FROM the erection of Findlay Township as a subdivision of Wood County, in 1823, up to September 17, 1829, the territory now composing Liberty formed a part of that township; but on the latter date the following erection was made by the board of commissioners:  "At a special meeting of the commissioners of Hancock County, John Long and John P. Hamilton, present, Charles McKinnis, absent, a petition being presented to said board from sundry citizens of Findlay Township, praying for a division to take place in said township in the following manner, to-wit:  Making the section line between the first and second tiers of sections on the east side of Range 10 the division line, which was acco9rdingly agreed to by said board; and ordered that all that part of Findlay Township west of the aforesaid line shall be made a separate township, and shall be designated and known by the name of Old Town."  The township was so named in honor of a Wyandot village that once existed on the north bank of the Blanchard, in Section 7, traces of which were plainly visible during the early years of the county's history.  Old Township extended from the section line one mile west of the Bellefontaine road to the western boundaries of the county, and from Wood County on the north to Hardin County on the south, thus embracing nearly one-half of the county.  The act of erection gave offense to

[Photo of E. T. CUMMINS]

many of the inhabitants thus cut off form Findlay, and especially to Charles McKinnis, the absent member of the board, who, regarding the act as sharp practice, and without waiting to investigate the facts, looked up Hamilton, one of the commissioners who had passed the act, and vigorously assaulted him.  His brother, Philip McKinnis, hearing of the fight, also sought Hamilton and repeated the assault.  The latter, not being their equal in physical strength was a very badly whipped man.  He afterward sued the McKinnis brothers for damages, and recovered $75 from Charles and $30 from Philip, together with costs.  They were also indicted by the grand jury for assault and battery, pleaded guilty before the court and were each fined $1 and costs of prosecution.

     In April, 1830, Joshua Hedges and others brought suit against the board of commissioners to have the act of erection set aside because of error in the proceedings, but the case was continued until the next term; and the court ordered an election for a justice of the peace for Old Township Township, to be held at the house of Ebenezer Wilson on the last Saturday in June, 1830, which was accordingly done.  June 7, 1830, John P. Hamilton, Mordecai Hammond and Charles McKinnis then commissioners of Hancock County, made the following decision confirmatory of the original erection of Old Town:  "It is ordered by the commissioners of this session that a decision of the commissioners in the division of Findlay Township which took place in 1829, is confirmed and established."  This, however, proved of little avail, as the court of common pleas, at the succeeding November session, reversed and annulled the acts of the commissioners in the erection and organization of Old Town Township, and it thus ceased to exist as a subdivion of Hancock County.

     On the 6th of December, 1830, all of the territory lying between the present western boundary of Findlay Township and the Putnam County line, and extending from Wood to Hardin County, was erected as Liberty Township.  This was only one row of sections narrower than Old Town, and embraced the present townships of Pleasant, Portage, Blanchard, Liberty, Union, Orange, Van Buren and three-fourths of Eagle.  The following March the lands now composing Blanchard, Eagle, Van Buren and the west half of Madison were cut off; and on the 21st of June, 1831, the first election for justice of the peace was held in Liberty.  William Wade, George Chase and Moses Predmore were the judges, and Amos Bonham and Joshua Jones, clerks.  The voters were John Fishel, John Magee, John Travis, John J. Hendricks, John Fishel, Jr., William Wade, Meredith Parrish, Moses Predmore, George Chase, Nathan Frakes, Joshua Jones, James Caton, James McCormick, Amos Bonham, Addison Hampton, Zebulon Lee, John Mullen, William Wade, Alfred Hampton, Ebenezer Wilson, Charles Jones, Jacob Poe, James McKinnis, Robert McKinnis, Charles McKinnis and Philip McKinnis, total, 26.  Benjamin Cummins received every vote cast and was declared elected.  Of these twenty-six voters, Zebulon Lee, of Orange Township, and Alfred Hampton of Findlay, are the only survivors living in this county.

