| BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of Defiance County, Ohio
containing a History of the County; Its Townships,
Towns, Etc.;
Military Record; Portraits of Early Settlers and
Prominent Men; Farm Views; Personal
Reminiscences, Etc.
Published at Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co.
1883
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Adams Twp. -
EMANUEL HALL
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 256 |
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Defiance Twp. -
HENRY B. HALL
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 250 |
Cassandra Haller
Jesse Haller |
Farmer Twp. -
MRS. CASSANDRA HALLER was born in
Champaign County, Ohio, July 12, 1810, and came to Brnnersburg.
Defiance Co., Ohio, with her husband, Jesse Haller,
in 1831, and remained there until 1837. Jesse
Haller, her husband, was a tanner, and carried on the
business in Brunersburg about seven years, and then removed to
Farmer Township in 1837, and settled on Section 32, where Mrs.
Haller now resides. Jesse Haller died
Sept. 30, 1870, aged about seventy-one years. He was born
Mar. 21, 1805, in Mason County, Ky. His father, John
Haller, emigrated from Kentucky to Urbana, Ohio, in 1802.
He came to Brunersburg Oct. 22, 1833, aged sixty-five years.
He had been married twice. His first wife was Mary
Allen, who died in Mason County, Ky., Jan. 28, 1811. His
second wife, Mary Weaver, died in Champaign
County, Ohio, Jan. 3, 1815. Jesse Haller was
married, Dec. 22, 1830, in Champaign County, Ohio, to
Miss Cassandra Arrowsmith, sister of Miller
Arrowsmith, of Farmer Township. In November, 1831, he,
with his family, removed to Williams Comity, Ohio, then
including the present county of Defiance. Their household
goods were hauled in a wagon to the Auglaize River, and then
shipped to Defiance in a pirogue. The family traveled on
horseback, fording the brooks, then flush from recent rains, one
of which was too deep to ford, and the only ferry-boat untried
horses, but they carried their riders across in safety. In their
new home they were again upon the frontier. The Indians
were more numerous there than the whites. He located on the
right bank of Bean Creek, below the present town of Brunersburg,
where he established a tan-yard, and remained there until Sept.
30, 1837. He then moved upon the land he occupied at the
time of his decease. His family are William M., Amanda
L. (dead), May Elizabeth, who married F. N.
Horton, Commissioner of Defiance County. Mrs.
Haller says the trip, when she and her husband moved from
Brunersburg in 1837, consumed four or five days. A road
had to be cut through swamps and marshes that required four
days. The underbrush had to be all cut and removed,
requiring much labor and causing considerable delay. Mrs.
Haller relates that when she first came to the township a
stranger was found dead in a cabin— a hunter, who had died
alone. Mr. Arrowsmith sent a statement to
the Defiance Democrat that his first visit was in the fall of
1834. At that time, Nathan Farmer and
John Hickman lived on Section 1. Keelin
Leonard had raised a cabin on Section 2, on lands
afterward owned and occupied by Colin Tharp.
A hunter had lived on the east side of Section 9, and Findlay
had lived in a hut on Lost Creek, in Section 32. But four
entries of land had been made in the township. This
stranger was found dead in the hut on Section 9. The
coffin was made by Obadiah Webb, who lived on the
east bank of Bean Creek, opposite to the farm now owned by
Lyman Langdon. The coffin was lashed on a pole,
and carried by Abraham Webb and William
Sibble, on their shoulders, to the hunter's camp, a distance
of nearly thirteen miles in a direct line and their route was
through the woods, without a path to guide them. They
crossed Bean Creek at dusk, and, with a pocket compass to guide
them, and a hickory torch to light their way, they set on with
their burden on their lonely route, and reached the hut at 3
o'clock in the morning. He was buried on the northwest
quarter of Section 10. This was the first death in
Farmer Township.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 268 |
"Longwood Farm"
Res. of J. F. Haller,
Milford Twp., Defiance Co., Ohio |
Milford Twp. -
JOHN F. HALLER, the eldest of the family of William
and Sarah (Arrowsmith) Haller, was born
in Champaign County, Ohio, Mar. 17, 1820. Mr.
Haller realizing, as all ambitious young men should in
setting out in life, that it was his duty to make a living in an
honorable way, with this purpose in view, concluded to look
around the country, and see what the prospects were.
Consequently, on the 24th day of December, 1844, he took up his
line of march with $2. 50 in cash, and after a three days' march reached Defiance on the 26th day of the same month
with some money left. Mr. Haller makes no pretensions
to being one of the first settlers, but at the
same time the country was very new, and comparatively
few people living here, and they had but small
improvements. Wild game was plenty, of various
kinds common to a new "country. But as Mr. Haller
was not cut out for a hunter, he paid the business of
hunting and shooting wild game very little attention.
He chose, rather, to teach the young idea how to
"shoot," and taught school the following winter. He
also commenced to improve the farm on which he
now lives. Mr. Haller followed school teaching a
part of the time for five years, in connection with
making improvements on his farm. Wages were low
at that time; labor commanding, generally, not more
than half the present prices. The first settlers of
this country were very poor, as men of means don't
choose to expose themselves to the hardships and
privations incident to the settlement of a new country.
Feb. 13, 1851, Mr. Haller married Miss
Ellen Bassett, of Paulding County, Ohio, daughter
of Elias and Fanny Bassett, who were born and married
in the county of Kent, England, and emigrated
to this country soon after their marriage. Mrs. Bassett
died at Independence, this county, at an early
day. Mr. Bassett died in Iowa in 1872. Their
daughter, Ellen, was born in Huron County, Ohio, Oct. 23,
1831, and died Sept. 20, 1874,
leaving four children—Sarah A., William E., Clara
E. and Jesse R. Nov. 27, 1878, Mr. Haller
married, for his second wife, Mrs. Mary A. Hollon,
daughter of David and Sophia House, of Oswego
County, N. Y., who was born in the same county Jan. 8, 1841.
John Haller, grandfather of the
subject of this sketch, was born at Haller's Gap,
Penn., on the Schuylkill River. Mr. Haller emigrated
West in 1790, and after exploring a part of
Ohio, finally settled in Kentucky. He was of German
parentage, a blacksmith by trade, and a superior
workman. He was married in Kentucky, in 1797, to Mary
Allen, a native of Virginia. Mrs. Mary
Allen
Haller died in 1811, leaving seven children, the
father of John F. Haller, mentioned above, being the
second of the children. In 1812, he moved to Urbana,
Ohio, and in 1815 was again married, to Mrs. Mary
Weaver. By this marriage they had eight children.
About the year 1833, He moved to Brunersburg.
Defiance County, and settled on the farm now
owned by his youngest son, H. R. Haller, where he
died in 1835, aged sixty-five years. Mary (Weaver)
Haller, his wife, died in 1849. There are four
children yet living. Ezekiel Arrowsmith, grandfather
on the mother's side of John F. Haller, the
subject of the above sketch, was born near Baltimore, Md. , in
1770, and emigrated to Kentucky when about twenty-three years of
age, and soon after married Elizabeth Kenton,
daughter of William Kenton, who was a brother of
Simon Kenton, the noted Indian lighter. The
Kenton family went to Kentucky at an early day, and landed where
Louisville now stands. Mr. Arrowsmith moved
to Ohio about 1801, and settled on Mad River, four miles west of
Urbana. Their family consisted of ten children; three only
are now living. Mr. Arrowsmith died in 1849,
where he first settled in Ohio. His wife, Elizabeth
(Kenton) Arrowsmith, died in 1866, at the advanced age of
ninety years. William Haller, father of
John F. Haller, was second sun of John Haller,
and was born in Kentucky in 1801, and was married in Champaign
County, Ohio, in 1825, to Sarah Arrowsmith,
daughter of Ezekiel and Elizabeth (Kenton)
Arrowsmith, and who was also born in Kentucky in 1801.
There were three children by this marriage—John F., Benjamin
L. and Emily J. Mrs. Sarah (Arrowsmith)
Haller died in 1835. Mr. William Haller
married, for his second wife, Miss Jane
Arrowsmith, sister of his first wife. By this marriage
there were two children— Sarah A. and Lavina. In
1852, Mrs. Jane (Arrowsmith) Haller
died, and for his third wife Mr. William Haller
married in 1856, Myrtilla Bishop. They had
but one child, a son, William A. William Haller died in
Champaign County, Ohio, Dec. 2, 1880, aged about eighty years.
At the time Mr. Haller moved into Defiance County,
there lived in the north half of Hicksville Township Joshua
Hall, Tannehill, Benjamin Kimball,
Luther Loveland, B. Ayers, Isaac Wartenbee, D. M. Grier,
Thomas McCurdy, Cass Ginter. On the Fort Wayne,
Newville and Spencerville roads there were a few, and only a
few, settlers, and there were but a few families living in the
town of Hicksville at that time. On the south half
of Milford Township were living A. W. Wilcox, Thompson,
Harvey Hastings, Daniel Coy, C. M. Hulbert, M. J. Hulbert,
William Pierce, E. Crary, D. Boyles, Peter Beerbower, E. C.
Crary, Royal Hopkins and Benjamin Forlow. In
the south half of Farmer Township were living Jacob
Conkey, Dr. Rice, David Allen, William Powell, James
Fisher, Martin Johnson, James Durham, Ira Brown, John Mortimore,
Nathan Farmer, L. Bronson, M. Arrowsmith, Jesse Haller,
Alexander Tharp, A. Bercaw, Anthony Huber, R. M. Kells,
Jared Hulbert. What is now known as Mark Township was
attached to Farmer for judicial purposes at the time Mr.
