CHAPTER V.
PIONEER HISTORY.
pg. 230 - 275

Assessment Roll of 1834 - Bath - Amanda - German - Jackson - Auglaize - Deuchoquette - Marion - Perry - Union and Wayne - Permanent Settlers of the Pioneer Period (alphabetically arranged) - Marriage Record of Pioneer Days

     A PERIOD of time, bordering on three fourths of a century, has passed away since the American pioneers of this county made their first settlement here.  Those years have been replete with change, social, political, religious, even physical change.  The visitor of to-day, ignorant of the past history of Allen, could scarcely realize the fact that within six or seven decades a population approsimating 40,000 grew up, where, in the second quarter of the Nineteenth Century, Indian villages stood, and the savages themselves had worn the war-paint, and retained their scalp belts.  The people have not only increased in number, but, also, in wealth, refinement and all the characteristics of advancement, which mark the older settlements of the North Atlantic States.  Newspapers, schools, churches, palatial dwellings, magnificent public buildings, extensive marts, busy mills, cultivated fields, now occupy the village sites and hunting grounds of a hundred aboriginal races, while a people endowed with the highest faculties have taken the place of the Shawanees and Ottawaians themselves.  There are but few left of the old landmarks, - still a smaller number of old settlers.  Civilization and its demands have conspired to raze every monument of the red-man, to obliterate almost every trace of his occupancy.  Old Time, too, has not looked calmly  on, but by way of reprisal, has driven many a pioneer to the promised land beyond the grave, or led others from the old homestead westward in the track of the Indians to re-enact beyond the Mississippi the drama of early settlement.
     As a general rule the men and women who first settled in this county were fearless, self-reliant and industrious.  No matter from what State or what country they came, there was a similarity of character.  In birth, education, language, religion, there were differences; but such differences did not interfere with harmony - on the contrary, they were lost in association, forgotten in that common interest which united all.  In such a community there was a hospitality, a kindness, a benevolence, and high above all, a charity, unknown and unpracticed amount the older, richer and more densely populated settlements of trans-Alleghany counties, just in the same manner, perhaps, as there was a higher faith animating the early Christians, than that which marks our latter-day Christianity.  The very nature of the surroundings of those pioneers taught them to feel each other's woe, to share each other's joy, and live in communal integrity.  Therefore it is not strange that among the old settlers of this county a deep-seated friendship existed and grew and strengthened with their advancing years.  The incidents peculiar to life in a new country - the privations and trials of early settlement in the wilderness of Allen County, were well calculated to test, not only the physical powers of endurance, but, also, the moral, kind, generous attributes of true womanhood and manhood, and bring to the surface all that may be in them of good or evil..
     In this chapter an effort is made to deal in a thorough manner with the pioneers and old settlers of the county.  The whole story is based upon teh authority of records, and thus, at least, claims authenticity, a fact which must go far to compensate for the absence of legendary or unauthenticated relations.

ASSESSMENT ROLL OF 1834.

     The

PAGE 240

PERMANENT SETTLERS OF THE PIONEER PERIOD.