     In 1832 the territory embraced in Union and Orange Townships was taken off of Liberty, in 1833, Portage, and in 1834, Pleasant, leaving the boundaries of Liberty as they are to-day.  It contains twenty-four sections of land, all lying in Township 1 north, Range 10, or an area in 15,360 acres.  Liberty is bounded on the north by Portage Township, on the east by Findlay, on the south by Eagle, and on the west by Blanchard.  In 1480 it contained a population of 592; 150, 874; 1860, 1,050; 1870, 1,011 adn 1880, 1,101.

   The township is thoroughly drained by the Blanchard River and its several small tributaries, the bed of the river forming a valley into which the surface waters descend, from both the north and south.  The Blanchard enters the township on the southeast quarter of Section 10, and flowing westward, with many crooks and turns, leaves Liberty near the northwest corner of Section 18.  Comer's Run, named after Isaac Comer, one of the pioneers who settled upon its banks, rises in Eagle Township, flows northwestward, and discharges its waters into the Blanchard's on the southeast quarter of Section 17.  A branch of this run heads in the southwest corner of Section 31, and passing northeastward unites with Comer's in the southeast corner of Section 21.  Another small run drains the western central sections of the township, and, passing into Blanchard Township, strikes the river on Section 14, of that subdivision.  Four small runs flow into the Blanchard from the north; Watson's, originally called Gardner's, Wilson's, McKinnis' and Grassy.  Watson's or Gardner's Run, named after John Gardner and Richard Watson who successively occupied the same farm, heads in Portage Township, and waters the northeast corner of Liberty, emptying into the Blanchard on Section 10.  Wilson's Run also rises in Portage, and flows southward a short distance west of Watson's striking the river on Section 15.  This branch was named after Judge Ebenezer Wilson, a leading pioneer who settled and lived upon it till his death.  McKinnis' Run heads on Section 4, and strikes the Blanchard on Section 8.  Philip McKinnis took up his residence on this run in 1827; hence the name Grassy Run is about a mile still farther west, and was so named because of its grass-covered banks.  Though Comer's Run once furnished power for a saw-mill, none of these runs are now sufficiently large to be utilized in that manner, and are only important as sources of drainage and for the use of stock, several springs along the larger ones supplying water throughout the year.

     Excepting the river bottoms, the surface in the north part of this township may be termed rolling, though an occasional strip of level land is seen at intervals.  A narrow sand ridge crosses the township south of the Blanchard in a southwest direction, and except along Comer's Run, where it is somewhat broken, and a small branch still farther west, where the surface is rolling, the lands on each side of the ridge are generally level, and fall off to ward the north and south in a gentle slope.  A heavy forest once covered this whole region, but most of the valuable timber has long since disappeared before the merciless "clearing up" mania of past years.  There was a small clearing, covering about twelve acres, on the north bank of the Blanchard in Section 7, when the McKinnis family settled in the township which is believed to have been the site of an Indian village, and this was the only tract not covered by the original forest.  The soil in the lower valleys along the Blanchard is a sandy alluvial deposit, made by the overflows of the river, and is regarded as very valuable corn land.  Back from the river on the "second bottom" and level lands a sandy loam is found, which on reaching the highlands changes to a clay formation with a sand and gravel mixture, though north of the Blanchard a clay soil predominates.  The ridge south of the river is purely a sand formation.

     The writer learns from Nelson Poe and William H. Fountain, that when the first settlers came into Liberty Township they found a tract of cleared land, covering about twelve acres, on the north bank of the Blanchard in Section 7, some of which had apparently been under cultivation, and was called by the pioneers "Indian Green."  An Indian graveyard was located here, and also an orchard of plum trees, which supplied the neighbors with that fruit.  Several pioneers have stated it was the general impression among the first settlers that an Indian village once flourished at this point.  The Ottawas had two villages still farther down the river, in what is now Putnam County, and it is believed the Wyandots had a settlement at Indian Green, whence they removed, in 1818, to Big Spring Reservation.  It is a well attested fact that the Indians occasionally visited the old burying-ground, and guarded the remains of their ancestors buried here with jealous care.  Mr. Poe says his father told him that a pioneer named Ellison settled with his family on this tract at an early day, and after building a cabin began the work of opening the graves for the purpose of obtaining the valuables supposed to be buried with the Indian dead.  The Indians soon heard of this desecration, and at once visited Ellison, and so thoroughly frightened him by threats of retaliation that he deserted his cabin and "silently stole away."  The wagon road along the north bank of the river passes through this old Indian cemetery, no trace of which now remains.

