Madison, in territorial extent, exceeds any other township in the county, and, with the possible exception of Hamilton, is also the best agriculturally.  It is within the tract denominated Congress lands, and was organized as a township in 1809.  By an act of the legislature, passed at the session of 1850-51, a range of sections, being a strip one mile wide and six miles long including the town of Winchester, was taken from Fairfield county and annexed to the east side of Madison, making the township, eight miles in extent, north and south, and seven miles east and west, with the exception of the jog in the southeast corner.  The township is well improved, the farms and orchards of moderate size, being generally owned by their occupants, and containing good dwellings, barns and other improvements.

STREAMS.

     Madison is among the best watered townships in the county.  Big Walnut (or, as now called, Gahanna river) enters the township a short distance west of the center of the north line, and Alum and Black lick creeks in nearly the northwest and northeast corners, respectively.  The three streams unite their waters in section seventeen, of the northwest quarter, the stream thence flowing a southerly direction until reaching section twenty, where it turns southwest and flows in that direction into Hamilton township.  Little Walnut creek reaches the township just south of Winchester, from Fairfield county, flows thence a generally western course through the south half of the township, until south of Groveport, when it takes a southerly course, flowing into Pickaway county.

PIONEER SETTLERS

     The first settlements in Madison township were commenced as early as 1803 or 1804.  One of the earliest of the pioneers was George Tounge, who settled on the run, where Wesley Lawrence now lives.  He subsequently removed to Carroll, Fairfield county, and died there.

     JOHN WRIGHT, sr., came from Pennsylvania, with his parents, David and Sarah Wright, who settled in Bloom township, Fairfield county.  He married Catharine Dildine, and a short time afterward removed to Franklin county, and located on the farm now owned by Jeremiah Kalb; he died there, in 1815, at the age of about thirty three.  His widow subsequently married Joseph Dunnnck, whom she also survived.  She finally went to Hancock county, where she died, in 1878, at her daughter's (Mrs. Wiley), at the advanced age of ninety-three.  She had, by her first husband, three children, viz: John, who still resides in Madison, where he was born, in 1805, being one of the first children born in the settlement: David, who lives in Hancock county, and Sarah (Mrs. Wiley), in Wood county.  By her second husband, Mrs. Dunnuck had four children, the only survivor of whom is William Dunnuck, attorney-at-law in Columbus.

     JAMES RAMSEY, a native of Pennsylvania, went to Virginia, when a young man, and there married Ruth Van Meter.  They moved to Kentucky, then called the "backwoods," and a few years afterward removed to Ohio, with two children.  They settled, and remained for two years, on the Scioto river, in this county, and, about 1805, moved to this township, entering a half section, where Edward's station now is.  At first they occupied a rough log cabin; afterwards, a hewed log house, built as early as 1810, which is still standing, and occupied.  James Ramsey died in April, 1828, aged sixty-two years, his wife surviving him some ten years.  They had a family of twelve children, only two of whom now survive - Nancy, widow of Jacob Andreck, in Lancaster, and Susan, wife of Kalita Sallee, near Groveport.

     SAMUEL and ROBERT RAMSEY, the former an elder, and the latter a younger brother of James Ramsey, same out at the same time.  Samuel took up a quarter section just north of his brother, James.  He remained single until about the age of sixty-two, when he married Mrs. Margaret Karshner of Hamilton, and lived in this township until his death.  Robert Ramsey settled just over the line, in Hamilton, on the bank of Big Walnut, and is further mentioned in the history of that township.

     STAUFFEL KRAMER moved in about 1805 or 1806, and located on the run where David Martin now lives.  He died there not long after his settlement, and his death was one of the first that occurred among the pioneers.  His sons, John, Daniel, and George, married, and resided in the township for a number of years, but finally moved west.

     Another family by the name of KRAMER - LOUIS, PHILIP, JOHN, MICHAEL, ADAM, JACOB and GEORGE, all brothers, moved in with their families from Pennsylvania, in 1807.  Louis, who was a preacher of the United Brethren church, settled on Little Walnut Creek, south of where Canal Winchester now is, and soon after erected a saw and grist-mill there.  Philip located in the same vicinity, but afterwards removed to Hancock county. John settled a short distance north of Winchester, and lived in the neighborhood until his death, in 1853.  His son now living in Canal Winchester, was born in this township, in 1808, and assisted in clearing much of the land north of the village.  Michael and Adam also settled in Madison, and Jacob and George in Plain township.

     In the spring of 1805, GEORGE KALB, sr., and family, consisting of his wife and four children, and his father, John Kalb, emigrated to Ohio from Frederick county,

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John Chaney, Sr.

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Maryland.  They remained in Lancaster, Fairfield county, until August of the same year, when they moved to this township.  George Kalb located on the northeast quarter of section fourteen, and his father, who resided with him, took up the northwest quarter of section thirteen.  The family, the first two years of their settlement in the Madison wilderness, lived in a cabin constructed of puncheons, set up on end, and covered with clapboards.  George Kalb, sr., and wife, on coming, got lost in the woods only a short distance from their home, and so dense was the forest in every direction, that they were unable to find their way out, and they consequently had to make a night of it in the woods.  George Kalb, sr., was born June 1, 1760, and died Mar. 20, 1836.  His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Kiefer, was born June 26, 1774, and died May 9, 1846.  Their children were Catharine, John, Margaret, George, Mary, Anna, Elisha, Jeremiah, Susan, Caleb, and Isaac, all now dead except four, viz.:  Margaret (now Mrs. Ruse), George, Jeremiah, and Susan (Mrs. Gill), all of whom reside in this township; John Kalb, sr., died in 1815.

