PAGE 560 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY

CHAPTER XX.

JACKSON TOWNSHIP.

THIS division of the county was known as Township 3 north, Range 13 east, up to the period of its establishment under the name of Jackson in 1832. In 1820 the surveyor, J. Glasgow, laid off this tract in quarter sections, and, although the lands were offered for sale shortly after, in 1821, few, if any, purchasers were found, In 1827, however, one Henry Huffman settled near the present village of Her, and in 1828, was joined by the Rinebolts. Here in 1848 the last parcel of United States lands in the county was purchased by Andrew Rank. The population in 1840 was 586, increased in 1880 to 1,390, including the north part of Fostoria City. The population in 1885 is placed at 1,600. The railroad systems represented in the township are the Lake Erie & Western, the Columbus, Hocking Valley & Toledo, the " Nickel Plate " and the Ohio Central. The township is watered by Wolf Creek in its southeastern sections, and by Harrison Creek, a northern tributary of Wolf Creek, in its western and northern sections, For years subsequent to settlement these creeks gave to the township a marshy character, which tended to its depreciation. Modern times have confined the waters of the creeks to proper channels and converted a swampy wilderness into a land of beautiful farms. The Bigham Spring and Creek are useful natural phenomena.

Organic and Official.-The first meeting was held in Jackson Township, April 3, 1833 (four months after the commissioners established the town), at the house of Abram Rinebolt. The trustees there elected were Michael Stahl, Christian Foster and John Stambaugh; Enoch Trumbo, clerk; Daniel Williams, treasurer; Abram Rinebolt and Henry Huffman, road supervisors; Samuel Rinebolt, Andrew Ferrier and Daniel Swope, overseers of the poor; Joseph Hampshire and Jacob Hollinger, fence viewers. The early records, like other old books throughout the county, are among the things that were. The records which are in existence date back to 1843. and from them the present township clerk, Charles Ash, has been kind enough to make a list of trustees and clerk, elected annually. The three trustees are named first, and clerk last, for each year, as follows:

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1843.--Gideon Jones, Jonas Hampshire, John M. Hoover; Jacob Stahl.

1844.-Gideon Jones, George Stahl, John Williams; Jacob Stahl.

1845.-Christian Foster, John M. Hoover, Fred Feeble; Jacob Stahl.

1846.-Michael Stahl, John Stoner, John Miller; Jacob Stahl.

1847.-John M. Kimmel, John Stoner, John Lambright; Jacob Stahl.

1848.-John M. Kimmel, Fred. Feeble, John Lambright; Jacob Stahl.

1849.-John Shontz, Fred. Feeble, Henry Lambright; Jacob Stahl.

1850.-William Boyd, Jerry Parkhurst, Henry Lambright; Peter Stoner.

1851.Andrew M. Williams, Jonas Foster, Fred. Hollopeter; Peter Stoner.

1852. -Adam Hampshire, Henry Swope, Frederick Hollopeter; Jacob Stahl.

1853-54.-Frederick Feeble, Christian Foster, Levi Sour; Eli Welsh.

1855.-Jacob Sprout, Jonas Foster, Peter Eaton; Jacob Stahl.

1856.-J. N. Wyant, J. W. Bratton, David Eller; Noah Stahl.

1857.-Kinsey Cog, J. W. Bratton, David Eller; M. Penwell.

1858.-David Boyd, J. W. Bratton, Jacob Sprout; Noah Stahl.

1859.-B. L. Long, J. W. Bratton, Henry Lambright; Thomas Penwell.

1860.-Jonas Foster, Elias Stahl, John Lambright; Eli Feeble.

1861.-R. G. Murphy, Elias Stahl, Peter Eaton; William Ash.

1862.-R. G. Murphy, Michael Himmel, Stephen Dicken; Joseph Stahl.

1863.--Gideon Jones, John Longley, Noah Stahl; Eli Feeble.

1864.-Sampson Foster, John Longley, Noah Stahl; Lewis Toan.

1865.-Gideon Jones, Eli Feeble, Noah Stahl; James M. Hill.