Haller came to the county. At that time there was a
Mr. Hughes and one or two of his sons living on
Sulphur
Creek, on Section 13, in that township. Mr. Haller
helped to get out the timber to build a house on lands then
owned by Edward Bassett, which was probably about
the third house built in the township.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 328 |
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Defiance Twp. -
J. S. HALLER was born Mar. 6, 1837, in
Chambersburg, Penn. His father immigrated to this country
in 1827, from Baden, Germany. His mother was of German
extraction, but born in America. They were married in
1830, by Rev. D. A. Gallatzer, at Loretto, Cambria
County, Penn. The father's occupation was selling wall
clocks, at which he was quite successful. Shortly after
his marriage, he located at Chambersburg, Penn. His family
consisted of two sons and two daughters, all born in
Chambersburg, and all living except the younger daughter, who
died at the age of five years. The father after a
residence of thirteen years at Chambersburg, purchased a small
farm thee miles south of Harrisburg, Penn., which they moved in
the spring of 1850, and followed gardening for a living.
In 1855, the father died, aged sixty-seven, and in 1861 the
mother followed, aged forty-nine. Both parents and sister
rest in the family lot at Chambersburg. J. S., our
subject, started West in 1859, bound for Nebraska, purchasing a
ticket for St. Louis, but stopped over at Defiance to see his
uncle, who with others persuaded him to try this place. In
the fall, he secured employment with King Bros.,
commission merchants of Toledo, and afterward with Powers &
Fish, also commission merchants of the same city. Then
through C. Knox, general freight agent of Wabash Railway,
he secured a clerkship in the Logansport freight house,
remaining there until the fall of 1861, when he returned to
defiance and married Josephine, eldest daughter of Mr.
Weisenberger on October 1, 1861, making his wedding tour to
Harrisburg, Penn., and while there his mother died. The
following spring he returned to Defiance, settling down for
life. His first attempt was in the grocery line,
purchasing a small stock, at the one-story frame called the
Recess, where now stands Mallet Bros' marble works.
After a time he purchased the lot where the Democrat now
is, built a one-story brick building thereon, moved his original
stock to a frame building owned by his uncle, Mr. Weismantel.
After the completion of his own brick building, he moved into it
his family and stock, and was very successful. He then
entered into partnership with F. Wolfsiffer, but after a
year sold out to Richolt Bros.; then purchased the S.
R. Hudson property, moving his stock into the place; in a
few years, formed a partnership with J. W. Phillips
express agent, but in a year they dissolved and Mr. Haller
was appointed agent, which he followed exclusively until 1871,
except that for some time he was in partnership with J. & F.
Wolfsiffer in groceries. He was then joint agent at
Logansport for two express companies, remaining until the winter
1872. Next spring he traded the Gorman property for a
half-interest in Ryder & Gibson's saw mill which
business he followed until 1876, when he leased the grounds and
erected the buildings, now standing, to E. Gove &
Co. In 1872, with Mr. Gorman he purchased
twenty-five acres of H. C. Bouten, which they divided and
improved, where they now reside. From 1876 to 1882, Mr.
Haller was gardening, etc. In 1882, William Gibson
and he commenced manufacturing a very useful wooden fork and
improved threshing machine, both recently patented.
Mr. Haller family consists of four sons and five
daughters.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 234 |
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Farmer Twp. -
WILLIAM M. HALLER was born Sept. 30, 1831,
in Champaign County, Ohio, and when about six weeks old his
parents, Jesse Haller and Cassandra, his mother, came to
Noble Township, then Brunersburg, where his father established a
tan-yard, where he worked. His father removed to Farmer
Township about 1837, and located on Section 32. His
father, Jesse Haller, died on said section in 1876, aged
about seventy-one years old. His wife is still living, and
is seventy-one years old. His family were William M.,
Amanda L. (died, Mary E., married Mr. F. N. Horton,
now one of the Commissioners of Defiance County.
William M. Haller married Miss Amanda Price, July 4,
1858, the daughter of John Price, who settled in this
county in 1830. Her family is Clara A. and
Vernon S., both living. In an early day, Mr. H.
saw the eccentric and strange old adventurer, "Johnny
Appleseed," who frequently visited Farmer Township,
and died near Fort Wayne about 1847. He knew many of the
eccentric peculiarities of that strange man. He was often
in this neighborhood, intent on planting apple trees, but always
harmless and lonely. Johnny Appleseed attended a
camp meeting at the farm now owned by Arrowsmith &
Ridenour, in 1843, but was an attentive hearer. He
frequently rebuked the young men for their levity, and appeared
much displeased if they were not attentive hearers.
Appleseed's appearance as peculiar. He wore a coffee
sack for a coat, drawn on over his head, and his dress in other
respects was equally curious. The Ottawa Indians were
removed by Dr. Colby about the year 1843, so that he knew
but little of them. They had for a long time gathered in
Farmer Township and also along the St. Joseph River, and annoyed
the early settlers a good deal. They were quite unruly
when they could obtain whisky from the traders, but always
refrained form murder.
At the time of Mr. Haller's arrival, the
neighbors were Isaac Wartenbe, William Wartenbe, M.
Arrowsmith, James Fisher, Martin Johnson, Jared Hulbert and
others. Dennis Boyles, Ezra Crary, Elias Crary, Darius
Allen, Levinus Bronson, Jacob Conkey, Dr. Oney Rice, Spencer
Hopkins, John Rice, Edwin Lacost; these were the earliest
neighbors, and first in the township and in the adjoining one.
Many of them were vot4ers at the first election.
The "Lost Creek" Presbyterian Church was built about
1853. Mr. James Quick, of Hicksville, is their
pastor. The membership is about seventy. The church
is of frame and cost about $1,000. The Methodist Episcopal
Church was built in 1859, and cost about $1,500. The
membership is about seventy. Their preacher is Rev. Mr.
Long, of Hicksville. It is quite a strong church.
Neither of these churches has a bell. The Lutheran Church
was built in 1860. The preacher was Rev. Mr. Long,
of Hicksville. In point of membership, it is quite strong;
cost, about $1,500. It has no bell and is a frame.
These churches are all in the northwest corner of the township.
Farmer Township has expended a good deal of money in the
erection of schoolhouses. There are about nine
schoolhouses in the township, two of which are of brick.
Much interest is taken in education, and the fitness of teaches
is well guarded. Mr. Haller has a post office at
his house, named "Wilseyville." There is also another
office at Farmer Center, and both are regarded as quite a
convenience. The office was established in 1842.
Mr. Haller is Postmaster; was appointed in 1867.
Mr. Haller enlisted, in Aug., 1862, in Company
F, One Hundred and Eleventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He
saw much active service, and participated in many of the
hard-fought battles of the war of 1861-65. He was wounded
in the right wrist at Dallas, Ga., and musket ball passing
through the bone. He was honorably discharged at Columbus,
Ohio, in July, 1865. He has served as Trustee of the
township five terms. He owns eighty acres of excellent
land, on which he has recently built an elegant residence.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 269 |
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Defiance Twp. -
CHRISTIAN HARLEY
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 253 |
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Defiance Twp. -
HENRY B. HARRIS
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 235 |
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Delaware Twp. -
MOSES M. HAVER was born in Harrison
County, Ohio, Sept. 5, 1842, and came to this county, Nov. 8,
1853, with his parents, Robert Haver and Mary (Cree) Haver.
He was married in Paulding County, Jan. 11, 1872, to
Miss Mary Musselman, daughter of John and Eliza
(Clemens) Musselman, who was born in Defiance Oct. 28, 1840.
They have a family of five children, as follows: Emily,
born Apr. 18, 1870; Iona, born Nov. 12, 1872; Albert,
born Nov. 26, 1874; John, born Dec. 28, 1875; Curtis,
born Nov. 24, 1879. Mr. Haver was a soldier in the
late war, 1861-65, being among the first to enlist at the
breaking-out of the rebellion, enlisting Apr. 27, 1861, in the
three months' service as a private in Company I, Twenty-first
Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Afterward enlisted in
the One Hundredth Regiment as Sergeant and served to the close
of the war, 1865, and was honorably discharged.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 264 |
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Mark Twp. -
ROBERT HAVER was born in Greene County,
Penn., Feb. 20, 1814. Came to Tuscarawas County, Ohio, when he
was about fourteen years of age. Moved into Mark Township,
Defiance County, in November, 1851. The township was
organized prior to his arrival. His neighbors were
Joseph Smith, Martin and Samuel Smith, Moses Johnson, Philip
Oaks, E. H. Devore, John Kentner, Andy Kentner, Samuel Fisher,
James Gribben, Mrs. Jane Young, Charles Koontz, Thomas Pope,
Samuel Onstott, Christopher Thompson, Robert Allen, Joseph
Breese, Samuel Oliver Harris, W. C, Hutchinson, was there
acting as Justice of the Peace when Mr. Haver came
into the township Robert Haver married Miss
Mary Crea Oct. 1, 1839. Their family consists of
Thomas W., Moses M., James H., John, Godfrey E., George W.,
Isaac A. , Levi C. , Sarah C. , Matilda J. and Robert A.
Two of these are dead. John died a soldier at Ringgold, Ga.,
March 7, 1863; George W. died young. Had three
other sons in the war of 1865—Moses M., James and
Thomas.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 318 |
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Defiance Twp. -
JAMES B. HEATLEY was born in Union Town,
Monroe Co., Va., Aug. 18, 1819. His father Moses
Heatley, and mother, Mary (Foster) Heatley, were by
birth, the former a Pennsylvanian, the latter a Virginian lady.
