OHIO GENEALOGY EXPRESS

A Part of Genealogy Express
 

WOOD COUNTY, OHIO
HISTORY

    Source:
REMINISCENCES of
PIONEER DAYS in WOOD COUNTY
and the
MAUMEE VALLEY
Gathered from the papers and manuscripts of the late C. W. Evers
A PIONEER SCRAP BOOK
1909

[Pg. 29]

WAYNE'S DARING SCOUTS
-----

They Were the Eyes and Ears of His Army Welles, Miller, McClellan and Others
-----

     WAYNE'S prestige as a soldier and his manly, bluff, honest nature drew about him the most adventurous, dare-devil characters on the frontier — men, who not only talked the Indian language, but in all the arts of wood craft, in war and hunting, excelled the Indians themselves.
     Such men were Wm. Welles and Henry and Christopher Miller.  Their comrades in these scouting expeditions were Hickman, Thorpe, May, Mahaffy and Robt. McClellan. The latter, McClellan, doubtless the most athletic, at least the most active man on foot that ever trod the western wilderness.  No white man or savage could escape If McClellan pursued, or could overtake McClellan if he chose to flee, old Andrew Kace, who was with Wayne and afterwards settled on the Maui told of an officer at Greenville, who had a standing offer of a fine horse to any man, red or white, who could outspeed McClellan. He would back off a few paces and spring over a covered army wagon with the ease of a deer going over a seven-rail fence.  Then too, in courage and endurance McClellan was unexcelled.
     To Wayne and his army these men were invaluable. They were the ears and eyes of his army. If he wanted information from the enemy's camp they brought it.  If he wanted an Indian brought in alive they brought him and enjoyed the excitement and hair-breadth escapes more than the dull monotony of camp.  An account of these reckless dare-devil spies who accompanied Wayne, and their many exciting adventures would make an interesting chapter in border history, but like much of that history, it has been lost.  It had passed away forever when the actors themselves were gone.
— C. W. E.

[Pg. 30]

GRAND ORGANIZATION
-----

The Maumee Valley Pioneer and Historical Association -
What It Has Accomplished
-----

     THE Maumee Valley Pioneer Association was organized in 1864, and its first, president was Gen. John E. Hunt.  It held annual reunions from that time until Sept. 10, 1909, when it was merged into the Maumee Valley Pioneer and Historical Association, which had been incorporated in 1902, for the purpose of purchasing sites and accomplishing more practical results than could be achieved under the Pioneer Association.  In regard to the work of tin's body, Mr. Evers
says:
     It is fitting that a word of commendation be spoken for the unselfish and devoted work of the Maumee Valley Pioneer and Historical Association to reclaim and preserve these historic grounds and care for the graves of those who perished in defense of their country.
     Some of its members have for years lent their influence and put forth their best efforts in this work, at pecuniary loss and often under the most discouraging circumstances. And now that their indomitable efforts are being crowned with success, no one has more reason to rejoice than those faithful and indefatigable old workers, who for so many years have devoted themselves to this labor of patriotism and love.
     Without these efforts Fort Meigs would never have had a monument, and the hundreds of graves thereabouts would have remained unmarked in the pasture fields as they have been in the scores of years that have passed away.  All honor to the Association and their co-workers, as well as those of the Ohio Assembly, through whose patriotic action this tardy act of justice to our heroic dead was made possible.  All honor, too, to the old Pioneer Association that kept alive and stimulated the interest in social and patriotic advancement.
     Under the incorporation and plan of the Maumee Valley Pioneer and Historiial Association, the purchase of the Kentucky burial ground was made possible.  It is under this business-like method that most of the real progress has been made and so much has been accomplished.  This association is still in splendid working order, not for gain or profit ( for not an officer receives a dollar for his services), but to aid in every way possible to preserve and mark the historic spots in the Maumee Valley and to mark the burial places of the soldiers who laid down their lives in reclaiming the land from savagery and from the rule of kings in Europe.
     As such, may not this Association claim. without overstepping the hounds of modesty, this fine monument overlooking Port Meigs and the graves of its dead, as one of its proud achievements?  But there is much yet to do. Still, with the aid Ohio has already given, the Association expects to he able to accomplish very much in the future.  With these unselfish and worthy motives, the Association is most certainly entitled to public confidence and substantial support.
     The officers of the Association are:  President, D. K. Hollenheck, of Perrysburg;
Secretary, J. L. Pray, of Toledo.  The Association holds its annual meetings in Toledo, on the 22d of February.
The Fort Meigs Commission comprises the following membership: John B. Wilson. Chairman; Charles W. Shoemaker, J. L. Pray, and Wm. Corlett, Secretary.

[Pg. 31]

WOOD COUNTY
-----

Its Organization in 1820 - The Counties Included Wood Township of Perrysburg
-----