     First Settlers - This township was one of the earliest settled portions of Hancock County.  Sixty-four years ago ROBERT McKINNIS, with his wife, Betsey and seven children, viz.: Charles, James, Philip, John, Sarah, Rachel and Eliza, settled on the Blanchard in Section 7.  Mr. McKinnis was a native of Butler County, Penn., whither his parents had emigrated from Ireland.  He grew to manhood and married in his native county, thence removed to Ross County, Ohio, coming to Hancock in the spring of 1822.  He built his cabin on the south bank of the Blanchard in Section 7, the farm now owned by Oliver P. Shaw.  Here he began to make for himself a home in the wilderness.  Charles, his only son then married, settling across the river on the same section.  At the first election held in Findlay Township (then embracing the whole county), July 1, 1823, when thirteen votes were cast, he was elected justice of the peace, Wilson Vance being the other justice chosen at that election.  On the 5th of April, 1824, he was elected overseer of the poor, this being the second election in what is now Hancock County.  In March, 1828, Mr. McKinnis was chosen by the General Assembly one of the  associate judges of Hancock County, and served in that capacity seven years.  Judge McKinnis possessed a fair education and good executive ability, and was well qualified for such official positions as he filled in this county.  On the 2d of September, 1824, his daughter Rachel was married, by Wilson Vance, justice of the peace, to Samuel Kepler who lived on the Maumee, this being the first marriage in the county.  His daughters Sarah and Eliza were afterward married to John Fishel and John Magee, respectively, and about 1851 removed with their husbands to Iowa.  Judge McKinnis was frank, genial and generous, possessing that friendly nature so characteristic of the Irish race.  His wife died in the township in 1845, and about 1851 he removed to Iowa, where he spent the remainder of his days, dying August 22, 1863, aged over eighty-six years.

     CHARLES McKINNIS .......

     PHILIP McKINNIS ......

     JAMES and JOHN McKINNIS were also single men when the family came from Ross County.  The former married Lucy Wickham, daughter of John C. Wickham, a pioneer of Findlay, and settled immediately east of his father, on the farm now owned by Solomon B. Swartz.  He resided here until his removal to Iowa about 1851.  John married Miss Sarah Hartley, of Findlay Township, and located on a part of his father's farm, but he, too went West locating first in Indiana, thence removing to Kansas.

     In December, 1822, JACOB POE and his wife, Nancy, and four children, Elizabeth, John, Robert and Nelson, came from Ross County, Ohio, and settled on the west part of the southwest quarter of Section 8, on the north bank of the Blanchard, which land he had entered the previous May.  Jacob  Poe was of German extraction, and a distant relative of those historic characters famed in frontier-story, Adam and Andrew Poe.  He married Nancy, eldest daughter of Robert McKinnis, in Ross County, Ohio, and followed his father-in-law to Hancock County.  Six children were born to him, after settling in this township, viz.: George L., Rachel, James, Margaret, Nancy and Jacob, and of the town , six survive.  George L., now a resident of Findlay, is believed to have been the first white children born in the township           MORE TO COME.............

     JOHN GARDNER, known to the pioneers as "Big John" Gardner, settled on the north bank of the Blanchard in Section 10, in 1823.  He was a cousin of John Gardner, Sr., of Findlay Township, and also his son-in-law, and came to the county about the same time.  In the fall of 1828 he sold out to Addison Hampton, and soon afterward went to Indiana or Michigan.  Joseph White came to the township the same year as Gardner, but in 1826 moved to Findlay.  In 1824 he was assessed for two head of cattle, probably a yoke of oxen.  He taught the first school in Findlay, in the winter of 1826-27, and left the county same time in the latter year.

     THOMAS and RACHEL WILSON  are believed to have settled on the east half of the southeast quarter of Section 9 in the spring of 1826, which he entered Sept. 5, 1825.  He was a native of Pennsylvania, but came here from Champaign County, Ohio, and died on his farm in 1828 (doubtless the first death in the township), leaving two children, Rebecca and Jane.  The former married John Reed, and the latter George L. Poe.  The widow became the wife of John Travis, who came to the township a single man, about 1827.  The family subsequently moved into Portage Township, where she died in 1852, and Mr. Travis in 1884.

