HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY. - 221

CHAPTER III.

THE CLAIMS OF VIRGINIA, CONNECTICUT, MASSACHUSETTS AND NEW YORK TO THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY-PURCHASE OF THE LANDS FROM THE INDIAN TRIBES-INDIAN RESERVATIONS AND THEIR FINAL PURCHASE BY THE UNITED STATES-CIVIL GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED BY THE ORDINANCE OF 1787 - SUCCESSIVE ERECTIONS OF WAYNE. GREENE, CHAMPAIGN AND LOGAN COUNTIES - SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN OHIO AND ITS DIVISION INTO COUNTIES-ORGANIZATION AND FIRST ELECTION IN WOOD COUNTY - WAYNESFIELD TOWNSHIP-ERECTION AND FIRST ELECTIONS IN FINDLAY TOWNSHIP - SELECTION OF FINDLAY AS THE SEAT OF JUSTICE -ORGANIZATION OF HANCOCK COUNTY-COUNTY ELECTIONS OF 1828 AND LISTS OF ELECTORS-OFFICERS CHOSEN IN APRIL AND OCTOBER, 1828 - DERIVATION OF NAME-BRIEF SKETCH OF .JOHN HANCOCK-ORIGINAL AND PRESENT AREAS AND BOUNDARIES OF TFIE COUNTY-DATES OF TOWNSHIP ERECTIONS-POPULATION OF COUNTY, TOWNSHIPS AND TOWNS -PRESENT CONDITION OF THE COUNTY COMPARED WITH WHAT LT WAS ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.

THE first authentic record we find of the white man's claim to this portion of the red man's domain is the Virginia title to the great Northwest Territory, acquired through its several charters granted by James I in 1606, 1609 and 1611, without any recognition of the original owners and occupants of the soil. That colony first attempted to exercise authority over its extensive dominions lying northwest of the Ohio River, when, in 1769, the House of Burgesses passed the following act:

WHEREAS, The people situated on the Mississippi, in the said county of Botetourt, will be very remote from the court house and must necessarily become a separate county as soon as their numbers are sufficient, which probably will happen in a short time, be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the inhabitants of that part of the said county of Botetourt which lies on the said water shall be exempted from the payment of any levies to be laid by the said county court for the purpose of building a court house and prison for said county.

Civil government between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers existed only in name until 1778, when,. after the conquest of the country by Gen. George Rogers Clark, the Virginia Legislature organized the county of Illinois, embracing within its limits all of the lands lying northwest of the Ohio River to which Virginia had any claim. Col. John Todd received appointment from the governor of Virginia as civil commandant and lieutenant of the county. He served until his death at the battle of Blue Licks in 1782, and Timothy de Montbrun was his successor. In 1783 the General Assembly of Virginia passed an act authorizing her delegates in Congress to convey to the United States all the rights of Virginia to the territory northwest of the Ohio River. Pursuant to this act, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Hardy, Arthur Lee and James Monroe, the Virginia delegates, ceded to the General Government, on the 1st of March, 1784, all right, title and claim of soil and jurisdiction to said territory previously held by Virginia. The deed of cession was accepted by Congress on the same day, and the United States thus secured the title of that State to the soil of Ohio.

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Another claim, however, still remained to be satisfied, which was more closely connected with northern Ohio than the preceding one. This claim reaches back to the founding of Connecticut, the original charter of which was granted by Charles II in 1662. It defined the limits of the grant to be "from the south line of Massachusetts on the north to Long Island Sound on the south, and from the Narragansett River on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west," which embraced all the country lying between the 41st and 42d degrees north latitude. These boundaries included not only what is now Connecticut, but also portions of New York and New Jersey, nearly half of Pennsylvania, the northern parts of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and a strip off the southern part of Michigan, besides portions of Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California. The north half of Hancock County was embraced in the territory claimed by Connecticut under its charter, which is the principal reason for mentioning; it in this connection.