WOOD COUNTY was organized by an act of the Legislature of the State of Ohio, passed February 12, 1820, and took effect April 1, following.  The act provided, "that all that part of the lands lately ceded by the Indians to the United States, which lies within this State shall be erected into fourteen counties to be bounded and named as follows: No. 11, to include all of ranges nine, ten, eleven and twelve north of the second township north in said ranges, and to run north with the same to the State line, and to be known by the name of Wood." This included the county of Lucas with the exception of two small fractions taken from the counties of Henry and Ottawa. The two counties remained united until by act of the Legislature passed June 20, 1835, the county of Lucas was formed with the first county-seat at Maumee City.
     In the formation of Lucas county all that part of Wood then lying north of the Maumee river was severed from the original county of Wood. The channel of the river thereby becoming the boundary between the counties.  By the act providing for the original organization of Wood county, the counties of Hancock, Henry, Putnam, Paulding and Williams were attached to the county of Wood to remain until otherwise provided by law. At their meeting on the 4th day of March, 1822, the county commissioners organized the county, and the territory attached to its jurisdiction into two townships, Waynesfield and Auglaize.  The township of Waynesfield was made coextensive with the counties of Wood and Hancock, and the township of Auglaize included the counties of Williams, Putnam, Henry and Paulding.
     Maumee City remained the seat of Justice of Wood county, and the courts were held at that place, and the other county business was there transacted from the organization of the county in the year 1820, until the year 1823.
     By this time the settlements on the south side of the river at or near Perrysburg had become so large as to require a separate township organization, and accordingly the County Commissioners on the 28th day of May, 1823, "ordered that so much of the township of Waynesfield as is included in the county of Wood and lying on the south side of the Maumee river, he set off and organized into a township by the name of Perrysburg, and that the election of township officers he held on the 19th day of June, 1823, at the house of Samuel Spafford in said township."
     This order organizing all of (he county of Wood south of the Maumee river into a township, rendered the reorganization of a township for Hancock county, which up to this time had been a part of Waynesfield township, necessary, and accordingly the Commissioners organized it into a separate township by the name of Findlay.  And Henry county, which by a former order had been included within Auglaize township, was erected into a separate township by the name of Damascus.

     Battle at Providence, near Grand Rapids, battle on the site of Perrysburg, siege of Fort Wayne, two sieges of Ft. Meigs.  Dudley's defeat near Miami, battle of River Raisin, defence of Ft. Stephenson and Perry's victory were all fought on or within 40 miles of the Maumee river.

[Pg. 32]

DEDICATION
-----

Of the Granite Monument at Fort Meigs in the Presence of Thousands -
Inspiring Addresses by Representatives From Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio
-----

     THE 1st of September, 1908, will long be remembered by the citizens of Northwestern Ohio. On that day the beautiful granite monument that now adorns Fort Meigs was dedicated with inspiring ceremonies. The monument rises to the height of 82 feet, and has been erected in memory of the dead of Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Virginia, who Pell in the battle around Fort Meigs during the war of 1812-1813. 
     The Toledo Blade in its description of the monument and the commemorative exercises of that day, says it was on this point on the banks of the Maumee that the progress of the British was forever checked. Here the soldiers of the king, even when amalgamated with the savage hordes of the lake country, met their superiors. The onward march of British possession was first checked, then halted and then put to flight. The British held Detroit and from that outpost made strenuous effort to encroach further and further upon the lands claimed by American settlers and the American nation. The garrison in Fort Meigs, and the men under Dudley, that brave Kentuckian, and the troops under men like him, declared that the soldiers of the king could go no further. They fought, bled, and hundreds of them died, to uphold that proposition. The Fort Meigs monument says to the people of all the world: "This far the British came, further they could not go, for the volunteer soldiers, many of whom lie buried within the walls from which they
fought, so declared."

The Monument

     On two sides of the big shaft are bronze inscriptions, and on the others are phrases in raised granite letters. All four tell of the deeds of these men who fought and bled to save their country from the English, and who, dying, were buried on the Fort Meigs grounds, on which the monument stands.
     There is nothing extravagant about the monument, no great figures surround it.  It is simple; a magnificent stone column symbolic of the patriotic spirit of the people of today, and of their great love and gratitude for the hardy men of the war of 1812, who by their bravery and death, made it possible to erect a shaft in their memory on United States soil, instead of on a possession of the British.
     Three hundred and twenty-two tons of Vermont granite, the whitest and purest, are in this Fort Meigs monument, and twenty-five cars were required to haul the huge blocks of stone.  Forming a foundation for it is 6,000 cubic feet of concrete. The base of the shaft is 34 feet square, rising step-like for 16 feet, where rests the obelisk.  The obelisk is 66 feet in height, and from the base it tapers from six feet square to four feet square near the top.  At the tip it has been cut to a perfect point. In the whole are 3,778 cubic foot of stone.

Fight for the Monument

     The history of the fight for the monument is almost as interesting as the history of the battles in commemoration of which it was erected, and like the history of the war, the story of the monument fight, though bloodless, contains many records of unselfish deeds and noble efforts.  Especial honor is due to the Maumee Valley Pioneer and Historical Society, to the Ohio General Assembly and

[Pg. 33]
to Governor Harris, for the labors of these made the magnificent shaft a possibility.
     For years the graves of Ohio's dead in Fort Meigs battles were unmarked Cattle wandered over them, slowly munching at long grass.  The burial ground was a pasture.  The Maumee Valley Pioneer and Historical Association protested, but its protests were little heeded.  Then, lest the shame of such a condition should always rest on the heads of the people of Ohio, the association members quietly bought up land where the dead lay. 
     But the association wanted a monument fittingly commemorating the bravery of these heroes, to grace the vicinity of the spots where their tired bodies lay.  They wanted a monument that would properly mark in the very heart of the Maumee valley region, the limit of British victory and the end of her encroachment upon American territory.
     So, in the Ohio Assembly a resolution was introduced, authorizing an appropriation of $25,000 for such a shaft.  It was pushed by Lucas and Wood county Senators and Representatives and adopted in 1904, but the resolution necessitated a further vote on a bill allowing the appropriation. The association worked might and main in the Assembly, night and day. In addition to the author of the measure and its chief supporter, other legislators fought for it, and Governor Harris, himself an old soldier, aided by suggestions and advice to the Commission.

