CHAPTER XVI

UNION TOWNSHIP

Organization-Names of Voters in 1850—Some of the Original Land Entries—Pioneer Incidents—A Daring Deed—Lost in the Woods—A Bear Hunt.

The following action was taken by the commissioners at a session held December 1, 1845:

"A petition being presented signed by a number of citizens of Township 1 South, Range 2 East, praying for the organization of said township. Thereupon it is ordered that the aforesaid township be and is hereby struck off from Hoaglin and Tully townships, and is hereby constituted a civil township to he known by the name of Union. Ordered that the Auditor give notice to the qualified electors of said township to meet at the house of Samuel Nestric on the 20th day of this inst. for the purpose of electing officers for. said township.

The name of Union was suggested by Nestric.

The officers elected at the first election, December 20, 1845, were : Samuel Nestric and Samuel Murphy, trustees ; O. H. Harvey, clerk; Robert Pollock, justice of the peace; John Murphy, constable; and William Harvey, assessor.

NAMES OF VOTERS IN 1850.

At an election held in Union township on October 8, 1850, there were 13 qualified electors, whose names follow : Samuel Murphy, Samuel Nestric, John Handley, William Murphy, James Murphy, Mathew Black, Jacob High, John Murphy, Jr., James Hattern, Michael Beck, David Sands, Henry Reece and John Murphy.

SOME OF THE ORIGINAL LAND ENTRIES.

SEC	NAME	ACRES	YEAR
1	Mathew Black	40	1842
1	Peter Swoveland	80	1844
1	John Stock	160	1849
1	John Brown	80	1849
1	Daniel Loudenback	40	1851
1	G. A. Briggs	80	1851
1	George Faulk	40	1851
1	William McMullen	80	1851
1	John Ellis	40	1851
2	Samuel Marsh	241	1850
2	John McIlvain	160	1850
2	Franklin Halliday	60	1850
2	William H. Donald	80	1851
3	Franklin Halliday	159	1851
3	William Huff	159	1851
3	Samuel Ferguson	320	1851
4	Samuel Lisle	155	1851
4	Jonathan Hopper	77	1851
4	Jack Ward	80	1851
4	John Bales	40	1851
4	Abraham Lucas	40	1851
5	Benjamin B. Winans	155	1851
5	William Douglas	165	1851
5	Thomas Hall	80	1851
5	Nancy Dillon	40	1851
5	William Moore	40	1851
6	Mathew Black	40	1842
220 - HISTORY OF VAN WERT COUNTY
SEC	NAME	ACRES	YEAR
6	Peter Densel	160	1852
6	Andrew L. Grimes	91	1853
6	James Weldon	91	1853
6	William Summerville	40	1853
7	James Kirkendale	182	1839
7	Alexander Caldwell	91	1839
7	John Schiffale	80	1839
7	David Proudfit	80	1839
7	John McPherson	80	1851
7	John C. Miller	45	1851
7	John Miller	45	1851
7	George Foulk	80	1852
8	Henry S. Beeson	80	1839
8	Dewalt Ritter	80	1839
8	George Wolf	80	1839
8	Samuel Myers	160	1851
8	John C. Smith	80	1851
8	Henry Foulk	80	1851
8	William E. Gray	80	1852
9	Robert McConnell	80	1851
9	William McMullen	80	1851
9	William McFarland	160	1851
9	William Taylor	160	1851
9	David Baker	160	1851
10	John C. Rundall	40	1851
10	Charles Olevine	80	1851
10	James Coe	80	1851
10	John Wersner	40	1851
10	John Ling	40	1851
10	Ebenezer Stibben	40	1851
10	Henry Wallick	40	1851
10	John Garner	40	1851
10	Abra Urang	40	1851
10	Thomas B. Tilton	160	1852
10	John Hough	40	1853
11	Daniel H. Haight	160	1851
11	Jesse Moore	160	1851
11	Ann Geslick	160	1851
11	William Welch	160	1851
12	Isaac Hagerman	180	1840
12	Henry Pomeroy	80	1841
12	Henry Keifer	80	1844
12	Andrew L. Grimes	160	1849
12	Eli Taylor	80	1850
12	James Larmer	160	1851
13	Joseph Hoover	80	1839
13	James Cameron	160	1839
13	Christopher Reece	240	1841
13	George W. Handley	160	1848
14	William Harvey	80	1841
14	Joseph Kline	80	1850
14	Sanford Smith	160	1851
15	Thomas Cantwell	40	1846
15	Adam Beamer	160	1848
15	Adam Myers	160	1848
15	James Coe	80	1849
15	Mathew Black	160	1851
15	Peter Arnd	40	1851
16	John M. Keighner	160	1854
16	Joseph Chambers	80	1854
16	Daniel High	80	1854
16	Henry Reece	160	1854
16	Joseph Livensparger	80	1854
16	Michael Beck	80	1854
17	Henry Jordan	80	1837
17	Peter Hartzill	80	1837
17	Oliver Dial	160	1850
17	James Hutchins	160	1851
17	Daniel Elwell	160	1851
18	William Dial	40	1850
18	Lewis Young	40	1850
18	Jesse George	80	1851
18	Robert Hawkins	182	1851
18	Robert Work	80	1851
18	Mary Lang	80	1851
19	Valentine G. Hash	91	1847
19	David Repp	40	1847
19	Joseph Moore	160	1851
19	Reuben Frisbie	262	1851
19	V. D. Dille	91	1852
19	R. H. Gibson	40	1854
20	Jacob Myers	80	1849
20	George West	40	1851
20	Miles Cowen	40	1851
20	Andrew Smith	80	1851
20	Samuel Philbie	80	1851
20	Reuben Frisbie	80	1851
20	Conrad Shaw	80	1851
20	Miles Conrad	40	1851
20	Abner Lyman	40	1852
20	James Huston	80	1852
21	Michael Beck	120	1842
21	Jacob Myers	80	1849
21	John Neal	80	1849
21	M. M. Rittenhouse	160	1849
21	Mathew Miller	40	1851
21	R. H. Gibson	180	1854
22	James McDermit	160	1842
22	John Neal	80	1842
22	William Neal	80	1843
22	John Baker	160	1847
22	James B. McDermit	80	1848
22	James Donaldson	80	1851
23	Samuel Nestric	80	1841
23	William Harvey	40	1841
23	John Murphy	160	1842
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 221
SEC	NAME	ACRES	YEAR
23	John Murphy	40	1844
23	William Collins	40	1848
23	Mark M. McDermit	160	1848
23	Fred Boyer	80	1851
23	Benjamin Beach	40	1851
24	Jacob Speiler	80	1839
24	John & Isaac Grubb	160	1839
24	Joseph Hoover	80	1839
24	Charles Dally	80	1839
24	Charles Hagan	80	1839
24	Aaron Hoaglin	80	1841
24	Isaac Connell	40	1841
24	Christopher Reece	40	1841
25	John Penn	120	1838
25	William Young	80	1839
25	Jacob B. Haller	40	1839
25	Adam Lutz	80	1839
25	John & Catherine Ebert	80	1839
25	John A. Welch	80	1839
25	Jacob High	80	1841
25	Alfred Wright	80	1841
26	John Swanger	120	1839
26	Alex. Ramsey	80	1839
26	William Young	80	1839
26	Enoch M. Hoaglin	40	1839
26	Michael Frantz	160	1839
26	George Elliott	80	1839
26	Jonathan Bales	40	1851
26	Jacob Brand	40	1851
27	H. Kean	160	1837
27	John Swanger	40	1839
27	A. Hayden	160	1839
27	Stephen Barr	160	1843
27	John McDermit	80	1851
27	John Beeler	40	1851
28	Henry Daniels	160	1849
28	John Neal	80	1849
28	Reuben P. Mann	80	1851
28	John F. Dodds	160	1851
28	John Moore	160	1851
29	John F. Dodds	640	1851
30	John High	91	1839
30	Thomas A. Anderson	136	1839
30	John Sands	45	1840
30	Jacob Shaffer	45	1840
30	David Repp	40	1842
30	Mathew Hughes	160	1851
30	James Anderson	40	1851
30	Reuben Frisbie	45	1851
30	John Anderson	40	1851
31	John Fuller	160	1836
31	Jonathan Smith	90	1836
31	Mary Ramsey	90	1836
31	Thomas Kane	90	1836
31	Isaac Stuck	80	1840
31	William Richard	125	1842
31	Thomas High	45	1851
32	Emanuel Swineford	80	1840
32	Richard Williams	40	1842
32	Lemuel Lynch	160	1851
32	Jacob Mellon	160	1851
32	John Gilkinson	40	1851
32	George Marsh	180	1851
33	Jacob Haller	160	1839
33	Elizabeth Schroeder	120	1839
33	John Burgholder	160	1839
33	George Sanderson	160	1851
34	John Burgholder	320	1839
34	Elias Evers	160	1849
35	Samuel A. Major	320	1839
35	Erastus Porter	160	1839
35	John M. Franklin	160	1849
36	William Stripe	80	1836
36	Jacob Stripe Sr	160	1838
36	Henry Keiser	40	1838
36	Israel Keiser	80	1838
36	Jacob Haller	80	1839
36	William Peter	80	1839
36	George Helfest	40	1839
36	Henry Reiling	40	1839
36	Isaac Morse	40	1851