     The first permanent settlers in the county were Andrew Russell, Peter Diltz and William Van Ausdall, all of whom were old residents of Montgomery County, Ohio.
     Matthew Allison, a Pennsylvanian, settled in Bath Township late in 1827, and purchased a tract of public lands on Section 2 in 1834.
     Alexander Allison, a native of Pennsylvania, settled in Bath Township in 1827.  In 1830 he purchased Government lands on Section 3, and made the county his home until his death in 1871.
     Charles Baker settled at Lima in 1832, and erected the first frame building in the village.
     John Bashore settled at Lima in 1831, and may be named as the first tavern keeper of Lima.
     Samuel Baxter settled in Amanda Township in 1828 with his sons, Curtiss and Smith Baxter.  The latter came with him when only four years of age, and the former when six years old.  His death took place Aug. 10, 1830, while Mrs. Baxter lived until Aug. 26, 1854.
     John Baxter, a Pennsylvanian, settled with his wife in Bath Township in 1833.  Mrs. Barber died in August, 1882, and John Barber Nov. 4, 1884.
     D. B. Beardsley, one of the old settlers of Hancock County, was also a pioneer of Allen.  For years he has served as Justice of the peace of Hancock County, and has written a book of historical reminiscences on that division of the State.
     William Belcher purchased a quarter of Section 28, Marion, in 1826.
     Gen. William Blackburn, Receiver of the Land Office,,,,,, was transferred to Lima in 1834, whence he moved to Allentown, where he died.
     Samuel Bowers, father of Robert Bowers, settled at Lima late in 1834.
     Isaac Bowyer and his wife Elizabeth purchased a farm on Section 18 in 1830, and a year later became members of the first Methodist Church of Elida.
     Daniel Boyer, a Pennsylvanian, settled at Lima in 1836.  In 1837 he was married to Miss Hughes, a sister of Judge Hughes, who died here in April, 1851.  He died Oct. 26, 1884, aged seventy-three years.
     Griffith Breese settled on Section 10, Shawnee Township, in 1832.  This was the site of a Shawnee village, as then evidenced by seven cabins and eighty apple trees.  This pioneer died in 1848.  His widow died in 1852, while his son, William D. Breese, who came with him in 1832, is still a resident of the county.
     William Bryan settled in German Township in 1830 with his wife Elizabeth. Both of them were among the first members of the Methodist Society organized there the following year.
     Harvey Buckmister, one of the old traders of the Hollister Fur Company, a pioneer of Hardin County, must be also credited with being an old resident of Allen County.
     John Chapman, or "Johnny Appleseed," a Swedenborgian, was in Jefferson County, Ohio, as early as 1801.  He planted sixteen bushels of apple seed on the Butler farm on the Walhonding River.  On entering an house he would lie down on the floor and ask the people, "Will you have some fresh news from heaven?"  He was born in Boston in 1775.  In April, 1828, he leased a farm from William B. Hedges below Shanesville.  His death took place near Fort Wayne in 1845, aged seventy-two years.  This Chapman was a composition of eccentricities.  S. C. McCullough, in his reminiscences, states that he visited a nursery on the Sunderland farm in Amanda Township, soon after he commenced to clear his own farm in 1835.  He was told that the trees were planted by John Chapman some years before; and further, that the old an had been along the Ottawa and Auglaize Rivers seeking out alluvial lands to set out orchards, before white men had effected a settlement in Allen County.  It is probable that "Johnny" carried out his benevolent work here even prior to the building of Fort Amanda.  That he was here about 1812-1813 is manifested in the number, variety and age of the trees which sprung from the seeds planted by him along Wayne's trace. 
     James M. Candler and his parents settled near Lafayette in 1829; moved to Liberty Township, Hardin County, in 1832, where his father died in 1835.
     Solomon Carr, who with his family settled in Marion Township in 1826, is now represented by his son, Abner Carr, one of the few survivors of pioneer days.
     Henry Carter, a native of Delaware, with Edward Cox and Thomas Kane, settled in Richland Township, in 1834.
     William Chaffee, a Baptist preacher, settled at Lima about 1833. (vide History Baptist Church).  He purchased a farm on Section 1, Shawnee Township, in 1832.  He amassed a fair sum of money; lost it or wasted it, was sent to an insane asylum at Indianapolis, and there died.
     William S. Chenoweth, a Revolutionary soldier, together with James Chenoweth, came to Bath Township in 1827 or 1828, and purchased land on Section 33, in 1831.
