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THIS
township is located in the south-central part of
Defiance County. Washington Township bounds it
on the north. Noble and Defiance on the
East and Mark on the west. Paulding County
touches it on the south. The Maumee River
flows through the southern part of it, and the
B. & O. Railroad crosses the township.
Since the completion of this road, the township
has improved rapidly. The two prosperous
villages of Sherwood and Delaware owe their
existence and their growth largely to the
railroad.
VILLAGE OF DELAWARE BEND.
The most Conspicuous structure is the new
Catholic Church, frame, with its cupola and
bell, which was built in 1880, and cost $3,000.
It is gothic in structure and quite imposing.
There are about thirty members. Its priest
is Frederick Ruhen. The membership
had a church at first across the river.
The village was laid out by W. D. Hill & Co., in
1874. There are about fifty houses built,
and the prospect for a branch railroad from
Bryan, in Williams County, is considered quite
flattering. The lots commanded a fair prie
at the first sale. They number 170.
The village was laid out almost in the woods.
The town has three groceries, two saloons, one
blacksmith shop, one saw mill, one dry goods
store two doctors, Wallace Moats and
J. K. Denman, who has a drug store in
Sherwood.
In October, 1845, the following settlers of
Delaware Township voted: James D.
McAnally, Joseph C. Sprague, John A. Swartz,
John Travis, James H. Blue, David Shirley,
James M. Kellogg, George B. Woodcox, James
Gordon, Robert Evans, William Brown, William K.
Blue, James Shirley, James M. Evans, Jonathan
Pefly, James Brown, L. H. Sales, James Hays,
James Hill, Barnabas D. Blue, Daniel M. F. Hill,
George Snook, Alfred M. Woodcox, Josiah Millican,
Montgomery Evans, James Peacock, Benjamin
Mullican, Peter Blair, William Bercaw, Barnabas
Blue, Joseph Blair, Andrew Hughes, Hiel Hughes,
Joseph Miller, Josiah Mier, Caleb Ritchhart,
George Slough, John C. Hill, William Slough, C.
B. Mullican, John Gordon, Jacob Pefly. James
Gordon, James Shirley and C. B. Mullican,
Judges. Montgomery Evans and James D. McAnally,
Clerks. I
DUNKARD'S
CHURCH.
The
branch of this church, now called the Maumee
District, located in Defiance County, west of
Brunersburg, between Georgetown and Emerald
Station, formerly belonged to the Lick Creek
District, Williams County, under the care
of John Brown and George
Stockman up to about 1854, when the above
district was organized, Peter Huff
and Daniel Shong being its
ministers, with a body of members about
thirty-five in number, Jacob Kintner, Sr, ,
J. G. Kintner, B. Lintz, D. Cover, G. Willhelm,
holding the office of Deacon. In 1857,
Eli Metz was chosen to the ministry,
and in 1858 he was ordained to solemnize
marriages and to baptize. On May 29, 1859,
he baptized Jacob Kintner, Jr., for the
first one, and his wife the second one.
The church now began to increase in number, and
in the fall of 1861, Peter Bollinger and
Jacob Kintner, Jr., were chosen to the
office of Deacon, and on the 17th day of
October, 1864, Jacob Kintner, Jr., was
chosen to the ministry and Reuben
Sponseller and Samuel M. Kintner to
the office of Deacon. At this time the
care of the church was given to Eli
Metz and Daniel Shong, under
whose care it was slowly on the increase.
On the 13th of Otcober, 1868, Nelson
Woodcox, David Shong and David
Barrack were elected to the office of
Deacon, and Jacob Kintner was
ordained to solemnize marriages and baptize, and
in 1870, on Christmas Day, Isaac
Stockman and David Cover were
chosen to the ministry. The church now
numbered about eighty members. In 1873,
Messrs. Stockman and Cover
were ordained to the second degree of the
ministry, i. e., to solemnize marriages, and as
Peter Huff died, and Eli Metz
moved away, therefore John Brown, of
Williams County, was appointed as Presiding
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Elder over this congregation until Oct. 8, 1878,
at which time John Brown resigned his
care of this church, and Jacob Kintner
was ordained Bishop or Presiding Elder of this
congregation, in which office he still remains.
At the same time, Daniel Lorah, a
minister, moved here from Missouri, was also
ordained to the second degree in his office.
In consequence of several series of meetings
held at this time, the church rapidly increased,
at the present numbering about 114 members.
Feeling the necessity of a house to worship in, but
being in limited circumstances financially, they
came to the conclusion to build a cheap house of
worship, in which they succeeded in raising the
funds, and gave Jacob Kintner and
David Shong the job of erecting a building,
34x56 feet in size and sixteen and one-half feet
high inside, for the sum of $1,000, which was
completed in 1873, being the first church built
in this vicinity.
UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH AT
SHERWOOD.
About
thirty years ago, the United Brethren Conference
sent a minister by the name of Thomas to
preach to the people along the Maumee River, who
occasionally preached in the vicinity of the
present location of Sherwood. A few years
after, Conference appointed a camp meeting,
which was held at that time, and another time a
year or two later, on the same place where the
village of Sherwood stands. In A. D. 1874,
under the charge of Rev. Jonas
Lower, a society was organized. In A.
D. 1879, the class, assisted by the liberality
of the inhabitants, built a nice, comfortable
church house, at a cost of $1,350. The
society at present has a membership of
thirty-eight, Eli Kaser, Class
Leader. The Sabbath school is in a
flourishing condition and has a total attendance
of 110, superintended by G. N. Barnes. Rev.
Longsworth is the present preacher.
PERSONAL
REMINISCENCES:
U. R. SNOOK
MONTGOMERY
EVANS
ELIAS MILLER
F. R. GILLESPIE
GEORGE W. HILL
MRS. ELIZABETH SPEAKER
JOHN MUSSELMAN
GEORGE KINTNER
MR. E. B. SMITH
CATHARINE
LEWIS
CHARLES
SMITH
HENRY SLOUGH
NATHANIEL
M. BLAIR
JAMES
M. SMITH
MOSES
M. HAVER
E. T. SMITH
Richard &
Harriet Knight
G. C. & Mrs. G. C. Armstrong
SIMON P. SHOOK
DAVID BENTON BROWN
HENRY FUNK
ORLANDO COFFIN
JACOB
PLATTER
GEORGE
C. ARMSTRONG
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