CHAPTER V.
PIONEER HISTORY.
pg. 230 - 275

Assessment Roll of 1834 - Bath - Amanda - German - Jackson - Auglaize - Deuchoquette - Marion - Perry - Union and Wayne - Permanent Settlers of the Pioneer Period (alphabetically arranged) - Marriage Record of Pioneer Days

     A PERIOD of time, bordering on three fourths of a century, has passed away since the American pioneers of this county made their first settlement here.  Those years have been replete with change, social, political, religious, even physical change.  The visitor of to-day, ignorant of the past history of Allen, could scarcely realize the fact that within six or seven decades a population approximating 40,000 grew up, where, in the second quarter of the Nineteenth Century, Indian villages stood, and the savages themselves had worn the war-paint, and retained their scalp belts.  The people have not only increased in number, but, also, in wealth, refinement and all the characteristics of advancement, which mark the older settlements of the North Atlantic States.  Newspapers, schools, churches, palatial dwellings, magnificent public buildings, extensive marts, busy mills, cultivated fields, now occupy the village sites and hunting grounds of a hundred aboriginal races, while a people endowed with the highest faculties have taken the place of the Shawanees and Ottawaians themselves.  There are but few left of the old landmarks, - still a smaller number of old settlers.  Civilization and its demands have conspired to raze every monument of the red-man, to obliterate almost every trace of his occupancy.  Old Time, too, has not looked calmly  on, but by way of reprisal, has driven many a pioneer to the promised land beyond the grave, or led others from the old homestead westward in the track of the Indians to re-enact beyond the Mississippi the drama of early settlement.
     As a general rule the men and women who first settled in this county were fearless, self-reliant and industrious.  No matter from what State or what country they came, there was a similarity of character.  In birth, education, language, religion, there were differences; but such differences did not interfere with harmony - on the contrary, they were lost in association, forgotten in that common interest which united all.  In such a community there was a hospitality, a kindness, a benevolence, and high above all, a charity, unknown and unpracticed amount the older, richer and more densely populated settlements of trans-Alleghany counties, just in the same manner, perhaps, as there was a higher faith animating the early Christians, than that which marks our latter-day Christianity.  The very nature of the surroundings of those pioneers taught them to feel each other's woe, to share each other's joy, and live in communal integrity.  Therefore it is not strange that among the old settlers of this county a deep-seated friendship existed and grew and strengthened with their advancing years.  The incidents peculiar to life in a new country - the privations and trials of early settlement in the wilderness of Allen County, were well calculated to test, not only the physical powers of endurance, but, also, the moral, kind, generous attributes of true womanhood and manhood, and bring to the surface all that may be in them of good or evil..
     In this chapter an effort is made to deal in a thorough manner with the pioneers and old settlers of the county.  The whole story is based upon the authority of records, and thus, at least, claims authenticity, a fact which must go far to compensate for the absence of legendary or unauthenticated relations.

ASSESSMENT ROLL OF 1834.

     The following assessment roll made in 1834 by Samuel Black, Auditor of Allen County, is selected for the reason that it has the oldest record of assessments which Auditor Poling was able to discover among the old books of his office.  A recapitulation of assessments gives the following footings:
Number of acres of land, 13,956; assessed value, $16,733; 467 town lots valued at $12,823.50; 657 horses, valued at $27,000; 1,058 cattle, valued at $8,464; merchants' stock, assessed value $8,557; physicians and lawyers were assessed at $2,375, giving a total assessed valuation of $69,461.  On this asse4ssment the sum of $991.66 was levied, of which $197.05 formed State and canal tax, $783. 16 county and school tax and $11.46 town tax.  The delinquencies reported by collectors were very few.  The names of the tax-payers are arranged alphabetically under township headings:

PERMANENT SETTLERS OF THE PIONEER PERIOD.

