iWITmULUSTRATIONSJ DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY \r\ * t V I ■-K . ■ - r' f : - *V^ '• ■ A ' l*. . 1 'i/- i'. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/historyoferiecou01aldr HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY OHIO WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OE SOME OE ITS PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS. EDITED BY LEWIS CASS ALDRICH SYRACUSE, N. Y. D. MASON & CO., PUBLISHERS 1889 977 yci,a. ^ A 3 6SH O' IN'J'RODUCTION. H istory is a statement of fact, clearly and concisely written, and without comment, inferences or opinions. One of the most satisfactory situations in which the writer of local history can find himself is that that enables him to realize that his work is original. But in Erie county this delightful reflection is denied him, for there is but little of its history that has not, in some form or other, appeared in print ; still, it is confidently believed that this volume con- tains records, the events of which are proper to be treated upon as a part of the cour*-v’s history, that have been passed unnoticed by former writers ; and while th ajor part, perhaps, of the work is a compilation of records previously discussei ■ subjects have been herein arranged and classified so as to make them more intelligent to the reader, and therefore more vah’ ble. It would h ;ed remarkable to find, after an examination, that this vol- ume contained n^c an error of fact or date. “To err is human,” and the editor realizes fully the force of the statement made by Samuel Johnson, when he says: “ He that has a great work to do will do something wrong.” In the preparation of the History of Erie County and its several townships, the compiler has to acknowledge with gratitude the valuable assistance of a number of residents of the city of Sandusky and other towns. But before making any individual mention, the editor desires to extend to the press of the city sincere thanks for uniform courtesy and willing assistance rendered upon every occasion upon which the same was sought. To Charles N. Ereeman, of Sandusky, is due the credit of a valuable and interesting contribution of material facts — the results of his explorations among the Indian and other mounds with which the county was at an early day known to abound ; to Charles H. Cramer, esq., an attorney of the city, is also due thanks for the contribution of the Geological chapter; to Professor A. A. Bar- tow for the chapter on education, and other valuable assistance; to Dr. E. Von 8 Introduction. Schulenburg for his able chapter on The German Element of Erie county ; to W. D. Gurley for the history of Perkins township ; to Mrs. Margaret B. Peeke for the church history of the city and other important chapters ; to Dr. I. B. Massey for substantial assistance in preparing the Medical chapter ; to J. F. Green for the Agricultural article ; to Counsellor S. C. Wheeler for valuable material relating to the Masonic organizations of the city of Sandusky and elsewhere ; and further, to the people of the county at large, who by their generous contributions to the subscription list have made the publication of this volume not only possible but successful, are also extended the thanks not only of the editor but of the publishers as well. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. The Subject — Beginning of Erie County’s History Page 13 CHAPTER IL Traces of a Pre-Historic Race — An Unknown People — The Mound Builders — Theories Concerning Them — Character of Their Mounds — Discoveries in Brie County of Evi- dences of Their Former Presence There 14 CHAPTER HI. The Indian Occupation — The Eries — Their Destruction by the Five Nations — The Iro- quois Confederacy — Lake Erie — Its Name and Derivation — The Huron or Wyandot Indians — Their Subjugation by the Five Nations — Other Tribes of this Region — In- cidents Concerning Them — Their Final Removal 19 CHAPTER IV. The French Dominion — La Salle — His Voyage Up Lake Erie — The Griffin — French Operations in this Region — The French and English Wars — Extinction of French Power in America — Pontiac’s League — The Conspiracy — ^ The War — Peace Again Restored 23 CHAPTER V. Events Preceding the Revolu ion — Twelve Years of Peace — Growing English Power — Early Commerce of the Lake — The Second Sailing Vessel — The Beaver — The Mora- vian Missionaries and Indians — Their Settlement in Erie County — The Revolution. . 28 CHAPTER VI. ^Extinguishment of Indian Titles to Land — Treaty at Fort McIntosh — Fort Laurens — Fort Finney — Battle at Fallen Timbers — Wayne’s Victory — Treaty at Fort Indus- try — Text of the Treaty — The Indian Title to Lands of Erie County Vested in the United States — Later Events — The War of 1812-15 31 lO Contents. CHAPTER VII. The Soil and Civil Jurisdiction of Ohio — The Connecticut Lands — The Western Reserve — Connecticut Sufferers’ or Fire Lands — Detailed Record of their Organization — Laws — Acts and Explanations — Surveys — Dissolution of the Fireland’s Company — Records Transferred to Huron County 38 CHAPTER VIII. Organization of Counties on the Reserve — Botetourt — Trumbull — Geauga — Cuyahoga — Huron — Proceedings to Erect Huron County — The County Seat at Milan Changed to Norwalk — Officers — Erie County Erected — Acts Regarding It — County Civil List 50 CHAPTER IX. A General Topographical and Geographical View of Erie County — Its Situation and Boundaries — Civil Divisions 59' CHAPTER X. Locating the County Seat — Sites Offered — Incidents — Sandusky Chosen — The First Court-House — Change of County Seat Threatened — Permanent House of Justice Provided — The Tardy Proprietors — Some Notable Cases Tried- — The First and Only Murderer Executed in Erie County — The Old Jail — Present County Buildings 63 CHAPTER XL Geology of Erie County 72 CHAPTER XII. Agriculture of Erie County . . , 83 CHAPTER XIII. Military History of Erie County 93 CHAPTER XIV. The Press of Erie County 178 CHAPTER XV. 'Bench and Bar 187 Contents. 1 1 CHAPTER XVI. The Medical Profession 211 CHAPTER XVII. The German Element of Brie County 228 CHAPTER XVIII. Railways of the County 263 CHAPTER XIX. Some Events of Erie County’s Political History 272 CHAPTER XX. History of the City of Sandusky — The Seat of Justice of Erie County 280 CHAPTER XXL History of Berlin Township 438 CHAPTER XXII. History of Florence Township 450 CHAPTER XXHI. History of Groton Township 454 / CHAPTER XXIV. History of Huron Township 459 CHAPTER XXV. History of Kelley’s Island 473 s CHAPTER XXVI. _ History of Margaretta] Township 481 12 Contents. CHAPTER XXVII. Hi.'^tory of Milan Township and Village 492' CHAPTER XXVIII. History of Oxford Township 509 CHAPTER XXIX. History of Vermillion Township 514 CHAPTER XXX. History of Perkins Township 521 CHAPTER XXXI. Brief Biographical Sketches 541 ILLUSTRATIONS. Stoll, Adam J., portrait facing 406 Sadler, Ebeneze B., portrait facing 534 Simpson, William A., portrait facing 280 BIOGRAPHICAL. McKelvey, John 529 Sadler, Ebenezer B 534 Simpson, William A 532 Stoll, Adam J 531 History of Erie County. CHAPTER I. THE SUBJECT.— BEGINNING OF ERIE COUNTY’S HISTORY. ^''HE history of any county properly begins with its organization, and anar- rative of the events occurring within its borders prior to that organization must necessarily be associated with the older counties of which it had previously formed a part. Erie county was not organized with its present name until the year 1838. The larger and the more interesting part of its history had at that time already taken place. It is necessary, therefore, to point out that the sub- ject of this work is the territory comprised within the present bounds of Erie county, together with the inhabitants of that territory, no matter whether the events recorded occurred before or after the beginning of the independent ex- istence of the county. Again, as has already been intimated, it will be neces- sary to frequently refer to matters outside this territory in order to elucidate the history of the county and show a succession of events. Such extraneous references, however, will be confined chiefly to a few of the earlier chapters. There is scarcely a subject pertaining to the history of Erie county, or to this region, that has not in some manner been written, and it is hardly to be expected that at this late day any new and important historical material can be unearthed and brought forward from the long hidden recesses of the past. It will be necessary in view of the many publications that have been made, to discuss the subjects that have therein appeared and in much the same manner as they appear to be related ; but in quoting from other works and other writ- ers full credit will be given and preference exercised for those who have been in some manner identifled with the past of this immediate locality. Further, when “Erie county” is spoken of previous to the organization and naming thereof, it will be understood that the words are used chiefly to avoid circumlocution and mean the territory included within its present boundaries. So, too, for convenience the territory now comprised in a township will occa- 3 14 History of Erie County. sionally be mentioned by its present name, before any such township was act- ually in existence. It is the aim and hope of the writer, by a proper arrangement and classifi- cation of the subjects treated in the several chapters, to present to the people of Erie county a work that shall be to them of much value for ready reference and to the succeeding generations a work of inestimable value as an instructor regarding the past of the county and region. CHAPTER II. Traces of a Pre-Historic Race. — An Unknown People. — The Mound Builders. — Theories Concerning Them. — Character of Their Mounds. — Discoveries in Erie County of Evidences of Their Former Presence There. I T seems to be a fact, and a fact founded upon theory, surmise, inference and probability, that the whole region of country now embraced within the lim- its of the State of Ohio, was the home of a large race of people possessing traits and a degree of intelligence far beyond those possessed by the average Amer- ican Indian of the seventeenth, eighteenth or nineteenth centuries, of all of whom we have positive knowledge. Of this peculiar people there exists no written history, nor have we any traditionary knowledge of them or other ev- idence than the works and relics that they left behind them like “footprints in the sands of time.” This people, the historians of the last two centuries have been pleased to term as Mound Builders. The time of their occupation of the country has never been determined. The earliest traditionary Indian history carries the reader back to the oc- cupation of this whole lake and river country by two nations of people who were said to have come from the country west of the Mississippi River, those :settling in the country bordering upon the lakes being known as the Mengwe, ■while the others occupied the territory upon the larger rivers of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and the country south andVho were known as the Lenni Lenapes or “ original people.” These two peoples had a tradition extending back to the early part of the thirteenth century, but from them there came no knowledge of an earlier nation than their own. The name Mound Builders ■seems to have been accepted as the only one to properly designate the pecul- iar race who certainly did, in some by-gone age, occupy the territory of Ohio. The case presents two features : That which is known and that which is not known concerning them, and the latter is largely in preponderance. “Eu- ropeans, Egyptians and Asiatics might have voyaged across the Atlantic by Pre-Historic Evidences. 15 way of the Western Islands, Iceland and Greenland, or as the Welsh expedi- tion of Madoc did in 1170 A. D., or as Christopher Columbus did in 1492, or as might have been done by an earlier, bolder navigator by way of the mid-ocean island Atlantis, of which we read (though always doubtingly) in Plato, and which the right of authority pronounces fabulous.” But “ we do not know where they came from, when and how they disappeared, whether they were extinguished by war, pestilence, or famine, or ultimately degenerated into bar- barians, or whether they slowly moved to the southwest and finally came with- in the domain of history as Aztecs, or some more ancient people, once of pre- historic times in Mexico or Central America.” We leave then the speculations of theorists for the more practical knowl- edge of the Mound Builders, as shown by their works which have been exam- ined and explored in this State. These consisted of mounds, effigies and in- closures, and from the first, which, predominating, gave the name of “Mound Builders ” to this people. Those who have given this subject the most study and examination have classified the mounds into sepulchral, sacrificial, temple (or truncated) mounds, also mounds of observation and memorial or monumental mounds. Effigies are also called animal mounds ; sometimes, too, they are named emblematic or symbolic mounds. “ Inclosures are of several kinds, one class being known as military or de- fensive works, another as parallel embankments or covered ways, and the third as sacred inclosures.” But it is not well to pursue this theoretical subject further for the purposes of this chapter. None of these higher grades of mounds have been discovered in this locality, although they have been known elsewhere in Ohio. Still there have been found in Erie county evidences of the presence here of this lost and unknown people. Many of what has been believed to be the remains of mounds in various localities hereabouts have been explored and implements of warfare and for domestic use among the Mound Builders have been taken from them, A few interested persons, residents of Sandusky and elsewhere in the county, have given these matters some attention. Therefore, by request, we present to the readers of this work the results of examinations made by Charles N. Ereeman, of the city of Sandusky, written and contributed expressly for this chapter : Contrary to the generally accepted opinion, Erie county bears abundant evidence of occupancy by a race of people ante-dating the present race of Indians, or their generally accepted ancestors. Although there are no large mounds, or those of peculiar shape, such as are found in the central and south- ern parts of the State, yet a close examination of the knolls along the banks of the rivers and creeks tributary to Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie reveals the fact that mounds did exist here in large numbers. The action of time, and i6 His'J'ory oi' Erie County. more especially cultivation, the greatest foe to the preservation of such re- mains, have in many instances almost obliterated all trace of them, but the fact that they are still traceable is stronger proof of their existence. On the high- est points and some distance back from the creek banks, in fields of light, sandy soil and clay sub-soil, are found circular deposits of extremely black earth, varying in depth from one to three feet, in which are found skeletons of a “race” — not Indians. The skull is well developed, being full in the fore- head, broad, with good height above the ears, and in all respects different from the Indians. The skeletons of adults are above the average size and some of them gigantic. The writer, together with Dr. Charles Stroud and Mr. T. L. Williams, have dug up a number in different localities, and always, with one exception, with the same results. The graves were dug through the soil of varying depth to the clay sub-soil, on which was spread a deposit of ashes and charcoal from four to eight inches thick. The skeletons are found lying side by side, facing the west, the arms closely pinioned to the sides, and sur- rounded by innumerable bones of birds and small animals, black with age, but evidently not burnt. The exception referred to was an excavation made by the writer on the farm of Henry Geasen, formerly part of the Upp property, situated on the east bank of Pipe Creek. Here, in a mound of about one-half acre in extent, were discovered a large number of skeletons buried face downward in parallel trenches running north and south. Twenty-three were removed and exam- ined, and a large number were left untouched. No relics of importance were found, but there were large quantities of broken tomahawks, pipes and pottery, the latter from the shallowness of burial, evidently destroyed by action of frost. On this mound have been found stone arrow and spear points, relics of the stone age ; also stone pipes, fleshers, tomahawks, curiously shaped totems, and pottery of various and in some instances of quite elaborate design. In the collection of Mr. Williams is an arrow point, found in Oakland Cemetery, at a depth of eight feet. Nearly all the finds are made on the east side of the creeks. On Plum Brook, beginning at a point near where it empties into the marsh, is a line of mounds, or rather their remains, extending in almost a straight line to Bogart’s Corners, crossing the creek in one instance, but al- ways on the highest elevations. On one of them is a large ring, fifty feet in diameter, four feet wide, and being of black earth is plainly discernible on the yellow sandy soil. In this ring have been found several fine specimens, highly polished. The arrow and spear points differ in shape and material on the dif- ferent creeks, those found on Plum Brook being leaf-shaped, chert, and deeply notched black flint ; also the Icelandic or double notched arrow points, which are very rare and are found in no other place in this vicinity. On Goose Creek, so called, the arrow points are of chert, crude and imperfect, very few good specimens being found. Even the tomahawks and fleshers are of the Pre-Historic Evidences. 17 crudest make, and bear evidence of great age. Pipe Creek furnishes the most of the willow-leaf variety, double pointed arrows and drills. The specimens found here are of excellent workmanship. Mill’s Creek furnishes a greater variety, but here, even, a special shape, that of the triangular or war arrow, predominates. These facts seem to denote tribal distinctions. On the north bank of Mill’s Creek, just south of the Lake Shore track, was a large burial mound, which was partly removed when the fill was made at that place. On this mound grew an immense oak tree, of great age, whose roots had pene- trated to the center and there entwined themselves around the bones laid to rest, drawing sustenance from those whose graves it sheltered. When this tree was removed a number of relics were found, besides the skeletons referred to. To the east of this mound is a level spot of about three acres, evidently the site of a village. The rise from the creek is gradual, and the elevation commands a view of the creek to its mouth as well as the surrounding country. Its natural position made it easy of defense, and occupied by any considerable force would seem almost impregnable. It was less than one-half mile from the shore of one of the most beautiful sheets of still water to be found along the lake shore, whose depths swarmed with fish of countless variety, and whose surface was covered with wild fowl — the bay and adjoining marshes being feeding grounds during the migratory seasons — and backed by a track- less forest, filled to repletion with the game that supplied the material for their clothing and a large proportion of their food. Supplies of nuts and acorns were easily obtained, and the marshes were thickets of wild rice, which for them then, as for the tribes of the Northwest now, no doubt formed part of their food supply. No stretch of the imagination is necessary to appreciate the motives and sentiments that influenced those who chose this spot for a* dwelling place. The ground bears evidence of having been the scene of a fierce conflict. Scattered about all over this field are broken tomahawks of all shapes and sizes, and the small triangular or war arrows are found in great abundance. The soil is full of specimens of great variety. There is a bed of burned pottery material here, covering about thirty feet square, evidently the seat of the pottery manufacture for this whole section. It is composed of clay and ground white quartz, mixed in proportions of about one to twenty, evi- dently to make it harder. Many stone hammers are found, of granite and greenstone, fashioned to fit the hand perfectly. There are no large fragments of flint found, but an abundance of fine chips, the refuse of the arrow- makers. Almost every stone in the whole field bears evidence of having been used for some purpose. Taken together, these results prove conclusively that this is the site of the prolonged habitation. The land adjoining, at this writing planted in vineyards, yields with every turn of the plow relics of every descrip- tion and grade of workmanship. I have in my collection two beveled-edge arrow points, found here, which for design and symmetry equal any thing that i8 History of Erie County. can be fashioned from stone. The angles are exactly forty-five degrees, which would cause the arrow to revolve as soon as it left the hand of the archer, insuring more accurate aim and causing an ugly wound. At a point on Sandusky Bay known as Martin’s Cave are several mounds of small pieces of stone. They have been repeatedly investigated, but nothing of importance found in them. There are also several earth mounds in that vicinity which as yet remain untouched. Tradition, the ally of the historian, has made mention of a fort in this vicin- ity which has finally been located about one mile south of Venice. Repeated plowing and the washings of many years have effaced all semblance as regards embankments, but by the discoloration of the soil the outline is plainly defined, and within its prescribed limits, at various times, have been found stone pipes, and a number of those curious combination bird and animal shape totems. They have often the body, legs and ears of an animal, and a bill like a duck. Through the feet are drilled small holes, for what purpose is a mystery. Nu- merous other relics have been found differing from any known to be in any of the large collections of the State. The same general condition of things is found on the banks of the Huron and Vermillion Rivers, and in fact throughout the whole county; but that part of it nearest to and within easy reaching distance of Sandusky City has been the most thoroughly examined, and from it in particular the facts have been noted, and the deductions drawn which appear in this article. To whatever race made and used these tools and weapons must be given the credit for in- genuity, skill and persistent effort. With stone hammers they fashioned their tomahawks and fleshers, and sharpened and polished them on stones of Berea grit, by rubbing them in a circle until the desired effect was obtained. With the bow and flint-drill were made the holes in the totems and pipes, they bear- ing the marks of the sharp edges of the drills to this day. The pipes were first fashioned as regards shape and style, and then drilled. I have two in my col- lection finished, with the exception of boring, which in each is begun at the stem and bowl. They sawed by means of sand and water on the same princi- ple of to-day, until the required depth was reached, and broke the remainder. Time to them was an unknown quantity, but that admitted, the results they ob- tained were wonderful. The material for their fleshers, hammers and toma- hawks were obtained from the beds of the creeks. Mill’s Creek, especially, at some points being full of small boulders of the same material as the relics found. The chert came from the limestone beds, and the flint from a distance ; the flat totems from stones picked up on the lake shore, and other tools and weap- ons from stones whose natural adaptation attracted their notice. Beginning with the crudest relics found by comparison it is an easy matter to trace the progress made not by long strides, but little by little, adding detail to detail, until perfection in the material used was obtained. Adaptation to circum- stances is a natural law governing the human race. Indian Occupation. 19 There is also an inherent force urging mankind to greater effort, but then even, the diversity of their product, the skill developed, and the patience shown are marvelous, and to the student an endless source of admiration. A large number of specimens from Erie county have been donated to the Stroud, Mr. Williams and my own, which together number more than three thousand, nearly all of which have been collected personally, by careful and persistent search. They embrace spear and arrow points; of the latter nine va- rieties being found, pipes of pottery and stone, carved and plain, tomahawks, fleshers, hammers, mortars and pestles, totems of different design and material, drills, bone awls, wampum, beads of pottery, flint knives, polishing-stones, round hammered stones, used as a bolas, bears claws, with holes drilled through them, evidently parts of amulets and necklaces, worn by the braves as proof of their prowess, and a large number of unique specimens which the writer has never seen classified or described. To the student and collector Erie county is a splendid field for observation and exploration, yielding rich rewards for rightly directed, systematic research. As yet no concerted action in this direction has been taken, or sufficient inter- est awakened to form a society for that purpose. Erie county should not be behind in so important a matter, and it is hoped such an organization will soon be effected, and many discoveries made that will throw light upon this subject, and many specimens added to a large nucleus, ready to be donated to so wor- thy an object. The Indian Occupation — The Eries — Their Destruction by the Five Nations — The Iroquois Confederacy — Lake Erie — Its Name and Derivation — The Huron or Wyandot Indians — Their Subjugation by the Five Nations — Other Tribes of this Region- — Incidents Concerning Them — Their Final Removal. HE first nation of Indians concerning whom any reliable information is obtainable as having occupied the lands bordering on Lake Erie in this vicinity was the Eries, and they, prior to their destruction by the powerful Iroquois Confederacy, occupied the greater part of the country on the south of the lake. Erom this tribe, or nation, the lake derives its name. The name, Erie, was always mentioned by the early French writers as meaning “Cat.” On Sanson’s map, published in 1651, Lake Erie is called “Lac du Chat,” Lake of the Cat. There were certainly no domestic cats among the Indians until introduced by the whites, and the name must be attributed to the wild cat or Fremont and Firelands Associations, aside fromi those to the collections of Dr. CHAPTER HI. 20 History of Erie County. panther. It may have been assumed by this tribe because its warriors thought themselves as ferocious as these animals, or it may have been assigned to them by their neighbors because of the abundance of wild cats and panthers in the territory occupied by the Eries. It is, then, first with this nation that we have to deal. The precise years in which these events occurred are uncertain, nor is it accurately known whether the Eries or other tribes first felt the anger of the Five Nations (the Iroquois). According to early French writers, among these Indians there lived a tradition that runs somewhat as follows : The Eries had been jealous of the Iroquois from the time the latter formed their confederacy. About the time under consideration the Eries challenged their rivals to a grand game of ball, a hundred men on a side, for a heavy stake of furs and wampum. For two successive years the challenge was declined, but when it was again repeated it was accepted. The Eries were defeated, and then proposed a foot-race between ten of the fleetest young men on each side. Again the Iroquois were victorious. Still later the Eries proposed a wrestling match between ten champions on each side, the victor in each bout to have the privilege of knocking out his adversary’s brains with his tomahawk. This challenge, too, was accepted, though, as the various Iroquois historians assert, with no intention of claiming the forfeit if successful. In the first bout the Iroquois wrestler threw his antagonist, but declined to play the part of execu- tioner. The chief of the Eries, infuriated by his champion’s defeat, himself struck the unfortunate wrestler dead, as he lay supine where the victor had flung him. Another and another of the Eries was in the same way conquered by the Iroquois, and in the same way dispatched by the wrathful chief, until the Eries were thrown into a state of terrific excitement, and the leader of the confederates, fearing an outbreak, ordered his followers to take up their march home. But the jealousy and hatred of the Eries was still more inflamed by their defeat, and they soon laid a plan to surprise, and, if possible, destroy the Iro- quois. In this they were foiled and terribly beaten in an open conflict. After- wards a powerful body of the descendants of the Eries went from the west to attack the Iroquois, but were utterly defeated and slain. Such is the tradition. It is a very nice story for the Iroquois. None of these scenes was enacted in this region, but in the far eastern country occu- pied by the Eries ; and as the possessors of the soil hereabouts were engaged actively in that series of events, it is here related. The time of the destruction of the Eries by the Iroquois is somewhat uncer- tain, but from all authorities it may be placed at about 1655. It was certainly later than 1645, and earlier than 1660. This fierce Iroquois nation possessed the soil of this region for a few years after the subjugation of the Eries, but as their possessions were so vast, and they were engaged in a terrible warfare with the Delawares, soon after they Indian Occupation. 21 withdrew from its actual occupation, still, however, exercising authority and acts of ownership until their treaty with the whites extinguished their claim to title. A word or two will suffice to describe these temporary possessors of the soil of Erie county, who have been variously known as the Five and subse- quently as the Six Nations and as the Iroquois Confederacy. It should be said that the name “Iroquois” was never applied by the confederates to them- selves. It was first used by the French, and its meaning is veiled in obscu- rity. The men of the Five Nations (afterwards the Six Nations) called them- selves “ Hedonosaunee,” which means literally, “They form a cabin”; describ- ing in this expressive manner the close union existing among them. The Indian name just quoted is more liberally and commonly rendered “The Peo- ple of the Fong House ;” which is more fully descriptiveof the confederacy, though not quite so accurate a translation. The tribes comprising the Five Nations were the Mohawks, Onondagas, Oneidas, Cayugas and Senecas. During one of their warlike excursions to the Carolinas they were assisted by the Tuscaroras in overpowering the Powhat- tans. At a later period the Tuscaroras were overcome by the Powhattans and whites and driven out of the country. They came north and were taken into the confederacy, whereupon the Five Nations became the Six Nations. The best authority regarding the name of the first Indian occupants of this region is the work of the Jesuit priest. Father Fouis Hennepin, published about the year 1684, in which he says: “These good fathers were great friends of the Hurons, who told them that the Iroquois went to war beyond Virginia, or New Sweden, near a lake which they called ‘ Frige,’ or ‘ Erie,’ which signifies ‘the cat,’ or ‘nation of the cat;’ and because these savages brought captives from the nation of the cat in returning to their cantons along this lake, the Hurons named it, in their language, ‘Frige,’ or ‘ Ericke,’ ‘the lake of the cat,’ and which our Canadians, in softening the word, have called ‘ Fake Erie.’ ” Another French writer, Charlevoix, says respecting the lake : “ The name it bears is that of an Indian nation of the Huron (Wyandot) language, which was formerly seated on its banks, and who have been entirely destroyed by the Iroquois. Erie, in that language, signifies cat, and in some accounts, this nation is called the Cat Nation. This name probably comes from the large number of those animals formerly found in this country.” — Howe's Hist. Col. From this it is inferred that the Hurons were the successors to the soil of this region under sufferance of the Iroquois Confederacy. Charlevoix credits the Hurons, or Wyandots, for they were the same people, with speaking the same language as the Fries. This would seem to confirm the theory advanced by some writers of note that a remnant of the unfortunate Fries, some years after their subjugation, returned and possessed the soil of their fathers. 4 22 History of Erie County. although unwilling to assert their relationship to the Eries through fear of an- other visitation of the vengeance of the dreaded Iroquois. But the Hurons, too, fell victims to the merciless attacks of these fierce confederates, for, says Johnson : “ After the overthrow of the Kahquahs and Eries the Iroquois went forth conquering and to conquer. This was probably the day of their greatest glory. Stimulated but not yet crushed by contact with man, they stayed the progress of the Erench into their territories, they negotiated on equal terms with the Dutch and English, and, having supplied themselves with the terrible arms of the pale-faces, they smote with direst vengeance whomsoever of their own race were so unfortunate as to provoke their wrath. “ On the Susquehanna, on the Alleghany, on the Ohio, even to the Mis- sissippi in the west and the Savannah in the south, the Iroquois bore their conquering arm.s, filling with terror the dwellers alike on the plains of Illinois and in the glades of Carolina. They strode over the bones of the slaughtered Kahquahs and Eries to new conquests on the lakes beyond, even to the foam- ing cascades of Michillimacinac, and the shores of the mighty, Superior. They inflicted such terrible defeat upon the Hurons, despite the alliance of the latter with the Erench, that many of the conquered nation sought safety on the frozen borders of Hudson’s Bay. In short, they triumphed on every side, save only where the white man came, and even he was for a time held at bay by these fierce confederates.” The seat of government of the Erie Indians was in the western part of New York State, but their possessions extended westward along the lake even to this region and beyond it on the west. With the Hurons or Wyandots their relations were entirely friendly and they spoke the same language. The Hu- rons occupied, in their time, this locality, both on the east and west, in the lat- ter direction their lands extended to Lake Huron, and from them that body of water derives its name. The name “ Wyandot ” is applied to a branch of this family or people, as it was a custom followed for hundreds of years to give the scattered branches of the parent tribe some name suitable to the locality in which they chanced to dwell. The name Huron was applied to this people by the French, but its signifi- cation is unknown. The Ottawas, also, were a tribe of Indians that used to visit this locality,, but their main seat of residence was on the Maumee. The “Ottawa,” is an Indian word meaning “ trader.” Occasionally there comes information that other tribes have been repre- sented in this vicinity, and frequently some chief of prominence in the wars made a visit here. The Shawnees were one of these. They came from the country of the Susquehanna River of Pennsylvania, having been compelled to French Dominion. 23 leave that region by the sale of the lands to the proprietaries of that province by the Five Nation Indians. The Shawnees were formerly allied to the Dela- wares, and with the latter were beaten by the Iroquois in their greatest devas- tating and conquering excursion. They (the Shawnees) are supposed to have been of Southern origin. They spoke the Algonquin language. Some of these Indians 'figured in the early wars, but their depredations were confined to the localities where white settlement had made an advance. Therefore we can furnish to the reader none of the blood-curdling incidents or tales of horror as having occurred within the boundaries of Erie county. Yet, in a general way, as a part of the history of this region, some reference will be made to the early battles in Northwestern Ohio. The last treaty with the Indians by which their title to lands in Ohio was extinguished was made in the year 1829, and soon thereafter their removal was ■commenced under the authority and direction of the general government. It was nearly ten years later, however, before the last remnant of the tribes was removed. CHAPTER IV. FRENCH DOMINION. The French Dominion — La Salle —His Voyage up Lake Erie — The Griffin— French Opera- tions in this Region — The French and English Wars — Extinction of French Power in America — Pontiac’s League — The Conspiracy — The War — Peace Again Restored. F rance laid claim to the soil and right of possession of this country by discovery. The chief central figure in all operations of that sovereign power was Robert Cavalier de La Salle, a Frenchman of good family, then thirty-five years of age, and one of the most gallant, devoted and adventur- ous of all the bold explorers who, under many different banners, opened the new world to the knowledge of the old. This man arrived at the mouth of the Niagara in the month of January, 1679. He left his native Rouen at the age of twenty-two, and from that time forward he was employed in leading a life of adventure and exploration among the Indians of America. He held a commission from King Louis to discover the western part of New France, and in carrying out this work he first came to Lake Erie. He was authorized to build such forts as were necessary, but at his ovvn expense, being granted cer- tain privileges in return, the principal of which appears to have been the right to trade in furs and skins. During this same year, 1679, he sent Sieur de La 24 History of Erie County. Motte and Father Hennepin (the priest and historian of his expedition), in ad- vance to the mouth of the Niagara. La Motte soon returned. At a point about six miles above the falls La Salle built the first vessel that navigated the waters of Lake Erie. It was named Le Grijfon (The Griffin), in compliment to the Count de Frontenac, minister of the French colonies, whose coat of arms was ornamented with representations of that mythical beast. The Griffin was a diminutive vessel compared with the ’leviathans of the deep which now navigate these inland seas, but was a marvel in view of the difficulties under which it had been built. It was of sixty tons burthen, com- pletely furnished with anchors and other equipments, armed with seven small cannon, and filled with thirty-four men, all Frenchmen with a single excep- tion. In 1680 La Salle sailed the length of Lake Erie and into the chain of lakes beyond. Whether he touched Sandusky Bay does not appear, either by rec- ord or tradition. But his was a voyage of exploration and discovery, and it is more than possible that he did visit this locality; and, in view of the subse- quent French erections in this region, it may reasonably be inferred the in- trepid commander delighted his eyes with the beautiful harbor of Sandusky Bay. To follow La Salle through all his voyages and journeyings is not within the province of this work. Suffice it to say, therefore, that the Griffn was lost in the eastern waters of the lake, while her brave commander fell a victim to the murderous assaults of his own men w’hom he had employed to serve him. Lor the next half century after the adventures of La Salle, the French maintained a general but not very substantial ascendency in this region. Their voyagers traded and their missionaries labored. Among the Huron-Wyan- dots, and other tribes of this region, they made friends and converts. The French sovereigns and ministers considered the whole lake region as being un- questionably a part of “New France” (or Canada). Their maps so described it, and they looked forward with entire assurance to the time when French troops and French colonists should hold undisputed possession of all this vast domain. During the latter years of the seventeenth century the French and English claimants (for the English claimed also by discovery and possession), became involved in a conflict, each endeavoring not only to maintain but to extend their possessions, in the eastern country, and scarcely had an adjustment of their difficulties been reached and the echoes of conflict died away than they again became involved in the long contest knbwn as “ Queen Anne’s War.” But, meanwhile, through all this western country the French extended their influence. Detroit was founded in 1701, the most important, perhaps, of all the western posts and the key to the whole lake region. Other posts were established far and wide, but it was not until near the middle of the eighteenth. French Dominion. 2 5 ' century that operations were commenced within the borders of Erie county, and the offensive and defensive measures were then adopted by the French and their firm allies, the Hurons, on account of the growing English settle- ment generally in the region. It has been stated that near the middle of the seventeenth century, which would be about 1650, some English traders made a settlement and built a stockade on the site of the present village of Venice, in Margaretta township ; and that for something like one hundred years were they in possession before being compelled to leave by the French. The same authority is also somewhat uncertain as to the exact location of Fort Junan- dat, but thinks tradition accurately locates it at Venice. Upon the authority of Evan’s map of the Middle British Colonies the location of Fort Junandat is given as the east bank of Sandusky River, near the 'oay, and that it was built in 1754. The war between England and France was begun in 1744 and closed by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748. None of its more stirring events were enacted in Erie county, save the incidents to which reference has already been made, and even they were auxiliary and of subsequent performance. During these years the Huron-Wyandots remained firm in their allegiance to the Erench. During the eight years of nominal peace which succeeded the treaty, both the Erench and English made numerous efforts to extend their dominion be- yond their frontier settlements, the former with the more success ; and it was unquestionably during these years, and those that followed, down to the out- break of the struggle for American independence, that the more stirring scenes of warlike acts were performed in this county and vicinity. To their already established posts the Erench added many others, and endeavored to establish a. complete line of defenses from the lakes to the Mississippi. Among these forts so constructed, although a position of minor importance, was that at the mouth of the Huron River, within the borders of Huron township ; and another on the shore of the bay near the site of Sandusky city. They were constructed in order to afford a protection to the French missionaries, traders and colonists who were living among the Huron-Wyandot Indians, should they become, at any time, in need of greater defenses than their own strength. These forts were abandoned prior to the Revolution. Frequent detachments of French troops and their Indian allies passed along the route. Gaily dressed French officers sped backward and forward, at- tended by the fierce warriors of their allied tribes, and not infrequently the Hurons. Dark-gowned Jesuits hastened to and fro, everywhere receiving the respect of the red men, even when their creed was rejected, and using all their art to magnify the power of both Rome and France. In 1754 open hostilities and violent acts were indulged in, but it was not until 1756 that war was again declared between England and France, this 26 History of Erie County. being their last great struggle for supremacy in the New World. At first the French were everywhere victorious. Braddock, almost at the gates of Fort Du Ouesne, was slain, and his army cut in pieces by a force utterly contempt- ible in comparison with his own. Oswego fell. The French lines along the lakes and across the country were stronger than ever. But gradually the tide of war turned in favor of the British, and many of the Indian tribes wavered in their fidelity to the cause of France. Not so, however, with the Ohio Indians, Avho entertained only feelings of hatred for the English. They knew only the P'ronch, and were strongly attached to them — the Ottawas, the Wyandots and the Chippewas, the inhabitants of this region. The first visit these tribes re- ceived from the English was after the surrender of Vaudreuil, when Major Robert Rogers was sent to take charge of Detroit. He left Montreal in Sep- tember, 1760. By way of Presque Isle he proceeded slowly up Fake Erie and reached Detroit on the 19th of November. He at once demanded the sur- render of the post, but it was not until the 29th that Beleter, the commander, yielded, and this important point passed into possession of the British. While before Detroit Major Rogers was visited by the great Ottawa chief, Pontiac, and between them a friendship was at once formed. From Detroit, in December, 1760, Rogers proceeded to the Maumee, and thence across Ohio to P'ort Pitt. His route lay “from Sandusky, where Sandusky city now is, crossed the Huron River, then called Bald Eagle Creek, to ‘ Mohickon John’s Town,’ upon what we know as Mohicon Creek, the northern branch of White Woman’s River, and thence crossed to Beaver’s Town, a Delaware town on the west side of the ‘ Maskongam Creek,’ opposite ‘ a fine river,’ which, from Hutchins’s map, we presume was Sandy Creek.’’ The reader will observe that the worthy historian places the fort on or near the site of Sandusky city. Evan’s map of the Middle British Colonies locates it on the west of Sandusky River, and a third authority, referred to before in this chapter, gives it as near Venice. As to which may be correct is a ques- tion that, perhaps, cannot be satisfactorily settled at this day, but from the best information at hand it is thought that Venice was not the site of the fort, but that it was several miles distant therefrom. The years 1761 and 1762 proved disastrous to the French arms, and soon the struggle was over. The English Octavius had defeated the Gallic Antony. Forever destroyed was the hope of a French peasanty inhabiting the plains of Erie county ; of baronial castles crowning the vine-clad heights of the islands of the lake ; of a gay French city overlooking the placid waters of Sandusky Bay. The treaty of peace between England and France was ratified in Feb- ruary, 1763, and by that treaty Canada was ceded to the former power. Not- withstanding the disappearance of the French soldiers, the western tribes still remembered them with affection, and were still disposed to wage war upon the English. The celebrated Pontiac united nearly all these tribes in a league French Dominion. 27 against the red-coats, immediately after the advent of the latter, and, as no such confederation had been formed against the French, during all their long years of possession, this action of Pontiac must be assigned to some cause other than mere hatred of all civilized intruders. In truth, there appeared abundant room for the belief that Pontiac was but carrying out the schemes devised by some of the more revengeful of the defeated Frenchmen. And but two short years before this league was formed, and while the war between the English and French was working hard against the latter and defeat seemed inevitable, this same chief of the Ottawas is credited with having said : “ Englishmen ! Although you have conquered the French, you have not yet conquered us. We are not your slaves. These lakes, these woods, these mountains, were left to us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance, and we will part with them to none. Your nation supposes that we, like the white people, cannot live with- out bread, and pork and beef But you ought to know that He, the Great Spirit and Master of Life, has provided food for us upon these broad lakes and in these mountains.” So powerful indeed was the Pontiac league that the old animosity existing between some of the tribes and the Iroquois was, for the time, laid aside, and a few of the Five Nations joined the great body. By far the greater portion, however, were of the Ottawa, Wyandot, Chippewa, Miami, Delaware and Shawnee tribes. All from this region were enlisted in league. In May, 1763, the league surprised nine out of twelve English posts, and massacred their garrisons. Detroit, Pittsburg and Niagara alone escaped sur- prise, and each successfully resisted a siege, in which branch of warfare, in- deed, the Indians were almost certain to fail. In September of that year occurred the horrible massacre at Devil’s Hole ; and following close upon that, in October, came the awful slaughter of the forces of Major Wilkins, who was moving to reinforce the garrison at Detroit. In the West, Pontiac kept up active though unavailing hostilities, and in the summer of 1764 the English commander-in-chief determined to send a force up the lakes, able to overcome all opposition. Accordingly, General Bradstreet, an able officer, with twelve hundred British and Americans, ac- companied by the indefatigable Sir William Johnson and a body of his faithful Iroquois warriors. The Senecas, the only tribe of the Iroquois nation that gave aid to the French, or to Pontiac, were met by Bradstreet and brought into submission. That commander then embarked on the lake and went to the relief of Detroit. He caused to be destroyed the Indian towns and crops through this locality and upon the Maumee, and drove the Indians from the country. Arriving at Detroit Bradstreet easily routed the forces of the now disheart- ened Pontiac, after which he returned to this county and proceeded up San- dusky Bay and River into the heart of the Wyandot country where he en- 128 History of Erie County. camped. Here he soon after made a peace treaty with the chiefs and sachems of the hostile tribes. So ended this struggle that has been known in history as Pontiac’s War. Peace again was restored, not long, however, to be enjoyed by the already over-burdened American colonists before the whole country was thrown into a state of excitement growing out of the wrongs inflicted by the mother coun- try, and which finally resulted in overthrow of British rule in America. Before entering upon a narrative of the events of our country succeeding Cresap’s War, in order to be entirely just toward all writers, is given an ac- count of the destruction of the Indian crops in this county, alleged to have taken place in 1763, but it must be said that the statement lacks verification by the standard authorities. It is as follows: “ In June, following (1763), Captain Dalzell, on a coastwise voyage from Niagara to the relief of Detroit, with a force of two hundred and eighty men, stopped at Sandusky, burnt the fields of standing corn, and the Wyandot vil- lage at Castalia ; then marched his men northward, to Detroit, and relieved the garrison at that place.” The expedition sent out by the commander-in-chief of the British forces to relieve Detroit, was placed under command of General Bradstreet, and its de- parture was made from Niagara. On their way the Wyandot village and crops were destroyed, and it is, of course, possible that their destruction may have been accomplished by a detachment from Bradstreet’s troops under command of Captain Dalzell ; still no standard authority credits the latter with command of the expedition sent to relieve the post at Detroit. CHAPTER V. Events Preceding- the Revolution — Twelve Years of Peace — Growing English Power — Early Commerce of the Lake — The Second Sailing Vessel — The Beaver — ^ The Moravian Missionaries and Indians — Their Settlement in Erie County — The Revolution. O F the British and Americans who had been in the closest frendship, and un- der the same banners had passed to and fro over the county and the lakes, there were not a few who in twelve more years were destined to seek each oth- er’s lives on the blood-stained battle-fields of the Revolution. For a while, however, there was peace, not only between England and France, but between the Indians and the colonists. The Six Nations, though the seeds of dissen- Preceding the Revolution. 29 sion were sown among them, were still a powerful confederacy, and their war parties occasionally made incursions into their county, against their old ene- mies, the dwellers of this region, but the latter generally avoided an engage- ment and withdrew upon their approach. Hither, too, came occasional de- tachments of red coated Britons passing along the borders of the lake and bay in open boats journeying westward to Detroit, Mackinaw and other forts and trading posts. Along the borders of this country, too, went nearly all the commerce of the upper lakes, consisting of supplies for the military posts, goods for barter and trade with the Indians, and the furs received in return. Trade was carried on almost entirely in open boats propelled by oars, with the occasional aid of a temporary sail. In good weather tolerable progress could be made, but woe to any of these frail craft which might be overtaken by a storm. The New York Gazette in February, 1770, informed its readers that several boats had been lost in crossing Lake Erie, and that the distress of the crews was so great that they were obliged to keep two human bodies found on the north shore, so as to kill for food the ravens and eagles which came to feed on the corpses. Other boats were mentioned at the same time as frozen up or lost, but nothing was said as to sail-vessels. There were, however, at least two or three English trading vessels on Lake Erie before the Revolution, and prob- ably one or two armed vessels belonging to the British government. One of the former, called the Beaver, is known to have been lost in a storm on the southeastern coast of Lake Erie, and to have furnished relics found in that vi- cinity (Eighteen-Mile Creek) by early settlers, which by some have been attrib- uted to the ill-fated Grijjiii. It was about the year 1770 that the great body of people known as the Mo- ravian Missionaries and Indians left their established home on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, and emigrated westward to various places in Ohio and elsewhere. Their Pennsylvania settlement and colony was in the country of the Shawnees, among whom they had made many converts and strong friend- ships. By the treaty and sale of 1768 concluded between the Iroquois and the proprietaries of the province of Pennsylvania, the lands occupied by the Shaw- nees and the Moravians as well, passed into the control of the proprietors, whereupon the occupants prepared to vacate, although such action was not en- forced. The Iroquois claimed title to this whole country of Pennsylvania by con- quest, and from that time the Shawnees were a broken people, many of whom came to Ohio and made a settlement in this region, while others remained on the Susquehanna, as they were permitted to do by the conquerors. Rev. Chris- tian Frederick Post seems to have been the leader of the missionaries, and his influence among all the Indian people was something remarkable. He was the great mediating power between the whites and natives in time of trouble, and 5 30 His'J'ory of Erie C(»unty. his strength among the savages was attained through his entire freedom from deception, sham, avarice. Truth and singleness of mind were his characteris- tics. The Indians knew this and trusted him as fully as if he was of their own people. Some of the Moravians accompanied the Shawnees at the time of their ear- liest immigration into Ohio, but the great body did not come until many years later, the time mentioned above. One branch or body of them made a settle- ment in Erie county on the Huron River about two miles from Milan, but after- ward moved to Milan. The precise date of their coming is not known, but it is supposed to have been soon after the Revolutionary War; still some authori- ties place their coming at an earlier day. Concerning these people in this county we extract the following sketch from the work of Mr. Henry Howe, the sketch having been contributed by Rev. E. Judson, of Milan : “ On the spot where the town of Milan now stands, there was, at the time of the survey of the fire-lands in 1807, an Indian village, con- taining within it a Christian community, under the superintendence of Rev. Christian Frederick Dencke, a Moravian missionary. The Indian name of the town was Petquotting. The mission was established here in 1804. Mr. Dencke brought with him several families of Christian Indians from the vicinity of the Thames River in Upper Canada. They had a chapel and a mission-house, and were making good progress in the cultivation of Christian principles, when the commencement of the white settlements induced them in 1809 to emigrate with their missionary to Canada. There was a Moravian mission attempted as early as 1787. A considerable party of Christian Indians had been driven from their settlement at Gnadenhutton on the Tuscarawas River, by the inhuman butchery of a large number of the inhabitants by the white settlers. After j^ears of wandering, with Zeisberger for their spiritual guide, they at length formed a home on the banks of the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland, which they named Pilgerruh, “ Pilgrim’s Rest”. They were soon driven from this post, whence they came to the Huron, and commenced a settlement on its east bank, and near the north line of the township. To this village they gave the name of New Salem. Here the labors of their indefatigable missionary were crowned by very considerable success. They were soon compelled to leave, however, by the persecutions of the pagan Indians. It seems to have been a portion of these exiles who returned in 1841 to commence the new mission.” In 1775 the Revolution began. Its important events were enacted without the boundaries of what now constitutes the State of Ohio. Still, it is to that war that Erie county owes some of the most important events of its early his- tory, for, by reason of the sufferings of residents of Connecticut at the hands of the British, the whole body of land now embraced by the county and more, was donated to them, and the historic “ Firelands” were brought into exist- ence. This subject will appear fully discussed in a later chapter of this work. Acquisition of Land Titles. 31 During the War of the Revolution, Indian sentiment was divided. The pow- erful Six Nations, through the influence of Sir William Johnson, and, after his death in 1774. of his nephew, Colonel Guy Johnson, remained true to the cause of Great Britain, while many of the tribes who had been allied to the French during the early wars, inclined to the cause of the colonies, who were receiving not only sympathy, but substantial support from the French government. Still, many tribes were unwilling to aid the patriot cause for the reason that their settlements were becoming too numerous, and they were transgressing against what the Indians firmly believed to be their undeniable rights. The inhabit- ants of this region were not called into active service, either aggressive or de- fensive ; they were destined to wait for coming years when later wars called them into action, which ended in their defeat, the loss of their favorite hunting and fishing grounds, and they themselves compelled to end their days in a new country beyond the Mississippi. With the surrender of Cornwallis, in October, 1781, hostilities ceased. In the fall of 1783 peace was formally declared between Great Britain and the re- volted colonies, henceforth to be acknowledged by all men as the United States of America, of which Lake Erie formed a portion of the northern boundary. Although the forts held by the British on the American side of the line were not given up for many years afterward, and although they thus retained a strong influence over the Indians located on this side, yet the legal title was admitted to be in the United States. Thus the unquestioned English authority over the territory of Erie county lasted only from the treaty with Erance in 1763, to that with the United States in 1783, a little over twenty years. CHAPTER VI. Extinguishment of Indian Titles to Land — Treaty at Fort McIntosh — Fort Laurens — Fort Finney — Battle at Fallen Timbers — Wayne’s Victory — Treaty at P'ort Industry — Text of the Treaty — The Indian Title to Lands of Erie County Vested in the United States — Later Events — The War of 1812-15. I N the peace treaty made between Great Britain and the United States no provision was made for the Indians who had been hostile to the American arms. It became, therefore, one of the most important duties of the govern- ment to peaceably acquire the Indian title and there seemed to be a general de- sire to possess the territory northwest of the Ohio River. The British gov- ernment had already offered their supporting Indians territory in the Canadas, but this offer was accepted only by the Mohawks. 32 History of Erie County. The treaty at Fort McIntosh was made on the 2ist of January, 1785, with the Wyandots, Delawares, Chippewas and Ottawas, by the terms of which they released all claim to lands of the Ohio Valley, and established the boundary line between them and the United States to be the Cuyahoga River, and along the main branch of the Tuscarawas to the forks of said river near Fort Laurens, thence westwardly to the Portage between the head waters of the Great Miami and the Maumee or Miami of the lakes ; thence down said river to Lake Erie and along said lake to the mouth of the river Cuyahoga. This treaty was ne- gotiated by George Rogers Clark, Richard Butler and Arthur Lee for the gov- ernment and by the chiefs representing the several tribes. Subsequently, on January 31, 1786, at Fort Finney, the Shawnees accepted the terms of this treaty and became a party to it. This treaty retained to the several tribes mentioned the right to possess the lands along Lake Erie from the Cuyahoga to the Maumee, and thenceforth they, the Wyandots, Ottawas, Chippewas, Delawares and Shawnees occupied the lands of Erie and adjoining counties. The treaty at Fort Harmar, held by General St. Clair, January 9, 1789, was but confirmatory of the former treaties, and was necessitated by the dis- content of the tribes who were parties to them. It was not long, however, before the Indians again violated their agreement and their acts led to the salutary punishment administered by Gen. Wayne in the ever memorable battle of Fallen Timbers on the 20th day of August, 1794. This decisive victory resulted in the treaty at Greenville, in which Wayne met chiefs of the most powerful of the northwestern tribes and made an amica- ble adjustment of all difficulties. It ma}' be stated as a matter of fact and interest that the insurrectionary movement on the part of the Indians that led to their chastisement at Fallen Timbers was instigated by the British occupants of the forts in the Maumee country. And further, after Wayne’s victory some unpleasant words passed between the officers of the post and Wayne’s men. This coming to the ears of the “ old warrior,” he at once intimated that if they wanted a taste of his met- tle their wishes should be gratified. Wayne knew perfectly well that the jeal- ous and beaten British had incited the Indians to such acts and depredations as they had committed. Of the many treaties made with the Indians for the purpose of acquiring the title to lands claimed by them there was not one perhaps in which such extreme care was exercised as in that held at Fort Industry on the 4th day of July, 1805. A portion of the lands involved in this purchase were the Western Reserve of Connecticut, the title to which had been ceded by that State to the United States, subject, however, to the rights of owners prior to Connecticut’s deed of cession. Acquisition of Land Titles. 33 It was the intention of the agent of the government that the council should t)e convened at Cleveland, but owing to the inability of the representatives of all the tribes to meet there, another meeting was arranged to be held at Fort Industry, on the Maumee, which was done on the 4th of July, 1805. It is possible that the reader may be somewhat confused regarding some of the provisions of this treaty and their application and force, but after having ’ read the chapter on the “ Western Reserve,” and the “ Firelands ” the whole subject will become clear. The treaty with its preceding certificate and the president’s proclamation in conclusion is as follows: “To all to whom these presents shall come, greeting : I certifiy, that the annexed writing contains a true copy of a treaty concluded with certain Indian tribes at Fort Industry, on the 4th day of July, 1805, the original whereof remains in this office. In faith whereof, I, Robert Smith, secretary for the department of state of the United States of America, have signed these presents and caused the seal of my office to be af- fixed hereto, at the city of Washington, this 22d day of March, A. D. 1809, and in the thirty-third year of the independence of the said States. “ [L. S.] R. Smith. “ Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States of America : To all to who 7 n these presefiis shall come, greeting : “Whereas, a treaty was held on the 4th day of July, A. D. one thousand eight hundred and five, under the authority of the United States, with the sachems, chief and warriors of the Wyandot, Ottawa, Chippezvay, Munsee and Delaware, Shawanee and Pottawatomie nations or tribes of Indians at Fort Industry on the Miami of the lake, in the presence and with the approbation of Charles Jewett, the commissioner of the Lbiited States appointed to hold the same, the following agreement was made between the said nations and tribes of Indians and the agent of the land companies hereinafter men- tioned. “A treaty between the United States of America and the sachems, chiefs and warriors of the Wyandot, Ottawa, Chippezva, Mtuisee, and Delaware, Shawanee and Pottawatomie nations, holden at Fort Industry, on the Miami of the lake, on the 4th day of July, A. D., one thousand eight hundred and five. “ Whereas, Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States, did appoint Charles Jewett, esquire, a commissioner to hold a treaty with said Indian Nations, for the purpose of enabling the agents of the Connecticut Reserve to negotiate and conclude a cession of their lands ; and, “ Whereas, The company incorporated by the name of the ‘ Proprietors of the half million acres of land lying south of Lake Erie, called “ Sufferers’ Lands,” ’ and the owners and proprietors of the one half million acres of land. 34 History of Erie County. part of said Connecticut Reserve, lying on the west end thereof, and south of the shore of Lake Erie ; and, “ Whereas, The Connecticut Land Company, so called, are the owners and proprietors of the remaining part of said Reserve lying west of the river Cuyahoga ; and, “Whereas, Henry Champion, esquire, agent of the said Connecticut Land Company, and Isaac Mills, esquire, agent of the directors of the com- pany, incorporated by the name of the ‘ Proprietors of the half million acres of land lying south of Lake Erie, called “Sufferers’ Lands,” ’ were both duly au- thorized and empowered by their respective companies and the directors there- of, to treat for the cession and purchase of said Connecticut Reserve. “ Noiv, Know all men by these presents. That we, the sachems, chiefs, and warriors of the Nations aforesaid, for the consideration of eighteen thousand nine hundred sixteen and sixty-seven one- hundredths dollars received of the companies aforesaid, by the hands of their respective agents, to our full satis- faction, have ceded, remised, released, and quit claimed, and by these presents do cede, remise, release, and forever quit claim to the companies aforesaid, and the individuals composing the same, and their heirs and assigns forever, all the interest, right, title, and claim of title of the said Indian Nations respectively, of, in and to all the lands of said companies lying west of the river Cuyahoga, and the portage between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum, north of the northernmost part of the forty- first degree of north latitude, east of a line agreed and designated in a treaty between the United States and said Indian Nations, bearing even date herewith, being a line north and south one hundred and twenty miles due west of the west line of Pennsylvania, and south of the northwesternmost part of the forty-second degree and two minutes north latitude, for them the said companies respectively, to have, hold, occupy^ peaceably possess and enjoy the granted and quit-claimed premises forever, free and clear of all let, hindrance, or molestation whatever, so that said Nations and neither of them, the sachems, chiefs, and warriors thereof, and neither of them, or any of the posterity of said nations respectively, shall ever hereafter make any claim to the quit- claimed premises, or any part thereof, but there- from said Nations, the sachems, chiefs, and warriors thereof, and posterity of said Nations shall be forever barred. ''In ivitness whereof, The commissioner of the United States, the agents of the Companies aforesaid, and the sachems, chiefs, and warriors of the respec- tive Indian Nations aforesaid, have hereunto inter-changeably fixed their seals and set their names. “ Charles Jewett, (l. s.) “ Henry Champion, (l. s.) “ Isaac Mills, (l. s.) “Nekik, or Little Otter, (l. s.)” Acquisition of Land Titles. 35 Here follows the names of the other sachems, etc., of the aforesaid Indian tribes : “ In the presence of William Dean, C. F. L. C. “J. B. Mower, “ Jasper Parish. “Now, be it known, that I, Thomas Jefferson, president of the United States of America, having seen and considered the said treaty, do, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, accept, ratify and confirm the same and every article and clause thereof. “In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed, and signed the same with my hand. “ Done at the city of Washington, the 25th day of January, A. D. one thousand eight hundred and six, and of the independence of the United States of America the thirtieth. “ Th. Jefferson. “ By the President “ James Madison, Secretary of State. “ Recorded and examined by Isaac Mills, Clerk.” Thus, by this treaty, was ended the right to possession or claim of title of any of the Indian tribes to the territory of Erie county, but it was a number of years thereafter before they entirely disappeared from the region, and not until their removal was ordered by the general government, some twenty-five or more years later. Many remained to end their days on their favorite hunt- ing and fishing grounds in the region of the lake, the bay, and the Sandusky and Huron Rivers and other streams of the locality. And we have records, too, of one at least, who performed missionary labors among his brethren, and who finally met a tragic death at the hands of one whom he had sought to befriend. This worker for the spiritual welfare of the resident tribes was the chief, Ogontz, of the Ottawa nation. It is said that his cabin stood upon the site of Sandusky City. After the e.xtinguishment of the Indian titles to lands in this vicinity had been completed, the proprietors of the various companies took immediate steps for their improvement and settlement ; but in this direction not much was accomplished, and only a few families settled on the Firelands prior to the war of 1812. The whole country was in an unsettled condition on account of the difficulties then existing, and which led to the declaration of war, and but a few availed themselves of the offer of lands in Erie county. The Indian occupants of the soil were unfriendly to the American colonists, and they committed many petty depredations at the direct instigation of the British, who still held various posts on the frontier. To meet and check these acts of hostility troops were ordered to the north- western country, and the government was strongly urged to place a naval war 36 History of Erie County. fleet on Lake Erie to engage the British fleet already there. Hull was in com- mand at Detroit at this time, and while the Democratic or Republican (for at this time they were both one) element of the National Congress was in favor of immediate and decisive action, nevertheless they were continually embar- rassed and hampered by the Federalists who were a large and influential minor- ity of the House, and were opposed to the war and demanded further negoti- ations with Great Britain. This delay enabled the British to perfect their organization and strengthen their military posts. Early in the year 1812, and prior to the actual outbreak of the war, the Indians of this locality became troublesome — so much so that an organization was perfected at Huron to resist any attack, and, if possible, to prevent further outrages. But while the citizens were in meeting for the purpose stated, a report was brought in that two men, Gibbs and Buel, had been foully murdered at a point not far south from Sandusky. As soon as the report was confirmed, these “ Minute men” of Erie county started in pursuit of the murderers and eventually captured them. They were Omeek and Semo. The former was hanged at Cleveland, but the latter, who was not secured until later, knowing his probable fate, died by his own hand. In the latter part of June, 1812, the war was commenced. Hull, as has been stated, was in command at Detroit, and through his inefficiency and blundering that post was surrendered to the British on the l6th of August, together with the whole command, numbering nearly fifteen hundred men, while the opposing force reached less than one thousand. Indian outrages in this locality continued even w’hile the British with their allies were besieging Detroit and fighting the various commands sent out by Hull. The record of these events in Erie county and its immediate vicinity are so clearly recited in a local publication, made some thirty years ago, that free quotations are made from it. “During the same spring (1812) another, and perhaps one of the most barbarous massacres occurring before or since, took place at the head of Cold Creek. There were living there at this time the families of D. P. Snow, But- ler and Putnam, and a girl named Page, all of whom were captured by the Indians. Snow had erected on Cold Creek a grist-mill in which he usually kept corn. The Indians, being aware of this, would come in the night and carry much of it away. Snow devised a plan, by laying boards on the floor leading from the embankment to the mill in such a manner that when trod upon they would give way and let the Indians through. After being caught in this manner several times, they became exasperated and determined upon revenge. Concealing themselves one morning among bushes that lined the creek, they awaited the departure from the house of the men who were culti- vating a field of corn some distance away. After they had gone the savages approached the cabins, captured the women and children, killed Mrs. Snow, Acquisition of Land Titles. 37 who was too ill to travel, together with her small children, and carried the others captives to Canada, but they were subsequently released.” After the surrender of Hull the inhabitants of this region were in a still more defenseless condition, and for mutual preservation and protection oro-an- ized a company of “Rangers,” who were placed under command of Captain Cotton to stand guard at the block-house at Huron, and be in constant readi- ness for any emergency that might arise. They had not long to wait, how- ever, for one morning there appeared in the vicinity of Bull’s Island a laro-e body of Pottowatomies, and, being anxious to engage with them, the Rano-ers proceeded by boats to that place. The Indians watched them, unperceived until they left the boats and went into the woods, after which they (the In- dians) destroyed the boats and started to overtake the Rangers. A conflict followed in which the savages were beaten and routed, but the whites suffered a serious loss in the killing of two of their number. Comrades Randall and Mingus, and the serious wounding of Jonas Lee. Their boats being destroyed, the Rangers were compelled to remain on the island for two days before relief boats reached them. At the time of Hull’s surrender, extensive preparations were making to relieve him and other western posts, particularly those on the Maumee, at Fort Wayne, and in Illinois. For this object three expeditions were marching, one of which was to scour the country hereabouts and drive out the hostile Indians, while the others were to proceed by other routes, each having a com- mon destination — the Rapids of the Maumee. The expedition, however, failed of its purpose, and the relief hoped for was not secured ; and it is doubtful, indeed, whether, had the troops accomplished the march, any substantial benefit could have been acquired without a co-oper- ating naval force on the lakes. Having summarized the leading events of this locality, it will not be nec- essary to relate the other incidents that occurred during this memorable war. The main battles were fought in the Eastern States, still the country of the Maumee, and to the north of it were not without several serious conflicts at arms. The sieges of Fort Meigs, and Perry’s splendid achievement on Lake Erie, about twenty-five miles from Sandusky City, were the crowning events of this region. The American arms were, after three long years of strife, vic- torious, and with the close of this struggle America had fought her last battle with a foreign foe. This last victory of the United States over Great Britain^ brought lasting peace. Nothing now existed to disturb and hinder the tide of emigration west. From this time, substantially, dates the civil and social growth and develop- ment of this region of country, although the formal acts of civil organization had, years before, been accomplished. 6 38 History of Erie County. CHAPTER VII. The Soil and Civil Jurisdiction of Ohio — The Connecticut Lands — The Western Reserve — Connecticut Sufferers’ or Firelands — Detailed Record of Their Organization — Laws — Acts- and Explanations — Surveys — Dissolution of the Firelands Company — Records Transferred to Huron County. T here is unquestionably no subject of greater interest to the average resident of Erie county than the history of the soil and civil jurisdiction of that locality already named. And inasmuch as this county is embraced within the limits of what has been variously termed the “ Connecticut Lands,” the “Western Reserve,” the “Connecticut Sufferers’ Lands” or “ Firelands,” the subject becomes doubly important to those whose ancestors may have been identified with the events that led to the donation of these lands for the pur- poses of compensating losses suffered at the hands of British soldiery. And it is believed, too, there is no theme that has been more thoroughly discussed in pioneer assemblages, no subject upon which more has been writ- ten, and yet one that is as little understood as that — the leading subject of this- chapter. In order to make a clear and intelligent explanation of this important and interesting subject, there must be laid a proper foundation, which necessitates reference to the events of years much earlier than those in which the losses were suffered that gave rise to the names by which this region is designated. In the following pages liberal quotations are made from such standard au- thorities as are extant upon the subject, and as much of the history bearing up- on it as is a matter of established law, those laws will be copied fully and free- ly whenever necessary, whether specially referred to at the time or not. The first claimant to the soil of Ohio, and not only that but of America, as well, was the kingdom of France. This was a claim by right of discovery and exploration made by the adventurous M. de La Salle, who traversed the coun- try far and wide, taking possession of each region in the name of his king. England set up a like claim and finally the two became involved in the French and English War, and by it France was deprived of all title and there- after our country was under absolute British rule for something over twenty years. The result of the Revolutionary War overthrew and ended the rule of Great Britain and vested in the United States, as conqueror, this vast domain. But during the rule of the aforementioned sovereign powers, charters, grants and patents of immense tracts were made, either as a reward of fealty or for consideration ; and after the United States had become the acknowledged owner conflicting claims of title in many localities arose, but happily most of them Early Land Claimants. 39 were settled without recourse to arms. Some of these so far as they relate to the territory of Ohio, it is proposed to mention. “ Virginia acquired title to the great Northwest by its several charters, granted by James I, bearing dates respectively, April lo, 1606, May 23, 1609, and March 12, 1611. The col- ony of Virginia first attempted to exercise authority in and jurisdiction over that portion of its extensive domains that was organized by the ordinance of ’87 into ‘the territory northwest of the River Ohio,’ when in 1769, the House ■of Burgess of that colony passed an act establishing the county of Botetourt, with the Mississippi River as its western boundary.” Again in 1778 the Legisla- ture of Virginia subdivided this great territory by the erection of the county of Illinois, which included within its boundaries all the lands of Virginia lying west of the Ohio River. But in 1783, in compliance with the desire of the general government, the Legislature of Virginia passed an act authorizing and directing her representa- tives in Congress to execute a deed of cession to the United States, of all her territory northwest of the Ohio. Having thus acquired the title to the territory northwest of the Ohio River, so far, at least, as the claim of Virginia was concerned. Congress immediately proceeded to adopt measures for its civil government, which measures resulted in the somewhat celebrated ‘‘ Ordinance of ’87,” and which has otherwise been known as the “ Ordinance of Lreedom.” This was the fundamental law of the great Northwest, upon which were based all territorial enactments, as well as subsequent State legislation. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts based her claim to the soil of Ohio upon royal charter granted by James I, in 1620, to the council of Plymouth, and embracing all the territory of America between the fortieth and forty- eighth parallels of latitude, extending east and west between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and comprising, in area, over one million square miles of land. In 1785 Massachusetts ceded her claim of title to Ohio soil to the United States, but reserved the portion concerning which she and New York were in dispute. In 1664, Charles II ceded to his brother, the Duke of York, and afterwards King James II of England, the country from Delaware Bay to the river St. Croix. This constituted New York’s claim to the western territory, of which the lands of the Western Reserve were a portion. New York relinquished her claim to this territory in 1780, earlier by some years than any of the other claimants. The Connecticut claim, that which is of more interest to the people of this county than all the others, was rested upon royal charter granted by the king in 1662 to nineteen patentees, bounded by Massachusetts on the north, the sea on the south, Narragansett Bay on the east, but extending to the Pacific Ocean on the west. The northern and southern boundaries of this tract were the same as form the north and south bounds of the Reserve. 40 History of Erie County. Connecticut last of all deeded her claim to Ohio soil, with reservations, to the United States in September, 1786, which deed of cession duly authorized by the Legislature of the State, was as follows : CESSION FROM THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. “ To all who shall see these presents, we, William Samuel Johnson and Jonathan Sturges, the underwritten delegates for the State of Connecticut in the Congress of the United States, send greeting: Whereas, the General As- sembly of the State of Connecticut, on the second Thursday of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-six, passed an act in the following words, viz. : 'Be it enacted by the governor, council, and repre- sentatives in general court assembled, and by the authority of the same. That the delegates of this State, or any two of them, who shall be attending the Congress of the United States, be and they are hereby directed, authorized, and fully empowered, in the name and behalf of this State, to make, execute, and deliver, under their hands and seals, an ample deed of release and cession of all the right, title, interest, jurisdiction and claim, of the State of Connecti- cut, to certain western lands, beginning at the completion of the forty-first degree of north latitude, one hundred and twenty miles west of the western boundary line of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as now claimed by said Commonwealth, and from thence by a line drawn north parallel to, and one hundred and twenty miles west of the said west line of Pennsylvania, and to continue north until it comes to forty-two degrees and two minutes north lati- tude. Whereby all the right, title, interest, jurisdiction, and claim of the said State of Connecticut to the lands lying west of said line to be drawn as afore- mentioned, one hundred and twenty miles west of the western boundary line of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as now claimed by said Commonwealth,, shall be included, released and ceded to the United States in Congress assem- bled, for the common use and benefit of the said States, Connecticut in- clusive.’ Now, therefore, know ye, that we, the said William Samuel Johnson and Jonathan Sturges, by virtue of the power and authority to us committed by the said act of the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, etc., do, by these presents, assign, transfer, quit-claim, cede, and convey to the United States of America, for their benefit, Connecticut inclusive, all the right, title, interest, jurisdiction, and claim, which the said State of Connecticut hath, in and to the before mentioned and described territory or tract of country, as the same is bounded and described in the said act of Assembly, for the uses in the said recited act of Assembly declared. “ In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and seals this thir- teenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred Early Land Claimants. 41 and eighty-six, and of the sovereignty and independence of the United States of America the eleventh. “Will. Sam. Johnson, [l.s.] “Jonathan Sturges, [l.s.] “ Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of “ Cha. Thompson, “ Roger Alden, “James Mathers.” It will be observed that this deed of cession, executed and delivered by the proper officers of the State of Connecticut to the United States, released and conveyed all lands claimed by the State except that commonly known as the Reserve ; and while it was intended that the reservation should be made, no provision of the deed vests any right or civil jurisdiction over the lands of the Reserve in the United States, but absolute control, not only of the title, but of jurisdiction over the same remains in the State. By virtue of an act of Congress passed April 28, 1800, the president was authorized to issue letters patent to the governor of Connecticut for the lands of the Reserve, but upon condition that the State renounce all jurisdictional claims over the same ; and further, that the State execute a deed by its agents of the same; also expressly providing that the United States should not in any manner be pledged for the extinguishment of the Indian titles to the lands of the Reserve. This, the reader will understand, was done on the authority and at the expense of the State at Fort Industry, on the 4th of July, 1805, to which full reference is made in a preceding chapter. On the 30th day of May, 1800, the additional deed was executed by Gov- ernor Trumbull, as follows: “To all who shall see these presents, I, Jonathan Trumbull, governor of the State of Connecticut, send greeting : “ Whereas, the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, at their ses- sion holden in Hartford, on the second Thursday of May, one thousand eight hundred, passed an act entitled, ‘An act renouncing the claims of this State to certain lands therein mentioned,’ in the words following, to-wit: “ ‘Whereas, the Congress of the United States, at their session, begun and holden in the city of Philadelphia, on the first Monday of December, in tlie year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine, made and passed an act in the words following, to-wit: [Act of Congress of April 28, 1800, hereinbefore mentioned] ; therefore, in consideration of the terms, and in compliance with, the provisions and conditions of the said act. Be it e 7 iacted by the Governor and Council, and House of Represe 7 itatives, in Ge 7 ieral Court asse 77 ibled, T\\a.t the State of Connecticut doth hereby renounce forever, for the use and benefit of the United States, and of the several individual States, who may be therein concerned, respectively, and of all those deriving claims or titles from them or 42 History of Erie County. any of them, all territorial and jurisdictional claims whatever, under any grant, charter or charters whatever, to the soil and jurisdiction of any and all lands whatever lying westward, northwestward, and southwestward, of those counties in the State of Connecticut, which are bounded westwardly by the eastern line of the State of New York, as ascertained by agreement between Connecticut and New York, in the year one thousand seven hundred and thirty-three; ex- cepting only from this renunciation, the claim of the said State of Connecticut, and of those claiming from and under the said State of Connecticut, to the soil of said tract of land, in said act of Congress described under the name of the Western Reserve of Connecticut. And be it further enacted, the gov- ernor of this State for the time being, be, and hereby is, empowered, in the name and behalf of this State, to execute and deliver to the acceptance of the president of the United States, a deed of the form and tenor directed by the •said act of Congress, expressly releasing to the United States the jurisdictional claims of the State of Connecticut, to all that territory called the Western Re- serve of Connecticut, according to the description thereof in said act of Con- gress, and in as full and ample manner as therein is required.’ “ Therefore, know ye, that I, Jonathan Trumbull, governor of the State of Connecticut, by virtue of the powers vested in me, as aforesaid, do, by these presents, in the name and for and on behalf of the said State, remise, release, and forever quit claim to the United States, the jurisdictional claim of the State of Connecticut, to all that tract of land called, in the aforesaid act of Congress, the Western Reserve of Connecticut, and as the same therein under that name is particularly and fully described. “ In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name, and affixed my seal in the Council Chamber at Hartford, in the State of Connecticut, this thir- teenth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred, and in the twenty-fourth year of the independence of the United States. “Jonathan Trumbull, (l. s.)” Many readers and not a few writers have taken the position that the State of Connecticut, through her officers, unduly and unwarrantably delayed com- plying with the desire of Congress, and the United States, in the matter of ceding her western territory to the general government ; and that she (Con- necticut) thought that by retaining possession under her claim that it might be held for her own absolute use and control. In this impression there has been a serious error. Connecticut occupied a position in this matter which was certainly peculiar, if not embarrassing; her pledge by deed was given and she was by law and equity bound to protect those persons to whom conveyances had been made. The State, also, had encouraged the purchase and settlement of the lands of the reserve by her own people, and it was that their individual rights might be upheld and sustained that she delayed her deeds of cession ; and this delay was occasioned by the deliberation and counsel necessary to ascertain the best means of accomplishing the end sought. Early Land Claimants. 43 This position of Connecticut was, so far as we have any established record, unlike that of any other State claiming these lands, and the others had only to execute the deeds of cession and were not obliged to protect the rights and interests of their immediate grantees, having none. This state of affairs led to the reservation made by the State and gave existence to that which for all sub- sequent years was known as the “ Western Reserve of Connectictit." This vast tract of land lies north of the forty-first parallel and south of par- allel forty-two two minutes; therefore a large portion of Lake Erie comes within its boundaries. Its eastern limit is the Pennsylvania line, and from that line it extends west one hundred and twenty miles. In area it covers an extent of about four million acres of land. The entire Western Reserve embraces the present counties of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage and Trumbull ; also a major portion of Mahoning and Sum- mit, and smaller parts of Ashland and Ottawa. Danbury township represents the portion of Ottawa county that lies within the reserve, and was formerly a part of Erie, but set off to the former upon the erection thereof in 1840. Trumbull county, the oldest formed of the reserve territory, was erected in 1800, and included all the lands thereof Having now sufficiently described the lands of the Connecticut Western Reserve, and furnished in detail the reasons of its creation, the next step brings the reader to a large subdivision of the reserve territory set apart by the State of Connecticut for purposes therein fully described ; and which subdivision is properly known as the “ Sufferers’ Land,” but more commonly designated as the “Firelands.” Within this tract Erie county is wholly situate. It appears that during the War of the Revolution many of the recruits of the State of Connecticut suffered severe losses of property at the hands of the British soldiers ; and in order to compensate these people the State set apart of its Western Reserve, a large tract of land, embracing half a million acres, to be divided pro rata among them as their respective losses might appear. The impression had gone abroad among many people that the losses re- ferred to were suffered by people who were, during the Revolutionary War, residents of the reserve, and one writer has asserted in his work that such was the case, as the following extract will show: “ During the Revolutionary War the inhabitants through this region,” etc. Of course this is a wrong impres- sion, and it is safe to say that during that war there was not a single perma- nent resident from Connecticut or elsewhere upon the soil of the reserve, at least a thorough search fails to disclose such an one. Soon after the close of the war these sufferers presented a petition to the State of Connecticut asking that compensation be awarded them for their losses, which petition was re- ferred to a committee appointed by the Assembly. The action of the Legis- lature of the State will be fully and clearly shown by their resolution, passed May 10, 1792, as follows: 44 History of Erie County. “ Upon the memorial of the inhabitants of the towns of Fairfield and Mo- hawk showing to this Assembly that many of the inhabitants of said towns suffered great losses by the devastations of the enemy during the late war, praying a compensation therefor; and on report of a committee appointed by this Assembly at their sessions held in Hartford in May, 1791, to ascertain from documents in the public offices the amount of the losses of the said mem- orialists, and others under similar circumstances, which had been estimated conformably to acts of this Legislature, being such as were incurred by incur- sions of the enemy during the late war, distinguishing the losses of buildings and necessary furniture from those of other articles by said documents, or otherwise ; and also to ascertain the advancements which have been made to the sufferers by abatement of taxes, or otherwise ; and report the same with their opinion relative to the ways and means of affording further relief as per memorial and report on file. “ Resolved by this Assembly, That there be, and there hereby is, released and quit- claimed to the sufferers hereafter named, or their legal representa- tives, when they are dead, and to their heirs and assigns forever, five hundred thousand acres of the lands belonging to this State, lying west of the State of Pennsylvania, and bounding northerly on the shore of Lake Erie, beginning at the west line of said lands, and extending eastward to a line running northerly and southerly, parallel to the east line of said tract of land belonging to this State, and extending the whole width of said lands, and easterly, so far as to make said quantity of five hundred thousand acres of land, exclusive of any lands within said bounds, if any be, which may have been heretofore granted to be divided to and among the said sufferers, and their legal representatives, where they are dead, in proportion to the several sums annexed to their names, as follows, in the annexed list.” It is not thought to be of sufficient importance to this chapter that there should be appended the names of individual sufferers to whom lands were awarded. There were many of them, several hundred, and the losses ranged from a few shillings to nearly two thousand pounds. It will be understood by the reader that few, comparatively few, of these people ever became actual residents of the Firelands. There were many who were entitled to but very little land, and in nearly every such case the person sold out his claim or award to another who was entitled to a larger tract, and thus the greater absorbed the less. More than this, speculators and land operators became owners of large tracts for the purpose of gain, and they sold to the person of- fering the largest price. Again, at that time, the Indian title to the Sufferers’ Lands had not been extinguished, nor was this done until thirteen years later. Neither had they been surveyed, nor was provision made therefor until the year 1806. There was very little inducement for people to settle in the re- gion, and those owning tracts held them at such extravagant figures as to Early Land Claimants. 45 alarm the few pioneers that came to the region from other places, so they passed further west, and to the south, where equally good lands could be pur- chased and at half the price demanded for those of the Firelands. This proved a great hindrance to the early growth of Erie county, and even at a much later day Sandusky city’s growth was much retarded from like causes. While it is not deemed advisable to give the names of the sufferers, a mention of the Con- necticut towns in which the losses were incurred may properly be made. They were: Greenwich, Norwalk, Fairfield, Danbury, New Haven and East Haven, New London, Ridgefield and Groton. These names were given to townships of Erie and Huron counties (this being formerly a part of Huron), upon their organization, respectively : thus preserving and carrying to this re- gion the names of townships of Connecticut in which losses were suffered. An act of the Legislature of Connecticut, passed May, 1795, provided, “That all deeds conveying any of said lands, shall be recorded in the town clerk’s office in the town or towns where the loss or damage of the original grantee or grantees, mentioned in said grant, was sustained, by the town clerk of such town, in a book to be by him kept for that purpose only.’’ This act, however, was revised by the act of 1808. By virtue of an act of the Connecticut Legislature, passed in 1799, and re- vised in 1808, it was provided : “That the proprietors of said lands be a body corporate and politic, and they are hereby ordained, constituted and declared to be a body corporate and politic, for the purposes herein mentioned, in fact and in name, and shall be known and called by the name of ‘ The Proprietors of the Half Million Acres of Lajid lying south of Lake Erie,' and by that name they and their heirs and assigns may, and shall, have succession, and shall be persons known in law, capable of suing and being sued, of pleading and being impleaded.” In May, 1797, the same Legislature passed an additional and amendatory act, which also was revised in 1808, but containing no provisions of impor- tance bearing on these lands that needs a mention here, To digress briefly from these events and look to the progress of Ohio to- ward a State formation, it may be stated that in 1798 the territory reached the second grade of territorial government, having been found to contain “ five thousand free male inhabitants, of full age.” Upon this fact being made to appear to the satisfaction of the governor, on the 29th of October, of that year, his proclamation, directing the holding of an election for territorial represent- atives, was issued, and, on the third Monday of December thereafter, officers were chosen “ to constitute the popular branch of the Territorial Legislature for the ensuing two years.” The third session of the Territorial Legislature continued from the 24th of November, 1801, until the 23d day of January, 1802, when it adjourned to meet at Cincinnati on the fourth Monday of November following, “ but that 7 46 History of Erie County. fourth session was never held, for reasons made obvious by subsequent events.” By an act of Congress, passed April 30, 1802, entitled “An act to enable the people of the eastern division of the territory northwest of the river Ohio to form a constitution and State government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, and for other pur- poses.” In pursuance of this enactment an election was held, and members of a constitutional convention chosen, the first meeting of which convention was held at Chillicothe, in November, 1802. The Territorial government of Ohio was ended by the organization of the State government, March 1803, pursuant to the provisions of the constitu- tion framed the year before. Therefore, when the Ohio Legislature passed an act (which she soon did), relative to the Sufferers’ Lands, that was the first measure adopted by the State of Ohio bearing upon the subject under consid- eration. The first official action by the Legislature of Ohio after her admission into the Union, that had any bearing upon the Firelands, was the passage of an act on the 15th of April, 1803, entitled, “An act to incorporate the owners and pro- prietors of (the) half million acres of land, lying south of Lake Erie, in the county of Trumbull.” Section I of the act provides, “ That the owners and proprietors of said half million acres of land be, and they hereby are, ordained and constituted a body politic and corporate, in fact and in name, by the name of ‘ The Proprie- tors of the half million acres of land, lying south of Lake Erie, called Sufferers’ Land,’ and by that name they, their heirs and assigns, may and shall have succession, capable of suing and being sued, of pleading and being impleaded.” Section 2 provides for a board of directors, consisting of nine persons, one to represent each of the suffering towns of Connecticut, except the town of New London, which shall have two votes, besides other provisions. Section 3, “That Jabez Fitch of Greenwich, Taylor Sherwood of Norwalk, Walter Bradley of Fairfield, Philip B. Bradley, of Ridgefield, James Clark of Uanbury, Isaac Mills of New Haven and East Haven, Elias Perkins and Guy Richards of New London, and Star Chester of Groton, be and they are hereby constituted and appointed the first directors for said company, and may hold their first meeting, after passing of this act, at such time and place as any five or more of said directors shall appoint,” etc. Very soon after the conclusion of the treaty with the several Indian tribes, and even before the same had been confirmed and ratified by the United States, the proprietors of the Sufferers’ Land took steps to have the same surveyed in- to townships, and for that purpose authorized Taylor Sherman, one of their body, to negotiate for and make the necessary arrangements. An agreement was made by Mr. Sherman, for and on behalf of the proprietors, with John Early Land Claimants. 47 McLean and James Clark, both of Danbury, Conn., and they employed Almon Ruggles to superintend the work. According to the terms of their agreement McLean and Clark were to re- ceive the sum of two dollars for each mile surveyed, and an additional fifty cents per mile should the work be found to be performed satisfactorily, and, unless the treaty be not confirmed, the survey was to be completed within one year. But, as frequently occurs where separate parties are interested, and one depends upon the other, the government surveyors failed to run the south line of the reserve in time, therefore an extension of one year was granted McLean and Clark, thus giving them until June i, 1807. By an agreement entered into, Lebruary, 1806, between the Connecticut Land Company and the Proprietors of the Sufferers’ Lands, it was agreed that the half million acres should include the territory of Johnson’s Island, but not the waters of the bay between that island and the main land. The south or base line of the reserve was surveyed and marked by Seth Pease, he acting under orders from the secretary of the treasury. This, except fifty miles next west of the Pennsylvania State line, was performed in June, 1806. This being done the survey and subdivision of the Sufferers’ Lands was resumed in the last named year, 1806, and completed in about one year there- after. In some manner in running the base line Mr. Pease made an error and this resulted in some temporary difficulty, which, however, was afterward ad- justed. The survey and subdivision of the half million acre tract was made by Almon Ruggles, he using and relying upon the lines and corners established by the government surveyor, but, through the error therein, this work was re- quired to be done a second time. In his centennial address Mr. Schuyler re- marks that the southeast corner of the Lirelands was fixed on the Ludlow line, “ twenty-eight chains and sixty-eight links west from the ninety-fourth mile post from the Pennsylvania line. The line ran from that point north four de- grees forty seconds west to the lake, to a point forty-three links east of a black oak tree marked ‘ J. Snow,’ on the east side, and ‘A. R.’ on the west side, and standing near the bank of the lake and near the first perpendicular bluff of rocks, east of the Vermillion River. On computation of the survey, afterwards, it was found that the quantity of land so cut off was five hundred thousand and twenty-seven acres.” Prom east to west the breadth of the “ Sufferers’ Land” was found to be twenty- five miles, fifty-one chains and thirty-two links, and by the apportion- ment of the overplus, each township was five miles and two-fifteenths east and west measurement. The townships bordering on the bay and lake were, of course, fractional. The survey of the Lirelands being completed, the next move made by the proprietors was the partition and division thereof among those entitled to lands thereon according to their several interests, which was in this wise : The whole 48 His'I'ury of Erie County. tract contained thirty townships, and there being four sections to each, made an aggregate of one hundred and twenty sections. Upon this basis the whole loss was divided into one hundred and twenty parts, each part representing one thousand three hundred and forty- four pounds and seven shillings; therefore, each separate section represented that amount in value. For the one hundred and twenty sections that number of tickets were prepared, on each of which was written the names of the donees arranged in such manner that each ticket should represent a loss, as near as possible, of one thousand three hundred and fifty-four pounds and seven shillings. These tickets were grouped in fours, each group to represent a township, the value of which, it will be seen, aggre- gated five thousand three hundred and seven pounds, and eight shillings. These were then deposited in a box from which they were drawn by some per- son not interested in the proceeding; and in this manner the lands were appor- tioned, there being no possible chance for any person to select particular lands, and therefore no charge of favoritism was ever made, and each person was bound to accept lands in whatever locality fortune or luck placed him. In fact, there was but little choice in the lands except that possibly those bordering upon the lake, bay, or the larger streams of the tract were the most desirable. The duties of the proprietors were now nearly ended. With the funds in their hands they caused to be constructed a road leading from the lake south, along the east side of the Huron River to a point “near the center of the north line of the township of Norwalk, and thence southward on a line as near the center of the other townships as the grounds will admit.” This work was per- formed under the direction of William Eldridge, and cost eight hundred dollars or thereabouts. Subsequently other thoroughfares were ordered to be laid and constructed: One near the line between ranges twenty and twenty-one, running north and south, one leading east and west, and a continuation of that marked out to be constructed through lands of the Connecticut Land Company, on the Reserve; one running west on the south line of Norwalk township, and continuing west on other township lines as near as could be done ; another running west on the south line of Fairfield township. The last two commenced at the north and south road and continued west to the county line, that is, the west line of the Sufferers’ Lands. Other roads were also provided for before the final meet- ing of the board of directors of the proprietors, noticeable among which was one leading from Norwalk to Sandusky Bay, and another in the township of Dan- bury, on the peninsula, now in Ottawa county. As shown by the report of the treasurer, Joseph Darling, the total receipts of the corporation up to October lO, 1809, was $47,775.77, and that the ex- penditures had been $44,206.66, leaving an unexpended balance in his hands $3,569.11. This balance was further reduced by appropriations for various purposes until exhausted. Early Land Claimants. 49 The final meeting of the board was held at New Haven, Conn., on the 28th of August 181 1, there being present: Guy Richards and William Eldridge rep- resenting New London ; Ebenezer Avery, jr., for Groton ; Ebenezer Lessup for Eairfield; Taylor Sherman for Norwalk; Philip B. Bradley for Ridgefield, and Epaphras W. Bull for Danbury. A petition was there prepared, addressed to the General Assembly of Ohio, making report of their proceedings, and asking that their acts be declared legal by the State, and their records kept and pre- served in Huron county. This county had been erected two years before. The reader will bear in mind the fact that down to the time of the final re- port and dissolution of the body corporate known as “ the proprietors of the half million acres of land lying south of Lake Erie, called Sufferers’ Land,” all the business and proceedings thereof were transacted in the State of Connecti- cut; all records were kept in the towns in which the “Sufferers” respectively resided, and in books especially provided therefor ; all taxes were payable and receivable there. In fact all matters relating to these lands were performed in the same manner as if the Sufferers’ Lands were a part and parcel of Connecti- cut, except that the records and proceedings were specially and separately kept. Upon the petition of the directors mentioned above the Legislature of the State of Ohio, on the 20th day of February, 1812, passed an act of which the following is a copy : “Whereas, it is represented to this General Assembly by the directors of the proprietors of the half million acres of land lying south of Lake Erie called ‘ Sufferers’ Land,’ incorporated by that name by an act of the General Assem- bly of this State, passed the 15th day of April, one thousand eight hundred and three, that by virtue of the authority vested in them by said act, the said proprietors have extinguished the Indian Claim of title to said lands, surveyed and located the same into townships and sections, made an exact partition thereof to and among the proprietors, and used the surplus monies which re- mained in the hands of their treasurer after the Indian title was extinguished, and partition of said lands was made, amounting to two thousand six hundred dollars, for laying out and improving the public roads in said tract, and have now fully done and completed all and singular the matters and things which the interest of said proprietors required, and agreeably to the provisions and requirements of said act of incorporation. “And whereas, it is further represented by the said directors, that in trans- acting the business of said company, under the provisions of the act aforesaid, they have caused their clerk to make and keep a true entry and record of all the votes and doings of the directors, agreeably to the requirements of said act, and that said company have, in consequence thereof, two record books, one of which contains the votes and proceedings of the directors, and a record of the field minutes of the survey of said land ; and the other, a complete partition of the whole of said half million acres, both of which record books are certified to 50 History of Erie County. be the records of said company, by Isaac Mills, esq., their clerk, and deposited in the hands of the recorder of Huron county, where the directors of said com- pany pray they be and remain as a part of the records of said county — There- fore, “Sec. I. That the record books, aforesaid, containing the votes and pro- ceedings of the directors of said company, and records of the field minutes of said survey of said half million acres, and the records of partition thereof, be kept by the recorder of Huron county and his successors in office, and that said record books be and remain a part and parcel of the records of said county, and that any certified copies therefrom, which may hereafter be made by the recorder of said county, may be used and read as legal evidence in all courts of record or elsewhere ; and it shall be the duty of the recorder of Huron county, to give a certified copy of any part of said records, to any person demanding the same, for which he shall be entitled to the same fees as are provided for by law for copies of other records. “Sec. 2. That the expenditure of said sum of two thousand six hundred dollars surplus money, in laying out and improving the public roads on said lands, as before mentioned, be, and the same is hereby ratified and confirmed. “This act to take effect from and after the passage thereof” CHAPTER VIII. Organization of Counties on the Reserve — Botetourt — Trumbull — Geauga — Cuyahoga — Huron — Proceedings to Erect Huron County — The County Seat at Milan Changed to Nor- walk — Officers — Erie County Erected — Acts Regarding It — County Civil List. T he reader will remember that reference has heretofore been made in this work to the claims of the older States and colonies to the territory northwest of the Ohio River, and will also recall the fact that the colony of Virginia first exercised authority of that territory by the establishment by the House of Bur- gess, of the county of Botetourt in the year 1769, long years before the “ Re- serve,” as such, was known. In the act that established the county of Botetourt it is stated that, “whereas,, the people situated on the Mississippi will be very remote from the court-house,” etc. This was an undoubted fact ; the people were certainly remote from the county seat, as the whole territory from the Ohio to the Mississippi was in- cluded in the county so erected. But after the war of the Revolution was passed and the United States es- tablished, Virginia quit-claimed this whole county to the general government,. Erection of Counties. 51 thus extinguishing the county of Botetourt, which, in fact, never had an or- ganization more than in name. o The next organization of which Erie county at one time formed a part, was Trumbull, which embraced the whole of the Connecticut Western Reserve. It was erected December 6, 1800, while Ohio was yet territorial land. Trumbull county now bears no resemblance to its original size or descrip- tion as by the surrender of her territory to subsequent organizations there now occupies the soil, either in whole or in part, thirteen separate and distinct coun- ties. The first county erection that called for a surrender of the territory of Trumbull was that of Geauga, under an act passed December 31, 1805, entitled “ An act for the division of Trumbull county.” It has been generally supposed, and by all writers it has been generally con- ceded that Geauga county originally embraced a part of the Eirelands. This may be true, but there exists a serious question as to the fact. The act that brought Geauga county into existence declares “ that all that part of the county of Trumbull lying north and east of a line beginning on the east line of said county, on the line between the townships number eight and nine, as known by the survey of said county, and running west on the same to the west line of range number five ; thence south on said west line of range five to the north- west corner of township number five, thence west on the north line of town- ship number five, to the middle of the Cuyahoga River, where the course of the same is northerly ; thence up the middle of said river to the intersection of the north line of township number four to the west line of range fourteen, wherever the same shall run when the county west of the Cuyahoga River shall be surveyed into townships or tracts of five miles square each, and thence north to Lake Erie, shall be, and the same is hereby set off and erected into a new county by the name of Geauga.” This misunderstanding unquestionably arises from the fact that by a sup- plemental act passed Eebruary 10, 1807, which declares “That all that part of the Connecticut Western Reserve, which lies west of the Cuyahoga River, and north of the townships numbered four, shall belong to and be a part of the county of Geauga, until the county of Cuyahoga shall be organized,” etc. This implies that Cuyahoga’s organization was under way and not perfected and that some disposition must be made of that part of the reserve lands, which was done. The act also provides that the moneys derived from taxes on that land shall be used by the commissioners of Geauga county in “ laying out and making roads and erecting bridges within the boundaries of said district west of the Cuyahoga.” It will be seen that this attachment was, at best, but tem- porary and not intended as making the western district a part of Geauga county except for the purpose therein specified. Portage county was organized Eebruary 10, 1807, out of the older county 52 History of Erie County. of Trumbull by taking all thereof that lay west of the fifth range of the Re- serve townships. Huron county came into life under and by virtue of an act of the General Assembly passed February 7, 1809, and entitled, “ An act to set off a part of the Connecticut Western Reserve, into a separate county.” By the act it was provided “ That that part of the Connecticut Reserve called the Firelands, be- ginning at the southwest corner of said reserve, then north to the north bound- ary line of the United States; then easterly along said line to where the east line of the twentieth range would intersect said boundary line; thence south along the line of the twentieth range to the south line of the said reserve, which east line of the twentieth range is the east line of the Firelands, so called ; then west along the south line of said reserve to the place of beginning, be and is hereby erected into a county by the name of Huron, to be organized whenever the Fegislature shall think proper, but to remain attached to the counties of Portage and Geauga, as already by law provided, except as hereinafter pro- vided.” As is very well known Erie county, prior to its separate organization, formed an integral part of Huron county ; but at the time of the formation of Erie, by the terms of the act creating it, it was taken from the two counties, Huron and Sandusky. It was created wholly of what has been termed the Firelands. Prior to that separate organization the history of Erie county was the history of Huron county. Its townships were all formed some years earlier than the erection of either, and settlement was commenced while it was a part of the Western Reserve and before either of the counties was contemplated. The next legislative action affecting Huron county was the passage of an act January 16, 1810, providing, “ That the county of Huron (as designated by an act of the Fegislature, passed the 7th day of February, 1809), and also the lands lying north of township number four, and west of the fourteenth range of townships, and east of said Huron county, shall be attached to, and be a part of the county of Cuyahoga, until the same shall be organized into a separate county, or be otherwise disposed of by law.” The full and complete civil organization of Huron county was accomplished by an act of the Fegislature, passed January 31, 1815, whereby it was pro- vided “ that the county of Huron be, and the same is hereby erected into a separate county ; provided, that all suits and actions, whether of civil or crim- inal nature, which shall be pending, and all crimes which shall have been com- mitted shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution in the county of Cuyahoga, as though the county of Huron had not been organized.” The second section of the same act provides, “ That on the first Monday in April next, the legal voters residing in the county of Huron shall assemble in their respective townships, at the usual place of holding elections in said townships, and elect their several county officers, who shall hold their offices until the next annual election.” Erection of Counties. 53 Section three provides for the annexation of certain other lands to Huron county. The first county officers, so far as their names are accurately ascer- tainable, were: Abijah Comstock, treasurer; Nathan Strong, recorder; David Abbott, clerk of the couiTs ; Lyman Farwell, sheriff; Caleb Palmer, Charles Parker and Eli S. Barnum, county commissioners. The Legislature, in January, i8ii, appointed Ephraim Quinby, of Trum- bull county, Joseph Clark, of Geauga county, and Solomon Griswold, of Ash- tabula county, as commissioners to decide upon a location for the county seat. In their report they selected a site on the farm of David Abbott, in Avery '(now Milan) township, and not far distant from the village of Milan. Hon. George Tod held the first Court of Common Pleas at this place, and other courts were held there until the Legislature, in January, i8i8, appointed three other commissioners, William Wetmore, of Portage, Elias Lee, of Cuyahoga, and Abraham Tappan, of Geauga, to view the locality in Avery township, hear the numerous complaints that were being made against it on account of -its inconvenient situation, hear the arguments presented in favor of other localities, and, should they become convinced that the best interests of the -county required a change, they were authorized and empowered to make it. The commissioners decided that Norwalk would be a much better location, whereupon the county seat was removed to that place. From the time of the complete organization of Huron county, January 31, 1815, until the subdivision thereof by the erection of Erie county, March 15, 1838, the latter formed a part of the former (excepting the small portion taken from Sandusky county), and the whole was under the control of and governed by the same officers. And it is appropriate that, before leaving this branch of the subject and confining this narrative substantially to Erie county and its history, that a record should be made of those who were connected with the county government in the administration of its affairs. This civil list of county officers is compiled from the records of Huron county: County Auditors — -Asa Sanford, Moses Kimball, James Williams, Cyrus Butler, John Kennan. Treasurers — Abijah Comstock, David Abbott, Ichabod Marshall, Cyrus Butler, Ichabod Marshall, Henry Buckingham, George Sheffield, John V. Vre- denburg, William H. Caswell. Clerks of the Courts — David Abbott, James Williams, David Gibbs. Recorders — Almon Ruggles, Nathan Strong, Ichabod Marshall, Paul G. Smith, Woodward Todd. Sheriffs — Lyman Farwell, D. W. Hinman, Enos Gilbert, H. G. Morse, Enos Gilbert, Philo Adams, John Miller, William Karkhuff. County Commissioners — 1815, Nathan Cummins, Frederick Falley, Bildad Adams; 1816, Falley, Adams and Ebenzer Merry; 1817, Adams, Joseph Reed and Joseph Strong; 1818, Adams, Reed and Strong ; 1819, Adams, 54 History of Erie County. Strong and Lyman Farwell; 1820, Adams, Strong and Eli S. Barnum ; 1821,, Barnum, Robert S. Southgate and Amos Woodward; 1822-23, Barnum,. Southgate and Woodward; 1824, Barnum, Woodward and Schuyler Van Rensselaer; 1825, Barnum, Van Rensselaer and George W. Choate; 1826,. Van Rensselaer, Choate and Frederick Forsythe; 1827-28, Choate, Forsythe and Bradford Sturtevant ; 1829-30, Choate, Sturtevant and M. McKelvey; 1831, Sturtevant, McKelvey and George Hollister; 1832, Sturtevant, Hollister and George W. Choate; 1833, Hollister, Choate and Samuel B. Carpenter; 1834, Choate, Carpenter and W. C. Spaulding; 1835, Carpenter, Spaulding and John Bounce; 1836, Spaulding, Dounce and Benjamin Cogswell; 1837,. Spaulding, Cogswell and John Miller. ERECTION AND ORGANIZATION OF ERIE COUNTY. Without question the most important event in connection with the history of Erie county was the action of the State Legislature that gave the county an existence — the action that separated it from Huron and Sandusky counties — that enabled it to elect its own officers and administer its own affairs. The preliminary discussion that led to this separate organization was not of spontaneous origin ; it was not the result of a pet scheme on the part of a few persons ; it was not undertaken through any feeling of jealous rivalry between the leading towns of Huron county, Norwalk, and Sandusky city. To be sure there was a rivalry, a growing friendly competition between these municipalities, each striving to outstrip the other in point of population, of in- dustry, of internal welfare, of thrift and all the essential requisites of a well- appointed and well-ordered city; a commendable and unselfish interest shown on the part of the people representing the northern and southern sections of Huron county. Again, about this time, there seemed a general tendency throughout the State to new and additional county organizations, by a reduction of the territory of the larger counties. This was not the only reason why the residents of Northern Huron county asked to be set off Such action had become, at that time, a positive necessity. Sandusky city had become the natural center of extensive and rapidly increasing business interests — manufacturing, shipping and mercantile. She had, moreover, become tributary to a large area of agri- cultural country, so that by every necessary consideration she was justly en- titled to become the county seat of a new county. As might naturally be expected, the proposition for the new county erec- tion was not accepted by the whole people without strong opposition, and while the measure was very generally supported by the inhabitants in the northern part of the county, a strong opposition developed in the southern townships, and in others that were liable to be affected by the change. The petition for the new county was met by a strong remonstrance, and Erection of Counties. 55 for a time it seemed doubtful whether the measure would be carried. Nor- walk, the county seat of Huron county, might well object for her interests more than any other locality would suffer in losing the trade of so prosperous n locality as was comprised by the townships proposed to be taken. At length, after the matter had been thoroughly agitated and discussed, for and against, the Legislature of the State, on the 15th day of March, 1838, passed an act entitled, “ An act to erect the county of Erie,” as follows : “ Sec. I. Be it enacted, etc.. That such parts of the counties of Huron and Sandusky, as are embraced by the boundaries hereinafter described, be, and the same are hereby erected into a separate and distinct county, which shall be known by the name of the county of Erie, and the seat of justice in and for said county, shall be, and is hereby fixed and established at Sandusky City, to-wit : Beginning at a point on the east line of Oxford township, in the county of Huron, one mile north of the southeast corner thereof, thence northerly on the said east line and in the same direction, to the Canada line ; thence west- erly along said Canada line to a point therein directly opposite the west line of the township, in Sandusky county ; thence southerly, parallel with the east line of said Sandusky county, to the northwest corner of the township of Townsend, in Sandusky county ; thence east to the west boundary of Huron county; thence south on said west boundary of Huron county to a point one mile north of the south line of the township of Groton, in said county of Huron; and from thence to the place of beginning: provided, and it is hereby declared, that if the east line of said county of Erie, as above described, will not include the whole of Cunningham’s Island in Lake Erie, then, and in that case, said line shall be so far varied from the south shore of the said lake to the said Canada line that it will embrace the whole of said Cunningham’s Island. “ Sec. 2. That the said county of Erie be, and remain attached to the counties from which it is taken, until the same be organized by the Legislature.” But the people of the newly erected county had not long to wait for the complete organization thereof, as, on the day next succeeding that on which the above act was passed, the Legislature adopted another measure, entitled, “ An act to organize the county of Erie.” It was as follows : ‘‘ Sec. I. Be it enacted, etc., That the county of Erie is hereby organized into a separate and distinct county. “ Sec. 2. That all justices of the peace and constables residing within the territory taken from the counties of Huron and Sandusky, and embraced within the limits of the county of Erie, shall continue to discharge the duties of their repective offices until their commissions or terms of office shall expire, and their successors are chosen and qualified ; and suits commenced before the taking effect of this act shall proceed and be prosecuted as though this act had not been passed, notwithstanding the parties, or either of them, may reside 56 History of Erie County. without the limits of the said county of Erie, except that writs and process issuing after the first of April next shall be styled of Erie county, instead of Huron or Sandusky county. “ Sec. 3. That on the first Monday of May next, the legal voters residing within the limits of the county of Erie shall assemble in their respective town- ships, at the usual places of holding elections, and proceed to elect their dif- ferent county officers in the manner pointed out in the act to regulate elections,, who shall hold their offices until the next annual election, and until their suc- cessors are chosen and qualified. “ Sec. 4. That the county of Erie, for judicial purposes, is hereby attached to the second judicial circuit, and the first court of common pleas held in said county shall commence its session in the city of Sandusky on the second Monday of December next.” In this manner, then, and by these proceedings, was Erie county brought into existence, and thus was provision made for civil, internal government and control. But, two years later, 1840, by a further act of the State Legislature, certain territory was added or attached to Erie county, and other lands at the same time were taken from it. This change was made by the erection of the county of Ottawa, March 6, 1840, the leading clause of which was as follows: “ That a new county, to be called Ottawa, be, and the same is hereby formed out of the north part of Sandusky and Erie, and the eastern part of Lucas county, commencing at a point two miles north of the southeast corner of the surveyed township number sixteen, called Bay township, Sandusky county, running thence west on section lines to the western boundary line of said county ; thence north to the Lucas county line ; thence east six miles ; thence north till it intersects the Michigan line; thence with said line until it intersects the line between the British and American governments in Lake Erie; thence down the lake with said line, so that a line to the mouth of San- dusky Bay will include Cunningham’s Island; thence up Sandusky Bay to the place of beginning.” This act, it will be seen, took from Erie county the township of Danbury on the peninsula, between the bay and the lake ; also the islands, the principal of which was Cunningham’s, afterwards known as Kelley’s Island, both of which were set off to the county of Ottawa. But in order to give Erie county an equivalent for the territory so taken, a further section of the act provided, “That all the territory now in the county of Huron north of the north line of the townships of Wakeman, Townsend, Norwalk, Ridgefield and Lyme, which includes the townships of Vermillion, Elorence, Berlin, Milan and Huron, and also a strip from off the south side of the townships of Oxford and Groton, one mile in width, be, and the same is hereby attached to the county of Erie.” Cunningham’s Island, or, as it became known on its organization as a Erection of Counties. 57 township of Ottawa county, January 21, 1840, “ Kelley’s Island,” remained a part of and was under the civil control and jurisdiction of the officers of Ot- tawa county until the year 1845, when, upon the petition of its inhabitants, setting forth their reasons, chiefest among which was the great incovenience occasioned by their being compelled to transact their legal and county business at Port Clinton, the county seat of Ottawa county, while all their other busi- ness and social relations were associated with Erie county, the Legislature in February of that year passed an act to “ set off” that tract and territory of land known as the township of Kelley’s Island into the county of Erie. Thenceforth Kelley’s Island became one of the townships of Erie county. These several acts, recited in detail, established the territory and boundaries of Erie county as it now exists. It parted company with Danbury township in 1840, upon the organization of Ottawa county, and that was the only con- siderable section of her territory, a part of the original Firelands, of which she has been deprived. And inasmuch as Danbury now formiS a part of an- other county, and its history has been for nearly a half century associated with such other county, no chapter of this work will be devoted thereto, but rather to the things and events of the territory that now comprises the county of Erie. It is appropriate in this connection to furnish a civil list of those who at various times have been identified with the administrative affairs of the county. CIVIL LIST OF COUNTY OFFICERS. Anditoi's. — 1838 to 1840, H. W. Conklin; 1840 to 1841, William Neill;. 1841 to 1846, Orlando McKnight ; 1846 to 1850, George W. Smith; 1850 to 1852, F. M. Follett ; 1852 to 1856, Charles H. Botsford ; 1856 to i860, F. M. Follett ; i860 to 1867, George W. Smith; 1867 to 1881 Ebenezer Merry; 1881 to 1884, Thomas McFall ; 1884 to 1888, William J. Bonn, the present incumbent Treasurers. — 1838 to 1841, William B. Smith; 1841 to 1843, Horace Al- pin;.i843 to 1845, Samuel Johnson ; 1845 to t 849 . Earl Bill; 1849 to John B. Wilbur; 1851 to 1853, John W. Sprague; 1853 to 1855, Thomas S. Fuller; 1855 to 1857, Holly Skinner; 1857 to 1861, Thomas S. Fernald ; 1861 to 1865, W. H. McFall; 1865 to 1871, James D. Chamberlain ; 1871 to 1873, James S. Chandler; 1873 to 1877, James D. Chamberlain; 1877 to l88i‘ Reuben Turner ; 1881 to 1883, James Alder; 1883 to 1887, William Zimmer- man ; 1887 to 1889, James Alder, the present incumbent. Probate Judges. — This became an elective office under the new constitution of 1852. 