     EBENEZER WILSON, a brother of Thomas, was born in Pennsylvania, in 1799, and married Sally Davis, in Champaign County, Ohio.  In January, 1826, with his wife and two children, he came to Findlay, and purchased and settled on the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 10, Liberty Township, entered by John Gardner in 1822.  In March, 1828, he was appointed one of the associate Judges of Hancock County, and in 1835 re-appointed for a second term, serving fourteen consecutive years in that capacity.  Judge Wilson reared a family of nine children, seven of whom are living and two - Joseph and Mrs. Rachel Cusac - are residents of the township.  The parents died upon the old farm, the Judge July 4, 1866, and his widow June 20, 1877.  Both were life long Presbyterians.  Judge Wilson was one of those solid, intelligent men who leave their stamp upon the surrounding community, and are kindly remembered when they pass from the busy scenes of life.

     JOHN GARDNER, JR., came to Findlay with his father in 1822.  The latter entered the land in Section 10 upon which William C. Watson now lives, May 9, 1822, and here John, Jr., subsequently settled.  In 1824 he was assessed for one horse and three head of cattle;  but it is not known whether he located on his land in this township prior to his marriage with Miss Susan Moreland, daughter of William Moreland, Sr. Nov. 1, 1827, the ceremony being performed by William Hackney justice of the peace.  Mr. Moreland lived for a time with Gardner on this farm, and it is by some believed that the latter resided here prior to his marriage, or had at least built a cabin and made a clearing thereon.  In 1829 Gardner went to Michigan, and two years afterward his land was sold by Joshua Hedges to Richard Watson.

     Other settlers of this period were Robert McCullough, John and Michael Fishel, William Wade, Joshua Jones, John Travis and Addison and Alfred Hampton.  McCullough was a native of Ireland, and a brother-in-law of Robert McKinnis.  In the spring of 1826 he came from Ross County, Ohio, and {"squatted" across the river from the latter.  He was a large, muscular man, of great vitality and endurance, and, like the McKinnis boys, was regarded as one of the "best men" in the county.  He never owned any land here, and in a few years removed to the Maumee, settling in what is now Defiance County.

     JOHN and MICHAEL FISHEL and two sisters settled on the east half of the southwest quarter of Section 9, in March, 1828, where they were joined by their father, John, and brother, Daniel, the following autumn.  The same year John, Jr., married Sarah, daughter of Judge McKinnis, and about 1851 removed to Iowa.  The father and Daniel both died in the township in 1849, the former being eighty-four years old at the time of his decease.  In 1832 Michael got married, and in 1833 settled in Section 34, Blanchard Township, where he resided till 1876, when he removed to McComb, of which village he is still a resident.

     WILLIAM WADE and JOSHUA JONES, his son-in-law, settled on Section 9, in 1827, and after living here eight or ten years, sold out and removed into Union Township, where Wenman Wade resided, and afterward went to Indiana.

     JOHN TRAVIS was a single man, and subsequently married Rachel, the widow of Thomas Wilson, for whom he had worked prior to his marriage.  Her farm was the east half of the southeast quarter of Section 9, whence the family removed into Portage Township, where he died in 1884.

     About this time JEREMIAH PRESSOR, a free negro from Hardy County, Va., settled on the Blanchard.  Jerry was a shiftless, good-nature old fellow, who did odd jobs of clearing for his white neighbors, but never owned any land.  He finally removed with his family into Portage Township, where he passed the latter years of his simple, uneventful life.

     ADDISON and ALFRED HAMPTON were born in Virginia, whence they removed to Ross County, Ohio, where they respectively married Mary and Eleanor McCahan (sisters), also natives of the "old Dominion."  In the fall of 1828 Addison and family came to this township, and located north of the river on Section 10.  Alfred came out somewhat later, finally settling on Section 4.  After a residence here of about five years, Addison removed to Fayette County, thence to Wood County, where some of his children yet reside.  Alfred remained in Liberty until his removal to Findlay many years ago, where he and his wife are now spending the remaining years of their lives.  They were married April 18, 1825, and in 1885 reached the sixtieth anniversary of that event.  Mr. and Mrs. Hampton are doubtless the oldest pioneer couple in Hancock County.

