Blendon is one of the regularly surveyed townships of the United States military lands, and five miles square.  It is township number two, in range of seventeen.  It was originally connected with Sharon township, for civil and judicial purposes, but was stricken off on the sixth day of March, 1815.

PHYSICAL FEATURES.

     The surface is nearly level, except where broken by the streams, which have high banks.  Alum creek enters the township boundaries at the northwest corner, and flows in a generally southerly direction, but bearing off to the east, somewhat.  The proper name of this stream is Alum, and not Elm, as some have contended.  It was not named after the species of timber found in the county, through which it meanders, but called Alum in consequence of the substance which exudes, in some places, from its slate banks.  Big Walnut creek flows southerly, through the eastern half of the township.  Big run rises in the northern and central part of the township, flows south and empties into Alum, near the crossing of the Granville and Worthington road. 

THE PIONEERS AND EARLY SETTLERS.

     Blendon township was settled in the year 1806.  The families of Edward Phelps and Isaac Griswold, accompanied by Ethan Palmer, came in that year from Connecticut, and made their way into the unbroken forest, settling where their descendants now reside.  The native place of these pioneers was Windsor, Hartford county.  They were just two months upon the road, leaving home June 24th, and arrived at the place of their destination August 24th.  They were three days making their way from Granville to the spot where they settled, in Blendon.  The party did not come wholly ignorant of the nature of the country that was to be their home, but, nevertheless, it was in a great measure, to them, terra incognita.  They knew but little of the resources, or the dangers, and disadvantages of the wilderness that was to be their home.  Edward Phelps, sr., and Isaac Griswold, had made, in 1805, a brief visit to Ohio, and it was the favorable report that they carried back to New England that led the families to determine on emigration.  On arriving in Blendon, the little colony first encamped on the elevation cast of Alum creek, and on the site of the Granville road, immediately cast of Phelps farm.  After making there permanent locations, each family began preparations for the provision of those things necessary and convenient.  The Phelps made a clearing of about seven acres, and the Griswolds one of about half that extent - the difference, perhaps, being caused by the fact that the former family included more boys than the latter.  But, however this may have been, it had little to do with future success - that was gained by both families of pioneers.  The small beginning, in each case, led to large success, and permanent prosperity.
     The PHELPS FAMILY consisted, upon its arrival in Blendon, of Edward Phelps, and his wife, Azubah (Moore), and six children - Edward, jr., Abram, William, Azubah, Lucinda, and Chloe.  Homer M. Phelps was born in Blendon, Feb. 9, 1812.  He is a resident of Blendon, and located upon the old homestead, on the Granville road, just east of what has, for more than half a  century, been known as "Blendon corners."  He married Elizabeth G., daughter of Edward Connelly, who came from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1833, and has three children: Fredonia A. (Mrs. F. B. Dean, of Mifflin), Henry W., and Clinton E.  But to return to the original settlers: Edward Phelps, sr., was born Aug. 27, 1758; his wife Feb. 13, 18776.  He died Aug. 10, 1840, at the age of eighty-one years and eleven months; she, Oct. 18, 1849.  Edward Phelps, sr., was son of Timothy, who was the son of Cornelius, the son of Timothy, the son of William, who was one of the first settlers in Windsor, Connecticut.  The dates of births and deaths of the children of this couple were as follows: Edward, born May 10, 1790, died Oct. 22, 1845;   Abram, born Aug. 16, 1791, died Aug. 18, 1834; William, born Sept. 16, 1802, died Jun 1, 1847; Azabah, born May 19, 1794, died Apr. 14, 1860; Lucinda, born Jan. 28, 1797, died Nov. 25, 1873; Chloe, born May 30, 1799, died Oct. 9, 1865. Edward Phelps married Betsey Jamison, a native of Virginia, who is still living in the township.  Their children

Pg. 468a -

Pg. 469 -
were Gustavus, William, Perry, Harriet, Chauncey, Margaret, Timothy, Homer, and Lauretta, William and Timothy are both well-to-do farmers in Blendon.  Margaret married J. C. Vance, and also lives in the township, as does Lauretta, who became the wife of U. C. Vincent.  Edward Phel+ps, jr., was a captain of militia.  Abram was a colonel, and served several terms as justice of the peace.  Homer M. Phelps has been elected justice of the peace three terms.
     ETHAN PALMER, who came with the Phelps family, married Loretta Olmsted.

     The GRISWOLD FAMILY consisted of Isaac Griswold and his wife, Ursilla (Clark), who was a native of Windsor, Connecticut; two sons, Isaac Mortimer and Edwin B., both of whom ahve been dead for many years; Oliver Clark, a brother of Mrs. Griswold; and a sister of Mr. Griswold - Salina.  Four children were born after the arrival o the family of Blendon; Christiana, born in the year 1808, who married Thomas Schrock, of Mifflin; Fredus N., born May 6, 1811, who was, for many years, a helpless invalid; Cicero P., born Dec. 6, 1815; and Mindwell, born Dec. 19, 1822, who is the widow of the late George B. Clark.  The three last named are residents osf Blendon.