A dispute soon arose between New York and Connecticut as to their boundaries, when the King, in 1664, appointed commissioners to settle it. They decided that the Maronee River should be the western boundary of Connecticut. With this decision against her, Connecticut neglected for nearly a century to assert her claim to any territory west of New York. In 1681 a charter was granted to William Penn of the territory embraced in the limits of Pennsylvania. This, of course, embraced a large part of the territory included in the charter of Connecticut, and bitter quarrels now sprung up between the two colonies as to their respective rights. In 1753 a company was formed in Connecticut to plant a colony on the Susquehanna River, on lands they claimed as included in her charter. A purchase was made of the sachems of the Six Nations by this company in 1754, at Wyoming, and in 1774 a township was formed there, called Westmoreland, which sent a representative to the Legislature of Connecticut. Pennsylvania and Connecticut both sold the same lands, and both agreed to give possession, which caused constant quarrels, and resort was often had to arms to expel those in possession. In 1770 the Legislature of Connecticut sent to England certain questions respecting her title to the lands west of New York. The answers were favorable to her claims, and she determined to enforce them, but the Revolutionary war coming on suspended the controversy. In 1781 the two States appointed commissioners to determine the dispute, and an act of Congress was passed granting to these commissioners full power to act in the final settlement of the conflicting claims. The commissioners met at Trenton, N. J., in 1782, and after a full hearing decided that Connecticut had no right to the lands in dispute, but that they belonged to Pennsylvania. The State of Connecticut acquiesced in the decision, but still claimed all the lands west of Pennsylvania lying between the 41st and 42d degrees of latitude. To avoid all future trouble, Connecticut, in 1786, renounced her claim to said lands excepting those lying within a line drawn north and south 120 miles west of Pennsylvania. This proposition was accepted by Congress, and the controversy finally settled, the United States, however, retaining full legal jurisdiction over said territory. The strip of country thus confirmed to Connecticut has since been known as the Western Reserve. Massachusetts and New York also laid claim to a portion of Ohio, but they too ceded their rights to the General Government about the same time as Virginia and Connecticut.

Before the Government, however, could take possession of the lands

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lying northwest of the Ohio River, a title from the Indians was necessary, and this too was finally obtained, though many bloody campaigns intervened ere a peaceable settlement could be effected on the lands purchased by the first two treaties. Through the treaty of Fort Stanwix, consummated with the Six Nations October 22, 1784, the indefinite claim of that confederacy to the soil of Ohio was extinguished. This was followed January 21, 1785, by the treaty of Fort McIntosh, by which the Delawares, Wyandots, Ottawas and Chippewas relinquished all claim to the territory lying east of the Cuyahoga River, Portage Path and Tuscarawas River, and south of a line running southwest from Fort Laurens, on the Tuscarawas (the town of Bolivar); to Fort Loramie, located on the portage between the Big Miami and the headwaters of the Maumee; thence along said portage to the latter river; thence down the Maumee to its mouth, and thence along the south shore of Lake Erie to the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. By the treaty of Fort Finney, consummated January 31, 1786, the claim of the Shawnees to the coveted territory was extinguished. The treaty of Fort Harman, January 9, 1789, had a similar object in view; but it was not until August 3, 1795, that anything like a permanent peace was established. By the treaty of Greenville, ratified on that date, the several Indian tribes recognized the line established by former treaties, the .only change occurring upon reaching Fort Loramie (Shelby County), whence it ran to Fort Recovery, in the southwest corner of Mercer County, and thence southwest to the Ohio opposite the mouth of the Kentucky River. All of the Western Reserve lying west of the Cuyahoga River was secured from the Indians by a treaty made at Fort Industry (Toledo), July 4, 1805. By the treaties of 1807, 1808 and 1817, what is now known as Northwestern Ohio was purchased from the Indiana, and certain reservations, described in Chapter I, set aside for their uses. In 1818 the Miamis ceded their claims to the United States, and in 1829 the Delaware Reservation was purchased by the Government; in 1831 those belonging to the Shawnees, Senecas and remnants of other tribes; in 1838 the lands of the Ottawas were obtained, and in 1842 the Wyandots sold to the Government the last acre owned by them within the limits of this State. Thus every vestige of Indian title to the soil of Ohio was forever extinguished, and in July, 1843, the last remnant of the once powerful Indian tribes of the Ohio Valley removed to the far West.