     Among the earliest and most prominent of the pioneers of Madison were the STEVENSONS.  John Stevenson came from Baltimore, Maryland, as early as 1805, and bought one thousand acres of land, mostly in sections eight and n ine.  He built his log house on the bank of Black lick creek, in section eight.  In this house, some of the earliest meetings were held, as mentioned elsewhere.  He was buried in the old burying ground, on Black lick, the first regular burying place in the township.  William Stevenson, a brother of John, came about the same time, with his family, from Baltimore, Maryland.  He settled where Irvin Stevenson now lives, and resided there until his death.  The family consisted of five daughters and two sons.  Joshua occupied the homestead after his father's death.  The present wife of Judge Chaney, of Canal Winchester, is a daughter of Joshua Stevenson.  The other son, George K. Stevenson, is still living, and a resident of the township.  He is now about ninety-two years of age.  The daughters were: Sarah, Susan, Jemima, Mary B., and Ann B.  Sarah married Zachariah Stevenson, her cousin, and lived most of her married life in Madison, but finally removing west.  Susan and Jemima, who became the wives respectively of Robert Bowen and a man by the name of McKelvey, both died in this township.  Mary married Samuel Taylor, a tavern-keeper, in Canal Winchester, in an early day.  Ann married Nicholas Hopkins, and, after his death, her cousin, Joshua Stevenson, and resided, during the most of her life, in the township, dying Apr. 13, 1873.  Her oldest daughter, Mary B. Hopkins - now widow of John L. Stevenson - is a resident of this township.

     CHARLES RAREY settled in Madison township in 1806, removing from Virginia, whence he came from Germany.  He settled about two miles south of where Groveport now stands, purchasing the north half of section number four, and the south half of thirty-three.  He occupied the farm on which he settled until his death.  His children were: John, Adam, Charles, Benjamin, Parker, George, William, Catharine, Elizabeth, and Christina, all now deceased.  Catharine became the wife of Philip Pontius; Elizabeth married Thomas Harmon; and Christina married Rev. John Solomon, an early Methodist preacher of Madison; John Rarey removed to Indiana; Charles, Benjamin, William, and Parker, all reside where the family first settled, William occupying the homestead;  George lived in Pickaway county; Adam Rarey married Catharine Pontius, and settled where the Rarey mansion now stands, in Groveport.  He kept a tavern there in his log house when the road was only marked by blazed trees.  He afterwards erected a brick tavern.  He was the father of John S. Rarey, the celebrated horse tamer.  Two daughters of Adam Rarey, Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Whetsel, now reside near Groveport.

     MATTHEW TAYLOR, and family, emigrated from Nova Scotia, in 1800, and settled in Chillicothe, where they remained until 1806, when they removed to this county.  Mr. Taylor entered several sections of land, and settled near the mouth of Alum creek, in this township.  He erected a grist- and saw-mill a short distance above the mouth of the creek, and continued their operation until his death, in 1812, his wife died the same year.  They were buried on their farm, and were the first persons buried in that vicinity.  They had a family of eleven children.  John A. married Elizabeth McKnight, of Greene county, Ohio; afterwards, came to Columbus, and was an early surveyor, being with General Foos; eventually, he removed to Missouri, where he died in 1823; his widow returned to Franklin county, and died here.  They had three children, the only survivor of whom is Mrs. James Taylor of Truro township.  The other  children of Matthew Taylor were:  James, Matthew, Elizabeth (Mrs. Wood), David, William, Robert, Samuel, Rebecca May (wife of Edward Elsey), Jeannette (wife of Samuel Crosset), and Isaac.  All are now deceased, except possibly, Robert, who is supposed to be living in Illinois.  James was a captain of infantry, and was stationed, with his company, at a block-house in Delaware (now Marion) county, shortly after Hull's surrender; William and Samuel were ministers, the former a Methodist, and the latter a Presbyterian. 

     SAMUEL TAYLOR, a brother of Mathew, removed from Nova Scotia, at the same time, and settled on the farm now owned by Z. Vesey.  His children were: Rebecca (Long) Matthew, John, David, Samuel, Elizabeth (Faulkner), James and Eleanor (Griffith).  It is said that the average length of life of the Taylor families was over seventy years.

     JOHN SWISHER and family came to Ohio from Sussex county, New Jersey, in 1805.  They first settled in Fairfield county, where they remained until 1807, when they removed to this township.  Mr. Swisher located northeast of where Groveport now is, on land belonging to hsi father-in-law, Frederick Peterson.  He afterward changed his location to the school section, where he resided for upwards of forty years, finally removing to near Dublin, this county, where he died.  His wife, Mary, died in 1836, and he afterward married Mrs. Shepherd, of Wash-

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ington township.  There are six children of John Swisher now living, as follows:  Jacob, in this township; Thomas in Crawford county; Frederick, in Groveport; Fama, wife of Absolom Peters, of Walnut township, Pickaway county; Maria (now Mrs. Miner), living in Hamilton township; (she married Michael Plum, and after his death David Miner who is also deceased), and Mrs. Hoover, in Bucyrus, Ohio.

     The DECKERS four brothers, Elias, Esau, Isaac, and John - emigrated to this county from the Shenandoah valley, Virginia.  Esau came out first in 1805, making the journey on foot.  Before starting on his long journey, he went into the woods, and cut a willow cane which he carried with him.  After selecting and entering his land, he stuck his cane into the ground, and returned for his family, with whom he arrived the next year.  When  he came back, he found the green willow stick had taken root, and wsa growing.  It continued to flourish, and is now a large tree on the land now owned by some of the descendants.  Some time previous to his death, he expressed the wish that his coffin be made from the tree, but  his sons persuaded him to let it stand.  Mr. Decker raised a family of three sons and two daughters, all of whom settled and died in the vicinity of their father's settlement.

     ELIAS DECKER came soon after his brother Esau, and bought the southeast quarter of section thirty-six, where he made a home.  He served as a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and was also in the war of 1812.  Before his death he received a pension for his services in defense of his country.  In about 1830, he removed to Hancock county, where he died at teh age of ninety-nine years.  He had nine children - Andrew, Coonrod, Elisha, Agnes, Catharine, Annie, Mary, Effie, and Penelope.  All married and settled about here, at first, but after a time, three daughters moved west.  The sons all died here, Andrew on the home place.  He had four children, two of whom are still living - Elias, on the southwest quarter of section thirty-six, and Elizabeth, in Illinois.