     SIMEON MOORE, SR. and Simeon Moore, Jr., arrived in the township June 8, 1807, from Hartford county, Connecticut.  They lived, the first few weeks, with their friends and relatives, the Phelps family, until they could build a cabin upon the land, five hundred acres, which the elder Moore had bought in the southeast section of Blendon.  They moved to their own home early in the fall, beginning their pioneer life.  Simeon Moore, Jr., made buckets, and sold them in Chillicothe for corn, getting for each one as much as it would hold the precious food supply.  Their nearest neighbors were three miles away.  Game was abundant, and the best of meat to be had for the effort of an hour's hunt.  Like the other pioneers, they used the skins of the deer, and other animals, for their clothing, and also the linsey-woolsey woven by the women.  The next season after their arrival, the families were brought to the home in the wilderness.  Simeon Moore, sr., was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and fought at battle of Bunker Hill.  He died, at Blendon, in 1825.  Simeon Moore, jr., died in 1853.  His first wife died in 1829, and he then married, as his second wife, Laura Patterson, who is still living in Blendon township.  Virgil D., oldest son of Simeon Moore, is now living in Mifflin township.  The other descendants, Emmerette, Horace, Harriet, Alfred M., Simeon, and Roxanna, are all dead, except Simeon, who is now in Texas.  Laura Ann (Mrs. G. W. Williams), is in Hamilton township, and Cordelia and Wallace, children by his second wife, are respectively located in Mifflin and Blendon. 

     JOHN and WILLIAM COOPER came in 1808 or 1809, from Virginia, and located in section two, near Alum creek.  William Cooper and his wife, Phebe, both long since dead, had four children, who now lives in the township.  William Calvin, upon the old place, Hannah (Mrs. J. Watt), Abram and Melinda, Westerville.  The children of John and Polly Cooper are: Eliza, Rachel (Walling), Mary Ann, and William, who lives upon the old homestead farm, which his father bought of James Kilbourne.  John Cooper was an admirable character.  He combined many good traits, was a good hunter, a neat farmer, and a very useful citizen.

     COLONEL GEORGE OSBORNE, and Francis Olmstead and his wife, Chloe (Case), came in 1808.  They were from Hartford county, Connecticut.

     SAMUEL McDANNALD and his wife, Bella (Craig), came from Bath county, Virginia, in the fall of 1813, with a four-horse  team, being five weeks upon the road.  They located upon the west bank of Alum creek, opposite the present village of Westerville, where they remained four years, and then removed to the present site of John C. McDannald's home, and built upon the ground where his home now stands, a small log cabin.  Mrs. McDannald died in 1834, and her husband in 1849.  They had six children, viz: Lila J., Margaret Cartmill (Watson), Martha Crawford (Starr), John Calvin, Alexander C., and Rebecca E. Long.  Margaret, Martha and Rebecca are dead, and the other three reside in the township, John Calvin married Ada M. Cook, and Alexander C. married Partehia Toll,

     SAMUEL PUNTNEY came to Blendon in 1813, and located near the Moore's.

     In the same year as the above, ISAAC HAMILTON, also of Virginia, located near the center of the township.  He was a farmer and mechanic, and deacon in the first church organized in the township.

     JOHN YOVEL and family came in 1809, from Rockbridge, Virginia, and settled in section two, west of Alum.  Mr. Yovel bought one hundred acres of land near the present site of Westerville, built a cabin upon it, and cleared off the timber.  Yovel's children were Elizabeth, Ellen, William, Permilia, James, Mary, Jane, John, Erastus, Loranna, Ebenezer, and Ann Eliza.  William is the only one of the children now living.  He resides in Worthington.

     CRUGER WRIGHT located on the Dr. Blair farm in section two.  He came from Connecticut, and his wife was a daughter of Mr. Goodrich who owned one quarter of the township.  Wright served several years as justice of the peace.  One of his daughters, Mrs. Orris Loomis, lives in the township.

     REUBEN CARPENTER, of Vermont, brought his family in 1809, and located in section two, west of Alum.  All removed fsom from the township.  Henry Hone, of Pennsylvania, located, about the same time, on Walnut creek, in section four, and built a mill there.  He lived in the township until 1821 or '22.

     JOHN MATOON and his wife, Thankful, from Chelsea, Vermont, emigrated to Worthington in 1806, and came into Blendon two years later, locating in section two.  Mr. Matoon died in 1843.  His children were Calvin Stebbins, Willis, and Edwin.  Willis married Ora Caroline Johnson, a native of Connecticut, who is now living upon the old homestead.

     GARIT SHARP and his wife, Anna came to the township from Genesee county, New York, in 1810.  Andrew

Pg. 470 -
Sharp, brother of Garrit, emigrated to Licking county, Ohio, where he married Clara Webster, but eventually moved into Blendon, and died there.  Garrit Sharp lived, the first year, with Youel, but aver that, upon his own land, in section two.  He had, at first, one hundred and eighteen acres, but added to that until he was the owner of over four hundred and fifty acres.  He had eight children, who came to maturity.  William lives upon the old homestead in the northern part of Westerville; Stephen is in Delaware county, as is also Marybee (Mrs. S. Scott) and John Wesley, in Franklin county, Iowa.