Successful Issue

     These efforts resulted triumphantly. The Ohio Assembly made the appropriation in March, 1906, and Governor Harris at once set to work to bring the monument plan to a completion. In accordance with a provision of the bill granting the appropriation, July 23, 1900, he appointed a commission of three, J. L. Pray, of Toledo, C. W. Shoemaker, of Waterville, and J. B. Wilson, of Bowling Green, to start the ball rolling.  June 12, 1907, the ground on which the monument stands, consisting of River Tracts 65 and 66, comprising 36 acres, was purchased from the Hayes heirs for $10,800. October 22 of the same year the contract for the shaft was let by the commission to Lloyd Bros., Toledo's monument builders.
     Throughout the winter, stone cutters worked on the great pieces of granite, cutting them to proper shape and size.  June 15 of 1908, the stone was on the Fort Meigs grounds. Great cranes rapidly swung the blocks into place after the foundation of concrete had been completed, and August 1, the last piece was laid. It cost $14,000, or a total, with the grounds, of $24,800, $200 less than the appropriation.
     While the stone for the shaft was being
prepared, interested ones were still at work in the Assembly, with the result that a law was enacted providing for the care and protection of the monument and grounds. By this law an additional appropriation of $5,000 is made, to make improvements in the way of trees, fences and landscape work, and also to erect a cottage, which is now completed for the care taker of the grounds, and to be used as the headquarters of the Commission.

Unveiling the Shaft

     In the morning a salute of four guns was fired by Battery B, field artillery, which came from Toledo the night before to carry out the flag raising ceremony.
     A beautiful day, a lavish display of the national colors, the numerous refreshment stands and comfort tents, the encampment of the battery and the inspiring scene were enjoyed by the thousands assembled from far and near. 
     The features of the morning program

[Pg. 34]
were the addresses of Col Bennett H. Young, of Louisville, Ky., who was a Confederate officer, and J. C. Morgan, of Maumee.
     Early in the afternoon, Governor Harris, of Ohio, and his party arrived, when a salute of seventeen guns was thundered from the field pieces of battery B, under command of Captain Grant S. Taylor. When the bunting which draped the newly completed monument was drawn by the hand of David Robinson, jr., whose father was a soldier at the siege of Fort Meigs, four guns of the battery belched forth another salute and the band burst into patriotic music, which was almost drowned by the cheers from thousands.
     A beautiful silk flag was presented to the State by the Toledo National Union, which was run up on the 100-foot steel flag pole that will permanently mark the site of the fort, as it stands in the exact center of the ancient strong works.

Gov. Harris Presides

     The assemblage was called to order at 2 o'clock by J. B. Wilson, Chairman of the Ft. Meigs Commission, followed by an invocation by Rev. J. P. Michaelis, of Maumee.
     Gov. A. L. Harris was introduced as president of the day, and in an address by Chairman Wilson the State of Ohio was presented with the completed monument, through Gov. Harris, who accepted the same in a fitting reply.
     Upon the completion of the Governor's address, he introduced successively the following gentlemen, representing their states:
     Hon. Robert S. Murphy, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, on behalf of the Keystone State.
     Gen Bennett H. Young, of Louisville, representing Kentucky.
     Major Robert W. Hunter, the representative of Virginia.
     Hon. Joseph B. Foraker, of Cincinnati, representing Ohio.
     All of these gentlemen gave terse, vigorous and patriotic addresses, and if frequent applause by the thousands assembled is an indication, they were thoroughly appreciated.
     Rev. R. D. Hollington, of Toledo, pronounced the benediction, and the patriotic exercises were ended.
     These exercises were interspersed throughout with patriotic songs, rendered by a choir of 75 voices from Waterville, which proved to be a most pleasing feature, and one that was thoroughly enjoyed.
     The night previous was spent in placing markers throughout the grounds, showing different points of interest at the Fort and its surroundings, well calculated to give those visiting the spot a more intelligent view of the situation during the memorable sieges of 1813.
     These were arranged under the direction of the late C. W. Evers, well known as a student and expert in the pioneer history of this section of Ohio.  He had worked faithfully several days in assisting the Commission to get ready for the commemoration, and paid the penalty for his unselfish and patriotic enthusiasm in promoting the Fort Meigs monument project.  He was taken seriously ill and instead of witnessing the fruition of his arduous labors, he passed the weary hours in a hospital.
     This work, so auspiciously inaugurated on that day, will, as the years go by, result in the further improvement of these grounds, and can not fail to elicit the interest of all the citizens of the Valley in its transformation to a scene of beauty well deserving of the memory of the heroic dead.

[Pg. 35]

CENTER TOWNSHIP
pg. 35

Something of the Early Pioneer Days - Land Entries -
First Settlers and Other Points of Interest

FIFTEEN years ago C. W. Evers gave an extended account of the early history of Center Township, from which we condense the following:
     Benjamin Cox was the first white settler in Center township.  He built a cabin near the Portage, on the northeast quarter of section 32, now the Infirmary farm, in the latter part of 1827 or early part of 1828.  Colister Haskins was under the impression that Cox did not bring his family in until 1828.  Benjamin did not enter the land; still we must not grudge him the honor of being the first settler, since he located and made his improvements with that intention, but after four yeas sold out and moved off.

