CHAPTER XXXIII. EDEN TOWNSHIP. T. 1, N. R. 15 E. THIS township was organized in 1821, as already stated; and the election of its first officers was also mentioned. When Mr. Butterfield says that it was so named for its remarkable fertility of soil, it is strange that the early records spell the word "Eaton." The township settled up rapidly after the first settlers had located, and there are many good reasons for it. The pioneer settlers were intelligent and good men. Such always make good neighbors. The soil was rich, the timber excellent, and the fine water privileges of old Honey Creek inviting. The proximity to the county seat and many other things, induced selections of homes along this stream. In 1824 it was the most populous township in the county. In 1830 it had 819 inhabitants; in 1840, 1,471; in 1870, 1671, and in 1880, 1,598. William Fleet is perhaps the largest land owner in the township. Samuel Baker, John L. Downy, John Seitz, Samuel Herrin, A. N. Armstrong, Ed. Wing, C. Y. Brundage, Abr. Brown, H. H. Schoch's heirs, Fred. Borck, Charles Meeker, the Klais', S. M. Ogden, Hez. Searles, Eden Lease and others are among the most successful farmers. Where the Kilbourn road crosses Honey creek, Colonel Kilbourn in 1824 surveyed and platted a town he called Melmore, already described and sung. Case Brown was the principal proprietor. John C. Jones erected the first dwelling house on the plat. He died here in 1828. Buckley Hutchins, who figured very largely as a man of business, was the first postmaster. In 1830 its population was 130; in 1880 it is perhaps less than 200. The names of many remarkable personages are identified with this township. The Butterfield family used to live here. One of the sons is the celebrated historian, Consul W. Butterfield. One of the daughters is the present Mrs. Hyacinthe, of Paris, whose husband is a Catholic priest of great distinction, and who, while he was priest at Notre Dame, 526 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. preached and wrote against celibacy of the priesthood, and to prove the sincerity of his teachings, married a sister of Consul W. Butterfield. She was then in Paris, a correspondent of the New York Herald and Madam Demorest's papers, and noted for her great intelligence, gracefulness and beauty. Mr. Anson Burlingame, who has become so distinguished in his mission in China, used to teach school in Eden township. General Gibson was raised on the banks of old Honey creek, in Eden, and while he speaks in glowing colors of her pioneer settlers, there is always a moisture observable in the southwest corner of his eye. There never was another such man as Philip J. Price, and if room would permit, a description of him would fit here. Eden had a number of local characters of mark. Dr. Selden Graves was a most remarkable man in every way. He was stern in his bearing, honorable in his dealings, a good physician, an excellent neighbor; a man of clear judgment and of wonderful endurance. In every walk of life he was respected and esteemed. On the 16th day of July, 1836, (Saturday,) the M. E. church was raised in Melmore, and Amroy Butterfield, assisting as one of the hands, was killed by the falling of a piece of timber. He was then father of eight children, Consul W. and Mrs. Hyacinthe among the number. John Gibson's was the first barn that was raised in the county, and Thomas Baker introduced the first Merino sheep into Seneca, from Steuben county, New York. Melmore was quite a trading post at one time, and its citizens were possessed of a spirit of enterprise that would have been a credit to any town. When the question of the Mad River and Lake Erie railroad was being agitated, great efforts were made to have the line from Republic through Melmore, by way of Upper Sandusky, to Springfield, and when that failed, Melmore determined to have a railroad for its own use, and to run a line from Melmore to Republic, and to intersect the Mad River road there. Meetings were held in Melmore, Republic and Tiffin; a temporary line was surveyed between the two places; committees were appointed, and books opened for the subscription of stock. The names attached to the following notice will revive early recollections and help to preserve memories of those days. This notice was published in the Tiffin Gazette of May 30th, 1836, and long before a railroad reached Republic: MELMORE AND REPUBLIC RAILROAD. Notice is hereby given that the books of the Melmore and Republic railroad company will be opened for the subscription of the stock of said company, at the house of Jacob Buskirk, in Melmore, and at the house of Mr. EDEN TOWNSHIP - 527 Miller, in Republic, and at the house of Calvin Bradley, in Tiffin, on the 4th day of July next, and will be kept open for five days in succession, from 10 o'clock A. M. until 2 o'clock P. M. Buckley Hutchins, Thomas J. Baker, Timothy P. Roberts, P. J. Price, William Patterson, Samuel Waggoner, Case Brown, Isaac J. Halsey, Calvin Bradley, Micagah Heaton, William Cornell, Hamilton McCollister, Selden Graves. May 30th, 1836. The road was never built, because the stock was not taken very fast, but some of these gentlemen entered into the enterprise with great energy. The old pioneers had their weaknesses also, and were not angels at all. Old Adam was still alive in some of them (as now), and re-generation had not become universal. Hamilton McCollister was a justice of the peace in Eden, and his neighbor, Mathew Clark, not having the fear of God before his eyes, one Sunday morning looked for his hogs, that got away from him the day before Uncle Mathew's dogs followed him, and Squire McCollister saw Clark driving the hogs home. This act was a clear case of Sabbath breaking in the mind of the court, and on the next morning the 'Squire sent the constable and had uncle Mathew arrested. It was a clear case; the court saw it himself, and Mr. Clark was fined. The officers of the law taxed no costs. The insulted law was vindicated, and that was enough. This was on the 13th day of November, 827. But uncle Mathew felt aggrieved for being arrested, and old Adam got up to law-heat in him, so he goes to Tiffin for redress, and Dickinson & Rawson filed a declaration against McCollister for $3,000 damages for false imprisonment. The Squire employed David Higgins to defend him, and when the case was finally tried to a jury, they gave the plaintiff a verdict of $21.50. At the next trial the jury could not agree. The case at last was. taken up to the supreme Court, where it was discontinued. The Rev. Joseph Bever kindly presented to the writer a statement of his early recollections of Eden, as follows: I am a son of Peter Bever, one of a family of thirteen children ; was born in. Virginia in 1815. My father moved from Virginia to this county in the fall of 1823, and settled. on the banks of Honey creek. The prospects of opening a farm and making a living here in this forest, for so large a family, were not very flattering, for Seneca count.), at that time was nearly an unbroken wilderness. It had neither roads, bridges, markets, or any other advantage. Persons who never saw this country as it looked fifty-seven years ago, cannot imagine how dense the forest was, and the underbrush 528 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. that met the eye on every side.. If yon can imagine a little spot of about an acre, cleared off, and a log cabin standing in the middle, and all around you an unbroken forest, with underbrush and vegetation so dense that you could not see ten feet ahead, especially in the bottoms—then you can form some idea of the wilds of Seneca county in 1823. We settled about