     The first permanent settlers in the county were Andrew Russell, Peter Diltz and William Van Ausdall, all of whom were old residents of Montgomery County, Ohio.
     Matthew Allison, a Pennsylvanian, settled in Bath Township late in 1827, and purchased a tract of public lands on Section 2 in 1834.
     Alexander Allison, a native of Pennsylvania, settled in Bath Township in 1827.  In 1830 he purchased Government lands on Section 3, and made the county his home until his death in 1871.
     Charles Baker settled at Lima in 1832, and erected the first frame building in the village.
     John Bashore settled at Lima in 1831, and may be named as the first tavern keeper of Lima.
     Samuel Baxter settled in Amanda Township in 1828 with his sons, Curtiss and Smith Baxter.  The latter came with him when only four years of age, and the former when six years old.  His death took place Aug. 10, 1830, while Mrs. Baxter lived until Aug. 26, 1854.
     John Baxter, a Pennsylvanian, settled with his wife in Bath Township in 1833.  Mrs. Barber died in August, 1882, and John Barber Nov. 4, 1884.
     D. B. Beardsley, one of the old settlers of Hancock County, was also a pioneer of Allen.  For years he has served as Justice of the peace of Hancock County, and has written a book of historical reminiscences on that division of the State.
     William Belcher purchased a quarter of Section 28, Marion, in 1826.
     Gen. William Blackburn, Receiver of the Land Office,,,,,, was transferred to Lima in 1834, whence he moved to Allentown, where he died.
     Samuel Bowers, father of Robert Bowers, settled at Lima late in 1834.
     Isaac Bowyer and his wife Elizabeth purchased a farm on Section 18 in 1830, and a year later became members of the first Methodist Church of Elida.
     Daniel Boyer, a Pennsylvanian, settled at Lima in 1836.  In 1837 he was married to Miss Hughes, a sister of Judge Hughes, who died here in April, 1851.  He died Oct. 26, 1884, aged seventy-three years.
     Griffith Breese settled on Section 10, Shawnee Township, in 1832.  This was the site of a Shawnee village, as then evidenced by seven cabins and eighty apple trees.  This pioneer died in 1848.  His widow died in 1852, while his son, William D. Breese, who came with him in 1832, is still a resident of the county.
     William Bryan settled in German Township in 1830 with his wife Elizabeth. Both of them were among the first members of the Methodist Society organized there the following year.
     Harvey Buckmister, one of the old traders of the Hollister Fur Company, a pioneer of Hardin County, must be also credited with being an old resident of Allen County.
     John Chapman, or "Johnny Appleseed," a Swedenborgian, was in Jefferson County, Ohio, as early as 1801.  He planted sixteen bushels of apple seed on the Butler farm on the Walhonding River.  On entering an house he would lie down on the floor and ask the people, "Will you have some fresh news from heaven?"  He was born in Boston in 1775.  In April, 1828, he leased a farm from William B. Hedges below Shanesville.  His death took place near Fort Wayne in 1845, aged seventy-two years.  This Chapman was a composition of eccentricities.  S. C. McCullough, in his reminiscences, states that he visited a nursery on the Sunderland farm in Amanda Township, soon after he commenced to clear his own farm in 1835.  He was told that the trees were planted by John Chapman some years before; and further, that the old an had been along the Ottawa and Auglaize Rivers seeking out alluvial lands to set out orchards, before white men had effected a settlement in Allen County.  It is probable that "Johnny" carried out his benevolent work here even prior to the building of Fort Amanda.  That he was here about 1812-1813 is manifested in the number, variety and age of the trees which sprung from the seeds planted by him along Wayne's trace. 
     James M. Candler and his parents settled near Lafayette in 1829; moved to Liberty Township, Hardin County, in 1832, where his father died in 1835.
     Solomon Carr, who with his family settled in Marion Township in 1826, is now represented by his son, Abner Carr, one of the few survivors of pioneer days.