     JOHNSON BONHAM was a native of Virginia, born Aug. 30, 1796.  In August, 1828, he entered 160 acres north of the river on Section 10, and the following year began improving his land.  He voted at the October election of 1829, and was doubtless living in the county a short time prior to that event.  He came here with Robert L. Strother from Licking County, Ohio, into which he had removed from Muskingum County, and in 1834 was elected a justice of Liberty Township, and again in 1843.  Mr. Bonham died upon the old homestead, Nov. 15, 1845.  Five of his children are residents of the county - two sons and two daughters in Findlay Township, and one son in Portage.

     The year 1830 brought into the township a large number of settlers.  Nathan Frakes, John J. Hendricks, Amos Bonham, Zebulon B., Jonathan, Solomon, James and Stephen Lee, John Magee, Meredith Parrish, John Hubbs, Moses Predmore and James Caton, all came that year, but some of them had previously in other parts of the county.

     NATHAN FRAKES settled in Allen Township in 1827 and in 1830 removed to Section 10, Liberty Township, now the site of the County Infirmary.  His wife, Susannah, bore him a large family, some of whom are well remembered.  In early life Frakes was a hard drinker and also a "bruiser," while his wife was a very ardent Methodist, and known as "an intelligent, earnest, praying woman."  Nathan finally joined a temperance society and subsequently the church, and became a very worthy citizen.  He died on his farm in this township early in 1835, and his widow married James Harkness.  She and al the children went to Michigan many years ago.  An account of Frakes' first settlement, near Van Buren, will be found in the sketch of Allen Township.

     JOHN J. HENDRICKS first settled in Amanda Township in 1826, and four years afterward removed to the east half of the southeast quarter of Section 8, this township, building his cabin on the north bank of the Blanchard.  He entered this tract February 5, 1830.  His wife, Eleanor F., was a native of Ireland, and a sister of Joseph C. Shannon, once auditor of the county.  She was a very intelligent, well-read woman, thoroughly posted in the current topics of the day.  Mr. Hendricks and family, after several years' residence here, sold out and went to Indiana.

     AMOS BONHAM, a brother of Johnson, came from Muskingum County, Ohio, in 1830, and was one of the pioneer school teachers of the county.  He was a bachelor and never had any permanent residence, but spent most of his time in Liberty and Findlay Townships, at the home of his brothers, Johnson and Robert.  He possessed a very fair education and was usually called upon to act as election clerk, as good penmen were then very scarce.  He finally returned to his early home and there died.

     ZEBULON B., JONATHAN, SOLOMON, JAMES and STEPHEN LEE, came with their widowed mother, Sarah, from Franklin County, Ohio, in the spring of 1830, and settled in Sections 15 and 22, on the ridge road south of the Blanchard.  The father, Jonathan, was a native of Wales, and the mother of Germany, and they were married in Pennsylvania, where some of the children were born.  The family removed to Franklin County, Ohio, where the father died, and whence the widow and sons came to Hancock.  The mother died at Benton, and Zebulon is the only one of the sons now residing in the county, the others having moved away many years ago.  After living in Liberty Township several years, Zebulon removed into Union and thence to Orange, where he is now living at the ripe old age of ninety years.

     JOHN McGEE, a step-son of Meredith Parrish, married Eliza, daughter of Judge McKinnis, and settled on the east half of the northwest quarter of Section 9, which he entered June 1, 1829, and where they resided until their removal to Iowa about 1851.  Meredith and Sarah Parrish located on the west half of the northeast quarter of the same section, entered August 21, 1829, and in 1834 sold out to John Fletcher and went to Putnam County.  John Hubbs settled on the east half of the southeast quarter of Section 5, entered Nov. 3, 1830, which land he sold to Daniel Cusac in 1839, and then moved to Indiana.  Moses Predmore settled on Section 9, and James Caton on Section 8.  Both sold their farms and went to Iowa.  All of the foregoing came about 1830.