1866.-William Ash, Eli Feeble, Jonas Foster; James M. Hill.

1867.-William Ash, John Longley, Paul Kline; Pliny Trumbo.

1868.-William Ash, John Craun, Stephen Dicken; Pliny Trumbo.

1869.-William Ash, John Craun, (vacant); Pliny Trumbo.

1870.--William Ash, John Craun, (vacant); Pliny Trumbo.

1871.-Aaron Cox, Henry Stahl, James H. McCaulay; H. W. A. Boyd.

1872.-Aaron Cox, Pliny Trumbo, Isaiah Hollopeter; H. W. A. Boyd.

1873.-Sampson Foster, Pliny Trumbo, H. W. A. Boyd; Isaiah Hollopeter.

1874.-John Craun, Gilbert Hughs, H. W. A. Boyd; Isaiah Hollopeter.

1875.-John Craun, Henry Stahl, H. W. A. Boyd; Isaiah Hollopeter.

1876.-J. R. Dicken, Isaiah Hollopeter, H. W. A. Boyd; William Stahl.

1877.-J. R. Dicken, John Craun, Jacob Martin; William Stahl.

1878.-B. L. Long, William Snider, Jacob Martin; William Stahl.

1879.-J. R. Dicken, B. L. Long, William Steward; William Stahl.

1880.-John G. Schupp, Noah Good, V. D. Newcomb; H. W. A. Boyd.

1881.-William A. Ash, William P. Dicken, V. D. Newcomb; Charles Ash.

1882.-William A. Ash, Levi Boyd, J. R. Swope; W. A. Stahl.

1883.-J. W. Good, Levi Boyd, J. R, Swope; Charles Ash.

1884.-Sampson Foster, Levi Boyd, Dillon Ames; Charles Ash.

The township officers of Jackson, elected in April, 1885, are: John Park. hurst, Dillon Ames and C. H. Steward, trustees; Charles Ash, clerk; Pliny Trumbo, treasurer; G. S. Wormwood, assessor; Eli Pence and Marion Flack, constables; H. W. A. Boyd and John Soule, justices of the peace.

That portion of the township in Section 31, embraced within the limits of Fostoria, is administered by the corporation of that city. Rehoboth on Section 17, Amsden on the Lake Erie & Western Railroad, Section 14, and Der on the "Nickel Plate" in the southwestern quarter of Section 25, all the nucleal points of towns, which the future may bring into existence, are governed by the township board, and shall continue to be so governed unless a brighter fortune awaits them than that which frowned upon the old scriptural settlement of Rehoboth.

562 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.

Pioneer and Pioneer Incidents.-George and Tishey (Reed) Ash, natives of Pennsylvania, parents of William Ash, of Jackson Township (who was born in Pennsylvania in 1830), settled in this county in 1833 . . . . George Ash, now eighty-six years old, resides here.

Hugh and Margaret (Rogers) Boyd, parents of David Boyd, of Jackson Township (who was born in Pennsylvania in 1822), settled in this county in 1844. David Boyd is a pioneer blacksmith . . . . Peter and Maria Brumm, both old settlers of Jackson, are numbered among the dead. The latter moved to Indiana in 1882, and died there in September, 1884 . . . . John and Esther (Spangler) Betts, natives of Pennsylvania, parents of Mrs. Godfrey Biles, of Fostoria, were pioneers of Jackson Township.

Abraham and Rosana (Miller) Craun, natives of New Jersey, parents of John Craun, of Jackson Township (who was born in Franklin County, Ohio, in 1825), came with their family to this county in 1835. Mrs. Craun died in 1878, Mr. Craun in 1883.

David Dissinger, a Pennsylvanian, came here in 1838 . . . . Jonathan Dicken, also a Pennsylvanian, came in 1839 . . . . J. R. Dicken, a native of Ohio, settled in the county in 1834.

Peter Eaton, born in New York State in 1812, father of Mrs. Joseph Schupp and Reuben Eaton, both of Jackson Township, entered land in this township in 1840.