     Henry Carter, a native of Delaware, with Edward Cox and Thomas Kane, settled in Richland Township, in 1834.
     William Chaffee, a Baptist preacher, settled at Lima about 1833. (vide History Baptist Church).  He purchased a farm on Section 1, Shawnee Township, in 1832.  He amassed a fair sum of money; lost it or wasted it, was sent to an insane asylum at Indianapolis, and there died.
     William S. Chenoweth, a Revolutionary soldier, together with James Chenoweth, came to Bath Township in 1827 or 1828, and purchased land on Section 33, in 1831.
     Josiah Clawson, who married a daughter of Martin Hine, in 1835, in Marion Township, and purchased a farm on Section 28, in 1834, died Feb. 6, 1844.  Andrew Clawson was another old settler, who resided on Section 30.
     Benjamin Clevenger, the miller of Sugar Creek, in 1832.  William Clevenger located lands on section 20, in 1829.
     William Cochran settled in Marion Township in 1825.  He was accompanied by his wife and son, James Cochran.  The latter married Miss Julia A. Russell, daughter of the pioneer, Andrew Russell, in 1829.  This lady died in 1833.  In 1834 he entered lands on Section 34, Marion.
     Thomas Cochran, a Kentuckian, settled in German Township in 1831.  His father, Simon Cochran, served in the Revolutionary war, and died in this township, aged ninety years.  A. W. and John Cochran served in the war of 1812.
     John F. Cole, accomplished by his family, came to Allen County in 1831, and located near Lima, Nov. 7, that year.  A few months later he was present at the burial of Chief Pht and after that time he continued to witness the removal by death of many if not all the early settlers.  He died in 1882.  His son, also John F. Cole, is an old resident of Lima. 
     Mrs. Nancy Cole, widow of the late John F. Cole, settled with her husband in Bath Township in 1831, moved to Lima subsequently and died here Oct. 24, 1880.
     George Coon, Sr., a Pennsylvanian, settled on Section 11, Shawnee, in 1832, about the time that William Deniston and Thomas Flynn made their settlement in that neighborhood.  His death occurred in 1877.
     John Crawford settled in Bath Township in 1828; purchased lands on Section 4, in 1831, and resided there until his death, in 1839.
     Alexander Creps and his wife Rebecca (Maus) Creps, came about 1832.  In 1834 Alex. Creps founded the village of Westminster and there died Aug. 25, 1878.
     Smith Cremean arrived in German Township in 1830, and settled on lands which he purchased on Section 19, in 1830.  Jacob Cremean was also an early settler.
     Charles Crites, a Pennsylvanian, settled in German Township in 1839.  Jacob Crites arrived in 1843.
     Joseph Crossley, who settled at Lima in 1833, moved to Perry Township in 1834 and located his farm on Section 16.  He was accompanied by his step-son Henry J. Apple.  Crossley was one of Wayne's soldiers, and is said to have burned the first brick at Cincinnati, Chicago, Fort Wayne, Dayton and Lima.
     Thomas Crooks arrived in Auglaize Township in 1831.
     James Crozier was one of the first Associate Judges.
     Archibald Cunningham settled at Lima in 1834 with his son, John Cunningham, who conducted a school in the first court house from 1834 to 1838.
     Dr. William Cunningham, a name so closely identified with the earlier years of the county, settled at Lima in 1831.  He died in September, 1842, (Vide general history).  In 1832 he purchased the Cunningham homestead at Lima.
     Theodore E. Cunningham, whose personal history appears in the third part of this work, is one of the senior old residents, and even now one of the ablest lawyers of the county.  In 1866 he was delegate to the Johnson Constitutional Convention, and has for years taken a foremost part in everything relating to the progress of this division of the State.  He came with his father, Dr. William Cunningham, to Lima in 1832.
     Hamilton Davidson, the first resident attorney, is referred to so often in the chapter s of this work that the name only is necessary here.  He moved to Defiance in 1845 or 1846.