five and a half miles south of Tiffin, and about three miles northwest of Melmore. Both towns were very small villages, then built of log cabins. We had no neighbors nearer than Melmore and Tiffrn, except Jacob Price, who hired about one mile south of us, and Ruel Loomis, who lived about the same distance northeast of us, on school section sixteen. About half way between us and Tiffin was the village of Mohawk Indians, who were quite friendly, and visited us very frequently. Indeed, they became quite troublesome after we had lived here a few years, for they made their friendship a source of annoyance by their constant and persistent begging. They wanted white bread every time they came, and that was very often. Sometimes whole squads came, together with their guns, bows and arrows, then women and children, and wanted white bread for all of them. At begging the Indian seems to have no conscience for either frequency or quantity. The second year after we came here we cleared a field of bottom land about half a mile down the creek from our house. Between this field and our house was very thick woods, and as I was going to the bottom field one day alone, I espied an Indian coming around a little curve in the path, and supposing he had not discovered me, (and I being a little timid lad of about eleven years,) my first thought was to get out of his way, so I stepped to one side and laid down behind a large oak log, expecting the Indian to pass by without noticing me. But the first thing I knew he looked over the log and exclaimed " Cooh !" and laughed heartily. I was deeply mortified, but my fear was all gone. A few days after this one of these Indians, Isaac Brandt by name, came to our house with two little axes he had made by a blacksmith in Melmore for his two boys—he said—and asked me to turn the grindstone for him to grind the little axes. I had turned grindstone before to sharpen axes forged out by blacksmiths, and as they were all very thick at the edge, I did not crave the job. I made all sorts of excuses, and told him that my father would whip me for leaving my work and turn the grindstone for him a half day, and all that. Brandt replied : " Tell fodder Indian here ; grind axe ; had to shove." So I turned for him until he was done. In the meantime he tried to teach me Indian, but I concluded that it cost more than it come to. But to present me with ‘some compensation when the grinding was done he took my hand and shook it very heartily, thanking me for the service. At that time it was an easy matter to raise grain and vegetables where the, land was clear, but the great trouble was to save them. Squirrels, chip-monks and other vermin were so abundant that they would devour a field of corn almost entirely, being surrounded by thick woods and weeds. We used to have dead-falls for every fence corner, and some one of the family had to go around the field with a gun nearly all the time at certain seasons. I remember well that during the warm weather, such was the stench from the carcasses of dead vermin, that it became nearly unbearable. EDEN TOWNSHIP - 529 Game was plenty in those days, and when meat was wanted it was easily procured by killing some deer, turkey; or other game.. Honey creek and the Sandusky river were teeming with fish, some of them of enormous size. When we wanted fish, we took our poles and lines to some eddy in the creek or river and caught frsh behind some boulder or log, where they seemed quite tame. Creeping up to them quietly, we often caught them with the hand. In the winter when the ice was thick enough to bear a person, we cut holes in the ice and caught them with snares made of horse hair, tied to a stick.. The loop was passed over the head and caught them behind the gills. We were not annoyed with ravenous animals, except wolves. These, however, were quite numerous for a few years. Sometimes they would run our stock into the barnyard after night, and annoy them until the dogs made their appearance, when they would scamper. My brother Solomon is still living on an eighty acre lot of father's old farm, and has lived nowhere else since we first settled in this county. Perhaps you cannot find another man in Seneca county who has lived on one farm fifty-seven years. We suffered a great many privations and inconveniences that our people now cannot appreciate. We had no roads, no markets, no churches, no schools, and not much society. We received a bush, not a book college education. . J. BEVER. VAN MATRE. The best historic exposition concerning the family of the Van Metre (Van Matre) and the Mohawk reserve in Eden township, the writer has been able to find, is contained in a letter that Judge Pillars, of Tiffin, many years ago, wrote to a relative of this Seneca Van. Metre, then living in Cincinnati. The Judge was so kind as to place it at my disposal, and with his permission I copy the whole letter: TIFFIN, SENECA COUNTY, OHIO, SUNDAY, December 12th, 1858. Daniel Van Matre, Esq.., Cincinnati, Ohio : DEAR SIR: We were talking on the 29th ultimo, in Cincinnati, about one John Van Matre (always spelled Van Meter), a brother of yours, or a brother of your father, I don't remember which—being taken by the Indians—a reservation of land being made to him in this county, etc., etc. The facts connected with his life,. etc., are of great historic interest to me, and of course are of the same and still greater interest to you. I will give you lily understanding of them, and propose that you shall correct my errors and supply any deficiency. John Van Matre, or Van Meter, was stolen by the Indians in March, 1778, at the age of about five years, at Greenbriar, near a place now called West Liberty, in the state of Virginia. The people of the neighborhood, having been frequently, alarmed by In- dian aggressions, had assembled on that day for the purpose of building a fort to protect themselves. It was a beautiful day in the spring, and two of the elder boys of the Van Matre family were out to a " clearing" to fix up - 34 - 530 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. some brands. John, or Johnny, as he was called by the family, accompanied them, while the father went to the fort, and the mother and sister remained at home. The boys had but just got at their work, when a party of Indians came upon them. The two older ones made their escape, but Johnny was taken. The Indians then went to the house of Van Matre, and set it on fire, having first killed his wife and daughter. Then they fled to the wilderness, carrying with them their captive boy. He grew up and always lived among the Indians, and partook of their manners, habits, dress, etc., etc. He forgot entirely his native tongue, though he learned it again before he died. He always remembered, however that his name was Johnny Van Meter.  