OHIO GENEALOGY EXPRESS

 

WYANDOT COUNTY,
OHIO

History of
SYCAMORE TOWNSHIP

CHAPTER IV.
EDEN TOWNSHIP

THE TOWNSHIP AS ORIGINALLY SETTLED - EARLY SETTLERS - REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY OWNERS IN THE TOWNSHIP IN 1845 - EDUCATIONAL AND RELIGIOUS - TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS SINCE 1845  -
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

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THIS township when originally erected was a part of Leith, a township of Crawford County, and was created by the Commissioners of that county in March, 1838.  It lies east of Crane Township, and between Sycamore on the north and Antrim in the south; the east being bounded by Crawford county.  On the 2d day of June, 1845, the first Commissioners of this county, Stephen Fowler, William Griffith and Ethan Terry, ordered "That Sections 1, 12, 13, 24, 25 and 36 of the original surveyed township of Range 14 east, No. 2 south, be attached to Township No. 2 south of Range 15 east, and the same be designated as Eden Township."  These boundaries continue to the present time.  The township derived its name from the heavy growth of excellent timber, poplar, walnut and other varieties, and the fertility of its soil, which qualified it for the operations of husbandmen, and not, perhaps from the "fig leaf attire" of its original inhabitants, the red man.  It contains thirty sections, about three-fourths of which are drained by Peter Run, Negro Run, and its tributary, Kisor Run, and a few others, all of which empty into the Sandusky River.  The southeast quarter is drained by Indian Spring Run and its tributaries, which in Antrim Township take the name of Broken Sword Creek.

EARLY SETTLERS.

     The first white man who established himself in this township was, perhaps, Isaac Miller, a native of Rockingham County, Va., who, with his family of five to seven children, located on Section 29, near the present town of Nevada, in 1836.  He was familiarly known as Congress Miller, and for seven years leased land of Jacob Young, a Wyandot Indian.  In 1837, Mr. Miller was joined by George W. Leith, better known as Judge Leith, who settled on a quarter-section of Section No. 10, and John Horick on Quarter-section 27.  Judge Leith was a man of considerable prominence in the early history of the county, having served as Justice of the Peace in Crawford County, and as Associate Judge of Wyandot County for a period of eight years.  In 1839, John Welsh, Morgan Carter, Zaccheus Lea, Mr. Hill, Charles Caldwell, Samuel Snyder and a Mr. Cook were added to the list on Sections 34, 10, 10, 3, 34, 28 and 27 respectively.  In 1840, 1841 and 1842 these were re-enforced by others who followed in rapid succession till quite a settlement was formed.
     The taxable inhabitants of Eden Township in 1845, were as follows:

OWNERS OF REAL ESTATE

     Adams, Demas, Sections 5, 15, 22 and 27, 375 acres; Akins, H. G. C., Section 34, 80 acres; Bartoon, John L., Section 15, 62 acres; Cook, Joshua, Section 27, 54 acres; Culver, Ebenezer, Section 10, 63 acres; Garrett, George, Section 3, 66 acres; Howland, Augustus, Section 15, 80 acres; Horick, John, Section 27, 120 acres; Kiser, David, Section 10, 142 acres; 'Lemon, Joel Section 3, 42 acres; Lauck, George, Sections 5, 15 and 22, 279 acres; Lea, Zaccheus, Section 10, 80 acres; Leith, George W., Section 10, 80 acres; McElvain, John Sections 5, 3, 10 and 12, 281 acres; Mitten, Miles Section 3, 80 acres; Neeley, William, Section 27, 80 acres; Slocum , Ezra, Section 34, 132 acres; Stokely, Robert, Sections 3 and 22, 223 acres; Smith, William Section 15, 80 acres; Smith, Daniel, Sections 5, 27 and 34, 303 acres.

OWNERS OF PERSONAL ESTATE.

     Charles Caldwell, Joshua Cook, Levi Bunn, William Hartman, John Horick, David Kiser, George W. Leith, Zaccheus P. Lea, Isaac Miller, Lair Miller, Miles Mitten, James B. Robinson, Samuel Snyder, John Welch, Jr., James Welch, John Welch, Sr., Jacob Weeks, William Welch.
     The first road regularly laid out in the township extended through Sections 34 and 27, and was opened in 1839, though prior to this the Indian trails and "blazed tracks" were, no doubt, quite numerous and considerably used.  The Oceola road from Indian Run to Rock Run was opened by the Wyandot Indians, under the supervision of Isaac Miller, who at this date resides in Antrim Township.  Some of these earlier roads of "trails" led to the Indian resorts, one of which was the locality of the springs, which were supposed to be medicinal in their qualities, located in Section 22, and two others on the farms now owned by Henry and Samuel Aten on the Oceola State Road.  On the farm now owned by Tilman Balliet an Indian burying ground is located, and here from the healing fountains, they repaired to chant the death songs over their stricken dead.  Orchards were planted, and among these, as well as in other places, they have left their records in the implements of war and the chase, stone hatchets, spear heads and arrow heads and besides these the crude domestic utensils, such as the mortar and pestle by which they ground the corn that served to make their bread or thicken their skunk and 'possum broth.  For the greater part of their supplies the earlier settlers of this township, as well as of other townships went to Sandusky City and Fremont, and up to date Eden Township cannot claim the honors of a grist mill.  In 1849, the first saw mill was erected by Crawford & Lance, and seven mills are now in operation in the township - one owned by Samuel Bever at Nevada; one by Turney & Yohe, Edenville; one by Joseph Paulin, Little York; a fourth by John Kreechbaumon Section 6; a fifth by James Spangler, Eden Center; another by Martien Brothers,  Section 15.  The mercantile interests of Eden were somewhat thwarted by the establishment of a store in the village of Wyandot in an early day, and later by the sudden appearance and growth of Nevada (which, however, is partially situated in this township), after the construction of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad.  There are at present, however, two stores in the township outside of the villages, one situated on Section 20, conducted by Conrad Hasas; the other on Section 17, conducted by Daniel T. Warner.  The first store was kept by William Jobs on Section 9.  The first dwelling log cabin, 14 x 18, by Congress Miller.

EDUCATIONAL.

     The first schoolhouse erected in Eden Township was constructed of logs and very small in dimension.  Nancy Steele was the first to wield the peda  ---------- start on page 813

RELIGIOUS.

     Union Church -

     German Baptist Church -

OFFICIAL.

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