     James and Benjamin Daniels settled in Bath Township and purchased lands on Section 31, in 1828.
     Nathan Daniels, the first Recorder, was one of the first residents of Lima.
     W. P. Dehart, a settler of Amanda Township, in 1837, is a pioneer of Spencer, having settled there in 1843, the year before Canover, McConnell and Tyler platted the village of Spencerville.
     Peter Diltz arrived in January, 1817, and took up his residence in the small block-house on the northeast corner of the quadrangle or parade ground of Fort Amanda.  On Sept. 20, 1817, Francis Diltz was born in this log house, and here the family continued to reside until the beginning of the summer of 1821, when Mr. and Mrs. Diltz and children returned to Dayton.  Previous to his leaving the county, however, he erected a log-cabin for the Sunderland family in 1821.
     Simon Doyle and family came to Allen County in 1829 and purchased lands in Section 17, Bath Township, the same year.
     William Durham purchased his farm in Amanda in 1827.
     Francis Deuchoquette, the French interpreter, whose knowledge of the Shawnees and their language was only equaled by his desire for justice, was denied employment in 1831 by the wily and unprincipled Indian Commissioner Gardner.  He set out, that year, to accompany the Shawnee delegation to Washington, but died en route and was buried amid the lamentations of that people for whom he sought justice.  Deuchoquette Township, formerly a portion of Allen County, is named after him.
     The late C. C. Marshall, in a reference to this man, says: "I became acquainted in 1831 with Francis Deuchoquette, the old Frenchman who had lived a long time among the Shawnees, and is said to have interceded for the life of Dr. Knight, when Col. William Crawford was burned by the Delaware near the Tymochtee, in Wyandot County, after his capture in 1782.  This venerable Frenchman died, when on his way to Washington, with a Shawnee delegation, at Cumberland, Md., in the summer of 1831.
     John East, son of Abraham, a German soldier, sold to the British by his ruler in 1774-76 to fight against the Americans, settled in German Township in 1833 with his sons Samuel and Isaac.  He died in 1862.  John East operated a carding-machine in early days in German Township.
     Uriah Edgecomb moved to Bath Township in 1832, and located on land which he purchased that year on Section 3.  Ezra Edgecomb also entered a tract of land in the same section.
     Michael Flynn, who located at Ada, in Hardin County in 1856, is an old resident of Allen County.
     Samuel Faulkner, an old settler of Champaign County, settled on Section 21, Perry Township, in 1832.  In 1833 he purchased Government lands in Section 21.
     Samuel Forrer, who surveyed the Shelby Canal in 1824, may be considered the pioneer of Marion Township, as he ultimately settled here, and made Delphos his home until his death in 1874.  In 1834 he purchased a tract of land on Sections 20 and 18.
     Tolson Ford settled in Auglaize Township in 1830.  In the history of first industries and again in the history of his township the name is often referred to.
     The Fulton brothers, pioneer physicians of Spencer Township, settled there at Hartford about 1836 as pioneers of the county.
     Daniel Garde, a settler of Amanda in 1824, entered a small parcel of land on Section 5, in 1828.
     Levi Goddenow and family settled on Section 20, Auglaize, in 1836.  He died in 1876.
     Elisha Hall purchased a farm on Section 8, Bath, in 1830.
     Justin Hamilton, who surveyed the original town of Lima in 1831, was one of the pioneers of Mercer County.
     Jacob Harter entered a parcel of land on Section 21, Marion, in 1825.  Henry Harter bought his lands on Section 28.
     Jacob Harter, one of the early settlers of Amanda Township, entered his lands on Section 4, in 1825.
     Edward Hartshorn made an entry of a tract of land on Section 7, Bath, in 1829.
     Merritt Harvey settled in Spencer in 1847.  Prior to his coming Henry Harter, a merchant, Dr. Samuel Price, Abe Armitage, T. C. Bartle, a carpenter, and William Young were settlers.  Physicians Gray, Emerson and Wyat may be named among the early settlers.