In after life he was induced to visit some of his relatives, but utterly refused to remain with them, preferring, as he said, the innocent, unrestrained indulgences of the Indian's life, to the arbitrary restraints of civilized society. He married an Indian woman, by whom he had one child only—a son, whom he called John. His wife's name, was Susan Brandt, a name well-known in the state of New York, and in the history of that state, and a relative of the celebrated Joseph Brandt, who, in 1787, completed the translation of St. Mark and other portions of the scriptures and the book of common prayer, into the Mohawk language. The Mohawks were originally a powerful tribe of Indians, inhabiting the country from the northwestern part of Pennsylvania, north through New York into Canada.. Their true name was the Bears, Mohawk being but a corruption of their name for Bear. The Brandt family was the royal one Of the Mohawk nations, the chiefs always coming from that family, either by descent or election, probably the latter. There is a likeness of one of these Brandts, an Indian chieftain, and it is the noblest head I ever saw. The Mohawk nation .gradually wasted away, and finally emigrated west, or at least the central portion of it, and at last settled down in this county, and within two and one-half miles of where Tiffin now stands. On the 29th of April, 1817; a treaty was held at the foot of the rapids of the Miami of Lake Erie, near Perrysburg, Wood county, Ohio, between Lewis Cass and Duncan McArthur, commissioners of the United States, of the one part, and the sachems, chiefs and warriors of what was then called the Wyandot, Seneca, Delaware, Shawnees, Potawatomie, Ottawa and Chippawa tribes of Indians, when all their lands within the limits of Ohio were ceded to the United States forever. Now at the above treaty there was not in fact a Seneca Indian present. Instead of the Seneca it was the Mohawk tribe of Indians that participated with the other tribes in that treaty, or at least the remnant and head portion of the tribe. At this treaty there was reserved by the United States : " To John Van Meter, who was taken prisoner by the Wyandots, and who has ever since lived amongst them, and has married a Seneca woman, and to his wife and three brothers, Senecas, who now reside on Honey Creek, one EDEN TOWNSHIP - 531 thousand acres of land, to begin north 45 degrees west, 140 poles, thence and from the beginning, east for quantity." This John Van Meter was Johnny, the captive boy, and this Seneca woman whom he had married was the last female, and these her three brother, Senecas, were the last males of that great, nobles christian and royal family of Brandt, the ruler of the Mohawk nation of Indians. They were consequently Mohawks, not Senecas. The names of these three brothers was Thomas, Isaac and Paulus Brandt., Thomas was the chief of the tribe. The tribe continued to reside upon the above reservation until in 1829, when they joined other Indians and left the country. The place or locality goes to this day by the name of Mohawk, or Mohawktown. It is noted on the map as " Van Meter Reserve." At the time the Mohawk tribe left here, as above mentioned, it didn't exceed probably twenty-five families. John Van Meter lived, died and was buried on the reserve, and I am assured that one of our physicians has his skeleton. His death was some years before his tribe moved west. He was a man of more than ordinary decision of character, of a benevolent disposition, and friendly to the whites. This county commenced to be settled along in 1817, 1818 and 1819. Van Meter was comparatively wealthy, owning large stocks of horses, cattle, etc. These early settlers had to rely much upon his generosity, and it was never in vain that they sought relief at his hands. He died, leaving his son John, above spoken of, his only heir. A suit was afterwards commenced by some of the " Van Matres " against this son John, Jr., to recover his father's share, one-quarter of the above reserve. This suit was predicated upon the ground that the son John, Jr., was not the heir at law of John Van Meter, for the reason that the latter and his wife, Susan, were never married according to law,, and that consequently the plaintiffs were the true heirs. The son John; Jr, proved, however, that his father and mother were married ; that his father went out and killed some venison, and brought it in, and his mother brought in some corn ; that she then dressed and cooked the venison and corn, and the two parties then ate it together, in the presence of witnesses, and that that was the marriage ceremony among the Mohawk Indians. The court held the marriage good and valid, and John, Jr., the lawful heir. John, Jr., and his three uncles, the Brandts, sold out the Van Meter reservation, in 1828, to Mr. Lloyd Norris, who afterwards Jived (and died) upon it, for the sum of $2,500. In 1829 the Mohawk tribe, as I have said, moved west of the Mississippi river. John, Jr., went with them. The above reservation is upon Honey creek, within two and a half or three miles of this place, and is as good land as there is in the state. There are some very fine springs upon it. Van Meter creek empties into Honey creek in this reserve. Mr. Norris has a fine grist mill upon the former creek, a short distance from its confluence with the latter. (The mill is burnt down.) I forgot to state how the Indians caught Johnny at Greenbrier, Virginia, 532 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. which was as follows : His two elder brothers easily cleared the fence, and ran, but Johnny undertook to crawl through a crack of the fence, but got fast. In this situation the Indians caught him. What tribe of Indians was this ? Please correct any and all errors in the foregoing as far as you are able. Truly, JAMES PILLARS. The old settlers knew all these old Mohawks, and spoke of their kindness and benevolence with feelings of pleasure. Esquire Heaton furnished the writer with a statement concerning his father's family, from which the following is extracted: MICAGAH HEATON Emigrated from Pennsylvania to Coshocton county in 1817, and entered land in Bedford township. He camped in the woods until he had built a cabin. He had then a wife and two children: Here he laid out the town of New Bedford, which is now about the size of Melmore. He there kept the first hotel and postoffice. In 1829 he Moved to Seneca county, and bought a quarter section from Mr. Searles, in Eden township; about three-quarters of a mile south of Melmore, on, the Kilbourn road. He traveled from Coshocton to Seneca, about one hundred miles, in a big old-fashioned Pennsylvania four horse wagon, riding the saddle horse. He built two cabins, and commenced clearing land.and finding subsistence for his large family of eleven persons. He was a bricklayer by trade, and often compelled to work at jobs to earn money. The sugar-trough was used as a cradle in our house, and mother used to do her baking in " Dutch-oven." Flax was raised for summer clothing, and manufactured by the family. The spinning was done by hand. Mother carded the wool while my sisters spun it into yarn for cloth. We boys were allowed one pair of shoes per year, which would be worn out during winter, and in the summer, we had to combat with the thistles and nettles, which grew very thick. They used to have " log rollings " in the neighborhood, The men would work hard all day and then " Dance all night, 'Till broad daylight, And go home with the girls in the Morning." My father was a justice of the peace. General Sea and Mr. Cowdry, the Mormon lawyer, attended court at our house one time. In the first few years after we settled here, the Indians often stopped at our house with cranberries to sell, and to beg. One day p, younger brother and I were playing" horse " in our cabin, when a big Indian came in, armed to his teeth. He set his gun behind the door and walked up to the fire. The " horses," who were down on all fours, took fright at the Indian and ran away to the other cabin. The Indian wanted to stay all night, and father took care of him. Father lived to see nearly all the old settlers pass to their long homes. He died in the year 1866, at the advanced age of eighty years. The wilderness, inhabited by prowling savages, had been changed into EDEN TOWNSHIP - 533 fruitful fields. The Indians had departed for the far west, and good markets were established at home, for want of which, informer times, the settlers had to go to other