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CHAPTER XXIV.

UNION TOWNSHIP.

ERECTION, FIRST ELECTION OF TOWNSHIP OFFICERS, AREA, BOUNDARIES, AND POPULATION BY DECADES-PHYSICAL FEATURES-STREAMS AND SOIL- PIONEERS- FIRST MARRIAGE IN THE TOWNSHIP - JUSTICES - GRIST-MILLS - RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES-SCHOOLS-VILLAGES-CANNONSBURG, RAWSON AND CORY.

JUNE 4, 1832, the board of commissioners, in compliance with a petition presented by citizens of Township 1 south, Range 9, erected Union Township from territory previously embraced in Liberty. At the first election held soon afterward for the purpose of organizing the new subdivision, Philip Cramer, Nicholas Folk and George Burket were chosen trustees, and Wenman Wade, clerk. Union has always been a full congressional township, with an area of 23,040 acres. It lies in the western tier of subdivisions, and is bounded as follows : On the north by Blanchard Township, on the east by Eagle, on the south by Orange, and on the west by Putnam and Allen Counties. In 1840 Union had 637 inhabitants; in 1850, 1,150; 1860. 1,604; 1870, 1,546; and 1880, 1,876.

The topography of Union Township differs very little from the surrounding country. A sand ridge crosses its northwest corner, and exhibits the same characteristics of soil and physical features as are found all along this nar row belt in Liberty and Blanchard Townships. The general topography may be termed slightly rolling, though some of the lands along Ottawa Creek are hilly, while around Rawson and west of that village the country is quite level. A low, wet prairie, covering an area of about 400 acres, lying on Sections 23 and 24, existed during the early days of settlement, but this tract has been brought under cultivation, and where once the

486 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.

tall, rank grass gave shelter to deer and other game, large fields of golden wheat and tasseled corn greet the eye. The greater portion of Cranberry Marsh lies in the southwest part of this township, but it, too, has been all reclaimed, and these lands are now among the most valuable in the county. Excepting a small strip of prairie, Cranberry Marsh was originally covered with a dense growth of willows, and was a favorite resort of wild game. This marsh, with the small prairie south of the site of Rawson, were the only portions of Union Township uncovered by that once mighty forest, little of which now remains to attest the grandeur of its pristine glory.

Two branches of the Ottawa Creek rise in the central part of Van Buren Township, and after uniting in the southeast corner of Union, the main stream flows northwestward till it reaches the northwest quarter of Section 22, near the center of the township, where it makes an abrupt turn, thence passes in a northeast direction to the southwest corner of Section 1, and thence northward into Blanchard Township, where it empties into the Blanchard River. The Ottawa receives a couple of small runs in this township - one from the southwest on Section 22, and one from the southeast on Section 11. Tiderishi Creek flows in from Eagle Township across Section 1, emptying into the Ottawa near the southwest corner of that section. Another small tributary of the Blanchard waters the western part of the township, flowing northwest into Putnam County. The outlet of Cranberry Marsh runs along the south line of Union for about three miles, thence crosses the northwest corner of Orange Township into Allen County, where it empties into Riley Creek. The bottom lands are a formation of alluvial deposit and decayed vegetation, while the level lands away from the streams are generally a black loam. Along the sand ridge the soil is a composition of sand and gravel, principally the former, while the uplands in the balance of the township are a mixture of clay and loam.