When the United States had obtained possession of the country north and west of the Ohio River, Congress took the great step which resulted in the establishment of a wise and salutary civil government. On the 13th of July, 1787, after a prolonged discussion of the principles and issues involved, "An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States Northwest of the River Ohio," which has since been known as "the Ordinance of 1787," or the "Ordinance of Freedom," was adopted. By this great and statesmanlike ordinance, provision was made for successive forma of territorial government, adapted to successive steps of advancement in the settlement and development of the Western country." This remarkable instrument," says Chief Justice Chase, "was the last gift of the Congress of the old confederation to the country, and it was a fit consummation of their glorious labors." Up to this time the Government, to avoid infringements upon the rights of the Indians. had discouraged and prevented the settlement of the lands northwest of the Ohio, but on the passage of the ordinance emigration was fostered and encouraged in every way, and when

226 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.

the settlers went into the wilderness they found the law already there. "It was impressed upon the soil itself, while it yet bore up nothing but the forest."

On the 15th of August, 1796, Wayne County was erected by the proclamation of Gov. St. Clair. It was the third county formed in the Northwest Territory, and embraced the following immense scope of country: "Beginning at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, upon Lake Erie, and with the said river to the portage between it and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum; thence down the said branch to the forks at the carrying place above Fort Laurens; thence by a west line to the east boundary of Hamilton County (which is a due north line from the lower Shawnee town upon the Scioto River); thence by a line west northerly to the southern part of the portage between the Miami of the Ohio and St. Mary's River; thence by a line also west northerly to the southwestern part of the portage between the Wabash and the Miami of Lake Erie (the Maumee), where Fort Wayne now stands; thence by a line west northerly to the southern part of Lake Michigan; thence along the western shores of the same to the northwest part thereof (including the lands upon the streams emptying into said lakes); thence by a due north line to the territorial boundary in Lake Superior, and with the said boundary through Lakes Huron, St. Clair and Erie to the mouth of Cuyahoga River, the place of beginning." These boundaries include all of Michigan and portions of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. The cities of Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit, as well as every town in northern Indiana, and northern Ohio, west of the Cuyahoga River, were within the original limits of Wayne County. Of course Northwestern Ohio, though yet an Indian territory, formed a portion of said county. Upon the erection of Greene County, March 24, 1803, the State line between Ohio and Michigan was designated as its northern boundary, and this portion of Northwestern Ohio was under the nominal jurisdiction of Greene until 1805, when Champaign was erected. The latter county. also extended to the northern line of Ohio, and the scattering settlers between Springfield and the Maumee were subject to the jurisdiction of Champaign. Squire Carlin says he remembers well a case of debt where a man was taken from the Maumee to the jail in Urbana, Mr. Carlin's father being the officer who had charge of the prisoner. In 1817 Logan County was cut off Champaign, and, though the line established by the Greenville Treaty was the northern boundary of said county, it also had jurisdiction over the United States Reservation along the Maumee Rapids, which was designated, by the act of erection, as a part of Logan County.

We have already seen that the Government, by the treaties of 1807, 1808 and 1817, obtained all the lands embraced in Northwestern Ohio. In the spring of 1819 surveyors were sent into the new purchase to divide it into townships six miles square, and others soon followed to subdivide said townships into sections one mile square. The first survey was completed in 1819, and ere the close of 1820 all of the townships had been sectionalized.

On the 12th of February, 1820, an act was passed by the General Assembly erecting the newly acquired territory into fourteen counties, viz. Van Wert, Mercer, Putnam, Allen, Hancock, Hardin, Crawford, Marion, Seneca, Sandusky, Wood, Henry, Paulding and Williams. By this act, which went into effect April 1, 1820, Hancock, Henry, Putnam, Paulding

HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY. - 227

and Williams were attached to Wood County, which was organized under the same act, with the temporary seat of justice at the town of Maumee, and the first election held the first Monday in April, 1820. The territory erected as Hancock County embraced Townships 1 and 2 south, and 1 and 2 north of the base line in Ranges 9, 10, 11 and 12 east of the first principal meridian. The base line runs east and west on the 41 st degree of latitude, which passes through the center of this county, while the first meridian is the boundary line between Ohio and Indiana. At the time of the organization of Wood County the family of Benjamin J. Cox were the only white inhabitants of Hancock, and it is hardly probable that Mr. Cox traveled to Maumee to cast his vote at the first election.

