Source:
History of Seneca County, Ohio
Published: Chicago - Warner, Beers & Co.
1886
CHAPTER XX.
JACKSON TOWNSHIP
Pg. 560
Survey - First Purchases - Population - Railroads -
Physical Characteristics - Organic and Official - Small Settlements
- Churches - Assessment Roll, 1841 - Valuation and Taxation, 1884-85
- General Statistics - School Statistics - Conclusion.
THIS division of the county was known as
Township 3 north, Range 13 east, up to the period of its establishment
under the name of Jackson in 1832. In 1820 the surveyor, J.
Glasgow, laid off this tract in quarter sections, and, although the
lands were offered for sale shortly after, in 1821, few, if any,
purchasers were found. In 1827, however, one Henry Huffman
settled near the present village of Iler, and in 1828, was joined by the
Rinebolts. Here i 1848 the last parcel of United States
lands in the county was purchased by Andrew Rank. The
population in 1840 was 586, increased in 1880 to 1,399, including the
north part of Fostoria City. The population in 1885 is placed at
1,600. The railroad systems represented in the township are the
Lake Erie & Western, the Columbus, Hocking Valley & Toledo, the Nickel
Plate" and the Ohio Central. The township is watered by Wolf Creek
in its southeastern sections, and by Harrison Creek, a northern
tributary of Wolf Creek, in its western and northern sections. For
years subsequent to settlement these creeks gave to the township a
marshy character, which tended to its depreciation. Modern times
have confined the waters of the creek to proper channels and converted a
swampy wilderness into a land of beautiful farms. The Bigham
Spring and Creek are useful natural phenomena.
Organic and Official. - The first meeting was
held in Jackson Township April 3, 1833 (four months after the
commissioners established the town), at the house of Abraham Rinebolt.
The trustees there elected were Michael Stahl. Christian Foster
and John Stambaugh; Enoch Trumbo, clerk; Daniel Williams,
treasurer; Abram Rinebolt and Henry Huffman, road
supervisors; Samuel Rinebolt, Andrew Ferrier and Daniel
Swope, overseers of the poor; Joseph Hampshire and Jacob
Hollinger, fence viewers. The early records, like other old
books throughout the county, are among the things that were. The
records which are in existence date back to 1843, and from them the
present township clerk, Charles Ash, has been kind enough to make
a list of trustees and clerk, elected annually. The three trustee
are named first, and clerk last, for each year, as follows:
1843. - |
Gideon Jones, Jonas Hampshire, John M. Hoover; Jacob Stahl |
1844. - |
Gideon Jones, George Stahl, John Williams; Jacob Stahl |
1845. - |
Christian Foster, John M. Hoover, Fred Feeble; Jacob Stahl |
1846. - |
Michael Stahl, John Stoner, John Miller; Jacob Stahl. |
1847. - |
John M. Kimmel, John Stoner, John Lambright; Jacob Stahl. |
1848. - |
John M. Kimmel, Fred Feeble, John Lambright; Jacob Stahl. |
1849. - |
John Shontz, Fred Feeble, Henry Lambright; Jacob Stahl. |
1850. - |
William Boyd, Jerry Parkhurst, Henry Lambright; Peter Stoner |
1851. - |
Andrew M. Williams, Jonas Foster, Fred. Hollopeter; Peter
Stoner |
1852. - |
Adam Hampshire, Henry Swope, Frederick Hollopeter; Jacob
Stahl |
1853-54. - |
Frederick Feeble, Christian Foster, Levi Sour; Eli Welsh |
1855. - |
Jacob Sprout, Jonas Foster, Peter Eaton; Jacob Stahl |
1856. - |
J. N. Wyant, J. W. Bratton, David Eller; Noah Stahl |
1857. - |
Kinsey Cox, J. W. Bratton, David Eller; M. Penwell |
1858. - |
David Boyd, J. W. Bratton, Jacob Sprout; Noah Stahl. |
1859. - |
B. L. Long, J. W. Bratton, Henry Lambright; Thomas 1860. -