     ISAAC DECKER came out in 1811, and made his location on the southwest quarter of section one where, in 1817, he laid out the town of Middletown, afterwards called Oregon.  The town did not improve, and remained but a small settlement.  Mr. Decker opened a tavern in  his log hosue at an early day, which he continued some thirty years.  He was by trade a shoemaker, in which he was assisted by his wife, who had learned to patch and half-sole shoes.  Their patrons paid them in clearing and logging.  They raised children, six of whom are living - two sons and two daughters in the northern part of the State; Mrs. Ellen Seymour, and Isaac F. Decker, in this township, the former on Walnut creek, and the latter in Canal Winchester.

     JOHN DECKER, of  the brothers mentioned, settled in Washington township.

     WILLIAM D. HENDREN, accompanied by his wife and one child, came to Ohio from near Front Royal, Virginia, in 1806.  He entered the east half of section thirty-five, in Madison township, Franklin county, and cleared a part of the land, on which he remained some five years, when he bought a quarter section belonging to Mr. Hushour, and situated a mile and a half northwest of Groveport.  There was a small clearing on the land at the time of his purchase, and he continued the work until he had a good farm under cultivation.  His children were Thomas C., Louisa, Daniel C., Samuel O., William, Mordecai, Isaac, who died in infancy, Sarah Ann, and Robert.  Three of the children died in childhood; the others grew up in the township, and settled there.  Samuel O. is the only one of the children now living.  After his father's death, Samuel O. bought the interest of his brothers and sisters in the first purchase made by his father, which he now owns.  Thomas remained on the old homestead, northwest Groveport, where he died.  His wife and two sons still occupy the property.  Another son lives in Minnesota, and one in the northeast part of the State.  A son of Daniel Hendren owns a farm near the canal, southwest of Groveport.

     WILLIAM FLEMING, and a family by the name of Hesnauer, were early settlers on the Hendren place, but left many years since.

     FREDERICK PETERSON came to Madison township in 1807, from Sussex county, New Jersey, and located about a mile and a half northeast of Groveport, where he entered a half section of land.  He died some ten years after his settlement, and none of the family are now left.

     THOMAS GRAY was among the early pioneers of Madison township.  HE came from Maryland, when a young man, and married here Theodosia Huff soon after his arrival.  They settled on the place now owned by their son, Alfred Gray - the southeast quarter of section four.  He died in December, 1850, aged seventy-three years.  His first wife died young, and he afterward married Harriet Hughes.  By his first wife he had eight children, and seven by his second.  Four of his first wife's children are living as follows:  Rebecca, wife of William Powell, in Missouri; Alfred, who married Rachel M., daughter of Archibald Powell, and lives on the old homestead; Harriet, widow of John Millburn, resides in Jefferson township; Jedediah, lives near Groveport.  The children of the second marriage are scattered.

     GEORGE SMITH settled at an early date, on the west side of Walnut creek, in the south part of the township, where he cleared some land and planted an orchard, and had the first apples known in the country.  He lived but a few years, and left a widow, Mrs. Abigil Smith, who occupied the place many years after his death.

     BILLINGSLY BULL, was a very early settler near the present village of Groveport.  In 1810 he was a justice of the peace in Madison township.  At the present time, none of the family remain in the country, and but little information can be obtained regarding them. 

     JACOB WEAVER owned a small farm, on the second quarter of section twenty-three, at an early day.  He removed to Indiana many years ago, with his entire family.

     EZEKIEL GROOM, born in New Jersey, in 1767, and his wife, Rhoda, a native of the same State, born in 1773, removed soon after their marriage, in 1790, from New jersey, to Hampshire county, Virginia.  There they lived until 1804, when they emigrated to Ohio, and took up

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Z. Vezey              Lizzie Vezey
"THE VESEY PLACE" RESIDENCE of Z. VEZEY, Groveport, Franklin Co., Ohio

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their abode in the wilderness, on the waters of Walnut creek, now Pickaway count.  Their location was that now occupied by Vause Decker, of whose father (Luke Decker) Mr. Groom rented.  In 1807 they removed to this township, and located in section nine, near where the bridge crosses the creek.  He died there Aug. 1, 1836, and his wife Nov. 13, 1859.  They were both zealous christians, and active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and were among the original members of the Hopewell class.  They had a family of nine children, of whom Thomas, now living in Columbus with his daughter, Mrs. Chamberlain, in his eighty-fifth year, and Mrs. Hosea Britton, of Hilliard, and the only survivors.

     PHILIP PONTIUS came from Berks county, Pennsylvania, in about 1807, and settled with his father on Kinnikinnick creek near Kingston, Ross county.  He married Catharine Rarey, and in 1809 settled on the second quarter of section nine, which he bought and improved.  they raised four children: Christine, Charles, Elizabeth, and John.  the latter was killed, at the age of eleven years, by the running away of a team of horses, near Delaware, Ohio; Christine was twice married, and died at Lockbourn; Elizabeth first married Dr. Guard, and after his death married Richard Long - she died at Columbus; Charles married Elizabeth Sharp, and owns the home farm, where he was born and raised.  Their children live near by - one on the home farm.

     JOHN TALLMAN came from Virginia in 1808, and settled on the property now occupied by his son, Nathan now among the older inhabitants of the township.  Two sons of Nathan Tallman have an agricultural implement store in Canal Winchester.

     ABRAHAM HARRIS was also an early settler in the same vicinity.

     JOHN SHARP, and wife came from Berks county, Pennsylvania, in 1808, and bought the second quarter in section thirty-three.  He afterwards increased his possessions until he owned some four hundred acres of land, which he cleared and improved.  His wife was Mary E. Harbine, from Reading, Pennsylvania, by whom he had nine children, all of whom lived to maturity.  There were five daughters and four sons, but few of whom are now living.  Elizabeth married Charles Pontius home, on section nine.  The other children of John Sharp, with one or two exceptions, settled in Franklin county, where they remained during their life.  Mr. Sharp died in 1863, aged eighty-two years.  His wife died in 1839, aged fifty-seven.