     Josiah Clawson, who married a daughter of Martin Hine, in 1835, in Marion Township, and purchased a farm on SEction 28, in 1834, died Feb. 6, 1844.  Andrew Clawson was another old settler, who resided on Section 30.
     Benjamin Clevenger, the miller of Sugar Creek, in 1832.  William Clevenger located lands on section 20, in 1829.
     William Cochran settled in Marion Township in 1825.  He was accompanied by his wife and son, James Cochran.  The latter married Miss Julia A. Russell, daughter of the pioneer, Andrew Russell, in 1829.  This lady died in 1833.  In 1834 he entered lands on Section 34, Marion.
     Thomas Cochran, a Kentuckian, settled in German Township in 1831.  His father, Simon Cochran, served in the Revolutionary war, and died in this township, aged ninety years.  A. W. and John Cochran served in the war of 1812.
     John F. Cole, accomplished by his family, came to Allen County in 1831, and located near Lima, Nov. 7, that year.  A few months later he was present at the burial of Chief Pht and after that time he continued to witness the removal by death of many if not all the early settlers.  He died in 1882.  His son, also John F. Cole, is an old resident of Lima. 
     Mrs. Nancy Cole, widow of the late John F. Cole, settled with her husband in Bath Township in 1831, moved to Lima subsequently and died here Oct. 24, 1880.
     George Coon, Sr., a Pennsylvanian, settled on Section 11, Shawnee, in 1832, about the time that William Deniston and Thomas Flynn made their settlement in that neighborhood.  His death occurred in 1877.
     John Crawford settled in Bath Township in 1828; purchased lands on Section 4, in 1831, and resided there until his death, in 1839.
     Alexander Creps and his wife Rebecca (Maus) Creps, came about 1832.  In 1834 Alex. Creps founded the village of Westminster and there died Aug. 25, 1878.
     Smith Cremean arrived in German Township in 1830, and settled on lands which he purchased on Section 19, in 1830.  Jacob Cremean was also an early settler.
     Charles Crites, a Pennsylvanian, settled in German Township in 1839.  Jacob Crites arrived in 1843.
     Joseph Crossley, who settled at Lima in 1833, moved to Perry Township in 1834 and located his farm on Section 16.  He was accompanied by his step-son Henry J. Apple.  Crossley was one of Wayne's soldiers, and is said to have burned the first brick at Cincinnati, Chicago, Fort Wayne, Dayton and Lima.
     Thomas Crooks arrived in Auglaize Township in 1831.
     James Crozier was one of the first Associate Judges.
     Archibald Cunningham settled at Lima in 1834 with his son, John Cunningham, who conducted a school in the first court hosue from 1834 to 1838.
     Dr. William Cunningham, a name so closely identified with the earlier years of the county, settled at Lima in 1831.  He died in September, 1842, (Vide general history).  In 1832 he purchased the Cunningham homestead at Lima.
     Theodore E. Cunningham, whose personal history appears in the third part of this work, is one of the senior old residents, and even now one of the ablest lawyers of the county.  In 1866 he was delegate to the Johnson Constitutional Convention, and has for years taken a foremost part in everything relating to the progress of this division of the State.  He came with his father, Dr. William Cunningham, to Lima in 1832.
     Hamilton Davidson, the first resident attorney, is referred to so often in the chapter s of this work that the name only is necessary here.  He moved to Defiance in 1845 or 1846.
     James and Benjamin Daniels settled in Bath Township and purchased lands on Section 31, in 1828.
     Nathan Daniels, the first Recorder, was one of the first residents of Lima.
     W. P. Dehart, a settler of Amanda Township, in 1837, is a pioneer of Spencer, having settled there in 1843, the year before Canover, McConnell and Tyler platted the village of Spencerville.
     Peter Diltz arrived in January, 1817, and took up his residence in the small block-house on the northeast corner of the quadrangle or parade ground of Fort Amanda.  On Sept. 20, 1817, Francis Diltz was born in this log house, and here the family continued to reside until the beginning of the summer of 1821, when Mr. and Mrs. Diltz and children returned to Dayton.  Previous to his leaving the county, however, he erected a log-cabin for the Sunderland family in 1821.
     Simon Doyle and family came to Allen County in 1829 and purchased lands in Section 17, Bath Township, the same year.
     William Durham purchased his farm in Amanda in 1827.