towns far away. There were so many distinguished men among the pioneers of Eden that but a few of them can be noticed here, and of these only those that were best known to the writer, and of whose life information was furnished. Some readers of this book will scarcely realize how discouraging it is to a man when he undertakes to produce a faithful history, and meets with people in his search for information who take no interest in his mission and furnish no information. There lived in Eden also an old German by the name of Philip Von Blon. He came here with a large family in 1834, and located near Samuel Martin's, on the Negrotown road. He was from Waldmohr, in the Palatinate, and rather a marked character. He was a great reader and a vigorous thinker; a man of good moral character and highly esteemed. He lived to about eighty years of age and died in Tiffin. Mrs. John Fiege, already mentioned, was his oldest daughter. His children have taken no interest in this enterprise, and it is to be regretted' that no better sketch can' be produced. SAMUEL S. MARTIN. Of this distinguished old friend of mine I here insert an obituary notice I found in one of the Tiffin papers, and which is short. but a very faithful picture of him: DEATH OF AN OLD CITIZEN OF SENECA COUNTY. Samuel S. Martin was born in the town of Mifflin, Mifflin county, Pennsyl¬vania, October 24th, 1795, and died April 10th; 1864, and was therefore sixty-eight years, six months and seventeen days old. His father died when he was quite young, and he was obliged to depend upon his own energies to carry him through the vicissitudes of life. He removed to Ohio in 1812, and in 1821 bought land in Eden township, to which he emigrated in 1829. In common with the early settlers of the county he was subjected to the hardships and privations of a pioneer life. He was a man of good natural endowments, which soon made him prominent in the community ; he was twice elected assessor of the county, under the then existing laws, and held the office of justice of the peace for many years in Eden township. He scrutinized every measure propounded to the public with great care, and when his conclusions were reached; he never departed from them. Politically, he was a Democrat, and felt' great interest in the success of the great conservative measures of his party. Few men can boast the coolness and serenity of temper which Mr. Martin always exhibited. Affable in his intercourse with men, scrupulously honest in business, moral and high-minded in character, he challenged the esteem of all who knew him, and left this bitter world without an enemy. 534 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. Mr. Martin quietly entertained his own views of religion, but upon his dying bed professed a hope in the saving pardon of God, and frequently said that he was going to the realms of endless glory. He has left behind him a record of virtue worthy of our imitation. His disease was chronic asthma. Is it not singular that in writing up a short history of a township, obituary notices of father and son, both distinguished and good Men, 'and both especial dear friends of the writer, should follow each other so closely in succession ? But we all follow each other in close succession, and one has scarcely time to tell the tale of.his friend before he is himself called away to realize the scenes of another mission. ROBERT M'CANDISH MARTIN Was born in Perry county, Ohio, September 18, 1822, and died April 4, 1879, and was therefore aged fifty-six years, six months and sixteen days. In the spring of 1829 he came here with his father's family, Samuel S. Martin, noticed above, and has resided in Eden township to the time of his death, except only a few years, as hereafter noticed. In his youth he taught school in the winter and labored on his father's farm during the summer and fall until 1846, when he was appointed to the office of county recorder by the county commissioners, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William H. Kessler, who had accepted a clerkship in some department at Washington. In 1847 Mr. Martin was elected to this office and re-elected in 1850, making his aggregate term of service about seven years. His official administration was characterized by a high degree of capacity and singular punctuality at his post of duty. On October 12, 1848, Mr. Martin was married to Barbara Kagy, daughter of Abraham Kagy, Esq., who still resides in Bloom township. Thirteen children resulted from this union, ten of whom, together with their bereaved mother, survive to lament their loss. The funeral cortege which followed the corpse to the burial was the largest ever known in the township, being nearly a mile in length. During his prostrated Illness of more than two years, Mr. Martin manifested an almost heroic fortitude, and at the trying end of his earthly race he met the remorseless " King of Terrors " with such calm resignation that seemed to mock his power. The family of of the deceased realized the fact that he must leave them, only a few minutes before the end, and the wildest manifestation of grief prevailing, Mr. Martin essayed to calm their sorrow and counsel them for the future He retained his reason and spoke up to within a minute or two of his death, and thus peacefully and calmly he closed his timely career. To Robert Martin, all who ever knew him record the highest EDEN TOWNSHIP - 535 and noblest tribute to his memory. He was an honest and upright man and an exemplary citizen. The foregoing is taken from an obituary notice, slightly changed; and if there is anything to be added to describe Robert as he looked and walked, let me say that he was about five feet, seven inches in height, well proportioned, had a high and noble forehead, dark eyes, fair complexion, regular, delicate but manly features, and always met you with a smile. His friendship was warm and firm and his notions of honor high and sound. While he was decided in everything he had put through the crucible of his own thoughts, he had great respect for the opinions of others no matter how widely they differed. A man of nobler impulses and warmer friendship than Robert Martin the writer never knew. Among the enterprising farmers of forty years ago may be remembered also: Richard Baker, George Denison, Thomas Baker, Selden Graves, Sylvanus Arnold, John Baker, James Watson, Jesse Koler, William Watson, David Olmsted, Benjamin Brundage, Daniel W. Eastman, Philip Bretz, John Kagy, Adam Pennington, Hezekiah Searles, John Bretz, Jonah Brown, John Gibson, John Crum, Jacob Price, John Downs, Philip Springer, Jacob Andre, Samuel Kennedy, James Gray, William Ireland, Dr. Bates and John Lamberson. James Stevens, Jacob Buskirk, the Arnolds and others, were among the early settlers of Melmore, also. JOHN SEARLES Was born in Anne Arundel county, Maryland, February 20, 1775, on a farm where he was raised. He was drafted to the army in 1812, after he was married and had settled near the town of New Lancaster, Ohio He moved from there in the fall of 1820, with his wife and seven children, to this county and occupied for a while one of the block houses of the old Fort Ball, where he lived in one room with his whole family. Paul Butler, the man who built Spencer's saw mill, occupied another room. Mr. David Risdon boarded with him. Another room was occupied by Mr. Henry Creesy and his family. Creesy was a blacksmith by trade. The pickets were all standing then and the roofs of the block houses were covered with clap-boards. The army road ran along the river bank between the fort and the river. There was just room enough for the road. The fort had three block