1852 to 1855, Ebenezer Andres ; 1855 to 1858, A. H. Striker ; 1858 to January, 1861, Rush R. Sloane ; January, 1861 to November. 1861, F. D. Parish; November, 1861, to November, 1863, George Morton; November, 1863, to February, 1870, A. W. Hendry; February, 1870, to February, 1879,, E. M. Colver ; February, 1879, to 1888, A. E. Merrill 58 History of Erie County. Recorders. — 1838 to 1840, Horace Alpin ; 1840 to 1844, C. B. Squire; 1844 to 1850, Ebenezer Merry ; 1850 to 1854, Charles Wilbur; 1854 to 1862, James W. Cook ; 1862 to 1868, John W. Reid ; 1868 to 1880, William A. Till; 1880 to 1887, James Flynn ; 1887 to 1889, John Strickland, the present incumbent. Sheriffs. — 1838-40, Harvey Long; 1840-42, Zalmuna Phillips; 1842-46, Ebenezer Warner; 1846-48, Isaac Fowler; 1848-50, Henry D. Ward ; 1850- 54, George W. Smith; 1854-58, G. B. Gerrard ; 1858—60, Frederick F. Smith; 1860-64, David S. Worthington; 1864— 66, Jesse S. Davis ; 1866— 70, David S. Worthington; 1870-72, Charles H. Botsford ; 1872— 76, David S. Worthing- ton; 1876-80, M. L. Starr; 1880—84, John Strickland; 1884-88, Thomas A. Hughes, the present incumbent. Clerks of the Courts. — 1838-39, Zenas W. Barker ; 1839-55, Rice Harper; 1855-61, Horace N. Bill; 1861-62, John J. Penfield ; 1862-64, George W. Penfield ; 1864-70, George O. Selkirk; 1870-75, O. C. McLouth ; 1875-78, F. W. Alvord ; 1878-85, W. J. Affieck ; 1885-89, Silas E. Bauder, the latter being the present incumbent. Prosecuting Attorneys. — 1838-40, John S. Campbell ; 1840-42, Francis D. Parish; 1842-44, Morris Homan; 1844-48, S. F. Taylor; 1848-52, A. W. Hendry; 1852-56, John Mackey ; 1856—60, O. C. McLouth ; 1860-72, F. W. Cogswell; 1872-77, Benjamin F. Lee ; 1877— 79, Walter W. Bowen ; 1879-80, Herman Ohly ; July, 1880, to January, 1881, Walter W. Bowen; 1881—83, Grayson Mills; 1883-88, Cyrus B. Winters, the present incumbent. Surveyors. — 1838-40, S. H. Smith; 1840-41, W. H. Smith; 1841—45, J. B. Darling; 1845—47, Alvin Brooks; 1847-50, J. B. Darling; 1850-52, A. B. Foster; 1852-54, Joel Smith; 1854-61, J. B. Darling; 1861—63, H. C. Jones, sen.; 1863-76, J, B. Darling; 1876-79, George Morton ; 1879-85, Albert W. Judson; 1885-87, Charles S. Ferguson; 1887-89, Albert W. Judson. Commissioners. — Samuel B. Carpenter, Nelson Taylor, William B. Craig- hill, John Fuller, William Gill, Isaac Fowler, Philo Adams, Harley Long, Ben- jamin D. Turner, Ezra Sprague, Bourdette Wood, Harvey Fowler, Elihu P. Hill, Harry Sprague, Myron Sexton, Joseph Otis, John P. Dego, John Sum- mers, C. Beardsley, Rice Harper, Isaac McKesson, Robert Bennett, G. M. Darling, Calvin Caswell, D. G. Taylor, William H. Crane, E. White, William S. Webb, Louis Wells, Stark Adams, W. W. Miller, Gustavis Graham, George W. Cleary, Henry Kelley, James Douglass, C. Victor Turner, John Homegard- ner, John L. Hall, William Zimmerman. Present Coiinty Officers. — Probate judge, Albert E. Merrill; recorder, John Strickland; auditor, William J. Brown; treasurer, James Alder; clerk of the courts, Silas E. Bauder ; sheriff, Thomas A. Hughes ; prosecuting attorney, Cyrus B. Winters; surveyor, Albert W. Judson; coroner, Louis Szendery ; commissioners, James Douglass, John L, Hull, William Zimmerman; infirmary directors, John Holahan, Thomas McVeigh, J. W, Lyles ; superintendent of infirmary, Alex Motry. Topography and Geography. 59 CHAPTER IX. A General Topographical and Geographical View of Erie County — Its Situation and Boundaries — Civil Divisions. HE county of Erie occupies a central position between the east and west boundary lines of Ohio, and is one of the seven counties of the State that border on Lake Erie ; and of these counties Erie holds that portion of the lake front that reaches the farthest south. Sandusky county has a frontage on the bay, but nowhere does her territory touch the lake proper. Erie county has no specially distinguishing physical features. The surface, generally, is even, but here and there exist evidences of the fact that its whole surface was at one time covered with water ; and that these waters, gradually receding, left what is known as a “drift,” or sand ridge. These ridges, al- though not numerous, are found in several townships of the county. The evenness of the surface of the land throughout the county is the rule,, and the exceptions are few. The most marked depression exists in the town- ship of Huron, where a large area of the land surface lies below the water level of the lake, and is subject to overflow with a rise of the lake waters or those of the Huron River. Other than this there is but comparatively little swamp land, and where this class has, in the past, been found to exist, it is easily drained into the streams with which the county is well supplied, and thus emptied into the lake. Erie county is bounded on the north by Lake Erie. But from this state- ment must be excepted Kelley’s Island, which now forms one of the county’s townships, and which is situate some sixteen miles from Sandusky City, ac- cording to the usual route of boat travel. It lies nearly due north from the city. The county is otherwise bounded, east by Lorain county ; south by Huron county, the bounding townships thereof being Lyme, Ridgefleld, Nor- walk, Townsend, and Wakeman, and on the west by Sandusky county. As originally created the county contained eleven townships, but two years later Danbury was set off to the formation of Ottawa county, as was Kelley’s Island, but the latter was erected into a township while attached to Ottawa, and was, at a still later day reannexed to Erie agreeably to the prayer of the petition of its inhabitants ; therefore this island now forms a part of Erie county, although situate some sixteen miles distant therefrom. Portland township, one of the original subdivisions of the county, and one of the most important sections of the same, has lost all existence as a town- ship, having been absorbed by the extension of the city limits of the county seat. Margaretta township occupies the northeast corner position of the county ■6o History of Erie County. and is larger in area than any of the others. It represents, in part, Sandusky county’s contribution to the formation of Erie county. Its settlement was commenced in i8io. Its position, according to the original survey, is town six, range twenty-four. The township has a front on Sandusky Bay. Its sur- face is inclined to be rolling or undulating, but in no place can it be said to be hilly. Besides the bay, there are several streams that receive the drainage or surface water, the largest of which are Mill’s Creek and Cold Creek. This stream crosses the township in a course generally northeast, and discharges its waters into the bay within the corporate limits of Sandusky City. Cold Creek is the largest of the streams of the township, and lies almost if not quite wholly therein. Its course is exceedingly tortuous, thus affording drainage to a large amount of the township’s area. Little Cold Creek is trib- utary to the greater stream, but an attempt to utilize their united waters for milling purposes some years ago, made the larger tributary to the less. This was the result of building a dam across Cold Creek. Margaretta is bounded north by Sandusky Bay ; east by Sandusky City (formerly Portland township) and Perkins township ; south by Groton township, and west by Sandusky county, and in part by the irregular shore line of the bay. The township, is, perhaps, more irregular in formation than any of the county’s subdivisions, having, at the extreme northwest corner a projecting strip of land, running westward, and from one to two miles in width. Groton township lies south of Margaretta, east of Sandusky county, north -of Lyme township, of Huron county, and west of Oxford. In the survey it appears as town number five, range twenty-four. The surface is as level, gen- erally, as any part of the county, having much of a prairie appearance. It is drained almost wholly by Mill’s Creek, which stream has its source in Huron county, crosses this township in a course substantially northeast, and passes into Margaretta township on the north. Portland township, the smallest in area of Erie county, but of as great im- portance as any, is to the county a thing of the past. Its whole area is now included within the limits of Sandusky city. The surface is quite level, but from the lake shore is a gradual ascent as a south course is pursued. Mill’s Creek, is the main water course of Portland and near its mouth forms a small bay, from which its waters reach the greater bay. Old Portland, for it may now be so called, is south of Sandusky Bay, west of Huron, north of Perkins and east of Margaretta. Perkins township lies immediately south of Sandusky City, and in the sur- vey of the Eirelands is town number six, range twenty-three. Its surface is quite as level as any of the townships of the county. The land is slightly undulating with a long and steady roll on the summits, if such they may be called, well defined though not extensive sand ridges. The most depressed localities are swale-like but there are no swamp lands unfit for agricultural purposes. Perkins Topography and Geography. 6i is watered and drained by the waters of two or three small streams, the largest of which is Mill’s Creek, and this in extremely dry weather is barren of water. The boundaries of Perkins township are, north, Portland and Sandusky City ; east, Huron ; south, Oxford, and west Margaretta. The township is in a near- ly square form, its former irregular lines having been made straight. Oxford lies south of Perkins, east of Groton, north of Huron county (Ridge- field township) and west of Milan township. Its surface formation is much like that of Perkins, except that its streams are larger and in the vicinity of them the land is more uneven. The Huron River crosses the southeast corner and the township is otherwise watered by Crab Apple Creek in the western and Mill’s Creek in the northern part. Range twenty-three, township number five is the geographical position of Oxford in the original survey. Huron township borders upon the lake and in east and west measurement is as great as any of the county. It has the outline form of a trapezoid, the east and west boundaries being parallel. Huron formerly comprised a vast tract of swamp or marsh lands, but ditching and draining have relieved it of much of its swampy characteristics, still there is a large tract of unavailable land within its bounds, especially situate along the bay and lake front and the valley of the Huron River. This stream is the most important of the county. Its source is in Crawford, Richland and Huron counties ; thence it crosses the last named, enters Erie in the southern part of Oxford township, courses east by north into Milan which it intersects, running northeasterly and enters Huron township, which it crosses in a course generally north, though exceedingly de- vious and winding in some localities, and discharges its waters into Lake Erie at the site of the village of Huron. Saw-mill Creek, so named from the utiliza- ation of its waters for saw-mill and other manufacturing purposes, is the only other stream of note within the township. It was formerly fed by drainage water from the lands bordering upon it, but when ditching and draining was re- sorted to as a means of carrying off drain water quickly, much of the utility of Saw-mill Creek was destroyed. Huron township lies north of Milan and Berlin, east of Perkins and Portland, south of the bay and lake, and west of that por- tion of Berlin that e.xtends to the lake. Huron is in range twenty-two and numbered town six. Milan township occupies a position in the county nearly in its geographical center, and is, moreover, one of the most important of the county’s townships. It became prominent when this was a part of Huron county, from the fact of its being the location of the county seat. In the Fire- lands survey it was town number five, range twenty-two. Its surface is uni- form with a gradual roll except in the valley of Huron River and the several rivulets of the township that empty into that river. These afford an excellent natural drainage for the surplus waters of the territory ; therefore but compar- atively little artificial draining and ditching has been found necessary. The Huron enters the township from Huron county near the southwest section, thence 9 62 History of Erie County. flows in a generally northeast direction, intersecting the township, and passes into Huron township near Milan’s northeast quarter. The course of the Huron is sufficiently tortuous to drain a large area of the township. The boundaries of Milan township are as follows: North, Huron; east, Berlin; south, Huron county, and west, Oxford township of Erie county. The township of Berlin, number five in range twenty-one, occupies a strip or tract of land extending from the lake on the north to the north line of Huron county on the south ; therefore it covers the entire north and south measure- ment of Erie county. The township was originally known as Eldridge, so namei for one of the original proprietors of the land, but on account of some questionable transactions on the part of that person the name was changed, the people thereof not wishing their territory to be named for one to whom any odium was attached. In the first survey Berlin contained twenty-five square miles, but by the acquisition of a block of land on the north its territory was extended to Lake Erie, thus giving the township a lake front. Its north boundary is Lake Erie ; east, the townships of Vermil- lion and Elorence ; south, Huron county, and west the townships of Huron and Milan of this county. In the lake region the land surface is broken, rugged and slightly inclined to be hilly, not naturally so, however, but by the ages of time during which the waters of the lake have left their mark, and gradually receding have given this locality the appearance of being hilly. This action of time and the elements is also noticeable in the vicinity of the streams of the locality which have cut and washed their way down into the soft soils of the township. There are points in Berlin township where the land has an altitude of nearly one hundred feet above the present lake level, but at these places is also discernible the drift formation showing the action of the waters hundreds of years ago. The principal water courses of the township are La Chapelle and Old Woman’s Creeks. Vermillion is the northeast corner township of Erie county. While gen- erally its surface maybe classed as level, there are nevertheless areas of broken and uneven lands clearly showing the drift formation on the ridges left by re- tiring waters. Elsewhere are what are known as lowlands. Vermillion abuts upon Lake Erie, which forms its north boundary. In this locality the most broken and rugged lands of the township exist. The Vermillion River, the main stream of the township, has its headwaters in Ashland and Huron counties whence it flows across the southeastern part of Florence township and thence passes into Lorain county on the east. Here it curves gradually to the north and northeast and returns again to this county, entering Vermillion in its north- east section and discharges into Lake Erie at the village of Vermillion. The township is traversed by two other and smaller streams. La Chapelle and Sugar Creeks. In the survey Vermillion is numbered town six of range twenty. Its north boundary is Lake Erie ; east, Lorain county ; south, Florence and a part of Berlin, and west Berlin township. Locating the County Seat. 63 The township of Florence, the most remote from the county seat of any of the subdivisions of Erie county excepting only Kelley’s Island, is located in the southeast corner of the county, being bounded on the east by Lorain county, south by Huron county, west by Berlin township, and north by Ver- million township. In the survey it is town number five of range twenty. Its physical features are not materially different from other townships in this re- gion, gently rolling but with no hill- like formations. Sand ridges crown the higher elevations, and are elsewhere noticeable. The streams of Florence are the Vermillion River, which crosses its southeastern portion, the creek La Cha- pelle, and a few small runs of no prominence. Kelley’s Island became a township of Erie county in the year 1845. Prior thereto it formed a part of Ottawa county, and while so attached was made a township. After being annexed to Erie county the island was made a munici- pality, and as such now exists. It was originally called, and elsewhere in this work is referred to as Cunningham’s Island. This forms no part of the old Firelands, but comes into prominence as the “Vineyard of the Lake.’’ It is sit- uated in north latitude forty-one degrees and thirty five minutes, and west lon- gitude from Washington, D. C., five degrees and forty-two minutes. It is well located, well watered, well improved and well populated. This island and the other civil divisions of the county are each Jmade the subjects of special chapters in this work, where they and their people, their manufactories and productions will be fully mentioned and described. CHAPTER X. Locating the County-Seat — Sites Offered — Incidents — Sandusky Chosen — The First -Court-house — Change of County-Seat Threatened — Permanent House of Justice Provided — The Tardy Proprietors — Some Notable Cases Tried — The First and Only Murderer Execut- ed in Erie County — The Old Jail — Present County Buildings. T he location of the seat of justice of Erie county at Sandusky City was more the result of accident than otherwise. Some people are inclined to remember it as a providential act, while others, more practical, perhaps, have chosen to attribute its location at that place to good luck. Whichever may be correct is of no material importance now, but the incident at the time®was of the most vital importance to the town. Three places were presented to the consideration of the commission — San- dusky, Huron and Milan. The first — Sandusky — claimed it on the ground that that place was the metropolis of the county, having the greatest population, be- 64 History of Erie County. ing more accessible, and having facilities by land and by water that were pos- sessed by no other location. The people of Huron argued that their town was even better than Sandusky, their location equally central, their lake advantages better, and the site, by every necessary consideration, much more desirable than the others. Milan, or Abbott’s Corners, sought through the efforts of the people of that neighborhood to impress the commissioners with the availability of their site, and not without sound argument. This had been fora short time the seat of justice of Huron county. It was more central than the other towns sug- gested, and was equally accessible by water through the canal, and more ac- cessible by land as it lay nearer the geographical center of the county. In due course of time the worthy commissioners visited the several sites proposed, and it was while on this tour of investigation that the events occurred that turned the tide of sentiment in favor of the village of Sandusky. Milan,, or Abbott’s Corners, was out of the question. While at Huron, so it is said, the champions of that site showed the commissioners the beauties and natural advantages of the town and location, and endeavored to, and in fact did im- press them favorably. The harbor was all it was represented to be, but unfort- unately, while urging their own as the best location they correspondingly en- larged upon the disadvantages of Sandusky, so that when the commissioners came here they did so with a prejudice against it. And it is a known fact that at least two of the three commissioners were in favor of Huron as against San- dusky. But while viewing the attractions of Huron and vicinity a hard wind storm, a genuine “nor’ easter’’ suddenly arose and blew the lake waters back into the channel of Huron River, thus flooding the locality, and for a time mak- ing it impossible for the worthy site finders to reach their hotel. This trio next visited Sandusky, but as has been stated, with a prejudice against the place. There was in fact a somewhat unfortunate condition of affairs here regarding the lands. They were in dispute, and while there was no open rupture, there were threatenings of litigation in certain quarters, enough to make doubtful the feasibility of locating upon them the county- seat. But at Huron the commission had been informed that the waters of the bay were shallow; too shallow to make Sandusky a safe, snug hafbor for the lake vessels, and this was the objection in part raised by the Huron people. These objections were fixed in the minds of the commissioners, and were of such a nature as required evi- dence to remove. But the same gale of wind that injured Huron had favored Sandusky. Dur- ing its greatest severity the brig Julia Palmer had sought refuge in the bay of Sandusky, the waters of which were swollen by the force of the wind, and when the next morning the commissioners looked from their hotel windows out upon the waters there stood, safely moored, the brig. Where, then, was the ob- jection raised by the Huron people ? The Julia Palmer 'nz.?, one of the larg- est of the lake vessels, and still she rode safely. This fact, with a more potent Locating the County Seat. 65 influence (a rare imported brand), brought to bear by Major Camp, soon settled the question in favor of Sandusky as the county-seat of the county of Erie. ;But again, the land proprietors here, during the days in which the subject of erect- ing a new county was being discussed, were making provision for the same and the consequent county buildings, as will be shovvn by a promise in writing made by them in October, 1835, three years before the act creating the county was passed. It read as follows : “ The subscribers do hereby pledge themselves that in case a new county be organized with the seat of justice established at Sandusky, we will furnish all necessary public buildings for the use of said' new county, free of all expense to the county, for five years next following its organization.” Signed by John G. Camp, Thomas Neill, William I. Reece, Isaac Mills, Z. Wildman ; all per J. G> Camp. One of the first duties that devolved upon the board of commissioners was to make some provision for a building for the purpose of holding courts, and for quarters for county officers. The officers were chosen on the day fixed for the first election. May 7, 1838, and Samuel B. Carpenter, Nelson Taylor and William B. Craighill were elected commissioners ; Hiram W. Conklin, auditor; William B. Smith, treasurer. At one of the first meetings of the commissioners the following resolution was adopted : “Whereas, The commissioners of Erie county have understood that the proprietors of the town of Sandusky have promised and agreed to furnish build- ings for county purposes for the county of Erie for the term of five years. “And, whereas, the situation of the affairs of said county in relation to county buildings requires that we should know, if any, what agreements and arrangements have been made by said proprietors, and what they are willing to do in relation thereto, therefore, “ Resolved, That the auditor of Erie county is hereby directed to corre- spond with said proprietors in relation to their furnishing buildings; what steps they have taken to furnish the same, and what they are willing to do; and that said auditor report the same to the commissioners on the first Monday in June next.” In compliance with this direction the auditor did correspond with the pro- prietors, which resulted in the renewed promise or pledge heretofore referred to, but not until some delay had been made. »The first Court of Common Pleas of the county was ordered by the Legis- lature to be held on the second Monday in December next following the time of the passage of the act that created the county, and against this time the com- missioners must provide a place for the holding thereof The First Court-House . — There was built just west of the present High School, some years earlier than the period the events of which we have been 66 History of Erie County. discussing, intended at the time to be put to be put to the uses of education, a stone building of fair proportions, two stories in height, but in 1838 in an in- complete state. The worthy land proprietors of Sandusky were great projectors ; they wished to encourage growth, development, industry and all public improve- ments, but when it came to putting their individual shoulder to the wheel and furnishing means for the carrying out of any enterprise they were decidedly wanting ; they wished everything to be done but disliked to do anything. And it was this unfortunate inactivity on their part that came near losing to Sandusky city the original location of county buildings, and two years later was the cause of much further agitation of the question of removal; and it was only through the prompt and decisive action of the residents of the town that the county seat was retained in its present city. The stone building referred to was projected in part by the proprietors, and in part by the enterprising residents of Sandusky, who desired a commodious school-house or academy in a central location. To its construction the peo- ple largely contributed. At the time of the location of the county seat this building was not finished, only the lower floor being completed, in which school was held. It was this structure, then, that was proposed to be used for court- house and county purposes. The first term of court was held in December, 1838, as provided by the act of the Legislature organizing the county. And while this building was so used for a period of two years, or perhaps a little less, there was no move on the part of the proprietors to vest the title to the same in the county. This led to further discussion and agitation of the question of removal of the county seat to some other point; and, moreover, led to the passage of an “ enabling act ” authorizing such removal, but coupled with a condition, as will be seen by the act itself, as follows : “There shall be commissioners appointed agreeably to an act entitled ‘An act for the establishment of seats of justice,’ to review the seat of justice of Erie county and remove the same, if in their opinion the public interest requires it; but it shall not be lawful for said commissioners to locate the seat of justice at any place other than its present location unless the proprietors of the lands, or individuals, shall furnish the county of Erie with a good and valid title, in fee simple to such lands, as may be necessary for the erection of all public build- ings ; and shall also erect good and suitable public buildings, equal to those in Elyria, Lorain county, without expense or levy of a tax in said county of Erie.” This act seems to have somewhat opened the eyes of the tardy proprietors, but not until the citizens had come to the rescue, and by their bond pledged themselves to provide for the necessities of the county. At a meeting of the county commissioners held June 3, 1840, the following journal entry appears: Locating the County Seat. 67 “ Whereas, the commissioners appointed by the Legislature of this State to review and remove the seat of justice of Erie county, if, in their opinion, the public interests required it, have on full examination decided and found that the public interests did and does not require such removal, and “ Whereas, in order to prevent the removal of the seat of justice by said commissioners, F. D. Parish, A. H. Barber, Charles Barney, Samuel Moss, Moses Farewell, John Wheeden, W. H. Hollister, William B. Smith, L. S. Beecher, John Beatty, John G. Camp, E. Cook, S. B. Caldwell and David Campbell executed and delivered to the commissioners of the said county of Erie their joint and several bond in the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, dated May II, 1840, conditioned for the furnishing to and for the said county, with- in two years from April i, 1840, good and sufficient public buildings, such as a court-house, public offices and jail, without expense or the levy of a tax in said county, and, “ Whereas, the most of the proprietors of the stone building now occupied by the county as and for a court-house and offices, situate on the east block of the land appropriated and set apart by the original proprietors of Sandusky city for county and other public buildings, have this day delivered to the com- missioners of said county a deed of conveyance of said building, to be holden and used by said county for a court-house and offices forever, containing a covenant of warranty of the title of the same against all claims whatsoever. “ Now, therefore, we, the commissioners of the county of Erie aforesaid, do now accept and receive for the county, for a court-house and offices, the said building in fulfillment and satisfaction of the condition of the above mentioned bond of F. D. Parish and others, so far as the same has reference to and stip- ulates for the furnishing of a court-house and public offices, and land on which to erect the same, on condition that the obligors of said bond shall erect a portico across the north side of said building, not less than twelve feet wide, and extend up to the floor of the third story, and covered with a deep floor, and surrounded with a hand-rail and bannisters, and a portion to be enclosed at each end, and stairs to be erected to extend from the first to the second story; and subject to such other internal arrangements as the commissioners shall hereafter direct and adopt ; and also remove the partition in the second story, and lay a floor over the present stairway so that the court-room will extend over the whole of the second story.” The latter portion of this instrument was subsequently modified in rela- tion to the construction of the “ portico ” and stairways, and provision made for a semi-circular portico with circular stairs. The deed from the proprietors of the land and the shareholders of the “ stone building,” bears the date of May 14, 1842, and is made upon the ex- press condition that the county seat be not removed from Sandusky city. The deed was signed and executed by the following named persons : W. H. ■68 History of Erie County. Mills, David Campbell, S. B. Caldwell, A. P. Tower, William B. Smith, Will- iam H. Hunter, I. N. Davidson, G. S. Dowel, Josiah W. Hollister, James Hol- lister, by attorney, R. I. Jennings, M. A. Bradley, S. C. Moss, Elentheros Cooke, Moses P'arewell, John N. Sloane, L. S. Beecher, John G. Camp, F. D. Parish, F. S. Wildman, Nathan Starr, John Wearn, Thomas Neill, Isaac Mills, by attorney, J. A. Mills, James Foman, Thomas T. White, William Null, Oran Follett, E. S. Gregg, Burr Higgins, W. Townsend, E. B. Johnson, Martin Ellis and I. Darling. These, then, were the vicissitudes and vexations experienced by the inhab- itants of Sandusky before the seat of justice became permanently eatablished at that city. For a period of nearly fifty years this building, though not orig- inally intended as such, served the purposes of the county as a hall of justice. Could a record of each and every case, civil and criminal, tried and argued within its walls be made, what an interest would it create. Here was tried, convicted and sentenced to be hanged the only murderer ever executed within the bounds of Erie county. James Evans, a crippled tailor, was the man, and the sentence of death was executed upon him for the wilful, deliberate murder of John Ritter. Counsellor L. S. Beecher defended this man, while the firm of Parish & Sadler were special prosecutors for the people. The case is well remembered by old lawyers. Then, again, was the famous case of Eockwood and others against Wild- man and others, involving the title to the lands on which stands the city of Sandusky. This was, perhaps, the most important civil case ever tried in Erie county. For the plaintiffs were counsellors C. L. Boalt, George Reber and Judge Peter Hitchcock, while the defendants’ interests were guarded by Messrs. Parish & Sadler, L. S Beecher, Pitt Cook and others. The case was reviewed by the Appellate Court in 1844, and a decree granted for the plaintiffs, but there being other questions and considerations arising in the case that were not tried and reviewed, a compromise was effected and the case settled notwith- standing the decree of the Supreme Court sitting in bank. The case of Lockwood against Mitchell was one that attracted considera- ble attention at the time, and was on the docket for nearly twenty years. This was a land case and involved the title of a tract in Milan township. The plain- tiff was represented by Judge Stone and Judge Swaine, while the defendant’s attorney was Homer Goodwin, esq. The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad Company and the Cleve- land, Sandusky and Cincinnati Railroad Company became involved in a liti- gation over the question of the right of one railway to lay a track across that of another. This case will be remembered as one of the most closely con- tested of the many tried in this county. The plaintiffs were virtually success- ful. Their interests were represented by Homer Goodwin, associated with Counsellor Mason, and Messrs. Bowman, Prindle & Scott represented the other side. Locating the County Seat. 69 In the action of Sloane versus Beimiller, the issue involved the question of the right of a shore owner to control the fishing privileges of the bay or lake waters opposite his property. The decision was that he had no right to so control. In this case Mr. Goodwin appeared for the plaintiff, and Counselors Dougherty and Root for the defense. Another important action was that growing out of the loss in a terrible storm on Lake Erie, of the schooner Ellen Marr, laden at this port with wheat consigned to Buffalo. The owner of the wheat sued the owners of the boat for the loss of the cargo, upon the ground that the loss was in consequence of over-loading, which was, they claimed, mismanagement, and for which they were liable. Not only was the boat and cargo lost but the entire crew per- ished with her. In this case were Parish & Sadler, and Beecher & Campbell, they being about the only practicing lawyers in the county at the time, Mr. Elentheros Cooke having practically retired from the profession to engage in politics, and in this field he was, for many years, a prominent, central figure. Another of the early and somewhat important criminal cases was the Bris- tol robbery case, out of which grew three trials, and created considerable in- terest at the time. This was during the incumbency of Counsellor E. W. Cogswell in office of district attorney of the county. The prisoners, of whom there were four or five, were defended by Counselors Homer Goodwin and Northway. The State against Gilchrist, the prisoner being charged with the murder of one Philo, was another of the thousands of cases tried in the old court-house. In this the county’s prosecutor was assisted by C. B. Squire, esq., an attorney during the infant days of the county, while the defense was conducted by Messrs. L. S. Beecher and J. M. Root. The prisoner was indicted for murder, but the court accepted a plea of guilty to a crime of less magnitude. The de- fendant, Gilchrist was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of years. Such, then, is a brief mention of a few of the thousands of cases that have occupied the time and attention of the court, the counselors and the juries that, from time to time, have been connected with the old court-house, now a thing of the past. The old building is gone and not a trace of its existence is now visible, save only in its past record. But it was not alone the court-house building that engaged the attention of the first board of county commissioners, as provision had to be made for a place of confinement for offenders ; and this was one of the things for the fur- nishing of which the proprietors and likewise the citizens were pledged. P'or this purpose on the 8th day of November, 1841, Isaac Mills, one of the pro- prietors, executed his deed of conveyance to the county, for jail purposes, a lot on Jackson street, numbered eighteen. This deed, however, was not pre- sented to the commissioners until the 21st of January, 1842. On this lot was built the first county jail. It was erected at the expense, mainly, of the citi- 10 70 History of Erie County. zens of the town of Sandusky, and was accepted by the commissioners on July 2, 1842. This property was sold in 1883 to George Brown and Adam Feick, for the sum of three thousand four hundred dollars. At length, as the population and wealth of the city increased, it became necessary that new county buidings should be provided ; buildings more in keeping with the modern, substantial and elegant structures of various kinds that were then standing around the public square and other business streets of the city ; such as would not only be an ornament but an honor to the county seat and to the county. The New Court-House . — The first definite action looking to this end was taken by the board of county commissioners at their meeting held January 4, 1871, upon which occasion that body declared their intention of building a new court-house on the site of the old building unless some other location be agreed upon ; and inviting petitions and remonstrances regarding the matter, to be heard and acted upon on the 7th of March following. Upon the occasion designated the board proceeded to examine the several communications presented, of which there were five, containing an aggregate of three hundred and forty- five signatures, all in favor of the contemplated ■erection and none opposed thereto. One of these bore the names of sixteen members of the legal profession. From that time the various proceedings of the commissioners in the matter may be summarized as follows: March 9, 1871. Commissioners direct William S. Webb and the county auditor, Ebenezer Merry, to visit different county seats and examine county buildings with a view to the selection of a suitable model for that of Erie county, and report the result of their investigations. May 31, 1871. The board visited Mansfield, O., to examine the court- house at that place. June 5, 1871. The board adopted the plan offered by Myers & Holmes, of Cleveland, and made contract with them to furnish plans and specifications upon which the work should be done. July 21. William S. Webb directed to proceed to Cincinnati and ascer- tain and report the best system for heating the new court-house. August 10. Plans and specifications of Myers & Holmes adopted and ap- proved, after examination by the commissioners, clerk, sheriff and probate judge. Paid Myers & Holmes one thousand dollars in part payment on con- tract. Advertised for proposals from contractors to build court-house. For the work several bids were received, all of which were examined and discussed from time to time, and finally, October 3, 1871, the board decided to reject all as provided by a clause in the public notice reserving a right so to do. It seems that there was some technical error in the specifications, and the action of the board was in part on that account. Further than this, about this time the disastrous Chicago fire occurred, and it was suggested that this build- Locating the County Seat. 71 ing should be made as near fire-proof as possible. This would occasion ma- terial alterations in the plans, and it became necessary that the matter should have full consideration. However, on the 5th of December, the commission- ers again advertised for proposals to build which were opened on the 6th of February, 1872. They were as follows: Aggregate bid of Philander Gregg $127,526 00 “ “ Carpenter & Matthewson, 129,729 00 “ “ Carr, Merry & Nason 125,388 54 “ “ Miller, Frayer & Sheets 123,913 57 “ “ James Campbell 138,842 65 ‘‘ “ Beaver & Butts 125,675 91 " “ Simon Harrold 127,305 50 Besides these there were other bids for special departments of the work, a detail of which is not important in this connection. The firm of Miller, Frayer & Sheets, of Mansfield, O., being the lowest bidders for the work, the contract was accordingly let to them by an agree- ment executed on February 24, 1872. Although the plans and specifications had once been materially changed, no less than five further alterations were subsequently made thereto that en- tailed additional labor and its consequent expense ; so that, when a final set- tlement was had with the contractors, it was found that the total cost of the building amounted to one hundred and forty- two thousand twenty-six and forty-five one-hundredths dollars, including furnishing, added to which was the architect’s account, per agreement, $4,361.29. The building was occupied by county officers on the 4th day of December, 1874. This new Erie county court-house is a model of beauty and modern archi- tecture, and does honor not only to those engaged in its construction but to the county. Its location, on the west block of the public square, was exceed- ingly well chosen, as from all sides a full view of its grand proportions is ob- tained. The effort at elaborate ornamentation was completely successful, and here does not appear at any point, evidences of needless display. This imposing structure needs no further description in these pages. It stands a lasting monument to the liberality and public-spiritedness of the peo- ple of the whole county. The New Jail . — And still there remained to be built after the completion of the court-house, another county building, and although of less proportions is none the less attractive in appearance and substantially built. This is the new stone jail on Adams street. On the 29th of March, 1882, the commissioners of the county entered into an agreement with Adam Feick & Brother for the erection of a county jail on lot number thirteen, situate on the south side of Adams street. The contract called for a twenty-six cell jail and sheriffs residence, and the consideration / History of Erie County. paid them for its construction was $45,750. It was built within the contract, there being no extra work done that made an additional expense. In addi- tion to the original work heating apparatus was placed in the building, which cost something like one thousand dollars additional. The County Infirmary . — In the township of Perkins a short distance from the south boundary of Sandusky City is located a farm of goodly proportions and in a finely improved condition and upon which is built a large stone struc- ture. This is the home for aged, indigent persons of Erie county, and is known as the County Infirmary. This building was erected in the year 1886, by George Phillip Feick under a contract made with the commissioners of the county. Mr. Feick was the lowest bidder for this work, his proposal being twenty-four thousand one hundred and sixty-eight dollars. An engine house and smokestack were subsequently erected by John H. Smith, at an expense of fifteen hundred and thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents. The building that previously occupied this site was burned during the latter part of November, 1885, and with its destruction five inmates were burned to death. The early proceedings for the establishing of a county infirmary were had in the year 1855, and on the 29th of June of that year Walter D. Beall, John W. Sprague and John G. Pool were appointed a board of infirmary directors, who, with their successors in office have ever since had control of that arm of the county government. The present directors are John Holahan, Thomas McVeigh and J. W. Lyles. The superintendent is Alexander Motry. HE labors of those who during the last two hundred years have devoted themselves to the study of the structure of the globe, and the claim which this department of human knowledge has to the name of science, depends up- on the symmetry which has been found to prevail in the arrangement of the materials composing the crust of the earth. By the slow process of adding fact to fact and by comparing the observa- tions of the devotees of the science in different lands, it has been found that the rocky strata of the earth hold a definite relation to each other in position, and CHAPER XL GEOLOGY OF ERIE COUNTY. Geology of Erie County. 