They were married at Union Town, Va., and had eight children -
Elizabeth, James B., Martha, Parmelia, Clarissa, Mary, Maria
and John O. Of these, three are living -
James B., Clarissa and Mary. Clarissa
married Jason Carman; Mary was married to John R.
Deardorff. Both sisters are now living in San
Francisco, Cal. James B., was married to Rebecca
Garman of Defiance Township, Oct. 17, 1850, by whom six
children were born - Lorenzo D. born December, 1851, died
July 3, 1881; George A., born July 5, 1853; Millie E.
born Aug. 7, 1855; Rebecca E. born Nov. 9, 1857;
Parmelia and John D., who died quite young.
Mrs. Heatley's parents, George P. Garman and
Rebecca (Frankenberger) Garman came from Pennsylvania in
1831, to Stark County, Ohio, and from there to Defiance County
in 1847, and settled on south side of the Auglaize, about two
miles up the river from town, where they both died on their
farm. Moses Heatley, father of James B.,
emigrated from Monroe County, Va., Ohio, in 1821, with his
family, consisting of his wife and two oldest children,
Elizabeth and James B., the latter of whom was
about two years' old, stopping for about three years at or near
Dayton, Ohio, working at his trade in the tannery until 1824,
when, hearing of the country in the neighborhood of Defiance, he
packed up and with his ox team followed the army trail until he
reached Blodget's Island, two miles up the Auglaize River.
Arriving at Defiance in the fall of 1824, he stopped the first
night with Robert Shirley, who lived in a double
log cabin made from a block-house of Fort Defiance, and located
on or near the lot now owned by A. M. Shead. We
give his recollections in his own words. He says : " In
1824, this town was very thick woods —except a strip running up
the Auglaize River, from the mouth to a short distance above
where the Lutheran Church now stands, and extending west to the
present route of Clinton street. A tannery was located on
the deep ravine near the present outlet of the canal, built by
James Jolly. At the time James B. Heatley
came to this town, there were but three houses here, all of
which were built from the old block-house of Port Defiance.
The early settlers had great difficulty in raising their log
cabins, owing to the scarcity of men. Frequently it would
take two or three days to obtain sufficient help. They had
to go as far as Blanchard's Fork for help—a distance of thirty
miles. For two years after moving to Defiance our staff of life
consisted of corn bread alone. The first year we pounded
our corn in a kind of mortar, after the fashion of the Indians.
A basswood tree of about twelve inches diameter was cut
down and a block cut and made to stand on end, a tire built
thereon and kept burning until a hole was burned to the depth of
about eight or ten inches—this was our mortar. We fastened
a stick on an iron wedge and putting the corn in this mortar,
pounded it until it was as fine as could be gotten—which, of
course, was not very fine. Mother would mix it with milk,
the best she could, and spread it on what we called a
Johnny-cake board. This board was made of a clapboard,
tapering at each end and about three feet long and seven inches
wide. It was set up edgewise to the fire in an
old-fashioned cabin fire-place. We knew nothing about
stoves until about 1830, cooking altogether by fire-places.
While our corn was yet soft, we grated it, mixed and baked in
the above stated manner. In this way we were compelled to
live for about two years. After that, a stone-cutter came
to this part of the country. He took two flint stones,
working out two buhrs about eighteen inches in diameter, and
four or five inches thick. The lower buhr was stationary,
while the upper one stood on a pivot, just like a mill stone; on
top, a hole was drilled about one inch and a half deep, on one
side of the center. Then a pole the size of a broom
handle, was placed in this and extending up right to the joist.
Sometimes we drove a staple for it to work in. We could
then work it with one hand. This made tolerable good meal.
We owned one cow, which we called Rigga. This cow we
brought with us from the Miami country. I think we raised
ten head of cattle from her, which gave us a good start for
stock. Old Rigga was a good cow. Mother often used
to say the old cow almost raised us children. The way we
used to farm, after our horse died, was the same as the Indians
did. In planting our corn we used what was called a square
hoe, which was about three inches wide and six inches long.
We would strike it in among the stumps and roots to open a hole
to drop in the corn. Then when it was ready to work, we could do
better with the same kind of a hoe among the roots, as many of
the early settlers know. I think it was two years after we
came that we got our first mill flour. It was from
Waterville just below the head of the Rapids." Mr.
James B. Heatley has held several township and county
offices; was Township Treasurer two years. Assessor in
1849-50 and 1851; was elected Recorder in 1851 and reelected in
1854, serving six years as Recorder. Also has served over
thirty years as Township Constable. Mr. Heatley
had but very little advantage for an early education. He
being the oldest boy, was obliged to assist his father in
clearing the land and do what he could toward the support of the
family. He went to school to William A. Brown and
learned to read and write, which was the extent of his schooling
until after he was of age; then, by applying himself to such
books as were within his reach and by attending night school, he
managed to get his education. Mr. Heatley is
now in his sixty-second year, and says there is not a person now
living within the corporate limits of Defiance who was here when
he came—and he knows of none living.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 227 |
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Milford Twp. -
JOHN HENRY was one of the earliest
settlers of the western part of Defiance County, having
emigrated from New York in 1836, and located on the St. Jo, then
the home of the red man, where he continued to reside,
witnessing the gradual change of the wilderness to fertile
farms, and increasing his fortune with the increasing wealth of
the country until his death, Apr. 28, 1850, aged fifty-tour
years. His children were Maria, Dwight,
Elizabeth, Francis and Albert.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 327 |
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Defiance Twp. -
WILLIAM HIGGINS
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 238 |
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Delaware Twp. -
GEORGE W. HILL was born Aug. 31, 1804, in
Washington County, Penn. His mother was of Irish descent;
his father, James Hill, was born in Washington County,
Penn. In 1813, they immigrated to this State and settled
at Lebanon, Warren Count. In 1822, Mr. Hill came to
Defiance County and purchased the farm in Delaware Township
where George W. now lives. After making the
purchase, he returned to Warren County, where he died Jan. 15,
1823, aged about forty-nine years. In Delaware Township,
his wife, Jemima, died Feb. 28, 1841, aged about
sixty-six years. The Hill family were Thomas J.,
John, George W., Clarinda, Daniel F., James M. and Mary
E. Of these, but George W. survives.
Mr. Hill married Miss Sarah A. Mulligan, of Defiance,
Mar. 16, 1834. His family are Josiah J., born Mar.
17, 1835; Joseph E., born Aug. 18, 1837; Henry H.,
born Nov. 29, 1840; Mary Anne, born Dec. 10, 1842;
Benjamin F., born Feb. 8, 1844. Of these, Mary and
Franklin are dead. Mrs. Hill was born Mar. 16,
1811. The family of Mr. H. was the eighth in the
township. The families who were here or came about the
same time, according to the recollection of Mr. Hill, are
as follows: Benjamin Mulligan, Barnabas Blue, Samuel
and Henry Hughes, Montgomery Evans, James Shirley, Thomas
Warren and James Hill.
Mr. Hill thinks this township was organized in
1824. The number of voters present at the first election
was twelve or fifteen. Montgomery Evans was elected
Justice of the Peace, John E. Hill was elected Constable.
The Trustees were Benjamin Mulligan, Thomas Hill and
James Shirley. Mr. H. first located on Section 27,
where the ancient village was, and the Delawares had large
fields of corn. Wayne came there to cut down their
corn and did them much damage by destroying their food, which
caused their village to be abandoned. The first school was
in Section 25; teacher, Uriah McInally. The
Methodist Episcopal Church preaching was in the cabins of the
settlers and in schoolhouses. They have now a church at
Sherwood. Mr. Hill spent a year or two in the
ancient mission in Michigan on Grand River, and had to grind
corn on a hand mill for food to feed some thirty persons.
The homestead of Mr. Hill contains some 280 acres on the
banks of the Maumee. The old Indian orchard at "Delaware
Bend" is probably from seventy-five to one hundred years old.
Mr. George W. Hill (Miss Sarah Mulligan) was born in
Jackson County, Va., in 1811. Her parents immigrated to
Ohio and settled in Ross County in1814. From there they
moved to this county in 1821, where Mrs. Hill was ever
since resided. Their first settlement was made at what was
then known as Delaware Town, a place on the Maumee River in
Delaware Township. The place was called from the Indians
having once had a settlement there. Her parents located at
that point with the intention of making large purchases of land
when the sales would open, the lands belonging to the Indian
having been put into market. Soon after Mrs. Hill's
parents came, another family named McGinnis arrived and
settled Just opposite them, on what is now known as the
Speaker farm. Mrs. Hill says McGinnis
brought with him a barrel of whisky with which he intended
opening negotiations with the Indians. During his absence
the Indians found the whisky and the result was they all got so
beastly drunk and made things generally so lively for the white
settlers that during the night at about 8 o'clock, they started
down the river to Defiance. The attempt to go away in the
night was a very difficult one. The whole country was a
swamp and the horses were frequently knee- deep in mud and
water. A part of the way her father was obliged to go
ahead of the team on his hands and knees in order to keep the
path. The family following as best they could in the dark,
guided by his voice. They reached Fort Defiance about 2
o'clock in the morning, and the next day her father with others
returned to Delaware and brought their household goods.