houses, one on each corner and one in the middle, all facing the river. Back of the block houses was an open yard, inside the pickets, of about half an acre. There was room enough 536 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. in the block houses for about two hundred men. Mr. Bowe's tavern was a double cabin and stood in the street north of the iron bridge, and the army road ran along in front of it also. David Smith occupied, for a while, the same room with Mr. Creesy. Rollins lived on the Souder farm, (so-called afterwards). In the spring of 1821, Mr. Searles helped to open a road from Tiffin to Rocky creek, where the church now stands, and where he had bought 167 acres of land. Here he built a cabin in the woods, and in 1825 he built a frame barn which was probably the first one in the county. Reuben Williams was the boss carpenter. Mr. Searles attached him, self to the M. E. church when he was a young man, and up to his death remained a faithful and honored member. After he located here on Rocky creek, his house became a stopping place for all the preachers, and headquarters at nearly all the camp and quarterly meetings. For several years the elections were held at his house. Except Tiffin, Eden township contained the most decided politicians, strong Whigs and Strong Democrats, but in their township elections they picked their officers from both parties. Here they voted for men only. Mrs. Searles' maiden name was Duncan. They were the parents of nine children, five boys and four girls, of whom four sons and two daughters are still living. The foregoing was gathered from what Mr. Hezekiah Searles related,. and he goes on to say: " Our neighbors were the Welches, who had located on the Olmsted farm. Charles Bretz, Mr. Sponable, Cal. Jacqua, the Boyds, father Shelden, Thomas Vannatta, the Sneaths and and others came on soon after. "One time in the winter we lost a colt. We built a fence around it with a trap lid and caught five wolves. This was before Seneca county was organized, and we took the scalps to Lower Sandusky, where we got $5 a piece for them. The rivers and creeks abounded in good fish and the woods in game. We suffered the deprivations and enjoyed the pleasures peculiar to that sort of life. " Father died May 14, 1844, and mother October 30, 1871." There is here in Eden township a sort of counterpart to the old stone fortifications,described by Mr. Swigart in Bloom, near Honey creek. This one is near the same creek in the Vannatta section. After you leave the Mohawk road, turning to the right at the corner of the old Wolf farm, crossing the bridge going west, you come across the bottom and approach a hill, where you see a high bluff a little to the left, forming a rounded corner at the northeast point. Upon this bluff there is a circular embankment embracing nearly two acres of land. The embank- EDEN TOWNSHIP - 537 ment is now nearly flat on the top and looks as if at one time it must have been a very substantial parapet. Mr. Randall says he saw oak trees growing upon it two feet in' diameter. The Mohawks lived all around over this part of the country and knew no more about it than the present generation of white people. In a direction of a little east of north from this rampart; and, within the range of a rifle, are found very many leaden bullets of various sizes, from grape shot' down to 130 to the pound. Some of these have the mark of the twist of a rifle barrel still clearly marked upon them. Was this parapet once a part of an old fort? Has history ever traced the march of an army along this creek ? Was there ever a battle fought in this valley, and if so, by whom ? What people built round fortifications ? Will somebody explain all this some day ? HUGH WELCH. For a while, it was a question in the mind of the writer as to which township in the county a sketch of this distinguished pioneer should be attached, because he has now lived in Green Springs some time, but he first located here in Eden, where he drove his stake in the woods near Rocky creek. He has lived longer in Seneca county now than any other man in it. His father was in Washington's army, and so was also his father's neighbor in Huron county, Mr. Seifert. These old revolutionary veterans often talked over their scenes of strife for independence. Both were great admirers of General Washington. In the month of February, 1819, Thomas and Hugh Welch, sons of the above-named veteran, started from Huron county to find homes in the wilds of Seneca. They camped out the first night and in the morning found themselves near Honey creek. Vegetation had already started to grow, for in the dense forest a certain degree of warmth was retained, and the ground never froze very 'hard in the winter. They followed down the stream, and somewhere near the late residence of Mr. William Fleet, they came upon a band of Seneca Indians, who were making sugar, and with them they encamped for ..the night. On their journey down the creek on the next Flay, they arrived at the Mohawk village, on the Van Meter section, already spoken of. Van Meter made the Welchs welcome at his cabin and directed them to some very eligible land in the neighborhood, which they bought, and turned into homes Here they opened up the first settlement in Eden township. In June following, two other brothers, Martin and John, also came. Thomas died soon after. John became a member of the Ohio legislature from Seneca county. Hugh and Martin moved to 538 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. Wyandot county. Martin and John are now also dead, and the Judge is the only survivor of that once large family. Hugh Welch was the first postmaster in Eden township, and he held the office at his opening, which was afterwards known as the Olmsted and Richardson place. This was the first postoffice in Seneca county east' of the, river. Mr. Welch was appointed by President Jackson. John McLean was postmaster-general at that time and signed the commission as such. It is dated August 4, 1825. Mr. Welch sold the Olmsted farm and the Richardson place and moved into Wyandot county, where he was appointed one of the associate judges of Crawford county. Wyandot was then a part of Crawford. This commission is dated September 22, 1834, and is signed by Robert Lucas, governor, and M. H. Kirby, secretary of state. He was re-elected associate judge, and his second commission bears date of February 4, 1842, and is signed by Thomas Corwin, governor, and Samuel Galloway, secretary of state. The Judge sold his Wyandot farm and again moved into Seneca county. He laid out the town of Mexico soon after he moved into Wyandot; helped to build the M. E. church there; donated the lot upon which it was built, and for a long time and until he sold his property near Mexico, was one of its most influential members. Judge Welch was born in Little Beaver township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, on the 18th day of February, 1801. His father's name was Felix, and his mother's name was Margaret Barnes, who came from England. His father was a native of the county of Derry, in Ireland. The parents had six sons and four daughters. Hugh was the fifth son. In 1816 the parents moved with their children to Huron county, Ohio, where they lived until the sons found 'better homes, in Seneca county. Hugh was married on the 18th day of September, 1823, to Polly, second daughter of John Gibson. They had three children: Eliza, married to William A. Watson; a little son who died at the age of about four years, and Maria, who married Frank McBride, and who has two interesting daughters, nearly young women grown. Judge Welch's brother, Martin, was