PIONEER INCIDENTS.

Hercules Kain was the first resident or Union township. He built the first log house, about 1837 or 1838. One very cold morning he was found sitting on a log frozen to death. The previous day, which was a rainy one, he had started home from the settlement. Leaving the Ridge road about where the Dix Church now is, he lost his way when darkness overtook him.

John A. Welch settled in section 25, Union township, about 1842. A short time after-ward, a tree that he was cutting down fell on him and injured his back severely. After lingering for several months, he died.

Jacob Speiler, a German, was unfortunate and felled trees on two horses, all he had. He did not have money enough to buy others.

222 - HISTORY OF VAN WERT COUNTY

James G. Gilliland gave him a horse that was in the habit of throwing fences, but otherwise was a very good horse and very powerful. This animal did all his work for a good many year until he was able to buy another team. There was never anyone that appreciated a favor more than Mr. Speiler and his wife, and they wanted to work to pay for the horse, but Mr. Gilliland would never take any pay.

A DARING DEED.

At an early day two boys, Norman Fish and William Evans, were out hunting. Coming to a hollow log in what was called the Frisbie deadening (now know as the McMillen farm), they heard something in it and young Fish concluded he would crawl in and investigate. Taking his gun with him, he had gone some distance when he saw two bright eyes. He fired and then went forward and caught hold of some animal's foot and pulled it out, only to find it a full grown wolf. He went in again with the same result and the same the third time, bringing out a wolf each time—one black and two grays. This proved a good day's work for the boys—$4 for each scalp besides the pelt.

LOST IN THE WOODS.

In the early days of the settlement of Union township, a Mrs. Holtrey and her little son Barney went in the evening to drive up the cows. Hearing the bell, she soon found her cows and started them in the direction of home. Then thinking she heard their horse bell, she told her son to drive the cows home and she would get the horses as they would want to work them the next day. Accordingly she started in the direction from which she thought she heard the sound of the bell, but after walking for some time she lost its sound and con cluded she would start for home. She soon became bewildered and night coming on and it being cold added much to her discomfort. Then it began to rain, which soon turned to snow. She kept moving, for she knew that it was necessary for her to keep walking to keep from perishing.

The family became alarmed and collected the few settlers around them with dinner horns and cow bells. They formed in two companies —one to go northeast, and the other north-west, making all the noise they could with bells, horns and guns. After an all-night hunt, they returned to the saddened home. After eating breakfast, they started out again and traveled all day, but returned with no tidings of the lost woman. The company, weary and discouraged, concluded that she had either perished or wandered to some other settlement.. The hunt was kept up, however, and a party taking a different direction finally found her. She said she had gone-into a hollow tree, said her prayers and concluded to die there, but hearing some person "holler" she came out of the tree and started in the direction of the sound. She had been lost six clays and seven nights.

A BEAR HUNT.

In the fall of 1858 bears were very plenty in Union and Tully townships, two or three being killed a day. A young man by the name of Fred Coffin was extremely anxious to go bear hunting. He finally prevailed upon James Webster to go with him. They started out in the morning and about to o'clock, when northwest of C. P. Richey's place, they sat down on a log to rest. While sitting there a large black bear stopped within about a hundred feet of where they were sitting. Webster snapped his gun twice and then told Coffin to shoot.

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 223

Webster said that he noticed that Coffin's gun was shaking when he shot. The bear shook his head and showed it teeth and then walked off into the woods. Webster after getting another cap on his gun followed the bear, trying to come up with it, thinking that Coffin would follow. After going some distance and not seeing the bear and Coffin not coming up, he fired his gun off to let Coffin know his whereabouts, but not hearing any reply he continued to hunt until night. When he returned to town, he learned that Coffin had returned to town before noon, and no inducement could prevail on him to go bear hunting again.