Pioneers.-Philip Cramer and family were the first settlers of Union Township. He was a native of Pennsylvania, and settled at an early day in Fairfield County, Ohio. Here his first wife died, and he married Katharine Harmon, also a native of the Keystone State. In October, 1830, Mr. Cramer visited Hancock County, and entered the east half of Section 1, Township 1 south, Range 9, also the east half of the northwest quarter of the same section, and the following month the family came from Fairfield County and located permanently on the Tiderishi Creek. His sons, John, Philip and Simon, and daughter, Christina, wife of Henry Smaltz, were the children of his first marriage. All were full grown, and some of them married before coming to Hancock. Mr. Smaltz built his cabin in the southeast quarter of Section 1, where he died in 1836. John Cramer was the first justice of Union Township, and died in 1843: Philip, Jr. , died in 1850, and Simon was killed by lightning in 1851; while Christina also passed away many ,years ago. His second wife, Catharine, bore him seven children, viz. : Adam, Daniel, Jacob, Sarah, Rachel, Margaret and Phoebe. She died January 10, 1853, Mr. Cramer surviving her till April 13, 1867, and dying at the ripe old age of nearly eighty-five years. In 1832 Mr. Cramer built a horse-mill on his farm, and though a primitive affair, it was nevertheless in use for several years, and did considerable grinding for the neighborhood. Mr. Cramer was the pioneer minister of the United Brethren Church in Hancock County, and the first society of that denomination was organized at his cabin. He was always earnest and zealous in the

UNION TOWNSHIP. - 487

cause, and left the impress of his calling and character upon the community in which he lived. His sons, Daniel and Jacob, now own the land whereon his life in this county was so profitably spent.

Nicholas Folk and family, of Fairfield County, Ohio, located in the northeast quarter of Section 11 in the spring of 1831. Mr. Folk entered this tract April 2, 1831, and soon afterward brought out his Family. Ottawa Creek ran through the farm, and his rude log-cabin stood on the northwest bank of that stream. The parents resided here till death, leaving a well improved homestead to their children, who afterward sold it to Ellson Goit. The latter erected a. grist and saw-mill on Ottawa Creek, where the bridge now spans that stream, which became familiarly known as the Teatsorth Mill. One of Mr. Folk's sons, George, is a resident of Findlay.

On the 17th of September, 1831, George, Burket entered the southwest quarter of Section 11, and the same autumn, with his wife and son, Jacob, and son-in-law, William Lytle, and wife, removed from Perry County, Ohio, to Union Township. Both he and Lytle erected their cabins on the land entered by Mr. Burket, the latter afterward deeding to Lytle eighty acres of his entry. Mr. Burket was born in Berks County, Penn., in July, 1781, thence removed to Fairfield County, Ohio, where he was married to Miss Mary Ann Fox, a daughter of Jacob and Eva Fox, subsequent pioneers of this township. In 1816-17 the Burkets removed to Perry County, and thence to Hancock in the fall of 1831. They reared two children, viz.: Jacob, now a resident of Rawson, and Mrs. Catherine Lytle, of Cannonsburg. Mr: Burket spent the declining years of his life with his son, Jacob, dying in September, 1885, at the ripe old age of more than eighty-four years. Jacob was in his twentieth year when his parents came to this township, having been born in Fairfield County in 1811. In 1832 he was married by John Cramer, justice of the peace, to Miss Sarah Cramer, daughter of Philip Cramer, Sr., which was the first marriage in the township. His wife died in 1850, leaving five sons and four daughters, and he married Mrs. Philip Cramer, Jr. They are now residing in Rawson, and Mr. Burket is the oldest living pioneer of Union Township. Mr. Lytle married Catherine Burket in Perry County, and resided on the farm given him by his father-in-law till his death November 3, 1872. His widow is now living in Cannonsburg.

The next settlers of Union were Jacob Fox, Sr., and sons Jacob and William. On the 13th of September, 1831, Jacob, Jr., entered the east half of the southwest quarter of Section 2, and four days afterward his father entered the southeast quarter of Section 2, and the northeast quarter of Section 15. In the spring of 1832, the parents, Jacob and Eva Fox, also the sons, Jacob and William, with their families, came from Fairfield County, and took up their residence on the land previously entered along Ottawa Creek. The Foxes were natives of Pennsylvania, whence they removed to Fairfield County, Ohio, and thence to Hancock. Jacob, Sr., built his cabin on Section 2, and Jacob, Jr., also settled on the same section, while William located on Section 15. The father was a veteran of the Revolution, and died August 18, 1849, in his eighty-sixth year. Jacob, Jr., was the father of six children; four, John C., Lydia, Sarah and Nancy were born in Fairfield, and 'Jacob and Solomon in this township. He died upon his farm in Section 2, July 25, 1863, his widow, Polly, surviving him till February 10, 1885. She was a native of Virginia, and died in her eighty-fourth year. Four of their children are yet living-three sons and one daughter-and all are residents.