The First Land Entry

     His son, Joseph Cox, however, made the first land entry in Center, January 13, 1831, the east half of southeast fourth of section 28, which, in April, 1835, he sold to Joseph Russell; the land lying on the Portage, three miles east of Main street, was for years known as the William Underwood place.  A daughter of Benjamin Cox, Elizabeth, married Jacob Eberly, and was among the most respected of that galaxy of noble pioneer women, who with their husbands, braved the deprivations of bygone days in the black swamp.  Another daughter, Lydia, born at Findlay in 1817, was, according to Beardsley's history, the first white child to see the light of day in Hancock county, where the same authority credits Cox with being the first white settler.  Cox, who had performed useful military service in the war of 1812, was a native of Virginia, and seems to have possessed that restless spirit of most of the old border men of that day who were never contented unless fully abreast of, or a little ahead of the westward advance of white settlements.  That class usually led the van and blazed the way.  Robust and fearless, these restless, adventurous fellows, were, in a sense, scouts for the more timid multitude then hastening over the Alleghenies, and, like the ocean spray, scattering itself in the valleys of the Muskingum, Scioto and the two Miamis, until in its northward and westward march, it had swept away the Greenville treaty line, advanced to and passed the Maumee.

Wrested From Savages

     That hardy class of men, the coarser, stronger fibre of civilization, was not only useful, but absolutely indispensable.  Their like never was before, nor can be again.  The conditions which required the hard, dangerous service which they performed, have passed, never to return.  The smoother grooves and easier lines on which we move today demand qualifications so varied and changed that, in our haste to keep up with the march, we almost forget that there ever was a race of pioneers, our forefathers, who lived in cabins and, with flint-lock guns, freed this land from the bondage of kings and wrested the wilderness from the dominion of barbarous savages.  All honor to them.  Their manhood and sterling virtues in life can never suffer by comparison with their successors.  Uncrowned heroes and heroines they were.  Though most of them sleep in graves unmarked with stone or bronze, we can do them the more enduring honor of passing their names and deeds down to future generations on the brightest pages of our annals.  Benjamin Cox moved to Indiana, where he closed his life at an advanced age.

Built A Cabin

     The next entry in Center, after Joseph Cox, was the northwest corner, 48 acres

[Pg. 36]
of section 31, by Joseph A. Sargent, Oct. 31, 1832, lying on Main street next south of the Bender road.  For some years this tract was owned by Nancy Flickinger.  Sargent built his cabin on the west side of the street, in Plain, where he also owned land.  Twelve days later, Nov. 1, 1832, Adam Phillips entered the Infirmary tract, the improvements of which he had previously bought of Ben Cox.

The First Wagon

     In the following spring, April, 1833, Phillips brought his family, wife and six children, out from Stark county, coming by the way of Fremont, then Lower Sandusky.  When he got as far west as Woodville with his outfit, consisting of a wagon covered with boards, and drawn by two horses and four oxen, Phillips left the road and followed the Indian trail up the Portage through the wilderness to the Cox cabin, being the first man to bring a wagon through on that route, now one of the best and most traveled roads in the county; he had taken the precaution to bring two good axmen, Jacob Phillips and George Hemminger, with him.  The Phillipses were so well pleased with the location that Adam soon after bought more land.  Few persons who came into Wood county at that early day were better suited to withstand the deprivations of life here than Adam and Catherine Phillips; both were rugged and determined; they were ambitious to have a prosperous home; their courage and hopes were boundless; everything in those first days looked bright; the bow of promise was great.  Alas, how often that bow was to be overcast with clouds of discouragement - sickness, of destitution - almost despair; yet this was almost the identical experience at one time or another, of all who came.  Still there were few obstacles so great that Phillips would not find some way to overcome them.  He was a medium sized, dark complexioned man with keen black eyes, hair long, and usually parted in the middle; he had a loud, clarion voice and though of limited education, he had a ready flow of language and when a bit excited would get off some startling figures of speech especially on religious subjects, which were always favorite themes with Adam.

The End of the World

     He had a striking resemblance to some of the published pictures of Lorenzo Dow.  Phillips was in many ways as eccentric as Dow, and his peculiar appearance and voice would attract attention in any crowd of men.  Pages might be filled with incidents, both laughable and pathetic, told about him by his neighbors.  One incident related, whether true or not, suggests how completely religious emotions took hold of him at times.  It was at a period when the "Millerite" craze was being boldly promulgated, and a day had been fixed upon not far ahead, when the world was to be burned.  Some of the zealous Millerites had been dinging the doctrine in Phillips' ears pretty industriously until it had to some extent become a subject of serious thought to him.  One dark night about that time, as the story goes, the smoke house in the yard, where was stored the hams and bacon, took fire and the lurid glare of the rising flames soon flashed with blinding effect on Adam's bedroom window.  With a piteous deep moan he sprang out of bed, shouting, "My God, Catherine, the judgment day's upon us and my soul is unprepared; call the boys," and immediately fell upon his knees, half asleep yet, and began praying so loud that no further fire alarm was needed.  This story, enjoyed by none more than Adam's best friends, as told so often on him that it had doubtless like most stories, gained a little by the telling, but is given here in rather an abridged form.  Phillips at once took a leading part in all improvements in the old settlement; at every cabin

[Pg. 37}
raising or road chopping he was on hand and did his part well.

A Grand Pioneer

     When the great meeting was held at Ft. Meigs in 1840, he, with his neighbors cut and hauled a buckeye log as Center township's contribution for the log cabin at the fort.  Of dame Phillips, his wife it may truthfully be said, that she was a good second to Adam in all his worthy efforts.  Besides the cares of a large family of children, she often had to feed from meal ground by her own hands in the mill, sold them by Cox, and also found time to do many generous deeds for her sick or otherwise needy neighbors.  Nine went from her door unaided, if it was in her power to afford relief.  With this very inadequate sketch of the Cox and Phillips, the two pioneer families of Center, it will now be in order to briefly notice some others, who came early.
     These are George Stacy, Thomas Cox, William DeWitt, Thomas Slight, Jr., and Samuel Snyder, who entered lands in 1833.
     Joseph Ralston, Joseph Wade, John M. Jaques, Joseph Russell, Henry Shively, Wm. Zimmerman and Adam Householder, who entered lands in 1834.
     D. L. Hixon entered his land in 1835. 
     John Muir and William Munn made their entries in 1836.
     These random notes from the land books, comprising but the small fractional part of the original entries and of the names of purchasers, are given here as showing who the first comers were.  Most of these buyers named became actual residents on their land.  Other early settlers, such as the Lundys, Klopfensteins, Andersons and others, not enumerated in the list, no doubt bought their lands of second hands.  The chief purpose here is to show who the actual beginners were - a task not so easy after the lapse of three score years, when nearly all the actors have faded away in the corroding mists of time.