     GEORGE CHASE came to the township in 1830, and cleared five acres on the west half of the northwest quarter of Section 10, entered by him June 13, 1825, which he planted with corn.  He returned to Madison County, Ohio, whither he and his wife, Elizabeth, had emigrated from New York State in 1817, and in the spring of 1831 brought out his family and settled permanently on his land.  The mother died in 1832, leaving a family of five children, all of whom grew to maturity, but only three of the number are now living.  The father died in 1869, and Justus now occupies the old farm on which he has lived since March, 1831; Mrs. Miles Wilson of Portage Township, is the only member of the family, excepting Justus, living in this county.

     WILLIAM and SARAH COEN settled on Section 15, now known as the Sherrick farm, in 1830 or early the following year.  Coen was one of the first active Presbyterians in the county, and assisted in organizing the first Presbyterian society in Findlay, and also the one subsequently organized in this township.  His wife died here, and he was again married.  The family left the county many years ago and none of his children are now residents thereof

     BENJAMIN and MARY CUMMINS, natives of Kentucky, settled on the southwest quarter of Section 9, in1830.  In 1831 he was elected justice of the peace (being the first justice in the township, and re-elected in 1834.  He soon afterward moved into Pleasant Township, where further mention of him will be found.

     JAMES McCORMICK came about the same time as Cummins, entering the north half of the northwest quarter of Section 9, Nov. 24, 1830.  He left the county at quite an early day.

     JOB CHAMBERLIN, SR., settled in Findlay Township in February, 1822, where his wife, Deborah, died Jan. 8, 1829.  In 1830 he married Miss Sarah Criner and the following year removed to this township, settling on the northeast quarter of Section 7.  He resided here till his death; he died Sept. 4, 1847, in the seventy-fifth year of his age.  His widow survived him until Dec. 28, 1865.  Mr. Chamberlin was one of the very earliest settlers of the county, and is more fully spoken of in the sketch of Findlay Township.

     HENRY POWELL and BENJAMIN MULLEN, and families, came into the township in 1831.  Both were natives of Pennsylvania, whence they removed to Ohio, the former coming here from Fairfield, and the latter from Franklin County, Ohio.  Mr. Powell settled on Section 27, where his daughter, Mrs. Ann Preble, now lives, in the southeast part of the township, which he entered Nov. 21, 1829.  He was thrice married, and died upon the old homestead.  The Mullens settled on Section 22, on the ridge road south of the Blanchard, and after a residence here of many years the parents removed to Benton, and died there.  John, one of the sons, who came to the township in 1830, also died at Benton, while Thomas is now a resident of Findlay.  Two of the daughters were married to Cebulon Lee and one to Jonathan Lee.

[Portrait of Mr. B. Miller]

     RICHARD WATSON, a native of Maryland, with his wife and six children, came from Fairfield County, Ohio, in the summer of 1831, and rented the farm on Section 10, north of the Blanchard, previously improved by John Gardner, Jr., and William Moreland, Sr.  He voted at the following October election, and in November, 1831, Mr. Watson purchased the Gardner farm of Joshua Hedges, agent for Mr. Gardner.  Three children were born after settlement, and of the nine, four are yet living, residents of Hancock County.  Mr. Watson died in 1848, and his widow in 1870.  Both are buried on the old homestead, where they spent the declining years of their lives.  William and George Watson, brothers of Richard, came after the latter.  Both married here, and spent the balance of their lives in the township.  George was drowned in the Blanchard, and William died upon his farm on Section 15.  Four of William's children are residents of the county.

     ABRAHAM and REBECCA BEALS, former a native of Maryland and latter of Pennsylvania, came from Stark County, Ohio, and settled on the east half of the southeast quarter of Section 3, which Mr. Beals entered Apr. 17, 1832.  They reared a family of thirteen children, eight of whom are yet living.  Mr. Beals, who was a bricklayer, died in Portage Township, whither they had removed from Liberty, in 1855.  His widow also died there.  Many of their descendants live in the county.