     Francis Deuchoquette, the French interpreter, whose knowledge of the Shawnees and their language was only equaled by his desire for justice, was denied employment in 1831 by the wily and unprincipled Indian Commissioner Gardner.  He set out, that year, to accompany the Shawnee delegation to Washington, but died en route and was buried amid the lamentations of that people for whom he sought justice.  Deuchoquette Township, formerly a portion of Allen County, is named after him.
     The late C. C. Marshall, in a reference to this man, says: "I became acquainted in 1831 with Francis Deuchoquette, the old Frenchman who had lived a long time among the Shawnees, and is said to have interceded for the life of Dr. Knight, when Col. William Crawford was burned by the Delaware near the Tymochtee, in Wyandot County, after his capture in 1782.  This venerable Frenchman died, when on his way to Washington, with a Shawnee delegation, at Cumberland, Md., in the summer of 1831.
     John East, son of Abraham, a German soldier, sold to the British by his ruler in 1774-76 to fight against the Americans, settled in German Township in 1833 with his sons Samuel and Isaac.  He died in 1862.  John East operated a carding-machine in early days in German Township.
     Uriah Edgecomb moved to Bath Township in 1832, and located on land which he purchased that year on Section 3.  Ezra Edgecomb also entered a tract of land in the same section.
     Michael Flynn, who located at Ada, in Hardin County in 1856, is an old resident of Allen County.
     Samuel Faulkner, an old settler of Champaign County, settled on Section 21, Perry Township, in 1832.  In 1833 he purchased Government lands in Section 21.
     Samuel Forrer, who surveyed the Shelby Canal in 1824, may be considered the pioneer of Marion Township, as he ultimately settled here, and made Delphos his home until his death in 1874.  In 1834 he purchased a tract of land on Sections 20 and 18.
     Tolson Ford settled in Auglaize Township in 1830.  In the history of first industries and again in the history of his township the name is often referred to.
     The Fulton brothers, pioneer physicians of Spencer Township, settled there at Hartford about 1836 as pioneers of the county.
     Daniel Garde, a settler of Amanda in 1824, entered a small parcel of land on Section 5, in 1828.
     Levi Goddenow and family settled on Section 20, Auglaize, in 1836.  He died in 1876.
     Elisha Hall purchased a farm on Section 8, Bath, in 1830.
     Justin Hamilton, who surveyed the original town of Lima in 1831, was one of the pioneers of Mercer County.
     Jacob Harter entered a parcel of land on Section 21, Marion, in 1825.  Henry Harter bought his lands on Section 28.
     Jacob Harter, one of the early settlers of Amanda Township, entered his lands on Section 4, in 1825.
     Edward Hartshorn made an entry of a tract of land on Section 7, Bath, in 1829.
     Merritt Harvey settled in Spencer in 1847.  Prior to his coming Henry Harter, a merchant, Dr. Samuel Price, Abe Armitage, T. C. Bartle, a carpenter, and William Young were settlers.  Physicians Gray, Emerson and Wyat may be named among the early settlers.
     The pioneer land-buyers of Spencer Township were Jacob Peterbaugh, L. V. Van Horn, B. P. Southworth, George Young, Joseph Brown, Solomon K. Brown, J. Marks, in 1834; Samuel Purdy, Joe Osborne and John Clifton in 1848; G. D. Coleman and John Hockenberry in 1845.
     Joseph Higgs settled in Bath Township previous to 1832, and erected the first saw-mill on Sugar Creek that year.
     Martin Hire settled in Allen County in 1824.
     Joseph Hover, a Pennsylvanian, arrived in 1833 and settled on Section 1, Shawnee Township.  Here he resided until his death in 1844.  W. U. Hover accompanied his father and brother James A.  Mr. Hover, Sr., built the first frame house in the township.
     Ezekiel Hover and Emanuel Hover, brothers of Joseph Hover, settled in Shawnee in 1833.  Ezekiel purchased the lands where the chief village of the Shawnee stood, and there took up his residence in the old council house.
     Henry Huffer settled one and one-half miles from Elida in 1831 with his wife and family.  His daughter Delilah is the wife of Henry Kiracofe, himself an old settler.
     James E. Hueston settled with his family, in May 1824, in the northeastern part of Hardin County.  He died in 1834.
     Thomas K. Jacobs, a Pennsylvanian, whose sudden death occurred Nov. 12, 1884, came to Lima in 1838.  He with Daniel Boyer and Elisha Jolley were the leading tailors of the county at that date.  (Vide sketch of Mr. Jacobs.).
     Samuel Jacobs was one of the earliest settlers.  In the history of his township the name is mentioned.
     John Jackson, the first surveyor and subsequently Auditor, was one of the first settlers of Lima.  In 1833 he purchased a tract of land on Section 11, Bath.
     Frank Jamieson and his wife Rachel settled near the present site of Elida in 1828.  Mr. Jamieson died in 1872.