Penwell |
1860. - |
Jonas Foster, Elias Stahl, John Lambright; Eli Feeble |
1861. - |
R. G. Murphy, Elias Stahl, Peter Eaton; William Ash. |
1862. - |
R. G. Murphy, Michael Kimmel, Stephen Dicken; Joseph Stahl |
1863. - |
Gideon Jones, John Longley, Noah Stahl; Eli Feeble |
1864. - |
Sampson Foster, John Longley, Noah Stahl; Lewis Toan |
1865. - |
Gideon Jones, Eli Feeble, Noah Stahl; James M. Hill. |
1866. - |
William Ash, Eli Feeble, Jonas Foster; James M. Hill. |
1867. - |
William Ash, John Longley, Paul Kline; Phiny Trumbo. |
1868. - |
William Ash, John Craun, Stephen Dicken; Pliny Trumbo |
1869. - |
William Ash, John Craun, (vacant); Pliny Trumbo |
1870. - |
William Ash, John Craun, (vacant); Pliny Trumbo |
1871. - |
Aaron Cox, Henry Stahl, James H. McCanlay; H. W. A. Boyd. |
1872. - |
Aaron Cox, Pliny Trumbo, Isaiah Hollopeter; H. W. A. Boyd |
1873. - |
Sampson Foster, Pliny Trumbo, H. W. A. Boyd; Isaiah
Hollopeter |
1874. - |
John Craun, Gilbert Hughs, H. W. A. Boyd; Isaiah Hollopeter |
1875. - |
John Craun, Henry Stahl, H. W. A. Boyd; Isaiah Hollopeter |
1876. - |
J. R. Dicken, Isaiah Hollopeter, H. W. A. Boyd; William
Stahl |
1877. - |
J. R. Dicken, John Craun, Jacob Martin; William Stahl |
1878. - |
B. L. Long, William Snider, Jacob Martin; William Stahl |
1879. - |
J. R. Dicken, B. L. Long, William Steward; William Stahl |
1880. - |
John G. Schupp, Noah Good, V. D. Newcomb; H. W. A. Boyd |
1881. - |
William A. Ash, William P. Dicken, V. D. Newcomb; Charles
Ash. |
1882. - |
William A. Ash, Levi Boyd, J. R. Swope; W. A. Stahl |
1883. - |
J. W. Good, Levi Boyd, J. R. Swope; Charles Ash |
1884. - |
Sampson Foster, Levi Boyd, Dillon Ames; Charles Ash. |
The township officers of
Jackson, elected in April, 1885, are: John Parkhurst, Dillon Ames
and C. H. Steward, trustees; Charles Ash, clerk; Pliny
Trumbo, treasurer: G. S. Wormwood, assessor; Eli
Pence and Marion Flack, constables; H. W. A.
Boyd and John Soule, justices of the peace.
That portion of the township in Section 31, embraced
within the limits of Fostoria, is administered by the corporation of
that city. Rehoboth on Section 17, Amsden on the Lake Erie &
Western Railroad, Section 14, and Iler on the "Nickel Plate" in the
southwestern quarter of Section 25, all the nucleal points of towns,
which the future may bring into existence, are governed by the township
board, and shall continue to be so governed unless a brighter fortune
awaits them than that which frowned upon the old scriptural settlement
of Rehoboth.
Pioneer and Pioneer Incidents. - George and
Tishey (Reed) Ash, natives of Pennsylvania, parents of William
Ash, of Jackson Township (who was born in Pennsylvania in 1830),
settled in this county in 1833...... George Ash, now eighty six
years old, resides here.
Hugh and Margaret (Rogers) Boyd, parents of
David Boyd, of Jackson Township (who was born in Pennsylvania in
1822, settled in this county in 1844. David Boyd is a
pioneer blacksmith . . . . . Peter and Maria Brumm, both old
settlers of Jackson, are numbered among the dead. The latter moved
to Indiana in 1882, and died there in September, 1884. . . John
and Esther (Spangler) Betts, natives of Pennsylvania, parents of
Mrs. Godfrey Biles, of Fostoria, were pioneers of Jackson Township.
Abraham and Rosana (Miller) Craun, natives of
New Jersey, parents of John Craun, of Jackson Townships (who was
born in Franklin County, Ohio, in 1825), came with their family to this
country in 1835... Mrs. Craun died in 1878, Mr. Craun
in 1883.|
David Dissinger, a Pennsylvanian, came here in
1838 ... Jonathan Dicken, also a Pennsylvanian, came to 1839...