488 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.

of Hancock County. William Fox died October 30, 1863, and his widow, Sarah, in 1868. Two of their children are living in the township.

Wenman Wade entered the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 15 April 20, 1832, and soon afterward located upon it. He was a native of Virginia, but came here from Wayne County, Ohio, and upon the organization of Union Township, in 1832, he was elected clerk. In 1835 he was elected justice of the peace, and re-elected to the same office. Mr. Wade was a noted hunter, and during the earlier years of settlement supplied his neighbors with plenty of venison and bear meat. He was an energetic, go-ahead man, of untiring industry and perseverance, and stood high in the esteem of the pioneers. After a residence here of many years he sold out and moved to Wood County.

David and Christian Fox came from Fairfield County, Ohio, in the spring of 1833. The former had entered the northwest quarter of Section 12 August 28, 1832, and here be built his cabin; his son, Daniel, is now residing upon the same land. David was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1796, and was married in Fairfield County to Elizabeth Bartoon. She was born in Maryland, in 1801, and was the mother of five children when the family settled on ' Tawa Creek, viz. : George, Daniel, Sarah, Joseph and Jonathan. Two were born here: Mary A. and Susannah. Mr. Fox died in the township June 30, 1861, but his widow is still living, and though in her eighty-fifth year, she is quite hale and well preserved. Three of the four surviving children are residents of the township, and one lives in Orange. Christian Fox settled close to his brother, William, on Section 15, and died April 28, 1865. His widow lives in Rawson, and three sons and two daughters are also residents of Hancock County. The Fox brothers were all worthy citizens, and deserve honorable mention in the pioneer annals of this portion of Ohio.

Henry and Margaret Deeds, natives of Pennsylvania, removed to this township from Fairfield County, Ohio, in the fall of 1833, and settled in the northeast quarter of Section 12, entered by Mr. Deeds September 21, 1833. They reared a family of ten children, nine of whom survive and reside in this county. Mr. Deeds is yet living upon the old homestead where he and wife located over fifty-two years ago. His wife was blind several years before her death, which occurred January 26, 1886. Her bereaved husband, though bending under the weight of old age, is fond of speaking of those early days which they spent together in the rude log-cabin, living on the plainest fare, and surrounded by forest trees on every side.

The year 1834 ushered in quite a number of families, Henry Stoves, Jacob Huffman, Nicholas and Dillard Dukes, Joseph Baker, John Flick, Abraham Watkins, Joseph Sorbie and Shedlock Pancoast, all coming during that year. On the 2d of November, 1833, Henry Stoves, of Crawford County (now Wyandot), entered the southwest quarter of Section 7, Union Township, and the following spring located on his land. He was a native of Virginia, and his wife, Margaret, of Ross County, Ohio. In 1842 he was elected justice of the peace and served one term. He resided on his farm in Section 7 until his death in 1849. His widow and son, Hezekiah, reside in Benton Ridge, and two of his daughters in Union Township. Jacob and Susannah Huffman, he a native of Virginia and she of Pennsylvania, located in Liberty Township in 1833, and in 1834 moved into Union, locating on Section 15. They reared a family of ten children, two of whom

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reside in the township. The mother died June 6, 1869, and the father on the 7th of November following, and both are kindly spoken of by those who knew them best.

Nicholas and Dillard R. Dukes, of Franklin County, Ohio, entered several hundred acres of land on Sections 18 and 19, in 1833 and 1834. The latter first came to the county with his step-father, William Powell, and brother, Lewis Dukes, Sr., in the fall of 1827, but soon went back to Franklin County. In the fall of 1828 he again came to Hancock, with his brothers, Richard and John, and after working for them about three years returned to his early home. In the fall of 1834 he accompanied his brother Nicholas to this township, where he has ever since resided. Nicholas settled on Section 18, and died in 1850. Four of his children are living on the old farm which he entered and improved. Dillard R. located on Section 19, whence he removed to Section 4, where he and his family now reside.

