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Erection of the Township and
Origin of its Name - Area, Boundaries and
Population - Drainage and Soil - First
Settlers - Going to Mill - Justices -
Schools - Churches - Towns and Postoffices.
JACKSON was one of the earliest
settled townships of Hancock County, and the
fifth erected and organized. On the
7th of December, 1829, certain residents of
Amanda and Delaware Townships petitioned the
board of commissioners to erect Township 1
south, Range 1, into a new political
subdivision to be named Jackson, which
request was accordingly granted. The
name was chosen in honor of Gen. Andrew
Jackson, elected the previous year to
the Presidency, who had many warm admirers
in this part of the county. No change
occurred in its territory till March 5,
1845, when the commissioners ordered the
eastern tier of sections, from 1 to 36
inclusive, to be attached to Amanda.
Since that time Jackson has contained thirty
sections, or an area of 19,200 acres.
It is bounded on the north by Findlay and
Marion Townships, on the east by Amanda, on
the south by Delaware and Madison, and on
the west by Eagle. In 1840 its
population was 631; 1850 830; 1860, 1,272;
1870, 1,209, and 1880, 1,338, or more than
44 inhabitants to the square mile.
The Blanchard river enters the southeast corner of the
township on Section 35, thence passes
northeastward into Amanda, and meandering up
the western side of that subdivision,
crosses back into Jackson near its northeast
corner. It thus assists in draining the
eastern side of this township. Lye
Creek rises in Madison Township, enters
Jackson on Section 32, and, winding in a
general northeast direction, strikes the
northern line of Section 3; thence turns to
the northwest, and passing onward empties
into the Blanchard a short distance east of
Findlay. A small run flows into Lye
Creek from the southeast, affording good
surface drainage between that stream and the
Blanchard. The western part of Jackson
drains mainly into Eagle Creek, which flows
northward along the eastern side of Eagle
Township. Good water is readily found
in every part of this subdivision. The
timber in Jackson is generally the same as
found in other portions of the county,
differing only as to the amount of each
particular kind. Along the streams the
soil is a vegetable loam, mixed with
alluvial deposits; while away from the water
courses it is a clay and sandy loam soil,
with a gravel mixture in some places.
Taking it as a whole, the soil of Jackson
will compare favorably with the surrounding
townships.
First Settlers - On the 21st of November,
1823, Peter George, the "pioneer land
hunter," entered the east half of the
northeast quarter of Section 35, which was
the first entry made in the township.
He, however, became a settler of Amanda.
William J. Greer entered the east
half of the southeast quarter of the same
section, adjoining George's entry on
the south, Dec. 10, 1823, but he
subsequently settled in Delaware Township.
The next entry was made by Mordecai
Hammond May 30, 1827. He took up
the west half of the northeast quarter and
the west half of the southeast quarter of
Section 35, upon which he located the
following autumn, and was therefore the
first settler of Jackson Township.
Mr. Hammond was born in Maryland Apr.
27, 1791, removed to York County, Penn., and
there married Zilla Gilbert, a native
of that State, and in 1826 located in
Pickaway County, Ohio. In the fall of
1827, with his brother-in-law, Aquilla
Gilbert, he left Pickaway County and
took up his abode on the east bank of the
Blanchard, in Section 35. IN April,
1828, he took part in the first county
election of Hancock, and in October, 1829,
was elected county commissioner, and served
one term. In 1842 Mr. Hammond
was appointed associate judge, which
position he filled seven years. Nine
children were born to him, of whom six
survive, and four reside in this county.
Judge Hammond died on the old
homestead in Section 35, Feb. 25, 1855, his
widow surviving him nearly twenty-two years,
dying Feb. 4, 1877, in the eightieth year of
her age. Throughout his residence in
this township, Judge Hammond was
regarded as an upright, worthy man, and one
of the leading citizens of his adopted
county.