the first stationed minister at Toledo in the M. E. church. The Judge was well acquainted with all the Mohawk Indians on the Van Meter section, and knew Charline, who was a nephew of the Brandt's, and the bitter, unforgiving foe of the Americans. He carried his hatred to the grave with him. He had the skin of the leg and foot of a child tanned, in which he carried his trinkets. He would not talk to a white man, and died from eating warm bread beyond the Mississippi. EDEN TOWNSHIP - 539 Judge Welch says that there were three brothers of these Brandt's, Thomas, Paulus and Isaac. Isaac was his favorite. They of about the same height and age; both full of fun and great wrestlers Van Meter was a generous and noble man, and a great horse fancier. Charline was about eighty years old when he left with the Mohawks for the west. Mrs. Welch died June 6th, 1869, at Green Springs She was the first patient at the water cure. From the 8th of October, 1825 , hitherto Judge. Welch has been a faithful member of the M. E. church. CHAPTER XXXIV. HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP. T. 2, N. R. 14 E. THIS township was organized on the 7th day of December, 1824, as already stated. The first election was held on Christmas day, the same year, at the house of Joseph Pool. Joseph Rosenberger, John Stover and Nathan Cadwallader were elected as trustees; James Gordon, clerk; John Stoner, treasurer. Robert and John Shippy and John Chaney were also early settlers. In 1830 the population was 549; in 1840 it had increased to 918, in 1870 it was 1,477, and in 1880 it is 1,635. Hopewell is also a wealthy township. The soil is very fertile and the drainage is yearly improving it. On the first of February, 1837, Mr. John Miller laid out the town of Bascom.. George W. Gist was the surveyor. It is located on section seventeen. Bascom is a station on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad. Agreen Ingraham, Jacob S. Jennings, John Sleeper, David. Cover, James Mathews, John Baughman, Peter Lonsway, Peter Young, Aaron Ruse, C. Weikert, Thomas Elder, Philip King, Joseph Ogle, Thomas Rickets and others were also among the early 'settlers here. The Coldwater railroad had also been constructed through this township, and the iron laid. The project was abandoned and the iron taken up, never to be laid down again (?). On the 6th day of August, 1836, Samuel Waggoner laid out a town by James Durbin, surveyor, on section sixteen, which he called Hopewell, but no trace of it can be found. It never flourished. Among the distinguished men who died in Hopewell was Joseph McClelland, one of the old Seneca county pioneers. He was born in. Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, August 25, 1787, and was married in Ross county, Ohio, in or near Chillicothe, in the early part of 1815. He moved to Shelby county, Kentucky, in the same year. His wife was Jane Boyd, sister of Thomas Boyd, one of the old county commissioners. HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP - 541 Mr. McClelland moved to Bloom township in 1822 and settled on section three. In 1838 he moved to Silver creek, settling on section nineteen. In 1854 he moved to Hopewell, where he settled on section thirty-five, and there died at the age of seventy-two years, four months and thirteen days. Mr. McClelland was a stout, active and industrious man, faithful to his promises and prompt in the payment of his debts. He took a deep interest in all public affairs and held the office of county commissioner six years, having been elected in 1842 and in 1845. He lived and died in the enjoyment of the love and respect of all his neighbors and a host of friends. SAMUEL SMITH Was born November 8, 1806, in Kent county, Delaware. Soon thereafter his father moved with his family to Ohio and settled near Rushville, in Fairfield county. When Samuel was about twenty-three years old, he came to Seneca county and entered the west half of the northwest quarter of section twenty-two, in Hopewell. Here he built a cabin and helped to open the road towards Bascom. He worked out among farmers, drove team for Mr. Hedges, and in 1833 he married Elizabeth Zeis, a daughter of a German family that lived in Liberty township After he was married be moved upon his land, where he still resides. His wife died September 11, 1870, the mother of ten children, -Oho are all still living and doing well. Mr. Smith, himself, is still in the enjoyment of good health, physically and mentally. When he settled here in Hopewell, Mr. Henry Creeger was already living on his farm near Wolf creek. Samuel Todd, David Betts, David Cover, John Kune, George Shaull, Joseph Ogle and a few others were in the neighborhood. There were about twenty-five acres cleared on the school section, and Mr. Covel moved onto them in 1834, under a lease of the trustees. There was also a small clearing on the James Mathews farm, now owned by Mr. Neligh. The balance of this neighborhood was all woods. JOHN MAULE. One of the old settlers of this township was John Maule, who was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, October 21, 1793. When but seven years of age his father died in Baltimore of yellow fever. He learned the trade of a blacksmith, and in 1827 he married Elizabeth Derr, sister of our old pioneer friend, Ezra Derr, of Clinton township. In June, 1830, he arrived here with a party consisting of his wife and 542 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. two children, his father-in-law, Thomas Derr, his wife's sister, Margaret (who afterwards became the wife of William' Baker), and Joseph Heltebrake. Mr. Maule bought a farm one-half mile north of Tiffin, on the state road, where he also worked at his trade for seven years and then moved one-half mile west ,onto the farm where the family now live. While at his trade he did much work for the Indians, shoeing their ponies, etc., and they esteemed him very much. He was well acquainted with Red Jacket, Hard Hickory, George Harriman, the Walkers and Dennis's His neighbors were Erastus Bowe, John Souder, George Stoner, Henry Rosenberger, David Risdon, Bartholomew Shaull; David Smith, John Rosenberger, Henry and William Brish. Mr. Maule was six feet two inches tall; his weight was about two hundred pounds. He had but few gray hairs when he died, on the 31st of October, 1866. He was a Quaker, and faithful to his creed; was honest, truthful and quiet. He was the father of six children, four sons and two daughters. Mrs. Maule was born December 14th, 1804, and is still living. GEORGE SLOSSER Was born in Washington county, Maryland, in 1770; in 1800 he bought property in Jefferson county, Virginia. He was married to Mary Painter, in Washington county, Maryland, in 1805, and then moved onto his land, in Virginia, 133 acres. They had nine children in all, four girls and five boys, who are all living but one. Mr. Slosser moved. with his family to Seneca! county and located in Hopewell in 1832. Mrs. Slosser died in 1840, aged fifty-three years, and Mr. Slosser died in 1843, aged seventy-three years. PETER SLOSSER Is the oldest son of George Slosser, and came out here with his father. He was born July 14th, 1806, and was married to Isabella Mitchell, in Jefferson county, Virginia, March 28th, 1830. He is the father of five living children Mr. Slosser tells me that one night in March, 1834, a wolf made an attack on his dog, and when Mr. Slosser came up to the combatants, the wolf left the dog and made for Mr. Slosser, who picked up a stick of wood and struck the wolf a heavy blow, which felled him, and was soon dispatched. In August, the same year, a deer was in his wheat field. Mr. Slosser