J. R. Dicken, a native of Ohio, settled in the county in 1834.
Peter Eaton, born in New York State in 1812,
father of Mrs. Joseph Shupp and Reuben Eaton, both of
Jackson Township, entered land in this township in 1840.|
Andrew Ferrier made a settlement in Jackson
about 1832... Christian Foster located in Jackson prior to 1832,
settled in the county in 1839... Fred and Christiana (Kempher) Febles,
moved from Wood County, Ohio, in 1845. The former died in 1863,
the latter in 1876... George and Jane (Anderson) Feasel, natives
of Pennsylvanian, settled in Fairfield County, Ohio, at an early date
and located in Jackson Township, within the pioneer period.
John P. Gordon sold the first whisky at Risdon
in 1831-32.
John Gibbens, a native of Ohio, came in 1832.
Henry Huffman, the first settler in the
township, entered the southwest quarter of Section 36, in 1827, and
built his cabin early the following year ....
Jacob and Savillia (Peters) Heiserman natives of
Germany, parents of Jacob Heiserman, of Jackson Township (who was
born in Seneca County in 1847), came to this county in 1833...
Jonas Hampshire came into Jackson in 1833 ...
Isaiah Hollopeter, founder of the village of
Rehoboth in 1844, was one of the pioneers of Jackson....
Henry Hoffman settled in Jackson Township in
1827 .....
Jacob Hollinger, James Hanna and
Joseph Hagerman were among the early settlers.
John Iler, a native of Pennsylvania,
assisted in building the first churches, and the first log schoolhouse
in the township. His son, Isaac (one of fifteen children)
resides in Hopewell township .....
Plato Jones, a native of Ohio, settled here in 1832
.....
Henry and Margaret (Sprout) Johnson were early
settlers .....
Henry F. Johnson came in 1851, and
settled on his present farm .....
James and Priscilla (Blagg) Jones, parents of the
late Gideon Jones, of Jackson Township (who was born in Gallia
County, Ohio, in 1810), moved with their family to Wood County, Ohio,
when it was a dense wilderness, and settled not far from the Seneca
County line, near the farm where Gideon Wells afterward lived
many years.
Joseph Kinsey is a named classed among the
pioneers .....
Henry A. Kinsey came in 1845.
John and Elizabeth (Good) Lambriaght, John Longley,
William C. and Elizabeth Lybarger are names connected with
the early history of the township ... Daniel and Margaret (Brill)
Long, natives of Pennsylvania, former born in 1779, died in 1871,
latter born in 1783, died in 1853, came to Jackson Township in 1834,
where B. L. Long now resides.
Florence McCarthy was one of the pioneers of
1832 ....Abraham Miller, father of Isaac Miller (who came
to this county at an early day), and grandfather of Ezra Miller (who
was born here in 1845), is a son of Isaac Miller, who settled in
the county in 1826. There is an apple tree on the farm of
Abraham Miller, in Jackson Township, which is fifty years old, and
measures seven feet and nine inches in circumference, four inches from
the ground. It is thirty-nine feet high and fifty-nine feet wide
at the top .....
Conrad Myers, a native of Mahoning County,
settled in Hancock County in 1835, and ten years later moved to Jackson
Township, Seneca County. Prof. B. F. Myers, of Tiffin, and
Rev. S. P. Myers, of Bloomville, are his sons. His death
occurred Aug. 11, 1885. He had in his possession the old musket
which Michael Musser carried during the war of 1812. It is
still in good condition, and is valued at $100 ...
The McCauley family, of whom Judge McCauley,
of Tiffin is a prominent member, settled here at an early date.
The Nestlerodes resided on "The Island" in 1832
.....
Jacob and Elizabeth Nederhouse were early
settlers .....
William Noble and his wife, Rebecca (Lytle) Noble,
parents of Warren P. Harrison, Montgomery and John Noble,
settled in Jackson Township, in 1834, with their faimly of nine children.
Mr. Noble, a native of Connecticut, died in 1863, aged eight-one
years; mrs. Noble, a native of Pennsylvania, died in 1874, aged
seventy-four years.