Alpheus Ralston is
believed to have been the next to locate in
this subdivision. In September, 1829,
he entered the southwest quarter of Section
7, upon which he settled permanently in
October, 1830, where he has ever since
resided. His is a native of Rockingham
County, Va., born in June, 1801, whence he
removed with the parents to Wood County of
that State. In 1826 he came to
Pickaway County, Ohio, where he soon
afterward married Miss Elizabeth
Williamson sister of Mrs. Thomas
Thompson, whose husband was the first
settler of Amanda Township. After a
residence of some four years in Pickaway
County, Mr. Ralston with his wife and
two children, removed to the farm, upon
which he has spent fifty-five years of his
life. His cabin was at that time in
the heart of a wilderness; a rude wagon
track led through the forest to Findlay, and
his nearest neighbors were about three miles
more distant. His first wife dying he
married her sister, Julia A. Williamson,
who yet survives. Eight children were
born to him, four of whom are living.
Mr. Ralston is now the oldest
surviving pioneer of Jackson Township.
In 1831
Henry and Jacob Cooper,
with their mother and one sister, came from
Fairfield County, Ohio, and built a cabin in
Section 14. Henry was but
fourteen years old, when his father died and
the care of the family largely devolved upon
him. As an illustration of some of the
hardships undergone by the pioneers,
the following was often related by Mr.
Cooper during his life-time. Soon
after settling in the county, he started one
morning on a trip to Findlay, with
William Ebright and son, Philip.
The ground was covered with snow, and the
journey was made in a sled. They had
to cut out a road with their axes as they
went along, and by hard work were thus
enabled to reach the cabin of Michael
Myers in Section 28, Marion Township,
about dark. Here they spent the night
sleeping on the clay floor of Myers'
cabin, and the next morning resumed their
journey to Findlay, where they arrived
before noon, the whole distance traveled
with only about seven miles. Henry
Cooper married a sister of Nutter
Powell, and both died on the old
homestead. Jacob removed to
Indiana.
The
Williamsons came
to the township in 1831, from Pickaway
County, Ohio. Aaron settled in
Section 6, where both he and his wife,
Margaret, resided till death. Five
of their children are residents of the
county. Levi and his mother
located in Section 18, immediately south of
Mr. Ralston, his brother-in-law, but
subsequently removed across the road into
Eagle Township. The mother died here,
and in 1857 he sold out and went to Iowa.
During the
succeeding four years Jackson Township
received several families, viz.: the
Tisdalls, Hemrys, Petermans, Joys, Biblers,
Newells and Bears. Mrs. Tisdall,
with her sons, James and Lucian,
settled in Section 18 in 1832-33, but in a
few years removed from the county.
Henry Hemry, with his wife, Sarah,
and eight children, some of whom were full
grown, settled in Section 3 in the spring of
1834. He was a native of Virginia, and
removed to Carroll County, Ohio, where he
married and lived until his coming to
Hancock. He accumulated a large amount
of land in this country, though he died
about five years after settling on Lye
Creek. Six of his children are
residents of Hancock County. John
and Mary A. Peterman came from Holmes
County, Ohio, in1834, and built their cabin
in the southwest quarter of Section 8, where
he died in 1862. Three of his sons
live in this township. Abraham Hoy
settled in Section21, but died in Findlay.
Abraham and Elizabeth Bibler
came here from Fairfield County, Ohio, in
1835, their son, David, having
preceded them the previous year. They
settled in Section 17, where the parents
died. Two of the sons, John and
David, are leading citizens of Jackson.
William Newell, a son -in-law of
Abraham Bibler, came the same time, and
also settled in Section 17. The family
removed to Putnam County, Ohio, some years
ago. William was an elder
brother of Joseph and James Newell,
who came later. Samuel Bear, of
York County, Penn., located east of the
Biblers, and both he and his wife died
upon the farm, which they settled.
Mrs. John C. Hayes, of Jackson, is one
of their children. Other settlers of
this period were Rufus Bennett in
Section 10, in 1834; Simeon Butler in
the same section, in 1835; and the
Maphets in Section during the latter
year, all of whom are well remembered.
In the spring of
1836, Levi
and
Eli Sampson, native of Baltimore
County, Md., came from Richland County,
Ohio, and settled in Sections 22 and 23,
respectively, erecting their cabins across
the road from each other. In 1851
Levi was appointed associate judge,
which position he held until the spring of
1852, when, under the operation of the new
constitution, the office was abolished.
Judge Sampson possessed a very
limited education, but he had a great deal
of strong common sense and practical
experience. He was a genial, whole
souled man, familiarly called "Sunny"
Sampson, synonymous with that warm
friendly good-nature, which he always
exhibited. At the time of his death,
Mar. 13, 1879, Judge Sampson was
regarded as one of the wealthy farmers of
the county. Eli resided on his
farm till 1876, when he removed to Mt.