     The pioneer land-buyers of Spencer Township were Jacob Peterbaugh, L. V. Van Horn, B. P. Southworth, George Young, Joseph Brown, Solomon K. Brown, J. Marks, in 1834; Samuel Purdy, Joe Osborne and John Clifton in 1848; G. D. Coleman and John Hockenberry in 1845.
     Joseph Higgs settled in Bath Township previous to 1832, and erected the first saw-mill on Sugar Creek that year.
     Martin Hire settled in Allen County in 1824.
     Joseph Hover, a Pennsylvanian, arrived in 1833 and settled on Section 1, Shawnee Township.  Here he resided until his death in 1844.  W. U. Hover accompanied his father and brother James A.  Mr. Hover, Sr., built the first frame house in the township.
     Ezekiel Hover and Emanuel Hover, brothers of Joseph Hover, settled in Shawnee in 1833.  Ezekiel purchased the lands where the chief village of the Shawnee stood, and there took up his residence in the old council house.
     Henry Huffer settled one and one-half miles from Elida in 1831 with his wife and family.  His daughter Delilah is the wife of Henry Kiracofe, himself an old settler.
     James E. Hueston settled with his family, in May 1824, in the northeastern part of Hardin County.  He died in 1834.
     Thomas K. Jacobs, a Pennsylvanian, whose sudden death occurred Nov. 12, 1884, came to Lima in 1838.  He with Daniel Boyer and Elisha Jolley were the leading tailors of the county at that date.  (Vide sketch of Mr. Jacobs.).
     Samuel Jacobs was one of the earliest settlers.  In the history of his township the name is mentioned.
     John Jackson, the first surveyor and subsequently Auditor, was one of the first settlers of Lima.  In 1833 he purchased a tract of land on Section 11, Bath.
     Frank Jamieson and his wife Rachel settled near the present site of Elida in 1828.  Mr. Jamieson died in 1872.
     John Ireland settled in German Township in 1832, and was the first Justice of the Peace elected in that township.
     James Jennings and family settled in Jackson Township in 1836.
     Gideon and John Jennings and family settled in Jackson Township in 1836.
     Griffith and John Jennings entered lands on Section 9, Bath Township, in 1834.  Joseph, Asa and David Jennings, it is said, settled in Bath Township about 1825.
     Griffith John, a Pennsylvanian, came to German Township in 1831, and in the fall of that year located his farm on Section 7. Within the quarter century following he purchased 1,640 acres of land in German, Marion and Amanda Townships, of which he was sole owner up to the period of his death in February, 1856.  Jesse J. John, a resident of Elida, is one of his sons.  Jehu John was killed at Kenesaw Mountain, June 19, 1864.
     Abraham Kessler settled in German Township in 1838.  In 1834 he purchased a tract of public lands on Section 32.
     Abner Kelsey purchased land on Section 7 in 1825, near the Wood farm in Bath Township.
     George Kephart purchased his farm on Section 4,, Amanda, in 1825.
     William Kidd settled in Monroe Township in 1832, where he resided until his death in 1855.  N. G. Kidd, his son, came to the township with his parents in 1832.  In 1833 he opened the first school in the township on Section 14.
     William Knittle, a Pennsylvanian, settled just north of Elida in August, 1830.  He was one of the men who, a year later, engaged in cutting the Lima road through from Elida.
     Isaac Knoop purchased lands in Amanda Township, Sec. 32, in 1828.
     Henry Lippincott, who settled on Section 32, Bath, in 1830, was elected Sheriff in 1831.
     Morgan Lippincott and William Lippincott were members of the pioneer family of that name.
     Aaron Loomis came in 1825, and assisted in building the McCluer cabin in Bath Township, and, in 1826, settled in the county with his family.