Andrew Ferrier made a settlement in Jackson about 1832 . . . . Christian Foster located in Jackson prior to 1832, settled in the county in 1839 . . . . Fred. and Christiana (Kempher) Febles moved from Wood County, Ohio, in 1845. The former died in 1863, the latter in 1876 . . . . George and Jane (Anderson) Feasel, natives of Pennsylvania, settled in Fairfield County, Ohio, at an early date and located in Jackson Township, within the pioneer period.

John P. Gordon sold the first whisky at Risdon in 1831-32 . . . . John Gibbens, a native of Ohio, came in 1832.

Henry Huff man, the first settler in the township, entered the southwest quarter of Section 36, in 1827, and built his cabin early the following year .... Jacob and Savillia (Peters) Heiserman, natives of Germany, parents of Jacob Heiserman, of Jackson Township (who was born in Seneca County in 1847), came to this county in 1833 . . . . Jonas Hampshire came into Jackson in 1833. . .Isaiah Hollopeter, founder of the village of Rehoboth in 1844, was one of ii a pioneers of Jackson . . . . Henry Hoffman settled in Jackson Township in 1827 . . . . Jacob Hollinger, James Hanna and Joseph Hagerman were among the early settlers.

John Iler, a native of Pennsylvania, assisted in building the first churches, and the first log schoolhouse in the township. His son, Isaac (one of fifteen children) resides in Hopewell township . . . . Plato Jones, a native of Ohio, settled here in 1832 . . . . Henry and Margaret (Sprout) Johnson were early settlers. . Henry F. Johnson came in 1851, and settled on his present farm . . . . James and Priscilla (Blagg) Jones, parents of the late Gideon Jones, of Jackson 'Township (who was born in Gallia County, Ohio, in 1810), moved with their family to Wood County, Ohio, when it was a dense wilderness, and settled not far from the Seneca County line, near the farm where Gideon Wells afterward lived many years.

Joseph Kinsey is a name classed among the pioneers . . . . Henry A. Kinsey came in 1845.

John and Elizabeth (Good) Lambright, John Longley, William C. and Elizabeth Lybarger are names connected with the early history of the township ....Daniel and Margaret (Brill) Long, natives of Pennsylvania, former

PAGE 563 - PICTURE OF JACOB PULTZ

PAGE 564 - BLANK

JACKSON TOWNSHIP. - 565

born in 1779, died in 1871, latter born in 1783, died in 1853, came to Jackson Township in 1834, where B. L. Long now resides.

Florence McCarthy was one of the pioneers of 1832 . . . . Abraham Miller, father of Isaac Miller (who came to this county at an early day), and grandfather of-Ezra Miller (who was born here in 1845), is a son of Isaac Miller, who settled in the county in 1826. There is an apple tree on the farm of Abraham Miller, in Jackson Township, which is fifty years old, and measures seven feet and nine inches in circumference, four inches from the ground. It is thirty-nine feet high and fifty-nine feet wide at the top . . . . Conrad Myers, a native of Mahoning County, settled in Hancock County in 1835, and ten years later moved to Jackson Township, Seneca County. Prof. B. F. Myers, of Tiffin, and Rev. S. P. Myers, of Bloomville, are his sons. His death occurred August 11, 1885. He had in his possession the old musket which Michael Musser carried during the war of 1812. It is still in good condition, and is valued at $100 .. ..The McCauley family, of whom Judge McCauley, of Tiffin, is a prominent member, settled here at an early date.

The Nestlerodes resided on " The Island " in 1832 . . . . Jacob and Elizabeth Nederhouse were early settlers .... William Noble and his wife, Rebecca (Lytle) Noble, parents of Warren P., Harrison, Montgomery and John Noble, settled in Jackson Township, in 1834, with their family of nine children. Mr. Noble, a native of Connecticut, died in 1863, aged eighty-one years; Mrs. Noble, a native of Pennsylvania, died in 1874, aged seventy-four years.

Madison Penwell, a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1812, was one of the early settlers of Jackson Township . . . . Jeremiah Parkhurst came in 1833.