Upon the organization of Wood County the commissioners erected all of the territory under its jurisdiction into one township, named Waynesfield, in honor of Gen. Anthony Wayne, whose brilliant deeds are so closely associated with the Maumee Valley. No changes occurred until the 4th of March, 1822, when the commissioners ordered "that the township of Waynesfield, within the jurisdiction of the county of Wood, be co-extensive with the boundaries of the counties of Wood and Hancock, and to include the same." Perrysburg was then the seat of justice of Wood County, and also the voting place of Waynesfield Township.

On the 28th of May, 1823, the same board ordered "that so much of the town of Waynesfield as is included in the unorganized county of Hancock be set off and organized, and the same is hereby organized into a township by the name of Findlay, and that the election for township officers be held on the 1st of July, A. D. 1823, at the house of Wilson Vance, in the said township." The tally sheet on record at Bowling Green shows that thirteen votes were cast at the election, and that Robert McKinnis and W ikon Vance were elected justices of the new township. Job Chamberlin, Sr., William Moreland and Benjamin Chandler were the judges of election, and Wilson Vance and Matthew Reighly, clerks. The second election took place April 5, 1824, when eighteen votes were cast. Job Chamberlin, Sr., William Moreland and Jacob Poe were the judges, and Matthew Reighly and Wilson Vance, clerks of election. Job Chamberlin, Sr., Wilson Vance and Jacob Poe were chosen trustees; Matthew Reighly, clerk; Job Chamberlin, Sr., treasurer; Wilson Vance, lister; Philip McKinnis, constable; John Hunter and John Gardner, fence viewers, and Robert McKinnis and William Moreland, overseers of the poor. All of these men were pioneers of Hancock County, and are fully mentioned in the history of the respective townships to which their homes subsequently belonged. It is unnecessary to follow up in like manner the elections held in Findlay Township in 1825, 1826 and 1827, for, though many new names appear among the electors of those years, nearly all will be found in the lists of voters who took part in the April and October elections of 1828, the names of whom are given in this chapter.

On the 2d of February, 1824, the General Assembly passed the following act relative to this county:

Resolved, By the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, that John Owens, of the county of Champaign; Alexander Long, of the county of Logan, and Forest Meeker, of the county of Delaware, be and they are hereby appointed Commissioners to locate and fix the seat of justice in and for the county of Hancock.

In compliance with this act said commissioners, after examining several

228 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.

sites in Hancock County, made their report to the court of common pleas of Wood County at its October session of 1824, the following record of which appears on the journal in the minutes of that term:

The Commissioners, appointed to establish the seat of justice in the county of Hancock, in the State of Ohio, report that they have selected the town of Findlay, in said county of Hancock, as the most suitable site for the seat of justice of said county, as per their report on file in the office of the Clerk of this Court.

By the close of 1827 Hancock contained a sufficient population to entitle her to home rule, and on the 21st of January, 1828, the General Assembly passed the following act for the separate organization of the county:

1. Be it enacted, etc., That the county of Hancock, as heretofore laid off, shall be and the same is hereby organized into a separate and distinct county; and all suits, and prosecutions which shall be pending, and all crimes which shall have been committed within said county of Hancock, previous to its organization, shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution within the county of Wood, in the same manner they would have been had tire county of Hancock not been organized; and the Sheriff, Coroner and Constables of Wood County shall execute, within the county of Hancock, such process as shall be necessary to carry into effect such suits, prosecutions and judgments; and the Treasurer of the county of Wood shall collect all such taxes as shall have been levied and imposed within the county of Hancock previous to the taking effect of this act.

2. That all Justices of the Peace and Constables within the county of Hancock shall continue to exercise the duties of their respective offices until their term of service expires, in the same manner as if the county of Hancock had remained attached to the county of Wood.

3. That on the first Monday of April next the legal voters within the said county of Hancock shall assemble within their respective townships, at the place of holding elections, and elect their several county officers, who shall hold their offices until the next annual election. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the 1st day of March next.