73 hence in age ; that many of them are distinguished by constant or general min- eral features, and contain characteristic or peculiar remains of plants or ani- mals by which they may be recognized wherever found. It is now well understood, not only that these fossil remains are safe and con- venient guides in studying the relations and distribution of the rocks contain- ing them, but that their assistance is indispensable, and that no conclusions can be regarded as accurate and trustworthy unless confirmed by their evidence. The observations of geologists have shown that the materials which com- pose the earth’s crust form three distinct classes of rocks : those that are the direct product of fusion, called igneous ; those that have been made up of de- posits of sediment, called sedimentary ; and those that have been changed in their structure and texture, called changed or metamorphic rocks. The igneous rocks are subdivided into two groups, the volcanic and plu- tonic, of which the first includes lava, pumice, obsidian, etc. ; the latter, plutonic, comprises those massive, rocky formations which are without distinct bedding, having apparently been completely fused, and yet were probably never brought to the surface by volcanoes. Having consolidated under great pressure, they are dense and compact in structure, never exhibiting the porous and incoher- ent condition which is so characteristic of purely volcanic rocks. The plutonic rocks are granite in some of its varieties, syenite, porphyry and part of basalts, diorites and dolerites (greenstones). None of these igneous rocks are found in place in the State of Ohio, though they exist in vast quantities in the western mining districts and on the shores of Lake Superior. It is supposed that these igneous rocks were the first formed and that they constituted the primeval continents. As soon, however, as these rocks were exposed to the action of the elements they began to be worn down and washed away, and the materials derived from them were deposited as sediments in the first existing water basins. That process has been going on through all sub- sequent ages, so that by far the larger part of the rocks which we now encoun- ter in the study of the earth belongs to the class of sedimentary deposits. These are known to us as sandstone, shale, limestone etc., the consolidation of the comminuted materials having been effected by both chemical and physical agen- cies. The differences which we discover in these sedimentary rocks are, for the most part, dependent on very simple causes, such as we now see in opera- tion upon every coast. The showers that fall on land give rise to rivers, and these on their way to the sea excavate the valleys through which they flow, transporting the materials taken into suspension to the point where the motion of their currents is arrested and their power of suspension ceases, in the water basins where they empty. In the gradual arrest of the motion of river currents the coarsest and heaviest materials first sink to the bottom, then in succession the finer and still finer, until all are thrown down. 74 History of Erie County. Shore waves are still more potent agents in the distribution of sediments. Whether they break on cliff or beach they are constantly grinding up, and by their undertow carrying away the barriers against which they beat. Nothing can resist their force and ceaseless industry. On every shore where the wash of the land accumulates, we shall find a de- posit of gravel and sand which forms the beach, a little off shore a belt of finer sand and clay, while in the depths of the ocean are deposited only organic sed- iments. When consolidated these materials form rocks with which we are all fa- miliar — the gravel, conglomerate; the sand, sandstone; the clay, shale; the calcareous sediment, limestone. We have also everywhere evidence that what we know as terra firma, is a type of instability ; that all lands are constantly undergoing changes of level, and that over all our continent the sea has rolled, not once, but many times. The grinding effect of shore waves can be witnessed on every coast. In the submergence of a continent, all portions of its surface must in succession come under the influence of this agency. By its action the solid and superfi- cial materials lying above the sea level, the rocks, sand, gravel, and soil, would be ground up and washed away, the greater part forming mechanical sedi- ments and distributed according to the law of gravitation, the soluble portions taken into solution and carried out to impregnate the ocean waters, and to supply material to the myriads of organisms that have the power to draw from this solution their solid parts. In the advance inland of the shore line, the first deposit from the sea would be what may be termed an unbroken sheet of sea beach, which would cover the rocky substructure of all portions of the con- tinent brought beneath the ocean. Over this coarser material would be depos- ited a sheet of finer mechanical sediments, principally clay, laid down just in the rear of the advancing beach ; and finally over all, a sheet of greater or lesser thickness of calcareous material, destined to form limestone when consol- idated, the legitimate and only deposit made from the waters of the open ocean. Upon the retreat of the sea, the surface of the land would again be covered with vegetation, acted upon by atmospheric erosion, washed into hills and val- leys, and locally covered with sand or clay, the products of this local washing. Another invasion of the sea would leave similar records of a similar history, with this difference only, that the tribes of animals and plants inhabiting the land and water would, in the lapse of ages, have experienced marked changes. Perhaps in the interval, the old types of animals and plants would have entirely disappeared and others have succeeded them. So that the new sediments would include only relics of the new races. Such is the order of the events that have given rise to the most of the phenomena of geology, and will serve to explain how it happens that we so- frequently find sandstones and conglomerates followed by shales or soft clay Geology of Erie County. 75 rocks, and these again overlaid by limestones ; and, that in the different strata we have different groups of fossils. In the sandstones and conglomerates which are the direct debris of the land, we naturally find almost nothing but the remains of terrestrial plants. In the limestones we find mainly the remains of marine organisms, corals, shells, Crustacea, and fishes. All the rocks of Ohio belong to this class of sedimentary strata, and in- clude abundant examples of each subdivision of the two great groups, the mechanical and organic sediments. To the list of sedimentary rocks belongs another kind of deposits, to wit, the chemicals, and are such as have been plainly precipitated from chemical solution, and include rock salt, gypsum, materials which form mineral veins, and those deposited by mineral springs, beds of ochre, and iron ore. Some of these owe their accumulation to the action of organic matter, but not having distinctly formed any animal or plant tissue they cannot be classed as organic sediments. In all parts of the world rocky masses are met with which would not at first sight be referred to either of the classes above named. These are usually found in sheets of greater or lesser thickness, resting in regular sequence one upon another, as though they had once been sediments, but now upheaved and contorted, sometimes standing nearly vertical, and greatly changed both in their structure and texture. They have been called vietatnorphic or changed rocks. They compose most mountains and have been hardened and made crystalline by the forces that have acted upon them in their upheaval ; they usually bear evidence of having been highly heated, and in some cases even fused in the process, so that some of them can hardly be distinguished from members of the class of igneous rocks. They form all of the mountain chains of our country, and underlie most of New England and much of Canada. We have no representatives of them in Ohio, except such as have been brought by the Drift agencies. These are the materials with which we have to do in the study of the gen- eralities of geology. The sedimentary rocks underlying the earth’s surface form what is known as the geological column, that is, they are arranged in a regular sequence which holds good over all the earth’s surface. It is true, however, that in no one place, so far as has been observed, is every member of this series present ; for the reason that while any one formation was accumu- lating in a sea basin, which occupied only a limited portion of the earth’s sur- face, dry land existed at the same time in great areas, and there no sediments could be deposited. All sedimentary rocks have been formed in oceanic basins. The oldest rocks of which geologists have any knowledge are those com- posing the Canadian Highlands, and those exposed on the northern shores of Lake Huron. These are metamorphic rocks, and underlie a broad belt in Canada extending from Labrador to the Lake of the Woods, and thence to the 76 History of Erie County. Arctic Sea. From the circumstance of this area bordering the St. Lawrence River, the name Laurentian has been given to the first named group. These rocks also form the Adirondacks, a part of the Allegheny belt, the Ozark Mountains, reappear in Texas, the Black Hills of Nebraska, and in some ol the mountains of Arizona. Bordering and partially overlaying these rocks, are a series of sandstones, limestones, etc., accumulated in the sea surrounding this ancient Laurentian continent, and made up of materials derived from that continent. These strata form what is called the Silurian system, from their exposure in a part of Great Britain once inhabited by the ancient Silures. The lowest member of this system is the Potsdam sandstone, appearing in a belt around the southern margin of the Laurentian area in Canada, the Adirondacks, and the region about Lake Superior, concealed at the Mississippi and reappearing further west. It has been reached in deep borings at Colum- bus, O., at St. Louis, and other places, showing that it underlies in an un- broken sheet the valley of the Mississippi. The fossils of this rock are not numerous, and from the fact that no land plants have left their traces here, it is supposed that terrestrial vegetation was then exceedingly scanty if not wholly wanting. Resting on this sandstone, and forming by its outcrop a parallel belt of exposure, is a rock consisting of a mixture of lime and sand called calciferous sandrock, and from evidence underlies the surface of an area nearly equal to the Potsdam. This rock holds the lead of Missouri. The most characteristic fossils are graptolites. On this sandrock are found a series of limestones called Chazy, Birdseye, Black River, and Trenton. They contain the remains of shells, corals, trilo- bites, and crinoids, and undoubtedly are the result of the accumulation of organic matter at the bottom of the great Silurian Sea, when its waves rolled over the old continent. This group is exposed in New York, Canada, about Lake Superior and on the Upper Mississippi, where one of its members holds the lead of the Galena district. On this limestone are found rocks composed of mixed lime and clayey sed- iments, containing graptolites as the most characteristic fossils. These are slates, and are called the Hudson group. The outcrop of this group forms a belt parallel with and more southerly than those of the older Silurian rocks. In the Cincinnati rocks are found so large a number of Trenton fossils that, though the rocks there are usually regarded as equivalents of the Hudson, they are considered, in parts at least, the representatives of the Trenton. In the successive strata so far we have an illustration of the sequence of deposits made in every submergence of the land — first, mechanical (sandstone), then mixed (lime and sand), and then organic sediments (Trenton). The earthy limestones of the Hudson group indicate a shallowing and retreating Geology of Erie County. 77 sea, an approach to land conditions, and the completion of one circle of depo- sition. These strata are called the Loiver Silurian series, and of these the tw o latter are of interest in Ohio, because they are the oldest rocks exposed in the State. They are brought to the surface about Cincinnati by an axis of up- heaval reaching from Nashville to Lake Erie, in the region of the islands, par- allel to the Alleghenies, but of more ancient date. They contain a large amount of bituminous matter, and are the source of oil and gas. In boring for natural gas at Sandusky the Trenton rock was reached at a depth of 2,315 feet. The rocks next above the Lower Silurian series are called the Upper Silu- rian series. They have been most carefully studied in New York, where thej^ have received their names. The first is the Oneida conglomerate, a rock com- posed of coarse materials, conglomerate and sandstone, and marks a period of land subsidence, or water elevation, which apparently involved only a portion of the continent, and during which a long line of shore was thickly overspread with coarse materials torn from the coast by shore waves. On this conglomerate lies the Medina sandstone, composed of sandstone and shales, having a little wedge-shaped brachiopod and a sea-weed as its most characteristic fossils. In New York it is 300 to 400 feet thick. It thins and becomes finer toward the west. Its prevailing color is red. It has been found in Northern Ohio in boring for oil. Next is the Clinton group, consisting of shales and limestones, mixed mechanical and organic sediments and containing a peculiar bed of iron ore called fossil ore, which forms a stratum two to ten feet thick, traceable from Wisconsin to New York, thence southward to Alabama. In Ohio it is repre- sented by a limestone in the region about Cincinnati. Where most calcareous it contains many fossils, the most interesting of which are two graptolites, the last of the group found in ascending the geological^column. We now come to a rock composed of nearly equal masses of limestone and shale, and forms the ledge over which the Niagara River pours, and is hence called the hfiagara group. It is not exposed in this count}". In the southwestern part of the State the lowest stratum of the Niagara is known as the Dayton stone, one of the best building stones in the State. It underlies Chicago, and from it is derived “ Athens marble.” In Northern Ohio the rock overlying the Niagara is that which contains gypsum. It is called the Salina from the fact that it is the source of the salt obtained at Syracuse. The New York geologists call it the Onondaga salt group. It is composed of many alternations of colored marls and shales and some impure limestones containing gypsum. It is not exposed in this county. North of Sandusk}" Bay, in Ottawa county, a bed of gypsum is worked by Mr. E. H. Marsh, of Sandusky. The gypsum lies covered by a few feet of drift. In boring for gas at Sandusk}^ gypsum was found at a depth of about three 11 78 History of Erie County. hundred feet. There is gypsum on the lake bottom south of Put-in-Bay Island. Next over the Salina is a group of rocks that form a considerable portion of the Helderberg Mountains in New York, and are called the Helderberg group. It is there made up of several distinct strata, mostly earthy limestones. Its lower subdivision is the water-lime. It may be identified by its ever pres- ent and characteristic fossil, leperditia alta. The water-lime is exposed on the peninsula in Ottawa county, and forms Put-in-Bay and other islands in that vicinity. At Castalia a large volume of water flows up from orifices in the limestone rock, called Castalia Springs. It maintains an equable temperature and vol- ume throughout all seasons, except that a protracted drought affects its vol- ume. The water is highly charged with lime, and incrusts any object covered by it, and has deposited a sheet of travertine, over a large area in the vicinity. The subterranean channels of the stream are in the water lime, the uppermost member of the Silurian system. This group forms the summit of the Upper Silurian system and completes a circle of sediments which corresponds with that of the Lower Silurian. The history recorded in each case is the same : a submergence of such portions of the continental surface as now carry the sedimentary strata enumerated ; in the progress of each submergence, the spread of shore materials over all the surface covered by the advance of the sea; this sheet being followed first by mixed mechanical and organic sediments, then by those almost purely calca- reous deposits from the open ocean, and finally earthy limestones, indicating a retreating, shallowing sea, and a return to land conditions, during which no de- positions would be made on the surface, but which was the necessary starting point for a new circle of deposits. One difference in the sediments of these Silurian oceans is, that th^ limestones of the Trenton group are nearly pure carbonate of lime, while those of the Niagara series (the Clinton, Niagara, and water-lime) are highly magnesian. The animal life of the two seas was entirely different, except two or three mollusks ; and this probably is the reason for the distinctive chemical characters exhibited by the organic sediments of these seas. In the Silurian rocks we find a great number and variety of the lower order of animals and abundant traces of marine plants, but in America no ver- tebrates and no land plants have been discovered in them, while in Europe remains of both land plants and fishes occur in the rocks of the Upper Silurian. In this country remains of fishes are first met with in the Devonian system of rocks, which are those next above the Silurian. This system is called the age of fishes, as the Silurian is the age of mollusks. The name Devonian comes from Devonshire, England, where these rocks are prevalent. They form an important part of the geology of our country and of the world, occu- pying a large area of the surface, include one of our most valuable mineral Geology of Erie County. 79 staples (petroleum) as a characteristic ingredient, and contain many strange forms of ancient life. The lowest formation of the Devonian system is the Oriskany sandstone (so named from a New York locality), and is a coarse mechanical sediment. A thin belt of sandstone seen near Castalia and on the peninsula in Ottawa county is the equivalent of the Oriskany. Over the Oriskany is a calcareous sandstone from which the lime is dis- solved by exposure, leaving it a rough porous rock resembling the Oriskany, but containing different fossils. It is called the Schoharie grit. It is not found here. The most interesting member of the Devonian system is the Corniferous limestone — so called from the balls of hornstone contained in it. It is a mass- ive, calcareous rock, containing a very small percentage of earthy matter, and abounding in fossils, especially corals, which in some places may be regarded as ancient coral reefs. In this State it forms two belts of outcrops on opposite sides of the Cincinnati upheaval. It is an open sea deposit, the calcareous cen- ter of a group of sediments, the product of a great submergence in the Devon- ian age ; the counterpart in its general features to those which are found in the parallel deposits of the Upper and Lower Silurian series. The fossils of the Corniferous are very numerous and of unusual interest, the most striking being the remains of huge ganoid fishes, similar in general char- acter to those of the Old Red Sandstone of Scotland. This is the most inter- esting and important rock in this count}^. It is the rock on which the City of Sandusky stands, and that which forms Marblehead and Kelly’s Island. At Sandusky the upper layers of the Corniferous formation are composed of a blue limestone of from twenty to twenty- five feet thick, and is known to the geology of the State as the Sandusky stone. It is largely used for building and flagging. The High School building is of this stone and numerous other buildings and dwellings in the city. It makes an excellent flag-stone but long Avear renders it dangerously smooth. The lime industiy at Sandusky is large. The lime is made from the lower courses of the Corniferous exposed at Mar- blehead, and is burned there and at Sandusky. This stone is white and has a larger percentage of lime than even the Kelly Island stone, which is the same. The white limestone lies too deep at Sandusky for economical purposes. Overlying the Corniferous is a series of shales and limestones called the Hamilton group. In Ohio is usually a soft blue limestone. In this county it can be seen at Front’s Station on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It under- lies a narrow belt of territory extending southwesterly from the lake shore at a point half way between Sandusky and Huron to the Lake Shore Railway, be- tween Monroeville and Bellevue. The Hamilton is overlaid by a great mass of black shales called the Huron shales. It forms the banks of the Huron River at Monroeville and below. It So History of Erie County. can be seen a few miles east of Sandusky in Huron township, on the Lake Shore Railway at what is called the “Slate Cut.” In some places it is interstratified with clayey matter. It is highly bituminous, containing about ten per cent, of combustible matter. From this bitumen, by slow, spontaneous distillation, pe- troleum is evolved, and flows out in springs at a number of localities. The pro- cess of distillation also gives rise to gas sjarings, which are found over the out- crop of this formation. This shale in some places contains concretions of im- pure limestone, seen along the Huron River where this shale forms the banks, being washed out by the action of the water. These concretions are sometimes almost absolutely spherical. Some of them contain the bones or teeth of huge fishes.^The Huron shale forms a belt of outcrop ruiining across the State from the lake to the River near Portsmouth. Above the Huron shale lies a series of green and blue shale called the Erie, the lower of which are somewhat interstratified with the upper Huron. The Erie shales form the lake shore from the Pennsylvania line to Erie county. It does not appear further west. We now reach the highest group of rocks found in the State, called the Carboniferous system, because it holds nearly all the beds of coal that have been worked in this country and in Europe. We have in this county only the ower strata of this system, called the Waverly group, the lowest of which is the Cleveland shale. This can be seen in the banks of the Vermillion River. It is black and bituminous. It is unusually well exposed in the vicinity of Cleveland, whence its name. In its lithological character it is hardly to be dis- tinguished from the Huron shale. The fossils, however, are bones, scales, and spines of fish of small size, and of Carboniferous types, while the Huron contains the remains of fishes of enormous size, and of most peculiar structure, and such as belong to the forma of the Old Red Sandstone. Next above the Cleveland shale is a bed of shale sometimes blue or banded in color, but more generally red. This is called the Bedford shale, and is con- spicuously shown in the valley of the Vermillion River, and is exposed at many places in this section immediately underlying the Berea sandstone. It serves as an important guide to those seeking that stone. The Berea sandstone is, geologically, the highest stone in the county, the outcrop of which enters the county on the east line about half a mile from the lake shore, thence it sweeps round to the south and west, passing through Ber- linville and a little east of Norwalk. Within the area lying south and east of this line, the Berea underlies most of the surface, but is very generally covered and concealed by the drift materials, and it is only where its more compact and massive portions have resisted the action of erosive agents, that these have been left in relief — that it projects above the surface. The hills in which the Am- herst and Brownhelm quarries are located, and the elevation, Berlin Heights^ are all masses of this character. They were once bluffs on the lake shore, and Geology of Erie County. 8r everywhere show marks of the action of water and ice. This stone is largely" quarried in the county, and some grindstones are made. Above the Berea is a limestone, a conglomerate and the coal measures, the balance of the Carboniferous system, but they nowhere appear in this county — we therefore have no coal in this county. We have no representatives in this State of the age of reptiles, the periods of which are Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. They are found in some parts of the continent. Above these are formations and deposits of what is called the age of Mam- mals, consisting of two periods, the Tertiary and Quaternary. No representa- tives of the former are found in the State, but of the latter we have abundant. They consist of Glacial Drift, Erie Clay, Forest Bed, Iceberg Drift, Terraces and Beaches. The latter period presents a complete change in the physical condition of our continent, and apparently of the whole northern hemisphere; a change not ex- ceeded by that which takes place upon our surface in the alternation from mid- summer to mid winter. We have evidence that during what is called the Drift period, the climate had changed from that of an all-pervailing warmth to an arctic cold. While in the Tertiary the climate of the Southern States was car- ried to Greenland. In the Drift period the present climate of Greenland was brought as far south as the Ohio River. Greenland is now nearly buried under snow and ice, and in a large part of the coast, access to the interior is barred by the great glaciers which flow from the interior to the sea. Precisely such must have been the condition of much of North America during the glacial pe- riod, for we find evidence that glaciers covered the greater part of the surface down to the latitude of about forty degrees. The materials known as the Drift deposits are beds of sand, gravel and boul- ders, and have received the name of Drift, because they have been transported or drifted from their places of origin. The most important facts which the study of the drift has brought, are that in most localities where the nature of the underlying rocks is such as to retain inscriptions made upon them, the upper surface of these rocks is planed, fur- rowed or excavated in a peculiar and striking manner, evidently by the action of one great denuding agent. Examples of this planing are abundant about Sandusky and on the islands. A good specimen can be seen at Monk’s ship- yard, and almost anywhere where the upper surface of the coniferous lime- stone is exposed at Sandusky. Beneath the drift deposits the rock surfaces are in many localities excavated to form a system of basins and channels, often cut several hundred feet below the lakes and rivers that now occupy them. The Vermillion and Huron Riv- ers exhibit this phenomenon and prove that the surface of the lake was once at least one hundred feet lower than now. 82 History of Erie County. Upon the glacial surface are found unconsolidated materials, the lowest of which is blue clays, stratified in thin layers containing no fossils, but conifer- ous wood and leaves ; after the clay, sand, gravel and boulders in large quan- tities were transported from the region north of the lakes and spread over a large area south of them ; these were floated to their places by ice bergs. Following the water period ensued an era of continental elevation, which progressed until the present level was reached and the drift deposits raised several hundred feet above the ocean level. This took place slowly and was marked by periods of repose. In these intervals of rest our terraces and lake ridges were formed. These ridges mark old shore lines — such is now being formed at Cedar Point. The “ridge roads” are well known and mark the lines of the principal ridges. No boulders are found on the ridges, so that they are of more recent date than the action that deposited the boulders. In some of the ridges in this county is found a yellow sand, light and loamy, and largelj^ used as a moulding sand. The drift deposits have been removed from a great part of Erie county. In the southern part of the county the boulder clay is found covering the rock surface. This is blue, or where exposed and its iron oxidized, reddish yellow unstratified clay, thickly set with angular fragments of shale taken from the lake basin. With these are small boulders usually ground and striated, derived from the old rocks north of the lakes. In this part of the county are also found beds of sand and the lake ridges which rest on the boulder clay. These ridges are the effect of shore waves and are old beaches formed when the lake stood much higher than it does now and in the same manner that Cedar Point sand ridge is now forming, and which will ultimately dike out the lake. The part of the county north of the last lake shore, which is the ridge at Castalia, and thence east imperfectly par- allel with the present shore, from which the drift has been removed, is covered by a fine sediment mixed with vegetable remains, making a remarkably rich soil, having the characteristics of the prairie soils of the West. The formation of the lake ridges was the last in the sequence of events which make the history of our surface geology, and brings us down to the present time, which seems a period of rest ; but every day sees something taken from the barrier of Niagara and at no distant day, geologically speaking. Lake Erie will have shared the fate of all lakes and have been drained to its bottom. The solid earth under our feet has a history as well as the people who have lived on its surface. We learn that once a great part of this country was buried under ice like Greenland. Earlier still it had jungles of palms and other tropical plants ; yet further back it lay beneath a wide ocean ; and be- yond that time can be traced many still more remote periods, when it was forest-covered land or wide marshy plains, or again buried under the great Agriculture of Erie County. 83 sea. Step by step we may follow this strange history backwards and with as much certainty we trace the doings of Julius Cssar or William the Conqueror. Every quarry and ravine where the naked rock comes to view offers an attraction if we seek to find there the remains of some of those lost forms of plants which covered the land or of those long extinct tribes of animals which once tenanted the sea. These fossils will become not mere things to wonder at. We learn what they most resemble in the present living world and will not rest content until we have seen all that we can discover of the light which they throw upon the former condition of the district in which we find them. Geology thus becomes not a task to be conned from books, but a delightful companion in every walk and ramble, when we find GRICUETURE is the pioneer of civilization. It levels the forest, plants its home in the wilderness, upturns the primal, fertile soil of the prairie, and makes alike the “wilderness and solitary place to blossom as the rose.” But very little attention has been paid in the past to the agricultural history of Erie county. A history fragrant with noble sacrifices, privations untold and daring heroic deeds unselfishly performed by the early pioneers. They builded wiser than they knew. Their wildest dreams could not have pictured the ex- tent, the grandeur and prosperity of the agriculture of to-day. The crude im- plements of those early times, the wooden, mold- board plow, the sickle, the flail, the scythe, have been replaced with riding silver steel plows, the self binder, the steam thresher and mower of to-day. The log house has long been a thing of the past, and in its stead rises the stately mansion richly upholstered and furnished, of the wealthy farmers of this age. The scrubby live stock of years ago has been wonderfully metamorphosed into sleek Herefords, creamy Jer- seys, prancing Hotspurs and black shining Berkshires grunting out their sat- isfaction at the present state of things. The improvement in the farmer’s home life has been still more marked as the grandest result of this new order of things. The farmer of to-day, for at least a part of the year, is a man of leisure, in fact he is becoming a man of in- “ Tongues in trees, books in running brooks, Sermons in stones and good in everything.” CHAPTER XII. AGRICULTURE OF ERIE COUNTY. History of Erie County. telligence. He reads the best books relating to his calling, the daily papers, the leading magazines and works of the best literature. Through the Grange and kindred organizations he is becoming versed in parliamentary law, skilled in expressing his thoughts in debate and fitted for the highest duties of citizen- ship. Life means much more to him than to father and grandfather before him. His horizon has been infinitely expanded, his opportunities for improvement multiplied, and his enjoyments proportionately increased. Erie county is emphatically calculated for every variety of husbandry. Its location on the south side of Lake Erie very much modifies its temperature, while its variety and fertility of soil make it possible to cultivate any crop or fruit usually raised in the lake regions, with quite reasonable hope of success. Beginning at the lake, the limestone crops out near the surface and the soil, a rich, black loam, is admirably adapted for wheat, grapes and other fruits. A few miles south a sandy ridge is very well adapted to produce potatoes and gen- eral farm crops, and still farther south the rich prairie produces corn, oats, wheat and grass in native luxuriance. Erie county is the banner wheat county of Ohio, having produced in one year an average yield of 25.2 bushels per acre for the entire wheat acreage, the largest yield produced by any county in the State. Its total wheat produced that year was 657,100 bushels. The average crop of corn aggregates 700,000 bushels, and oats 400,000 bushels. Erie county is one of the foremost in the yield of potatoes, ranking fourth in the State and all kinds of vegetables grow rankly. It has over 4000 acres in orch- ards. Its annual apple crop in fair seasons is one half million bushels. Peaches are a leading fruit crop. The grape crop is second only to one county in the State and averages about four million pounds annually, while its wine manu- facture has reached colossal proportions. Unsurpassed shipping facilities, thorough cultivation, a fertile soil, nearness to market, make the farm lands of Erie county exceptionably valuable. The wooded portions of the county have not materially changed in the past few years. There is a disposition to stay the farther devastation of the forests. Careful underdraining has done much to redeem the waste places and make highly profitable farm operations, where in swales and low swamps mias- matic diseases prevailed. It is safe to say that one-half of the farm lands of Erie County are thoroughly underdrained. Erom the latest statistics at our command we find that there are in Erie county 158,435 acres of farming land exclusive of towns and villages ; at seventy-five dollars per acre would be worth in round numbers about $12,000,000. Number of horses 5781, value $500,000 ; cattle 9476, value $190,000 ; mules 50, value $5,000 ; sheep 30,000, value $90,000; hogs 8943, value $50,000 ; carriages 1134, v^alue $75,000; watches 446, value $10,000 ; other farm property $500,000. Let us look a moment at the productions of the farm lands of the county for 1886. Wheat, 247,824 bushels; rye, 2,477 bushels; buckwheat, 10,943 Agriculture of Erie County. 85 bushels; oats, 294,676 bushels ; barley, 36,2 19 bushels ; corn, 564,863 bush- els ; butter, 394,117 pounds; potatoes, 301,306 bushels, ranking third county in the State ; apples, 76,749 bushels ; wool, 606,665 pounds ; eggs, 197,245 dozen; grapes, 2,571,045 pounds; wine, 71,170 gallons pressed. While the above figures are not absolutely accurate they are a close approximation to the amount of farm products for the main crops for the above named year. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. Closely identified with the agricultural prosperity and growth of the county, are the different farmers’ societies that have had a wonderful influence in up- lifting and elevating the masses by bringing people of all classes together and infusing a spirit of mutual dependence and interest in each other. Prominent among these is the Erie County Agricultural Society. Its history properly antedates the formation of Erie county it having been first known as the Huron County Agricultural Society, organized in June, 1833. We have before us an exceedingly interesting manuscript volume, the records of the Erie County Agricultural Society from 1833 1878. To its pages we are largely indebted for many facts in the early history of the society. At the time mentioned Huron county embraced the present limits of Erie. We copy from the minutes of the first meeting : “ In pursuance of an act of the Legisla- ture of the State of Ohio, passed February 25, 1833, to authorize and encour- age the establishment of agricultural societies in the several counties of the State, public notice is hereby given that a public meeting will be held at the court house in Norwalk on the last Friday of June, 1833, ^or the purpose of organizing an agricultural society to be called the Huron County Agricultural Society.” Accordingly the meeting was held as above and one of the first, if not the first agricultural society in the State was organized by the election of the following officers : Amos Woodward, president ; Timothy Baker, vice-pres- ident; Lemuel Morse, Levi Barnum, Lester Cone, John Millen, John Fulton, Aaron Corbitt, Arunah Eaton, Wm. P. Mason, Daniel Beach and Charles B. Simmons, directors. Eben Boalt, treasurer; John V. Vredenburg, corre- sponding secretary ; Joseph M. Root, recording secretary. The first annual fair was not held until October 18, 1838 at Norwalk. We append the program : “ The Throne of Grace was first addressed by the Rev. Mr. Higgins; Agricultural address, by F. B. Sturgis Esq ; awarding premi- ums.” From the reports of the latter we cannot refrain from taking a few items. Best acre of corn, George Powers, sixty three bushels shelled. Best one-half acre of potatoes, John D. Allen, one hundred bushels. One half acre beets, J. V. Vredenburg, one hundred and twenty-five bushels. Samuel Pres- ton is reported to have raised from seven square rods of ground, at the rate of six hundred and eighty-five bushels of potatoes per acre. We find first pre- mium on “ improved cooking stove ” given to William Gallup, the only uten- 12 86 History of Erie County. sil of any kind on exhibition. The amount in premiums offered at this fair was $70. At a meeting of the Agricultural Board, December 14, 1838, a propo- sition was received from Licking County Agricutural Society to send delegates with them to Columbus for the purpose of organizing a State agricultural so- ciety and O. Jenny and J. V. Vredenburg were sent as delegates. At the second fair held at Norwalk, October 17, 1839, $118 was offered as premiums, and at the end of the year sixty-seven dollars were in the treasury. In 1840 $129 were offered as premiums, but no account of a fair being held is given. The fair for 1841 was held at Norwalk, November 2. There is no record of any fairs being held in 1842-3-4-5-6 and 7. HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. Agreeable to public notices in the newspapers of the two counties, on the 1 5 th of March, 1 848, the above society was organized in the sherift’s office in the court house at Norwalk, and a constitution adopted. This, 'district society em braced the limits of Huron and Erie counties. In the spring of 1838 the county of Erie had been organized from the northern townships of Huron county. The complete formation of Erie county as it now is, was not com- pleted until 1840. Platt Benedict was the president of this new society, Benj. Benson, secretary, and Luke S. Stow, of Erie, one of the directors. The latter was afterwards one of its efficient secretaries. It held its first fair at Norwalk, October 12, 1848. This new district society, organized from the two counties, seems to have been heartily supported from its inception. At the annual meeting in March, 1849, officers of 1848 were re-elected and Andrew Ainsley, of Erie, added to the directors. A premium was offered for the best farm essay to be read at the coming fair, an example worthy to be com- mended to our fair managers now. This fair of 1849 was held at Milan, and the Press said ; “ The display in ■all the departments far exceeded any previous fair, and was attended by at least three times the number of spectators. It is pleasing to note the growing interest manifested in agricultural and industrial affairs, and we confidently an- ticipate the day when Erie and Huron counties will rival in their efforts those 22, 1861, 84,116; July 2, 1862, 58,325; August 4, 1862, (nine months’ men); June 15, 1863, 2,736 (militia) ; October 17, 1863, 32,837; March 14, 1864, 29,931 ; April 22, 1864, 36,254 (one hundred days’ service); July 18, 1864, 30,823 ; December 19, 1864, 23,275. In all Ohio furnished under these sev- eral demands for men an aggregate of 310,654 men, while her total quota amounted to 306,322 men. The fact appears that the county of Erie was represented by men in no less than thirty different regiments, although the number in each averaged consid- erably less than one hundred. Among these were some of the most daring fighters in the service. To the military history of Erie county there attaches an additional interest from the fact of Johnson’s Island having been made a national depot for the detention of captured rebel officers. This island is not a part of Erie county. Military History. 95 but Sandusky seems to have been the central and prominent point and the base of all operations on the island. From here all prisoners were placed on boats and conveyed to the island, and, furthermore, all supplies were obtained here- The establishment of a prisoner’s depot on Johnson’s Island was brought about through the energy and exertions of a few of the leading business men of San- dusky, who at once saw that such a station would be of great value to trade in the city, and that the officers’ quarters would be in and about the town rather than on the island. The officer of the war department to whom was entrusted the duty of selecting a site for the depot was inclined to favor Detroit, and came to this city mainly in fulfillment of a duty and not that he desired to locate the place of detention here ; but the business men accorded him such a warm reception, and showed a willingness to give the enterprise such substantial aid that the agent could not well do otherwise than accept the offers made him. The guarding force for this important point was made up, in the main, of Ohio troops, prominent among which was the One Hundred and Twenty- eighth Regiment ; therefore the history of that regiment, a portion of which was from Erie county, is closely associated with the events that transpired dur- ing the occupancy of the island for the purposes stated, and will be written in connection therewith. A still greater interest and importance was given this locality during the years of the war, through the exploits of John Yates Beall, who made a fruitless attempt to rescue the prisoners on the island, which at- tempt will be found detailed in these pages, together with an account of the ■execution of that daring young officer. For the following account of the history of the Johnson’s Island Prisoners’ Depot, and the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Regiment we are indebted to the work entitled “ Ohio in the War,” edited by Mr. Whitelaw Reid, now of the New York Tribune. The narrative was compiled and written so soon after the close of the war that it is doubtful whether any additional facts can be stated, even at this time ; therefore we copy literally from Mr. Reid, grant- ing him full credit for the original production. ‘‘The One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Ohio, although chiefly occupied in guard duty within the borders of the State, was an organization of three years’ troops, enlisted and mustered into the United States service, the same as other volunteer troops, and was liable to service wherever required. It attained minimum strength on the 25th of December, 1863, and consisted of four companies, before known as the ‘ Hoffman Battalion,’ raised at different times in 1862. At and before the time of forming the regiment the Hoffman Battalion was under the command of a lieutenant-colonel and major. Six new companies were mustered in at Camp Taylor, near Cleveland, between the 8th and 15th of January, 1864. The four old companies had been on duty at Johnson’s Island nearly all the time since their muster-in, but had frequently 96 History of Erie County. furnished detachments for service elsewhere, including a short and very active campaign in pursuit of rebel troops in West Virginia, in 1862. “The One Hundred and Twenty-eighth having been chiefly occupied at the frontier posts of Johnson’s Island and Sandusky, its service necessarily involves much of the military history of these posts, and can better be understood by giving a brief synopsis of that history. “ Early in 1862 Johnson’s Island became a depot exclusively for rebel offi- cers who were held as prisoners of war. “The records of the post show the strength of the prisoners in 1862 as follows: Average for April, 444; for May, 1,074; average for June, 1,105;. July 31, 1,149; August 31, 1,452; exchanged September i, 1,123 ; average for September, 595 ; aggregate October 31, 893; aggregate November 30, 295 ; aggregate December 31, 209. “ It should be remembered that a cartel for a general exchange of prison- ers of war had long been expected, and was finally agreed upon July 22, 1862. Under that cartel and special arrangement exchanges went on until July, 1863, and a continuance was expected. This expectation, with the belief of general loyalty in the north, and the want of help in Canada, had their legitimate influ- ence on the prisoners, and undoubtedly prevented efforts at outbreak and re- sistance until late in the fall of 1863. “The number of prisoners of war at the depot during 1863 will be sufficient- ly understood from the following: January 31, 308; February 28, 347; March 31, 105; April 20, 59; May 31, 40; June 30, 806; July 31, 1668 ; August 31, 1,817; September 30, 2, 1 55 ; October 3 1, 2, 1 56 ; November 30, 2,381^ December 3 I, 2,623. “ In the spring and summer of 1862 the garrison on the island was strength- ened by one company of the Sixty-first Ohio, relieved by one company of the Eighty-eighth. The stoppage of exchanges, followed by the assembling of considerable forces from the rebel army and navy in Canada, and the machin- ations of disloyal organizations in Ohio, Indiana and elsewhere known to in- tend to rescue these prisoners with attendant devastations on the lake towns and commerce, showed these posts to be unsafe without considerable rein- forcements. Six companies of the Twelfth Ohio Cavalry (dismounted), with the Twenty-fourth Battery (six guns), and two detachments of the First Ohio Heavy Artillery (with seven heavy guns) were sent to the island early in No- vember, 1863, followed promptly by the Forty- ninth and Fiftieth Regiments of the National Guai'd and a Pennsylvania Battery. The Forty-ninth and Fiftieth remained only eight or ten days, and the Pennsylvania Battery was soon relieved. The other troops remained all winter. “The First Brigade, Third Division, Sixth Corps, including five regiments, attended by two brigadier-generals from the Army of the Potomac, reached Sandusky on the 13 th of January, 1864. Four of the regiments, with General Military History. 