They then settled on the bottom land just opposite the Bouton
farm on the Auglaize River, where they remained three
years. Mrs. Hill says she can yet well remember the
many privations they underwent the first year, which were such
as few of to-day ever think of. Corn bread was the staple
product for food. Flour could only be obtained at
Perrysburg or Fort Wayne. After the first year, however,
traders opened up here at Defiance, and the family frequently
indulged in such luxuries as apple pie made with wild crab
apples and pumpkins. Salt was very scarce and cost $11 and
upward a barrel. Like all old settlers, they had their
corn mills, made of two circular stones having parallel bases,
about three feet in diameter, the lower one being stationary,
with a bevel projecting over the upper surface into which the
upper stone fits. This upper stone had an orifice into
which they dropped the corn five or six grains at a time with
one hand and with the other turned the stone. On one side
was an outlet and from this the corn came forth in the shape of
pretty coarse meal. This meal was then sifted and the
finest used for bread, while the remainder was boiled and made
into what they called samp. During the year 1821-22,
Mrs. Hill lived with the Prestons, who at that time
occupied the old fort, using the block-houses for storing grain.
Preston kept tavern in a log house near the ort.
His only guests were those who came as prospectors and those who
were looking for future homes. The block-houses were in
excellent condition at that time. They were built of logs,
the lower story being carried up about eight feet. Then
the logs for the second story were allowed to project over about
two feet. The floor of the projection was pierced with
numerous holes for the purpose of allowing those inside to shoot
down upon the enemy as they came up or down the river. In
fact, the fort and its surrounding houses were then just as
Gen. Wayne had left them. Many of our citizens
remember the bodies that were found at or near the site of the
present residence of Mr. Myers, on Front street, and also
the skull now in the possession of Dr. Downs, the latter
remarkable for its wonderful preservation of hair. Mrs.
Hill says the ground just there was long used as a French
burial place, and she remembers distinctly of persons being
buried there and that at the head of some of the graves were
large wooden crosses. while she was at the fort, the
graves were very distinct. In this place her parents
buried their first dead. She also remembers the burial of
a little girl of John Driver's. Mrs. Hill
says in 1821 Timothy L. Smith was elected the first
Justice of the Peace, and she thinks Arthur Burras was
the first Constable of Defiance Township. When they came
here in that year, 1821, there were but twelve families living
between Perrysburg and Fort Wayne. The first above
Perrysburg was the family of Moses Rice. Next,
John Perkins and Montgomery Evans; still farther up,
John Hively lived on the Kepler farm. Near
the famous old apple tree on Mr. Southworth's place,
lived T. S. Smith; just above Smith Burras located
and started the first blacksmith shop in Defiance.
William Preston lived at the fort and kept tavern.
Robert Shirley lived still further op above the fort, while
on the Auglaize, lived Mrs. Hill's family, John
and Thomas Driver and James Hinton.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at Chicago:
Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 260 |
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Farmer Twp. -
HORACE W. HILL was born Nov. 2, 1829, in
Cleveland, Ohio, and attended school there, and came to Farmer
Township in February, 1847; married Miss Ellen A. Rice,
daughter of Dr. Oney Rice, Dec. 25, 1856. His
family are Forest W., Elsie L., Ida U., Mary F. (dead)
and Clara Maud The ancestors of Mr. Hill
were English and Irish. The name of his father was Ira.
His brothers, Calvin and Joseph, resided in
Ashland County. Ira Hill his father, was a blind
man; his blindness occurred in consequence of and being operated
upon the Willoughby College, Ohio. He died some years
since in Vermillion Township, Ashland County. The mother
of Horace W. died in Farmer Township in 1863, aged
sixty-three, with cancer.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at Chicago:
Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 273 |
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Noble Twp. -
BRICE HILTON, one of the few remaining
pioneers of Defiance County, was born Mar. 13, 1808, the son of
Joshua and Hepzibah (Hilton) Hilton, both of whom were
born in Starks, Somerset Co., Me., the former June 17, 1780, the
latter July 2, 1785. His grandfather, Benjamin Hilton,
was a resident of the same county and a miller by trade and
occupation. Joshua and Hepzibah Hilton were married
in Somerset County, Me., Oct. 10, 1805. Joseph was
a miller, like his father, and made milling his life pursuit.
His children were Mary, born Aug. 2, 1806, married
Clark Philbrick Mar. 15, 1827, and the same spring moved
with her husband to Geauga County, Ohio; Brice, the
subject of this sketch, born Mar. 13, 1808; Thomas H.,
born June 25, 1810, died Sept. 6, 1826; John born Oct.
14, 1811, died Feb. 9, 1838; Ezra, born June 4, 1813,
died Sept. 28, 1846; Horace, born Aug. 31, 1815, died in
Osborne County, Kan., Dec. 28, 1874; Eben, born Aug. 21,
1818, died Sept. 16, 1848; Benjamin and an infant
daughter, deceased, born Sept. 10, 1820; Benjamin died
Nov. 5, 1865; Richard, born Sept. 18, 1823, died Aug. 17,
1848. In September, 1817, Joshua Hilton with his
family emigrated in a three-horse wagon from Maine to Ohio,
reaching the town of Reading, Hamilton County, December 2.
The following April he moved to a farm in Butler County, paying
a cash rental of $100 for one year, and in the fall of the same
year (1819) moved to Miami County, where he remained till the
fall of 1822. In January, 1822, he made a journey afoot to
Defiance and vicinity, having with him maps of the surrounding
townships, for the purpose of selecting a farm. While here
he stopped at the tavern of Robert Shirley. Mr. Hilton
returned home, then went to Piqua, where the land offie was
located, and entered 140 acres on the south side of the Maumee,
immediately above the plat of West Defiance, where he removed
with his family, Dec. 3, 1822. In the spring of that year,
he had come with his son Thomas to plant a crop of corn,
but having no land cleared, Judge Shirley permitted him
to put out as much corn as he wished on the land opposite the
old fair ground on an old Indian improvement. With his ox
team he broke the blue grass sod and planted six acres, which
yielded enough corn to last the family one year. Mr.
Hilton erected the first log cabin between Defiance and Fort
Wayne on the Maumee, except one, built by a Mr. Rodger,
five miles below Fort Wayne. Mr. Hilton also built
the first brick house in the county, except two at Defiance.
He was a Whig, and died Aug. 15, 1835. His wife died Sept.
24, 1850. Brice Hilton spent his youth in working
for his father and attending what schools were then available.
During the winter of 1820, he attended school in Cincinnati,
remaining about nine months. After he reached Williams
County with his father, his educational advantages were indeed
meager, but he had already mastered Stephen Pitts
Arithmetic, Bonniecastle's Algebra and Greenleaf's Grammar.
His studied surveying and practiced it to some extent.
From 1824 to 1830, he cleared land, boated on the river, split
rails, hunted and worked on the farm. He then went to live
with Dr. John Evans read medicine with him, and after
practicing it six months, abandoned the profession. In
May, 1834, he went to Brunersburg with a stock of goods, having
formed a partnership with Foreman Evans At the end
of twelve years, he sold out to his brother, Benjamin Hilton
and bought a farm adjoining Brunersburg. He has ever since
followed farming, but in connection with it has been engaged in
other pursuits, among them stock-dealing, taking contracts for
buildings bridges, cutting out and piking roads, , building
embankments, etc. In 1850, he purchased the Brunersburg
Mill property and in 1854 erected a grist mill, which he still
operates. In 1855, he built a saw mill just opposite,
which he ran till recently. IN 1844, he bought the
Brunersburg Tannery and operated it for thirty years in
connection with a shoe shop. About 1863, he built, on Lot
182, Brunersburg, mostly with his own means, a Universalist
Church, which now has a membership of sixty-two. Mr.
Hilton was married, Dec. 4, 1836, to Sophia Umbenhour,
who was born near Winchester, Va., July 29, 1821, and emigrated
with her father's family to Williams County in 1835. Of
their two daughters and ten sons, but five sons survive -
Walter, born Feb. 12, 1845, a merchant of Defiance; Ezra,
born Jan. 7, 1847, now a merchant at Pioneer, Williams
County; Gilmore, born Aug. 9, 1850, now living at Brunersburg;
Lyman, born Jan. 20, 1860, at home; John, born Sept. 2,
1862, at home, teaching school. Mr. Hilton in early
life was a Clay Whig, and is now a Republican.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at Chicago:
Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 334 |
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Defiance Twp. -
JESSE HILTON
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 252 |
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Defiance Twp. -
JOHN HIVELY
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 232 |
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Defiance Twp. -
MICHAEL HOEFFEL, JR.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 216 |
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Defiance Twp. -
WILLIAM G. HOFFMAN
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 250 |
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Defiance Twp. -
CURTIS HOLGATE was born in Dummerston, Vt., Aug. 28, 1773.
He was of English and Scotch descent, and was a son of Asa
Holgate, whose father came from England, while we were
colonies of Great Britain, as a Surgeon in the British Army.
He died while in the service and was buried at sea between
Boston and Halifax. Dr. Holgate left one son,
Asa, who at seventeen years of age, being without a home,
enlisted as a private in the British Army, and was engaged in
the old French and Indian war. At the close of this war,
he married a daughter of Capt. Kathan, a Scotchman, who
had settled on the Connecticut River, near Brattleboro, Vt., and
owned fine lands for nine miles along the river. Curtis
Holgate was born on a farm, and was one of the younger
children of a large family. While yet a child his father
moved to Lake Champlain. The young man toiled vigorously
at whatever he found to do, and at the age of thirty-six had
accumulated a capital of about $1,500, the savings of his own
labors. He received nothing from his father, as the fine
landed estates on the Connecticut River had been lost to the
family. His first wife having died, he married Miss
Alvira Prentice, the daughter of a physician in Northern
Vermont, and shortly after, gathering together all of his
worldly possessions, he moved to Burlington, Vt. It had
considerable commercial importance, but was without a wharf,
though situated upon the broadest and most exposed part of the
lake, and where one would be of the greatest value. Many
had been built, but none of them permanently enough to stand, on
account of the exposure of the coast to heavy storms and
ice-drifts. Mr. Holgate felt confident that he
could build a dock that would withstand the storms, and applied
to the Legislature for a sole right to wharf privileges, which
was granted to him for the term of fourteen years. He had
nearly completed his first structure when it was all swept away
in one night by ice and a heavy storm. Arriving at the
scene the next morning he saw where the weak points were, and
decided to try again. To give up was not in his character.