     LEVI and BELA GOODRICH came to Blendon about the same time, but did not long remain.

     ROBERT McCUTCHEON, and his wife, Mary (McKnight), both of Irish descent, the two families having come from Ireland at the same time, and settled in the same place, came to Blendon in 1811, from Augusta county, Virginia.  They had eight children at that time, and one was born after their arrival.  Their names were John William, James, Ellen, Samuel, Elizabeth, Margareat, Robert, Reed, and Hodge.  The only one living is Ellen, wife of James Lawson.  Robert McCutcheon originally owned the property upon which Otterbein university now stands, and afterwards the farm now owned by Stephen Cook.

     MENZES GILLESPIE came into the township about 1816, from Hartford county, Connecticut, and settled first in the eastern part of the township, but afterwards on section two.   He was an orderly sergeant in Captain Symon's company, Scott's brigade, in the war of 1812.  In 1817, Mr. Gillespie married Chloe, daughter of Edward Phelps, by whom he had six children - Mary (Mrs. E. McClary), in Harrison county; William, Marcus, and Abram, in Whitley county, Indiana; Alma (Mrs. M. Dickey), in Blendon township; Menzes, Chloe (Mrs. D. C. Grinnell), in Illinois; and Walter, who died in infancy.  Menzes Gillespie, jr., married Harriet Eblen, and resides in Blendon township, west of Alum.  His father died in1854.

     ISRAEL BALDWIN came from Delaware county, New York, and settled west of Alum, in 1814, and lived there until his death.  His children - Levi, Roxanna, Hannah, Clark, Lucy, and William, are all dead.  The last named was a soldier in the Mexican war.  Thomas Ingalls, of Vermont, came about the same time as Baldwin, and located in the same part of the township.  He died in 1876.

      SQUIRE TIMOTHY LEE, originally from Massachusetts, moved with his father into New York, when a boy, and from there came to Ohio, settling in Blendon, on Big Walnut, soon after the war of 1812.  He married Rhoda Taylor, and lived in the township until his death, at an advanced age.  He was one of the prominent men of the community, a fine scholar, very active and enterprising, and did much for the township.  He kept it out of debt, which was an important thing in early days, when money was scarce.  He held many offices, and was generally looked up to as a superior man.  Probably he was most widely and favorably known as the founder of Central college, an institution of which the history is given elsewhere in this chapter.  It has been said of him by one who knew him well (M. C. Howard, of Blendon, in an addres delivered July 4, 1876): "Educated in the practical theory of economy, in New England, he came here, bold, decisive, and independent.  His ideas of justice admitted of no qualifications.  Had he been a king upon his thrown, and his own son of rebel, he would have signed his death warrant with the utmost composure."  He erected a distillery at an early date, at which the surplus grain of the surrounding country was made up into whisky, but subsequently abandoned the business because of conscientious scruples, and became a warm and strong advocate of temperance.  He also built the first mill in the township, and established a woolen factory on quite an extensive scale.

     WILLIAM WATT and family were early settlers on section three, coming from Pennsylvania.  The children are now all dead, and the family is represented by a grandson.

     C. P. HEMPSTED, form Windsor, Connecticut, was noted as a school teacher, and was also township clerk for a number of years.

     GIDION W. HART was a prominent early settler.  He and his wife, Nancy (Langton), came from Hartford county, Connecticut.  Mr. Hart first arrived in the township in 1816, and kept bachelor's hall one winter, with Squire Timothy Lee.  He made his permanent settlement, a year later, on Big run, in section one, taking up four hundred acres of the land surveyed by the government, which fell short twenty acres.  He was a surveyor by profession, and man of great force and true nobility of character.  He was elected a colonel of the militia, and served many years as a justice of the peace.  He died in 1859, and his wife in 1875.  they were the parents of five children, who are: Mary P., deceased, Caroline (Mrs. William Phelps), Candace S., Sarah L., deceased, and Henry C., who, with his sister, Candace, lives at the old place.

     ROBERT JAMISON, with his wife and a large family, came from Virginia in 1816, and located in section two.  He was a tanner by trade; a man of great industry, and a good citizen.  His son, James W., lives on the old farm; and a daughter, Elizabeth, who married Edward Phelps, alos lives in the township.

     JOHN BISHOP and his wife, Sarah (Van Braman), came from Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1818, and stopped the first season with Aaron Phillips who was located just on the line, in Sharon township.  He afterward bought and cleared one hundred acres of land, which is now dotted with the houses of the south part of Westerville.  The family, consisting of father and mother, and eight children, came from their New York home with two teams, and crossed the Ohio river on the fourth of July.  Only three of the children are now living; they are:  Hester A. (wife of Rev. D. Bonebrake), who lives in Westerville; Elizabeth (Mrs. J. B. Ingalls), who lives in Gevnea township, Delaware county; and Sarah (Mrs. John Hart).  John Bishop died in 1854, and his wife in 1850.

     EZRA SAMMIS came in about the year 1816.  A son,

Pg. 471 -
Selah R. Sammis, now resides in the township of Blendon.

     THOMAS FOLLAND was for many years a resident of the township.  He lived, at first, with Squire Carpenter, whose daughter, Sophia, he married.