     WILLIAM FOUNTAIN was a native of Caroline County, Md., of French ancestry, born Jan. 6, 1784.   In 1809 he married Sarah Barton, also a native of Maryland, who bore him five children, only two of whom survive.  Mrs. Fountain died in 1821, had he took for his second wife Mrs. Rebecca Smith.  In 1824 he removed to Franklin County, Ohio, and in October, 1832, came to Hancock, settling on the east half of the southwest quarter of Section 3, Liberty Township, which he entered Oct. 23, 1830.  Here his wife died in 1862, leaving a family of two sons and three daughters all of whom are yet living.  r. Fountain died upon his farm June 14, 1878, in his ninety-fifth year.  This venerable patriarch was familiarly known as "old man Fountain" from the fact that he was the oldest person in the township for a long period prior to his decease.  He was of a quiet, retiring disposition, and mixed very little in public affairs, devoting his attention almost wholly to his home and family.

     JOHN BOYLAN

     PETER TREECE and ISAAC COMER

     JOHN JONES and ALLAN McCAHAN

     In 1834 JOHN PRICE, SAMUEL POWELL, JAMES COOPER and BARNA BEARDSLEY settled in the township. Mr. Price was a native of Pennsylvania but came here from Wayne County, Ohio, and located on the northwest quarter of Section 3, where both he and his wife, Sarah, died.  He was a shoe maker by trade, and a straightforward, honest man, who despised trickery or meanness.  His son, Eli owns the old homestead, but lives across the line in Portage Township.  Samuel and Sarah Powell moved here from Fairfield County, Ohio, and both died upon the homestead, the latter in 1852 and the former in 1868.  They had a family of eight sons and four daughters, of whom eight survive.  Andrew lives on the old home place in Section 27, entered by Mr. Powell in 1829, and George W. and Solomon across the line in Findlay township.  James Cooper, familiarly called "Little Jim," accompanied his brother John, from Perry County, Ohio, and settled on the northeast quarter of Section 5.  He died on this farm, and his widow still resides upon it.

     BARNA BEARDSLEY, a carpenter by trade, came from Licking County, Ohio, and with his wife, Mary, and seven children located north of the Blanchard on Section 10, where three children were born.  He afterward moved into Findlay Township and bought a small farm.  Here his wife died in 1847.  He afterward married Mrs. Malinda V. Shannon, and died in 1881 in Putnam County.  Elmus W. Beardsley, of Portage Township, and Daniel b. Beardsley, Esq., a lawyer of Findlay, are tow of their seven surviving children, and the only members of the family in Hancock County.

     Among other early settlers were THOMAS COOK, REV. GEORGE VAN EMAN, ROBERT SHERRARD, JOSEPH MORREL, JOHN POVENMIRE, JOHN SMELTZER, SAMUEL SAGER, LEVI TAYLOR, ROBERT BARNHILL, JOHN BERGMAN, HENRY FRY and DANIEL CUSAC, all of whom came from 1834 5to 1839.  But the  township was by this time pretty thickly settled, and the days of loneliness and isolation had passed away.  These men, it is true, with many others who came with them, underwent some of the privations and hardships of pioneer life, but the hardest struggle was over ere their coming.  Roads had been opened, mills and schools erected, and other concomitants of civilization had previously made their appearance in this portion of the county.

     Justices. - The following citizens have filled this office since the organization of the township in 1831: Benjamin Cummins, Johnson Bonham, Levi Taylor, James H. Barr, Van Burton, Joshua Smith, William S. Burkhead, Aaron Hall, John Radebaugh, Thomas H. Taylor, Alexander Philips, John Hall, William H. Fountain, J. E. Dresbach, Joseph Wilson, John Reed, Henry Rudisill, R. W. Boyd, D. P. Haggerty and William Taylor.