Survey and Organization

     Center township, originally six miles square, was surveyed by Samuel Holmes, deputy U. S. Surveyor, in 1819, that is, the exterior lines were made.  In 1821 the sub-divisions were run by S. Bourne.
     The county commissioners at their March session, 1835, granted the request for a township organization, under the name of Center, and ordered an election of township officers to be held, on the first Monday of April following, at the home of Adams Phillips.  At the time of this action, Center was a part of Portage and had been since June, 1833, prior to which time it had been a part of Middleton, since that township was cut off from Perrysburg.  When, in 1846, Webster was created, six sections were set off to that township.  In 1844, on petition by the residents thereon, the south half of section 31, Middleton, was given to Center.  It lies at the northwest corner on the Perrysburg road, so that as now constructed, the township comprises 30 1/2 sections. 

Converted into Roads

     The trails between the settlements, at first mere foot paths, indicated by blazed threes, were gradually converted into wagon trails, barely passable, by voluntary labor among those interested.  Some of these trails eventually became permanent highways, since they were usually located on the most favorable ground for the purpose.  The first object of the newcomer after his cabin was built, was to get into road communication with the market, which in this case was Perrysburg.  There lake boats landed regularly in the open season.  The first wagon trail in Center, after Hull's trail, was from Cox's cabin up the Portage to Haskins' trading place.  That next was the Phillips wagon trail, along the Portage, from Woodville.

[Pg. 38]

A MEMORABLE FOURTH
-----

In Which the Prosperity of Wood County Was the Theme
-----

     IN commemoration of the new court house, united with the celebration of the national birthday anniversary, the 4th of July 1894, proved a day that will long be remembered by the thousands who participated.  It was a day of oratory.  Among other things Mr. A. B. Murphy said:
     "Wood county is the garden of Ohio.
     "It is unique in its history and splendid in its record.  It is the parent of many of the counties of Northwestern Ohio.  It is rich in soil, rich in intelligence, and rich in patriotic history.  It has been the birthplace of ideas that have shaken the continent, and its soil has drank the blood of heroes, and been consecrated by the bones of patriots.  It was here that a mighty party had its beginning.  It was here that America's greatest leaders assembled in convention, Ewing, Harrison and Clay, and Ohio's black son, Tom Corwin, all of them long since sleeping in their graves. The children of this county ought to be taught that it is bounded on the north by Perry's Victory, and on the east by the home of Gibson, and on the south by Fort Findlay, and on the west by the battle ground of Meigs and Miami.
     "The man who cannot make an honest living here cannot do so anywhere upon this round globe. This county is greater in extent than any one of those famous states of ancient Greece.  It comprises more territory than Chris! walked over while on earth, and has more inhabitants than that Sacred City over which He wept. It is greater in resource, and richer in fertility and more splendid in production than the Holy Land seen in the beatific dreams and visions of the prophets, and promised by Jehovah to the Hebrew Patriarchs of old. It has been redeemed by sweat and toil from the woods and the water. It has arisen as all things worth having arise, by conflict and sacrifice.  Every achievement in this world represents sacrifice somewhere."
     An extract from the address of Hon. B. F. James follows:
     "With what loyalty and devotion such a county should be cherished.
     "Young men, study more thoroughly the history of your county; ascertain the steps in its great growth; study the precepts that actuated its founders and defenders; let it inculcate in your young minds and hearts a deeper love of country, law and liberty; surely it will instill within you ideas of loyalty and the responsibilities of citizenship.  May the summit of that new edifice tower no higher than your worth; may its foundations be no firmer than your convictions and truth; may the green and fertile soil of Ibis great county, on whose bosom it reposes, and which grows great harvests, be no richer than your long and lofty labors in the service of your country and mankind.  Then are you assured a fame which, mid the shadows of a century, will suffer no eclipse."
     That matchless orator and loyal soldier, Gen. Win. H. Gibson, graced the occasion with one of his masterly efforts.  Among many other good things he used this language:
     "This county was taken from the civil jurisdiction of Logan and at its organization in 1820, its area covered more territory than many of the European kingdoms.  It contained less than five hundred people, and in 1830 eleven hundred, in 1840 less than six thousand, and in 1850 scarce ten thousand. For thirty years its progress was slow, and in 1860 the population was little over seventeen thousand.  Though the savages were harmless and the frontiers were not disturbed by 'war's dread alarm,' the pioneer settlers in your county were confronted with hardships

[Pg. 39]
and privations from which the stoutest hearts might recoil. No portion of Ohio presented such difficulties in its development.  The adventurous men who came hither with their families to reclaim the flooded forests and water-soaked prairies, and rear their children, were and are the real heroes, entitled to our gratitude and admiration.
     In war, the imposing pageantry of field evolution, the touch of dhows with comrades and the shout of battle thrill the soldier with confident enthusiasm, and he plunges into the deadly conflict heedless of all danger.  But the Wood county pioneer, remote from neighbors, toiling to open a farm in the wilderness and support and educate his children, exhibited a fortitude and heroism sublime for high purposes and manliness.  A remnant of those rugged adventurers, who led the way in reclaiming 'the wilderness and solitary places' of your county, have been spared to join in this great demonstration and share the festivities of this auspicious day. We greet them as winning heroes, who have earned the gratitude of coming generations!
"With bent forms and blistered hands they planned and toiled, that this county might be gilded with inviting homes; enriched by abundant harvests, and sentineled with churches and school houses."