He was called the Napoleon of Burlington, on account of his
energy and perseverance. Having no money, but the full
confidence of all who knew him, he went to a leading capitalist
and laid the case before him, telling him if he would lend him
the amount he needed to build another wharf, he would give him
one hundred per cent interest. His application was
successful. The required aid was granted, and in a short
time the second dock was built. It answered his
expectations and stood for a long time against all storms,
thereby giving to the city of Burlington an accommodation
indispensable to its commercial interests and prosperity.
The wharf is still in existence, and has made it the chief city
of the State. It was completed, together with the
necessary warehouses, just before the ward of 1812. The
commencement of the war found him with all the debts for the
construction or the wharf paid up in full, according to
contract, and a very prosperous business on his hands.
Commodore McDonough found the dock of great use during the
war of 1812, for here he fitted out for the battle of
Plattsburg, where he gained his great victory over the British.
Previous to this battle, the British considered themselves
masters of the lake. The ships of war went sailing up and
down its broad expanse, firing into the village and towns.
One of the largest vessels anchored opposite to Burlington, but
three miles distant, and sent a gunboat within about a mile of
the place, which commenced cannonading the town. A
prominent object was the house of Mr. Holgate, which
stood on the wharf. One ball entered the roof of the
house, passed into the dining-room, struck a corner post,
bounded back and rolled under the dining table, from which the
family had just been hastened to the back country. Other
balls struck his yard and garden fences, leveling them to the
ground. Going to Commodore McDonough, Mr. Holgate
asked him to fit out a gunboat to drive off the British
marauders, and agreeing to furnish the men necessary for the
purpose. The Commodore granted his request and furnished
the boat with cannon. Mr. Holgate and his
fellow-citizens set forth, and in a very short time silenced the
British gunboat, driving it back to the ship. At the close
of the war, Mr. Holgate sold the dock to Messrs. Mayo
& Follet for $22,000, and moved on a farm two miles south of
Burlington, also buying 800 acres of land across the lake
opposite Burlington. Having some money left, he purchased
six or eight vessels, and put them on the lake. On the
tract of land opposite Burlington, he laid out a town, calling
it Port Douglas, and building a wharf, warehouse, hotel, store
and saw mill. About this time, the "Steamboat Company of
Lake Champlain," which was very wealthy, laid out a town in
opposition to his, about three miles to the north, and called it
Port Kent. Mr. Holgate feeling that his investment
would prove a loss if Port Kent should succeed, offered to sell
out to the steamboat company if they would give him first cost
and interest, which they declined to do. He therefore sold
his farm, moved to his hotel at Port Douglas stocked his store
with goods, built a turnpike three miles through the mountains
to Keeseville, a greater center of the iron business, and now a
noted pleasure resort in the Adirondacks, and started a line of
stages to connect with the line of packets from Burlington,
thereby causing their boats to stop at Port Douglas instead of
Port Kent. Mr. Holgate secured the business of hte
Peru Iron Company at his dock and also a large lumber trade.
These enterprises he carried on for one year in competition with
the steamboat company without charge, when that corporation
offered to accept the terms of sale made to them a year
previous, on the basis of which Port Douglas was closed out to
them, he receiving all his expenditures together with six per
cent interest. About 1823, he had made a trip West with
his own team to see the country, pursuing the line afterward
followed by the Erie Canal, passing through and spending some
time at Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbus and Newark. This trip
occupied the whole summer. He formed a very high opinion
of the prospects of the towns and country which he visited, and,
after disposing of Port Douglas, arranged to remove to the West.
He went by the way of Whitehall and the Northern Canal, in his
own boat, and, stopping at Troy, he bought a stock of general
dry goods in New York, taking it to Syracuse, and opening a
store at Salina, now a part of Syracuse. In that place he
bought two salt works, which he carried on about one year, in
connection with his store. About this time he lost three
children with the measles, who died and were buried within the
space of three weeks. This so disheartened him that he
sold out all of his property and moved to the city of Utica,
where he lived until he had educated his children, engaging in
no business. But while here the part of the New York
Central Railroad from Schenectady to Utica was located, and he
became one of the original subscribers to the stock, taking
about $28,000 worth. Shortly after and before the road was
completed, he sold his stock at a premium of twenty-eight and a
half per cent, and then made a trip to the West, purchasing
property in Buffalo and in and near Fort Wayne, Ind. About
1835, he visited Toledo, and bought an interest in Manhattan
Property; then going to Defiance and purchasing the interest of
Benjamin Leavell one-half of the town of Defiance and
one-third of the town of Napoleon, together with some adjacent
land. In 1836, he removed to Buffalo, N. Y., and thence to
Defiance, Ohio, in the fall of 1837. He and his family
were very much prostrated by sickness up to his death, which
occurred Jan. 15, 1840, at the age of sixty-six years.
When about sixty years old, he united with the Presbyterian
Church. He took very radical grounds on the side of
temperance, as will be shown in the following instance: In
the summer of 1839, when help was very scarce, he applied to the
canal contractors for men to help harvest his wheat. The
contractors were willing, but the men refused to go unless they
were permitted to have liquor on the ground. Mr.
Holgate told them he would not allow that, but would give
them $2 per day, the regular wages being $1.25. They
agreed to this offer, and the wheat was harvested. Though
Mr. Holgate resided at Defiance with his family but a few
years, death calling him away, his memory is fresh in the minds
of the people, who feel that they owe a great deal to his help
in the infancy of their town. He was almost the first
citizen that brought any capital with him into the place.
Strict moral principles governed him in every walk of life.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 242 |
Wm. C. Holgate |
Defiance Twp. -
WILLIAM C. HOLGATE, banker, lawyer and
capitalist, was born Nov. 23, 1814, at Burlington, Vt., of
English and Scotch descent. He has in his possession an
ancient English coat of arms, without date, of which he has no
knowledge save that it has been handed down from his ancestors.
He was the son of Curtis and Alvira (Prentice) Holgate.
A sketch of his father will be found on another page.
William C. Holgate attended the academy and select school at
Utica, N. Y. , and was admitted to Hamilton College in the year
1832, graduating in 1835. In 1841, the college bestowed on
him the degree of A. M. He studied law with Willard
Crafts, of Utica, and then with Horace Sessions,
of Defiance, Ohio, where he was admitted to the bar of the
Supreme Court of Ohio in the year 1838. About this time,
he was appointed Clerk of the Court, which office he resigned in
1839, then receiving the appointment of Prosecuting Attorney of
Williams County, in which position he had his first experience
in the practice of law. His first case in a court of
record was where Morrison R. Waite, now Chief Justice,
delivered his maiden speech as opposing counsel. In the
winter of 1844-45, he went to Columbus with a petition for the
election of Defiance County, and succeeded in securing the
passage of a legislative enactment establishing the county.
The bill was drafted by him, and by his untiring efforts carried
through the Legislature, amid the most violent opposition, in
the short space of three months. On his return home with a
certified copy of the law, he met such a reception from his
fellow citizens as was never given to any other man in the
county. Well they might, as of some twenty-live projects
of a similar kind, his was the only one that succeeded.
About 1851, a Mr. Allen, with his agents, was found
listing and taking possession of nearly all the vacant land
surrounding the town of Defiance, under a contract with the
Governor of the State, by virtue of an adroitly framed
resolution of the Legislature, reading in such a way as to
mislead the members passing it, and also the Governor and
Auditor of State. Ascertaining that this contract would
put Mr. Allen in possession of nearly 40,000 acres
of land in close proximity to Defiance, and so smother the
growth and prosperity of the village and surrounding country,
and believing there must be a great fraud and wrong underlying
the matter, Mr. Holgate called upon the leading
men of Defiance to see if they would join with him in an
'attempt to thwart the proceeding. He found that nearly
all of them had already been interviewed by Allen, and been led
by him to concur in the legality of his claim "But," said they,
" if it is wrong, what can we do about it, with all the leading
officials of the State against us?" Mr. Holgate
replied that he would show them what "we could do about it," and
immediately called a public meeting of the town, in which, as
Chairman of a committee appointed by the meeting, he made an
elaborate report of the law and facts relating to the matter,
which was received and adopted, and, with appropriate
resolutions, was published in the papers of the town and
republished throughout the State. A great
consternation was aroused among the people on the subject.
The officials of the State were led to review and reconsider
their action in the matter, and to hedge Mr. Allen's
procedure with difficulties. The Auditor soon brought the
lands to sale, and the most of them were bought by actual
settlers, Mr. Allen, having failed in getting
action of the Supreme Court in his favor, finally abandoned his
claims to the lands, and thus were the great interests of the
State as well as the people of Defiance, saved by the action of
Mr. Holgate. When the Michigan Southern
Railroad and the Pittsburgh & Fort Wayne Railroad went through
the State, cutting off most of the territory tributary to the
business interests of Defiance, business men talked about
removing to other places, and everything looked as if the doom
of the town was sealed, and no one to lift a helping hand, only
to say there was no hope. It was then that William O.
