Township, and is the oldest Mason of the Swanton lodge, and also, probably, of the local lodge of Oddfellows. Mr. Lutz's public record includes forty years as member and president of the Swan Creek Township School Board, during which period twelve township schools were organized, a school being built for every four sections. One of his early associates was Mr. George Reighard, and Frank H. Reighard received his first appointment, as a school teacher, from Mr. Lutz. "Jeff" Lutz set to work with a will to remedy the natural disadvantages of his own land, and other land in Swan Creek Township. He did much ditching himself, and he probably was one of the petitioners, and prime movers, for every ditch and road project undertaken in the eastern part of that township. It is asserted that he built the first section of gravel road laid in the township, and throughout his connection with Swan Creek, he, and his wife, were earnest, unselfish and effective public workers. His wife was a woman of fine characteristics. She was known affectionately as "Aunt Jane," and in old days when ague and fever prostrated whole neighborhoods, she would go from house to house ministering to the sick, giving them not only medicinal treatment, but actually setting herself to the urgent domestic tasks of the stricken household, all of which she did out of the kindness of her heart. She manifested neighborly interest of the highest degree, and it is little wonder that she came to be known as the "Angel of Swan Creek." In the early years of their residence, she was a school teacher, and capable as such. Mr. and Mrs. Lutz had only one child. She, Mary Lucinda, died in early womanhood. Six of the brothers of "Jeff" Lutz were soldiers of the Union during the Civil War and five of them marched with Sherman to the sea. The Gingery family, father and sons, reclaimed more than three hundred acres of the swampy land of Swan Creek, and took part in public work. William Geyser, who is known as "The Father of Swanton," died in Swanton in 1907. He was born in Germany, in 1840, and came with his mother to Lucas County, Ohio, in 1850. In. 1862 he enlisted, and marched with Sherman to the sea. Later campaigning developed a hernia from which he suffered during the remainder of his life, although it did not prevent him from taking consequential part in industrial and public life. He was pensioned, and invalided, and "after his return from the war, he engaged in the grocery business in Swanton." It has been claimed that he "was the first merchant of Swanton, and shipped the first grain from this station." The first merchant, probably, was Joseph A. Miller, whom "Jeff" Lutz found, upon his arrival in 1865, to be the only merchant of Swanton, Miller's house then- being, really, a store and boarding house. Undoubtedly, however, William Geyser was one of the pioneer and most successful and progressive merchants of Swanton. Later, he lost much money in a cold storage venture in Wauseon, but he had much part in the HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 473 building of Swanton. In. 1887, he was, without solicitation, chosen to act as delegate at the senatorial convention, at Toledo, and there he was nominated for election to senatorial office, to represent the counties of Lucas, Wood, Hancock, Henry, and Fulton, in the republican interest. He and his colleague, William Carlin, of Findlay, were duly elected. He was mayor of the incorporated village of Swanton for a couple of terms, and was ever interested in the advancement of the village, it is therefore somewhat surprising to note that his name does not appear on the petition for incorporation of that place in 1882. He was thrice married, his third wife, Amy Haubell Geyser, dying in a New York City hospital in March, 1916. She was a school teacher at Delta prior to her marriage. C. J. Brindley, A. Q. Price, the Pilliod brothers, and several other prominent residents of Swan Creek Township will have somewhat extensive biographical mention in the second volume of this work, and much more space cannot here be given to personal review, deserving though the pioneer records may be, and interesting and noteworthy as they undoubtedly are. Martin Raker, Sr., must, however, have place among the pioneers whose lives will not be reviewed elsewhere. He was one of the settlers of 1835, or 1836, and the coming of the Rakers, husband, wife, and nine of their eleven children effected an appreciable addition to the Swan Creek settlement. The nine children were John, William, Jacob, George, Abram, Solomon, Catherine, Sarah and Christena. Martin, Jr., stayed in their former home in Fairfield County, Ohio, until 1846, but the descendants of Martin Raker, the pioneer, have had much part in Swan Creek Township affairs. A. Holmes Smith, of Delta, who knew the Raker family well, and boarded with the pioneer, Martin Raker, Sr., when he taught the Raker school in 1851-1852, has given further data regarding that family. He states that Martin Raker, Sr., considered a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, on section 30, as his homestead farm. He owned in all several hundred acres, but lived on the 160 acre tract. Eventually, he gave his son, John 160 acres, Martin 120 acres, and Jacob 80 acres. Abraham lived at home until he married, then buying from William Meeker 30 or 40 acres that had originally been part of the Raker estate. Jacob eventually sold the eighty acre farm his father had given him, and bought 160 acres in York Township, on section 19. Martin Raker, Sr., as early as 1836 built a saw mill on the homestead farm, and it was operated almost until the year of his death, which occurred in, about 1865. And in 1853 he and William Meeker built a stone feed mill, which was operated until the year of the former's death. After William Meeker had sold his small tract to Martin Raker, Jr., he moved to where the Union Church now stands; and a little to the rear of the church William Meeker built a residence and also a cane mill, for making sorghum. He operated the mill for about a year, or so, his tragic death, in 1866 or 1867, bringing about its abandonment. William Meeker one day was caught by the sweep of his mill, and scalped, death being instantaneous. The burial ground known as the Raker Cemetery was established in 1836, and stood upon the only rising ground in the neighborhood and for many miles west and south. It was the burial place of all the families of that part of Swan Creek, and by many of the families 474 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY of early York, most of the surrounding country for many miles being so wet as to be impossible locations for burial purposes. As the years passed and a church building was erected (that known as the Raker Union Church) near the cemetery, the subscribers to that church were in great measure drawn from the descendants of those pioneers buried in the Raker Cemetery, the people of the neighborhood of all denominations contributing to the cost of building. Martin Raker, Sr., from his early years in Swan Creek was somewhat crippled, having a maimed left hand. How is became so maimed was narrated by Mr. Holmes Smith. It appears that one winter day he noticed the track of a bear. He called his sons, and his dogs, and they routed the bear out of its lair onto the ice. The dogs worried the beer, but Bruin locked his powerful arms around the best of Martin's dogs, and it seemed that it would crush the dog to death. It was more than Martin, Sr., could stand, and he rushed with his son, John, to the rescue. The father was badly mauled by the bear, and John slipped on the ice and broke his leg. Fortunately, Jake shot the bear, but the father's hand was more or less useless for the rest of his life, and John to the end of his days walked with a cane. Presumably, doctors were inaccessible in those early pioneer days, and John had to permit the leg to mend itself. The bone set crookedly, as was to be expected. Such were some of the handicaps of pioneer life. John was a man of sterling qualities; progressive and hardworking. He eventually owned several hundred acres of rich farm land, and built a huge house—quite a mansion—having an almost baronial hall, and a massive black walnut staircase. The house was burned a few years ago. He was four times married, his third wife being Rachel Watkins of worthy pioneer stock. When she came with her parents into Fulton County they lived for forty days under the spreading branches of a giant oak, while a little land was being cleared and a log cabin built. John F., son of Martin, Jr., had a fine record in his home township.