97 Shaler, were stationed on the island. The other regiment, with General H. D. Terry commanding the whole, was at Sandusky. They all remained until April 14, 1864, when three regiments under General Shaler left to rejoin the Sixth Corps. The Twenty-fourth Battery was stationed in Sandusky, and the six cavalry companies left for Camp Dennison in March. Soon after, the six new companies of the Twenty-eighth, pursuant to orders from Washington, were moved to Sandusky, and on the 14th of April, 1864, with the colonel, were stationed on the island. The whole regiment was thus, for the first time, assembled as one command. “ On the 8th of May, 1864, Colonel Hill, of the One Hundred and Twenty- eighth, succeeded General Terry in the command, and the two remaining reg- iments from the Sixth Corps moved off to rejoin that corps. On the 12th of July, 1864, the detachments from the First Heavy Artillery returned to their regiment, and on the 7th of August following the Twenty-fourth Battery left for Chicago. Other troops came to the island and departed as follows : May II, the One Hundred and Seventy-first Ohio National Guard; it left June 9 for Cleveland and Kentucky; returned June 20 much reduced, eight of the companies being then paroled prisoners, not subject to duty ; they were mus- tered out August 20. The One Hundred and Thirtieth National Guard re- ported for duty May 21, and left June 6. The One Hundred and Sixty-fifth Ohio National Guard (five hundred and forty- nine men) reported for duty May 21, and left July 16. The Eighth Battery Ohio National Guard reported September 22, and left October 19, and was succeeded by the Second Battery Ohio National Guard, which left November 26. These National Guard troops were sent to the island chiefly as a place of rendezvous, equipment and in- struction preparatory to service elsewhere. On the 24th of September the Sixth Veteran Reserve Corps (five hundred and sixty -three men) from Wash- ington, reported for duty. “The One Hundred and Twenty-eighth from the time its being first assem- bled on the island was kept under strict drill and discipline. “The condition of the island, and of the docks, roads and barracks upon it required heavy details of working parties to open ways of communication for defense, complete and improve the quarters, enlarge the prison grounds and accommodations, and improve the sanitary condition of the island, which had been much neglected for many months. “The strength of the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth, present for duty from early in May until late in the fall, w'as much reduced by detachments sent off by order of the commandants of the department, and kept away for long periods, so that on account of absent detachments and heavy details for special duty and necessary working parties, the guard-duty became very severe ; often, and for considerable periods, requiring the majority of the men remaining for that service to go on guard every other day. 98 History of Erie County. “The number of prisoners of war confined on the island during the year 1864 ranged as follows, varied chiefly by new acquisitions and special ex- changes: January, 31, 2,603; February 29, 2,206; March 31, 2,192; April 30,2,088; May3i, 2,134; June 30, 2,309 ; July 3 1, 2,441 ; August3i,2,- 556; September 30, 2,663; October 31,2,621; November 30, 2,747 ; De- cember 3 I, 3,209. “ From the foregoing tables it appears that the average strength of prison- ers for the different years was as follows: Average for 1862, 788 ; 1863, 1,205 S 1864, 2,480. “In 1865, until discharges on oath of allegiance or parole became more numerous, following the surrender of Fee’s army, the number of prisoners ranged considerably higher, and excepting about one hundred, they were all officers of the rebel army and nav}q of all grades, from second lieutenant to major-general. “ Here were officers enough for an army and navy of eighty thousand men. They were within a short distance of the Canada main, and still nearer to a Canada island. The prevailing sympathy in Canada was largely in favor of the rebels ; and their every facility and encouragement, short of direct par- ticipation in our war, was extended to the large rebel force from the rebel army and navy maintained in Canada to effect a rescue of these rebel officers. If by such efforts war should be brought on between the United States and England a great point would be gained by the rebels. No other depot of prisoners ■of war was on a frontier or exposed like this. During the season of naviga- tion it could be reached from Canada in a few hours’ night run, and during the winter season men and teams could conveniently cross the lake from island to island, not over five miles of ice intervening in any place. During the season of ice the location of the depot of prisoners practically ceased to be an island. The capture of that depot or the rescue of the prisoners confined there, would not only be of immense advantage to the rebel cause and give them great £clat, but would be a deep humiliation to our government and people, and would almost certainly be attended by attacks upon our lake commerce and devastation upon our lake towns. The rebel officers confined at the island had a large range of acquaintances and friends in the loyal States. For them the rebel emissaries traveling in those States, and the secret orders known as the ■“ Knights of the Golden Circle ’ and ‘ Sons of Fiberty,’ had an especial sympa- thy, and were anxious to aid them by means of rescue, or with places of refuge and concealment. They had the means of knowing each other. These facts, with the difficulty about exchanges, stimulated machinations for rescue, front and rear, and kept the prisoners constantly on the qui vive, ready for any desperate adventure until after the fall of Petersburg.’’ It appears that there was but a single well organized attempt to effect a rescue of the prisoners on Johnson’s Island, and that attempt was made in the Military History. 99 month of September, 1864, although prior to that it was well known that the Canadian side of the lake swarmed with agents of the rebel government and sympathizing residents, subjects of England, who were ever willing to lend aid to the Confederate cause in an under-handed manner, but were not so willing to participate in open, warlike hostilities. The plan of rescue that led to the open attempt on the 19th of September was conceived by John Yates Beall. He was to conduct the operations from the Canada side while one Cole was entrusted with the work of gaining the confidence of the officers at Sandusky, and particularly of the commanding officers of the gun-boat Michigan, that lay in the waters of Sandusky Bay in the immediate vicinity of the island. The Michigan was the only government boat then acting in the defense of the island, and with an ample crew of marines, and her eighteen guns she could repel any attack that might be made,, especially when acting in conjunction with the guard force of infantry and artillery on the island and at Sandusky. The first step, therefore, in accom- plishing the main undertaking was to obtain control of the boat, and this was the part of the programme assigned to Cole. He is well remembered by manj^ of the present residents of Sandusky as an active and energetic fellow, possess- ing education beyond the average, a fine conversationalist, and a royal enter- tainer. He made a prodigal use of his money, with which commodity he ap- peared to be abundantly supplied. He dined and wined the officers of the Michigan and sought to ingratiate himself wholly in their favor. But in the chivalrous acts of this daring young fellow he rather overdid the matter, and Yankee cunning proved more than a match for his arts. When he thought he had the officers just about where he wanted them the picture reversed, and the officers had Cole just where they wanted him, and he fell a prisoner into their hands and custody. Cole arranged a wine party at the time that affairs were expected to cul- minate, and the liquor was heavily drugged, but the officers never partook of his bounty, and instead of their falling victims to his plans he himself fell into theirs. The plans of Beall were equally well formed but through the failure of Cole’s were also futile so far as carrying out the main effort was concerned. Beall, with a few rough characters, took passage on the steamer Philo Parsons, as that boat was making her passage between Detroit, the islands and Sandusky, and at Malden, in Canada, twenty other men also came on board having as baggage a heavy and well bound box. This was not an unusual circumstance and nothing was thought of it. After passing from the landing place at Kel- ley’s Island the men approached the clerk of the boat, who in the absence of the captain seems to have been in command, and with revolvers pointed at him demanded a surrender. The others at once opened the box and provided themselves with revolvers and knives sufficient for a small arsenal. Without 100 History of Erie County. inuch resistance the steamer passed into charge of the piratical crew of board- ers and was turned back toward Middle Bass Island, where a landing was made. About this time the Island Oneen reached the dock at Middle Bass, but no sooner had she touched than she was boarded and captured, not, however, with- out a stout resistance from her commanding officer and the engineer, but both were overpowered, the latter being shot in the face. On board the Island Oneen was a party of about a hundred recently discharged soldiers on their journey home, but being without arms were powerless in the face of a score or more of heavily loaded revolvers in the hands of determined, desperate men. The Qneen was scuttled and sent adrift, after which the prow of the Parsons was turned toward Sandusky Bay. After cruising about fora long time, anxiously watching for the proper signal from the land party supposed to have been suc- cessfully organized by Cole, Beall wanted to make the attempt at rescue with- out the assistance of Cole’s co-operating force, but knowing the power of the Michigan' s guns, and fearful of the result, Beall’s desperate crew weakened and declined to take the chances. Disheartened and discouraged, the daring leader reluctantly put about and made for the Canada side, where the steamer was abandoned and her former crew released from their temporary imprisonment. This was the only open attempt made to effect the rescue of the officers ■confined on Johnson’s Island, and it proved a dismal failure. What the result would have been, had Cole’s effort proved successful, is wholly a matter of speculation. Several prominent citizens of Sandusky were soon after arrested and charged with complicity in this attempt. They were temporarily confined on Johnson’s Island but afterward released. Cole was also subsequently re- leased. But Beall seems to have been less fortunate. He was captured near Supension Bridge, on the New York side, and taken to New York and con- fined on Governor’s Island. Beall was charged before a military court with the seizure of the steamer Philo Parsons ; with the seizure of the steamer Island Queen: with being a ■spy in Ihe employ of the rebel service, and with an attempt to wreck an ex- press train between Buffalo and Dunkirk, in New York State, for the purpose of robbery. He was tried, found guility, and sentenced to be hanged. The day fixed for his execution was the i8th of February, 1865, but that the mother of the condemned man might have an opportunity of seeing her son once more in life. President Lincoln granted a respite for six days. Beall paid the penalty of his crimes on the 24th of February, 1865, on Governor’s Island, in New York Bay. Upon the occasion of the trial of Beall, as a part of his defense, there was produced a letter from that old arch traitor, Jefferson Davis, in which he as- serted that these acts, meaning Beall’s exploits upon the border, were commit- ted by his authority, and should be recognized as the acts of “ lawful belliger- ents.” Without doubt they were recognized as the acts of belligerents, but the Military History. lOI lawful part failed to impress the court so favorably. Could that military court have had a chance at Davis just then he might have got a taste of “ lawful bel- ligerent ” medicine that might have surprised him even if it did not seriously endanger his “health.” John Yates Beall, the leader of this bold attempt at rescue, was a Virginian by birth, a native of Jefferson county. He is said to have possessed, at the time of the breaking out of the war, a large and valuable plantation, and was a young man of large means and great promise. He organized and became captain of a company attached to one of the regiments in Thomas J. Jackson’s command, the latter general being a person none other than the intrepid “Stone- wall ” Jackson, the idol of the Confederacy. Beall was engaged in several battles prior to his conception of the idea of rescuing the rebel officers on John son’s Island. His depredations on the Ohio frontier have been by some writers charac- terized as “ piratical,” but such seems hardly to have been the case. He sought to effect the rescue of the prisoners and in that attempt adopted such measures as he thought would most surely accomplish that result, but he did not seek to, neither was he charged with any attempt at plundering any vessel, or of steal- ing any money or merchandise for the purpose of gain, except the act alleged to have been committed in New York State, and that was, if true, an attempt at train robbery and not piracy. His personal motives are pretty well shown in a letter written his brother on the evening prior to the day of execution, an extract from which was as follows : “ Remember me kindly to my friends ; say to them that I am not aware of committing any crime against society. I die for my country. No thirst for blood or lucre animated me in my course. My hands are clean of blood, unless spilled in conflict, and not a cent enriched my pocket. ‘Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, and I will repay.’ Therefore do not show unkindness to the prisoners; they are helpless.” Having digressed somewhat from the narrative of events to relate the ad- ventures and exploits of Captain Beall and his associates, we may now return to the general history of affairs at Johnson’s Island and the regiments there on guard. “Soon after the arrival of the Sixth Veteran Reserve Corps considerable de- tachments were sent from it for provost and other duties elsewhere, for of those who remained, infirm as many of them were by wounds and disease, the cli- mate and exposure proved too severe, so that all who remained for guard duty did not make good the absent detachments of the One Hundred and Twenty- eighth. The Sixth Veteran Reserve Corps left the command early in 1865. “ In view of the contingencies on the frontier, and in order to hold these posts with a less force, the United States Engineer Crops, under the direction of the war department, began the construction of three forts in the fall of 1864; one on Cedar Point, at the mouth of Sandusky Bay opposite the island, and two 14 102 History of Erie County. on the island. The expectation was to do this work with hired labor, but la- borers were so scarce that men could not be obtained at the wages offered. At this juncture the colonel of the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth detailed par- ties from his regiment who did at least two-thirds of the whole work, includ- ing the mechanical part, and completed all three of the forts with their maga- zines and mounted the guns. This work was done in the most inclement sea- sons of the year, without extra pay, and at a time when the other details were very heavy. But in this instance, as in all others, officers and men applied themselves to the duties before them with an intelligence and zeal which prompt- ly overcame difficulties and attained the desired result in a very creditable manner. “Although the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth was often scattered by detachments, and much burdened with fatigue duty, its drill, including infantry and a considerable range of heavy artillery, was accurate and thorough, and its equipment, discipline, and constant readiness for emergencies and service wher- ever ordered, gave assurance that it would meet the just expectations of the government in any line of duty. Many of its officers and men had served the government during the war with credit in other organizations, from which they had been discharged on account of disability by wounds or sickness. “In hastening the completion of the defenses at Sandusky Bay it was antici- pated that the regiments would soon be relieved by troops of the Veteran Re- serve Corps, and that then the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth would be sent to join some army in the field. Measures were taken to have it ready for such an event. Fortune did not give the regiment the opportunity, as a body, to earn laurels in battle, but it performed its duty always with faithfulness and efficiency. “ Soon after the surrender of the rebel armies in the spring of 1865, the pris- oners on the island were reduced by discharges on parole to about one hundred and fifty. The One Hundred and Twenty-eighth left the island on the lOth of July, 1865, and was mustered out on the 17th at Camp Chase.” This is the history of Johnson’s Island as a place of confinement of captured rebel officers during the war 1861-65, and almost inseparably connected with that appears the history of the One Hundred and Twenty- eighth Infantry. It is proposed in the following pages to devote some attention to the other individual regiments, the companies for which were made up in whole or in part of Erie county men. But in furnishing company rosters the greatest diffi- culty has been encountered in ascertaining the names of the men who were resi- dents of county, and there will be found instances in which no roster is given from the fact of the writer being unable to locate the men, or from the fact of the contingents having been so small that no necessity exists for giving the ros- ter, could it even be accurately ascertained. Again the adjutant- general of the State has not yet completed the work of Military History. 103 making up the official roster of Ohio’s volunteer soldiery; therefore, being un- able to furnish a correct record, one that can be confidently relied upon, it is deemed prudent to furnish none at all. Some of the commands that were repre- sented by men from this county are given nothing beyond a mere mention from the fact that the contingent of men from the county was so exceedingly small as not to entitle them to a space, and it is, therefore, only those parts of regi- ments, or companies of regiments that contained as many as would constitute a “corporal’s guard” that receive extended notice. That the reader may have something of an understanding as to the number of commands represented by Erie county volunteers during the war of 1861-5, it may be stated that companies or parts of companies of the following named regiments were composed of men from the county : The Seventh, Eighth, Six- teenth, Eighteenth, Twenty-fourth, Thirty-fourth, Forty- first. Forty-ninth, Fifty-fifth, Sixty-third, Sixty-fourth. Sixty-fifth, Si.xty-sixth, Seventy-second, One Hundredth, One Hundred and First, One Hundred and Seventh, One Hundred and Twenty-third, One Hundred and Twenty- eighth. One Hundred and Forty-fifth, One Hundred and Ninety-seventh, Third Cavalry, Tenth Cav- alry, First Heavy Artillery, and possibly others that cannot be definitely ascer- tained by reason of the very small number of men contained in them. THE SEVENTH INFANTRY. The Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry was raised within a very few days after President Lincoln issued his first call for troops for the three months service. It required but a very short time to recruit a regiment in this section of the State, and while the sturdy young men of Northern Ohio were not anxious for war, they were, nevertheless, anxious and ready to do their duty. The ranks were quickly filled with men averaging from twenty to twenty-five years of age, strong, willing, determined and loyal young men. To the formation of this regiment Erie county contributed one company, E. Three companies were raised at Cleveland, and one each at Oberlin, War- ren, Painesville, Youngstown, Norwalk, Franklin, which with the Erie county company made a full regiment. As a three months regiment the Seventh performed no active service on the field of battle. They were mustered in on the 30th of April, 1861, and ren- dezvoused at Camp Taylor, near Cleveland, until early in May, when they went by rail to Camp Dennison near Cincinnati. Upon the organization of the Sev- enth the officers were chosen as follows: Colonel, Plrastus B. Tyler, of Ravenna; lieutenant-colonel, William R. Creighton, of Cleveland; major, John S. Case- ment, of Painesville. The first duty of the command after the election of officers was to prepare for active field service, and at this time the boys knew but little of military tac- tics, drill and discipline, but before they left Camp Dennison they were as well prepared for the field as any regiment of infantry at the front. 104 History of Erie County. But the Seventh Infantry never faced the enemy as a three months regi- ment. When they were well versed in drill, then came Mr. Lincoln’s call for three hundred thousand men for three years, and the Seventh Regiment, almost to a man, enlisted under that call, and were thus transformed from the three months to the three years service, and as such first donned the blue. They were mustered into the United States service on the 19th of June, 1861, retain- ing, substantially, their former commanding officers. After a brief leave of absence at their homes, the men reassembled at Camp Dennison, and on the 26th of June, 1861, started for the field, having been as- signed to the campaign in West Virginia. None of the command will ever for- get the march of June 29th, and it was this event as much as any, that gave them an idea of the hardships that were in store for them. Their destination was Weston, and the object of the march was the hope of possessing a goodly sum of gold on deposit in a bank at that place, which was designed to be used for the erection of an insane asylum. The boys got it without meeting any armed opposition. The regiment then proceeded to Glenville to relieve the force at that point. The first serious engagement in which the Seventh participated was the battle at Cross Lanes, West Virginia, on the 26th of August, 1861. Here the regi- ment fought independently, each company taking a position where the most effective service could be rendered ; but they were outnumbered by the enemy and slowly driven back, leaving many killed and wounded upon the battle-field. The loss to the Seventh in this engagement was one hundred and twenty killed, wounded and missing. The command became divided and scattered, one por- tion retiring to Gauley, while the others found the Union lines at Charleston, several miles down the Gauley River. By reference to the roster of Company E it will be seen that more men were lost by death, wounds or capture than in any other single engagement in which that company participated. The regiment was soon gathered again and went into camp at Gauley. The effects of the recent engagement told severely on the men and many were discharged during the early days of October. One pleasing event, however, occurred while encamped at this place, and that was the presentation to the regiment of a beautiful stand of colors by Professor Peck, of Oberlin College, in behalf of the people of the Western Reserve. Lrom Gauley, on the i6th of October, the regiment proceeded to Charles- ton, W. Va., where it remained until the ist of November, but soon after that date it was engaged in a movement to get in the rear of the rebel force under Lloyd, but through the disobedience of orders on the part of General Ben- ham, the attempt was fruitless, and P'loyd, though hotly pursued, succeeded in making his escape. After this the Seventh returned, by steamer, to Charles- ton, November 17, 1861. In December the regiment joined the command un- der General Lander and proceeded by water, rail and a march of sixteen miles. Military History. 105 and arrived in the vicinity of the rebel forces, in a new and different country, and where, on March 23, 1862, they engaged in the battle of Winchester, com- ing in contact with that most remarkable rebel soldier “ Stonewall ” Jackson. General Lander was succeeded by General Shields. General Banks occupied Winchester upon Jackson’s retirement. The tactics displayed by this noted rebel commander will, probably, never be thoroughly understood. His move- ments were rapid and were believed to be a retreat, but it has been argued that it was simply a subterfuge, which, had the co-operating foixe expected by him been successful, the field of Winchester would have been strewn with Union dead and wounded and our national capital have fallen into the hands of the rebels. But “ there is many a slip ” ; the movement failed of accom- plishment. Winchester was fought and the Seventh took an active and hon- orable part, losing fourteen killed, fifty-one wounded, and several prisoners taken. Among the losses here were several of Company E. Following Winchester we find the Seventh regiment next engaged at Port Republic, on the 9th of June. Prior to that the men endured the hardships of a march of one hundred and thirty-two miles, from New Market to Fredericks- burg, which was accomplished in nine days ; and thus Shields’s force was joined to McDowell’s. On the morning of May 13 the army was reviewed by Pres- ident Lincoln and other government officials. Especially did the president de- sire to see the division that had put to flight the great Jackson, therefore Shields’s command, the Seventh among them, was ordered out for inspection. When Shields withdrew with his forces from the Shenandoah Valley, Jack- son with a strong command immediately occupied it, and commenced a rapid, vigorous movement toward the nation’s capital. This movement necessitated a change of plan on the part of the Union forces, and the project to attack Richmond was for the time abandoned, and the army concentrated and sent to head off the notorious rebel leader. Jackson, becoming aware of this, and not easily entrapped, made a retreat up the valley, closely followed by P'remont’s command. The third and fourth divisions of Shields’s brigade had, by this time, reached a point opposite Port Republic. At five o’clock in the morning this battle commenced, the Seventh and the Fifth Ohio having the heaviest of the fight. Says Reid, “These two regiments fought splendidly and effective- ly. General Tyler, seeing the terrible odds against him, and the extent of the enemy’s lines, determined to handle his inadequate force with extreme caution, and met the wily Stonewall with his own favorite tactics of strategy and cun- ning. Taking advantage of a wheat field near the enemy’s center, he extend- ed his lines from hill to river, and double-quicked the Fifth and Seventh from point to point along the line, under cover of some standing wheat, halting at intermediate points to deliver a galling fire. This was kept up for five long hours, and, with less than three thousand muskets, the National forces re- pelled Jackson, with fourteen thousand veteran rebel troops.” io6 History of Erie County. In the retreat that followed this sharp fight the Seventh was directed to cover the rear as guarding force. This they did gallantly, coming off the field in line, loading as they marched and frequently sending a telling volley into the ranks of the pursuers. In May, 1862, Colonel Tyler was promoted to the rank of brigade com- mander and had charge of the brigade to which the Seventh was attached. After the battle of Port Republic and lying at Little Washington, that officer was ordered to Washington, and thereafter General Geary was ordered to the command of the brigade. After Port Republic came the engagement at Cedar Mountain, Va., on August 9, 1862, and the Army of Virginia, under Pope, had again to contend with the noted Jackson. The fight commenced at about three o’clock in the afternoon, and the Seventh occupied a position at the front where the battle waged the fiercest ; in fact, it was a hand to hand contest in which they were engaged, and was continued until night-fall, when they retired and bivouacked almost upon the field. Neither side could claim any substantial victory. The ranks of the Seventh were fearfully decimated, and out of three hundred of that regiment that entered the fight scarcely a single hundred e.scaped injury in some form. The roster of Company E will show how that command fared. With the approach of Lee’s army the Union forces fell back toward Wash- ington, and on the 17th of September reached Antietam. During the en- gagement at that place the Seventh were on the field but not closely engaged,, although some slight losses were suffered. After the battle the regiment en- camped on Bolivar Heights, and here were received some two hundred re- cruits, but comparatively few of whom were given to Company E. Early in December the Seventh went into winter quarters at Dumfries,, but scarcely had they become settled for a season of rest and recuperation than a troop of cavalry and a few pieces of artillery, under Stuart, made their ap- pearance. The camping forces were soon prepared to meet the attack, and drove off the rebels with considerable loss, though suffering little themselves. So ended the campaign in Virginia for the year 1862. Five battles were par- ticipated in by the Seventh regiment, and in each their gallantry and bravery received the plaudits of the whole Union people. The campaign of 1863 opened with the engagement at Chancellorsville, in which the Seventh took an active part, and when the Union forces retired their retreat was covered by the regiment assisted by two others. “ Its con- duct,” says Reid, ” in this hazardous and responsible position, and its gallant action in the battle, reflected the highest honor on not only the regiment, but the State from whence it came.” In this battle the Seventh lost eighty-four men in killed and wounded. Gettysburg followed Chancellorsville, and although not actively engaged the Seventh were kept busy moving to such points as required strengthening;. Military History. 107 exposed sometimes to a galling fire, but generally protected by breastworks. Their loss here was but one man killed and seventeen wounded. Among the regiments sent to quell the riots in New York, occasioned by the enforcement of the draft, was the Seventh Ohio. The regiment reached Governor’s Island and went into camp on the 26th of August, 1863. The draft being over, the Seventh returned to its old camp on the Rapidan, where it remained a few weeks, after which the Twelfth corps, to which it was attached, was ordered into the western country. The Twelfth and Eleventh were afterward consoli- dated and became the Twentieth, under command of “Fighting Joe Hooker.” On the 24th of November occurred the battle at Lookout Mountain, Tenn., and close upon that came Mission Ridge, Tenn., and Ringgold, Ga. The Seventh was in each engagement, but lost most heavily in the latter. During the assault Creighton said to his men : “ Boys, we are ordered to take that hill; I want to see you walk right up to it” And walk they did; straight into the face of death. They were repulsed with fearful loss, there being but one commissioned officer of the whole regiment uninjured. Nineteen killed and sixty-one wounded was the result of that charge. It occurred near Ring- gold, on the 27th of November, 1863. Colonel Creighton and Major Crane were both killed. Worn with constant battle and ranks fearfully thinned, the Seventh went into camp at Bridgeport, Ala., where with a few skirmishes of no importance it remained until May, 1864, when again it was called into active service in the campaign of that year. Its first engagement was at Rocky Face Ridge, from May 5th to the 9th, and later at Resaca, Ga., from May 13th to i6th. After Resaca had been fought and won, the Seventh pursued the fleeing rebels until near the middle of June. Then the term of enlistment of the Seventh had expired, and they returned to Cincinnati. Here the Fifth and Seventh, former constant companions in successes and rev^erses, the former from the south, and the latter from the north part of Ohio, parted company. The Sev- enth proceeded to Cleveland, where it was mustered out of service, after an experience in active service of a little more than three years. Colonel Erastus B. Tyler was promoted to brigadier general May 20, 1S62 ; lieutenant-colonel William R. Creighton was promoted to colonel May 20, 1862, and killed at Ringgold, Ga., November 27, 1863 ; Lieutenant-Colonel Joel F. Asper was promoted from captain. Company H, May 20, 1862, and resigned March 2, 1863 ; Lieutenant-Colonel Orris J. Crane was promoted to major from captain Company A, May 25, 1862, to lieutenant-colonel March 2, 1863, killed at Ringgold, Ga., November 27, 1863 ; Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel McClellan was promoted from captain Company H, December i, 1863, mustered out with regiment July 8, 1864 ; Major John S. Casement resigned May 23, 1863 ; Major Frederick A. Seymour resigned March 29, 1864. io8 History of Erie County. Roster of Company E. This roster represents the company in the three years service. Nearly all the men were mustered into the service on June 20, i86i, and of the few recruits received at a later date no separate record is made. John VV. Sprague, captain; captured at Birch River, Va., August 8, i86i ; exchanged January 5, 1862; promoted to colonel Sixty- third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, January 23, 1862. Charles A. Wood, captain ; promoted from first-lieutenant Company D February 5, 1862; resigned February 20, 1863. Arthur T. Wilcox, captain; captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861; returned October 4, 1863 ; promoted from first-lieutenant Company E to captain Company D July 9, 1862 ; assigned to Company E March 10, 1863 ; mustered out with company July 6, 1864. Llewellyn R. Davis, first lieutenant ; promoted from second lieutenant Company D, November 2, 1862 ; to captain company C February 19, 1864. George C. Ketchum, first lieutenant ; captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; exchanged and returned March 13, 1863 ; promoted from first sergeant to first lieutenant March 30, 1864; mustered out with com- pany July 6, 1864. Ralph Lockwood, second lieutenant ; promoted to first lieutenant Company A November 25, 1861. James P. Brisbine, second lieutenant; promoted from first sergeant Com- pany H December 20, 1861 ; killed in battle of Cedar Mountain, Va., August 9, 1862. George D. Lockwood, second lieutenant ; promoted from first sergeant Company D August -9, 1862; mustered out with company July 6, 1864. Arvin B. Billings, first sergeant; appointed sergeant from private January I, 1862; first sergeant January i, 1863; wounded at battle of Cedar Moun- tain, Va., August 9, 1862 ; mustered out with company July 6, 1864. Samuel C. Wheeler, first sergeant; appointed corporal January i, 1862; first sergeant March i, 1862; wounded at battle of Port Republic, Va., June 9, 1862 ; discharged March 26, 1863, by order of war department. Henry E. Hill, sergeant; appointed from corporal January i, 1862; wounded at battle of Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, 1863 ; mustered out with com- pany July 6, 1864. William Harley, sergeant; appointed corporal January i, 1863; color bearer May 3, 1863; sergeant April 9, 1864; mustered out with company July 6, 1864. George W. Sweet, sergeant ; captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., Au- gust 26, 1861 ; exchanged and returned March 13, 1863 ; appointed sergeant from private T^Iay 19, 1864; mustered out with company July 6, 1864. Military History. 109 Moses Martin, sergeant; appointed sergeant from corporal January i, 1862 ; killed in battle of Cedar Mountain, Va., August 9, 1862. Orzo J. Lowell, sergeant; died at Cumberland, Md., February 19, 1862. William Merriam, sergeant ; lost left arm at battle of Cross Lanes, \”a., August 26, 1861 ; discharged October 30, 1862, by order of war department. Franklin W. Wilcoxson, sergeant; captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; paroled May 27, 1862; discharged b}^ order of war depart- ment. William Freeman, sergeant; discharged at Romney, Ya., June i, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Henry Bailey, sergeant ; appointed corporal January i, 1862; sergeant January i, 1863; transferred to Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, October 31, 1864, by order of war department. William W. Meeker, corporal ; appointed corporal January i, 1863 ; mus- tered out with company July 6, 1864. William Holden, corporal; appointed corporal July, 1863; mustered out with company July 6, 1864. Jesse G. Turner, corporal ; captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; paroled May 27, 1862; mustered out with company July 6, 1864. John H. Woodward, corporal; appointed corporal January i, 1862; killed at battle of Port Republic, Va., June 9, 1862. James K. Alexander, corporal; appointed corporal January i, 1862; wounded at battle of Cedar Mountain, Va., August 9, 1862 ; discharged Jan- uary 7, 1863, by order of war department. George Blanden, corporal ; wounded at battle of Winchester, Va., March 23, 1862 ; discharged January 28, 1863, by order of war department. George W. Loring, corporal; discharged at Washington, D. C., October 6, 1862, by order of war department. Charles Lewis, corporal; discharged at Charleston, W. Va., October 21, 1861, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Frederick A. Davis, corporal; wounded at battle of Cedar Mountain, Va., August, 9, 1862; transferred to Invalid Corps December 12, 1863, by order of war department. Omar Osborn, corporal; appointed corporal January i, 1862 ; discharged January 8, 1863, by order of the war department. Albert O. Smith, corporal; appointed corporal January i, 1862 ; wounded at battle of Cedar Mountain, Va., August 9, 1862 ; discharged November 24, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. William M. Barber, corporal; transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps by or- der of war department. William Furniss, corporal; appointed corporal January i, 1863 ; transfer- red to Invalid Corps, January 5, 1864, by order of war department. 15 I 10 History of Erie County. Hiram Smith, musician; discharged at Columbus, O., October i6, 1862,. by order of war department. Privates. Harrison L. Allen, mustered out with company July 6, 1864. Albert Andrews, discharged at Columbus, O., August 9, 1862, by order of war department. William H. Andress, wounded at battle of Port Republic, Va., June 9, 1862;. discharged March 28, 1863, by order of war department. George Anners, wounded at battle of Winchester, Va., March 23, 1862 ; discharged January 9, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. John Atwater, wounded at battle of Winchester, Va., March 23, 1862 ; also at battle of Port Republic, June 9, 1862 ; discharged August 28, 1862. Ormer E. Andrews, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps February 2, 1864, by order of war department. William F. Bartlett, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 returned March 13, 1863; wounded at battle of Lookout Mountain, Tenn.,. November 24, 1863 ; mustered out with company July 6, 1864. John Bark, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; re- turned March 13, 1863 ; mustered out with company July 6, 1864. Lyman Blakeslee, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; returned March 13, 1863 ; mustered out with company July 6, 1864. Robert W. Blakeslee, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26,, 1861 ; returned March 13, 1863 J mustered out with company July 6, 1864. Edward Billings, mustered out with company July 6, 1864. James M. Butler, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 died in parish prison. New Orleans, December 27, 1861. Reuben Beers, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 • paroled May 27, 1862 ; no record of muster-out found. William Baker, discharged at Columbus, O., September i, 1862, by order of war department. George W. Bartlett, discharged at Gauley Bridge, Va., October 6, 1864 on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Henry T. Benton, captured at battle of Dumfries, Va., December 27, 1862; returned March 13, 1863 ; wounded at battle of Chancellorsville, Va., May 2,. 1863 ; discharged March 7, 1864, by order of war department. William L. Benton, discharged at Williamsport, Md., June i, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Joseph Blake, discharged at Columbus, O., July 5, 1862, by order of war department. Leander Butterfield, discharged at Fort Royal, Va., June 20, 1862, on sur- geon’s certificate of disability. James J. Cronk, mustered out with company July 6, 1864. Military History. 1 1 1 Edson B. Cross, killed at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861. Isaac Collins, enrolled October 9, 1861, but never mustered. Hudson Call, discharged ; no record found. William Cherry, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; paroled May 27, 1862 ; discharged November 19, 1862, by order of war de- partment. Thomas S. Curran, lost right leg at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; discharged Nov. 3, 1862, by order of war department. Joseph L. Clark, wounded at battle of Cedar Mountain, Va., August 9, 1 862 ; discharged August 26, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. George K. Downing, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; returned March 13, 1863 ; mustered out with company July 6, 1864. 9 Elwood Dillingham, enrolled October 9, 1861, but never mustered. Anson Douglass, no record found. Lewis A. Darling, transferred to company B, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, October 31, 1864, by order of war department ; veteran. David Everett, died October 6, 1862, from wounds received at the battle of Antietam, Md., September 17, 1862. George Eiklor, died December 1 1, 1863, from wounds received at battle of Ringgold, Ga., November 27, 1863. Daniel Llora, died at Alexandria, Va., June 5, 1863. Zebah Lox, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; pa- roled May 27, 1862 ; transferred to Second United States Cavalry by order of war department ; veteran. Jesse Llora, transferred to company B, Lifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Octo- ber 31, 1864, by order of the war department ; veteran. William L. Graves, absent, nurse in hospital at Clairsville, Md., Lebruary, 1862; mustered out July 6, 1864, by circular No. 36, war department. May 2, 1864. Oliver Grennell, killed in battle of Ringgold, Ga., November 27, 1863. William Gibbs, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; died December, 1861, while a prisoner. Benjamin L. Gill, died August 29, 1862, from wounds received at the bat- tle of Cedar Mountain, Va., August 9, 1862. Wilson S. Gordon, discharged December 3, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Henry Green, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps September i, 1863, by order of war department. Albin Hopkins, mustered out with company July 6, 1864. George Howorth, no record found. Jay Haskins, wounded at battle of Port Republic, Va., June 9, 1862 ; dis- charged October 23, 1862, by order of war department. I 12 History of Erie County. William Hutchinson, wounded at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; discharged March — , 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. John Hann, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; pa- roled May 27, 1862 ; transferred to the Fifth United States Cavalr}^ by order of war department. Thomas C. Ingles, mustered out with company July 6, 1864. Charles Jay, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps February 15, 1864, by order of war department. James W. Kelley, mustered out with company July 6, 1864. Henry Kizer, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; died December 28, 1861, at Tuscaloosa, Ala., while a prisoner. Peter Kizer, died at Cumberland, Md., February 22, 1862. Joseph Kearney, transferred to company B, Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, October 31, 1864, by order of war department. Pidward Kennedy, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861; returned March 13, 1863; wounded at battle of Chancellorsville, Va., May 2, 1863 ; transferred to Invalid Corps January 14, 1864, by order of war depart- ment. William T. Lowry, wounded at battle of Ringgold, Ga., November 27, 1863 ; mustered out with company July 6, 1864. David Lee, discharged at Fairfax, Va., August 5, 1862, on surgeon’s cer- tificate of disability. Nahum Mears, mustered out with company July 6, 1864. John Melville, mustered out with company July 6, 1864. Charles Masters, killed at battle of Cedar Mountain, Va., August 9, 1862. Richard Mansell, discharged at Warrenton, Va., July 30, 1862, on sur- geon’s certificate of disability. John Mulleman, wounded at battle of Winchester, Va., March 23, 1862 ; discharged July 1 1, 1862, by order of war department. Andrew McMillen, mustered out with company July 6, 1864. Edward McDermott, discharged June 27, 1863, by order of war depart- ment. Henry Neighboring, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, September i, 1863, by order of war department. Richard O’Brien, no record found. Henry Pixley, wounded at battle of Ringgold, Ga., November 27, 1863 ; mustered out with company July 6, 1864. Spafford 'A. Penny, killed in battle of Chancellorsville, Va., May 3, 1863. John Randolph, died at Weston, Va., July, 1861. Frederick W. Roscoe, discharged at Gauley Bridge, Va., October 14, 1861, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Albert L. Raymond, wounded at battle of Chancellorsville, Va., May 3, Military History. 