Findlay Township then embraced the whole county, and in compliance with the third section of this act an election was held on the 7th of April, 1828; the polling place being at the old log schoolhouse in the village of Findlay, now the site of the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Railroad depot. The poll book on record in the Clerk's office shows that seventy-four electors voted at that election, the following list of whom, together with the present names of the townships wherein their homes were then located, will fairly illustrate the sparsely settled condition of the county fifty-eight years ago:

Ephraim Elder, Delaware.

Asher Wickham, Marion.

Samuel Sargent, Big Lick.

Thomas Slight, Findlay.

William Hackney, Amanda.

John P. Hamilton, Findlay.

Henry George, Amanda.

Thomas Thompson, Amanda.

Joseph A. Sargent, Marion.

Abraham Huff, Amanda.

Peter George, Amanda.

Amos Beard, Amanda.

Mordecai Hammond. Jackson.

Bleuford Hamilton, Findlay.

Don Alonzo Hamlin, Delaware.

John Elder, Delaware.

Joseph Slight, Findlay

George W. Simpson, Findlay

Minor T. Wickham, Findlay.

Nathan Frakes, Allen.

Thomas Wingate,

Wilson Vance, Findlay.

Joseph Johnson Findlay.

Thomas Chester, Findlay.

William Wade, Liberty.

John C. Wickham, Findlay.

Josiah Elder, Delaware.

John Huff, Amanda.

Jesse Hewitt, Amanda.

John Long, Ridge Tp., Wyandot Co.

Daniel Hamlin, Delaware.

Sampson Dildine, Ridge Tp., Wyandot Co.

Asa M. Lake, Delaware.

Reuben W. Hamlin, Delaware

George Swigart, Hardin County,

John Jones, Findlay.

William Moreland, Jr., Findlay.

John Taylor, Findlay.

John Fishel, Jr., Liberty.

James Beard, Amanda.

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Godfrey Wolford, Delaware.

Edwin S. Jones, Findlay.

Selden Blodget, Blanchard.

Job Chamberlin, Sr., Findlay.

John Gardner, Findlay.

Robert McCullough, Liberty.

Jacob Poe, Liberty.

Ebenezer Wilson, Liberty.

Charles D. Smith, Ridge Tp., Wyandot Co.

Robert McKinnis, Liberty

John Shoemaker. Amanda.

John Boyd, Findlay.

Charles McKinnis, Liberty.

John .T. Hendricks, Amanda.

Abel Tanner, Madison.

Jacob Moreland. Findlay.

George Shaw, Blanchard.

Asa Lake, Delaware.

William J. Greer, Delaware.

Squire Carlin, Findlay.

Simeon Ransbottom, Madison.

Benjamin Chandler, Blanchard.

John Tullis, Madison.

James McKinnis, Liberty.

William Moreland, Findlay.

David Gitchel, Findlay.

John Simpson, Findlay.

John Travis. Liberty.

Joseph De Witt, Findlay.

Philip McKinnis, Liberty.

Matthew Reighly, Findlay.

Joshua Hedges, Findlay.

Reuben Hale, Findlay.

Isaac Johnson, Findlay.

Several of the foregoing pioneers subsequently removed into other townships; and of the whole number, Squire Carlin, of Findlay, and Joseph Johnson, of Portage Township, are the only survivors now residents of this county. After the election it was discovered that George Swigart's cabin stood just across the line in Hardin County, and his vote was therefore illegal. John Long, Charles D. Smith and Sampson Dildine lived in the territory cut off Hancock in the erection of Wyandot, but the remaining seventy voters resided within the present limits of the county. Abraham Huff, Wilson Vance and Mordecai Hammond were the judges of election, and John C. Wickham and Edwin S. Jones, clerks; while the several candidates for the respective offices, together with the number of votes each received, are as follows:

Commissioners.-Job Chamberlin, 31; Charles McKinnis, 35; Godfrey Wolford, 74; John P. Hamilton, 41; and John Long, 39. Godfrey Wolford, John Long and John P. Hamilton were elected.

Sheriff. -Reuben Hale, 34; and Don Alonzo Hamlin, 39; the latter being therefore the successful candidate.

Auditor.-Matthew Reighly was the only candidate for this office, and received 59 votes.