     ARTEMAS CUTLER came previous to 1818, from Vermont.  He was a farmer, a builder and a miller.  Among the other callings, that his versatility led him into, was that of exhorter.  He was particularly loud voiced in this vocation, and attained quite a notoriety.  Mr. Cutler was a very good man, but, unfortunately, had a habit of exaggerating, beyond all measure of probability, or possibility, in the stories he told, and in every day conversation.  This was a serious offence to the matter-of-fact people who surrounded him, and was regarded as particularly unbecoming in an exhorter.  It was once made the subject of a kind of half-official reprimand, at a meeting of the Methodists (to which denomination Cutler belonged), and he arose from his seat and made a characteristic response.  "Brethren," said he, "I known that is my infirmity, and I have striven to overcome the evil member, but it is too strong for me.  It has caused me much pain to think of it, and often I have lain awake in my bed at nights, meditating upon the matter, and have shed barrels and barrels of tears."

     The WESTERVELTS made an important addition to the settlement, in 1818.  They were from Duchess county, New York.  Peter, William, and Matthew Westervelt were among the leading men of early times in Blendon.  They were active, not alone in their own business affairs, but in the promotion of all public improvements, and the interests of the community in which they dwelt.
     Peter Westervelt was born in 1791, and died in 1869.  His wife, Hannah Lemington was born in 1796, and is still living - resident of Westerville.  They were the parents of eleven children: Anna Maria (Mrs. J. B. Ingalls), who died in 1845; Sarah (Mrs. N. E. Sammis), who lives in Iowa; Rebecca (Mrs. L. R. Goodspeed), who lives in Westerville; Hannah (wife of Rev. G. G. West), who lives in Westerville; Cornelius Ll., who died in 1859; Balinda, who died in 1834; Matthew, who died in 1857; Angeline (Mrs. Thereon Westervelt), who lives in Iowa; Martha, who died in 1834; Mary (Mrs. Dr. A. Andrus), who lives in Westerville; Antonette (Mrs. Dr. O. G. Blair), who lives in Westerville.
     William Westervelt was born in 1792, and died in 1878.  He was married, in 1814, to Sally Bishop, who died in 1877.  They lived together the remarkably long period of sixty-three years.  Beside one son, who died in infancy, they had twelve children: Jane (Mrs. D. Headington) and Lovina (Mrs. S. Budd), both of whom live in Westerville; W. Bishop, who died in 1844; Hannah (Mrs. M. V. B. Burris), who lives in Wisconsin; James, who resides in Westerville; Caleb, who died in 1865; Helen (Mrs. M. Tall), who lives in Iowa; Sarah (Mrs. J. T. Price), who lives in Westerville; Ira G., who lives in Shebause*, Illinois; Rebecca, who lives in Westerville; Catharine (Mrs. H. Penigle), who lives in Richwood, Ohio, and Celia (Mrs. N. W. Grinnell), who lives in Kankakee, Illinois.
     Matthew Westervelt married Mary Lemington, and, after her death, Abiah Leonard.  His children by his first wife were: William, now i nMissouri; Edgar, in Galena, Ohio; Emeline (Mrs. Wm. Connally), deceased; Melissa (Mrs. J. B. Connally), in Colorado; and James, in Illinois.  The children by his second wife were: Alfred, Edwin, Mary Ann (Mrs. M. Wells), Emery, and Louisa - all deceased except Emery.
----------
     *SHARON WICK'S NOTE:  According to Google search, Shebause, Illinois" is a likely misspelling of Chebanse, Illinois, a small village in Iroquois and Kankakee Counties known for its rural feel, strong community, and location south of the Kankakee River, offering a quiet, family-friendly lifestyle with access to basic amenities and community event

     OLIVER CLARK located in section two.  He came from Connecticut about the year 1821; married Mrs. Jemiman Bartlett, and lived in  the township until her death, when he removed to Athens.

     ORIGIN RUGG and Aaron Phillips came a year later than Clark, the former from Connecticut, and the latter from New York.  A son of Mr. Rigg - Dayton - now lives in the township.

     JONATHAN NOBLE came in 1823, or the year following from Litchfield county, Connecticut, and settled on what is now known as the Torrence farm.  A daughter, Eliza (Cook), lives at present in Blendon.

     PETER P. LAWSON, and his wife, Jane (Van  Bramer), both of them of Holland Dutch descent, came into Blendon from New York State, Duchess county, in 1822.  they located near the present site of Westerville, but after twoi years, removed to Columbus, where they lived eight years.  At the expiration of that time Mr. Lawson was a captain in the war of 1812.  He died in 1854, and his wife in 1843.  They had twelve children - John, Helen, Catharine, David, Peter, Eliza, James, Seeley, Ann, Julia Ann, Susan, Francis, and Jane.  The only one living is James, familiaryly known as "Uncle" Jimmy Lawson - a man of sterling worth, though eccentric in some particulars.  He has led a checkered career.  He was brought up a farmer, but early in life adopted other callings.  He drove, in 1825, the first post coach in Franklin county, and followed waggoning for a number of years, after he had given up staging.  Then his father and himself bought two hundred acres of land.  He married, and raised a large family; went into the stock business, and was at once time worth from one hundred thousand to one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, but his partner made away with a considerable sum of money in 1854, and he was obliged to sacrifice his property to satisfy creditors, and he has since been a comparatively poor man.  He was the first man who shipped stock by rail from Westerville to the New York market.  He and his wife (Ellen McCutcheon) have lived together over fifty years.  They have four children remaining of the eleven born to them - John, in Illinois; ;Irvin, in Westerville; Julia, in St. Louis; and Eliza, in Columbus.