     SAMUEL BROWN, originally from Pennsylvania, came to Ohio when a single man, and in 1809, married in Pickaway county.  Margaret Kelley, who came from Pennsylvania to Lancaster, Ohio, with her parents when twelve years of age.  Soon after their marriage, they removed to this county, and settled in Madison, where their son, Matthew, now lives, on a quarter section of land.  They built a rude log cabin in the woods without a floor, in which they spent the first five years of their married life.  Mr. Brown's experience of pioneer life was in strange disproportion to that of his wife.  In 1816, while at work in the clearing, he was killed instantly by a falling tree, leaving his wife with three little children.  Seven years afterward, she married Olivia Codner, sr., whom she also survived.  After her first husband's death Mrs. Brown dreamed that an angel appeared to her and comforted her with the assurance that she would life to be over ninety years of age, and to see her descendants in the fourth generation, which dream was more than fulfilled.  She died in the summer of 1879, at the age of nearly ninety-three.  She was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, Nov. 28, 1787.  She possessed an excellent physical constitution, and during the early years of her married life in addition to her household duties, assisted her husband in the work of clearing the land and bringing it under cultivation.  Of her three children born of her first husband, two are now living, viz: Matthew, on the old homestead, born June 22, 1811, and Elizabeth, wife of Jacob Powell, now living in Jackson county, Missouri.  By her second husband, Mrs. Codner had four children.

     EMMOR COX, settled on number two, section thirty, as early as 1810.  He owned the entire quarter section, which he cleared and improved.  He had a family, consisting of four sons and five daughters.  Mr. Cox and two of his sons died on the property, and at his death it fell into the hands of his son, John Cox, who was a well-known and capable surveyor.  He also died on the property, which was then sold.  A son of John Cox now lives in the vicinity.

     HENRY BUNN came to Ohio in about 1810, and located in Ross county, where he remained until 1814, when he settled on land in number two, section six, Madison township, Franklin county, then owned by his wife's father, Mr. Pontius.  He afterwards bought the north half of section eight, which land he cleared and improved.  His wife was Elizabeth Pontius, to whom he was married in Ross county, and who became the mother of six children:  Nancy, Frederick, Mary, Sarah, Henry, and Elizabeth.  Henry and Sarah went to Lafayette, Indiana, where they now live; Nancy married Samuel Lautis, and settled in Jackson township; Frederick married Charlotte Rarey by whom he had eight children - five now living; Nelson H. and Jefferson L. live on the home farm, and the others near by.  Mrs. Bunn, now a widow, lives with her son, Jefferson L., on the home farm.  Of the two remaining children of Henry Bunn, sr., Mary married Joseph Sharp, and settled in the township, and Elizabeth married Daniel Groom, and died in 1878.

     HENRY WHITSEL, from Maryland, settled near Tarlton, Pickaway county, before 1800.  His brothers, Isaac, John, Samuel, and Daniel, settled near him, about the same time.  He married Elizabeth Saylor, and, in 1810, removed to Madison township, Franklin county, where he entered land south of Emmor Cox; he died in 1855, leaving several children, most of whom are now living in the west.  His son, David, married Elizabeth Rarey, and has lived in the township since birth, in 1810.

     HENRY DILDINE settled on the southeast quarter of section number two, in the fall of 1810.  Harmon Dildine also settled, at an early date, on the southeast quarter of

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section three, where he raised his family, consisting of six sons and one daughter.  Robert F., his youngest son, now resides near Groveport; a daughter of the village, and another son at Hilliard.  Andrew, Daniel, and John Dildine, moved out at the same time as Henry and Harmon.

     JAMES McCLISH moved in  at an early date, and located on eighty acres of land, which is now owned by Charles Pontius.  A son, William McClish, now lives in Hamilton township.

     SAMUEL BISHOP removed to this State, from New Jersey, in 1807.  He first settled in Pickaway county, but a few years afterward, came to this township and settled on one hundred and sixty acres, in section four, which he cleared and improved.  He afterward sold this farm to Philip Pontius, and moved to the west side of the creek, where he died, about the year 1842.  Two of his children are at this time residents of Franklin county, viz: Mrs. Young, living in Hamilton, and William H., in this township, on the homestead.

     ABEDNEGO DAVIS was a very early settler on the third quarter of section twenty-six, which he partially claimed.  He sold the property to William Seymour, and moved from the neighborhood.

     JOHN GANDER came before 1812, and settled on a quarter of section twenty-nine, where he made a clearing and lived twenty or twenty-five years.  He raised a family of seven children, several of whom married while living there.  They finally sold the property and went to another locality - some in Hardin county.

     JACOB GANDER was also an early settler at Middletown, and served as justice of the peace in 1825, and again in 1828.  None of the family have lived in the township for many years.

     JACOB RHOADS and family, came from Pennsylvania, and were among the early settlers in Madison township.  They located in the northeast past of the township, on Black lick, near where S. Hempy now resides.  John, a son of Jacob Rhoads, built a grist- and saw-mill on the creek, both of which were run until about 1844, when they went down.  The Rhoads removed to Van Wert county, after selling to a man named Peters.

     SIMON HELPMAN came from Pennsylvania in 1840, and located in Violet township, Fairfield county.  The part of the township in which he settled, was afterwards set off into Franklin county.  He married Eve, daughter of Elias Decker, in 1812, and raised ten children, four of whom are now living; one in Hancock county; one in Indiana; one in Iowa, one, John, in Winchester; where he is engaged in business.

     MICHAEL ROHR and wife, and their sons, George and John, with their families, their son-in-law, John Smith and family, and Thomas Rothwell all moved in together from Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 1816.  The company, with one four-horse team and two two-horse teams, left their eastern homes on the fifty day of July, and were some six weeks on the way.  Mr. Rohr, sr. bought the whole of secton six which had been previously occupied by Henry Bunn, and on which a little improvement had been made.  Mr. Rohr, at his death in 1818, divided his land among his three children above named, and some of it is still in possession of his descendants.  George Rohr had a family of two sons and two daughters, the daughters dying when quite small.  The two sons are still living: John, on a portion of the farm in grandfather originally owned, and William, in Hamilton township.  The children of John Rohr, sr., were: Jacob, Charles, Samuel, Michael, John, and Sarah.  Charles owns a farm of two hundred and fourteen acres in the eastern part of section six, and resides in the north part of the township, and John near Canal Winchester.  Samuel lives in Wisconsin.  Michael and Sarah are dead.