     Peter Loramie, a French trader, who settled in Pickawillany in 1769, and won for the place in later years the name of Loramie's Station, was one of the few Frenchmen of that time who offered aid to the British.  His friendship for them was a purely business one; but so material to their interests that Gen. Clarke visited the post in 1782, carried off his stock and burned the buildings.  Loramie escaped and found a home among the Shawnees, with whom he traded for years, until his death in the far West.
     Anthony Madore, another old resident of Shanesville, succeeded Shane as trader, sold his store to Greaves in 1821, and accompanied the Indians to Kansas during the first migration.
     Horatio N. Maguire, elected Recorder of Allen County in 1846, was one of the early settlers.  He died before his term of service expired but continued to make records of deeds up to the night before his decease.  His widow, known as Aunt Jane, still resides at Lima.  His son, an old resident of Montana Territory, now residing in the Gallatin Valley, has held the office of Probate Judge and other public positions in the Territory.
     John Mark was one of the three first residents of Lima.  Little is known of him, as he made only a short stay there.
     Samuel Marshall and his son, the late Charles C. Marshall, may be named among the pioneers of Spencer, and indeed of the county.  They carried the mails via Fort Amanda in 1829, 1830 and 1831.
     Archelaus Martin, Kentuckian, came to Amanda Township first in 1829, and as a resident in 1830.  In 1833 he was married to Catherine Russell, daughter of the pioneer of that name.
     William Martin, a native of Ireland, settled in Perry Township about 1833, and two years later purchased his farm on Section 29.
     Dr. William McHenry, who came to Lima in May, 1834, is still in practice here.
     Samuel McCluer, a soldier of the war of 1812, and a participant in the defeat of the British at the battle of the Thames, came to this county in 1825, and erected his cabin on the west side of Hog Creek on Section 28, Bath township.  He was accompanied hither by his brothers, Thomas and Moses, together with Joseph Ward and Aaron Loomis.  In 1826 he brought his wife and family to reside here.  Mrs. McCluer died Sept. 21, 1844.  Her husband's death took place Dec. 29, 1875.
     James McCullough, father of Samuel C. McCullough, settled with his family on Sec. 11, Bath, in June, 1835, on land which he purchased in1836.  A year later Mrs. McCullough died.  She was the daughter of Col. Blue, referred to in military orders of 181213.
     John McGill purchased his farm on Section 34, in 1826.
     John McKibben settled on Section 30, Bath Township, in 1834, but died in August of that year, aged thirty-three years.  As a recognition of the interest he showed in the building up of Lima, one of the streets in the north division of that city is named after him.
     Jacob Miller, accompanied by his wife and son Silas, settled on Section 16, Amanda, in 1826, and made the township their home until their decease.
     Aaron M. Miller, the first Prosecuting Attorney, is connected with the courts and bar of the county.
     John P. Mitchell, who located at Lima in 1831, together with being one of the first settlers, was also one of the first tavern-keepers.  He entered lands in Section 31, in 1832.
     Samuel Moore entered a tract of land in Amanda Township on Section32, in 1827.
     John Murray, who settled in Jackson Township in 1834, died Jan. 3, 1866.
     Daniel Musser, a Pennsylvanian, came  with his parents and the family of William Weller, to Lima, in 1833, having resided for a short time before this in Marion Township.  He was one of the early tavern-keepers, and also operated the first tannery in 1833-34.  His death took place Apr. 12, 1880, in his seventy-seventh year.
     William Myers, the first store-keeper at Allentown, opened his store there in 1835.  He, with George Povenmyre, platted that village the same year.
     Daniel Myers settled in German Township in 1831, with his step-father, Peter Ridenour.  He erected the first building, other than the old Lutheran Church, on the site of Elida Village.
     James Nicholas, a Pennsylvanian, settled in Sugar Creek Township, Sept. 13, 1833, and the same year purchased his lands on Section 28.  He served as Justice of the Peace for almost half a century.