and his hired man halloed at him, which scared him, and, jumping HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP - 543 over the rail fence into a brush heap, he became entangled and was killed. David Fox, Peter Wagner, Abraham Miller, Jacob Bogart, William. Rickets, Samuel Kime, Joseph Ogle, Henry Creeger, Jacob Ruie, Charles Chaney, John Chaney, Robert Shippy, Elias Kime, William Kime and others were neighbors. JOHN DAWALT Came to Hopewell in 1833. One time, while he was walking on the road leading from Tiffin to Fostoria, about one-half mile from Bascom, where Mr. Hall now lives, he met a bear on the road, who made for Dawalt. Having neither a gun nor an axe, he defended himself with a hickory cane he had for a walking stick. The bear was very close to him, and Dawalt having no chance to run, it became a fight for life. He belabored the bear with his club in such good style that he came down, and Dawalt killed him. Mrs. Dawalt ran up while the fight was going on, but Dawalt told her to stay away until the danger be over JOSEPH OGLE. The road that runs from Tiffin to Fostoria was surveyed along a ridge, and On the highest ground that runs east and west through this township. Along on this ridge and on the banks of the Wolf creeks the first settlements were made. The east branch of Wolf creek runs longitudinal with the river in its general course. Near the southwest corner of section one another branch puts into it from the west. Near the north line of section twenty-three another branch of Wolf creek puts into this east branch Williard Sprague and Charles and John Chaney had a lease on section sixteen, known as Hopewell Center. These men, with their families, were probably the first settlers in the township. Mr. Peter Schultz now owns the southeast quarter of the section. Joseph Ogle came to Tiffin on the 15th of June, 1824, and very soon thereafter bought from James Aiken the southwest quarter of section twenty-three, which has ever since been known as the Ogle farm. When he landed in Tiffin he rented a cabin from Mr. A. Ingraham, and under-brushed a road to his land on Wolf creek. Mr. Ogle's family was the third family that landed in Tiffin after the organization of this county.. George Park, Horton Howard and David Bishop were here. Thomas Loyd also, who was then a single man. Mr. Hedges brought on his family about that time. Eben Mills had about thirty acres-cleared on land near Mr. Ogle, which he leased to Ogle on shares. During this HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP - 545 would soon get away with that quantity of meal, especially when it was bread and dinner for them all. In the fall of 1826 Thomas Brandt and another Indian came into Ogle's cabin and wanted bread. Brandt was drunk and drew a tomahawk to strike Mrs. Ogle, but the other Indian stopped him. The wolves were very plenty, and one evening while Mrs. Ogle was milking the cows near the cabin, a lot of them came close to her, howling, which scared her very much. One evening as the boys were returning from spelling school, the wolves got after them and followed them to the house. Mr. Ogle described to the writer the situation of the brush dam and saw mill of Spencer, and the old fort and stockade then still in good condition. Joseph Ogle was born in Frederick city, Maryland, February 7, 1781. His father was one of the proprietors of the town. He was married October 15, 1809, in Mechanicstown, Frederick county, Maryland. They lived on the old. Ogle farm, in Frederick county, a while, when they moved to Hagerstown, where he kept tavern; then returned and bought the Ogle farm, sold it afterwards and came to Seneca county. When he died in January, 1864, he was eighty-three years and eleven months old. He cleared 130 acres of land on his farm here, and raised eight children, two having died in childhood. Mrs. Ogle died in 1876, eighty-seven years old. Six of their children are still living. - 35 - 544 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. year. Ogle built a cabin on his land and moved into it in 1826, in April, and cleared a few acres that year. Thomas Ogle, the oldest son of Joseph, says he cut the first tree on the land. It was not much of a tree, and Thomas was not much of a boy then. Mr. Ogle helped to build the first school house in this township. It was put up on the southeast quarter of the school section, some two and one-half miles from the Ogle place. Sprague and Charles Chaney split the pungeon for the floor. Mr. Chenowith and John Chaney built the stick chimney. Abraham Miller and Joseph Ogle put up the desks and benches. These were none of your patent benches, by any means, but were constructed in this manner: Two-inch auger holes were bored into the logs along the sides and sticks driven into them about two feet long. Loose clapboards were laid onto these sticks, and the desk was done. The seats were pungeon benches. Mr. Chenowith was the first schoolmaster in the township, and taught in this school house. Reading, writing and spelling constituted a full course. Mr. Ogle had a son born to him while he lived on the Mills place, and when the family moved into the new cabin, Mrs. Ogle was removed to the house of 'Squire Plane, in Tiffin, with her babe, to remain there until the cabin was dry enough for her to come home in safety. The youngest child, Benj. F. Ogle, was born in the new cabin. When Mr. Ogle came here, two years before the Hart family, Bartholomew Shaull and John A. Rosenberg lived further down the creek. Nathan Cadwalader lived up the creek, in section thirty-four. The Daughertys were also here then. One of the Daugherty girls was married to George Park, in Tiffin, arid another to Samuel Hoaglin. In the spring of 1825, after Hedges' mill first commenced running, they had a sort of celebration there. Mr Ogle and William Stripe hitched up their ox-teams, and Mr. Hedges' ox-team was also hitched up. The women got into the wagons, the men drove the teams and walked to the mill. Here they had a lunch and a general good time. Some washed themselves in corn-meal, and threw meal into each other's faces. It was fun of that peculiar kind, but nevertheless a celebration. When Mr. Ogle settled on Wolf creek they lived on corn, which they could get no nearer than Upper Sandusky. He and his son, Thomas, rode horseback to the plains, and bought two bags full of corn, each rider having a bag before him. The 'trip took two days. Upon their return the corn was taken to Moore's mill, near Lower Sandusky, to be ground into meal, which took two days more. Upon their return from the mill they had three bushels of meal, less the toll. ,A large family CHAPTER XXXV. JACKSON TOWNSHIP. T. 3, N. R. 13 E. THIS township was organized on the 4th day of December, 1832. The first election of township officers tookplace on the 3d day of April, 1833, at the house of Abraham Rinebolt. Christian Foster, John Stombaugh and Michael Stahl were elected trustees; Henry Hoffman and Abraham Rinebolt, supervisors; Samuel Rinebolt, Andrew Ferrier and Daniel Swope, overseers of the poor; Enoch Trumbo, clerk; Jonas Hampshire and Jacob Hollinger, fence viewers. In 1840 the population was 586; in 1870 in had increased to 1,131; in 1880 it is 1,394. Henry Hoffman, in 1827, moved from Perry county, Ohio, and located on the southeast quarter of section thirty-six, the first settler in the township, and his brother-in-law, Abraham Rinebolt, came from the same county in 1828, and located near him. Enoch Trumbo is the only old settler living. He came in 1833, and located on section twenty-two, where he still resides.. He was once county commissioner, and is highly