Madison Penwell, a native of
Pennsylvania, born in 1812, was one of the early settlers of Jackson
Township .....
In 1848 A. Rank, a soldier of the Mexican war
located in this township, and purchased the last parcel of United
States lands sold in the county .....
Jacob Rinebold, father of Noah
Rinebold, of Jackson Townshi0p (who was born in this township in
1851), was a pioneer.....
John, Abram, Daniel and Samuel Rinebolt
settled here in 1828 .....
James Robinson was also an early settler.
Jacob Schupp, a native of Germany, father of
Joseph Schupp, of Jackson Township (who was born in this township in
1847), was a pioneer of the place. He died in 1883. . . .
Henry and Sarah (Williard) Shontz, natives of
Pennsylvania, parents of John Shontz, of Bloomville (who was born
in Stark County, Ohio, in 1823), came from Stark County to Jackson
Township in 1834, and here died, Mrs. Shontz in 1865, and Mr.
Shontz in 1871.....
J. H. Sprout came from Pennsylvania in 1834
.......
Michael Stahl settled in Jackson in 1832
.....
George Stahl settled in Jackson in 1834 .....
Henry Stahl settled in Jackson in 1836. He
was born in Perry County, Ohio, in 1821 .....
William and Rebecca (Foster) Stahl,
natives of Ohio, parents of Christian Stahl, of Jackson Township
(and who was born here in 1845), were among the early settlers .....
John Stambaugh was elected trustee in
1833, having been a settler in Jackson for some time .....
Samuel and Mary (Renner) Steward,
natives of Pensylvania are classed among the old residents. In
1882 his son, W. H., lost barn, horses and 700 bushes of wheat by
fire .....
Daniel Swope located in Jackson in 1833 .....
Henry Swope in 1832.
Enoch Trumbo settled in Jackson early in
1831, on lands which he purchased that year. He was born in
Pennsylvania in 1804. Pliny Trumbo is a native of Ohio,
dating his settlement here to 1845.
Isaac Wyant, a native of Pennsylvania came to the
township in 1833, and resided here until his death.
Jacob and Elizabeth (Nuser) Yochum, natives of
Germany, parents of Jacob Yochum, of Jackson Township (who was
born in Germany in 1836), came to America in 1845 and settled in Jackson
Township, where Mr. Yochum died in 1855.
Small Settlements. -
Rehoboth was surveyed by Thomas Heming in December, 1844, for
Isaiah Hollopeter on the east half of hte southwest quarter of
SEction 17. The name was too pronounced to call forth the
admiration of the people of forty years ago; men were to busy with
politics, and women were too content to live on their farms and grow
wealthy as their lands increased in value to dream of settling down to a
life in the village of the Mission Church. The vicinity of
Rehoboth is indeed endowed with many of nature's charms - it is a
beautiful pastoral district claiming much, if not all, that is
picturesque in the township.
Amsden, on the southeast quarter of Section 14, a
station on the Lake Erie & Western Railroad, dates back to the
construction of that road. Ida Stockwell is in charge of
the postoffice here, and this office, the railroad station and
comfortable farm houses in the vicinity form the nucleus of the future
town.
Trumbo is the name given to a postoffice in the
southern part of the township.
Iler, a new railroad town in the
southeastern corner of the township, was founded in July, 1885.
During the summer of "Nickel Plate" Railroad Company erected depot
buildings here, and Bigham & Walters opened a general
store. In September, 1885, M. M. Walters was appointed
postmaster.
In the history of Loudon Township, full references are
made to the old settlements of Rome and Risdon, and the present city of
Fostoria, a part of which is situate in this township.
Churches. - Olive Chapel
Reformed Society, Jackson Township, was organized in 1852 by Rev. R.
Good with F. Febles, C. Myers, George Sahl and Jacob Stahl,
members. The latter donated the land on which a house of worship
was erected in 1862. This society was reorganized under State law.
April 27, 1867. W. J. Shupe presided, with Rev. George
Rettig, secretary. H. Remer and William Boid
were elected elders, W. A. Schmid and Z. Acker, deacons;
and F. Falk, J. Shupe and D. Dissinger, trustees.
The constitution of the former German Reformed society was adopted.
The Ark Church (Methodist), was founded by Rev. H.
L. Nickerson, and the present church completed during the pastorate
of Rev. Mr. Rodgers, of Seneca Mission, in 1864.
Mount Zion Church, of the Evangelical Association,
adopted articles for the government of their new church, Feb. 4, 1872,
which was signed by S. E. Rife, pastor in charge.
St. John's Church, of the Evangelical Association of
North America, was organized under State law May 31, 1873. Rev.
John Plantz presided. The trustees elected were William
and Jacob Zimmerman. Jacob Nederhouse, J. H. McCauley and
Matthias Lamnes.
The histories of the Methodist, Catholic,
United Brethren and other churches of the township are given in the
church sketches of Bettsville and Fostoria with which they are closely
identified.
Statistics. - The assessment roll of Jackson
Township made in 1841, gives the following figures: 13,177 acres, valued
at $26,105; no town lots;105 horses valued at $4,200; 265 cattle valued
at $2,120; merchants' capital and moneys at interest, $200; total value,
$32,625; total tax, $481.21; delinquencies from 1840, $59.76.
The valuation and taxation of Jackson Township for
1884-85 are as follows: 22,570 acres valued at $685.450 and personal
property at $314,590, aggregating $1,000,040 or $805,08 per capita,
(population in 1880 being 1,241). The total tax for 1884-85 is
$9,079.72 and the dog tax, $149. The true value of the township is
placed at $2,600,000.
The general statistics of Jackson Township for 1884,
are: 3,732 acres of wheat, against 3,538 in 1883; 35 of ye; 8 of
buckwheat, product, 105 bushels; 969 acres of oats, product, 20,317
bushels; barley, 217 acres; corn, 2,901 acres, produced 45,700 bushes;
774 acres of meadow, 1,273 tons of hay; 1,397 acres of clover, 703 tons
of hay, 473 bushels of seed. 159 plowed under; 93 acres of
potatoes, product, 11,368 bushels; butter, 48,096 pounds; 6 acres of
sorghum, 417 gallons of syrup; 114 gallons of maple syrup; 146 beehives,
3,732 pounds of honey; 23,884 dozens of eggs; 1 acre of vines, 4,900
pounds of grapes; 362 acres of orchards, 9,319 bushels of apples, 71
bushels of pears, 1 of cherries and 3 of plums; ands owned and
cultivated, 10,599 acres; pasture lands, 1,146; woodlands, 4,641;
wasteland, 11, total acreage owned 16,397; pounds of wool (1883),
14,145; milch cows, 509; dogs, 155; sheep killed and injured by dogs,
43; domestic animals died of disease - ogs,129; sheep, 67; cattle, 38;
and horses, 25.
School Statistics. - The
election held in Jackson Township, April 1, 1844, resulted in fifty five
votes for the sale of Section 16, school lands, and fifty against such
sale. T. M. Hoover, J. Hamshire and G. Jones were
judges, and Samuel Younker and Jacob Stahl, clerks of
election. The record of sales made Sept. 19, 1846, is as follows:
Fred. Singer, west half of northwest quarter; Henry B. Risdon,
east half of northwest quarter; Thomas Shantz and John Willard,
east half of southeast quarter; William Bunn, west half of
southeast quarter; John Rinebolt, south half of southwest
quarter; and Henry Stahl, north half of southwest quarter.
The amount realized at sale was $5,229. The first log school
building was erected on the northeast corner of Section 19, over which
Washington Noble presided. The statistics of Jackson Township
schools in August, 1884, are as follows: male pupils, 193; female
pupils, 207; total, 400; number of houses, 8; value of property, $6,000;
number of teachers 12; average salaries, $40 and $30; local tax, $17.78;
receipts, $3,078.54; expenditures, $2,769.89. CONCLUSION.
This township, though the last in the county to receive settlers, ranks
today among the first in point of agricultural product, number of
inhabitants and general wealth. The pioneers found the district
and untrailed marsh, almost as uninviting as any part of the Black
Swamp. Within half a century the township, throughout all its
sections, has been subjected to drainage and all the other expedients
resorted to by the agriculturist to make the wild land fruitful.
Success waited on this labor and gave to the county a division rich in
predial wealth, and richer still in the sense of industry, which
pervades all classes.
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