Joseph and Elizabeth Baker removed from Lorain to Wayne County, Ohio, and, in 1834, took up their residence on Section 13, Union Township. They were the parents of seven children, two of whom now reside in the township. At the time of their settlement a few small clearings dotted the forest, but they, like most of the first settlers, began right in the woods and endured all the hardships of pioneering.

John Flick, of Franklin County, Ohio, entered the southeast quarter of Section 15 May 22, 1833, and the southeast quarter of Section 3 March 21, 1834. The writer has been informed by several pioneers that Mr. Flick and family settled on Section 15 in 1834, and he believes this to be the correct date, though some of the children give 1835 as the time of their coming. Mr. Flick was a native of Virginia, and a blacksmith by trade. He married Elizabeth Fox, a native of Pennsylvania, and reared a family of seven children, and all the sons are residents of this township, Mrs. Peter Schwab residing in Pleasant. Mr. Flick died January 12, 1867, in the sixty- fourth y ear of his life, his widow surviving him till 1881.

Abraham Watkins entered the northeast quarter of Section 26, May 26, 1834, and settled upon it the same year. He was killed a few years after ward while out in the timber "coon" hunting. Joseph Sorbie, of Guernsey County, Ohio, entered the southeast quarter of Section 24 November 27, 1833. In 1834 he brought out his family and resided upon this land till his death September 6, 1859. Shedlock Pancoast, of Fayette County, Ohio, entered 120 acres in the southeast quarter of Section 32 November 12, 1833, upon which he located the following year. He subsequently sold out and went West.

In 1835 Francis and Amass Clymer, William Wade, Timothy Main, Eli Gilpin and Isaac Clabaugh settled in Union. Amass Clymer and Abraham, a son of Francis Clymer, came from Franklin County, Ohio, in the spring of 1835, bunt a cabin and -made a clearing on the west part of Section 19, entered the previous year by Francis Clymer, who took up several hundred acres of land in the township at the same time. A crop was put in, and in the fall of 1835, Francis and wife, Susannah, with the balance, of the family, removed from Franklin County to the cabin previously erected in the forest of Union Township. They reared a family of six children, all growing to maturity, three of whom are yet living, two being residents of this county. Amass and family removed to the West, but Francis and wife passed the remaining years of their lives in this township. William Wade,

490 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.

a nephew of Wenman, settled on Section 27 in 1835, but subsequently moved to Findlay, and died in that town. Timothy Main entered the southwest quarter of Section 25 December 15, 1834, and the next year brought his family from Delaware County, Ohio. He was a Virginian whose parents had settled quite early in Delaware County. Mr. Main died while serving in the army during the Rebellion, but his widow yet occupies the old homestead. Eli Gilpin, also from Delaware County, entered the southwest quarter of Section 36 December 8, 1834. In the spring of 1835 he located on his land, which he sold to his son, Thomas, in 1837, though he still continued to reside upon it till May, 1839, when William McConnell purchased the property and the Gilpins removed to Illinois. In the fall of 1835 Henry Clabaugh, of Crawford County, Ohio, entered land in Sections 6 and 7, upon which his son, Isaac, settled about the same time. The latter was born in Virginia in 1798, and in 1800 was brought by his parents to Ohio. In 1820 he married Margaret Houser, also a native of Virginia, born in 1796, and came from Crawford County, Ohio, to the northwest corner of this township. They had a family of five children, only two of whom are now living. This pioneer couple walked the rugged path of life together for the extraordinary period of sixty-five years, and at the time of Mr. Clabaugh's death, September 10, 1885, they were the oldest married couple in Hancock County. Though Mrs. Clabaugh is in her ninetieth year, she is still quite robust and bids fair to reach a much riper age than four score and ten.

Thomas Dewese, Isaac Wade, Collis Church, Charles Vermillion, Daniel Showalter, Daniel and David Stratton, Eleazur Perrigo, Harmon Baler and James Clark all located in the township in 1836. Mr. Dewese entered the west half of the northeast quarter of Section 22, May 26, 1834, but did not remove from Wayne County for two years afterward. His wife, Sarah, bore him nine children, of whom Flavius J., of Orange Township, is the only survivor. Mr. Dewese served one term as justice of the peace, and died in 1853. His widow married Levi Showalter, and died in 1881.