respected for his good sense and honesty. Jonas Hampshire located on the northwest quarter of section twenty-two in 1833. He usea to take a very active part in public affairs, and was a leader in the Democratic ranks. He was a successful farmer, and has accumulated a handsome fortune. He lives in Wood county now. Michael Stahl came in 1832, and also located on section twenty-two. Daniel Swope came in 1833, also settled on section twenty-one, and is still there, also one of the oldest settlers living. George Stahl came in 1834. James Robertson, the Hollopeters, William Noble (the father of Hon. Warren P. Noble and Harrison Noble; the present mayor of Tiffin), Robert C. Caples, Samuel Yunker, Robert Shippy, Henry Shoutz, Henry F. Johnson, the Long 'family, Abraham Craun (who is JACKSON TOWNSHIP - 547 still living), Joseph English, Thomas Chance, George Stoner and Christian Foster were among the early settlers. My good old friend, Henry Stahl, was a boy but fourteen years old when he came to the township in 1836. He married Elizabeth, the daughter of John Reinbolt. He is one of the most substantial men of the township and highly respected for his manly virtues and excellent judgment. John Lambright, Frederick Feble, William Ash and others; were also prominent citizens. Isaiah Hollopeter laid out the town of Rehoboth on the 7th of December, 844, but it never flourished. The location of the L. E. & L. railroad has brought market to this township, and Jackson station is of great convenience to the people. Some parts of Jackson are rolling and gently undulating, but the larger portion was overflown by Wolf creek and exceedingly undesirable on that account. The settlers entered the dry and best parts and the wet portions could find no purchasers for many years. Even so late as the close of the Mexican war, there were lands in Jackson upon which A. Rank, a Mexican soldier, located his land warrant. This was the last piece of public land sold in the county. These swales hindered the progress of Jackson many years, but finally, by judicious ditching, the surface water is led away, and Jackson will rank among the best townships in the county, there being very little land within its borders, unproductive. Harrison's creek is one of the tributaries of Wolf creek. The following is taken from the history of Fostoria and vicinity, by E. W. Thomas, with his kind permission: In 1832 a large body of Wyandot Indians camped in Jackson township and engaged in their favorite pursuit of hunting game. They killed eleven bears and one hundred and seven deers, besides large quantities of small 'game. They were remarkably quiet and well disposed towards the whites. They bought potatoes, corn, etc., but in all their transactions were' perfectly honest, and if a white family wished to get rid of Indians, they invariably tried to get them in debt, for when they once got an Indian indebted to them he would not call again; but the majority of them could never be induced to go into debt. They would pay up punctually and often bring presents of deer and bear meat. The first whisky sold, in the township was by John P. Gordon. The Indians used to go to his store, then kept in Risdon, and get their fire-water. They would get gloriously fuddled and make the woods 'resound with their hideous yells. On one occasion, in the fall of 1832, they had been to Got-don's shebang and imbibed freely of fire-water, and getting their bottles filled, they started for their camp, some four miles distant. They had to 548 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. pass the cabin of Mr. Nestlerode; on what was then known as the island and bears that name to the present time; the same farm now being owned by Mr. Nestlerode, who is a resident of Fostoria. They stopped, as they had been in the habit of doing before, but were drunk. There were some six or seven in the company. When they arrived at Mr. Nestlerode's cabin, they were too drunk to get off their ponies, but Mr. and Mrs. Nestlerode assisted them to dismount. When they entered the cabin, they commenced upsetting chairs, tables and everything that came in their way. They were feeling up for the floor when a general fight ensued between the whole party, except the chief, Thomas Koon, who was sober. Their scalping knives and tomahawks were brought into use, and the family were frightened ; the children treed under the beds. But Mr. Nestlerode, by order of the chief, took the knives, tomahawks and, guns from them, and their bottles of fire-water also. But the chief feared trouble when they reached their camp, and probably fearing they might return, asked Mr. Nestlerode to hand each Indian his bottle of fire-water ; which was done, and then assisting them on their ponies, they again started for their camp, but had proceeded but a short distance when one of the party became rather top-heavy, and tumbled off. His companions halted, built him a fire, and left him, and proceeded on to their camp. The Indian who had been left, returned to Mr. Nestlerode's the next morning with hiS clothes badly burned, and when asked what was the matter, replied : " Indian too much drunk ; Indian take too much fire-water ; Indian sleep close big fire ; fire much burn Indian, but white man get Indian drunk, then cheat Indian much." On the next day each Indian returned alone for his property, that Mr. Nestlerode had taken from him while drunk. Mrs. Nestlerode was very anxious to get rid of them as soon as possible, so when the first Indian came she brought out all the knives, tomahawks and guns, but he only took what belonged to him, and when each one came he could only be induced to take his own property. They all appeared ashamed of what they had done the day before,' and like Adam in the garden of Eden, they lay the blame on some other person. " Bad white man ; sell Indian firewater; Indian get much drunk ; Indian bad ; white man cheat Indian." CHAPTER XXXVI, LIBERTY TOWNSHIP. T. 3, N. R. 14 E. THIS township was organized on the 5th day of June, 1832. The first election took place April 1st, 1833, when the following per. sons were elected as township officers, viz Trustees—John Rosenberger, Evan W. Brook, Jacob Kaine. Clerk—John Craun. Constables—Eben Conway and Nicholas Rumbaugh. Supervisors--Adam Fleck, Isaac Hartsock, James Hudson, Levi Crissey and Joseph S. Conway. In 1840 the population was 1,084; in 1870 it was 1,668 and in 1880 it is 2,159. An area of nearly a mile wide and three miles long, in the northeastern part of the township, is one of those stoney ridges that are found very frequently throughout the northwestern portion of Ohio. In some places the limestone rocks cover the ground almost entirely. In other localities, near the ridge, they are strewn less thickly and the land is cultivated. The township generally is free from stone, which makes this spot rather remarkable from a geological standpoint. It is otherwise level but very fertile and undulating in some localities. Large crops are raised here annually. The western branch of Wolf creek passes in a northeasterly direction through Liberty, driving several saw mills. The supply of water is sufficient to run three mills six months in each year. A town by the name of Middleburgh was surveyed by D. Risdon, on the 8th of September, 1832, and on section nine. The land was formerly owned by Jacob Kessler. The town never flourished. On the 12th of April, 1838, John Betts, a very enterprising citizen, laid out a town on section three, and called it Bettsville; David ,Risdon was the surveyor. It is situate. near the west branch of Wolf creek and has now over one hundred dwellings, two churches, one saw mill