     JOHN, GEORGE, PHILEMON, ANDREW AND CUBBIDGE NEEDELS emigrated to Ohio from Delaware.  John and Philemon removed in 1802.  John, then single, came down to Ohio river to Louisville in a canoe.  He married there, and afterward came to this State; locating in Fairfield county.  In 1811 he moved to this township.  Philemon came a few years after John, and first settled in Fairfield county.  In 1812, or 1813, he took up his residence where Mrs. Eliza Needels now lives, having purchased, in connection with his brothers, John and Andrew, the whole of section nine.  He died in 1851.  He had a family of thirteen children, of whom all are now dead, except three; Rachel Needels, widow of Thomas Needels, now nearly seventy-seven years of age; Anna, widow of Littleton Gray, both residing in this township; and Mrs. Rebecca Daily, living near Des Moines, Iowa.  George Needels settled in Fairfield county, but removed later to Knox county.  Cubbridge Needels moved out from Delaware in 1810; resided in Fairfield county two years, when he came to this township and took a lease of some land of his brother, Philemon's.  Afterwards he leased a farm on the school section, on which he resided until 1821, when he removed to Plain township.  His wife died soon after their removal to Ohio, in November 1810, and he was afterwards again married.  He died in 1840.

     WILLIAM ELDER settled on the first quarter in section eleven, about 1813 or 1814.  He cleared and improved a farm, and built a brick house.  His family consisted of three sons and two daughters, none of whom are now living.  Mr. Elder's place of nativity was Scotland.

     JOHN KILE settled northwest of Groveport at an early day.  He bought land which he cleared, and where he made a farm.  Some of his descendants now live in the township.

     ALEXANDER CAMERON came from New Jersey, and bought land in the third quarter of section ten.  Here he made a home and raised a family.  One of his daughters married Mr. Ramsey; another married Cornelius Black, and now lives in the township.  Still another, married William P. Sharp, and died in Hamilton township.

     ADAM HAVELEY bought number three, in section three, where he made a home.  He was a hard working man, and paid for his purchase by making and selling maple sugar.

     ADAM SARBER came from Pennsylvania to Ohio, in

HENRY C. SWISHER and MRS. HENRY C. SWISHER

RESIDENCE of HENRY C. SWISHER, Madison Tp., Franklin Co., O.

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1812, and bought the second quarter of section thirty-three, which he partially cleared and improved.  After his death the property was divided among his children, five of whom afterwards went west; one settled in Columbus, one in Winchester, and one in Groveport.

     CHRISTIAN SARBER came in 1818, and located on the first quarter of section three, where he cleared the land and made a farm.  In about 1836, he removed to Putnam county.  A part of his former land is now owned by Daniel Leigh.

     The DAYLONGS were among the first settlers on the first quarter of section thirty-four, but none of the family are now living in the vicinity.

     JOHN RAGER came from Pennsylvania to Pickaway county, with his father, who settled on Pickaway plains.  While living there he married Catharine Valentine, and in 1814 he settled in Madison township, Franklin county, where he bought the first quarter of section twenty-six, which he improved.   He died in Marion county, Indiana.  His children were Lanah, Elizabeth, Mary, Sophia, William, and John.  The daughters all married and settled in different parts of the country; William died in Allen county, Indiana; Elizabeth died in Madison township; John married Elizabeth Conkle, by whom he had fourteen children, ten of whom lived to maturity.  His wife died in 1857, and he married Mrs. Nancy Rower.  They occupy the old home place.

     ZEBULON S. LEIGH came from New Jersey to Ohio in 1817 or '18, accompanied by his brother, Elias.  He settled on the farm of Luke Decker, in Madison township, Pickaway county, as a renter, and afterwards rented land of John Welton in Madison township, Franklin county, where he died in 1841.  He was married in New Jersey, and left a wife and nine children: Samuel, Phebe, Mary Ann, Matilda, Luisa, Huldah, Charles, John S., and Daniel.  Mrs. Leigh, with her daughter, Huldah, lives with Samuel on the southeast corner of section thirty-four.  Daniel owns a farm in number one, section ten, which was originally entered by Mr. Pilcher, and was partially cleared by Adam Sarber.

     GEORGE SEYMOUR, who was one of the early settlers of Madison township, came from Hampshire county, Virginia, in about 1818 or 1820, the date not being exactly known.  Immediately after his arrival, he bought the fourth quarter of section twenty-seven, and soon afterwards added to them the second and third quarters of section twenty-six.  His son, Moses, inherited number two, and Jesse, number three in section twenty-six; william had number four in section twenty-seven.  John had the quarter cast of Jessse's, where he died, leaving a widow and three children, one of whom married Andrew Wilson, and now lives on the place.  Moses raised eight children, several of whom have died since arriving at maturity.  Two live in Groveport.  William married, and raised seven children.  His widow and three children live on the home farm;  the others in the township.  Jesse raised eight children, of whom one son, Miner, lives on the home farm, and two others live near by.

     WILLIAM PATTERSON came from Pennsylvania in about 1820.  He bought the west half of section three, where he built a home, and raised a family.  He finally removed to Columbus, Indiana, but came back and died in Madison township.  The only one of the family now living here is Thomas Patterson.

     JAMES SANDY settled in Ross county in 1821.  He remained there but a short time, when he went to Pickaway county, and from there to Washington township, Franklin county, in 1824.  He lived there until 1862, when he removed to Madison township, with his son-in-law, Sylvester Crothers, where he died, aged eight-one years.  He wa a soldier in the "Virginia Blues," during the war of 1812, and ws encamped one winter at Franklinton.  His children were: William, Eliza, Philip, Wesley, Uriah, Charlotte, James, Ermine, Erastus, Rebecca, Isacca, Delilah, and Albert.  Mrs. Crothers (Delilah), and Mrs. Young (Rebecca), live in Madison; Charlotte lives with her brother, James on section twenty-five, east of Groveport; Albert lives in Groveport. 