Holgate came to the front once more and secured to the town
the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway. None can now
appreciate the really hard mental as well as physical work it
took to accomplish this object. Late at night and early in
the morning. Mr. Holgate worked and worked
on. He corresponded with nearly every railroad man and
interest—east as far as Buffalo, and south as far as Cincinnati,
and west as far as La Fayette—and the correspondence would now
fill a volume. Nearly every railroad meeting within those
limits was attended by him, and he depicted in vivid colors in
the newspapers of the town the advantages of railroad routes
through Defiance. The strain upon him in doing this work,
in connection with his law office and large real estate
interests and infirmities produced by a bilious and debilitating
climate, caused his health to give away in 1853, to such an
extent as to render him unfit for active business for the
succeeding twelve to fifteen years. He could not read or
write for much of this time, and was compelled to give up his
law practice, and now rarely attends to any but that in which he
is personally interested. Though tolerably comfortable,
Mr. Holgate has never entirely recovered from the
prostration that came upon him in 1853. In 1864, when the
land contracted to the town fourteen years previously for the
Defiance Female Seminary had been forfeited to the State for the
non-payment of purchase money, and a bill was about being passed
by the Legislature requiring the State Auditor to sell the same,
he went to Columbus and secured the passage of an act
authorizing a deed of the land upon payment of the money due.
Mr. Holgate and Horace Sessions
advanced the money from their private funds and secured the
deed, thereby saving to Defiance the 1,280 acres. It was about
the year 1869 the citizens felt the want of increased railroad
facilities to accommodate the manufacturing interests of the
place, and this again brought him to the front in the interests
of the people. Several lines for a railroad were proposed
and urged by the leading citizens of the town. Feeling
that the most important, route for the next railroad through the
place would be from the southern bend of Lake Michigan, as
Chicago could be most directly connected through it with the
cities of the Atlantic seaboard, Mr. Holgate
organized a company in Ohio and Indiana, its line surveyed two
years later being accepted and built upon by the Baltimore &
Ohio Company. The beneficial effects of this railroad upon
the business prosperity of the town are incalculable. He
was appointed Director in this new road. The city and
county of Defiance are almost wholly indebted to Mr. William
C. Holgate for securing to them that great improvement in
their interest known as the "Second Street Bridge." A
Board of Commissioners in 1873, had advertised the letting of a
contract for the construction of a $40,000 stone and iron
structure at the crossing of the Auglaize River at Hopkins
street, which, if proceeded with, Mr. Holgate saw
would so exhaust the bridge moneys of the county that it would
cut off all hopes or prospects of a bridge at Second street.
It was found that, in addition to the hostility of the
Commissioners, no direct relief to prevent the letting of the
Hopkins street contract could be obtained by injunction from
either Judge residing in the county, and the case seemed
hopeless. Already contractors from several States had
begun to crowd the hotels, when as a desperate alternative,
Mr. Holgate entered the Auditor's office with
responsible parties, and have security, and so caused the
transfer of the papers relating to the Commissioners'
proceedings about the Hopkins street bridge, by appeal, to the
Clerk's office of the Court of Common Pleas. When the hour
for letting came, the Commissioners found they had no papers on
their tiles in proper shape authorizing a letting, and dismissed
the assembled bidders. Mr. Holgate was fully
conscious this appeal would not, on final hearing, be sustained,
but knowing it would tide over the dangerous emergency, he
waited until a good ease could be made up for an injunction
before Judges outside of the county, in the absence of those
resident within. He took the appeal as his only chance.
The case was now in court, with some few of the leading
attorneys of the town, supported by Morrison K. Waite
as their adviser. All the County Commissioners and the
other prominent officials of the county sought to get the case
out of court, so that they could proceed with the letting, while
Mr. Holgate tried to keep it in, in order that the people
of the county might have an opportunity to rally and elect a
Board of Commissioners that should take care of their own and
the great public interests affecting the matter. It suffices to
say that in this, as in the first case in court in which Mr.
Waite was the opposing counsel to Mr. Holgate,
the latter's success was complete. The case was ended late
in the year 1874 by a decision of the Supreme Court of the State
against the Commissioners. While this suit was pending,
two new Commissioners were elected in the interest of
constructing the bridge over the Auglaize River at Second
street, and they caused its erection in the summer of 1875.
While the proposed Hopkins street bridge was on the outskirts of
the city, with its approaches narrow and crooked, Second street
is a broad avenue running by the court house through the center
of the business part of. the town in a straight line across the
Auglaize River to a point half a mile east. This had a
direct outlet given to it by an old county road to the east and
by another one running south. The town of Holgate, twelve
and one-half miles east of Defiance, on the Baltimore & Ohio
Railroad, laid out by the citizens of Defiance, was named as a
compliment to Mr. Holgate for his efforts in
securing that road to their place. He always took a warm
interest in the real estate improvements of the town, and his
brain teemed with projects to promote its growth. His
efforts, with those of his partners, have secured to the town of
Holgate many important factories and other interests, together
with the Toledo, Delphos & Burlington Railroad, which adds
greatly to the prosperity of the town. Holgate
avenue was originally a road graded by Mr. Holgate
about 1844, through a fifty-acre tract owned by him, adjacent to
the city of Defiance on the west, on which, in 1858, he built a
house for his residence. After lining the street with
shade trees and making it inviting to those seeking homes, he
opened it to the public, and the village soon spread over his
land and extended its limits a mile westerly. Holgate pike
reaches from the north end of the Maumee River bridge in
Defiance on section lines to Williams County. About the
year 1850, Mr. Holgate secured the passage of a
special act for the locating of the Williamstown & Ridgeville
Free Turnpike road on this line. Its name, by another
special act of which he secured the passage, about the year
1856, was changed to that of the Defiance & Michigan Free
Turnpike road, but the people called it the "Holgate Pike,'' by
which name only it is known. After the Defiance County
Agricultural Society located its fair grounds on this road m
1875, Mr. Holgate added to it a strip of land
forty feet wide, for a mile and a half north of the river,
making it one hundred feet wide. He then planted three
rows of maple trees along this pike, which are already giving it
a pleasant and beautiful appearance. Assisted by his son
Curtis, he is now engaged in opening in this vicinity one
of the best stock farms in the State. It consists of about
900 acres north of the Maumee, embracing what is known as "
Sulphur Hollow," and 200 acres south of that river. In "Sulphur
Hollow," there is located a very valuable mineral spring. Mr.
Holgate is opening out, grading, and building roads on
most of the subdivision lines of sections through this tract,
making of his farm a beautiful park. He keeps about one
hundred head of cattle, about twenty-five of which are
thoroughbred short-horns of the finest pedigrees, the increase
of which will soon make his whole herd full bloods. He has
other farming lands not adjacent to the city, amounting to 5,000
acres, besides a large amount of city property, which he is
improving every year. Mr. Holgate's
expressed wish and desire seems to be to hold only such lots and
lands as he can properly improve, all the remainder being for
sale. He was the prime mover in organizing the Defiance
County Agricultural Society, drafted its by-laws, performed the
duties of Secretary, and took upon himself nearly all the
business management for five years, when he was compelled to
resign on account of sickness. In polities, he was
formerly a Whig, but since a Republican. Mr.
Holgate has always been too much engrossed with important
matters affecting his own interests as well as those of the
public to devote much of his time to the business of politics.
Being a man of great determination, he has always been eminently
successful in all his undertakings, whether of a private or
public nature, and especially has this been the case in matters
of public interest, which he has always pushed to success
regardless of personal inconvenience, and yet he has never held
or sought any public office. Strictly honorable in all his
dealings and prudent in all his business matters, he has
acquired a handsome fortune, without sacrificing the esteem and
confidence of his fellow-citizens, by whom he is regarded in the
highest manner--and especially is this the case among those who
have known him from pioneer days down to the present time.
He is a member of the Presbyterian Church. He is President
of the Merchants' National Bank of Defiance, and also of the
Defiance Manufacturing Company, a strong organization,
manufacturing hubs, spokes and bent work. Mr.
Holgate was married in 1850 to Miss Mary Hoelrich,
who died June 6, 1865. They had two children —W. Curtis
Holgate, born Nov. 29, 1854, who was married Sept. 14, 1876,
to Miss Florence Gleason, who have also had two
children—William Curtis Holgate, born July 19,
1877, and Robert Gleason Holgate, born Oct. 1,
1880; Fannie Maud Holgate, born Oct. 2, 1856, was
married to Commodore Perry Harley, July 9,
1874, who have had one child—Holgate Christian
Harley, who was born June 19, 1876.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 239 |
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Defiance Twp. -
MAURICE S. HOLSTON
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 252 |
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Milford Twp. -
CHRISTOPHER HOOTMAN was born Mar. 10,
1818, in Washington County, Penn., and came to Ashland County,
then in Wayne, to Perry Township, in1827. He married
Miss Sarah A. Winbigler, sister of John J. and
daughter of John and Mary Winbigler, Nov. 11, 1841.
He removed to Rowsburg in 1843, and from thence to La Grange
County, Ind., in1846, where he remained one summer, and then
returned to Jeromeville, Ashland County, in the fall of 1846,
and worked in company with John J., his brother, at the
blacksmith business for three years, and then went to Montgomery
Township, in the same county, where he remained one year, and
then returned to Jeromeville, where he remained until 1859, and
removed to Milford Township, Defiance County, where he now
resides. The settlers at the time of his arrival were
quite sparce; Mr. W. G. Pierce, N. Z. Stone, N. Larabe, N. T.
Smith; C. Irish and others were his nearest neighbors.
At that time, game had not entirely left the forests.
There was an occasional bear, a few deer and many wild turkeys.
The remaining forests were heavily timbered and hard to clear.