113 1863; transferred to Invalid Corps September 30, 1863, by order of war de- partment. Irving- Roberts, transferred to company B, 5th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, October 31, 1864, by order of war department; veteran. Ephraim J. Smith, discharged April 10, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Zera S. Smith, absent, nurse in hospital, mustered out July 6, 1864, by circular No. 36, war department. May 2, 1864. James Stinson, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; paroled May 12, 1862 ; never returned to company. John Shetters, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; paroled May 27, 1862; discharged September i, 1862, by order of war de- partment. Charles Stimson, discharged October 22, 1862, for wounds received at battle of Cedar Mountain, Va., August 9, 1862. Lrancis Stilwell, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; transferred to i8th United States Infantry, by order of war department. Henry R. Steele, transferred to recruit camp, June ii, 1864; no further record found. James L. Vansise, discharged October 22, 1862, for wounds received at battle of Port Republic, Va., June 9, 1862. Brayton B. Williams, captured at battle of Chancellorsville, Va., May 3, 1863; returned November 17, 1863; mustered out with company July 6 1864. Thomas Warren, mustered out with company July 6, 1864. William L. Williams, died at Gallipolis, O., September 13, 1861. Elam Ward, discharged at Cumberland, Md., Lebruary 4, 1862. Rufus Welch, discharged May, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Daniel Weatherlow, discharged Lebruary 18, 1853, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Henry Winslow, discharged ; no record found. Charles Webber, captured at battle of Cross Lanes, Va., August 26, 1861 ; paroled January, 1862; discharged April ii, 1863, by order of war depart- ment. Americus Witmer, discharged at Baltimore, Md., Lebruary 24, 1863. Wade Wood, discharged at Dumfries, Va., Lebruary 17, 1863, on sur- geon’s certificate of disability. John W. Wickman, discharged November 20, 1862, for wounds received at battle of Cedar Mountain, Va., August 9, 1862. Henry Wetzell, transferred to field and staff as chief bugler. May i, 1863, by order of Colonel Creighton. History of Erie County. 114 THE EIGHTH INFANTRY. Tlie Eighth Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, like its immediate pred- ecessor, the Seventh, was first recruited under the president’s first call for seventy-five thousand troops “ to put down the rebellion.” But the field life and vicissitudes of the Eighth were experienced in a generally different quar- ter from those of the Seventh, as we find them only engaged in the same bat- tles at Winchester, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Eor the Eighth Infantry the county of Erie contributed the greater portion of Company E. The whole regiment was recruited between the i6th and 22d of April, 1861, and the 29th of the same month found the men at Camp Taylor, near Cleveland, awaiting orders to proceed to the front, but this movement was not made until July 9, following. They did, however, proceed to Camp Dennison on the 3d of May. The regimental organization was completed at Camps Taylor and Dennison, and the boys were at once put through “ a course of sprouts,” in order to make them as well informed on drill and mili- tary tactics as was needed in field service. While in camp on the 22d of July, 1861, came the president’s call for five hundred thousand volunteers for three years service, and in answer to this call the whole body of the Eighth, save only Company I, enlisted for three years and was mustered into service on the 22d, 25th and 26th of June, 1861. On the 9th of July the Eighth left for Grafton, Va., in which region were extensive operations between McClellan and the rebel army under Garnett, the former then having much the best of it. The first few weeks of regular army life for the Eighth were occupied in guard and station duty at various points in the Allegheny Mountains and along the line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and here they suffered severely from fever, over three hundred of the regiment being at one time in the hos- pital and unfit for duty. The Eighth was first engaged at Romney, Va., on the 23d and 24th of September, and afterward on the 26th of October, in which engagements sev- eral men were killed and wounded, but the regiment proved that they had fighting qualities. These brushes ended the work of the Eighth for the year 1861, but the next year, from January to December, was almost a succession of skirmishes, attacks and battles, the most important of which were Winches- ter, Front Royal, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. Early in January the regiment took part in the assault on Blue’s Gap. On February 14 they had a sharp but brief fight at Bloomey Gap, and early in March moved to the Shenandoah, and under command of General Shields, par- ticipated in the battle of Winchester against the rebel army under Stonewall Jackson ; but preceding that fight the Eighth made a good record in skirmish- ing at Cedar Creek and Strasburg. This qualification led the regiment to be deployed as skirmishers on the evening before, and the morning of, the battle at Military History. 1 15 Winchester, but toward evening of the day of the battle they were drawn into the general engagement and participated in the charge on the rebels’ right flank, and by which they were thrown into confusion and utterly routed. Of the Eighth companies C, E, D, and H, were engaged in this fight, and about one-fourth of these were killed or wounded. After Winchester was fought and won our skirmishing regiment, with the army, followed up the valley of the Shenandoah, giving fight to the enemy at Woodstock, Mount Jackson, Edinburgh and New Market, as only an active, skirmishing command can do. This was continued during March and April and a part of May, but on the 30th of the latter named month, under General Kimball, they participated at Eront Royal, and skirmished a distance of eight- een miles. Here was captured the notorious female spy. Belle Boyd. Erom Eront Royal the brigade to which the Eighth was attached moved to Harrison’s Landing, having daily skirmishes on the march. Arrived at that place the regiment was placed in the second corps, in Kimball's brigade and French’s division. This corps acted as rear guard to the army during the re- treat across the Chickahominy, thence they proceeded to Alexandria. The Eighth acted with the supporting line at South Mountain, but not actively, but crossed the mountain and skirmished with the enemy at Boonsboro and Reedyville. Antietam was fought on September 17, 1862. “In the advance,” says Reid,^ “Kimball’s Brigade formed the third time, Morris and Max Weber’s preced- ing. They struck the rebel line and were driven back, when Kimball advanced at a double-quick, carrying the line handsomely, and holding it for four hours,, and until firing ceased in front. During this time Sedgwick was driven back on the right, which made it necessary for the Fourteenth Indiana and the Eighth Ohio to change front, which was done most gallantly, and saved the brigade from rout. General Sumner pronounced Kimball’s the ‘Gibralter Brigade.’” After Antietam the regiment was constantly on skirmish duty at Hulltown, Snicker’s Gap, U^nited States Ford, in the reconnoissance to Leesburg and else- where, and then engaged in the terrible battle at Fredericksburg, Va., Decem- ber 13, 1862, where a loss of thirty- seven was sustained, after which the Eighth remained in camp during the rest of the winter, but early in May participated in the battle of Chancellorsville, where it was under constant fire for nearly four days, but lost only thirteen in killed and wounded. In the Gettysburg campaign the regiment was as actively engaged as in any of its numerous battles. In that engagement, on the afternoon of July 2d, it was thrown forward beyond the Emmetsburg road, to drive the rebel sharp- shooters from a knoll, from which they were rapidly picking off men. At double-quick the position was taken, and held during the remainder of the fight, notwithstanding the fact that three separate assaults were made against it, once by a force three regiments strong. Besides this the Eighth rendered History of Erie County. 1 16 General Hay’s division effective service. Gettysburg cost the Eighth Regi- ment over one hundred men in killed and wounded. In August, after pursuing and skirmishing with Lee’s retreating army the Eighth received much needed rest and quiet in a trip to New York City to assist in quelling the draft riots then raging. Returning to the field the regiment joined the army at Culpepper, and par- ticipated in the operations and engagements at Auburn and Bristow Station, both in October, and at Robinson’s Cross Roads, Locust Grove and Nine Run, the latter three in November, 1863. The operations of 1864 were no less active with the Eighth Ohio. They opened the last six months of army service with the battle at Morton’s Ford, on February 6th, after which they next participated in the Wilderness fight, oc- cupying a prominent position supporting the right. They recaptured a section of a battery that the Sixth Corps had lost. On the 6th of May they were en- gaged during the entire day, while on the 7th, 8th and 9th they again showed their remarkable ability for successful skirmishing. Again at Po River and Spottsylvania Court-House from the loth to the i8th the regiment was* closely engaged, and lost heavily of its few remaining though determined men. From Spottsylvania Court-house to Petersburg the Eighth was constantly on the move, at North Anna River, Cold Harbor and elsewhere ; now at close quarters, again on the skirmish line, wherever they were ordered they went and did as they were ordered unflinchingly, and without a murmur of discontent. At Petersburg, from June 15th to the 19th, were they on the field or in the trenches. In the latter place were they when their term of enlistment expired, June 25, 1864. Then they returned home, receiving ovations and receptions at several places along the route. The Eighth was mustered out of service on the 13th of July, 1 864. Those of the regiment whose term did not expire in June were consolidated with the Fourth Regiment of Infantry and became the “ P'ourth Battalion Ohio Infantry,” and were mustered out in July, 1865. Roster Company E, Three Months Service. H. G. De Puy, captain; James E. Gregg, first lieutenant; John Bixby, en- sign ; William D. Witherell, Zenas W. Barker, jr., Samuel M. White, jr., H. C. Jennings, George A. Scoby, D. VanKirk, Leonard Dewey Smith, S. G. Rossi- ter, Charles H. Reed, Charles M. Keyes, A. T. Craig, O. H. Rosenbaum, Phi- lander Derr, Charles G. Knight, William R. West, Benjamin E. Deely, West B. Jennings, S. M. Ricker, Frederick M. Burton, S. A. Johnson, Lewis J. Lick, Henry C. Morton, John W. De Puy, Eugene D. Bell, Bryant Headly, Charles Ruggles, Leonard B. Osborn, C. M. Chapman, A. W. House, R. W. Spauld- ing, E. Warren, A. A. Curry, William Lisles, Roger Walsh, William Brady, Military History. 117 Byron Wheeler, George Fuller, E. B. Fuller, Robert Latham, D. D. Bogart, J. Hinckley, Obed Caswell, Isaac P. Grover, George Quick, W. K. D. Townsend, Isaac DePuy, George J. Osborne, Lane Lockwood, Edward Hadley, Henry Conner, William H. Harris, Charles Clark, Burton Eigler, William Brown, An- drew D. McKisson, N. H. Chamberlin, James P. Harris, John Bartlett, Lester V. McKisson, Sexton Duley, Jefferson Dailey, John Dailey, N. H. Hammond, Horace R. Wood, Valentine Walter, Lyman Smith, Byron W. Hoford, O. E. Bacon, Harper Bill, William Wolverton, John House, Judson Willard, Peter Epp, Frederick Zorn, Benevil Slagal, John Donnelly, Sanford Harper, D. F. German, P. M. Cannon, W. W. Miller, R. W. Foster, G. V. Smith, F. B. Col- ven, C. B. Rone, Francis Pearson, Walter Caswell, William L. Banks. Rostei' Field and Staff — Three Years Scrzdce. Herman G. De Puy, colonel ; resigned November 9, 1861. Samuel S. Carroll, colonel; in command of brigade since May 4, 1862; wounded at Spottsylvania, May I2, 1864; mustered out with regiment July 13, 1865. Charles A. Park, lieutenant-colonel ; promoted to lieutenant-colonel from first lieutenant, company H, July 8,' 1861 ; resigned November 4, 1862. Franklin Sawyer, lieutenant-colonel; promoted from captain company D to major, July 8, 1861 ; to lieutenant-colonel, November 25, 1861 ; wounded at battle of Gettysburg July i, 1863; brevetted brigadier-general; mustered out with regiment July 13, 1864. Albert H. Winslow, major; promoted from captain, company A, Novem- ber 25, 1861 ; mustered out with regiment July 13, 1864. Roster Company E. James E. Gregg, captain; served in 1863-4 as division inspector ; mus- tered out with company July 13, 1864. Wells W. Miller, first lieutenant; promoted to captain and assigned to company H March ii, 1862. Alfred T. Craig, first lieutenant; promoted from second lieutenant to first lieutenant March ii, 1862; to captain and assigned to company F March 4, 1863. James K. O’Reiley, first lieutenant; transferred from company B June l, 1863 ; rnustered out with company June 13, 1864. James D, Wetherell, second lieutenant; appointed first sergeant from pri- vate August 28, 1861 ; promoted to second lieutenant March ii, 1862; first lieutenant October 17, 1862, and assigned to company A February 23, 1863. Lester V. McKesson, second lieutenant ; appointed sergeant from corporal August 28, 1862; promoted to second lieutenant March 4, 1863; mustered out with company July 13, 1864. 16 Ii8 History of Erie County. Zenas VV. Baker, first sergeant; died August 28, 1861, at Oakland, Md. Horace H. Bill, first sergeant ; appointed first sergeant from corporal 1861 ; sergeant-major June 25, 1861, and transferred to Field and Staff. Romeo W. Foster, first sergeant; appointed sergeant from corporal 1862; first sergeant June 18, 1864; mustered out with company July 13, 1864. John W. De Buy, first sergeant; appointed first sergeant from sergeant March ii, 1862; sergeant-major May i, 1862, and transferred to Field and Staff. Charles M. Chapman, sergeant; appointed corporal August 28, 1861 ; ser- geant May I, 1863; wounded at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., May 12, 1864; mustered out with company July 13, 1864. Major S. Davis, sergeant ; appointed corporal November 20, 1861; ser- geant April 15, 1864; mustered out with company July 13, 1864. Henry Owens, sergeant; appointed corporal November l, 1862 ; sergeant June 18, 1864; mustered out with company July 13, 1864. Augustus W. Porter, sergeant; appointed corporal September 17, 1862; sergeant April 15, 1863 ; killed March 6, 1864, in battle of the Wilderness. Samuel Edwards, sergeant ; appointed sergeant from private July i, 1862 ; died from wounds received near Petersburg, Va., June 18, 1864. Oscar F. Bacon, sergeant; appointed sergeant from corporal March i, 1864; died April ii, 1864, in United States General Hospital, Baltimore, Md. Augustus Fergel, sergeant; appointed corporal January i, 1862; sergeant May I, 1863; wounded at the battle of the Wilderness May 6, 1864; mus- tered out January 20, 1865. Aurelius A. Curry, sergeant; appointed corporal June 25, 1861 ; sergeant May i, 1862; transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps. Frederick Zorn, corporal ; appointed corporal April 15, 1864; mustered out with company July 13, 1864. Philander Derr, corporal; appointed corporal April 15, 1864; mustered out with company July 13, 1864. Philip Gatz, corporal; appointed corporal May i, 1864; mustered out with company July 13, 1864. Isaac Hinkley, corporal; appointed corporal June 25, 1861 ; killed in bat- tle of Fredericksburg, Va., December 13, 1862. James Fernald, corporal ; discharged October i, 1861,011 surgeon’s cer- tificate of disability. Feonard D. Smith, corporal ; discharged July 31, 1862, on surgeon’s cer- tificate of disability. William Files, corporal ; discharged April [, 1863, for wounds received at Fredericksburg, Va., December 13, 1862. Charles Simpson, corporal; appointed corporal November 20, 1861; trans- ferred to Sixth United States Cavalry October 23, 1862, by order of war de- partment. Military History. 119 Alanson Yeoman, corporal ; appointed corporal November i, 1863 ; trans- ferred to Veteran Reserve Corps July l, 1864, by order of war department. R. B. Cady, corporal; died April ii, 1864; buried in London Park Na- tional Cemetery. William Braby, musician ; no record. Charles B. Roe, musician ; no record. Pj'ivates. James Anderson, killed May 24, 1864, in battle of North Anna River. John Allen, no record. Frederick Allen, no record. George W. Alspaugii, discharged June 30, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. William Brown, no record. Jehial Bare, no record. George D. Beatty, discharged December 25, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Samuel Beeler, discharged June 16, 1862, for wounds received at battle of Winchester, Va., March 23, 1862. Martin Beck, reduced to ranks from sergeant September 17, 1862; trans- ferred to Sixth United States Cavalry October 23, 1862, by order of war de- partment. Otto Boesch, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps by order of war de- partment. Richard D. Brewer, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps by order of war department. William L. Bretz, reduced to ranks from corporal November 25, 1861 ; transferred to Brigade Band May i, 1862 ; to company E June 6, 1864 ; mus- tered out with company July 13, 1864. Charles Clark, mustered out with company July 13, 1864. John M. Conner, died September 24, 1862, at Antietam, Md. Charles Cartwright, no record. Frank B. Carter, no record. Henry E. Conner, discharged May i, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of dis- ability. Samuel Cherry, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps by order of war de- partment. George R. Derr, killed May 24, 1864, in battle of North Anna River. Sexton Dudley, discharged January 24, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Jefferson Dailey, discharged December 10, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. 120 History of Erie County. John Dailey, discharged January 20, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of dis- ability. Peter Elpp, discharged January 12, 1863, for wounds received in action. George E. Flanders, discharged November i, 1862, at Camp Dennison, O.^ on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Stephen Giles, died March 27, 1862, from wounds received at battle of Winchester, Va., March 23, 1862. Richard F. Gray, no record. Harmon Groff, transferred to Sixth United States Cavalry October 23, 1862, by order of war department. • Philip Grover, transferred to Sixth United States Cavalry October 23, 1862, by order of war department. William H. Harris, mustered out with company July 13, 1864. Henry H. Haines, no record found. Frederick Harrington, discharged January 20, 1862, on surgeon’s certifi- cate of disability. John H. House, discharged July 7, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of dis- ability. Stephen Hinkley, discharged May 3, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of dis- ability. Patrick Hinchey, discharged June i, 1862, by order of war department. John Howard, transferred to Sixth United States Cavalry October 23, 1862, by order of war department. William H. Haas, transferred to company A June 25, 1861. John H. Jack, appointed first sergeant July i, 1861 ; reduced to ranks April 6, 1863 ; discharged June 28, 1864, at Columbus, O. Warren F. June, no record found. James Jones, no record found. Antone Knabiel, discharged January i, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Forenzo Fuce, transferred to Invalid Corps September 14, 1863, by order of war department. James D. Martin, died March 17, 1862, from wounds received at Win- chester, Va., March 23, 1862. James Maiear, died May 12, 1862, from wounds received at battle of Win- chester, Va., March 23, 1862. John C. McEnally ; no record found. John McGinness ; no record found. Adam Moose, jr. ; discharged November 18, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Henry D. C. Mills; discharged November 20, 1862, for wounds received at battle of Antietam, Md., September 17, 1862. Military History. I2I Martin V. Mixer; discharged December 23, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Charles H. Merrick; transferred to company H July 5, 1861. Henry McDonald ; transferred to Sixth United States Cavalry October 23, 1862. ' T. G. IMaxvvell ; died March 9, 1854; buried at Spring Grove National Cemetery, lot No. 210, Cincinnati, O. Theodore Neile; wounded at Cold Harbor, Va. ; prisoner of war in Ander- sonville June 3, 1864; no record of muster-out found. Francis Pearson; no record found. William Paul ; no record found. Thomas H. Pyle; discharged December 3, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Henry S. Porter; discharged December 3, 1863, for wounds received at battle of Winchester, Va., March 23, 1862. Frederick Renther ; prisoner of war from October 15, 1863, to June 10, 1864; mustered out with company July 13, 1864. Edgar J. Reed ; discharged December 2, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Lerman Smith, wounded at battle of Winchester, Va., March 23, 1862 ; mustered out with company July 13, 1864. Joseph Stibel ; mustered out with company July 13, 1864. Gustavus V. Smith ; killed in skirmish at Worthington, Va., September l,. 1861. Lyman Smith; died September ii, 1861, at Grafton, Va. John Smith; died January ii, 1862, from accidental gun-shot wound. Peter Shumaker; died March 25, 1862, from wound received at battle of Winchester, March 23, 1862. Joseph T. Smith; no record found. Merrill Starr; discharged January 27, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of dis- ability. Hugo C. Springer; discharged December 2, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Frank L. Saeffing ; discharged April 8, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Henry C. Schenk; discharged August 15, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Franklin Trube ; killed in battle of Antietam, Md., September 17, 1862. Albert J. Vining ; transferred to Sixth United States Cavalry October 23^ 1862, by order of war department. Roger L. Walsh ; wounded in battles of Winchester and the Wilderness ; leg amputated; mustered out with company July 13, 1864. 122 History of Erie County. Horace R. Wood; mustered out with company July 13, 1864. James M. Webber; wounded at battle of Petersburg, Va., June 19, 1864; mustered out with company July 13, 1864. Valentine Walter; died June 18, 1864, h'om wounds received at battle of Wilderness, Va., May 10, 1864; buried in Arlington, Va., National Cemetery. Charles F. Warner; no record found. Fayette Walcott; discharged March 5, 1863, for wounds received in action. William Wilson; discharged November 4, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Fbenezer E. Warren ; transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps September 30, 1863, by order of war department. Christian W. Weidel; transferred to Sixth United States Cavalry October 23, 1863, by order of war department. Jacob Weidman ; transferred to company A June 25, 1861. Isaac Wilson ; transferred to commandant at Camp Cleveland, O., July 13, 1864. THE TWENTY- FOURTH INFANTRY. The Twenty-fourth Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized at Camps Chase and Jackson during the latter part of May and the early part of June, 1861. To its formation no less than eleven counties made a contribu- tion of men, young men, most of them, strong and active. The county of Erie sent into this command a large contingent of company E. The greater portion of this company was enlisted in June, 1861, but recruits were received during 1863 and 1864. Although the regiment entered the service in June, it was not until about the middle of September, following, that it engaged in its first battle. During the latter part of July the Twenty-fourth left camp for Cheat Mountain, Va., where they encamped and prepared for guard duty. The enemy were within a short marching distance, and picket firing and skirmishing were not infre- quent. On the morning of September 12 the regiment was surrounded by the rebel forces and barely escaped capture. Lack of proper vigilance was the cause of this disaster. But the boys soon rallied and formed a line of battle and made a stout and successful resistance, but not without some loss in killed and wounded. The roster will disclose the fact that as many of company C were killed or wounded at Cheat Mountain as in any other place, excepting possibly Chickamauga, Ga. The Twenty-fourth was next engaged at Greenbrier, Va., on the 3d of October, where they were exposed to a heavy fire, but for all of that their loss was inconsiderable, two being killed and three wounded. This ended the fighting for 1861. The regiment proceeded to Louisville, Ky., arriving there on the 28th of November. While here the Twenty-fourth was attached to the Fourth Division of the Tenth Brigade of the Army of the Ohio. Military History. 123. Late in February, 1862, the command reached Nashville, Tenn., where it remained some weeks, and then proceeded to Savannah, reaching that place on April 5, much worn and fatigued by marching over heavy roads, and wading through streams and marshes. The regiment next participated in the battle of Pittsburg Landing, losing over thirty in killed and wounded, and afterward skirmished with the enemy on the march toward Corinth, which latter place the Twenty- fourth was one of the first regiments to occupy. In October the regiment was assigned to the Fourth Division of the Twenty-first Army Corps. At Perryville, on the 8th,. it was present on the field but not actively engaged. In December General Rosecrans moved toward Nashville. The Twenty- fourth was in an exceedingly unfortunate condition. Company A was on detached duty, and the balance of the command numbered less than three hun- dred and fifty serviceable men, sickness, discharges for disability, transfers, losses, and desertions having reduced the regiment to that number. However, with that strength the Twenty-fourth went into the battle of Stone River, Tenn., on the last day of the year 1862. It was given an important position in this battle, and held firmly, doing excellent service, but losing heavily, there being nearly ninety lost in killed and wounded, or about one- fourth its entire strength. Next came Woodbury, on the 24th of January, with but slight loss. No further important battle was participated in by the regiment until the Chickamauga engagement in which it also lost a number of officers and men. After this was over Colonel Higgins and Major McClure were “permitted” to resign from the service. At Lookout Mountain, November 24, 1863, Mis- sion Ridge, November 25, and at Taylor’s Ridge, Ga., November 27, the reg- iment was engaged, after which it was assigned to the Second Division of the Fourth Corps. The final battle in which it participated was at Buzzard Roost, or Rocky Face Ridge, on February 25—27, 1864, and in April following was sent to Chattanooga to await orders for muster-out. In June it proceeded to Columbus, and was, excepting Company D, mustered out by companies, at different dates, from June 17 to 24, by reason of expiration of term of service. Company C was mustered out on June 22, by J. M. Eyster, captain Eighteenth Infantry United States Army. Roster Field and Staff. Jacob Ammen, colonel , promoted to brigadier-general United States Vol- unteers, July 16, 1862. Frederick C. Jones, colonel; promoted to colonel May 14, 1862 ; killed De- cember 31, 1862, at battle of Stone River, Tennessee. David J. Higgins, colonel ; promoted from captain company C January i,. 1863; resigned October 23, 1863. 124 History of Erie County. Samuel A. Gilbert, lieutenant-colonel ; promoted to colonel Forty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry October i8, i86i. Lucien C. Buttles, lieutenant- colonel ; promoted from major October 14, 1861 ; resigned November 28, 1861. Albert S. Hall, lieutenant-colonel ; promoted to major from captain com- pany F December 20, 1861 ; lieutenant-colonel May 14, 1862; colonel One Hundred and Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry August ii, 1862. Armstead T. M. Cockrill, lieutenant-colonel ; promoted from captain com- pany D December 31, 1862 ; to colonel October 23, 1863, but not mustered ; mustered out June 24, 1864. Shelton Sturgess, major ; promoted from captain company B October 14, 1861 ; resigned November 28, 1861. Henry Terry, major; promoted from captain company G May 14, 1862 ; to lieutenant-colonel August ii, 1862, but not mustered; killed December 31, 1862, in battle of Stone River, Tennessee. Thomas M. McClure, major ; promoted from captain company K Decem- ber 31, 1862 ; resigned. William B. Sturgess, major; promoted from captain company A October 3, 1863 ; mustered out with regiment June 24, 1864. Roster Company C. Mustered into service June i, 1861, at Camp Johnson, Ohio, by John C. Robinson, captain Fifth Infantry, United States Army; mustered out June 22, 1864, at Columbus, O. David J. Higgins, captain; promoted to colonel January i, 1863. De Witt C. Wadsworth, captain; promoted to first lieutenant from second lieutenant December 20, 1861 ; transferred to company I ; promoted to cap- tain December 31, 1862 ; died September 21, 1863, of wounds received Sep- tember 20, 1863, at the battle of Chickamauga, Georgia. William C. Beck, captain ; appointed first sergeant from sergeant October 4, 1861 ; promoted to second lieutenant June 6, 1862 ; first lieutenant Decem- ber 31, 1862 ; captain April 21, 1864; mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Enoch Weller, first lieutenant ; promoted to captain company H October 3, 1861. John H. Elbert first lieutenant; promoted from second lieutenant, company E, October 15, 1861 ; resigned January 6, 1862. George W. Brown, first lieutenant ; promoted from private company A April 21, 1864; transferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer Infan- try, 1864. Robert B. Billingsly, first sergeant ; appointed from sergeant June 29, 1861 ; died October 4, 1861, at Cheat Mountain, Va. Military History. 125 Leonard B. Osborn, first sergeant ; appointed from corporal October 8, 1861; first sergeant July 8, 1862; mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Alfred Marion, sergeant; appointed from corporal September i, 1861; killed December 31, 1^62, in battle of Stone River, Tennessee. John R. Baker, sergeant; reduced from first sergeant June 29, 1861; died October 7, 1861, at Cheat Mountain, Va. Lindly M. Tullis, sergeant; appointed from corporal October 4, 1861; killed September 19, 1863, in battle of Chickamauga, Ga. John M. Root, sergeant; died August 24, 1861, at Cheat Mountain Va. George L. Dix, sergeant; appointed corporal March i, 1862; sergeant July 8, 1862; discharged October 3, 1862, to enlist in the Fourth United States Artillery. Israel J. Deemer, sergeant; mustered as private; appointed sergeant April I, 1862; mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Peter W. Smith, sergeant; appointed from musician December 31, 1862; mustered out with company June 22, 1864. James Quinn, sergeant; appointed corporal June i, 1862; sergeant De- cember 31, 1862 ; mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Jason R. Orton, corporal; appointed corporal August 30, 1862; died April 18, 1863, in hospital at Quincy, 111., from wounds received in battle of Stone River, Tennessee. Joseph H. Wright, corporal; discharged April 23, 1863, to accept ap- pointment as contract surgeon. Henry H. Arner, corporal; appointed corporal June i, 1862; discharged October 23, 1862 to enlist in Fourth United States Artillery. Fisher A. Billingsley, corporal; appointed corporal September i, 1861; discharged May 18, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. John Matt, corporal; appointed corporal December 21, 1861. Richard Slette, corporal; appointed corporal September i, 1861; dis- charged to enlist in Fourth United States Artillery. Henry Meyer, corporal; transferred to company F Eighteenth Ohio Vol- unteer Infantry, 1864; veteran. Lewis Rubel, corporal ; appointed corporal March 12, 1861 ; transferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 1864; veteran. James F. H. Cook, corporal ; appointed corporal ; transferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry January 2, 1864; veteran. William English, corporal ; appointed corporal March 12, 1864; trans- ferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry , 1864; vet- eran. John H. Roberts, corporal; appointed corporal June i, 1862; wounded December 31, 1862, in battle of Stone River, Tennessee. 17 126 History of Erie County. John Liddle, corporal ; appointed corporal July 8, 1862; wounded Sep- tember 19, 1863, in battle of Chickamauga, Georgia. John Whalon, corporal; appointed corporal November 23, 1862; mus- tered out with company June 22, 1864. John Sheppard, corporal ; appointed corporal December 31, 1862; mus- tered out with company June 22, 1864. Irwin G. Porter, corporal; appointed corporal November 31, 1862; mus- tered out with company June 22, 1864. Jeremiah E. Williams, musician ; mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Richard Larimer, wagoner; transferred from company H July 2, 1861; mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Privates. Ole Anderson ; killed July 25, 1861, at Camp Chase by the accidental dis- charge of a gun. Nelson Arnold ; transferred to company P', Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry , 1864; veteran. John Arni ; transferred to company H July 2, 1861. Isaac PI. Ames; transferred to company E, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry , 1 864. Dayton Andrews; transferred to company E, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry , 1864. Francis Bradley; reduced from corporal December 31, 1861 ; died March 22, 1862, near Duck River, Tennessee. Henry C. Beck ; mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Simon Bernhart ; reduced from corporal September i, 1861; mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Isaac Burlingame ; mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Lewis Bernstine; mustered out with company June 22, 1864. John Brokely; died July 4, 1862, at Athens, Ala. Samuel Bradner ; no record found. Benjamin P'. Bureau; discharged January 18, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. William L. Benton ; transferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, , 1864. Thomas W. Carpenter; mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Thomas C. Campbell ; died November 16, 1861, at Cheat Mountain, Va. Charles Castle ; no record found. Jeremiah Cole, discharged October 2, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of dis- ability. John C. Dildine, mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Military History. 127 George Dart, killed January 13, 1863, by Joseph King, at Murfreesboro, Tenn. John Donevon, wounded September 19, 1863, in battle of Chickamauga, Ga., transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, , 1864. Samuel F. Donaldson, transferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Vol- unteer Infantry, , 1864; veteran. John L. Dunbar, transferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, , 1864. Frederick Everhardt, discharged October 24. 1862, to enlist in Fourth United States Artillery. James S. Edsall, transferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, , 1864; veteran. John L. Ennis, transferred to company E, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, , 1864. Alanson Eord, no record found. Hiram Eosnot, discharged August, 8, 1861, on surgeon’s certificate of dis- ability. Victor W. Frederick, transferred to company H, July 2, 1861. Solomon Foster, transferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, •, 1864. Joshua Eoster, transferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, , 1864. Caleb Garrett, discharged August 25, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of dis- ability. Chambers O. Gamble, transferred to company E, Eighteenth Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, , 1864; veteran. John Grose, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps August 5, 1863, by or- der of war department. Henry Garrett, transferred to company E, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, , 1864. John H. Hibler, mustered out with company June 22, 1864. George W. Hanan, mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Gilbert H. Hewitt, record missing. John Heater, transferred to company E, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, , 1864; veteran. Isaac Jones, died March 26, 1862, in hospital at Nashville, Tenn. Joseph King, record missing. Frederick A Ketcham, transferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, , 1864. William Luff, discharged May 8, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Henry Leonard, transferred to company E, Eighteenth Ohio Infantry, 1864. 128 History of Erie County. Michael McGasky, mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Peter Miller, mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Frank L. Meyers, mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Charles McGraves, reduced from wagoner September i, 1861 ; discharged February 16, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. William Marlow, transferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer Iniantry, ,1864; veteran. George Neidle, appointed corporal September i, 1861 ; reduced to ranks December 21, 1861 ; discharged May 17, 1862. Rufus L. Ney, transferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, , 1864; veteran. Benjamin F. Peterson, discharged January 18, 1862, on surgeon’s certifi- cate of disability. William A. Roller, mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Jacob Rinehart, wounded September 19, 1863, in battle of Chickamauga, Ga. ; mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Peter Ryan, discharged April 3, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Jackson Ryan, discharged May 17, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disa- bility. Samuel Richy, discharged, date unknown. Henry B. Robinson, discharged August 18, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Joshua M. Roller, transferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, , 1864. Bohart Stineley, mustered out with company June 22, 1864. George Stubenhofer, mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Charles Shurley, wounded September 19, 1863, in battle of Chickamauga, Ga. ; absent, sick in hospital at Madison, Ind. ; mustered out June 22, 1864, by order of war department. Peter J. Shuster, died October 9, 1861, at Cheat Mountain, Va. Charles Sill, discharged May 31, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. David Steigle, wounded Dec. 31, 1862, in battle of Stone River, Tenn. ; transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps January 15, 1864, by order of war de- partment. Philip Smith, transferred to company F,»Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer Infan- try , 1864. Patrick Shunne.ssey. transferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, ,1864. Henry Traut, mustered out with company June 22, 1864. John E. Taylor, died January 7, 1863, of wounds received at battle of Stone River December 31, 1862. Sylvanus F. Tullis, records missing. Military History. 129 William Titswood, discharged July 20, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Benjamin F. Taylor, discharged October 24, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Frederick Tester, discharged September 8, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Richard B. Tullis, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps January 16, 1864, by order of war department. William Voit, mustered out with company June 22, 1864. George Vining, mustered out with company June 22, 1864. John Q. Vanderslice, discharged August 19, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. George Waters, mustered out with company June 22, 1864. Jacob Warner, mustered out with company June 22, 1864. John Weyle, died April i, 18C2, in hospital at Nashville, Tenn. Charles Wilson, transferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, 1864; veteran. Joseph M. Waldorf, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, September i, 1863, by order of war department. Thomas Weston, transferred to company F, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, , 1864. THE FIFTY-FIFTH INFANTRY. To the numerical strength of this regiment Erie county contributed as largely as to any represented by the county in the three years service. Companies A, C, D and I were recruited in this and Huron counties, while the field and staff" of the regiment were also in part composed of men from the sections named. The regiment was raised during the months of September, October and November, 1861, and rendezvoused at Norwalk, the county seat of Huron county. It was not until the latter part of January, 1862, that the Fifty-fifth broke camp at Norwalk, and proceeded to Grafton, W. Va., where it remained for a short time, and thence went to New Creek. Here the men experienced some severe marching service and engaged in a brisk skirmish at Moorefield, but in February the regiment returned to Grafton. Like all commands of northern troops, unused to the climate of the South, the men of the Fifty-fifth suffered severely from contagious and infectious dis- eases ; many died and others were rendered wholly unfit for active service. During the latter part of April the regiment, except companies D, E and G, moved with Schenck’s brigade, to which it was attached, to McDowell, in the battle at which place they were engaged, acting in support of a battery, and not under heavy fire. At Cross Keys the regiment was on the field but not engaged. After this they moved to Middletown, near Winchester, where the regiment was brigaded with the Twent}^- fifth. Seventy-third and Seventy- hfth Ohio regiments and was attached to General Schenck’s division. 130 History of Erie County. On August 9, 1862, the brigade participated in the fight at Cedar Moun- tain and suffered some loss. Again at the Second Bull Run, on the 30th of the same month, they lay in support of a battery when the rebels appeared on their flank, with whom they at once engaged and continued until dark when the whole line fell back to Centreville. After this the regiment went into camp for a few days on Munson’s Hill, but on September 22, returned to Cen- treville. From this point a number of reconnoissances were made but no general engagement was participated in until the battle of Chancellorsville, May 2, 1863, with the Eleventh Corps, to which it had been assigned. In the Chan- cellorsville fight the Fifty-fifth lost one hundred and fifty-three men in killed, wounded and missing. The regiment was then assigned to the Second Brigade of the Second Division and so remained until the end of its term of service. From Brooks’s Station the Fifty-fifth with its brigade marched to Gettys- burg, Pa., where it again was engaged, first being posted on Cemetery Hill,, but afterward moving to the left of the Baltimore Pike. While notin the reg- ular battle line, the regiment was continually exposed to a severe fire and lost fifty men. The regiment joined in pursuit of the retreating rebel forces for some days and on July 25th went into camp at Catlett’s Station, when it was assigned to picket duty. In September the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps left camp, and by a series of movements by rail and marching, reached the battle ground of Mission Ridge where they were engaged on November 25, and suffered a slight loss, their po- sition being on the extreme left. After this the Fifty-fifth entered on the Knoxville campaign. This was made in the dead of winter, without tents or blankets. On the ist of January following the Knoxville campaign three hun- dred and nineteen of the men of the Fifty- fifth re-enlisted, and thus became veterans. They were granted an extended leave of absence, and it was not until the early part of March, 1864, that they again encamped in the Fookout Valley. At about this time the Eleventh and Twelfth army corps were con- solidated and denominated the Twentieth, of which the Fifty-fifth formed a part of the Third Brigade of the Third Division. Then commenced the Atlanta campaign, and in it the regiment partici- pated. The month of May witnessed a succession of active operations, com- mencing with the affair at Buzzard’s Roost Gap, Ga., on the 5th; again on the 15th came the engagement at Resaca, where the regiment was under heavy fire and lost nearly one hundred men. From May 19 to the early part of June, the Fifty-fifth were in a series of maneuvres about Cassville, Dallas, New Hope Church and Marietta, and the 9th of June found them engaged in the operations at Kenesaw Mountain, which continued during the best part of the month. Military History. 