     SAMUEL MURPHY was an early settler on the southwest quarter of section eight, which he cleared and improved.  The place is now owned b his son, Samuel, F. M. Murphy lives on the northwest quarter of the adjoining section, seven.

     PETER LONG was an early settler in the southwest corner of the township, on section twelve.  His son, George, now owns the property.

     WESLEY TOY came to Pickaway county in about 1826, where he leased land until 1828, when he bought eighty acres of land south of Groveport.  While there he married, and in 1836 or 1837, he sold his land and bought in Madison township, Pickaway county.  He remained there about nine years, when he again sold and returned to Franklin county, in 1848, and purchased a quarter-section of land in section thirty, where he died in 1861.  At his death the property was divided between his three sons, and is now owned by his son, Charles, who purchased the interest belonging to the other heirs.

     GEORGE EDWARDS came to Madison from Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in 1827, and settled where his son, John, now lives.  He died about a year after his settlement, and his widow was subsequently married to Alexander Cameron.  Mrs. Daniel Hendren, John, and Stephen S. Edwards, are the children of George Edwards now living.  The first two live in this township, and the latter in Marion.

     PHILIP KING settled settled on the farm now occupied by Solomon and Daniel Detwiler, at an early date.  He died in 1846.  Samuel Detwiler moved on to the farm in 1854, having emigrated from Franklin county, Pennsylvania in 1852.  He died in 1874.

     JAMES B. EVANS located in Winchester, in 1832, and engaged, as a tailor, with Thomas Kelley; he was born in Western Pennsylvania, and passed his early life there.  In 1833, he left Winchester, and engaged in business in Pickerington, where he remained until 1836, when he returned to Winchester, where he served as justice of the peace from1843 to 1849, being the first magistrate

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elected in the village; he was, also, the first postmaster, a telegraph operator on a line from Lancaster to Columbus, in 149, and the first mayor of Winchester.  He was connected with the telegraph office in Winchester six months, and was then operator at Circleville for two years.  He is now the mayor of Winchester, a justice of the peace, and conducts a tailoring business.  Mayor Evans has been actively identified with almost every enterprise tending to the geneal improvement of Winchester, having been, for years, an efficient member of the village government, of the board of education, and other organizations.

     SAMUEL GARES came from Bucks county, Pennsylvania, to Ohio, in May, 1855.  For a number of years he kept hotel at Reynoldsburg, where he remained until 1847; he died in Groveport, in 1859.  He raised a family of six children, all of whom were born in Pennsylvania, and all of whom are now living - Mrs. Mary Ann Long, Mrs. Catharine Root and Snyder Ganes in Columbus; A. Bennett Gares, in Indiana; and Mrs. Anna Galbraith, in Bellefontaine, Ohio.  Edmund married Mrs. Amelia Rarey, by whom he had four children; she died, and he married Miss Jennie Perrill, a daughter of Hon. A. L. Perrill, of Madison township, Pickaway county, by whom he has one child.

PIONEER TIMES IN MADISON

EARLY SCHOOLS.

    The first school in the township was kept in a log cabin on the farm of the pioneer, George Kalb.  Children liv-

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CHURCHES.

THE LUTHERAN CHURCH.

HOPEWELL CHURCH

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THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

THE UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH.

[PORTRAIT of GEORGE NEEDELS]

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TRURO PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

THE REFORMED CHURCH

THE MENNONITE CHURCH.

ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH

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day of September, were dedicatd with appropriate ceremonies.

MILLS AND OTHER ENTERPRISES.

VILLAGES.

     In the year 1817, the now almost vanished town of OREGON was laid out by Isaac Decker.  It was first called MIDDLETOWN, but in 1830 or 1831, the name was changed to OREGON.  The first post-office in the township was established there in 1829, with Dr. Thomas Hersey as postmaster.  He held the office until 1833, when he resigned, and Isaac D. Decker, was appointed.  when the post-office at Groveport was established, in 1844, that at Oregon was discontinued.
     CANAL WINCHESTER is a well-built, stirring little town, of about one thousand inhabitants, situated on the east line of the township.  The town was laid out on the east side of High street, south of the canal, by Reuben Dove, n the year 1826, or 1827.  A short time afterward, John Coleman laid out a number of lots on the opposite side of the street, and subsequently an addition was made on West street by David Dixon.  Other additions have since been made.  Henry Dove, the father of Reuben was the original owner of the land on which the town is located, having entered a quarter section in 1806 or 1807.  The town was originally named WINCHESTER, after Winchester, Virginia, from the vicinity of which the Dove family had emigrated.  The word "canal" was added to distinguish it from other places in the State of the name of Winchester.  The village was embraced within the bounds of Fairfield county until 1851, when, by the annexation of six sections to the east side of Madison township, it was thrown into Franklin county.
     The first store was opened by Jacob L. Vance, a contractor on the canal.  He kept a small stock of goods, suitable for the demands of the laborers in his employ, in a log house south of the canal.
     In 1832 Jacob Carty and Israel Julian started a store, which was afterwards continued by Carty alone for many years.  David Dixon brought ni a stock of goods, and opened a store about 1832, and in 1839 John F. and Samuel Bartlit commenced in trade.  Samuel Bartlit, after a few years, bought out his brother, and continued  the business alone until the fall of 1856, when he sold to his nephew, Samuel Pond, who died in August, 1857.  In the fall of that year, Christian and David Gayman established a store, and hae continued in merchandise from that time to the present, with substantial success.  The Gaymans, five brothers - Daniel, David, Christian, Israel, and Moses - came to Canal Winchester in 1843, and they are all now residents of the town.  Tallman, Allen & Co., afterwards  firm of Canal Winchester, and they erected, about 1852, the building now occupied by