Isaac Wade, a brother of Wenman, a native of Virginia, came from Wayne County, Ohio, and settled on Section 28, where he resided until death. His brother, William, and uncle, Richard, a pioneer schoolmaster, also lived in this township, and though coming into Union at a much later date than Wenman, Isaac and William, Jr., were very early settlers of Hancock County. William located in Liberty Township in 1827, whence he moved into Union, and thence to Indiana. Richard was an itinerant pedagogue, and taught the earliest schools in several townships of the county, finally settling down northeast of the site of Cory.

Collis Church emigrated from New York State to Wayne County, Ohio, where his wife, Elizabeth, died. On the 20th of April, 1836, while yet living in Wayne County, he entered the east half of the southeast quarter of Section 14, Union Township, and soon afterward settled on his land, now largely covered by the village of Rawson. Here he built a cabin and began the work of opening a farm. He finally moved into Orange Township, where he died August 18, 1870, in his seventy-eighth year. His eldest son, William, is one of the well-to-do farmers of Washington Township, and may also be termed one of Hancock's pioneers.

Charles and Ann Vermillion were natives of Virginia and Ohio, respectively, and married in Champaign County, Ohio. In September, 1836, he

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entered the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 35, Union Township, and settled upon it the same fall. They were the parents of twelve children, nine of whom are living, and all residents of Iowa.

Daniel and Susan Showalter located on Section 29 in the fall of 1836. They were natives of Pennsylvania, and first settled in Wayne County, Ohio, and thence removed to Hancock. Both resided till their death in this township, and two of their sons-Levi and Richard-are now among its leading farmers. Richard has been a resident of the county since 1836, and Levi settled here in 1837; they are among the honest, upright, straightforward business men of the township, trusted and respected by its best people, and recognized as kind neighbors and worthy citizens.

Daniel Stratton, of Wayne County, Ohio, settled on Section 31 in the fall of 1836, where he and his wife died. His son, David, and family located on the site of Cory the same autumn, but removed West a few years prior to the Rebellion. Eleazur Perrigo, also of Wayne County, settled on Section 30 in 1836. Several years ago he sold his farm and went to Wisconsin. Harman Baler, of Richland County, Ohio, was also a pioneer of 1836. On the 24th of May, 1839, he entered eighty acres of land on Section 20, upon which he settled the same year. James Clark located on Section 3 about the same period, but he removed to Indiana many years ago.

William and Susan Green, natives of Pennsylvania, settled in what is now Wyandot County, Ohio, in 1835, and in 1837 came to Union Township and built their cabin on Section 6. They reared a family of thirteen children, eleven of whom are now living, six being residents of Hancock County. The parents died on the old homestead.

Benjamin and Jane Marshall were born in Pennsylvania, and married in Trumbull County, Ohio, in 1814. In 1838 they settled on Section 35, Union Township, where Mr. Marshall died August 25, 1861; his aged widow resides with her son, J. W., on the old homestead. Of their family of nine children, four sons and three daughters survive. William M., the eldest son, settled in Orange Township in 1837, where he has served one term as justice of the peace, and has also been commissioner of Hancock County for six years. The Marshalls have always been one of the leading families of their adopted county.

Rev. Richard Biggs, who died at Rawson in 1880, was a pioneer of 1838, settling near the site of that village. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1806, and was left an orphan in early childhood. Managing to obtain a fair knowledge of the common branches of an English education, he began teaching ere reaching his majority. In 1829 he joined the Methodist Episcopal denomination, and soon afterward removed to Portage (now Summit) County, Ohio. In 1886 he was licensed to preach, and two years after settling in Hancock was admitted to the North Ohio Conference. He was an itinerant preacher about thirty years, and few men were better known throughout northwestern Ohio. Mr. Biggs taught the first school in Union Township, and many of the gray-haired men and women of this locality received their first schooling from him.

Other settlers of this period were James Burns, Edward Taylor, Abraham Spangler and James Watkins. May 2, 1835, Mr. Burns, who was from Richland County, Ohio, entered the east half of the southwest quarter of Section 21, but Levi Showalter says he did not settle on his land till 1838 or 1839, though his son, William, who lives upon the old homestead,

492 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.

thinks that his parents came at least two years prior to that time. He was a very worthy citizen, served many years as justice of the peace, and died in 1874 on the farm which he had redeemed from a wilderness. Edward Taylor settled on Section 33 about the same time as Burns effected a settlement, and resided here till death. Abraham and Elizabeth Spangler, native Ohioans, came to the township in 1839. He was a cabinet-maker and carpenter, and both he and his wife died in the county, the former in 1879 and the latter in 1881. Four of their seven children are yet living James Watkins also located here in 1839 and died in 1874. His widow, Elizabeth A., survives him. Several others might be mentioned who settled in the township between 1830 and 1840. yet those given comprise the great majority of the real pioneers. Many of them after clearing up, good farms, sold out and left the county, while many others spent their lives here, and their remains are moldering in the little cemeteries of the township.

Justices.-The following citizens have filled this office in Union Township: John Cramer, Wenman Wade, Ephraim Moody, Thomas Dewese, Henry Stover, Thomas Stratton, Samuel Dewese, C. F. Malahan, John West, John McConnell, William Stratton, Rial Beach, James Burns, Charles George, D. W. Cass, John Stratton, Peter Reckert, George W. Mull, S. J. Nowlan, A. J. L. Hartman and G. W. Burket. The last mentioned and Peter Reckert are the present justices of Union Township.

Grist Mills.-The small "corn-cracker" built by Philip Cramer on his farm in 1832, was the pioneer mill of this portion of the county. It was a very primitive affair, but served a good purpose at a period when any sort of a mill was a godsend. In 1845, Edson Goit, of Findlay, erected a flouring-mill on the south bank of Ottawa Creek on Section 11. The millwright and carpenter work was done by Thomas Pickens, of Pleasant Township, and the mill was operated by water-power. Mr. Goit also put up a sawmill on the opposite side of the creek. These mills were purchased by James Teatsorth, who subsequently introduced steam-power, but after carrying on business here for many years the buildings were torn down and removed. This old property was known all over Hancock County as the " Teatsorth Mill," and from the time of its erection proved a great convenience to the people of the surrounding country. The next gristmill in this township was erected by Dr. H. P. Eaton, in Cory, in 1873. It began operations late that year, and has ever since that time continued to turn out a good grade of flour. It is a frame structure and run by steam-power. In the winter of 1880-81 a steam flouring-mill was built in Rawson, by George Burket. It has a daily capacity of about thirty-five barrels, and is doing a successful business.

Religious Societies.-A society of the United Brethren Church was organized in 1832 at the house of Philip Cramer, who was the first minister of that denomination in Hancock County. Philip Cramer and wife, and sons, John, Philip, Simon and Adam, George Burket and wife, William Lytle and wife, Jacob Fox, Sr., and wife, William Fox and wife. Jacob Fox, Jr., and Solomon Foglesong and wife were the organizing members of this society. In the next few years the membership was increased by the coming of David Fox and wife, Christian Fox and wife. Henry Deeds and wife, Jacob Huffman and wife, Mrs. John Flick, Joseph Baker and wife, and Collis Church and wife. Services were held in private houses and the old log schoolhouse for nearly twenty years. But in 1848 a frame building was erected in

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the northeast corner of Section 11, on land donated for the purpose by Edson Goit, and known as the Union Church. It was not, however, completed till 1850, and no services were held therein until that year. The church was formally dedicated to Divine worship in 1852, and was used until the completion of their present fine building in Rawson in 1883. The old structure is yet standing, but is fast going to decay. Another society of this denomination was organized quite early in the west part of the township, and known as the Clymer Church. In the fall of 1851 a building was erected in the northwest part of Section 19. This structure served the congregation for about twenty years, when the present brick edifice was put up immediately across the road on Section 18.

The Associate Reformed Presbyterians organized a society at Cannonsburg in 1845-48, and in 1851 built a frame church in that village. Rev. Mr. Bonner was the first minister, and served the society for several years. In 1858 this society and the Seceder society of Orange Township were amalgamated under the title of the United Presbyterian Church. The latter organization has since owned and occupied the Cannonsburg building.

The Methodist Protestants formed a class at an early day, and about 1853 built a church on Section 21. In the fall of 1870 they moved this building to Rawson, where it is still in use. This denomination erected another edifice in Cory in 1880, and have a good congregation in each village. Prior to the erection of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church at Cannonsburg, in 1851, the Seceders put up a building in the same village, but, ere its completion, sold it to the Methodist Episcopals, who had organized a society in that locality. This society, however, had a very flickering existence, and finally became extinct, the church building being destroyed by fire. In 1872 the Methodist Episcopals erected a nice frame edifice in Rawson, and have now quite a flourishing society.

Many years ago the Evangelical Association put up a frame church on the site of Cory, which was used till 1875, when a handsome brick building was erected in the village by the same society. The old structure was then sold, and is now doing service as a wagon shop. The Evangelists have another brick church in Cannonsburg, built in 1867, with a seating capacity of about 400. This denomination is quite strong in Union Township, and embraces many of the leading citizens.

The Christian Union denomination has two church edifices in this township, one on the southeast quarter of Section 2, erected in 1871, and one on the northwest quarter of Section 20. Both are good buildings, and are sup ported by fair sized congregations. The "Church of God " was the last religious society organized in the township. Their church stands on the northwest quarter of Section 8. This makes eleven churches in Union Township, comprising seven different sects, all struggling to reach the same goal.

Schools.-In 1838 a small log schoolhouse was built in the southeast corner of Section 2, and a school opened by Rev. Richard Biggs. The Cramers, Falks, Burkets, Foxes, Deedses and Flicks were the pupils in attendance. In October, 1838, Wenman Wade gave a school site on his farm, in Section 15, to the directors of a newly organized district, Mr. W Wade being one of the directors. A building was soon afterward erected, to which the pioneers of that locality sent their children. Other schoolhouses followed in quick succession, and in a few years every part of the township could boast of a school in full operation. Both schools and buildings improved with the

496 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.

passing years, until 1885 found Union Township with ten good schoolhouses, those at Rawson and Cory employing two teachers each.

Villages.-Cannonsburg, the oldest village in the township, was laid out December 12, 1839, on Sections 35 and 36, by Benjamin and James C. Marshall, Franklin Ballard and William McConnell, and soon got to be quite a brisk little hamlet. In 1841 a postoffice was established in the village, and Thompson Bartel appointed postmaster. His successors have been Dr. E. P. Leslie, Dr. H. P. Eaton, D. W. Cass, Fuller Ballard, Henry Lue, J. D. Buss, J. A. Combs, Sr., Isaac E. Steinman, Lydia A. Rossman, J. A. Combs, Jr., and George W. Mull. The lack of railroad communication has been an unfortunate drawback to Cannonsburg, and with railroad towns in close proximity it can scarcely hope to advance beyond its present size, if, indeed, it can hold its own. Its population is not given separately in the official census of 1880, but its citizens claim about seventy-five inhabitants. The village contains a general dry goods, grocery and hardware store, a small grocery store, a wagon shop, two blacksmith shops and a hotel, and has one physician. The United Presbyterians and the Evangelical-Association have each a church in Cannonsburg.