In 1848 A. Rank, a soldier of the Mexican war, located in this township, and purchased the last parcel of United States lands sold in the county .... Jacob Rinebold, father of Noah Rinebold, of Jackson Township (who was born in this township in 1851), was a pioneer . . ..John, Abram, Daniel and Samuel Rinebolt settled here in 1828 . . . . James Robinson was also an early settler.

Jacob Schupp, a native of Germany, father of Joseph Schupp, of Jackson Township (who was born in this township in 1847), was a pioneer of the place. He died in 1883 . . . . Henry and Sarah (Williard) Shontz, natives of Pennsylvania, parents of John Shontz, of Bloomville (who was born in Stark County, Ohio, in 1823), came from Stark County to Jackson Township in 1834, and here died, Mrs. Shontz in 1865, and Mr. Shontz in 1871 . . . . J. H. Sprout came from Pennsylvania in 1834 . . . . Michael Stahl settled in Jackson in 1832 . . . . George Stahl settled in Jackson in 1834 .. ..Henry Stahl settled in Jackson in 1836. He was born in Perry County, Ohio, in 1821 . . . . William and Rebecca (Foster) Stahl, natives of Ohio, parents of Christian Stahl, of Jackson Township (and who was born here in 1845), were among the early settlers . . . . John Stambaugh was elected trustee in 1833, having been a settler in Jackson for some time . . . . Samuel and Mary (Renner) Steward, natives of Pennsylvania, are classed among the old residents. In 1882 his son, W. H., lost barn, horses and 700 bushels of wheat by fire . . . . Daniel Swope located in Jackson in 1833 . . . . . Henry. Swope in 1832.

Enoch Trumbo settled in Jackson early in 1831, on lands which he purchased that year. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1804. Pliny Trumbo is a native of Ohio, dating his settlement here to 1845.

Isaac Wyant, a native of Pennsylvania came to the township in 1833, and resided here until his death.

Jacob and Elizabeth (Nuser) Yochum, natives of Germany, parents of Jacob Yochum, of Jackson Township (who was born in Germany in 1836), came to America in 1845 and settled in Jackson Township, where Mr. Yochum died in 1855.

566 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.

Small Settlements. -Rehoboth was surveyed by Thomas Homing in December, 1844, for Isaiah Hollopeter on the east half of the southwest quarter of Section 17. The name was too pronounced to call forth the admiration of the people of forty years ago; men were too busy with politics, and women were too content to -live on their farms and grow wealthy as their lands increased in value to dream of settling down to a life in the village of the Mission Church. The vicinity of Rehoboth is indeed endowed with many of nature's charms-it is a beautiful pastoral district claiming much, if not all, that is picturesque in the township.

Amsden, on the southeast quarter of Section 14, a station on the Lake Erie & Western Railroad, dates back to the construction of that road. Ida Stockwell is in charge of the postoffice here, and this office, the railroad station and comfortable farm houses in the vicinity form the nucleus of the future town.

Trumbo was the name given to a postoffice in the southern part of the township.

Iler, a new railroad town in the southeastern corner of the township, was founded in July, 1885. During the summer the "Nickel Plate" Railroad Company erected depot buildings here, and Bigham & Walters opened a general store. In September, 1885, M. M. Walters was appointed postmaster.

In the history of London Township, full references are made to the old settlements of Rome and Risdon, and the present city of Fostoria, a part of which is situate in this township.

Churches.-Olive Chapel Reformed Society, Jackson Township, was organized in 1852 by Rev. R. Good with F. Febles, C. Myers, George Stahl and Jacob Stah1, members. The latter donated the land on which a house of worship was erected in 1862. This society was reorganized under State law, April 27, 1867. W. J. Shupe presided, with Rev. George Rettig, secretary. H. Remer and William Boid were elected elders, W. A. Schmid and Z. Acker, deacons; and F. Falk, J. Shupe and D. Dissinger, trustees. The constitution of the former German Reformed society was adopted.

The Ark Church (Methodist), was founded by Rev. H. L. Nickerson, and the present church completed during the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Rodgers, of Seneca Mission, in 1864.