     JOSEPH CLAPHAM, and his wife, Sarah, came to the township in 1823, and remained there until their deaths, which occurred, respectively, in 1874, and 1872.  Mr. Clapham was an Englishman by birth, and came to America in 1818, settling first in Pennsylvania.  They had seven children, four of whom are still living - Joseph is in Geneva township, Delaware county; George; Mary Ann, and Sarah Jane, in Blendon township.  The last named married James Goldsmith.

Pg. 472 -

     GROVE PINNEY came from Connecticut, in the year 1825.  Stephen Brinkerhoff, and Daniel Landon in 1826, the former from New York, and the latter from Pennsylvania.

     SQUIRE RANDAL R. ARNOLD came into the State, in 1812, and into the county in 1825.  He was one of a colony, formed on Lake Champlain, and emigrated to Ohio by wagons.  The party passed through Buffalo the night before it was burned by the British.  They followed the lake shore road from Buffalo to Cleveland, and thence came into the central part of the State by the way of Wooster, passing through the "forty-mile woods."  It was there that they met General Harrison, traveling on foot, leading a pack-horse, and with no escort, save one aide.  The general mounted a bounder, by the side of the trail, and made a fine speech, encouraging the emigrants, and, afterwards, giving them provisions.  Most of the colonists settled in Delaware county, and the vicinity of Worthington, Franklin county.  Randall R. Arnold, on coming into Blendon, in 1825, hired out to a Mr. Cutler, a mill-wright, but later became a carpenter a builder, and a very good one, too.  He built many of the houses in Blendon township, and the adjacent county.  At the beginning of the Mexican war, he was one of the leaders in forming a company for the service.  He was one of the surveyors of the Westervelt town plot, in 1839; was elected justice, in 1835, and has served in that capacity ever since, with the exception of two or three terms.  His position has always been that of a leader in the affairs of the community.

     ELIAS CORNELL was a settler of 1825.  He was from Duchess county, New York.  He settled on a farm, west of Alem creek, and lived there until his death, in 1849.  Mrs. Angeline C. Cornell, who was a daughter of John Bishop, the pioneer, lived united 1870.  Four of the children of this couple are now living.  John B. is a farmer, and resides on the Columbus pike, just south of Westerville.  He married Lucinda L., daughter of Benj. Merriss, of Norwich township.  John D. Cornell, a brother of Elias, came to the county a little later than he did, but removed to the south.

     EBENEZER WASHBURN, one of the best known of the settlers of this part of the county, came into Genoa township, Delaware county, in 1816, and was identified with Blendon more or less from that time though he did not become one of the residents until 1829.  He was noted as a preacher.  Many residents of the township remember how he used to take his family in an ox-cart from Central college, where he lived, to the Sunday meetings, at the old hewed log school-house.  His widow now resides in Clevelalnd.

     SAMUEL LOOMIS and family came from Connecticut in 1827, and located in section three.  He was a school teacher of much ability.  He had several sons, and one of them, Horace, who married Jannett Wright, is now a resident of the township.

     NICHOLAS BUDD and his wife, Catharine, came from Duchess county, New York, to Harlem township, Delaware county, and moved from there into Blendon, in 1829.  A son, Sylvanus, is in business in the town of Westerville, and John Budd is an extensive farmer.

     HORACE SPRING, a native of Massachusetts, but raised in New York State, came to Ohio in 1830, and located in Blendon, upon Alum creek.  He removed to Sharon township, where he lived three and a half years, and then returning to this township, took up and cleared the farm on which he, at present, resides, a lot four, section one.  He married, in Connecticut, Minerva Fish, by whom he had six children, five of whom are now living.  Frederick, Charles, Elizabeth, and Homer one in Blendon, and Ralph, in Marion, Ohio.

     GEORGE W., WILLIAM, and THOMAS SCHROCK came from Romney, Virginia, in1832, and settled upon the lands still occupied by them or their heirs.  They have been among the most useful citizens of the township.  George W., and his wife, Rachel V., are both dead; the former department this life in 1878, and the latter, in 1879.  They raised a large family of children, most of whom live in the township.  Their names are James, Sarah Jane (in Iowa), William, George W., Mary Ann, Meliessa C., Vause, Melinda C., Clara C., and Alfred T.  William Schrock, brother of George W., died in 1876; his widow who was a Gulick, lives in Mifflin township.

     EDWARD CONNELLY and his son, Jacob B. came from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1833.  Jacob B. now lives  in Columbus.  Elizabeth G. married Homer Phelps, and lives in Blendon.  Mary Ann (Westervelt), Harriet (Gravina), and Caroline (Westervelt) all live in Fairbury, Illinois.

