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Its Historic Name -
Erection, Area, Location and Population by
Decades - Streams and Runs - Destruction of
the Timber - Soil and Topography - Tile
Factory and what it has Accomplished -
Pioneers - First Deaths and Marriage -
Samuel Edwards, the Noted Hunter and
Subsequent Author - Justices - Churches -
Education - Villages - Oak Ridge Postoffice
- Cemeteries.
THIS subdivision
was named Blanchard at the suggestion of
Richard Dukes, one of its pioneers, in
honor of the stream which crosses it form
east to west. Col. John Johnston,
for about half a century an Indian agent,
says, in Howe's "Historical Collections,"
the Shawnees called this stream
Sha-po-qua-te-sepe, or "Tailor's River,"
while by the Wyandots it was called
Quegh-tu-wa,or "Claws in the water."
According to Col. Johnston, a
Frenchman, named Blanchard, a tailor
by trade, married a Shawnee squaw and lived
upon the river, before the occupation of the
country by the whites, and the real meaning
of hits Shawnee name is "one who sewed
garments." When the whites took possession
of Ohio the surveyors named the steam
Blanchard's Fork of the Auglaize, in
memory of this Frenchman, and so it has
since remained. Thus Blanchard
Township has an historic name, one that goes
back into the fading traditions of the past.
It was erected
Mar. 7, 1831, from territory previously
included in Liberty Township, and has always
embraced the full Congressional Township 1
north, Range 9, or 23,040 acres. Mar.
4, 1834, Township 2 north, Range 9, was
attached to Blanchard for judicial purposes,
but Mar. 2, 1835, it was erected into a new
township named Pleasant, leaving Blanchard
as originally formed. It lies in the
western range of townships, with Pleasant
Township on the north, Liberty on the east,
Union on the south and Putnam County on the
west. In 1840 Blanchard had a
population of 629; 1850, 1,051; 1860, 1161;
1870, 1,304, and 1880, 1,286.
This is one of
the best watered portions of Hancock County.
The Blanchard River enters the township in
the northeast corner of Section 13, and
winding in a southwest course across the
township strikes the Putnam County line near
the northwest corner of the southwest
quarter of Section 19. It is here a
very crooked stream, and in its marked
sinuosity much resembles a huge snake.
Though often becoming very low during dry
weather, it sometimes leaps its banks and
spreads over the adjacent lands. There
is always sufficient water in its bed, even
in the driest season, for stock purpose.
Several small runs drain the north part of
Blanchard into the river, while the main
branch of Pickens Run heads on Section 3,
whence it takes a northwest course into
Pleasant. From the south the Blanchard
is fed by two or three tributaries, Ottawa
Creek being the most important. The
head-waters of this stream are located in
Van Buren Township, and consist of two main
forks, which unite on Section 36, Union
Township; thence passing in a general
northerly direction through Union and the
southeastern portion of this township
discharges its waters into the Blanchard in
the southwest corner of Section 14.
These streams and runs have been of great
utility tot he inhabitants of Blanchard,
furnishing good drainage facilities and an
abundant water supply. In early days
fish were very plentiful in the Blanchard
and Ottawa Creek.
When the
first settlers built their cabins along the
Blanchard a heavy forest covered by land.
But ........... MORE TO COME
Pioneers.
- The first settlers of Blanchard
came principally from the older counties of
Ohio, though most of the heads of families
were natives of other States or countries.
In the spring of 1823 John Hunter and
Benjamin Chandler came from Fairfield
County, Ohio, and built their cabins in the
southwest quarter of Section 15.
Hunter's stood on the south bank of the
Blanchard, and Chandler's immediately
north of the former and on the same side of
the river. They were brothers-in-law,
and about 60 acres of land were here entered
by Hunter in September, 1825.
At the first election held in Findlay
Township, July 1, 1823, Chandler was
one of the judges of election; and at the
second election, Apr. 5, 1824, Hunter
was elected one of the two fence viewers of
Findlay Township. On the first tax
levy, taken by Wilson Vance in 1824,
Hunter is assessed with one horse and
eight head of cattle. In April, 1831,
they sold out to George Shaw and
Selden Blodget, and removed to Michigan.
They were the first settlers to locate in
this township, but left the county at such
an early day that few remember them only by
tradition, though their names are frequently
met with in early records.
GEORGE SHAW
LEWIS DUKES, SR.
RICHARD AND JOHN
DUKES
THOMAS AND
ADALINE GROVES
JEREMIAH COLCLO
GEORGE EPLEY and
JOSEPH BOWEN
SELDEN BLODGET
The year 1830
brought into the township Thomas Moffitt,
Mordecai Enoch and Eli Haddox, Henry
Epley and William Downing, all of
whom settled permanently at that time.
Thomas Moffitt and family came from
Ross County, Ohio, in the spring of the
year, and located in Section 17, north of
the Blanchard. In 1831 he was elected
justice of the peace, being the first
citizen of Blanchard Township who filled
that office. He was again elected in
1841 and re-elected in 1844. After
residing here till about 1850 he sold out to
his brothers, William and John, and
went to Iowa. The Haddox brothers
were natives of Virginia, and first settled
in Franklin County, Ohio, whence they
removed to Section 17, this township.