131 The month of July found the brigade to which the Fifty-fifth belonged en- gaged in the movements and battle at Chattahoochie River, on the 12th, and also at Peach Tree Creek, on the 20th. Further, they participated in the other operations just prior to and during the siege of Atlanta. This latter occupied from July 28 to September 2, 1864, and about this time the city was occupied and comfortable quarters found for the men. When the regiment left Look- out Valley to enter upon this campaign, it numbered about four hundred men fit for service, but in the events that followed up to the time that Atlanta was occupied, that number was reduced by about one-half, so that the entire avail- able force amounted to less than two hundred. About the ist of November the regiment received drafted men, substitutes, and some recruits, numbering in all some two hundred, and about this time those who were not veterans were mustered out. On the 15th of November the brigade left Atlanta and took up the line of march toward the sea. On the 21st of December it arrived at Savannah, and went into camp on the northwest of the city. Here it remained until the early part of January, 1865, when it moved to the opposite side of the river. In March commenced the campaign of the Carolinas, and on the i6th and 19th the regiment encountered the enemy at Smith’s Farm, and lost, in the two fights, about fifty men. On the 24th Goldsboro was reached, and the troops passed in review before their gallant commander. General Sherman. From Goldsboro the Fifty-fifth went to Raleigh, and on the 30th commenced the return to Washington. Richmond was reached May ii, and on the l8th the regiment encamped near Alexandria. On the 24th it crossed Long Bridge and participated in the grand review, after which it went into camp near Wash- ington. Upon the disbanding of the Twentieth corps, the Ohio regiments be- longing to it were organized into a provisional brigade, and were assigned to the Fourteenth corps. On the loth of June they proceeded to Louisville, Ky., and here, on the iith of July, the Fifty- fifth was mustered out of service. Three and one-half years of army life told seriously against the Fifty-fifth. From all sources it received during this time thirteen hundred and fifty men, and of these seven hundred and fifty were either killed or wounded. Ten offi- cers were wounded, and eight were either killed or died from wounds. The regiment was engaged in about thirty battles or skirmishes, of greater or less severity, the more prominent of which were McDowell, Va., May 8, 1862, and thereafter at Cross Keys, Cedar Mountain, the Second Bull Run, Chancellors- ville, Gettysburg, Pa., Orchard Knob, Tenn., Mission Ridge, Buzzard’s Roost Gap, Resaca, Cassville, Kenesaw Mountain, Chattahoochie River, Peach Tree Creek, Siege of Atlanta, Turner’s Ferry, Savannah, Arnysboro and Benton- ville. This list of battles is credited the regiment in the work entitled “ Ros- ter of Ohio Soldiers.” 132 History of Erie County. Roste}' — Field and Staff. John C. Lee, colonel; promoted from major November 20, l86i; resigned May 8, 1863. Charles B. Gambee, colonel ; promoted to major from captain company A, October 2, 1862; to lieutenant-colonel March 4, 1863; to colonel May 8, 1863 ; killed May 16, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga. George H. Safford, lieutenant-colonel; resigned March 4, 1863. James M. Stevens, lieutenant-colonel; promoted to major from captain company H, March 4, 1863; wounded May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellors- ville, Va. ; arm amputated ; promoted to lieutenant-colonel May 8, 1863 ; re- signed May 25, 1864. Edwin H. Powers, lieutenant-colonel ; promoted from captain company K, June 27, 1864; mustered out with regiment July ii, 1865. Daniel F. De Wolf, major; promoted from adjutant November 25, 1861 ; resigned October 2, 1862. Rudolphus Robbins, major ; promoted from captain company K, May 8, 1863; killed May 16, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga. Charles P. Wickham, major; promoted from captain company I, June 27, 1864; brevet lieutenant-colonel March 13, 1865 ; mustered out with regiment July 1 1, 1865. Roster Company C. Horatio N. Shipman, captain ; appointed captain October 16, 1861 ; re- signed March 10, 1863. Henry Miller, captain ; promoted from first lieutenant company K, Febru- ary 12, 1863; resigned September 28, 1864. Benjamin F. Evans, captain ; promoted from first lieutenant company B, April 24, 1865 ; mustered out with company July ii, 1865. Henry W. Persing, first lieutenant; appointed first lieutenant October 16, 1861 ; promoted to captain and assistant quartermaster July 18, 1863. Thomas O’Leary, first lieutenant; appointed first sergeant from sergeant April 4, 1862; promoted to second lieutenant July 17, 1862; first lieutenant March 6, 1863 ; resigned December 28, 1863. John R. Lowe, first lieutenant; appointed sergeant from corporal April 4, 1862; first sergeant July 17, 1862; promoted to sergeant-major February 1 1, 1863 ; promoted from second lieutenant company B, March 9, 1864, to cap- tain company H, June 27, 1864. Thomas W. Miller, first lieutenant; transferred from adjutant September 2, 1864; mustered out January 4, 1865, on expiration of term of enlistment. John Bellman, first lieutenant ; promoted from first sergeant company E, April 24, 1865 ; mustered out with company July 11, 1865. Arthur Cranston, second lieutenant; appointed second lieutenant October 16, 1861 ; resigned March 15, 1862. Military History. 133 William S. Wickham, second lieutenant ; transferred from company D, June I, 1863 ; transferred to company B. Walter W. Thomas, first sergeant ; promoted to second lieutenant March 15, 1862, but not mustered; died April 2, 1862, at Grafton, Va. Henry B. Warren, first sergeant; wounded July 3, 1863, in battle of Get- tysburg, Pa. ; appointed first sergeant from corporal January i, 1864; pro- moted to quartermaster-sergeant October 28, 1864; veteran. David A. Warren, first sergeant; appointed corporal April 10, 1862 ; ser- geant October 27, 1862 ; wounded July 3, 1863, in battle of Gettysburg,] Pa. ; appointed first sergeant October 28, 1864; wounded March 19, 1865, in bat- tle of Bentonville, N. C. ; discharged July 3, 1865, De Camp Hospital, N. Y. ; veteran. Alonzo Keeler, sergeant ; appointed corporal October i, 1862; sergeant, January i, 1864; mustered out with company July ii, 1865; veteran. James Hartney, sergeant ; appointed corporal January 1,1864; sergeant, October 28, 1864; mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Robert Young, sergeant; mustered out with company^July ii, 1865 ; vet- eran. Azenia A. Nichols, sergeant; appointed corporal January i, 1864; ser- geant, May I, 1865 ; mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ! veteran. William H. Long, sergeant; appointed from corporalj October 16, 1861 ; discharged October 22, 1862, at , N. J. James Young, sergeant; discharged April i, 1863, at Columbus, O., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Charles C. Lowe, corporal; appointed corporal July ii, 1864; mustered ■out with the regiment July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Andrew W. Clawson, corporal; appointed corporal November 7, 1864; mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Henry J. Fay, corporal; captured May 8, 1862, in battle of McDowell, Va. ; exchanged ; appointed corporal January 6, 1865 ; mustered out with company July II, 1865 ! veteran. Jonathan Welch, jr., corporal ; wounded July 3, 1863, in battle of Gettys- burg, Pa. ; November 25, 1863, in battle of Mission Ridge, Tenn. ; appointed corporal May i, 1865; mustered out with company July ii, 1865; veteran. Francis M. Nichols, corporal; appointed corporal May r, 1865 ; mustered out with company July 1 1, 1865 ; veteran. Charles G. Drake, corporal ; appointed corporal ; mustered out June 9, 1865, at Washington, D. C., by order of war department. Myron Gregory, corporal ; appointed corporal ; wounded August 30, 1862, in battle of Bull Run, Va. ; captured September 28, 1864; mustered out May 20, 1865, by order of war department; veteran. Albert G. Barenett, corporal; appointed corporal November 4, 1862; 18 134 History of Erie County. wounded November 25, 1863, in battle of Mission Ridge, Tenn.; killed July 20, 1864, if* battle of Peach Tree Creek, Ga. Frank P. Barton, corporal; appointed corporal January i, 1864; died May 22, 1864, of wounds received May 15, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga.; veteran. William H. Crawford, corporal; appointed corporal January i, 1864; killed May 15, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga.; veteran. William B. Sarman, corporal; appointed corporal November 8, 1864; killed March 19, 1865, in battle of Bentonville, N. C.; veteran. Francis Van Gorder, corporal ; appointed corporal ; wounded July July 3, 1863, in battle of Gettysburg, Pa.; mustered out January 17, 1865, at Baltimore, Md., on expiration of term of enlistment. Milton N. Cowles, corporal ; appointed corporal ; captured May 8,. 1862, at battle of McDowell, Va.; exchanged ; wounded June 24, 1864, in ac- tion ; mustered out October 29, 1864, at hospital. Camp Dennison, O., at ex- piration of term of service. William Jager, corporal ; appointed corporal ; discharged Decem- ber 23, 1862, at Stafford Court-House, Va., on surgeon’s certificate of disa- bility. James D. Walker, corporal ; discharged October 29, 1862, at Fairfax, Va.,. on surgeon’s certificate of disability. William Bellamy, corporal; appointed color bearer ; killed August 30, 1862,^ in battle of Bull Run, Va. Alden Emmons, corporal ; appointed corporal ; died July 19, 1862, at Baltimore, Md. John Bowers, musician; discharged October 5, 1862, at Columbus, O., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Billy N. Messenger, musician; discharged September 3, 1862, at Balti- more, Md., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Privates. Albert Adams ; discharged November 5, 1862, at Alexandria, Va., on sur- geon’s certificate of disability. Ernest Anson ; wounded July 3, 1863, in battle of Gettysburg, Pa.; dis- charged May 30, 1864, at Camp Dennison, Ohio. Alonzo Adams ; no record found. Xavier Bergmeyer; mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Robert Blake ; mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Enoch M. Bell ; mustered out with company July 1 1, 1865 ; veteran. Philip Brewer; discharged June 27, 1865, by order of war department. Silas Brown ; mustered out June 22, 1865, at Camp Dennison, O., by or- der of war department. Robert B. Baldwin ; veteran ; no record found. Military History. 135 Edwin H. Butler; reduced to ranks from corporal ; discharged Jan- uary 20, 1863, at Washington, D. C., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. William H. H. Bemis ; discharged October 27, 1862, at Newark, N. J., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Benjamin F. Bemis; killed November 25, 1863, in battle of Mission Ridge, Tenn. Lewis Bauer; transferred to company D, Fourteenth Veteran Reserve Corps, July 31, 1863. Jack O. Burch ; no record found. James M. Chaffee; wounded July 3, 1863, in battle of Gettysburg, Pa.; mustered out December 29, 1864, on expiration of term of service. John Connor; drafted; mustered out June 9, 1865, at Washington, D. C., by order of war department. William Collier; drafted; died February 23, 1865, at Savannah, Ga. William Coultrip ; wounded August 30, 1862, in battle of Bull Run, Va.; mustered out October 16, 1864, on expiration of term of service. Thomas Carr; discharged January i, 1863, at Washington, D. C., on sur- geon’s certificate of disability. William Cowell; wounded August 30, 1862, in battle of Bull Run, Va.; transferred to company H, Seventh Veteran Reserve Corps, January 12, 1864. John Diehlman ; drafted ; absent, sick at New York since April 30, 1865 ; mustered out May 19, 1865, at McDougall General Hospital, New York, by or- der of war department, David Dennis ; drafted; absent, sick at Camp Dennison, O., since Decem- ber 6, 1864; mustered out July 19, 1865, by order of war department. Peter Diemer ; drafted ; discharged to date July 1 1, 1865, by order of war department. Albert Drury; drafted; discharged December 19, 1874, by order of war department. William Dourian ; discharged September 4, 1862, at Columbus, O., on sur- geon’s certificate of disability. John H. Eschman ; drafted ; discharged May 22, 1865, at Savannah, Ga., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Henry C. Ellis ; discharged September 8, 1862, at Camp Dennison, O., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Oscar F. Fuller; discharged January 3, 1863, at Columbus O., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Wesley C. Fay; transferred to company C, Veteran Reserve Corps, May 20, 1864. William A. Gibson ; mustered out with company July 1 1, 1864. Richard Green; drafted; mustered out June 9, 1865, at Washington, D. C. by order of war department. 136 History of Erie County. Wilbert L. Green; mustered in as Wilbert Gunn; wounded July 20, 1864, in battle of Peach Tree Creek, Ga.; mustered out January 14, 1865, at Colum- bus, O., on expiration of term of service. Joseph G. Hamilton ; drafted ; absent, sick since April 28, 1865; mustered out May 19, 1865, at General Hospital, New York, by order of war depart- ment. Jacob Hammond; substitute; mustered out June 2, 1865, at Camp Den- nison, O., by order of war department. John J. Hankins; drafted; mustered out June 9, 1865, at Washington, D. C. , by order'of war department. James M. Hoffman; drafted; mustered out June 9, 1865, at Washington, D. C., by order of war department. Henry C. Hill ; discharged May 29, 1865, at De Camp Hospital, New York, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Henry C. Hess ; wounded May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville, Va. ; mustered out June 8, 1865, at Cleveland, O., on surgeon’s certificate of disa- bility ; veteran. Henry H. Hess ; captured May 8, 1862, at battle of McDowell, Va. ; died July 29, 1862, at Lynchburg, Va. Sylvester Hull; killed May 15, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga. Jay Hollister; died September 20, 1863. Edwin H. Hollister; discharged September 3, 1862, at Baltimore, Md., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Edward G. Harris; discharged April 20, 1863, at Brooks’s Station, Va., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Thomas J. Harris; discharged January 4, 1864, at Camp Dennison, O., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. William Jarrett ; discharged May 7, 1863, at Stafford Court House, Va., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. George E. Jefferson; died March 10, 1862, at Grafton, Va. David E. Jefferson ; transferred to One Hundred and First Company, Second Battalion Veteran Reserve Corps November 28, 1863. William Kirkman ; drafted; mustered out June 9, 1865, at Washington, D. C., by order of war department. Barna M. Kline; mustered out September 26, 1864, at Chattanooga, Tenn.» on expiration of term of service. Bradford N. Kellogg; reduced to ranks from corporal ; mustered out Octo- ber 16, 1864, on expiration of term of service. Michael Kavanaugh ; no record found. Andrew Love; wounded May 15, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga. ; mus- tered out with company July ii, 1865. George Lenox, substitute; captured November 19, 1864, near Madison, Ga. ; died January 29, 1865, in rebel prison at Andersonville, Ga. Military History. 137 Charles H. Lockwood ; reduced to ranks from corporal ; discharged March 29, 1863, at Brooks’s Station, Va., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. John R. Myer ; killed July 3, 1863, in battle of Gettysburg, Pa. John Myer; mustered out with company July 1 1, 1865. Mathias Mackin ; mustered out with company July ii, 1865. Thaddeus Mackin; wounded May 15, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga. ; mus- tered out with company July 1 1, 1865. John Mills ; drafted ; mustered out June 9, 1865, Washington, D. C., by order of war department. Joseph McMorris ; drafted; died February 4, 1865, at Savannah, Ga. William C. McGee; substitute; mustered out with company July ii, 1865. David McGuckin ; discharged September 6, 1862, at Columbus, O., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Samuel McGuckin ; killed August 30, 1862, in battle at Bull Run, Va. Jacob Mitchell ; killed July 3, 1863, in battle at Gettysburg, Pa. John Noisot; drafted; mustered out June 9, 1865, at Washington, D. C., by order of war department. Albert Niles; captured October 30, 1864; discharged May 20, 1865, at Columbus, O., by order of war department; veteran. Frederick Overman; substitute; died April 6, 1865, at Geer House Gen- eral Hospital, Wilmington, N. C. Williston Osborn; discharged October 5, 1862, at Columbus, O., on sur- geon’s certificate of disability. Cyrus M. Osier; discharged February 6, 1863, at Alexandria, Va., on sur- geon’s certificate of disability. John C. Purdy; mustered out with company July ll, 1865 ; veteran. Samuel P. Powell; drafted; discharged May 24, 1865, at De Camp Hospi- tal, New York, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. William M. Parks; discharged October 27, 1862, at Alexandria, Va., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. George W. Plue ; discharged September 4, 1862, at Alexandria, Va., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. John P. Patterson; died March 6, 1862, at Grafton, Va. William E. Pollock; killed July 3, 1863, in battle at Gettysburg, Pa. • Jackson N. Pinney ; transferred to Eighty-fourth Company, Second Bat- talion Veteran Reserve Corps, March 8, 1864. Henry C. Pinney ; transferred to One Hundred and Fourteenth Company, Second Battalion Veteran Reserve Corps, December 9, 1863. John Ruckle; drafted; mustered out June 9, 1865, at Washington, D. C., by order of war department. Lewis Roberts ; discharged May 19, 1865, at Grant General Hospital, New York, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. 138 History of Erie County. Lewis Ray; discharged December 3, 1862, at Philadelphia, Pa., on sur- geon’s certificate of disability. William H. Robinson; discharged September 30, 1863, at Washington, D. C., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. George Ritz ; discharged March 10, 1863, at Brooks’s Station, Va., on sur- geon’s certificate of disability. Edwin F. Russell ; transferred to company A, Thirteenth Veteran Reserve Corps, July 1 1, 1863. Anthony A. Simmons; mustered out with company July ll, 1865 ; vet- eran. James H. Stage ; wounded June 18, 1864, in battle of Marietta, Ga. ; mus- tered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. James H. Sisty ; drafted ; mustered out May 19, 1865, at Camp Dennison, O., by order of war department. Daniel D. Stage; died October 20, 1862, at Parkersburg, W. Va. John Shepard ; drafted ; mustered out June 9, 1865, at Washington, D. C., by order of war department. Charles A. Sarman ; mustered out November ii, 1864, at Atlanta, Ga., on expiration of term of service. Frank W. Sparks; appointed corporal ; wounded November 25, 1863, in battle of Mission Ridge, Tenn. ; reduced to ranks ; mustered out October 19, 1864, at Atlanta, Ga., on expiration of term of service. Henry Shemnour ; no record found ; veteran. Stephen L. Saunders; reduced to ranks from sergeant ; wounded August 9, 1862, in battle of Cedar Mountain, Va. ; mustered out October 16, 1864, on expiration of term of service. Justus Squire ; reduced to ranks from wagoner; discharged October 14, 1862, at Centreville, Va. John Sprotbury; discharged September 14, 1863, at Cleveland, O., on sur- geon’s certificate of disability. Rush R. Sloan ; died March 8, 1862, at Grafton, W. Va. Rinehart Sickinger; transferred to Ninety-third Company, Second Bat- talion Veteran Reserve Corps, October 31, 1863. Lemuel Smith ; transferred to company G. John Taylor; mustered out with company July ll, 1865 ; veteran. Benjamin Tanner; wounded May 16, 1864, in battle of Marietta, Ga. ; dis- charged July 6, 1865, at Louisville, Ky., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Robert Van Gorder ; killed June 21, 1864, in battle of Kenesaw Moun- tain, Ga. John Widner ; mustered out with company July il, 1865. Moses Waggoner; mustered out May ii, 1865, at Richmond, Va., by order of war department. Military History. 139 Jerome Welch, died July 10, 1864, at Nashville, Tenn., of wounds received June 21, 1864, in battle of Kenesaw Mountain, Ga. Luther A. Welch, discharged April 16, 1863, at Brooks’s Station, Va., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Jonathan Welch, sr., discharged , 1862, at Norwalk, O., on sur- geon’s certificate of disability. Francis A. Williams, discharged October 5, 1862, at Columbus, O., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. George W. Wright, discharged September 9, 1862, at Columbus, O., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Elihu Westfall, discharged September 16, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. John White, discharged January 29, 1863, at Washington, D. C., on sur- geon’s certificate of disability. John M. Young, substitute, died April 16, 1865, at New Berne, N. C., of wounds received March 19, 1865, in battle of Bentonville, N. C. Roster Company E. Recruited largely in Berlin, Vermillion and Florence townships, and partly in Huron county : Edwin H. Powers, captain; appointed December 20, 1861 ; wounded May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville ; transferred to company K March 3,. 1864. Francis H. Morse, captain ; promoted to first lieutenant from second lieu- tenant December 23, 1862; wounded May 2, 1863, at Chancellorsville; pro- moted to captain March 19, 1864; resigned April 22, 1864. Henry H. Moore, captain ; promoted from first lieutenant company D June 27, 1864; resigned January 15, 1865. James H. Gallop, captain ; promoted from first lieutenant and adjutant April 24, 1865 ; mustered out with company July ii, 1865. Albert E. Peck, first lieutenant ; appointed second lieutenant October 24, 1861 ; promoted to first lieutenant November 21, 1861 ; captain company H March 6, 1863. Thomas W. Miller, first lieutenant; transferred from company E March 31,. 1864; appointed adjutant April i, 1864. John H. Boss, first lieutenant; appointed first sergeant from sergeant Jan- uary I, 1864; promoted to quartermaster-sergeant April 16, 1864; first lieu- tenant August 19, 1864; regimental quartermaster January i, 1865 ; veteran. Hiram K. Preston, first sergeant; died June 18, 1862, at New Creek, Va. John Cowpe, sergeant ; mustered as private; wounded August 30, 1862, in battle of Bull Run, Va. ; appointed first sergeant May i, 1864; killed July 20, 1864, in battle of Peach Tree Creek, Ga. ; veteran. 140 History of P2rie County. John Bellman, sergeant ; appointed sergeant from corporal January i, 1864; first sergeant July 29, 1864; promoted first lieutenant company C April 24, 1865 ; veteran. Alpheus J. Peck, sergeant; appointed sergeant from corporal July 29, 1864; first sergeant May 22, 1864; mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Henry VV. Crosby, sergeant; died May 27, 1864, of wounds received May 16, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga. ; veteran. Henry Heffron, sergeant; appointed corporal July 29, 1864; sergeant May I, 1865 ; mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Giles King, sergeant; transferred to company D, Fourteenth Veteran Reserve Corps, July 31, 1863. Sterling H. Post, sergeant; appointed corporal June i, 1864; sergeant November i, 1864; mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Jedediah D. Smith, sergeant ; wounded May 15, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga. ; discharged July ii, 1865, at Columbus, O., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. John W. Saltman, sergeant ; wounded August 30, 1862, at Bull Run, Va. ; appointed corporal January i, 1864; sergeant June i, 1864; wounded June 20, 1864, at Cassville, Ga.; discharged June 6, 1865, for wounds; veteran. John Bowers, corporal ; wounded March 19, 1865, at Averysboro, N. C. ; discharged June 17, 1865, at Columbus, O. ; veteran. John L. Flaharty, corporal ; mustered out December 31, 1864, on expira- tion of term. George W. Foote, corporal ; discharged July 9, 1863, for wounds received in action. Ezra Lee, corporal; mustered out December 20, 1864, at expiration of term of service. George H. Motley, corporal; appointed corporal November i, 1864; mus- tered out with company July 1 1, 1865 1 veteran. Anson Pease, corporal; appointed corporal January i, 1865; mustered out with company July 1 1, 1865 ; veteran. Chauncey T. Peck, corporal; appointed corporal April 30, 1863; killed May 15, 1864, battle of Resaca, Ga. Ira O. Peck, corporal ; discharged April 16, 1863, at Brooks’s Station, Va., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Myron B. Runyan, corporal; appointed November i, 1864; discharged June 26, 1865, for wounds received March 19, 1865, at Bentonville, N. C. ; veteran. Edward Sharp, corporal: appointed corporal June i, 1864; captured Oc- tober 28, 1864, near Atlanta ; . perished by explosion of steamer Sultana, on Mississippi River, near Memphis, Tenn., April 27, 1865 ; veteran. Military History. 141 John West, corporal ; discharged July 23, 1863 on surgeon’s certificate of disability. John F. Wheaton, corporal ; discharged September 22, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. John Altman, musician; mustered out December 31, 1864, at expiration of term of service. Privates. Henry Baxtine, mustered out with company July ii, 1865 i veteran. Jira Burt, no record found. Joel Baker, drafted, mustered out June 5, 1865, by order of war depart- ment. Frederick Bellman, mustered out June 9, 1865, by order of war depart- ment. Lewis Bellman, died July ll, 1862, at Cumberland, Md. Peter Balser, drafted, died March 23, 1865, at David’s Island, N. Y. Thomas Banning, discharged May 15, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of dis- ability. Sewell C. Briggs, discharged November 22, 1863, for wounds received August 30, 1862, at Bull Run. Samuel Briggs, no record found. Thomas E. Buckley, discharged March 3, 1863, for wounds received Au- gust 30, 1862, at Bull Run. Erastas Barrett, died April 5, 1862, at Grafton, W. Va. Thomas Brumby, died August 23, 1863, of wounds received at Chancel- lorsville, Va. Sefen Brabert, no record found. Robert G. Courtney, drafted, wounded March 19, 1865, at Averysboro ; mustered out June 9, 1865, by order of war department. William Callen, captured October 30, 1864; exchanged; discharged June 20, 1865, by order of war department. Michael S. Coppman, mustered out June 15, 1S65, by order of war de- partment. Henry Chulip, drafted, mustered out June 9, 1865, by order of war de- partment. William E. Childs, promoted to hospital steward November 21, 1861. John Coppins, died July 28, 1864, at Chattanooga (Tenn.) Hospital; vet- eran. William Clinton, discharged November 21, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. William F. Crapo, discharged October 13, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. 19 142 History of Erie County. William Donelson, substitute, mustered out July 7, 1865, by order of war department. Dewitt C. Dolph, drafted, mustered out June 19, 1865, by order of war de- partment. Jerome Degarmer, drafted, mustered out June 9, 1865, by order of war department. James Doughty, died March 22, 1862, at Grafton, W. Va. William Delaney, died February 14, 1863, at Washington, D. C. John Feififer, substitute ; mustered out with company July ii, 1865. Wallace R. Bord, drafted ; mustered out June 9, 1865, by order of war de- partment. Marcus Farnsworth, died September i, 1864, at Chattanooga, Tenn. Burton Farnsworth, discharged September 13, 1862, on surgeon’s certifi- cate of disability. Henry Fox, drafted ; died December 25, 1864, at Savannah, Ga. John Ferguson, discharged February 14, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. David Gates, died March 21, 1865, of wounds received March 19, 1865, in battle of Bentonville, N. C.; veteran. Gilbert Gordon, captured November 18, 1864, near Atlanta, Ga., while for- aging ; mustered out May 24, 1865, on expiration of term of service. David Golispie, drafted; died May 26, 1865, at David’s Island, N. Y. Edwin T. Hood, wounded July 20, 1864, in the battle of Peach Tree Creek, Ga.; discharged February 17, 1865 ; veteran. Robert Hamilton, drafted; mustered out May 30, 1865, by order of war department. John Horner, drafted; mustered out June 9, 1865, by order of war depart- ment. William Harpman, mustered out December 31, 1864, on expiration of term of service. Sidney Hooper, discharged April 10, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of dis- ability. George Howarth, transferred to Sixth United States Cavalry, November 10, 1862. Edward Hotchkins, discharged December 26, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Michael Hennessey, wounded May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville ; transferred to Seventy-eighth company. Second Battalion Veteran Reserve Corps October 19, 1863. William Harris, died December 7, 1862, at Fairfax Station, Va. Charles Hart, died February 16, 1863, at Washington, D. C. Hiram K. Horr, mustered in as William K. Horn Military History. H3 Joseph H. Hewett, discharged . William Jones, mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Ira S. Lump, wounded May 15, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga.; transferred to company F, Sixteenth Veteran Reserve Corps, January 23, 1865 ; veteran. John A. James, wounded May 15, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga.; mustered out with company July ii, 1865. Melville Jameson, wounded June 21, 1864, near Cassville, Ga.; discharged November 21, 1864, at Camp Dennison, O.; veteran. Francis L. Jupp, discharged November 10, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Henry C. King, discharged October 19, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Henry Klour, discharged August 29, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of dis- ability. James H. Lowry, died August 3, 1864, at Atlanta, Ga. Daniel Leiser, substitute ; wounded March 14, 1865, at Silver Creek, Ga., and left the field ; no further record found. James H. Larkins, wounded June 20, 1864, in action at Cassville, Ga.; mustered out on expiration of term of service. Mahlon T. Lambert, promoted to sergeant-major October 25, 1861. Richard Maxwell, substitute ; mustered out with company July il, 1865. James McBeth, substitute ; mustered out with company July ii, 1865. Alonzo McCord, discharged March 14, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of dis- ability. Thomas Messer, drafted; mustered out May 30, 1865, by order of war department. Albert Myers, drafted; mustered out June 9, 1865, by order of war depart- ment. George W. Minus, drowned April 14, 1862, at Moorhead, Va., while on duty. Rufus Morton, discharged June 9, 1863. Thomas Norris, substitute; mustered out June 2, 1865, by order of war department. James Nelson, drafted; mustered out June 9, 1865, by order of war de- partment. Rufus Norton, discharged June 9, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of disa- bility. Henry Opher, jr., discharged July 2, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of dis- ability. Henry Opher, killed July 3, 1863, in battle of Gettysburg, Pa. George W. Pratt, mustered out with company July ii, 1865. Benjamin Prouts, wounded February 13, 1865; mustered out June 21, 1865, at David’s Island, N. Y., by order of war department; veteran. 144 History of Erie County. Benjamin Pease, captured October 30, 1864; exchanged; mustered out June 20, 1865 ; veteran. George W. Phillips, drafted ; mustered out June 26, 186J, by order of war department. Cyrenius A. Peck, discharged September 12, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Ambrose Rice, reduced to ranks from sergeant; wounded August 30, 1862, in battle of Bull Run; appointed corporal November i, 1864; reduced to ranks January i, 1865 ; mustered out with company; veteran. Benjamin C. Robinson, wounded May 15, 1864, at Resaca, Ga.; transferred to company C, Sixth Veteran Reserve Corps, March 13, 1865 ; veteran. Henry Riper, mustered out with company July li, 1865. Luther Roberts, drafted ; mustered out July 7, 1865, by order of war de- partment. George Rumsey, substitute; mustered out with company July ii, 1865. Alex. M. Richards, discharged November 16, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Robert R. Scott, wounded May 12, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville ; dis- charged June 7, 1865, for wounds received in action August 3, 1864; veteran. Demsey Si.xton, drafted ; mustered out June 9, 1865, by order of war de- partment. Dean Swift, died November 29, 1863, in hospital at Murfreesboro, Tenn. William E. Sherart, mustered out December 31, 1864, on expiration of term of service. William F. Smith, reduced to ranks from corporal ; mustered out Decem- ber 3 I, 1864. Ambrose D. Smith, discharged July 12, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Jonathan Smith, wounded May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville; trans- ferred to One Hundred and Twenty-fifth company. Second Battalion Veteran Reserve Corps, December 18, 1863. Horace Smith, died February 26, 1862, at Grafton, W. Va. Fred. J. Slattery, discharged November 5, 1862, by order of war depart- ment. Martin Van Syckle, mustered out December 3 i, 1864, expiration of term of service. Allen E. Winters, captured March 5, 1865, while foraging; mustered out June 21, 1865, at Camp Chase, by order of war department. William Whistler, substitute; mustered out with company July ii, 1865. Frank Wyatt, wounded March 16, 1865, at Averysboro ; mustered out June 26, 1865, at Camp Dennison, by order of war department. Joseph H. Williams, drafted ; mustered out May 24, 1865, by order of war department. Military History. 1 45 David S. Williams, discharged March 19, 1863, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. John L. Wilson, drafted; mustered out June 9, 1865, by order of war de- partment. Henry Westmire, drafted; mustered out June 9, 1865, by order of war de- partment. Albert E. Withers, transferred to company F, Seventeenth Veteran Reserve Corps, October 31, 1863. George Winklepleck, discharged November 16, 1862, on surgeon’s certifi- cate of disability. John Winklepleck, mustered out June 19, 1865, by order of war depart- ment ; veteran. Roster Company H. This company was recruited in Margaretta and the townships south of that* and partly from Huron county. James M. Stevens, captain; appointed captain October 16, 1861 ; promoted to major March 4, 1864. Albert E. Peck, captain; promoted from first lieutenant company E, March 6, 1863 ; killed May 15, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga. John R. Lowe, captain ; promoted from first lieutenant company C, June 27, 1864; mustered out with company July il, 1865. Randolph Eastman, first lieutenant ; appointed first lieutenant October 24, 1861 ; resigned December 23, 1862. Hartwell Osborn, first lieutenant ; promoted from second lieutenant com- pany I, Februar}’ 12, 1863 ; to captain company B August 4, 1863. Russel H. Bever, first lieutenant; appointed sergeant from corporal Sep- tember 19, 1862 ; first sergeant October 3, 1862; promoted second lieutenant March 16, 1863; first lieutenant March 19, 1864; captain company A Novem- ber 3, 1864. William E. Childs, first lieutenant ; promoted from hospital steward Janu- ary 18, 1865 ; mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Robert W. Pool, second lieutenant; mustered as private ; promoted to sec- ond lieutenant October 24, 1861 ; to first lieutenant and adjutant, October 3, 1862. Henry W. Ragan, second lieutenant ; promoted from sergeant October 3, 1862 ; resigned March 24, 1863. Albert H. Hubbard, first sergeant; discharged May 25, 1862, at Franklin, Va., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Lewis Peck, first sergeant; appointed sergeant from corporal October 3, 1862; first sergeant May 2, 1863; promoted to quartermaster-sergeant Sep- tember I, 1864; veteran. 146 History of Erie County. John Burket, first sergeant; appointed corporal October 3, 1862; sergeant June 9, 1863 ; first sergeant September i, 1864; promoted to commissary-ser- geant June 26, 1865 ; veteran. Sidney C. Brown, sergeant; appointed corporal August i, 1863; sergeant June I, 1864; mustered out with company July ii, 1865; veteran. Moses Pugh, first sergeant; wounded August 30, 1862, in battle of Bull Run, Va.; appointed corporal November i, 1862; sergeant September i, 1864; first sergeant June 26, 1865; mustered out with company July ii, 1865; veteran. Horace M. Chamberlin, sergeant; appointed corporal September i, 1864; sergeant June 26, 1865; mustered out with compan)'- July ii, 1865; veteran. Jesse Dewers, sergeant; captured September 15, 1863, at Bristow, Va.; mustered out October 23, 1864, on expiration of term of service. Arthur A. Graham, sergeant ; transferred to company B, Twenty-first Vet- eran Reserve Corps, September 16, 1863. Edwin Holmes, sergeant; discharged October 19, 1862, at Columbus, O. , on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Clark M. Kline, sergeant; appointed corporal June i, 1864; sergeant, De- cember 31, 1864; discharged June 15, 1865, at Eairfax Seminary, Va.; vet- eran. Eri Misnard, sergeant ; appointed corporal October 3, 1862 ; sergeant May I, 1863; wounded May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville, Va.; killed June 22, 1864, in battle of Kenesaw Mountain, Ga.; veteran. Alexander M. Ross, sergeant ; appointed from corporal ; wounded August 30, 1862, in battle of Bull Run, Va.; transferred to company D, Fourteenth Veteran Reserve Corps, July 31, 1863. William R. Little, sergeant; appointed corporal October 3, 1862 ; sergeant August I, 1863 ; mustered out December 29, 1864, on expiration of term of service. Adam Beer, corporal; appointed corporal June 22, 1864; wounded March 19, 1865, in battle of Bentonville, N. C.; mustered out June 9, 1865, at Wash- ington, D. C., by order of war department. William B. Conger, corporal; discharged September 19, 1862, at Annapo- lis, Md. John B. Conger, corporal ; killed August 30, 1862, in battle of Bull Run, Va. Cyrenus Dejean, corporal ; discharged January 19, 1864, for wounds re- ceived May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville, Va.; leg amputated. Addison, Golden, corporal; wounded July 20, 1864, in battle of Peach Tree Creek, Ga.; appointed corporal June 26, 1865 ; mustered out with company July II, 1865 ; veteran, Peter H. Keiffer, corporal; appointed corporal December 31, 1864; mus- tered out with company, July ii, 1865. Military History. 147 William W. Lawton, corporal; appointed corporal March i, 1865; mus- tered out with company July ii, 1865 ; v^eteran. Jacob Myer, corporal, wounded May 15, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga.; appointed corporal June 9, 1865 ; mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. William Negele, corporal; appointed corporal ; wounded August 30, 1862, in battle of Bull Run, Va.; discharged August 27, 1863, at Colum- bus, O. Lewis Perkey, corporal; appointed corporal May i, 1863; killed May 15, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga.; veteran. George W. Ragon, corporal; wounded May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancell- orsville, Va.; August 27, 1864, at Turner’s Ferry, Ga.; appointed corporal Jan- uary I, 1865 ; mustered out June 9, 1865, at Washington, D. C., by order of war department. Jeremiah Ricker, corporal, discharged August 19, 1862, at Fairfax Semi- nary, Va., on surgeon's certificate of disability. Dennis Spurrier, corporal; appointed corporal May 25, 1862; wounded Au- gust 30, 1 862, in battle of Bull Run, Va.; July 2, 1863, in battle of Gettysburg, Pa.; appointed sergeant January i, 1864; wounded August 17, 1864, near At- lanta, Ga.; died September 2, 1864, at Chattanooga, Tenn.; veteran. Horace R. Starks, corporal; appointed corporal June 9, 1865; mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Edward Tallman, corporal; discharged August 29, 1862, at Cumberland, Md., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Charles L. Wilson, corporal; appointed corporal October 3, 1862; wound- ed July 20, 1864, in battle of Peach Tree Creek, Ga.; mustered out with com- pany July II, 1865; veteran. Clarence Linn, musician ; discharged March 18, 1864, at Lookout Valley, Tenn., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Privates. Charles Au, substitute; mustered out with company July li, 1865. John M. Armstrong, mustered out October 23, 1864, on expiration of term of service. Jeremiah G. Armstrong, mustered out October 23, 1864, on expiration of term of service. Zenas W. Achlefeld, mustered out October 23, on expiration of term of service. William Ainesly ; discharged February 27, 1863, at Columbus, O., on sur- geon’s certificate of disability. Charles H. Borefif, mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. James P. Boston, wounded August 30, 1862, in battle of Bull Run, Va.; mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. 148 History of Erie County. George W. Button, mustered out with company July il, 1865; veteran. Olcott K. Brown, wounded May 15, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga.; mus- tered out June 9, 1865, at Camp Dennison, O., by order of war department. Martin Beery, mustered ont with company July li, 1865. Anton Bolsinger, drafted; mustered out with company July li, 1866. Henry C. Beck, drafted; discharged March 25, 1863, at Brooks’s Station, Va., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Andrews. Baker, discharged August 5, 1862, at Columbus, O., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Edgar W. Barker, wounded May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville, Va.; transferred to company K, Fifth Veteran Reserve Corps, December 17, 1863. John L. Butz, died July 13, 1862, at Frederick City, Md. Joseph E. Case, killed August 30, 1862, in battle of Bull Run, Va. Augustus B. Case, killed May 15, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga.; veteran. James Cram, died May 29, 1864, hospital at Dallas, Ga. John Cain, substitute. Marion G. Cross, mustered out October 23, 1864, on expiration of term of service. John Clark, discharged November 13, 1862, at Hopewell Gap, Va. Nathan Cadwalader, discharged October 20, 1862. Frederick A. Crum, killed June 26, 1864, in Kenesaw Mountain, Ga.; vet- eran. Robert J. Dutcher, captured December 9, 1864, near Savannah, Ga.; mus- tered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Benjamin Dunlap, wounded July 20, 1864, in battle of Peach Tree Creek, Ga.; mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Peter Dill, drafted; mustered out June 9, 1865, by order of war department. Parker Dejian, discharged November 13, 1862, at Washington, D. C., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Adam Ditto, killed March 12, 1865, near Fayetteville, N. C.; veteran. John H. W. Dildine, wounded March 19, 1865, in battle of Bentonville, N. C.; died May 22, 1865, at Portsmouth Grove, R. I.; veteran. Charles D. Dudrow, wounded May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville, i Va.; mustered out October 23, 1864, on expiration of term of service. I Fewis D. Dudrow, died November 4, 1863, at Cumberland, Md. Jacob Fronce, wounded May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville, Va.; captured March 5, 1865, at Wadesboro, N. C.; mustered out June 23, 1865, at ' Camp Chase, O., by order of war department ; veteran. i Thomas B. Fox, wounded June 19, 1864, in battle of Kenesaw Mountain; i| mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Guy S. Frazey, substitute on detached service as telegraph operator at Chat- tanooga, Tenn.; mustered out to date July ii, 1865, by order of war depart- ment. Military History. 149 Frederick Fleig, drafted; mustered out June 9, 1865, by order of war de- partment. Abraham D. Falkner, killed May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville, Va. Seth Golden, wounded July 20, 1864, in battle of Peach Tree Creek ; dis- charged May 20, 1865, by order of war department. Christian Guarlach, drafted; mustered out June 9, 1865, at Washington, D. C., by order of war department. James W. Griffith, transferred to One Hundred and Forty-eighth Veteran Reserve Corps, January 22, 1864. Ebenezer B. Green, wounded May 15, 1864, “i battle of Resaca, Ga.; died July 27, 1864, at Big Shanty, Ga.; veteran. William H. Gittenger, wounded May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville, Va.; mustered out October 23, 1864, on expiration of term of service. Boody J. Gaines, died March 8, 1862, at Grafton, W. Va. James C. Holt, discharged October 20, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of dis- ability. George Harkcom, mustered out June 19, 1865, at Camp Chase, O., by or- der of war department. Joseph Holdeman, drafted; wounded March 19, 1865, in battle of Benton- ville, N. C. ; absent, sick in hospital ; mustered out July 1 1, 1865, by order of war department. John Hutchinson, drafted ; mustered out June 9, 1865, at Washington, D. C., by order of war department. Asa Hoppas, wounded May 25, 1864, in battle of Dallas, Ga. ; discharged May 24, 1865, at Trippler Hospital, by order of war department. Clay Holtz, captured May 27, 1862, at Franklyn, Va. ; mustered out Oc- tober 27, 1864, on expiration of term of service. Edward Hinchy, killed May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville, