500 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. took an active part in its welfare, and was the steward of it when he died. He died July 14, 1849, in his sixty-third year. Mother died November 4, 1840. There were six children of us, of whom five are still living. Father was a devoted christian and kind to all his neighbors, and especially to the poor. He supplied all those that were needy, and he had plenty to do with. The Boyds, Robinsons, Valentines, Martins, father, Blackmans, Treats, Donalds, Roops, Coolys, and others were the leading Whigs. The McClellands, Perkeys, Seits, Strohs, Ruchs, Kagys and Joseph Miller were the leading Democrats of the township. JACOB HOSSLER, ESQ. Is one of the distinguished citizens in Bloom. He was born January 30, 1806, in Steuben township, Adams county, Pennsylvania, on a farm. When fourteen years old, in 1820, his father moved to Stark county, Ohio. Here; on the 23d of September, Mr. Hossler was married, and in 1834 he moved to Bloom township, where he still resides. For twenty years he ran a saw mill on Stoner creek. He moved right into the woods when he came, and opened up a fine farm.. To show how Mr. Hossler stands in the estimation of his neighbors, it is only necessary to say that for thirty years he held the office of justice of the peace and was mayor of Bloomville four years. He is still in the enjoyment of excellent health. JOHN T. REID Is also one of the pioneers of Bloom,who have imprinted their individualities' upon the township. He was born in Frederick counts. Maryland, on the first day of January, 1807. His father died when John was but six years old, and he was taken care of by his uncle, Paul Talbot, who moved to Fairfield county, Ohio, where he was married. There they settled in the woods and young John worked among the farmers and was finally set in to work on a carding machine on Indian creek, in Fairfield county, owned by one David Swasey. From there he came to Bloom in 1828, in the fall, and worked for his uncle, John,Valentine, until the following Christmas. The Mohawks, Senecas and Wyandots were then " swarming through the woods." He became well acquainted with all the old settlers here, already named. He returned to Fairfield, and all his earnings in the following spring put together amounted only to the sum of $80, lacking $20, to buy eighty acres at government prices. A friend loaned him the $20 and he started on foot for Delaware, in the fall of 1829, and entered the eighty acres that John Heilman now owns, near Honey creek. He returned to Fairfield and worked eighteen months longer on a farm until he had earned some more money. His uncle, John Valentine, then wrote to BLOOM TOWNSHIP - 501 him that Mr. Bever had eighty acres, which he would sell, adjoining the other lot. Mr. Reid started on Christmas day and came to Bloom on foot, where he arrived and bought the Bever land on New Year's day, 1831. Before he left Fairfield county he had taken a school to teach, and there were three weeks to teach before the term closed. He returned, finished his school, came back to Bloom in February, with an axe and a bundle of clothing, which he carried on the axe-handle. He built a cabin in his forest and commenced clearing it. His uncle, William Norris, came from Fairfield county, and lived in the cabin with him awhile, and until his uncle, Norris, bought the land on which Fostoria now stands. On the 25th of April, 1833, Mr. Reid was married to Eliza Boyd Watson. They had four children, of whom three are still living. Mr. Reid is a tall, slender man, over six feet high, strong and muscular and has always enjoyed good health. He and Mrs. Reid are both members of the Presbyterian church and highly esteemed. Poor as Mr. Reid was when he commenced, his career is a conclusive proof of what industry, honesty and economy will accomplish. He now counts his wealth by many thousands, and lives at his ease. Mention has already been made of the picnics the younger generation prepare annually about the first of September, in Schoch's woods, to show their gratitude and esteem for their pioneer parents. I desire to refer to the subject again, here, only to say that at one of these, after Father Thompson, the pioneer minister of the gospel, closed his remarks on collecting the sheep that were lost in the woods, Mr. J. C. Hampton was called upon for a speech, in which, among other many interesting things, he described Judge Cornell, and spoke of him as a very excellent character and citizen. He related an affair that took place before some justice of the peace when a fellow got very angry at the justice and threatened to whip him and would do so if he was not a magistrate. The justice told the fellow to go out into theroad and he should be relieved of his consciencious scruples. The fellow backed out. Mr. Hampton also said: When I came from Ross county in 1822,.my uncle, Thomas Boyd, lived in a small cabin. Ten'= boys of us went there to work for him. We made out to live. Our bed was a very primitive affair. A half dozen of us slept together. During the three months I staid there we had not a bit of bread. The little flour we had they Stirred into boiling milk. That constituted the principal meal. We had a fish basket in Honey creek, close by, that furnished us all the fresh fish we wanted. 502 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. Sorry that no more of the speech could be preserved. Dr. Gibson also spoke, relating his boyhood days and scenes of early life on Honey creek. His mother held the chair while her husband was sitting upon it, shaking with the ague His father got nearly crazy every time the fever came on. One time his father was at Sandusky for provisions. It always took a week to get back. The roads were bad and the horses poor. Judge Leath happened to be at Sandusky the same time with a load of water melons to sell. He and the Doctor's father started for home together. On the way the latter became crazy with the fever, and had it not been for the Judge he would never have found his way back. The Doctor also referred to Black Jonathan, who lived with the Mohawks on the Vanmeter place. Jonathan Pointer was half negro and half Indian. He was the interpretor for the preachers and gave the Indians the sermons by piece-meal as best he could, but whenever a subject or a point was a little difficult to transfer or comprehend, he would. add: " I don't know; myself, whether that is so, or not." Dr. Gibson when yet a boy was very attentive upon the sick in the neighborhood, and thus naturally became a doctor. He applied himself to the books, and with hard study and his experience. became a ,distinguished physician. He was, indeed, a gentleman and a valued friend. He was one of that class of thinkers who take nothing for granted because they cannot help it. We ought to have much charity for such people. The venerable Noah Seitz must not be forgotten. He came here from Fairfield county and settled on the northwest quarter of section five on the 5th of April, 1822, and it is generally admitted that he was the first settler in Bloom. He sold out soon after to Edward Southerland and moved to Eden. Mrs. Southerland is still living in the third ward of Tiffin, and is known as the widow of Francis Bernard. Mrs. West, J. C. Martin and Abraham Kagy are among the few pioneers here that are still making "foot-prints in the sands of time." Who will not remember the tall slender form of Abraham Kagy, and his beautiful, pleasant home on Silver creek, where, for more than a half century, you were met with a hand of welcome and an open, honest, friendly countenancer These honored land marks of time should ever be cherished by those who will occupy the places so rapidly becoming vacant. JAMES R. WILSON, ESQ., Is the only lawyer in the place. Happy town ! He was born in Green county, Pennsylvania, May 19th, 1825. In the fall of 1826, his BLOOM TOWNSHIP - 503 father moved with the family to Ohio. He was a native of Ireland, and at the time he came to Ohio was a traveling preacher of the M. E. church. He died on his circuit while holding a protracted meeting. The family moved to Bloom township in April, 1834, and settled in the southeast part of the township, when there were but two families in that part, south, and but one house east for three miles. Mr. Wilson had one brother older than he, and alsO an older sister The sister taught school in the neighborhood when only twelve years old. Mr. Wilson helped to clear up his father's farm, and after his death he opened up a farm for himself. In 1856 he moved to Bloomville. In 1857 he was elected justice of the peace and re-elected. In 1866 he was admitted to practice law, and has ever since been a member of the Tiffin bar. CHAPTER XXXII CLINTON TOWNSHIP. T. 2, N. R. 15 E. THE early scenes described in these narratives, and the incidents attending the dawn of Seneca as a county, having clustered around places that are now covered by Tiffin, and involved the names of so many of the early settlers, whose biographies are already recorded, there is scarcely anything further left to say about Clinton township. This chapter will, therefore, necessarily be short It is proper, however, to preserve names of the early pioneers and describe some of those not already talked about. The location of the land offices in Tiffin tended greatly to give Tiffin a start. It brought many people here from abroad and introduced to them not only our citizens but also the many advantages this county promised for the' future. No other county in Ohio, west of the Sandusky river, settled up as fast as Seneca county. When congress, on the 4th day of May, 1828, granted to Ohio 500,000 acres of land to build the Miami, canal, it next became the duty of the legislature to provide for the sale of the land. By an act of February 12, 1829, two land offices were established for the sale of these half million of acres, one of which was located at Tiffin. The land office for the sale of the land in the Delaware land district was located here in April, 1828. Small as Tiffin then was, and far removed from the canal lands to be sold, it should nevertheless be remembered that there was, at that time, no other town between Tiffin and Fort Wayne, in Indiana. The reader will see, therefore, that Tiffin was the principal' frontier town in northwestern Ohio at that time and for some time thereafter, notwithstanding the organization of Sandusky county prior to Seneca. These land offices here, I say, helped very much to bring Tiffin into notice and gave it an air of stability and business enterprise. For several years the hotels were frequented by strangers, who bought land CLINTON TOWNSHIP - 505 or prospected for locations. The old army road was a sort of thoroughfare for emigrants, many of whom stopped here—in fact, there was no other road in Ohio, west of the Sandusky river. By remembering these things we are enabled to see how this vast northwest must have looked at that time. Clinton township being so closely identified with Tiffin, and everything that is said of Tiffin and her people meaning Clinton township at the same time, may be the reason why neither Mr. Butterfield, in his hiStory, nor Mr. Stewart, in his " Atlas," had anything to say about Clinton township and her pioneers. But there were some old settlers here, and men, too, of no ordinary grade, who should and shall be mentioned, for many of their names are too dear and valuable to be lost so soon. These pages will preserve them for awhile. JOHN KELLER, The father of Levi, Lewis and Joel Keller (the sons are all still living), was an early settler and a man of wonderful industry and perseverance. He took a very active part in all public affairs and became intimately acquainted with the business of the public offices. He filled the office of county commissioner several years, and after he got his mill on the river in running order, there was scarcely a farmer in Seneca county but was acquainted with Uncle Johnny Keller. He was very talkative when he had time, and always ready to give information when required. With his knowledge of farming he combined much mechanical skill, and he was in his place on the farm or in the mill. His practical good sense, his friendly nature and honesty of purpose made Uncle Keller a very popular citizen. He was born September 17, 1785, in York county, Pennsylvania, near Little York. He was married to Elizabeth Mitsell, in 1804, and soon after moved to Fairfield county, Ohio. At the land sales in Delaware he bought the land the old Keller mill was on, in 1821, and moved on to it in 1828. In 1824 he let out a job of clearing four acres. In the fall of that year he came up with a team and a lot of apple trees, with which he planted an orchard on the four acres. When he came back the following spring, his apple trees were all gone. Somebody had stolen them. This was probably the first orchard planted in the county. Mrs. Keller died in September, 1857. John Keller died October 9,. 1859. HENRY C. BRISH Was a man of medium size and weighed about 165 pounds. He was 506 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. of fair complexion, had regular, manly features, was well proportioned and good looking, more so in citizen's clothes than in uniform. He had deeply set, large hazel eyes. He shaved smooth, except small side whiskers. He had a well balanced nature, a high forehead, and turned at middle age. General Brish was a polished gentleman and his home was the gathering place for many of the elite in the then rustic society. He had a kind word ,for everybody, and soon became popular with 'all classes of people. The Senecas were his pets and they made Rosewood a stopping place whenever they came up the river. Dr. Cary was a brother to Mrs. Brish. He and Dr. Dresbach made the General's house their home. Whenever they could not be found about town, you would almost be sure to find them at Brish's. Some people thought the General was very high-strung and quick tempered, but they were only those who did not know him intimately, and judged him only from the several knock-downs he was blamed with. The facts are, the General would bear almost any opposition in business or politics as long as his opponent would abstain from reflecting on his honor and calling him names. He struck very quick when that rule was violated, and the size of the opponent or his standing in society made no differ-, ence. His relation with the business of the county has been mentioned so often that it is only necessary to say that he was one of the associate judges of the court of common pleas here, and was elected a member of the house of representatives, besides filling many other local offices. When, on the 28th day of February, 1831, at the treaty of Washington, the Senecas sold their reservation to the United States, as already stated in chapter viii. (and see also chapter xxix.), General Brish, who had taken care of the, chief to Washington and back to Seneca, was kindly remembered by them. At their own request a section was put into the treaty giving to General Brish a quarter section of land in the reservation. The section reads as follows: Sec. 11. The chiefs of the Senecas being impressed with gratitude towards Henry C. Brish, then sub-agent, for his private advances of money and provisions and numerous other acts of kindness towards them, as well as extra services in coming with them to Washington, and having expressed a wish that a quarter section of a hundred and sixty acres of land ceded by them should be granted to him in consideration thereof, the same is hereby granted to him and his heirs, to be located under the direction of the president of the United States. (See vol. 7 Laws U. S., p. 350.) The General selected his section and sold it. He then bought the southwest half of section eighteen in Clinton. General Brish cleared up a part and moved onto it. He called it Rosewood, because Mrs. CLINTON TOWNSHIP - 507 Brish raised rose bushes all around the house. Here the General spent the rest of his days. Henry Colgate Brish was born in Frederick county, Maryland, November 22, 1799. At the age of ten years he became clerk in the register's office of that county, under Captain Steiner, where he remained until he was married, and where he received all the education he had. He 'was married to Miss Eleanor S. Carey on the 7th December. 1824, by Bishop Jones, of the Episcopal Protestant church. Mrs. Brish was born July 27, 1805. They left Frederick for Seneca county, and landed here on the 6th of July, 1828, Sunday afternoon. They made the whole distance in a little covered carriage, perhaps one of the first that came to Seneca. The General died at Rosewood in February, 1866. Mrs. Brish, who is still living says: I brought my old piano with me, and have it yet. When we came here, we moved into a cabin that Agreen Ingraham had built. It had a puncheon floor, which I covered with carpet that I brought along, and I had some nice china, also, all of which, I think, were the first of the kind in Tiffrn, perhaps in the county. Our cabins were all clustered around McNeal's store, and there was the "hub of fashion." David and Elisha Smith, Levi Cresey, Mr. Custar, Mrs. Mounts, Mrs. Kessler, Abel Rawson and Samuel Hoagland all lived between McNeal's and the campbell back bridge over the railroads. One time we made a ball for the young people from Maryland and they called it the " Maryland ball." The river was high and the girls from the Tiffin side could not get over on the first day, but they came on the second day. We had young folks from Lower Sandusky and from up the river, some sixty in all. We danced two days and three nights. It was the first big ball in the county. David Smith was the fiddler. Mr. Cronise had a cornfield where the public square is in Fort Ball. One night Drs. Carey and Dresbach stole a lot of roasting ears there and brought them to our house to have them cooked. We made a big feast of them. John Stoner lived immediately north of Rosewood. He was also from Maryland, and raised a number of sons, who became wealthy. I remember George, Christian and Dennis. Dennis is the youngest of them and is still living here. My efforts to procure a better description of this pioneer family and that of the Neikirks, who are now scattered through Scipio, Adams and Clinton, have failed also. JOHN BEARD Settled on the northwest quarter of section thirty-four. Leveret Beadley lived near by him on the west. North of the road lived Wm. McEwen, with his wife and twenty-one children. He was the first blacksmith in this neighborhood. Thomas Vanatta came in 1825, and settled on the 508 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. southwest quarter of section thirty-four, where some of the family still reside. Vanatta bought out a man by the name of Stripe, who moved to Lower Sandusky, where he dealt in fish. He died of cholera in 1834. Joseph Richards came in 1827 or 1829. David E. Owen came in 1829, and lived on the Huber farm. The Frees and Herin folks came in 1828. Reuben Williams entered the Coe farm and built the saw mill, which is still in running order, in 1824. Daniel Dildine came in the same year. He built a cabin and planted the apple trees that are still to be seen just north of the new cemetery. Daniel Lamberson entered the southeast quarter of section thirty-four. James Myers came in 1833 or '34. James Wolf used to work for Reuben Williams, and when he had earned $100, Williams bought for him the eighty acres in the southwest corner of section twenty-six, where he afterwards lived and died. Mr. Beard was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, on the 14th pf April, 1794. He was married to Hannah Doan in 1817. They had eight Children, of whom six are still living. He was about five feet, ten inches high; walked very. erect; had black hair and whiskers and blue eyes; he was very talkative and full of jokes and was a good neighbor and strictly honest. He died in 1832, and was buried in the old cemetery in Tiffin. (I am indebted to his son, Joseph, for the above narrative.) DANIEL LAMBERSON Was born December 13, 1783, near Belvedere, New Jersey, and died December 5, 1852. He came and located here in the fall of 1824. JOHN CRUM. Mr. Hamilton F. Crum .furnished the writer with the following statement concerning this veteran pioneer: On the 20th of February,. 1792, my fabler, John Crum, was born in Frederick county, in the state of Virginia, and in 1813 he married Barbara Crum (no blood relation). In 1821 he moved to Ohio and settled in Columbus. In 1822 he bought 160 acres of land in Seneca county, three miles north of Tiffin on the Fremont road, and in 1824 he moved upon his land, We lived in a cabin for a while, not far from our land, until we could build a house. Our house had the first shingle roof between Tiffin and Lower Sandusky. We experienced many of the hardships common to new settlements. Father was sick nearly all the first winter. We lived in the woods; our neighbors were scattered, none nearer than a mile, Nit they were very friendly and social. Our first neighbors were Moses Abbott, Eliphalet Rogers and Cap' tain Sherwood, but others soon came in. My father was a hard-working man and did all his clearing. I was the CLINTON TOWNSHIP - 509 oldest boy, but only eight years old when we came, and of course could not help much, but was always with him. Mother died when I was fifteen years old. Sometime afterwards father was married to Margaret Evans, with whom he lived about twenty years, when she died. Afterwards father married Nancy Booth. Father died in Tiffin on the 28th day of February, 1873. His widow died July 8, 1874. HAMILTON F. CRUM Mr. Crum was an excellent citizen and took a very active part in public affairs He was county commissioner sometime (see last chapter) and while he was not a fast talker, he was a strong thinker. His judgment was clear and well matured. The writer knew him well. REV. JOHN SOUDER. As you go north on the Fremont road and pass through the Stoner farm, the next place to the left was formerly the home of Captain Sherwood mentioned several times already; and here lived the subject of this sketch when the writer first knew him. The old veteran has lived here so long, and his quiet, pure, christian life has exercised so much of moral influence upon this community for more than half a century, that it is really a pleasure to ,speak of him. He was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, on the 26th of November, 1799. His father moved to Frederick county, Maryland, in 1810, where he died in August, 1820. Mr. Souder was married to Elizabeth A., daughter of. John Walker, on the 15th of May, 1823. He became a member of the M. E. church in October, 1815, and entered the cause of reform in the Fort Seneca organization, at. the Rev. Montgomery's, in 1829 He was ordained to preach in 1845, having been licensed in 1842. Mrs. Souder died on the, 11th of November, 1861. On the 5th of November, 1862, he was married to Mrs. Frees. He sold his farm in 1860, and• retired to private life in Tiffin, where now, over four score years, he is still in the enjoyment of good health. He furnished the writer with the following statement, which speaks for itself: INCIDENTS AND EXPERIENCES WITHIN THE KNOWLEDGE AND OBSERVATION OF JOHN SOLIDER. In the fall of 1824 my father-in-law, John Walker, and I, left Frederick county," Maryland, on horseback, for the purpose' of exploring the west in our own way. We took the national pike to Wheeling, which at that time was the national highway as far as it was made. We crossed the Ohio river at Wheeling and reached Cincinnati by way of Zanesville and Circleville, a distance of over 500 miles from our home. The settlements through Ohio were sparse and quite new, deadened timber standing everywhere. There was no market for anything, scarcely. Wheat was worth only thirty-one cents, and corn twelve and one-half cents, other provisions in propor- 510 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. tion, but there was no money in circulation. Everything was trade and exchange. We arrived at home in safety; and in spite of the gloomy outlook in Ohio, I resolved to emigrate there, and in May, 1826, I sold out and started for Ohio with a large wagon and four horses. My family then consisted of a wife and one child, about one year old, two single sisters and my brother-in-law, John Walker, who was then yet unmarried. Richard Sneath and his family came with us. That family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Sneath, two or three smallchildren, Jacob Huss and Henry Zimmerman, who were single men. They also had a large wagon and three horses. Taking us altogether, we were a jolly set for such an excursion. Nothing occurred worth remembering until we reached a place in the Alleghany mountains called " the Shades of Death." It was a pinery through which our road passed, seven miles across, without a single human habitation. There was a tavern and a blacksmith shop just east of the dense forest. One of my horses lost a shoe just before sundown. He could not travel on the hard pike without being shod. It was about time to put up for the night, but the bad reputation of the tavern made us conclude to press on. While my horse was being shod, Sneath, with his family. and the young men, passed on, leaving me with the women and the child behind. This compelled me to travel these seven miles through the dark alone. It was very inconsiderate in Sneath and the others to leave us thus. One or two armed men could have had us at their mercy, for all I had in the world I had with me. Under a kind Providence we passed through in safety. No accident occurred until we crossed the river at Wheeling. Here we were in Ohio. A road leads up a high hill nearly two miles from the river before it reaches the uplands. The national pike here was just in process of construction, and we were often compelled to take side roads that were dangerous at places. My wife became so disgusted with the country that she exclaimed at one time, " Any man that will bring his wife and child to such a country as this, ought to be shot." The greatest impediment to the prosperity of Ohio was a general want of market. The canal connecting the Ohio river with the lake was laid out, but not constructed. Our first idea was to locate somewhere near its line. At Granville, in Licking county, we found a vacant house, which we rented for the time being, in order that we might explore the country round about. We were not pleased here, and resolved to strike for Tiffin, and see how that country would please us. Mr. Sneath and I came out here on horseback, leaving our families at Granville. We inquired for Fort Ball and found it.. We saw a gentleman standing in the road there, and Mr. Sneath, who was given to be mischievious at times, inquired of the man how 6,r it was to Fort Ball.. The man said: " You are right in the midst of it." The stranger was Mr. McNeal, the merchant. George and John Stoner used to be old neighbors of ours in Maryland.. We inquired for them and found them. Here we put up for the night. The Sandusky country pleased us better than 'anything we had seen in Ohio,. being a rich, level, limestone country, Such as we had been accustomed to. We really did not know how new it was until we moved into it. Tiffin and Fort Ball were then very small beginnings. Mr. Sneath found a large frame building in an unfinished condition (Bradley's Central Hotel afterwards, CLINTON TOWNSHIP - 511 Remele's butcher shop now). . ThiS was offered for sale, and Mr. Sneath bought it for $400, I think. Somebody showed me the land of Mr. Sherwood. I had almost made up my mind to buy it, but did not at that time, but I liked the country very much. We returned to Granville to bring our families here, reloaded our wagons and set sail for Seneca county. We were used to traveling by this time, and we pursued our journey with cheer, especially so since we knew the point of destination. In the night before we reached Upper Sandusky it rained. In the morning the travel was heavy, and I had a bigger load than Mr. Sneath. He and the young men put on ahead and left me behind, just as they did once before. They got clear out of sight. A little beyond Marion the horses, endeavoring to avoid. going through a mud hole, crowded a wheel onto a stump, which nearly upset my wagon ; both wheels were at least a foot from the ground, but all the horses rushed forward with speed through the mud hole, and the wagon righted up again. My wife and child were alone in the wagon at the time, and an upset there and then might have been a very serious affair. 1t was long after night before we reached Upper Sandusky, and there found our friends nicely tucked away in bed at Walker's Hotel. We had not seen them all day. We had another, fearful time before. we reached Upper Sandusky. My wife and my sisters had never seen an Indian before, and all they ever heard of them was savage cruelty. As night came on the Indians rode after us on their ponies: yelping and hooping. This frightened the women very much. I was on my saddle horse, and they kept calling to me in an undertone, "drive on, drive on." I had seen them before, and remained quiet. We kept together after leaving Upper Sandusky. When we reached Love's hill, near Tiffin, the joke turned the other way. Sneath's horses got very smooth, and Love's hill was steep and slippery. Sneath was on his saddle horse and attempted to ascend the hill, but failed, and his saddle horse fell down; the wagon ran back close to the bank of the river, and came very near upsetting into it, but all went on safely, and we kept together to the town. The best part of the joke came in when Mr. Sneath jumped up after his horse fell and exclaimed that he might have got his leg broken, regardless of the danger of losing the lives of his entire family. Mr. Sneath moved into his house, and I found.an empty cabin in Fort Ball, belonging to Mr. McGaffey. Mr. Spencer was the proprietor of Fort Ball, Mr. McNeal had a small store, Elisha Smith kept tavern, Levi Reasey was a blacksmith, David Smith was a cabinet maker, a justice of the peace and a fiddler. He lived near the river. Dr. Dresbach, lawyers Rawson and Dickinson were here ; all single men and the three occupied the same' small office together. It was about twelve by fourteen feet, and is still standing on Sandusky street. Dr. Dresbach's motto was, " Root, hog, or die," Mr. McGaffey was clerk of the court at that time. One time in conversation he predicted that in fifteen years we would have a railroad through the country. When I left Maryland the Baltmore and Ohio company had only thirteen miles of road out of Baltimore. 512 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. I bought the Sherwood place containing nearly 440 acres, mostly in section seven, for $1,900, and got possession on the 1st of July, 1826. We arrived in Fort Ball on the 10th of June that year. Mr. Sherwood was not a very successful man in business. He kept a barrel of whisky in his house. Whisky and business never run well together. Mr. Bowe had a few acres cleared alongside of the Stoner farm. Wm. Montgomery kept a tavern in a small way on a six-acre lot taken off or a corner of the land I bought. These were all t he improvements in that neighborhood. My neighbors were Mr. Bowe and George and John Stoner, who came in the fall of 1822. John Stoner lost his life by a simple accident. In the fall of 1826 he shot a squirrel and tried to finish it with the butt of his gun. He slipped and fell on the muzzle of his gun, which injured him internally to such an extent that ha died after great suffering, in January, 1827. He was the first person buried in the Stoner graveyard. John, Jacob and Abraham Crum, three brothers; E. Rogers, John Crum and old Mr. Abbott were also neighbors. The Rosenbergers, Shaulls, Klines and others were Virginians and had a little settlement west of Wolf creek. George Puffenberger lived in a cabin some distance west, and John Flack in (now) Liberty, lived the farthest westward of any man I could hear of. I was in company with others in view of a new road and we stopped at Flack's. It seemed very lonesome to live so entirely' alone in the forest 'as Flack did. Mr. Cornelius Flummerfelt and the Parker brothers came about the time I did. The Indians were troublesome at times, but never dangerous, except when intoxicated. The Wyandots made their annual trips to Malden to receive presents from the British government for services rendered in the war against the United States. On their way out they bought whisky at Fort Ball and elsewhere, and generally camped in front of our house, where they all got drunk and rested a whole day to sober up. They generally had their whole families with them. They used to come into the house and wanted everything we had, especially bread: Sometimes they took all the bread we had and my wife had to bake again. They always paid for what they bought, often paying twenty-five cents for a loaf of bread. One time a drunken Indian got angry at my wife and drew his knife on her. He would have used it had it not been for a sober Indian close by. The sober Indians often stayed all. night at our house, sleeping by the. fire in the same room we slept. We often bought venison and cranberries from them. A camp of drunken Indians and squaws is a most disgusting sight; the, papooses strapped on a board sitting against the trees, and the men and women, reeling around, the squaws squealing- like wild cats. But with all their general degradation, we had some interesting interview with those who had been christianized at camp and other meetings. Mr. Moler, a very early settler, took up the land where Mr. Maule lived. John Doran, another pioneer, was at the raising of Mr. Hedges' mill on the river, and became crippled for life by the falling of a trre in a storm while raising the mill. CLINTON TOWNSHIP - 513 My mother lived with me, after my father's death, until she died in 1840, at the age of 76 years. DAVID RICKENBAUGH Was born in Washington county, Maryland, December 9th, 1799. In October, 1827, he moved to Stark county, Ohio, and in September, 1833, to Seneca county, Ohio, locating three and one-half miles east of Tiffin, on the North Greenfield road, where he bought two hundred and forty acres, all woods, except about ten acres that had been cleared by Uriah Egbert, from whom he purchased the land. By industry and good management he became successful in farming, finding market in Sandusky. It was customary in the early days here with farmers, who lived near Tiffin, Melmore or Republic, that when they took a load of produce to Sandusky to bring back a load of goods for the merchants. There were most always some of their goods piled up there awaiting transportation. Mr. Rickenbaugh's personal integrity won the confi- dence of everybody that knew him, and the merchants gave him orders to bring goods with pleasure. He was married on the 27th of February, 1822, to Margaret Sprecher, of Washington county, Maryland, who is a sister of the distinguished divine, the Rev. Samuel Sprecher, D. D. and L. L. D , the president of Wittenberg college, at Springfield, Ohio. This marriage was blessed with two daughters and four sons. Two sons only survive; Samuel living on the old homestead, and Jacob living near Tiffin, Ohio. Mr. Rickenbaugh died April 17th, 1859, at the age of sixty years, highly esteemed for his many traits of manly virtues, and mourned by those who had learned to love and admire him as a good and true man in life. Mrs. Rickenbaugh still survives,, at the advanced age of eighty, spending the evening of her life with her son Samuel, on the old homestead. DANIEL DILDINE, SR. The subject of this sketch was an early pioneer of this township. He was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, September 24th, 1780. His father died when Daniel was but ten years old. Some years thereafter he commenced the struggle for life single handed and alone by driving a team over the mountains of Pennsylvania, which business he followed for several years. In 1803 he was married, and in 1805 he moved to and located in Fairfield county, Ohio, being among the first settlers of that portion of Ohio, then the frontier. In 1806 he moved to Pickaway, and located upon a tract of land purchased from the gov- - 33 - 514 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. ernment at three dollars per acre. In 1824 he sold, this land, moved to this county, and purchased land of the government on Rocky creek, from which the new cemetery is taken, and as already described. It took him seven days to move from Pickaway here. He stopped for a few days with Reuben Williams, on the Coe farm, in the log house still standing there, and until he could build a cabin for himself. He arrived here in April, and his cattle were compelled to subsist on brouse until pasture came on. The poor animals were so used to brouse that when they heard a tree fall they would all run and devour the tender branches with avidity. John Searles, Joseph Foncannon and George Stoner, who lived from three to five miles apart, were about all the persons who had corn to sell, and Mr. Dildine had to buy his corn where he could get it, and for the provisions for his family he had to go to Franklin county and to Mansfield, where he obtained them in exchange for salt and fish, which he took with him. The fish were caught here in great abundance in the creeks, the river and the lake. The salt was shipped from Syracuse; both salt and fish selling in the central counties with a handsome profit. Mr. Dildine cleared a good portion of his farm, and in 1830 sold it to Thomas Coe. He then bought two hundred and forty acres on the South Greenfield road, about three and a half miles east of Tiffin, where he lived the rest of his days. He retained to his last his mental and very much of his physical powers. He was a man of wonderful endurance; quiet in his nature, kind ,and generous. He lived to a fine old age, and exchanged the scenes of this life for the realities of a higher order of existence at the ripe age of ninety-one years and three days, on the 27th day of September, 1872. NICHOLAS GOETSCHIUS Was a soldier in the war of 1812, under General Harrison. He was born in Montgomery county, New York; moved from there to Franklin county, Ohio, and came to Seneca in 1825, in April. He first located on the North Greenfield road, near Egbert's, and located on the Portland road in 1835, upon the eighty acres he had entered. He was about seventy-eight years old when he died, at one of his son's-in-law in Sandusky county. He had two sons and three daughters. JAMES GOETSCHIUS, His oldest son, who came here with his father, lives on the old homestead. He was born September 24th, 1807, in Franklin county, Ohio. His wife, Permelia Smith, came here with Joseph Biggs from Maryland. CLINTON TOWNSHIP - 515 When they settled in Clinton there was no house for seven miles east on the North Greenfield road. SamueI Scothorns, in Reed; lived there. There was no road open to town. They had to underbrush a road to Tiffin, and then followed the blazed 'trees. Hunter's Mill was built in 1825. FREDERICK CRAMER Was born in Frederick county, Maryland, of German parentage, on the 23d day of September, 1779, and was married about March 25th, 1806, to Catharine Barrack, who died January 17th, 1864, aged eighty-two years, two months and nineteen days. Mr. Cramer arrived here on the 30th day of September, 1830 (being twenty-one days on the road), and bought the northeast quarter of sec tion sixteen, here in Clinton, on the 1st day of October in that year,. and where he resided all the balance of his days. He died on the 8th day of August, 1842, aged sixty-two years, ten months and fifteen days. Six of his children died in infancy, and four are still living. Dennis F. Cramer is the oldest son, now living in Tiffin, and the father of a large family. Three of his sons are lawyers, of whom Upton F. held the office of probate judge many years. Father Cramer was not very tall, but corpulent and large. In his dress and general appearance he was the very embodiment of a Quaker, but he was an esteemed member of the German Reformed Church. JAMES MYERS Was born in Martinsburg, Berkley county, Virginia, February 23d, 1800.. When about two years old, his father emigrated to the state of Ohio,. then just admitted into the Union, and settled in the hills of Fairfield county, near where Lancaster now stands. The country around there was. almost an unbroken wilderness at that time, there being but a few pioneer settlers, who had to battle with the forest, wild beasts and wild Indians. They were obliged to raise their own living, and raise and make their own homespun garments. James was the oldest of John Myers' family of nine children, and was of necessity compelled to work as soon as he was able to assist in maintaining the family. Their advantages for education were limited, there being no school houses and few scholars, and. in fact their necessities did not allow them much time for education,. but whatever they did get was mastered by themselves before a great. log fire, of nights and stormy days. In this condition his youth and boyhood was spent, working with his father at the carpenter trade, building their rude houses and barns, until he was twenty-four years of age, when, on January 1st, 1824, he was 516 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. married to Sarah Gaw, a young woman of Newark, Licking county, Ohio. After marriage he commenced business for himself,.and tried his fortune at raising tobacco among the hills of Fairfield county, which business he followed for several years, until his own family began to increase. When it consisted of himself, wife and four children, he began to think he must own some land in order to be able to raise his family properly, but by that time all the tillable land of Fairfield county was already occupied, and his scanty means would not allow him to purchase second handed, so he began looking over the territories of the far west, as it was then called. Himself and a friend, Isaac Lepurd, (who settled near Attica, in Venice), started out in search of government land, and as the tide of emigration had begun to lead to Seneca county, he and his friend directed their steps thither; I say steps, for they traveled on foot, it being before the days of steamboats and railroads. In September, 1831, they arrived at a land office, now called Tiffin, which, at that time, was composed of old Fort Ball, and two or three log cabins on the east side of the river. After looking over the country a couple of weeks, they both suited themselves, and entered as much land as their means would allow, and returned home to Fairfield, to collect money enough again to move him and family to his newly acquired possessions. It was not until in June, 1833, that he left Fairfield county with his family, in a two horse wagon, with all his worldly effects. His family then consisted ofhis wife and four children, Maria Louise, Martha, George and David, then a babe three months old. They were on the road fifteen days, and traveled a distance of less than a hundred miles, the road most of the way being in the woods, only an Indian trail or a blazed route to guide footmen. They arrived on the 23d of June, and began immediately to make for themselves a home by clearing off a piece of land and building a house, with which they took extra pains to have it large and fine for those days, and which is still standing, the same that is occupied by Conrad and George Gillig as a residence on the old homestead, but for several weeks they slept in their wagon and cooked their meals by a stump-fire. Four more children were born to them in Seneca county, Ann, James C., Jennie and John. Maria, the eldest, died in the 15th year of her age, and John, the youngest, died the same year, and are buried in the old Rockrun cemetery, they being the only deaths that have occurred in the family. All the rest are well, and give prospect of long lives. They lived upon the old farm forty-four years. CLINTON TOWNSHIP - 517 In 1875, being old and almost blind, and Aunt Sally, his wife, being unable to attend to her household duties, and having no children at home, he concluded to sell their homestead and spend the balance of their days in ease ,and comfort. So they sold off all real and personal estate, retaining nothing but a horse and carriage, and moved to the home of the oldest daughter, Martha, living in Henry county, Ohio, where they still reside in peace and happiness, being both well, with prospects of living a good many years yet. They have lived together fifty-six years January 1st, 1880. " Uncle Jim," as he was familiarly called, was a whole-souled, kind hearted man, always giving to those in need. The beggar was never turned from his door empty. He had a kind look and a pleasant smile for everybody he met. He was a friend to everyone, and all seemed glad to see him and take a friendly shake whenever they met. For the last few years he has so nearly lost his eyesight that he cannot read nor scarcely recognize his friends. This is a great loss to him, as he was a great reader, and few men were better posted than he in matters and things in general; but now he depends entirely upon his friends to read for him, and they are very kind to him, doing all that can be done to make him comfortable. Samuel Waggoner, Martin Frees, Ezra Baker, William Baker, Jacob Adams, Jacob Souder, old Mr. Olmsted, David Olmsted, Elisha Olmsted, Thomas Vanatta, Asa Crocket, John Wolf, Peter Schuch, Joseph Herin, Samuel Herin, Jacob Frees, William Williams, James Meyers, Peter Frees and others were also old settlers in Clinton, in addition to those already named. The first patent issued by the United States for any land sold in this county, by an act of congress passed April 24th, 1820, providing for the sale of the public lands (called the new purchase), was for the west half of the southwest quarter of section twenty-three, T. 2, N. R. 15 E., eighty acres, to John Anway. For want of a county here this patent was recorded in the recorder's office at Lower Sandusky. I found more to say about Clinton township than I first anticipated, but there is history in all of it. THE SWANDER FAMILY, Who filled a very conspicuous place in public estimation, one of whom is still living here, and the numerous grandchildren being scattered far and near, deserve particular mention in the history of this township. Frederick Schwander came from the Canton of Bern, in Switzerland, to the colony of Pennsylvania in 1750, ana settled in South Whitehall 518 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. township, Lehigh county, on a farm that has ever since and up to this time been known as the "Schwander place." He was married here and raised a family. After his death the oldest son, Jacob, became the ,owner of the farm on which he was born. A Mr. Shriver lived some eight miles away, and had living in his house with him as a sort of quasi slave, a beautiful Swiss girl by the name of Barbara Gerster. He bought her at Philadelphia for her fare across the ocean. The reader should remember here, that it was considered not only right and fair to sell the passengers to America who could not pay for their passage, but the act was legalized by statute. They were sold at auction for the least number of months or years a person would buy them for and pay the fare. Families were thus often separated, many •of them abused and ill-treated, and by people, too, that soon after this system of slavery was abolished, raised a terrible hue and cry against black slavery. After the shipowners of Boston had become rich in the African slave trade, they all became Abolitionists. But to return to the wedding. Near Mr. Shriver's was a place called Egypt, for it produced great -quantities of grain. Jacob Schwander and the Swiss beauty were lovers. One day they went to Egypt, and the young couple were married by a preacher. After the wedding ceremony was over, the young bride took a seat on Schwander's horse, behind the groom, and they rode back to the farm. After dinner bride and groom took their sickels and went into the harvest field reaping wheat the balance of the day. This was their bridal tour. There were no railroads leading to the fashionable watering places, and there were no " shoddies " in the country at that time. Life meant work, and the sentence of Adam was the order of the day. This wedding took place in 1775. When Frederick Schwander came to this country his father and grandfather were still living. Jacob had eight children, five boys and three girls. John Schwander was his oldest son, and was born on the farm where his father was born, and while his father was serving in the revolutionary army, under Washington, on the 21st day of June, 1776, and thirteen days before the Declaration of Independence. John was raised on the same farm, and in the year 1800 was married to Miss Elizabeth Glick, of Lehigh county. The writer heard the old gentleman say that he voted for Jefferson in the same year he was married. John Schwander had thirteen children in this union, seven boys and six girls. The sons are all dead but Edward, who is the youngest son, but the daughters are all living at this writing. The sons were John, James, CLINTON TOWNSHIP - 519 Thomas, Joseph, Edward and Stephen (who died when he was fourteen years old on the old farm in Pennsylvania), and another died there also in infancy. The daughters are Hannah, wife of Henry Kunkle, of Lucas county, Ohio; Etelia, widow of Francis Trexler; Sarah, widow of William Burkhalter; Eliza, wife of Edward Knouse; Mary Ann, wife of William Snyder, and Caroline, wife of William Sohn, all living in Seneca county. John died in New Jersey, where he lived, at Newhope. James, Joseph and Thomas died on their farm homes in Clinton township, where they had lived near together on the Mansfield state road. John Schwander, the father of these children, after his marriage in 1800, rented farms in the neighborhood of the old homestead until 1807, when he moved to Ohio and located in Fairfield county, but becoming dissatisfied with the country, returned to Lehigh county and bought the old homestead. Here his son, Edward, was born, and all of the younger girls; the homestead of their great grandfather, Frederick, a circumstance very rare in America, where people are moving from place to place with a wonderful facility and where the love of home is not a cardinal virtue among the people. These children of John Schwander dropped the " ch " in the name as they grew up, and attended English schools. Edward was married in Lehigh and moved into Clinton in 1840, where he settled on the northwest quarter of section twenty-seven, and where he still lives, the only male survivor of that once large family. After living here about one year, he lost his wife, and in 1844 he was again married to Hannah, the youngest sister of the writer. In this union eight children were born, of whom six are still living. Hannah died December 4, 1865. About one year after Edward moved to Clinton, the father sold the old Schwander place in Lehigh and came to Seneca also. When you go eastward on the South Greenfield road, about two miles from Tiffin, you strike the Morrison state road. Looking north you see a neat little brick house, painted red, standing close to Willow creek and a spring. This house John Schwander built. Here he lived until he died on the 17th of June, 1859. His wife also died here on the 7th of February, 1861, less than two years after his death. The old gentleman was remarkable in his physical and mental makeup. He was about five feet, six inches high, stout and compactly built; had a fair complexion, large, blue eyes, and a fine head, which became bald as he grew old. He was very pleasant in conversation, arid instructive. He spoke very interestingly, relating transactions and affairs in Pennsylvania, his exploits when he drove a big team on, the pikes, 520 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. his knowledge of men and events, and his age put no obstacle in his way of relating laughable anecdotes. He was a gentleman by nature and education; always pleasant, always kind to everybody, and being possessed of a cheerful nature, enabling him to look upon the sunny side of life, no doubt prolonged his days. He and the old lady died highly esteemed in the community where they spent the evening of their days. This family of Schwanders is the only one by that name known in the United States. One historic incident in the life of the aboved named Jacob Schwander should not be omitted: During the administration of the elder Adams, Pennsylvania passed an act taxing the doors and windows of the houses. The law proved exceedingly obnoxious to the people, and on several occasions the collectors were abused. The people in the Lehigh valley had stood by the United Colonies during the revolutionary war, and contributed men and means in support of it. When this new form of stamp-tax was inaugurated, some of them met a collector who came amongst them on horseback, made him get off his horse and told him that they would show him how the stamp-tax operated. One of the men raised the horse's tail and the others pushed the collector's nose to where the crupper makes a crook. For this rough treatment the men were arrested and placed in the jail in Bethlehem, which was then the county seat of Northampton county, and before the county of Lehigh was organized. The imprisonment of the men aroused the indignation of the people of Lehigh valley to such an extent that one time, in open daylight, several hundred men assembled near Bethlehem and marched to the jail. Here they formed two lines in open order when a squad of them demanded the release of the men, and this being refused by the sheriff, the doors of the jail were forced open and the men released. The sheriff called out the militia and a regiment of soldiers camped near Bethlehem, assisting the sheriff in making arrests. The whole country was aroused, and many of the rescuing parties fled into the mountains. Those who were arrested were prosecuted and fined, or acquitted. A warrant was issued also against Jacob Schwander, who was, perhaps, as guilty as any of them, but he escaped the vigilance of the sheriff, his posse and the military by secreting himself in a large stone quarry, not far from his farm—the Schwander place. For three months his wife carried his victuals to him in the night, returning before morning, unobserved. If she had attracted the attention of anyone, even, there was nobody to tell tales out of school. The law had no friends in the Lehigh valley. Schwander escaped unpunished. CLINTON TOWNSHIP - 521 JOHN SECRIST Was born October 27, 1803, in Frederick county, Maryland, and raised as a farmer. He married Margaret Waltman, August 4, 1825, who was born April 23, 1803. They settled in the woods on the farm where Judge Pittenger now lives, on the Melmore road, in October, 1828, and took their share of the frontier joys and hardships with the rest of the settlers. Mr. Secrist died April 6, 1848. Mrs. Secrist lives with her daughter in Tiffin, Ohio., MR. CHARLES KELLEY Was born on the 6th of March, 1798, in Huntington county, Pennsylvania. When he was yet a child, his father moved with his family into Wayne county, Ohio, and settled four miles east of Wooster. In the summer of 1821 he, with seven others, his comrades, started on foot to see the western country. They came to Mansfield and from there they took a road that was called the " McCormack trail," which led through the woods to Tiffin, by way of Caroline. They stayed here one week, and while here they helped to put up a cabin for a man by the name of Armstrong Drennin. Mr. Hedges had made him a present of a lot with the condition that Drennin would build a cabin upon it and move his family into it. The party wanted to board at Mr. Bowe's, but when Bowe found out that they were going to build a cabin on this side of the river, he got angry and refused to board them. They put up the cabin, however, and boarded themselves. Mr. Kelley was the cook. A man came along with some flour, which they bought, together with some pork. Two Indians took hold and helped them some in getting up the logs, but when dinner was ready they refused to eat with the whites. They stayed apart by themselves, but they would eat all that was brought to them. The cabin was put up on the lot south of the woolen mill and on the spot where the frame building now stands, on the west side of Washington street, and is occupied by the Yingat family. It was the first cabin erected on the plat of Tiffin. The logs were cut in the woods around one day, and on the next morning the deer were seen browsing on the tops of the trees that were cut down on the lots where the court house now stands. Mr. Drennin moved into his cabin that fall, and he, his wife and three children died here within a short time of each other. The men who helped to build the cabin were Christ. Witz, Henry Miller, David 522 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. Fowler, Mr. Drennin, three others and the two Indians. This cabin was put up before the county seat was located here. Captain Sherwood lived north of town a piece, and John Welsh about four miles south. Mr. Welsh acted as our pilot through the woods when we started back. There was no house between New Haven and Fort Ball. Mr. Kelley is the father of Mrs. Dr. Samuel W. Bricker, in Tiffin, now on a visit to his daughter, and the foregoing statement gives his words as nearly as possible. WILLIAM M'EWEN. Mr. James McEwen says: My father, William McEwen, was born in Berwick, Pennsylvania. He went to Northampton county, Pennsylvania, to learn the trade of a blacksmith, and was married there to Sarah Johnson. We came here in the fall of 1823 and brought with us one half ton of hay, which we made at New Haven. With this hay we kept four horses and two cows all winter. There was plenty of picking in the woods all winter in 1823. Father entered the southwest quarter of section twenty-seven, in Clinton, and put up a cabin there and a blacksmith shop. Leverett Bradley settled on the southeast quarter of section twenty-eight, right west of us. Asa Crocket built the first barn on that farm. Cal. Williams lived north of us, on the place where old father Schwander lived and died, on the Morrison road, in section twenty-two. He was an old bachelor, had a dog and cat, and all three took their meals together. Joseph Herrin's father and mother, with their families, came in 1826; the children were all single then, except Mrs. Hines; the rest were married here. When the Herrin's folks came they stopped at our house, and we were so crowded some had to sleep in wagons. My parents had twenty-one children altogether, of whom sixteen were then living. I am the youngest of the family. Mrs. Rachael Frees was also married. She was a sister of the Herrin boys also. Thomas Vanatta came two years after and settled where some of his daughters are still living. Peter Schuk lived there once. The first school house was built on the Bradley place, and Jonas Doan taught it. Another log school house was put up north of the road and opposite the church on Rocky creek. Hugh Welsh settled on the Richardson farm and lived there when we came. Birnsides were also here before us and lived on section twenty-eight. We had to go clear to Columbus for flour, and cut our way through the woods. We lived on milk and potatoes for a good while until we could do better. I used to plough with a wooden mold-board and wore buckskin pantaloons. JACOB HOLTS Was born in Frederick county, Maryland, June ,17 1786, and was mar- CLINTON TOWNSHIP - 523 ried to Susannah M. Fiege, who was a sister of the father of John Fiege, of Tiffin, Ohio. They moved to this county and arrived in Tiffin on the 28th of April, 834 and settled on the northwest quarter of section fifteen, in Clinton, where the son, Dennis, still lives. Mr. Holts was about five feet, eleven inches high, straight and muscular, but not fleshy; he had dark brown hair, a large, dark eye, black, bushy eyebrows and a very expressive countenance. He spoke slow and positive, and while his conversation was pleasant and agreeable, he nevertheless carried an air of personal dignity about him that corresponded well with the general respect he enjoyed in the community. He died December 28, 1859. PETER MARSH Was also a Clinton township pioneer. He settled in the northwest quarter of section twenty-seven, about the time the McEwen family came here. He was then a young man but recently married. He, his wife and his wife's sister, who came with them, were all three excellent singers. They all belonged to the Presbyterian church, and were very nice, kind and quiet people. Mr. Marsh used to teach singing school and soon became very popular in the neighborhood. He started a Sabbath school and a prayer meeting in the vicinity and took a great interest in church affairs generally. When the first railroad from Sandusky, by way of Republic, was being built, he took a job of grading a mile, including the fill over Willow creek. The company failed in making payment as it was agreed, and Mr. Marsh broke up, losing nearly all he had. He left and located in. Kenton, Ohio, where he recuperated to some extent, and where he and his wife both died. COLONEL BALL, After whom the fort and Spencer's town were named, was present at the great Whig celebration, at Fort Meigs, in 840, where a friend of mine saw him for the last time. He was six feet high, well proportioned: his hair was gray and bushy; he had a florid complexion and wore side whiskers; he had gray eyes, thin lips, heavy jaw, a loud, clear voice, talked scholarly and lived with his family in Richland county at that time. He was a powerful man and walked very erect. Before his hair turned gray it was of auburn color. His entire make-up exhibited great force of character and energy. Clinton township has an excellent market, is well watered, enjoys the privileges of the city of Tiffin with her schools and otherwise, while the land is in a high state of cultivation and very valuable. Splendid farm houses in all directions indicate the general prosperity of the people. 524 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. As already mentioned, the township was organized in June, 1820, and the first election was held on the 15th of June, 1822. The population of Clinton, including Tiffin. in 1840, was 2,195; in 1850 it was 4,330; in 1860 it was 6,041; it increased to 7,174 in 1870, and in 1880 it is 1,701. Tiffin, in 1880, has 7,882 inhabitants, which, added to the township, makes 9,583. Tiffin proper, in 1840, had 788 souls; in 1850, 2,718; in 1860, 3,992 and in 1870, 5,648. JOHN DITTO Was one of the early settlers of Clinton. He came in 1822, and settled in section thirty-one, where he owned eighty acres, and he also owned another eighty in Eden. These lands he entered at the Delaware land office, and immediately thereafter built his cabin in the woods. He was a small man, less than medium size, and compactly built. He was very industrious and honest, a good hunter and interesting talker. He verified his hunting stories by his singular habitual expression of " bei der liebens." There was no meaning to it, but it was intended to fix the story beyond all question of doubt. He. spoke German mostly. Mr. Ditto was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, October 14, 1785. He told the writer that he voted at the first election in Seneca county; he lived and died a Democrat. His wife's name is Elizabeth, who is the daughter of Louis Eckhart. She was born June 13, 1795, and is still living, enjoying good health, on the old homestead, near the Mohawk road. They had eleven children, of whom two are still living, viz: Mrs. DuBois and Mrs. Henry Sheets.