Mount Zion Church, of the Evangelical Association, adopted articles for the government of their new church, February 4, 1872, which was signed by S. E. Rife, pastor in charge.

8t. John's Church, of the Evangelical Association of North America, was organized under State law May 31, 1873. Rev. John Plantz presided. The trustees elected were William and Jacob Zimmerman, Jacob Nederhouse,. J. H. McCauley and Matthias Lamnes.

The histories of the Methodist, Catholic, United Brethren and other churches of the township are given in the church sketches of Bettsville and Fostoria with which they are closely identified.

Statistics.-The assessment roll of Jackson Township made in 1841, gives the following figures: 13,177 acres, valued at $26,105; no town lots; 105 horses valued at $4,200; 265 cattle valued at $2,120; merchants' capital and moneys at interest, $200; total value, $32,625; total tax, $481.21; delinquencies from 1840 $59.76.

The valuation and taxation of Jackson Township for 1884-85 are as follows: 22,570 acres valued at $685,450, and personal property at $314,590, aggregating $1,000,040 or $805.08 per capita, (population in 1880 being 1,241). The total tax for 1884-85 is $9,079.72, and the dog tag, $149. The true value of the township is placed at $2,600,000.

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The general statistics of Jackson Township for 1884, are: 3,732 acres of wheat, against 3,538 in 1883; 35 of rye; 8 of buckwheat, product, 105 bushels; 969 acres of oats, product, 20,317 bushels; barley, 217 acres; corn, 2,901 acres, produced 45,700 bushels; 774 acres of meadow, 1,273 tons of hay; 1,397 acres of clover, 703 tons of hay, 573 bushels of seed, 159 plowed under; 93 acres of potatoes, product,.11,368 bushels; butter, 48,096 pounds; 6 acres of sorghum, 417 gallons of syrup; 114 gallons of maple syrup; 146 beehives, 3,732 pounds of honey; 23, 884 dozens of eggs; 1 acre of vines, 5, 900 pounds of grapes; 362 acres of orchards 9,319 bushels of apples, 71 bushels of pears, 1 of cherries and 3 of plums; lands owned and cultivated, 10,599 acres; pasture lands, 1,146; woodlands, 4, 641; wasteland, 11, total acreage owned 16,397; pounds of wool (1883), 14,145; milch cows, 509; dogs, 155; sheep killed and injured by dogs, 43; domestic animals died of disease--hogs, 129; sheep, 67; cattle, 38; and horses, 25.

School Statistics.--The election held in Jackson Township, April 1, 1844, resulted in fiftyfive votes for the sale of Section 16, school lands, and fifty against such sale. T. M. Hoover, J. Hamshire and G. Jones were judges,and Samuel Younker and Jacob Stahl, clerks of election. The record of sales made September 19, 1846, is as follows: Fred. Singer, west half of northwest quarter; Henry B. Risdon, east half of northwest quarter; Charles Vroman, west half of northeast quarter; Paul Kline, east half of northeast quarter; Thomas Shantz and John Willard, east half of southeast quarter; William Bunn, west half of southeast quarter; John Rinebolt, south half of southwest quarter; and Henry Stahl, north half of southwest quarter. The amount realized at sale was $5, 229. The first log school building was erected on the northeast corner of Section : . over which Washington Noble presided. The statistics of Jackson Town schools in August, 1884, are as follows: male pupils, 193; female pupils, 207 total, 400; number of houses, 8; value of property, $6,000; number of teachers, 12; average salaries, $40 and $30; local tax, $17.78; receipts, $3,078.54; expenditures, $2,769.89.

CONCLUSION.

This township, though the last in the county to receive settlers, ranks today among the first in point of agricultural product, number of inhabitants and general wealth. The pioneers found the district and untrailed marsh, almost as uninviting as any part of the Black Swamp. Within half a century the township, throughout all its sections, has been subjected to drainage and all the other expedients resorted to by the agriculturist to make the wild land fruitful. Success waited on this labor and gave to the county a division richly in predial wealth, and richer still in the sense of industry, which pervades all