     In the year 1834 or '35, Stephen Good, Edward Nutt, Welch Richey, John Judy, and John Hagar made their settlements.  A son of the latter, Luther P., lives in Westerville.

     EDWARD D. HOWARD, of Franklin county, Massachusetts, arrived in 1837.  He married, in Delaware county, Ohio, Nancy L., daughter of Satchel Clark.  Mr. Howard established the manufacture of brooms at the time he came into the township, and the business is continued by his son, Mitchell C., who resides on the old farm in section one, near the north line of the township.

     JOSEPH DICKEY, of Washington county, New York, came into the township in 1838, and died seven years later.  His wife, Lovina (Taggart), died in 1854.  Their settlement was moon Big Walnut.  They had five sons who are living: James H. is in Greene county, Ohio; Moses T., Joseph L., and Albert F., in Blendon, are among the representative men of the township.  Courtland M., the youngest, is in Greene county.

     JOHN BEAL came into the county in 1838, locating at Columbus, and came to Blendon in 1846.  H. T. Henderson came from Ross county in 1841, and located in Pleasant town, but removed to Blendon in 1866.  Edwin Gravina came into the township in 1838.  He was a native of England.  G. S. Duesenbury came in from Granville, Licking county, in 1849, and since that time, has been the business in Westerville.  Nathan S. Vincent was one of the later arrivals, but a man who was of great value to the township.  His death was carried by the accidental discharge of a gun, in the summer of  

LATE RESIDENCE OF G. W. SCHROCK, BLENDON TP., FRANKLIN CO., O.

Pg. 473 -
1879.  Mr. Vincent was  united in marriage to Lauretta Phelps.

     ABNER PARK came in, in 1842, from Warren county, New Jersey, and located upon the north line of the township, bringing a family of eight children.

FIRST EVENTS.

•      The first child born was Benjamin Moore, son of Simeon and Roxanna Moore.  He was born in the Phelps cabin, during the second year of the settlement - 1807.  The first marriage was that of Ethan Palmer and Lovilla Olmsted.  The first death was that of Eliza F. Palmerb, aged eighteen months, in 1817.  Ethan Palmer died Mar. 30, 1818.   The first cabin was built by Isaac Griswold.  Ethen Phelps built one a few days after.  Both were built a few days after the two families came into the wilderness, in 1806.  Phelps built the first frame barn, in 1811. The first wheat was sown in the summer of 1806, by the Phelps and Griswold families.  Edward Phelps planted the first orchard, in 1808, and some of the trees are still standing, immediately opposite the residence of Squire Homer M. Phelps.  The trees were brought, on horseback, from Granville.  The first brick house was built, by Col. George Osborne, about 1821.  The first frame house was built by Squire Lee or Omsted.  Edward Phelps and Simeon Moore both built the same year, 1821.  Edward Phelps and Abram Phelps cut the first tree for the purpose of improvement, on the bottom east of Blendon corners.  The first tavern in the township was opened about the year 1821.  It was a small frame house, located at Blendon corners, and its landlord was Francis C. Olmsted.  The first saw and grist-mill was erected by Squire Timothy Lee, near Central college, on the Big Walnut, about 1814.  The stream was then known as the Gahanna, or Big Belly, the latter being the name of an Indian well known in the country.  Soon after the Lee mill was put in operation Dr. Pickett established a saw-mill near the site of Westerville, and, about the same time, Squire Gideon Hart put up one on Big run.  The first burial place was the cemetery near J. W. Jamison's, on the Columbus pike.  The lot was donated by Robert Jamison.  The first road was what is now known as the Granville and Worthington road, the line of which was run through, in 1805, by Colonel Kilbourne, of Worthington.  The timber was cut later.  The mails were carred through on this road on horse-back, in early years, from Zanesville to Urbana.

THE FIRST SCHOOLS.

     Salina Griswold taught the first school in Blendon township.  She was a sister of Isaac Griswold's, and had, as her only pupils, her little nieces and nephews, and the children of Mr. Phelps' family.  A barn, built by Edward Phelps, in 1811, and still standing, just a few rods east of Squire Homer Phelps' residence, served as the school-house.  Other schools were held not long after the above, in shops or barns, which belonged to Francis Olmsted and Ethan Palmer.  The first school-house was, probably, the one erected in 1814, in the north-east corner of what is now known as the Jamison graveyard.  There was another school-house, built of logs, just south of Mr. Griswold's.  A singing school was conducted as early as 1818, by Squire Congar Wright.

CIVIL HISTORY OF THE TOWNSHIP.

     The records of the township have been preserved, and from them we take several important and interesting items of early civil history.  Blendon township was originally organized in 1815, by the name of Harrison, the old township known by that name, having been in the territory which, in 1810, was set  apart of Pickaway county.
     The first page of the old book of township records shows that, on Mar. 16, 1815, on the petition of Elisha Bidwell, John Matoon, John Cooper, and others, it was ordered that the second township in the seventeenth range of the United States military district, be erected into a township, to be called and known by the name of Harrison, and it was further ordered that the first election should be held at the house of Conger Wright, on the first Monday in April, 1815.  The election was held agreeably to the commissioner's order, and teh following officers elected: Robert McCutcheon, town clerk; Isaac Harrison, George Osborne, and Garrit Sharp, trustees; John Cooper, treasurer; Edward Phelps, lister and appraiser; John Yovel, appraiser; Oliver Clerk, and John D. Coe, constables; Reuben Carpenter, and Edward Phelps, overseers of the poor; Simeon Moore, and Samuel McDannald, fence viewers; John Yovel, Francis Olmsted, Christian Smothers, and Elisha Bidwell, supervisors; Conger Wright, and Isaac Griswold, justices of the peace.
     "The honorable trustees of Harrison township met on the 23d of December, 1815, and laid the following town tax, which is as follows, to-wit:  To each stud-horse, twenty-five cents; to each gelding and mare, twelve and a half cents; to each cow, and neat cattle, six and a fourth cents; for the purpose of paying all necessary expenses against the township, amounting to fourteen dollars and twelve and a half cents."

     The treasurer's report, made Apr. 1, 1816, showed that the amount of the tax imposed was fourteen dollars and twelve and a half cents.  The expenses amounted to seven dollars and ninety cents.
     The name of the township was changed to Blendon on the 8th of December, 1824, by order of the county commissioners.
     Previous to separate organization, Blendon township was attached for civil purposes to Sharon.  It includes just twenty-five square miles, and is in the same shape as originally laid out.
     The present township officers are the following: William Sharp, H. Ridenour, and A. Wright, trustees; L. R. Goodspeed, treasurer; H. T. Sible, clerk; R. R. Arnold, Ezekiel Dubois, justices of the peace; Geo. Watt, (president), L. Schott, J. N. Miller, S. Kahler, Chas. Holt, A. J. Gantz, D. C. Lane, and E. Matthile, board of education.

PRESBYTERIANISM.

     The old Presbyterian church of Blendon was made up of the two elements of this denomination, from the two tides of immigration which met and mingled into Franklin county - the New Englanders and the Virginians.  Those of the latter current of population who were members of the church, were mostly the descendants of

Pg. 474 -
the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians.  The earliest of the pioneers had no religious meetings, but in 1812 those of the denomination of which we here give the history, had preaching in their neighborhood.  The famous Rev. James Hoge came to Blendon occasionally in the year mentioned.  His first sermon and, no doubt, the first Presbyterian service held in the township, was atthe residence of Robert McCutcheon, a log cabin, standing about in the middle of what is now State street, in the village of Westerville.  Services were afterward held, every six weeks, at teh residence of John Cooper.  The first regular place for holding religious meetings was a log school-house standing in the northeast corner of what is now known as the Jamison grave-yard, built about 1814.  It was not long before this school-house was found in adequate for the accommodation of the congregations that assembled to hear Mr. Hoge preach, and in 1820 an addition was built.  The Rev. Mr. Ebenezer Washburn came into the vicinity in the winter of 1816-17.  He began missionary work in Blendon in 1818, and it was largely through his efforts, a sufficient number of people being converted and made anxious for that result, that a church was organized in the township.  The Presbyterian church of Blendon came into being in 1820, and was called Lebanon church, after Lebanon, Virginia.  The original members of the church who brought their letters from Worthington, were John Cooper and Mrs. Polly Cooper, Samuel McDannald and Mrs. Belle McDannald, Robert McCutcheon and Mrs. Mary McCutcheon, John Yovel and Mrs. Jennie Harrison, William Watt and Mrs. Bell.  Isaac Harrison joined, at the same time, by profession of faith.  Soon after, the following persons became members: Mrs. Rachel Curtiss, Katy Curtiss, Ralph Smith, William Hall, and Alexander Smith.  The number of members, at or after the time of organization, was fifteen.  The first elders were Isaac Harrison and John Yovel.  When there was no preaching, the people were accustomed to assemble and listen to the reading of a sermon.  The readers were usually Squire Timothy Lee, Deacon Harrison or Captain Peter Lawson.  A singing class was organized among the young people by Squire Cruger Wright, as early as 1818.  Ebenezer Washburn was the regular preacher.  About 1826 he removed from Genoa to Worthington, but continued to preach to the Blendon church.  The project of building a house of worship began to be discussed in the same year.  At first there was some disagreement between the members living on Alum creek and those on Big Walnut, as to the location, but the matter was compromised by fixing the location between the two streams, and in the geographical center of the township.  Squire Timothy Lee donated a piece of ground for the purpose, and a substantial and, for those times, a tasteful and commodious house was erected and dedicated in the autumn of 1829.  It stood near the center of the present grave-yard, and just across the road from the present old building.  A protracted meeting was held here the week after the opening of the house, in which Mr. Washburn was assisted by Rev. Ahab Jenks, a Congregational minister, who came to Ohio in 1822.  Many con

THE CENTRAL COLLEGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

was indirectly an offshoot of the original Presbyterian church of Blendon, though it came into organic being

Pg. 475 -
 

THE CENTRAL COLLEGE BAPTIST CHURCH

THE METHODIST CHURCH.

UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH.

Pg. 476 -

THE EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION.

THE GREAT CAMP MEETING, AND ITS LEADING EPISODE.

POST-OFFICES.

     There are three post-offices in the township, the first established being the one at Blendon corners, originally called Harrison, but changed to the present name when the name of the township was altered.  It was established in 1824.  Isaac Griswold was the first postmaster.  The present postmaster is Thomas Ballard.  The Westerville post-office was established in 1846, and Jacob B. Connelly was its first postmaster.  Mrs. M. Coggeshall is postmistress at present.  The Blendon Institute office was established in 1841, and its name was changed to

Pg. 477 -
Central College in the year following.  Austin Stibbins was the first postmaster.  A. Wright is the present post-master.

THE MANUFACTURING INTERESTS.

THE WESTERVILLE DISTRICT AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

WESTERVILLE.

ORGANIZATION OF THE VILLAGE.

Pg. 478 -

     The first regular meeting of the trustees (council) was held October 21st, and with other proceedings, William Hays was chosen marshal, and Daniel Guitner, treasurer, to serve until the regular election.
     John Haywood, the first mayor of the village, is still one of its residents.  He is a native of Chautauqua county, New York, a graduate of Oberlin, and has been a resident of Westerville since 1851, and nearly all that time has held the position he now occupies - a professorship in Otterbein university.
     The present officers of the corporation are the following:  T. J. Alexander, Mayor; John Knox, John Beal, J. H. Torrence, Abram Cooper, Isaac Thompson, John Haywood, council; L. R. Goodspeed, treasurer; John Knox, marshal.
     A substantial building, including a commodious hall, post-office, prison, mayor's office, and other apartments, for public or official use, was erected in 1875.  It is of brick, two stories in height, and cost about three thousand, five hundred dollars.

VILLAGE SCHOOLS.

SOCIETIES.

BLENDON LODGE, NO. 339, F. AND A. M.,

was organized Feb. 24, 1862, with the following charter members:  T. M. Copeland, T. J. Alexander, C. W. Smith, Daniel Shipe, C. B. Hempsted, F. A. Bull, A. G. Stevenson, P. Westervelt, A. Park, and M. R. Spurgeon.  The first officers were: G. M. Copeland, W. M.; F. A. Bull, S. W.; A. G. Stevenson, J. W.; P. Westervelt, treasurer; T. J. Alexander, secretary; D. Shipe, S. D.; M. R. Spurgeon, J. D.; A. Park, tyler.  The present officers are: W. Y. Bartels, W. M.; G. W. Clark, S. W.; L. D. West, J. W.; Jas. J. Knox, treasurer; H. F. Sibel, secretary; C. Duesenbury, S. D.; J. P. Horn, J. D.; E. Weibling, tyler.

INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS.

     Rainbow Lodge, No. 327, was organized Aug. 7, 1857.  The charter members were: C. A. Vananda, David Leib, A. G. Stevenson, J. W. Janison, and Theophillus Jones.  The first officers were as follows:  J. W. Jamison, N. G.; C. A. Vananda, V. G.; A. G. Stevenson, secretary; D. Leib, treasurer.  The present officers are C. Dyxon, N. G.; C. M. Sammis, V. G.; O. B. Phillips, recording secretary; T. J. Alexander, permanent secretary; L. R. Goodspeed, treasurer.

KNIGHTS OF HONOR.

     Westervelt Lodge, No. 1239, was instituted Nov. 1, 1878, with the following officers: H. T. Sebel, I.; E. Weibling, I. D.; S. Timmons, A. D.; J. B. King, P. D.; W. Y. Bartels, F. R.; H. A. Builtner, R.; W. O. Rowe, guide; C. Allen, treasurer.

OHIO NATIONAL GUARD.

THE PEOPLE'S MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION,

Pg. 479 -

BUSINESS IN WESTERVILLE IN 1879.

PHYSICIANS.

THE BLENDON YOUNG MEN'S SEMINARY

Pg. 480 -

THE OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY OF OHIO.*

LOCATION.

BUILDINGS.

ORIGIN AND CHANGES.

OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY.

CO-EDUCATION.

FINANCES.

REV. LEWIS DAVIS, D. D.

THE OFFICERS OF THE FACULTY.

COURSES OF STUDY.

LIBRARY.

LIBRARY SOCIETIES.

CENTRAL COLLEGE.

Pg. 482 -

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

NATHAN S. VINCENT.

MRS. LAURETTA C. (PHELPS) VINCENT,

GEORGE WASHINGTON SHROCK,

SAMUEL RIGAL,

PHOTO -----JOSEPH CLAPHAM.            MRS. JOSEPH CLAPHAM.
A. O. BLAIR?
N. S. VINCENT             LAURETTA C. VINCENT.

PHOTO ------- SAMUEL RIGAL            MRS. SAMUEL RIGAL

PHOTO ------- HORACE SPRING          MRS. HORACE SPRING.
(PHOTOS BY BAKER, COLUMBUS, O.)

Pg. 483 -

JOSEPH CLAPHAM, SR.

HORACE SPRING

ALONZO O. BLAIR, M. D.

< CLICK HERE to RETURN to TABLE of CONTENTS >