Treasurer.-Joshua Hedges was the only candidate for treasurer, and received 57 votes.

Coroner.-Isaac Johnson, 34; Thomas Slight, 37; and John Boyd, 3. Mr. Slight having a plurality of three votes was declared elected.

Assessor.-John Long, 35; and William Hackney, 39; the latter having a majority of four.

These officials served until the succeeding general election, held October 14, 1828. The county then contained three townships, viz.: Findlay, Amanda and Welfare, the name of the last mentioned being subsequently changed to Delaware. The voters of Findlay Township at that election were as follows:

John C. Wickham, Wilson Vance, Squire Carlin, Bleuford Hamilton, David Foster, Asher Wickham, John Jones, Job Chamberlin, Edwin S. Jones, Thomas Chester, John Boyd, John Simpson, James McKinnis, Charles McKinnis, Reuben Hale, William Moreland, Jr., Joseph Johnson, John Travis, Ebenezer Wilson, Minor T. Wickham, Jacob Poe, Joseph A. Sargent, George W. Simpson, John P. Hamilton, James B. Moore, Robert McCullough, Joseph DeWitt, Matthew Reighly, William Wade,

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Joshua Jones, William Moreland, William DeWitt, Simeon Ransbottom, Joshua Hedges, John Hunter, Robert McKinnis, William Taylor, Thomas Slight, John Tullis, James Peltier.

The electors of Amanda Township as then constituted, were as follows:

Sampson Dildine, William Hackney, James Beard, John Huff, John Long, Sr., John Long, Jr., John Shoemaker, Samuel Sargent, Jesse Hewitt, Levi Poulson, Robert Long, John Beard, Abraham Huff, Jr., Peter George, Abraham Huff, Sr., John J. Hendricks, Thomas Huff, Thomas Cole, David Hagerman, Adam Beard, Andrew Robb, Thomas Thompson.

Nineteen votes were cast in Welfare Township in the following order:

John Wolford,. William J. Greer, Mordecai Hammond, Don Alonzo Hamlin, Joseph B. Hamlin, Nathan Williams, Daniel Hamlin, Absalom Wolford, Asa M. Lake, Van R. Hancock, Josiah Elder, Aquilla Gilbert, Asa Lake, Warren Hancock, Reuben W. Hamlin, Robert Elder, Godfrey Wolford, Harvey Smith, James Thomas.

This makes a grand total of eighty-one votes polled at that election, or seven more than were cast the previous spring, though h several pioneers did not vote. The townships of Amanda and Welfare now Delaware) then embraced the whole of the southeast quarter of the county south of the base line and east of the Bellefontaine road (including the lands cut off in the erection of Wyandot County), also the territory now constituting Big Lick; while all the balance of the county was yet within the bounds and under the jurisdiction of Findlay Township. At that election John Long, John P. Hamilton and Charles McKinnis were elected commissioners, their opponents being William J. Greer, Mordecai Hammond and Godfrey Wolford. Squire Carlin and John C. Wickham were the candidates for sheriff, and the latter was elected. Matthew Reighly was again a candidate for auditor, but was defeated by William Hackney. Edwin S. Jones was elected treasurer over Joshua Hedges. Thomas Slight beat Reuben W. Hamlin for coroner; and Edwin S. Jones was defeated by Don Alonzo Hamlin for the assessorship. There was no great strife for the offices in those days, as the remuneration was so very small that few cared to spend their time in such a poor paying business. Yet some one had to discharge the duties of the respective positions, and it is highly creditable to the pioneers that good men were usually chosen.

Hancock County was named in honor of John Hancock, one of the leading spirits of 1776 who sent forth the immortal Declaration of Independence-an instrument whose clarion notes rang throughout every nation, causing the spark of freedom to burn with renewed hope in the hearts of oppressed humanity. Bearing the relation to this distinguished patriot that the people of Hancock County do, and associated as his memory is with their homes, it is not inappropriate here to give a short biographical sketch of one who contributed so much to the establishment of our free government.

John Hancock was born at Braintree, Mass., January 23, 1737. He graduated at Harvard College in 1754, and then entered his uncle's count ing-house, in Boston. When in his twenty-seventh year his uncle died, and he inherited his business and much of his property. The position of an enterprising and successful merchant, in those days, was one of consider able importance, and gave him a prominent place in society. He was "easy and engaging in his manners, liberal in the employment of his wealth, turn-

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ing his influence to good account, apt and ready to serve the public. " In the commencement of the difficulties with England he was among the foremost of the band of patriots who announced their determination to consecrate both their wealth and lives to the cause of liberty, and in the discussion of the best method of expelling the British troops from Boston, he exclaimed: "Burn Boston, and make John Hancock a beggar, if the public good requires it!" In 1774 he was elected to the first Provincial Congress, at Concord, and was chosen its president. Ill health prevented his being sent to the Continental Congress at Philadelphia that year, but the following season he was added to the Massachusetts delegation. At this time Gov. Gage, the British commandant at Boston, issued a proclamation, offering pardon to all rebels, save and except John Hancock and Samuel Adams, the offences of whom, in the language of the proclamation, were "of too flagitious a nature to admit of any other consideration than that of condign punishment." This denunciation, which was regarded asa mark of distinction by the patriots, gave Hancock a capital introduction to the Continental Congress, which body, on the resignation of Peyton Randolph, chose him its president, and in this capacity he affixed his bold signature to the Declaration of Independence. In 1779 Hancock, impelled by ill health, resigned his seat in Congress, and the same year served as a member of the Massachusetts Convention, at Cambridge, for the formation of a State constitution. Upon the adoption of that instrument he was chosen Governor, and was annually thereafter elected to that office, with the exception of the term of George Bowdoin, in 1786, during the remainder of his life. He retained his popularity to the last, and died in office as Governor of Massachusetts, October 8, 1793, in his fifty-seventh year.

Hancock County originally was about twenty-four miles square, and covered an area of 585 square miles of territory. No change occurred in its boundary lines until the erection of Wyandot County, February 3, 1845, when forty-five square miles were taken off the southeast corner in the formation of the new county, leaving Hancock with its present area of 540 square miles, or 345,600 acres. It is one of the central counties of Northwestern Ohio, and is bounded on the north by Wood County, on the east by Seneca and Wyandot, on the south by Wyandot and Hardin, and on the west by Allen and Putnam.

The county is divided into eighteen townships, erected in the following order: Findlay, May 28, 1823; Amanda and Delaware, in April, 182$; Jackson, December 7, 1829; Liberty and Marion, December 6, 1830; Big Lick, Blanchard and Van Buren, March 7, 1831; Washington, March 5, 1832; Union, June 4, 1832; Eagle, December 3, 1832; Cass and Portage, March 4, 1833; Pleasant, March 2, 1835; Orange, December 5, 1836; Madison, June 1, 1840, and Allen, in June, 1850.

The first official census of Hancock County was taken in 1830, when it contained a population of 813. The growth of the county by decades since that time has been as follows: 1840, 9,980; 1850, 10,751; 1860, 22,886; 1870, 23,847, and 1880, 27,784.

The following table presents in detail the population of the several townships and towns by decades since 1840, so far as the same is given in the United States census reports:

232- HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.

Comparing the present condition of Hancock County with what it was 100 years ago, the wonderful transformation that has taken place is truly amazing. Civilization had not yet come to disturb the equanimity of the red man as he smoked the pipe of peace at the council fire. Where now are towns and hamlets filled with busy populations intent upon the accumulation of wealth, the mastery of knowledge and the pursuits of pleasure, the wolf, bear and panther roamed in search of prey, the deer browsed and the pheasant drummed his monotonous note. Where now stands the glowing furnace from which tongues of flame are bursting, and where the busy water-wheel once furnished power for numerous mills, half-naked, dusky warriors fashioned their spears with rude implements of stone, and made themselves hooks out of the bones of animals for alluring the finny tribe. Where now are fertile fields, upon which the thrifty farmer turns the furrow, which his neighbor takes up and runs on till it reaches from one end of this broad State to the other, and where are flocks and herds rejoicing in rich meadows, gladdened by abundant streams and springs, or reposing at the heated noon-tide beneath ample shade, not a blow had been struck against the giants of the forest, the soil rested in virgin purity, the streams glided on in majesty, unvexed by wheel and unobstructed by device of man.