Blanchard, where he is at present living.
James Newell, with
his mother, Barbara, and three
sisters, Sarah, Elizabeth and
Salome, settled in the township in 1835.
The parents removed from Shenandoah County,
Va., to Fairfield County, Ohio, when the
sons were quite small, where both grew to
manhood. Joseph and his wife
came to the township a short times after
James and the rest of the family,
William having also settled here in
1835. James and Joseph located
on adjoining farms in Section 8. The
Newells were among the first
Methodists of this part of the county, and
were prominent in organizing the Methodist
Episcopal Church of their neighborhood, the
first building being erected on land donated
by Joseph for that purpose. The
mother died here and James and family
left the county prior to the late war.
Joseph married Barbara, a
daughter of Abraham Bibler, raised a
family of seven children and still lives on
a part of the old homestead.
In 1836 and
1837, James Shelden, Jacob F. Houck,
William Harris and John Orwick
settled in the township. Mr.
Shelden, his wife, Mary, and
seven children came here from Belmont
county, Ohio, in the fall of 1836 and built
their cabin in the south part of Section 23.
The parents, who were Pennsylvanians, died
on the old farm, but some of their children
are residents of the county. Jacob
F. and Eva Houck, natives of Baltimore
County, Md., settled in Section 27. In
1853 he laid out North Liberty, which is
better known as Houcktown. William
and Nancy Harris came from Columbiana
County, Ohio, about 1836, and both spent
their lives in this township. Several
of their descendants reside in Delaware
Township, where his son, Jacob, died
in 1880. John and Margaret
Orwick and family, natives of
Pennsylvania, came to Hancock County in the
fall of 1835, and in 1837 located southwest
of the site of Houcktown. Mrs.
Orwick died in 1840, and he afterward
married a Mrs. Franklin, and died in
this township. Two sons, Jacob and
George, and two daughters, Mrs. David
Bibler and Mrs. John Russell, are
residents of Jackson. Some other
settlers, doubtless, came in during the ten
years from 1827 to 1837, among whom were
John Treese, Benjamin Wiseman, John, Henry
and Sylvester Bell, Reuben Fabun,
Hathaway R., Warner and Thomas Marlow;
but our list embraces those best remembered
by the few living pioneers left to tell the
tale of early settlements made in the forest
of what is now Jackson Township.
Going to
Mill - The territory now embraced in
Jackson Township has never possessed a
grist-mill, and the settlers had to go to
Wolford's mill in Delaware Township,
Campbell's (now Carlin's) mill at
Findlay, Bishop's mill in Eagle
Township, or Misamore's mill in
Amanda, to get their grinding done; while
some patronized mills located outside the
county. Prior to 1845 Misamore's
mill was in this township, but in that year
the eastern tier of sections was attached to
Amanda, and thus Jackson lost
the mill. Aquilla Gilbert says:
"The first hand-mill in the southern part of
the county was owned by Godfrey Wolford,
of Delaware Township, and Judge Hammond
(with whom I resided throughout the winter
of 1828-29), and I used to go to Wolford's
three times a week to grind corn meal - the
only sort of grain we then possessed."
The present generation can scarcely realize
the great boon a neighborhood mill was fifty
years ago. In fact, a settler who came
in and erected a grist-mill was looked upon
as a benefactor. But those days of
privation have long since passed away never
to return, and good mills and good flour are
plentiful.
Justices
- Aquilla Gilbert, the first
justice of Jackson, was thrown into Amanda
Township in 1845, and a sketch of him will
be found at page 359. His successors
have been George Hemry, Joseph
Twining, Arthur Russell, Charles O. Mann,
John Teems, Andrew W. Houck, D. W. Engle,
Joseph S. Struble, James Waltermire, Henry
Bowers, Thomas Waltermire, Eli J. Shelden,
Israel Sampson, John C. Hayes and
Henry Bowers.
Schools
- In the fall of 1832, a few settlers
living along the Blanchard in Jackson and
Amanda Townships, erected a log schoolhouse
in Section 13, on the east bank of the
Blanchard , then in Jackson Township, and
employed Aquilla Gilbert to teach
throughout the winter of 1832-33. "I
was paid," says Mr. Gilbert, "by a
voluntary quarterly subscription at $1.50
per scholar, and I boarded at home.