     Aaron Osborn entered lands on Section 28, Bath, in 1830, near Barzilla Osborn's purchase of 1829.
     Vance Pangle, a Virginian, who settled in Sugar Creek Township in 834 with his wife, died Sept. 15, 1835.  In 1844 the widow and her son, Elisha Pangle, moved to Delphos.
     John Plickard, a settler of 1832, died, Mar. 18, 1860.  His wife, Julia Ann Jamieson, of German Township, resided on Section 34, Marion, where Mr. Plickard entered lands in 1834.
     Amelia Post located lands on Section 10, Amanda Township in 1822.
     Samuel Purdy and Daniel Purdy came to Sugar Creek Township previous to 1826.  In 1827 the latter settled on Section 1.
     Peter Ridenour settled in German Township in 1831.  His wife and step-son, Daniel Myers, accompanied.
     John Ridenour, an old settler of Perry County, Ohio, came to Perry Township with his family in 1830.  He died in 1874.  Mrs. Ridenour died in 1879.  Jacob, son of John Ridenour, came in 1830, and about this time also Samuel Ridenour settled here on Section 21, George Ridenour settled in the county about this time.
     Edward Rigdon located a farm on Section 29, Ottawa Township, in 1829.
     Samuel Rockhill, who platted the village of Rockport, settled in Monroe Township in 1835 with his son, William Rockhill.
     Andrew Russell and his wife arrived in January, 1817, and took possession of the largest block-house at Fort Amanda, the same which was used as officers' quarters in 1812-13.  Here his daughter Susanna, afterward wife of Charles C. Marshall, was born Jul. 13, 1817.  Here Mr. Russell died in April, 1822, and was buried in the military cemetery by Dye Sunderland, Diltz and Van Ausdall.  His daughter, Mrs. Marshall, died at Delphos in June, 1871.
     Anthony Shane was the trader and storekeeper at Shanesville previous to the war of 1812.  He platted the town of Shanesville in1820, and resided there until he accompanied the Indians to Kansas in 1832.
     David N. Saxton purchased a tract of land on Section 30, Bath, in 1830.
     William Scott, who erected a saw-mill near Lima in 1834, must be considered among the pioneers.
     Isaac Shockey, a native of Maryland, settled on Section 30, Auglaize Township, in 1831, where he resided until his death in 1847.
    James Smith settled in Auglaize Township in 1831.
     Elijah Standiford purchased lands on Section 32, Bath, in 1830.
     Francis Stephenson settled on Section 17, Auglaize Township, in March, 1829-30, with his wife and son Joseph, John Goode, Mrs. Arabella Goode and perhaps two others.  He died in 1847, and the year following his wife died.
     Samuel Stewart, who with James Daniels and John G. Wood formed the first County Board.
     William Stewart and Mrs. Jane Stewart, Pennsylvanian, settled on Section 9, Amanda, in 1824, and erected his cabin the same year.  He died in April, 1874.
     Samuel Stewart, a brother of William, also located in the township in 1824.
     Hezekiah Stoles, a soldier of the Revolution, settled in Bath Township about 1827 or 1828.
     John Summersett and his wife Rachel settled in German Township, in 1830.  In 1833 he purchased a tract of land on Section 17, German Township.
     Peter Sunderland, a soldier of the Revolution, came herein 1820; died in 1827, and was buried in the Fort Cemetery.
     Dye Sunderland, also an old resident of Montgomery County, Ohio, settled near Fort Amanda, on Section 15, in 1821, with his family.  He died in 1856.  Four years later Mrs. Sunderland died.
     Robert Terry, one of the pioneer school teachers, it is thought, settled here about the same time.
     James Turner and his son purchased Government lands in Sugar Creek Township in 1825 and 1826; Daniel Purdy, in 1827; William Clevenger, David Sim, John Enslen, John Gander, William Ward, Hugh Crawford, Michael Ridenour and D. J. Conrad, in 1829; Revel Roach, Henry Huffer, Michael Swisher, Peter Roth, in 1830.