For milling, he generally attended the Webster Mill in DeKalb
County, Ind.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 331 |
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Milford Twp. -
JOHN JACKSON HOOTMAN was born June 23,
1815, in Washington County, Penn. He removed with his
father, John Hootman, to Wayne County, Ohio, Mohican Township,
now in Ashland County, in October, 1826. John J.
learned the blacksmith trade from his father, with whom he
worked until he was twenty-four years of age. He married
Miss Mary Eichelbarger, of Wayne County,
May 9, 1839. Their children are John B., Charles
(deceased), George B. and Mary E. John B. was
elected and served as
Sheriff of Defiance County. Mr. Hootman was
a member of the Ohio Constitutional Convention of 1850, from the
district composed of Wayne and Ashland Counties. In 1852,
he went to California, and was absent nearly three years, and
from 1850 to 1860 was Sheriff of Ashland County. He
settled in Milford Township, Defiance County, January, 1860.
He has a homestead of 120 acres, with fair improvements. Upon
his arrival, he started a shop in which he worked at his trade,
making edge tools, axes, etc. He was nominated for
Kepresentative for Williams,
Paulding and Defiance Counties in 1862, but was defeated because
Republican excitement ran very high on the war. Mr. H.
has been very industrious all his life, and is a man of
unflinching industry and honesty.
JOHN HOOTMAN, father of John
J., survived to a remarkable age, and during his long
residence in Mohican Township, Ashland County, was an
industrious citizen, whose moral and business integrity was
never questioned by his neighbors or the community. He was
noted as a mechanic, and made hundreds of axes, at which he was
thought to be hard to excel. He was born in Brooke County,
Va., Mar. 3, 1786, the third son of Christian Hootman,
who was one of the Hessians captured at Trenton, and who served
the remainder of the war in the American army. In early
life he worked his father's distillery. Leaving home, he
learned the trade of blacksmithing, serving three years, in that
time becoming one of the best workmen in that section. In
1811, he married Jane Childers, an aunt of Mrs.
President Polk. About the year 1826, he moved to
Wayne (now Ashland) County, Ohio, where he lived until 1856,
when he moved to Defiance County, having bought 520 acres of
land. His children soon gathered around him, and that
which was covered with an unbroken forest is now seen as
beautiful farms. He was a man of iron will and indomitable
energy, never swerving from what he believed to be right,
Physically, he was one of the strongest of men; his heart was as
tender as a child's, and ever responded to the wants of the poor
and needy. Religious excitement running high in 1819 and
1820, and never having learned to read and write, he concluded
that he ould then commence, that he might read the Old and New
Testaments. With the aid of the country schoolmaster he
soon accomplished both, and memorized a great portion of the New
Testament. He was baptized by John Secrest,
going sixteen miles to have the rite performed, uniting with the
Church of Christ (or Disciples), and remained a faithful member
until his death, a period of fifty-two years. He filled
the place of Elder for many years. His hospitality was
unbounded. Conferences always found a home for their
ministers, for the time, irrespective of denomination. In
politics, he was a Democrat of the strictest kind, and took
great interest in the same, never missing an election. He
cast his first vote for Thomas Jefferson for
President, and voted for every Democratic nominee since for
President, except Horace Greeley. Mr.
Hootman became blind about five years before his death,
but there was always a silver lining in the dark clouds that
surrounded him. He lived and died, an ardent patriot and a
faithful Christian, beloved and respected by all, he was the
father of eleven children, fifty-eight grandchildren and
seventy-three great-grandchildren, 130 of whom are now living.
Surviving the death of his wife thirty-two years, he died the
23d day of February, 1880.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio -
Published at Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 330 |
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Farmer Twp. -
ONEY RICE HOPKINS,
merchant, Farmer Center, was born in Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co.,
N. Y , Mar. 1, 1818, son of Truman and Laura Hopkins,
natives of Vermont. When he was about sixteen years of
age, his father died, leaving a family of six children -
Spencer, Oney Rice, Laura Elvira,
Marinda, Uretta Cordelia and Hannah
Sabrina - who, with their mother, removed to Ohio in the
fall of 1835, and settled in what was then Williams County. O.
R. Hopkins was one of the four men who built the first log
house in the town. The names of the other three were
John Rice (his uncle), Spencer Hopkins
(his brother) and Edward Lacost, they having to
walk from Defiance, a distance of twenty miles, carrying their
axes and provisions to last while they cut five miles of road
and built a shanty to serve them while building the first log
house. The subject of this sketch is he only survivor at
this time (February, 1883), the other three having died several
years ago. On the 23d of July, 1840, Mr. Hopkins
married Artemisia Sawyer, who was born Mar. 8,
1823, in Rushville, Yates Co., N. Y., daughter of Prescott
and Zernia Sawyer. In 1843, he engaged in
the mercantile business, keeping the first store in Farmer
Township. In July, 1845, he settled in Green County, Wis.,
where he remained till the fall of 1817, then to Muckwonago,
Waukesha County; in April, 1854, went to Madison, Dane Co.,
Wis., and in November, 1858, moved to Milwaukee and took charge
of the woodwork department of the Milwaukee Threshing Machine
Company, where he remained about fourteen years in the same
business. In 1805, he removed to Chicago, Ill., and went
into the manufacture of zinc washboards, in company with his
sons, A. R. and S. R. Hopkins (firm named O. R.
Hopkins & Sons). In the spring of 1866, he bought a
farm in the town of Vernon, Waukesha Co., Wis., where he
followed farming four years. 1866, joined the order of I.
O. O. I., to which society he still belongs, as a zealous
worker. In the spring of 1870, he rented his farm and
returned to Chicago, where he again went into manufacturing, and
continued in that until the great Chicago fire, in October,
1871, when he lost his house and shop by fire, losing about
$8,000. After the tire, he re-built his shop and continued
the same business, with the addition of sash, doors and blinds.
In August, 1872, he moved to Rossville, Shawnee Co., Kan., but
only remained there till fall, when he returned to. Chicago,
and, the spring following, built a residence in Jefferson, one
of the suburbs of Chicago, and occupied it one year, then sold
it and broke up housekeeping and spent some time in Ohio.
In May, 1875, he removed with his family to Denver, Colo., but
remained only three months, then returned to Chicago for the
fourth time, stayed about three months, then went to Edgerton,
Williams Co., Ohio, and engaged in selling agricultural
implements in company with M. C. Farnham. In May,
1876, he sold his interest in the business to his partner and
removed to Waupun, Wis., where he was engaged in the manufacture
of windmills five years. In June, 1880, he was
representative to the Grand Lodge, I. O. O. F., of the State of
Wisconsin, held at Madison June 1 to 4; through the summer of
the same year, kept the Western Hotel, in the city of Waupun,
Wis. His wife died Feb. 17, 1881; soon after, he broke up
housekeeping, and on his way to New York, while stopping in Ohio
to visit friends, he married, for his second wife, Ellen M.
Thrall, widow of Martin Thrall, M. D., who
resided at Farmer Center, Defiance Co. , Ohio. After
spending the summer in New York City, returned to Wisconsin in
the fall. He engaged again in the manufacture of zinc
washboards; the February following was again burned out, losing
some %%$1,500. In the spring of 1882, he went again to
Waupun, Wis., and the following fall removed to Beaver Dam,
Wis.; engaged in the restaurant and confectionery business; then
to Farmer, Defiance County, where he has rented a store; is
putting in a stock of goods.
Mr. Hopkins had eight sons by his first wife.
The eldest, Arba Ransom, is living in Waupun, Wis.
The second son, Selden Rich, enlisted in Company K,
Twenty-fourth Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, served but a few
months, when he was taken sick and placed in the hospital at
Nashville, Tenn. His father went to Nashville, got his
discharge, and returned home to Milwaukee. In a short time
he recovered his health so as to engage as Military Telegraph
Operator, stationed in Tennessee, which position he held until
about the close of the war. He is now editor and publisher
of the Bookkeeper, in the city of New York. The
seventh son, Dr. Truman Prescott, is living in Milwaukee.
Is engaged as Master Mechanic by the C., M. & St. P. R. R. Co.
His other five sons died quite young, their ages being from
eight days to three years.
Source: History of Defiance County,
Ohio - Published at Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page
276 |
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Adams Twp. -
JOHN HORNISH was born Dec. 30, 1823, in
Montgomery County, Ohio, and came with his father, John
Hornish, Sr. , to Adams Township, Henry County, Ohio, but
now of Defiance, in 1836. When his father landed, there
had been four families who preceded him, viz., Eli
Markel, Mr. Grubb, Mr. Rodman
and Jacob Shock. The three former had been
here some time. Markel and Grubb were the
oldest in the township. Grubb had preceded
Markel some time. John Hornish, Sr.,
born Jan. 12, 1788, died Aug. 2, 1866, aged seventy-eight years
six months and twenty days. His mother, Catharine
Ely Hornish, died about Aug. 2, 1854, aged
fifty-nine years. John Hornish, Sr.,
was born in Rockingham County, Va., and Mrs. Hornish
in Washington County, Penn., and came to Montgomery County,
Ohio, in 1819. His family consisted of Henry,
Nancy, Elizabeth, Sarah, John,
Catharine and Eli. Of these, Nancy,
Henry, Catherine and Eli are dead. The
rest are living and married. John Hornish,
Jr., married Miss Eve Frese Dec. 27,
1846. Their family are Catharine, Eli,
Henry, Elizabeth, Samuel, John W.,
Peter, Mary A., George, Nancy E.,
Emma and Ida. Of those, three are dead Eli.,
Henry and Ida. Mr. Hornish has
been a great hunter since he came to this county. When he
was about thirteen years old, he had quite an adventure with a
large buck. He wounded it quite severely and it was
brought to bay by the dog; the buck at once stood for tight with
glaring eyes, within a few feet of Mr. H., who stood his
ground and snapped his gun several times; finally the gun went
off, shooting it in the breast, when it at once made a dash at
Mr. H., but in doing so caught one antler under a root,
which checked it lone enough for Mr. H. to dispatch it
with his knife. Some years after this occurrence, Mr.