JOHN McGUFFEY and MRS. PAMALIA McGUFFEY

JOHN BLACKWOOD and MRS. JOHN BLACKWOOD

THE BLACKWOOD FAMILY

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the dry goods store of Spielman Bros., who began here under the name of Weisman & Spielman, in the spring of 1872.
     A post-office was established in the year 1841, and James B. Evans, the present mayor and justice of the peace of the village, was appointed the first postmaster.  The office was kept in a frame building on Waterloo street, which is now used for a dwelling.  Mr. Evans held the office nine years when he resigned, and removed from the town.  His successors have been Dr. J. B. Potter, Peter Koag, David Gayman, and the present incumbent, J. K. Miller.  Mayor Evans was the first justice of the peace in Canal Winchester, and he has been identified with the town in some official capacity, almost continuously, since his location here in 1832.
     The first tavern in the village was opened in a two-story frame building on what is now Columbus street, near the site of the present residence of John H. Spielman.  It was opened by Peter C. Benadum, soon after the town was laid out.  The next tavern was kept in the lot now owned by the corporation, of which Ira Mason was the first proprietor.  The Commercial hotel, now conducted by J. M. Schoch, was elected about the eyar 1852, by Peter Koag.  The Merchants hotel was built in 1871, by Isaac Ebight, and kept by him some three years, when he sold to Jonathan Boyer, who leased it to Aaron Feustermaker.  L. W. Boyer, the present proprietor, purchased the property in 1877.  In 1876 Mr. F. Leonard made considerable additions to his one-story frame dwelling, and in February, 1879, opened it as a hotel.  It is known as the Leonard house.
     Canal Winchester has always been an important point with respect to its grain business.  The first warehouse erected was a log structure, built in 1833 or 1834, just north of the basin.  In 1837, Hathaway & Glendening, put up a frame warehouse, east of the basin, and in 1847 or 1848, Samuel Bartlit erected a large buildings, then belonging to O. P. Chaney, were destroyed by fire, June 2, 1878.  This was the most extensive fire the village has ever sustained.  As early as 1834 or 1835, Carty & Rogers built a frame warehouse, where the large elevator now stands, just west of the bridge, which said elevator was erected about the year 1841.  The present grist-mill of Whitehurst, Lehman & Carty was built in 1868, and the large and excellent elevators of O. P. Chaney in 1878.
     A prominent early business man of the village was Hiel Brockway, who ran a daily line of packets from Lockbourn to Cleveland, with his headquarters at Canal Winchester.  He erected the old yellow warehouse, south of the canal.  Brockway finally removed to Brockport, New York, where he died.  A large portion of his property here was subsequently purchased by Mr. Bartlit.

SCHOOLS.

     The first school in the village was held in a frame building, which stood on the site of the present residence, formerly a school-house, of J. S. Stevenson.  The frame building was replaced, about 1848, by a one-story brick school-house, which was used until 1862, when it was sold, and afterwards converted into a dwelling.  It is now occupied by Mr. Stevenson, as before stated.
     The town constituted the eighteenth school district of Madison township, until April, 1868, when a school was organized under the Union school law.  The first school board elected was composed of the following members: James H. Somerville, and James B. Evans, elected for three years; D. A. A. Short, and Christian Gayman, for two years; C. P. Rees, and M. Allen, for one year.  Somerville was chosen president of the board; Evans, secretary, and Gayman, treasurer.  The present school building was erected in 1861, but has since been remodeled and additions made.  The cost, with the grounds, was about eight thousand dollars.  The successive principals of the school have been as follows: D. T. Clover, one year; G. W. Buck, one year; J. W. Rutledge, one year; James Heffley, two years; Frank M. Kumler, two years; L. R. Powell, one year; J. F. Maxwell, one week; W. C. Campbell, two terms; David O. Brien, the unexpired term of that year, 1876; and P. R. Mills, the present principal, who was employed in 1877.  The school, in the various departments contains, at present writing, two hundred and fifty pupils.  The present members of the school board are: John Helpman, president; a. Starr, clerk; W. T. Conklin, treasurer; O. P. Chancy, J. K. Miller, and A. A. Short.

PHYSICIANS.

     The oldest physician in the village is Dr. J. B. Potter, who located here in 1838, and has continued in practice until the present, with the exception of the years from 1861 to 1865, during which he was in the army.  Dr. A. A. Short has been engaged in the practice of his profession in Canal Winchester since 1856.  He came from Vermont, to Ohio, in 1849, and was subsequently connected with the infirmary hospital, in Columbus, for two years, he formed, in 1859, a partnership with Dr. Potter, which continued until 1874, except during the four years that Dr. Potter was in the army.  the other physicians of the village, at the present time, are Dr. A. Starr and Dr. V. A. Valentine.  Among the doctors who have, at one time or another, been located here, we have the names of Drs. Chapin, S. H. Potter, Titus, L. A. Pierce, J. B. Pierce, Langworthy, Blake, and Clemens.

INCORPORATION.

     At the session of 1865-6 the town was incorporated, and at the first borough election a corporate government was organized as follows:  James B. Evans, mayor; C. W. Speak, recorder; John Chaney, sr., R. Trine, John Helpman, E. B. Decker, and M. C. Whitehurst, trustees.  John Helpman was, at this time, justice of the peace.  The present officers of the village are the following:  James B. Evans, mayor; T. F. Ungemach, clerk; W. M. Game, I. L. Decker, John W. Griffith, John R. Clement, H. H. Dibble, trustees; and John Gehm, treasurer.  Mayor Evans has been at the head of teh village govern-

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ment since his first election in 1866, with the exception of four years, during which John Helpman, J. S. Stevenson, and Charles B. Cowan, successively filled the position.

SOCIETIES.

LEE LODGE,

FRANKLIN ENCAMPMENT,

DAUGHTERS OF REBECKAH.

MADISON GRANGE,

MILITARY ORGANIZATION.

     A company of militia was organized under the laws authorizing the formation of the Ohio National Guard, Mar. 2, 1878.  It was, at first, known as the Winchester guards, and was assigned as Company N, 14th O. N. G.  the officers elected on the organization of the company, were Philip Game, captain; Brice Taylor, first lieutenant; William Schrock, second lieutenant; all of whom hold their commissions at this time.  while in camp in 1879, the name of the company was changed from Winchester Guards to the Potter Light Guards.
     In 1869 the first train of cars ran through Winchester, over the Hocking Valley road.  The town had, however, as early as 1849, a telegraph line, extending from Columbus to Lancaster, the first operator of the office here being Squire Evans.
     The town has a weekly paper - the Winchester Times - which made its first appearance Mar. 16, 1871, as a prohibition paper, with Major J. W. Stinchcomb as editor.  In the summer of 1872 it was purchased by C. M. Gould, who published it as a Democratic paper until November, 1876, when it passed into the hands of J. Heffley, one of its present proprietors.  It is now published by Heffley & Gayman, as an independent paper, and has a good patronage.
     In addition to the enterprises already referred to, the village contains three churches (spoken of more fully under the head of Churches), and the various business places common to a place of its size and prosperity.  what the town, at present, particularly needs is a good bank.

GROVEPORT.

     The beginning of Groveport dates back to 1833.  In that year Jacob B. West came and leased some land on the canal from Adam Rarey, and erected the old warehouse, still standing, near the bridge, and also a store building at the west end, in which, in the spring of 1834, he opened a stock of goods.  In September, 1843, he laid out that part of the town lying west of the street runing past the Methodist church, and named his town "Wert's Grove."  Subsequently, in February, 1844, that portion of the town lying east of said street was laid out by William H. Rarey, to which he gave the name of "Rarey's Port."  Messrs. Wert and Rarey were each ambitious of perpetuating his own name, in connection with the town.  In 1844, Mr. Wert secured the establishment of a post office, under the name of Wert's Grove, with himself as postmaster, but Mr. Rarey was a prominent business man in the town, and the name of Rarey's Port was perhaps more extensively known than that of Wert's Grove.  Letters were frequently received through the post-office thus directed.  The desirability of a common name soon became manifest to the citizens, and a public meeting was finally held for the purpose of making a choice, when a compromise was effected by discarding the personal part of the two names and retaining the latter part of both, and hence the town came to be called Groveport.  Mr. Wert continued in business until 1847, or 1848, and did much toward building up the town which he had founded.  He was engaged in merchan-

H. L. CHENEY, M. D.

 CHARLES PONTIUS and MRS. E. PONTIUS

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dising, grain, and largely in pork-packing.  One year he killed thirty-five thousand head of hogs.  He died at Groveport in the spring of 1850, and left to his family a fine property.  William H. Rarey and James Cooken established the second store in the village, in the building in which Mr. West first opened his.  They carried on business together for a number of years, finally taking into the firm John Courtright.  Cooken subsequently sold to his partners, and removed to Columbus.  The Eberlys (now of Columbus), with A. C. Headley, and William and Salem Darnell were among the early and leading merchants of Groveport for several years.  After Mr. Wert, the successive postmasters have been the following named gentlemen, viz: Edward Garres, A. C. Headley, Samuel Sharp, John L. Champ, Henry Long, and Cornelius Black, jr., (the present incumbent), appointed in 1878.  The first tavern in Groveport was the Campbell hotel, built by John Campbell in 1839-9, and kept by him as a public house for twelve years.  The present dwelling of Mrs. William Peer was built for, and opened as, a hotel by Alexander Fleming, about the year 1845.
     The Railroad House, of M. Corbett, was built in 1869.
     Rarey's grist-mill was erected, in 1871, by Rosenfield, Seymour & Co., and the old saw-mill, on the canal, was built by Moses Zinn, about 1848 or 1849.
     The village was incorporated at the session of 1846-7, and the following village officers were elected in the spring of 1847, viz:  A. Shoemaker, Mayor; Samuel Sharp, E. M. Dutton, J. F. Bywaters, C. J. Stevenson, and William James, marshal.  Since, Mr. Shoemaker, Henry Long, Z. P. Thompson, E. W. Edwards, Jeremiah White, Z. P. Thompson, N. Steel, L. Sarber, W. W. Kile, Henry Long, George Adel, F. M. Senter, and Robert A. Shaw, (present incumbent), have officiated as mayors, in the order named.

THE PHYSICIANS.

of Groveport, at the present writing, are:  Drs. Cheney, Smith, Saylor, Morden, and McCollom.  The oldest of these, in point of practice, in the first named - Dr. Hugh L. Cheney.  Dr. Cheney read medicine with the well-known Dr. George E. Eels, of Lithopolis, and graduated at the Ohio medical college, Cincinnati, in 1847.  He practiced in Lockbourn ten months, and, in 1848, settled in Groveport, where he has since followed his profession with signal success.  Dr. Smith and Dr. Saylor have also been residents of Groveport for many years, and have built up a good practice.  Of the physicians who formerly resided in this village, we have the names of Drs. Abel Clark, Joseph Bywaters, and _____ Bolen.

SOCIETIES.

GORDIAN LODGE,

GROVEPORT LODGE,

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

SAMUEL BARTLIT - 454

MRS. ELIZABETH B. POLLAY
GENEALOGICAL NOTES. - 454

GEORGE NEEDELS

SAML BARTLLIT

ELIZABETH B. POLLAY

Page 455 -

FREDERICK BUNN and CHARLOTTE BUNN.

THE BUNN FAMILY.

JEREMIAH KALB.

Pg. 456 -

SAMUEL HEMPY.

S. O. HENDREN.

GEORGE W. NEEDELS.

JEREMIAH KALB - MAHALA KALB -
SAM'L O HINDREN
SAMUEL HEMPY - MRS. SAMUEL HEMPY.

J. P. ARNOLD     MRS. J. P. ARNOLD
JAMES SANDY
GEO. W. NEEDELS     JNO. ROHR JR.
PHOTOS BY ELLITT & ARMSTEAD, COLUMBUS, O.

THE ARNOLD FAMILY.

J. B. POTTER, M. D.

JOSEPH B. POTTER, M. D.

Z. VESEY.

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HON. JOHN CHENEY, SR.

Page 460 -

DANIEL LEIGH and MRS. DANIEL LEIGH.

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