START PAGE 243.


     John Ireland
     James Jennings
     Gideon and John Jennings
     Griffith John
     Abraham Kessler
     Abner Kelsey
     George Kephart
     William Kidd
     William Knittle
     Isaac Knoop
     Henry Lippincott
     Morgan Lippincott
     Aaron Loomis
     Peter Loramie
     Anthony Madore
     Horatio N. Maguire
     John Mark
     Samuel Marshall
     William Martin
     Dr. William McHenry
     Samuel McCluer
     James McCullough
     John McGill purchased his farm on Section 34, in 1826.
     John McKibben
     Jacob Miller
     Aaron M. Miller
     John P. Mitchell
     Samuel Moore
     John Murray
     Daniel Musser
     William Myers
     Daniel Myers
     James Nicholas
     Aaron Osborn
     Vance Pangle
     John Plickard
     Amelia Post
     Samuel Purdy
     Peter Ridenour
     John Ridenour
     Edward Bigdon
     Samuel Rockhill
     Andrew Russell
     Anthony Shane
     David N. Saxton
     William Scott, who erected a saw-mill near Lima in 1834, must be considered among the pioneers.
     Isaac Shockey, a native of Maryland, settled on Section 30, Auglaize Township, in 1831, where he resided until his death in 1847.
    James Smith settled in Auglaize Township in 1831.
     Elijah Standiford purchased lands on Section 32, Bath, in 1830.
     Francis Stephenson
     Samuel Stewart, who with James Daniels and John G. Wood formed the first County Board.
     William Stewart
     Samuel Stewart
     Hezekiah Stoles
     John Summersett
     Peter Sunderland
     Dye Sunderland
     Robert Terry
     James Turner
     Samuel Tidd
     William Underwood
     Robert Underwood came in 1831 to Auglaize Township.  His name is mentioned in the history of that township, and again in the general history.
     William Van Ausdall
     Peter Verbyrcke
     Joseph Walter
     Joseph Ward
     John Ward
     Samuel Washburn
     William Watt
     James Watt
     Hudson Watt
     Adam White
     Christopher Wood
     Owing to the fact that the German pioneers of Marion Township did not effect permanent settlement until after the pioneer era of the county, their names are confined to the history of that township.
     In the foregoing record there are many names mentioned under one heading.  Thus, under the name Turner, there are no less than fourteen pioneers mentioned.   The object of this portion of the chapter is to gather, as nearly as possible, the names of the very earliest settlers; so that, where the biographical historian fails to obtain their history, the writer of the general history may be satisfied that at least a brief personal reference is made to them in his own division of the work.

MARRIAGE RECORD OF PIONEER DAYS.  

     Such a record as this claims a double value.  It places before the reader a great number of names connected with the first years of the county's progress.  It points out the time when the young men and women of those years assumed the duties and responsibilities of married life, and in a measure chronicles the beginning of their true citizenship.  The record form 1831 to 1845 is selected to supplement the history of pioneer times.  The extent of the several matrimonial stories related in the original books since 1845, and the fact that such stories are comparatively modern and accessible to the public, are a few of the reasons why the records should not be continued here.  The editor of the Democratic Times, Mr. Selfridge, gave to his readers in 1883-84 a very full review of marriages, so far as registered, which took place in this county.  Charles F. Price, city editor of the Daily Times, continued the marriage chronology down to 1884, thus securing and making easy of access the record which is destined to take a most important place, if not the most important, among the records of the county.

      In addition to the marriages recorded in Allen, there were many marriages of her citizens celebrated and registered without the county, while others were never placed on the register.  Evidences of this appear in the part of this work devoted to biography.

 

 PORTRAIT OF LEMUEL EVERSOLE ]
    
    

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