H. and J. K. Potter were hunting along the banks of a small
creek in Adams Township, near where Mr. Potter now
lives. Mr. H. was on one side of the stream and
Mr. Potter on the other side, when they came upon an
old bear and her cubs, and after firing several shots they
brought her to the ground. Appearing dead, Mr. H.
stepped up, picked up a club and struck the bear across the
head, when he found that she had been playing " possum," for she
sprang to her feet and struck a terrible blow at Mr. H.,
barely missing him, making it necessary to call Mr.
Potter to shoot her. Mr. H. has 650 acres of
land and about 200 acres cleared and well improved. It
makes a valuable homestead.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 255 |
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Farmer Twp. -
ANTHONY HUBER (deceased) was born in
Germany Jan. 7, 1815, and was a son of George and Franciska
(Harmon) Huber, natives of Germany. The subject of
this sketch was reared upon the farm, and when old enough became
a weaver. In 1836, he came to this country, and for five
ensuing years worked at different kinds of labor. In 1841,
he returned to his native land, in which he stayed one year, and
returned with his parents and brothers and sisters, all of whom
settled in Hamilton, Ohio. Dec. 26, 1842, he married
Franciska, daughter of Lewis and Catharine (Maer) Foghter
In 1843, he removed to this township, where he bought 148 acres
of wild land, on which he built a log cabin and moved in without
windows or doors. He cleared up his land, and lived there
until his death, which occurred Dec. 15, 1873. Eight
children were born to the, seven of whom are living - George,
Lewis, Caroline T., Eliza and Agatha R., Harman,
Franciska (deceased). At his death, MR. H.
owned over eight hundred acres of land, 300 of which were in
Kansas. Mrs. Huber was born in Germany
Dec. 3, 1818.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio -
Published at Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 273 |
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Hicksville Twp. -
D. G. HUFFMAN, born
in Ashland County Dec. 9, 1829, was the eighth of a family of
ten children of Abraham and Margaret (Cuppy) Huffman.
His father was the second person who settled in Clear Creek
Township, Ashland County, in May, 1813. At the age of
nineteen, he commenced teaching school, and taught six years in
his native county. He then moved to Iowa in 1856, and
engaged in the drag business for seven years, then came to
Defiance County, and in the fall of 1872 settled in Hicksville.
He was railroad agent five years at this place. Then
engaged in insurance and land agency. Was elected Justice
of the Peace in April, 1881. He was married to Fannie
J., daughter of Aldrich and Anne Carver, of Ashland
County, in 1852. They have had live children, one
now living, Fanny J., who married Charles G. Shephard.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio -
Published at Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 299 |
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Milford Twp. -
C. M. HULBERT was born Jan. 14, 1820, in
Summit County, Ohio, and remained there until sixteen years of
age, and then came to Farmer Township, Defiance County in 1840.
He father, Jared Hulbert, subsequently moved to Mark
Township, where he died in February, 1876, aged about
seventy-seven years. His mother died the same year, five
days before, in the same township, aged about seventy eight
years. The family of Mr. Hulbert consists of
Clement M., Harvey E. Sanford P., Malissa, Warren S., Minerva
(dead), Pheba (dead). Celesta and Timothy.
The rest are all grown and married, Clement M. married
Miss Ellen Farnsworth Jan. 20, 1851. His
family, Wesley N., Eilie L., Ida M., Edna C. and Frank
E., are all living. The first school was on "Lost
Creek," in Farmer Township, and taught by Fletcher
Hueler. In this township, Milford Schoolhouse was on
Jared Hulbert's farm, Section 25, southeast
corner, and taught by Caroline Powell. Church
services were in private houses and in the schoolhouse.
The first settlers were Ezra Crary, G. W. Chapman,
Dennis Boyles, James Fisher, Isaac Fisher and William
Wartenbee.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at Chicago:
Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 330 |
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Adams Twp. -
EMANUEL HULL, son of Andrew and
Catharine (Thompson) Hull, who were Pennsylvanians by birth,
was born in Berlin Township, Trumbull County, Ohio, Mar. 14,
1830, and settled in this county in Adams Township in Oct.,
1849, where he died Feb. 7, 1882, aged fifty-two years ten
months and twenty-four days. He was married Feb. 19, 1851,
to Miss Jane Osborn, of this county, who
was also born in Berlin Township, Trumbull County, Ohio, Aug.
29, 1833. They had a family of nine children, seven boys
and two girls, as follows: Sylvester A., born July 3,
1854; Zachariah F., born Feb. 23, 1858, died May 30,
1882; Mary E., born Apr. 5, 1859, and deceased when about
three years of age; George W. was born Apr. 3, 1862, and
died in infancy; David W., born May 15, 1863; Levi W.,
born June 16, 1866; Ida J., born July 7, 1869; James
E., born July 27, 1872; and Andrew V., born Sept. 5,
1876.
Of this number (who are living) all are living at home
on the farm in Adams with Mrs. Hull, except the
eldest, Sylvester A., who is head clerk in Levi &
Ginsburg's wholesale tobacco and liquor store in
Defiance. He was married Dec. 14, 1876, to Miss
Barbara M. Peter, of Richland Township.
To them was born one child, Philip Emanuel, Nov.
26, 1879, and deceased at its birth. His wife, Barbara
M., soon followed after. Her spirit departed from its
tenement of clay, Dec. 14, 1879, after which Mr. Hull
lived a single life until Aug. the 10th, 1882, when he married
Sarah E. Peter, sister of his first wife. His
mother, when a girl of fourteen years, came to this county with
her father, Elijah Osborn, in February, 1846, her
mother, Nancy, having died about a year previous to their
departure from Mahoning County, this State. Feb. 21, 1846, Mr.
Osborn loaded three teams with his family and household
goods and traveled across the State for a future home in
Richland Township, this county, occupying six days in making the
trip, Mahoning County being on the east line of the State and
Defiance on the west. After pursuing their journey as far
as Gilboa, Mr. Osborn concluded to make two loads
of his effects and let one team return. By this arrangement it
became necessary for the children, six in number, to pursue
their journey on foot, which came very near costing all of them
their lives, as they were soon broken out with measles and were
obliged to wade through the mud and water of the Black Swamp, a
distance of several miles, arriving at Independence on Saturday
night the 25th, weary and sick. Here they put up and were
kindly cared for, and in a few days were able to go to their new
home, distant about three and a half miles, moving into an old
schoolhouse until Mr. Osborn could get up his log-
cabin. Mr. Osborn died Aug. 8, 1868.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at Chicago:
Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 256 |
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Mark Twp. -
WILLIAM C. HUTCHINSON was born in Licking
County, Ohio, May 20, 1817, and grew up and received his early
education there. At the age of about twenty-one years, he
moved to Knox County with his mother, and was married there to
Maria Hobbs, Aug. 15, 1839, by whom he had ten
children— Leander R., Martha L., Maria E., James O., Louisa
J., Mary E., Francis I., Narcissa J., Laura E. and
William H. Of this number three are dead—Leander
R., James O., and Maria E. who died in infancy.
The two boys—Leander R. and James O., enlisted in
the late war. Leander was promoted to First
Lieutenant May 2, 1864, and was killed May 14, 1804, aged about
twenty. four years. James O., died in hospital at
Knoxville, Tenn., Apr. 9, 1864, aged about twenty years.
Mr. Hutchinson moved to this county into what is
now Mark Township, in October, 1849. One Thomas
Pope, from Crawford County, made a purchase of a lot the
same time, but got onto it about three weeks ahead of him and
got up his cabin, so that when Mr. Hutchinson,
Samuel Harris and George Porter, with their
families, arrived (all arriving on the same day), they found a
stopping place with Mr. Pope until they could
erect their cabins. In the latter part of November Mr.
Hutchinson got his cabin roof on and floor laid, and
moved in without being chinked or mudded, with no windows or
doors except a quilt or blanket hung up. After getting his
little family to their new home, he returned to Mr.
Pope's for their little supply of household goods, and owing
to the bad state of the road through the woods, Mr.
Hutchinson was unable to get back to his cabin until quite
late in the evening, when he found it surrounded by wolves,
serenading Mrs. Hutchinson and the children with
their melodious notes. Mrs. Hutchinson says
she couldn't say she was particularly afraid of them, but did
feel that a more substantial door would have been desirable.
Mrs. Hutchinson's parents, James and Elizabeth
(Congdon) Hobbs, were English people. To them was born
seven children, five boys and two girls—Thomas J., John,
Isabella, Maria, William, George C. and Oscar R.
Mrs. Hobbs died in Devonshire County, England, A. D.
1833, from which place Mr. Hobbs emigrated with his
children to Knox County, Ohio, in 1835, and died in Defiance
County in 1853. Thomas J. was drowned in the St.
Lawrence River on their passage. Mr. Hutchinson
was Justice for twelve years and School Director most of the
time during his stay in the township. Was Township
Treasurer for several years, and was appointed by the
Commissioners as first Assessor of the township. The
first school was taught by Jacob Bruner in Mr. Hutchinson's
district. In the fall of 1865, Mr. Hutchinson
came to Defiance. In July, 1873, bought one-third interest
in the William Lewis farm and proceeded to lay it out
into village lots, calling the town East Defiance. He is
now engaged in the grocery business with his son at Defiance,
Ohio.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at Chicago:
Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 318 |
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