THE PITTSBURG BLUES
-----

Complete List of Those Who Are Buried at Fort Meigs
-----

THE following list of the members of the Pittsburg Blues, obtained through a Patriotic Pennsylvania Society, by the efforts of Mrs. Ellen McMahan Gaspers, was published in the Wood County Democrat of April 18, 1902.  The Democrat of April 18, 1902.  The Democrat says:

     At last an authentic list of "The Pittsburg Blues," who lie buried at Fort Meigs, has been obtained through the efforts of the society known as "The Wives and Daughters of the Boys in Blue," of which Mrs. Ellen McMahan Gaspers of Detroit, formerly of Perrysburg, is president.  Mrs. Gaspers wrote the mayor of Pittsburg for information as to this list.  This letter was referred to Mrs. Felicia R. Johnson, president of the Pennsylvania society, U. S. D., 1812, and vice president of the national society, who secured what the Wives and Daughters of the Boys in Blue consider a priceless list.
     It contains the names of volunteers famous as "The Pittsburg Blues," who fought under General Harrison.  One of the three burial grounds at Ft. Meigs was assigned to the noted Blues, and there lie buried the remains of those who were killed in battle.
     Here is the list of "The Pittsburg Blues," buried at Fort Meigs, as furnished by Mrs. Johnson:

[Pg. 40]

     Mrs. Johnson, in writing Mrs. Gaspers inclosing the above list, says in part:
     "My own grandfather served under General Croghan and was with him at Fort Stephenson, and I presume at Fort Meigs, so my interest is personal as well as patriotic.
     "This society which I represent, is composed of the descendants of the soldiers of 1812, and we will be glad to co-operate with you in any effort to preserve the battlefields, that have become resting places of those who preserved the independence of the nation.
     "We have a society in Ohio - Mrs. Greves, of Cincinnati, is president.  I do not known how they are working as they are rather new in organization, but will write them to help you if ever needed."
     This letter is very gratifying to the Maumee Valley Pioneer and Historical Association, organized for the purpose of preserving the historical sites of the Maumee Valley.  IN this connection it should be said that the Toledo society of the "Daughters of the American Revolution" is co-operating with the Maumee Valley Pioneer and Historical Association in its efforts to preserve the historical sites of the Maumee Valley, and that matters have now believed that the objects of this association will be accomplished.

PETERSBURG VOLUNTEERS
-----

These Virginian Heroes Honored by a Granite Monument at Petersburg, Va.
-----

DURING the preparation of this Pioneer Scrap-Book, an interesting and valuable letter was received by Wm. Corlett, Secretary of the Maumee Valley Pioneer and Historical Association, from Wm. M. Jones, Mayor of Petersburg, Virginia, in which the writer gives historical facts concerning a company of Virginia soldiers who fought under General William Henry Harrison in the war of 1812-13, and who were active in the defense of Fort Meigs and the Maumee Valley against the combined force of British and Indians.  This is the first time a full roster of the officers and privates has been made known in the Maumee Valley.
     Major Jones says that the Virginia company raised in Petersburg to assist in the defense of hte Maumee Valley was composed of some of the flower of that state, and that the city of Petersburg erected a monument to their memory in the local cemetery, consisting of a ganite shaft about 15 or 20 feet high, surmounted by a gilt American eagle, and on which is inscribed the following:

"Tribute to Patriotism"

     "In memory of Captain Richard McRae, late commander of the Petersburg-Canada volunteers in the war with Great Britain, 1812, a corps who, under the

[Pg. 41]

GRANITE MONUMENT
To Petersburg Volunteers at Petersburg, Va.

influence of holy patriotism, in the hour of their country's need, leaped form their downy beds and, foregoing domestic comforts and case, instantly organized and took up the line of march for the Canadian frontier, when, under the supreme command of General Harrison, they met the disciplined armies of their country's enemies, on the fifth day of May, 1813, and after a bloody conflict defeated them, winning for their home the exalted and imperishable appellation of the 'Cockade City of the Union.'"
     A second inscription is a follows:

"Petersburg Volunteers"

     "Who embarked in the service of their country in the war of 1812 with Great Britain, on the 21st of October, 1812, and consecrated their valor at the battle

[Pg. 42}
 of Fort Meigs, May 5, 1813 - commanded by Capt. Richard McRae.
     "Lieutenants - William Tisdale, Henry Cary, Shirly Tisdale.
     "Sergeants - James Stevens, Robert B. Cook, Samuel Stevens, John Henderson.
     "Corporals - M. B. Spatswood John Perry, Joseph Scott, Thomas G. Scott, Joseph G. Noble, G. T. Clough.
     "Musicians - Daniel Eshon, James Jackson

     On the south face of the monument are the following:

"General Orders"

"Headquarters District, 17th Oct., 1813.
     "The term of service for which the Petersburg volunteers were engaged having expired, they are permitted to commence their march to Virginia as soon as they can be transferred to the south side of the lake.  In granting a discharge to this patriotic and gallant corps, the general fees at a loss for words adequate to convey his sense of their exalted merits.  Almost exclusively composed of individuals who had been nursed in the lap of ease, they have for twelve months borne the hardships

and privations of military life, in the midst of an inhospitable wilderness, with an alacrity which has been unsurpassed.  Their conduct in the field has been surpassed by no other corps, and whilst in camp they have set an example of subordination and respect for military authority to the whole army.
     "The general requests Capt. McRae, his subalterns, non-commissioned officers and privates to accept his warmest thanks, and bids them an affectionate farewell.
     "By command of
                                 "William Henry Harrison.
     "Robert Butler.
     "Acting Assistant Adjutant General."