     Mills - In 1832 John Byal erected a saw-mill on his farm in Section 11, Findlay Township, but in 1833 moved it across the line into Liberty.  In 1834 he built a frame grist-mill close to the saw-mill, both standing on the south bank of the Blanchard and operated by water-power.  This was one of the first frame mills erected in Hancock County, and is yet standing and in operation.  A large wooden water wheel furnished the motive power during the earlier years of its history, and though the machinery was of the rudest sort in comparison with the mills of to-day, it nevertheless proved a great blessing to the struggling settlers for many miles around.  Steam-power was put in a few years ago, and considerable grinding is still done in this old mill.
     The next mill was built in 1844 by Miller Johnson, on Section 17, south of the river.  It was first a saw-mill alone, but about ten years afterward a grist-mill was erected adjoining by Amos Hartman.  These mills were finally burned down, and rebuilt by the Croningers, but were again destroyed by fire in June, 1881, and nothing but the blackened ruins now remain where they once stood.  John Povenmire built a saw-mill in Section 21, on Comer's Run, which was operated several years, and no doubt other saw-mills have existed from time to time.

     Early Schools - It was not till 1832 that a schoolhouse made its appearance in this part of the county.  A small log building was then put up on the southwest quarter of Section 9, and the first school was taught by Richard Wade.  The McKinnises, Poes, Wilsons, Wades, Hamptons, Hendrickses, Fishels, Chases and Coens were the principal scholars when it first opened, though some other families may have sent children.  Benjamin Cummins taught here quite early.  Another schoolhouse was built and opened in the winter of 1833-34, near the east line of Section 10, north of the Blanchard.  John Boylan was the first teacher, and the Chases, Bonhams, Watsons, Hamptons, Fountains, Hedgeses, Byals, Johnsons and Frakeses attended.  A schoolhouse stood here for several years, the old round-log giving place to hewed-log structure with plastered ceilings, which was regarded by the pioneer scholars as a very fine building - the most imposing some of them had ever seen.  Other schools gradually made their appearance in different parts of the township, until all were supplied with some educational advantages.  Liberty now contains seven school districts, and two parts of districts.

     Religious Societies - A class of the Methodist Episcopal denomination was organized at the house of Johnson Bonham as early as 1831.  Among the earliest members were Johnson Bonham and wife, Amos Bonham, Mrs. Meredith Parrish, Mrs. Addison Hampton, Nathan Frakes and wife, Mrs. William Fountain, and Barna Beardsley and wife.  The class was organized by Revs. Thomas Thompson and Elnathan C. Gavit.  In 1851 this society built a frame church across the line in Findlay Township, which is still used by the Methodists of the neighborhood.

     Rev. Peter Monfort, a Presbyterian preacher, organized a society of his faith in 1832, at the house of Ebenezer Wilson.  Judge Wilson and wife, Jacob Poe and wife, William Coen and wife and two daughters, and Mrs. Robert McKinnis were among the little band who met at that time.  This society was a branch of the Findlay Church, and first held services in private houses and occasionally at the old log schoolhouse on Section 9.  In the summer of 1841 Rev. George Van Eman reorganized the church distinct from that at Findlay, and was the first regular minister thereof.  In 1854 the society erected a frame building on the northwest quarter of Section 8, where worship has ever since been held.  Other denominations organized societies at a later day.  The United Brethren Church have two buildings in the township, one on Section 22 and another on Section 27, the latter being the Powell Memorial Church, erected in 1883.  The Evangelicals have a church on Section 15, while the Christian Union stands on Section 30.  All have regular services and fair-sized congregations.

     Alba Postoffice - Liberty has never had a village laid out within its present boundaries, and its nearest approach to such a convenience was the establishment of Alba postoffice at the house of Samuel Renninger, on Section 8, in 1857.  In March, 1863, Mr. Renninger removed to Findlay, and appointed J. M. Moorhead to take charge of the office; but the latter went into the army in the spring of 1864, and the office was soon afterward abolished.

     Cemeteries - North of the Blanchard, on Section 7, is perhaps the oldest public cemetery in the township.  Here, on the sloping hill overlooking the river, are buried many of the pioneers.  Robert McKinnis and wife, Charles Mckinnis and Wife, Jacob Poe and wife, John Fishel, Sr., Job Chamberlin, Sr., and others of the very first settlers found their last resting place on this grass-covered hill.  Another old graveyard is located on the ridge road in Section 21, where Isaac Comer, Peter Treece, Abraham Schoonover, John Provenmire and many other pioneers of Liberty Township and vicinity sleep their last sleep.

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