Their mother, Hannah, came with them
and died in 1835. Mordecai and
Margaret Haddox reared a family of five
children. Mrs. Haddox was a
native of Germany, and died in 1855, Mr.
Haddox surviving her till 1879.
John, their eldest son, resides in
Section 18, on a part of the old farm.
Enoch and his wife, Anna M.,
also died here, the latter in 1856 and the
former in 1863. Eli was a
single man, and after his marriage moved
into Putnam County. Henry Epley
was from Ross County, Ohio, and in 1827
entered the east half of the southeast
quarter of Section 18, upon which his
brother, George, settled in 1829, and
he in 1830. Henry resided on
the Blanchard till his death in 1846, his
widow, Elizabeth, surviving him
thirty years and dying in 1876.
William Downing was born in
Maryland in 1797, his parents removing to
Pike County, Ohio, where he grew to manhood.
Here there enlisted and served in the war of
1812, being then but a boy of sixteen.
In 1830, with his wife, Elizabeth, he
came to this township, and built his cabin
in the southwest quarter of Section12, where
his wife died in 1851. He was again
married, and in 1863 was laid beside his
first wife in the Dukes Cemetery. The
old homestead is still occupied by his
widow.
SELDEN BLODGET
SOLOMON
FOGLESONG
JOHN DOWNING
DAVID HILLHAM
JOHN C. WICKHAM
PHILIP POWELL
[ PORTRAIT OF SAMUEL KEEL
]
MICHAEL FISHEL, JOHN KNEPPER and OWEN HUGHES
In
1834, MRS. LYDIA DAVIS nee DUKES (sister of
Lewis Dukes, Sr.).....
SAMUEL EDWARDS
Two
others settlers of 1834 were Seymour
Hastings and John Mathews.
The former located in Section 14, south of
the Blanchard; in June, 1836, he sold his
farm to William Smeltzer, and moved
to Section 19, where he resided till death.
Mathews came from Pike County, Ohio,
and settled north of the river. It is
said that he never owned any land here, and
died in the township.
In
the fall of 1835 Charles, William and
John Moffitt, Joel Pendleton, John
Spreaker and Thomas Downing came
into the township. The Moffitt
brothers with their mother, Sarah,
located south of the Blanchard on a part of
their brother Thomas' land, who had
preceded them several years.
Charles married a sister of Alfred
Davis and died in Union Township.
William and John also married
here, bought out Thomas and became
quite wealthy. The former died June
30, 1884, but John is still one of
the active farmers of Blanchard. Three
of William's sons reside in the
township. Joel Pendleton
settled in Section 23, but after living here
nearly four years sold out and moved into
Findlay Township, where he is yet living.
Mr. Pendleton was surveyor of Hancock
County for nearly thirty-five years, and is
a very intelligent man. John
Spreaker was a Pennsylvanian, who bought
the farm of Nimrod Smith in Section
14, south of the river. After living
here about twenty years he went to Illinois.
Thomas Downing was a brother of
William who came in 1830. He, too,
removed to Illinois.
A
large number of settlers came to the
township in 1835-36 among whom were
Alpheus Edwards, Joseph Horner, David
Braucht, David M. Baldwin, William Smeltzer,
Phineas Mapes, Stephen Smith and James
McClish. Mr. Edwards was born in
Connecticut in 1808, immigrated to Fairfield
County, Ohio, in 1819, there married Leah
Shriner, and in March, 1835, with his
wife and four children, settled on the east
half of the northwest quarter of Section32,
where he has ever since resided. He
reared nine children, eight of whom are
living. His wife died in 1879, and
perhaps before this meets the reader's eye
he, too, shall have passed away, as he is
now quite old and feeble. Joseph
Horner and family came the same time as
Mr. Edwards and settled in Section
31, where he lived until his removal to
Indiana a few years ago. David
Braucht and family were from Stark
County, Ohio. He entered a large tract
of land south of the Blanchard, May 17,
1834, and, doubtless, settled in Section 13,
the following year. Both he and his
wife died on the old homestead, and Mrs.
L. C. Groves is the only one of their
children now living in the county.
David M. Baldwin, of Fairfield County,
Ohio, purchased the farm of John and
William Mires, in Section 35, June 13,
1836, and, with his wife, Sarah, and
family, at once took possession.
Mr. Baldwin afterward opened a tavern,
which he carried on for many years. He
died on his farm near Benton, Feb. 20, 1875,
and his widow still occupies the old home,
while five sons and three daughters reside
in the neighborhood. William
Smeltzer was a Pennsylvanian, who had
lived in the county previous to his
purchase, in June, 1836, of Seymour
Hastings' farm, in Section 14, where he
resided until his death. Phineas
Mapes located in Section 19, and here
both he and his wife died. Stephen
Smith settled in the southeast quarter
of section 28, whence he moved into Union
Township, and there spent the balance of his
life.