--------------------------------

     Edward Tiffin was the first Governor of Ohio and served from 1803 to 1807.  From 1800 to 1810 the seat of government was at Chillicothe; from 1810 to 1812 in Zanesville, and from 1812 to 1816 in Chillicothe again; Columbus became the capital in 1816.

     A man named Samuel Charter, living on the Foote farm went to Girty's Island to make sugar.  On his return, somewhere near Defiance he appropriated a grindstone and put it in his pirogue with the sugar.  He was followed and his place searched, but no stone could be found.  Many years afterward the stone ws found in a dense thicket about forty rods from his cabin.

[Pg. 43]

SHIBNAH SPINK
-----

Interesting Sketch of One of the Most Active of Wood County Pioneers
-----

FROM a lengthy sketch by C. W. Evers of the career of Shibnah Spink, who lived in Perrysburg, we condense as follows:
Shibnah Spink of Perrysburg, was one of the early settlers of the county, whose life has been so largely connected with the genera] history of this county that a sketch of the same must prove valuable as a contribution to the history of this section of. the county.
     Mr. Spink was born in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, in February, 1802, where he remained until 1811, when his father removed to Chautauqua county, New York.
     In 1826, young Spink, having grown to manhood, went to Pennsylvania and took a contract, on the Pennsylvania Canal, where he remained about two pears, at the end of which time he went in Wooster, this State, where he remained until 1832, at which time he came to Perrysburg. At the latter place he opened a dry goods, grocery and hardware store, but the crash of 1836-'37 caught him unprepared for such an emergency and he retired from business. From 1837 to 1850 he was chiefly employed in running a steamboat during the summer and in purchasing furs during the winter.
     In the summer of 1834, Mr. Addison Smith, then unmarried, came to Perrysburg to visit his sister, Mrs. Dustin.  Mr. Spink's clerk in the store became frightened on account of the number of Indians encamped near the store and left, Leaving Mr. Spink alone in his business suffering with the ague. Mr. Smith was in the habit of spending much of his time in the store and when Mr. Spink was too ill to wait upon customers, would go behind the counter and play the role of clerk. Finally he consented to act as clerk for Mr. Spink, and remained in the store several years. In the fall of that year Mr. Smith's Bister, Mary A., came to Perrysburg to visit her brother and sister, remaining through the winter and the following summer. During this time, the friendship between Miss Smith and Mr. Spink ripened into love, and in the fall of 1835 they were married; and it is seldom that two more congenial spirits spend life together.

The Stone Road

     In the winter of 1837-38 the old mud pike through the Black Swamp was so completely worn out and so impassable for loaded teams that a movement was made for the construction of a macadamized road from Lower Sandusky (now Fremont) to Perrysburg. Jessup W. Scott, Capt. David Wilkinson, John C. Spink, and Shibnah Spink, were selected to visit, the Legislature at Columbus, and secure such assistance from the State as would insure the construction of the desired and much needed road.
     They went in a carriage. As there had been a fall of snow and the ground was frozen they found the roads good and made the trip to the State Capital in three days. After remaining at Columbus a few days and being satisfied that the measure proposed would pass, Capt. Wilkinson and Shibnah Spink decided to return home, leaving their two companions at Columbus to see the measure through. On the day on which they started for home, the weather became warm and rain set in, rendering the roads almost impassable. On the evening of the sixth day after leaving Columbus, the two lobbyists reached home, in a sadly dilapidated condition, on foot, having left their carriage and baggage eight miles this side of Lower Sandusky. Using their blankets for saddles they

[Pg. 44]
mounted the horses and rode until they reached Toussaint Creek, which stream they found so swollen that it was impossible to get their horses to the bridge spanning the channel. The whole country was flooded.  They put up for the night, and as the weather became cold, and there was little or no current in the vast sea of water before them, ice was formed of such thickness that in the morning it would bear a man.  They were fully thirteen miles from home and the Captain was a cripple; but they decided to make the balance of their journey on foot. After breakfast the two men started, but before going far the Captain gave out and they were compelled to hire a boy and pony to bring him in. Mr. Spink walked the entire distance, reaching home with only the whip and the clothes on his back as representatives of the entire outfit of the Columbus party.

More of Pioneer Hardships

     Another incident illustrative of pioneer life in this section of the country, occurred at an earlier date than the foregoing one.  In the spring of 1833, Mr. Spink stalled out in search of cows, milk being in demand at Perrysburg.  He was gone for three days through the country overcoming many obstacles and making a circuit that now could be accomplished in a few hours.
     In 1839 Mr. Spink was in the employ of Judge John Hollister, who at that time owned a line of steamboats which ran between Perrysburg and Buffalo, and also transacted a large business as agent for the American Fur Company. Mr. Spink was master of the General Vance.  As there were no railroads in those days, the lakes were the great commercial highways and boats ran as long as the river was open.  On returning from his last trip that fall, after having been absent From his family nearly all of the season, he went into Hollister's store in the evening happy with the thought that he should have a little rest and enjoy the
comforts of home, but was told that they wanted him to start the next morning for southwestern Indiana in the interest of the fur company—that somebody must go, and that he was the only person who could till the bill. Hard as was this task and great as was his disappointment, Mr. Spink consented to go, and after remaining with his family over night, he and B. F. Hollister mounted their horses and started on the journey. The distance to be traveled was four hundred miles, and they made it in eight days, averaging fifty miles per day.
     Mr. Spink remained in southern Indiana, buying furs and skins until the first of June, when, being an earnest Whig, he hastened to the monster gathering at Ft. Meigs in 1840.  Although suffering from ague he made the trip in good time.