The children came from both Jackson and
Amanda, as the country was very sparsely
settled." In 1834-35 a school was
taught by Nancy Burns at the house of
Alpheus Ralston, which was the first
in the township west of the Blanchard.
The Ralstons, Petermans, Crums and
Williamsons attended here. A log
schoolhouse was built on Mr. Ralston's
farm in the fall of 1835-36, and a school
was afterward taught here by Miss Julia
Parker. Their second teacher was
Miss Jane Wilson, and the children of
the surrounding settlers patronized this
pioneer institution. Such was the
beginning of education in the township,
which now contains nine good schoolhouses,
wherein the children of both rich and poor
may received a fair English education.
Churches.
- In 1835-36 a class of the Methodist
Episcopal Church was organized in the
northwest corner of the township, the
Newells being the prime movers in this
good work. For a few years the society
met at private houses and the old log
schoolhouse, and then erected a building in
the southwest corner of Joseph Newell's
farm. This was the first church
building in the township, and served the
congregation for many years, when it was
succeeded by the present structure, half a
mile north of the old site. With the
passing years the Methodist Protestant,
United Brethren and Baptist denominations
organized classes, each of which have a
church in Jackson Township. That of
the United Brethren stands in Section 14,
the Baptist in Section 20 and the Methodist
Protestant in Section 23. During the
political excitement of the war, the
Methodists became divided, and to harmonize
then two elements the Christian Union Church
was afterward organized, and a building
erected in Section 30, near the west line of
the township. The Methodist Episcopal
denomination has two church buildings in
Jackson Township, and is quite strong in
numbers.
Towns and
Postoffices - Martins Town was laid
out by Martin Hollabaugh, Sept. 30,
1836, in the southwest quarter of Section
31, extending across the range line into the
southeast quarter of Section 36, Eagle
Township, where Mr. Hollabaugh lived.
Nothing ever came of this first attempt at
town building, and the recorded plat is all
that remains to show that such place was
ever contemplated. Early in 1838 a
postoffice called Martins Town was
established at the house of Hathaway R.
Warner in Section 31, on the
Bellefontaine road. Mr. Warner
was postmaster till 1846, when the office
was removed to Arlington.
Apr. 20, 1853, Jacob F. Houck laid out fifteen
lots in the northwest corner of Section 27,
which he recorded as North Liberty.
Two additions have since been made to the
plat. About three years after the town
was laid out a postoffice named Houcktown
was established here, with Robert
Davidson as postmaster, and the village
thus began to be called Houcktown, by which
it is most familiarly known. Mr.
Davidson's successors have been as
follows: J. R. Babcock, John Garst,
Israel Sampson, Eli Gorsuch, John Ebaugh,
David Beagle and H. L. Hatcher.
Though located in the center of a rich
agricultural district, North Liberty has
never made much progress. Its business
interests consist of one general store, a
grocery store, a saw and shingle-mill, a
wagon factory, a blacksmith shop, a shoe
shop and one physician. There are also
a schoolhouse and a church within its
limits. The official census of 1880
gave the village a population of 112, and
there has been since no perceptible
increase.
Clements
postoffice, established at the house of
Amos Crum in Eagle Township in 1845, was
upon Mr. Crum's death attended to by
his widow. John Crossly and
Noah Sherrick, both of Jackson Township,
were the next postmasters, and in 1858
John Swank of Eagle Township got the
office. In 1862 he removed across the
Bellefontaine road into Jackson, and held
the office till 1866, when it was abolished.
Another office named "Swank," was
established at Mr. Swank's store in
1882, but was discontinued in December,
1884, as most of the farmers in that
vicinity preferred to go to Findlay for
their mail.
Ewing's
Corners was another postoffice that once
existed in this township. It was
established in 1863, at the house of
Jesse Ewing, in Section 15, northeast of
Houcktown. Mr. Ewing died in
the fall of 1872, and was succeed by S.
S. Huffman who held the office until it
was abolished. Though such free
offices as those mentioned were for the time
an accommodation to the neighborhoods in
which they existed, yet their absence is now
little felt, and their discontinuance not
much regretted.
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