JAMES McCLISH, a native of Maryland,
married Patience Bishop, of New
Jersey. She bore him eleven children,
ten of whom grew to maturity. HE
settled on the farm now owned by his son
N. B. where he died a few days after
reaching his destination. While the
headstone over his grave says he died Oct.
6, 1835, the family now claim that his death
occurred in 1836, and that the date on the
stone is incorrect. Seven children
came with the parents to this township, but
N. B. is the only one now living
here, the mother having died Jan. 21, 1867,
in her eighty-first year.
Of
the other settlers, Peter Foltz and
Jacob Engle are kindly remembered.
Mr. Foltz and his wife, Elizabeth,
came from Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1836,
and settled on Ottawa Creek in Section 25,
where both died. Mrs. Foltz
died Aug. 9, 1850, and he was again married,
and reared a large family by his second
wife. On the 11th of March, 1874, he,
too, passed away and was laid beside his
first wife in a little private cemetery
southeast of Benton, on the west bank of
Ottawa Creek. Several of his children
are resident of the county. Jacob
Engle was a German, who came here from
Somerset County, Penn., about 1837, and
settled near the site of Benton, where he
died in 1859, his family afterward removing
to Iowa. Others might be mentioned who
came into Blanchard Township about this
period, among whom were John M. Radebaugh,
Charles Frost and Samuel Rudesill;
but the names of the real pioneers have been
given, the only object in view.
Justices -
Churches.
-
Education.
-
Villages.
-
Benton was laid out Nov. 5, 1835, on the east
half of the northwest quarter of Section35,
by William Mires, and named in honor
of Hon. Thomas Benton, the great
Democratic statesman of Missouri. It
originally contained thirty-six lots, but
several additions have since been laid out.
Benton lies about nine miles southwest of
Findlay, on the same ridge which here
crosses the county, and has always been a
small country town with a limited local
business. In 1840 a postoffice, named
Benton Ridge, was established here, with
David M. Baldwin as postmaster.
His successors have been William Miller,
Philip Ballard, Isaac Sperow, Michael
Merchant, David M. Baldwin, T. J. Saunders,
J. G. Saunders, J. H. Saunders, J. G.
Saunders, H. W. Hughes, John C. Wickham, T.
J. Saunders and R. N. Cherry.
In March, 1875, the village was
incorporated for special purposes, and has
since had two mayors: R. S. Palmer
and Amos Wittemeyer. Its
present business interests consist of one
dry goods and grocery store, a dry goods,
grocery and hardware store, a grocery store,
a druggist, a steam gristmill, a steam
saw-mill, two general blacksmith shops, one
of which manufactures plows, a cabinet-maker
and undertaker, a shoe shop, a saloon, a
good hotel and one physician. Benton
Lodge, No. 418, F. & A. M., was instituted
Oct. 21, 1868, with twenty-one charter
members. This lodge has recently been
removed to Rawson. The Methodist
Episcopals and Evangelical Association have
each a church in the village, and there is
also a schoolhouse located here. In
1880 the town had a population of 179, and
now claims over 200, which indicates a
slight growth.
Lewisville was laid out by William H. Powell,
David Millham and Michael Shearer,
in April, 1851, on the north part of the
northeast quarter of Section 14, and the
southeast quarter of Section 11. A
general country store was opened, a
schoolhouse built, and three or four
residences erected, but that is as far as
its growth ever reached. The store was
carried on by John Boylan for a few
years, and then abandoned, and the village
site was gradually returned to the uses of
agriculture.
Oak Ridge
Postoffice was established in 1848
at the house of William Downing, with
Mr. Downing as postmaster. The
office has always been in the same
neighborhood, and Mr. Downing's
successors have been as follows:
Robert Marshall, Daniel Morris, Mrs. William
Downing, Rezin Cook, David Downing, Eli
Dukes, L. C. Groves and Thomas
McKinnis. Oak Ridge, though of
little importance, has nevertheless been a
great accommodation to the people in this
section of the county, and is therefore
regarded with much favor.
Cemeteries
- The Dukes Cemetery north of the
Blanchard is the oldest in the township, as
two of George Shaw's children were
interred there in 1828 and 1829, and also the
wife of John Dukes in the latter
year. George Shaw, Richard Dukes,
Mordecai and Enoch Haddox, Henry
Epley, William Downing, William Moffitt
and James McClish, with their wives,
also Mrs. Lydia Davis and many other
pioneers are buried in this graveyard. It
is located on a sand hill in Sections 15
and 16, lying partly in both, is decorated
with evergreens, and contains quite a number
of nice monuments. The Benton Ridge
Cemetery is also a neat little ground, and
was opened at an early day. It lies
immediately west of that village on the Sand
Ridge, and is naturally well adapted for a
cemetery. Here Thomas Groves, Jacob
Powell, Owen Hughes, David M. Baldwin, Jacob
Engle and others of the pioneer fathers
were laid to rest. The Braucht
Cemetery, in Section 13, is quite an early
public burial place, not at present much
used.
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