Rawson was laid out by Frederick Keller and G. J. Belly, on Sections 13 and 14, in February, 1855, and named in honor of L. Q. Rawson, Esq., of Fremont, then president of the proposed Fremont & Indiana Railroad, now the Lake Erie & Western, previously surveyed through this county. A few houses were put up, stores opened by James C. Benham and George Weigle, and other evidences of a town soon sprang into existence; but as the railroad, the directing cause of all this activity, got little farther than a survey, the growth of the village came to a halt; and whatever business life it contained, existed in a flickering condition. In 1861 the road was finished as far as Findlay, but here it stopped, and it was not till September, 1872, that the long looked for improvement was completed to Rawson. Immediately new life was infused into the town; speculation in village lots became rife; additions were made to the original plat, and the hum and bustle of business presaged a rapid growth. This excitement, however, soon died away, leaving Rawson a respectable country town, with a healthy increasing trade. In 1863 a postoffice was established here with James C. Benham as postmaster. Since the expiration of his term the following postmasters have filled the office: Jackson Miller, James Woods, John H. Ellis, George W. Fox, Thomas E. Woods, Nicholas Watson, J. D. Buss and C. C. Cramer.

Rawson was incorporated August 6, 1884, and the first election for officers held early in 1885, when George Burket was chosen mayor. The census of 1880 gives Rawson 227 inhabitants, but its citizens now claim about 400. Its business interests consist of two dry goods and grocery stores, one general grocery and drug store, one grocery and hardware store, one stove and tinware store, a furniture store and undertaker, a hardware store, a hotel and livery stable, a barber shop and two saloons. Two physicians, Drs. Thomas H. Woods and A. G. Herrington, are also located in the village. In the manufacturing line there is a good flouring-mill, a saw and planing-mill, a saw-mill and handle factory, and a saw and shingle-mill, all run by steam power; two blacksmith shops, one wagon shop, a harness shop, a shoe shop, a meat market and a large the factory. There is also a grain elevator on the track of the Lake Erie & Western Railroad, as the town is in the center of a fine agricultural district, whence thousands of bushels of grain are

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shipped annually. A large amount of stock is also handled at this point, and shipped to the Eastern markets. The Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Protestant and United Brethren denominations have each a good church in Rawson, and there is also a two-story brick schoolhouse wherein two teachers find employment. The Odd Fellows, Grand Army of the Republic and Freemasons have each a lodge here. Rawson Lodge, No. 564, I. O. O. F., was instituted January 27, 1874, with fourteen charter members, and has now a membership of over forty. The lodge owns a good hall well fitted up, and is in a flourishing condition. Swartz Post, No. 144, G. A. R., was chartered September 23, 1881, and holds its meetings in Odd Fellows' Hall. It started with fifteen members, but now contains nearly thirty of those brave boys who assisted in preserving the integrity of their country's flag during the dark days of civil strife. The Benton Ridge Masonic lodge has recently been removed to Rawson, son, where its members will in future meet.

Cory was laid out July 18, 1872, in Sections 22, 27 and 28, by Matthias Markley and Samuel Kemerer, on the line of the Lake Erie & Western Railroad, then in process of construction. It lies about two miles and a half southwest of Rawson, and was named in honor of D. J. Cory, Esq., of Findlay. A few buildings were put up when the railroad reached here, in the fall of 18 72, but the real beginning of the town was the erection, in 1873, of a flouring-mill, by Dr. H. P. Eaton and a saw-mill by William D. Turner, both of which are still in operation. A postoffice named Mount Cory was established herein 1873, with Benjamin Wildemuth as postmaster. The successive incumbents of this office since that time have been Alfred Longbrake, W. J. Staater, J. L. Asire, W. W. Haldeman, W. J. Staater and Matthias Markley. In February, 1874, Hall & Harpster opened a general store, and soon afterward the Falks brought a stock of goods to the village. Dr. E. P. Leslie, the first resident physician, opened a drug store in 1874, and these constitute the pioneer business men of Cory. Several additions have been made to the village, which has grown slowly, and in 1880 contained a population of 199, but now claims nearly 300 inhabitants. There are two general dry goods and grocery stores, a hardware store, a stove and tin shop, a drug store, a fruit and candy store, a harness shop, a hotel and livery stable, one saloon, a flouring-mill, a saw and planing-mill, an undertaker, a wagon factory, a blacksmith shop, a the factory and one resident physician. Cory also contains a two-teacher brick school building, and two churches-the Evangelical Association and Methodist Protestant. It is a stirring little village and adds considerably to the wealth of Union Township.