     Samuel Tidd settled near the east line of the county in 1822, on Section 21, Roundhead.
     William Underwood, who settled in Amanda in 1821, purchased his farm on Section 15, in 1822.
     Robert Underwood came in 1831 to Auglaize Township.  His name is mentioned in the history of that township, and again in the general history.
     William Van Ausdall arrive at Fort Amanda in January, 1817, and made the store-house in the center of the square his temporary home.  During the fall of that year he erected a log-house on Section 15, where he resided until 1821, when he moved to Michigan with his family.  In 1824 he returned to Fort Amanda, where he died the same year, and was buried in the military cemetery.
     Peter Verbyrcke settled in German Township, in March, 1835.
     Joseph Walter came in 1826, and settled in Bath Township.
     Joseph Ward visited the county in 1825, and in 1826 brought his family here.  He resided with the McCluer family until his own cabin was erected.
     John Ward, the first County Clerk, died in 1842.
     Samuel Washburn purchased a tract of land in Section 21, Marion Township, in 1825.
     William Watt was one of the first Associate Judges.
     James Watt purchased lands on Section 25, in 1833.
     Hudson Watt, who came to Lima in May, 1834, died here May 17, 1880.
     Adam White, the first Treasurer, located a farm on Section 26, in 1828.
     Christopher Wood, a Kentuckian, a scout in the American service from 1790 to 1794, and a soldier of the war of 1812-15, may be said to be a pioneer of 1824, since in that year he accompanied his sons, Joseph and Albert G., and his son-in-law, Benjamin Dolph, into the wilds of this county.  In 1826 John G. Wood entered a parcel of land in Bath Township.  In 1829 Christopher Wood was appointed Commissioner to locate the seat of justice for Allen County; an Associate Judge of Common Pleas in 1831; Director of the town of Lima for the sale of lots the same year, and subsequently was appointed to many positions of trust.  He was born in1769, and died at Elma in 1856.  (Vide History of Lima and Organic History.)  Joseph Wood and other members of that family were all among the pioneers.  William G. Woods was the fist County Auditor.
     Owing to the fact that the German pioneers of Marion Township did not effect permanent settlement until after the pioneer era of the county, their names are confined to the history of that township.
     In the foregoing record there are many names mentioned under one heading.  Thus, under the name Turner, there are no less than fourteen pioneers mentioned.   The object of this portion of the chapter is to gather, as nearly as possible, the names of the very earliest settlers; so that, where the biographical historian fails to obtain their history, the writer of the general history may be satisfied that at least a brief personal reference is made to them in his own division of the work.

MARRIAGE RECORD OF PIONEER DAYS.  

     Such a record as this claims a double value.  It places before the reader a great number of names connected with the first years of the county's progress.  It points out the time when the young men and women of those years assumed the duties and responsibilities of married life, and in a measure chronicles the beginning of their true citizenship.  The record form 1831 to 1845 is selected to supplement the history of pioneer times.  The extent of the several matrimonial stories related in the original books since 1845, and the fact that such stories are comparatively modern and accessible to the public, are a few of the reasons why the records should not be continued here.  The editor of the Democratic Times, Mr. Selfridge, gave to his readers in 1883-84 a very full review of marriages, so far as registered, which took place in this county.  Charles F. Price, city editor of the Daily Times, continued the marriage chronology down to 1884, thus securing and making easy of access the record which is destined to take a most important place, if not the most important, among the records of the county.

go HERE for more Marriages listed Alphabetically

      In addition to the marriages recorded in Allen, there were many marriages of her citizens celebrated and registered without the county, while others were never placed on the register.  Evidences of this appear in the part of this work devoted to biography.

 

    
    - END OF CHAPTER V -