His First Public Office

     In 1850, when General Taylor was President and General G. A. Jones, of Mount Vernon, was U. S. Marshal of Ohio, Mr. Spink was appointed Deputy Marshal.  His duties required him to visit every house in the county for the purpose of taking the census. In 1830, when Wood county embraced what is now Lucas county, and also a portion of Fulton county, the entire population was less than 2,000, but in 1850 Mr. Spink found nearly ten thousand persons living within the present limits of this county.

Elected Sheriff

     In this year Mr. Spink was elected Sheriff of Wood county. The county was strongly Democratic in politics, but his personal popularity secured success.  About this time many leading Democrats became tinctured with free soil sentiments, and when the Missouri compromise measures were adopted by Congress, many of them joined with the Whigs,

[Pg. 45]
and the county finally passed into the hands of the Whigs, and since the organization of the Republican party has been strongly Republican. Mr. Spink contributed largely to these results. An enthusiastic partisan, liberal in his views, and genial in his manners, he was always at work and none could accomplish more.  At that time the entire fees of the Sheriff's office for two years did not amount to over $500—$100 of which was received in cash and the balance mostly was never collected.

Beaten for Treasurer

     At the next election after his successful canvass for Sheriff, Mr. Spink was nominated for County Treasurer by the Whigs. At that time John Bates was the strong wheel-horse of the Wood county Democrats, and he was Mr. Spink's opponent. Bates was treasurer for a number of years and it was believed that he could neither be beaten in convention nor at the polls. Spink was equally strong with the Whigs, and the county was Democratic by about 300 majority.  When the votes were counted it was found that Bates had but barely nine majority.

Elected Treasurer

     When the time came for the election of Treasurer again, the Whigs nominated Mr. Spink. The Democrats were a little afraid to put forward John Bates for another trial with Spink, so they nominated Samuel Chilcote, who. it was supposed, could carry more votes than any other Democrat in the county. Chilcote was in every respect a most worthy man, but Spink beat him and was reelected, serving four years in that office.   His natural desire to accommodate the people, which often led him to advance the taxes for men throughout the county, and his well known integrity secured for him a degree of popularity with the public which is seldom enjoyed by persons so active in political work and so decided in partisan convictions.

Other Offices Filled

     In 1862, under the Internal Revenue laws, Mr. Spink was appointed Deputy Assessor, a position which he filled in a creditable manner for two years, when the office was abolished. After this he turned his attention to farming, until 1871, when he was appointed Superintendent of the Western Reserve & Maumee Road, a position which he filled for nine months, after which he continued his residence in Perrysburg and for many years enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all who knew him.

A JAIL IN THE WOODS
-----

Its Builder - How Sheriff John Webb Kept Prisoners - Kt Stood in a Dense Thicket
-----

     FEW of he dwellers in Wood county today will remember the old wooden jail at Perrysburg, indeed, we doubt if there are many who knew of its existence.  It was built many years ago at a cost of $486, and the contractors took part of their pay in Perrysburg town lots at $12 each.  It was made of square oak logs, cut mostly on the present corporation limits of Perrysburg and served its purpose as well, and was as much a terror to evil doers as are the costly structures of stone, iron and brick of the present day.  Wood county's population was then less than two hundred human souls.  The projectors of that jail were no doubt aware of the fact there was but little in the county at that time to steal, and that where there is no temptation there are apt to be fewer rogues.  This primitive structure served as a calaboose for the confinement of some of the frisky veteran volunteers in the Michigan war, who at times indulged too freely in Maumee ague medicine and then got boisterous.  It was located on Front street near the old Exchange Hotel.
     Sheriff John Webb had charge of the jail, at the time George Porter was imprisoned in it, in 1830; it stood alone in a dense thicket, the brush and timber having been cleared away only far enough to admit the teams that hauled the jail timbers.  The fine macadamized road now known as Front street, was only a tortuous wagon track between trees and stumps.  There was no building near except the log court house.  Mr. Webb lived in a little house up the river near the bayou nearly or quite half a mile from the jail, and during Porter's imprisonment Mr. Webb carried him his meals to his dismal cell in the thicket three times a day, and at night locked him in his cell and went home.  Such an arrangement would not in these jail breaking times be regarded as entirely safe, but people in those days did as people do now, made the best of the means they had.
     In 1823, after the county seat was removed from Maumee, "Uncle" Guy Nearing took the contract for removing the little log jail form Maumee for $45.  In 1824 Nearing and Hubbell took the contract of building a court house, also for repairing the jail, which was further enlarged in 1826, and '27 by him and Elisha Martindale, though they were not the contractors, Nearing at that time being a county commissioner.  The jail, as previously mentioned, was built two stories high, of logs about a foot square, secured at the ends by tenons and mortises with a wooden pin through.  The floors were of the same solid square timber.  The windows were but little more than long cracks where the halves of two logs had been taken out and perpendicular iron bolts passed through for security.  There were two dark cells also made of strong solid square timber.  The doors were rude massive wooden structures well spiked with wrought nails and swung on strong iron hinges.  The roof, gables and general exterior of the building appeared similar to any hewed log cabin. - C. W. E.

< CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS >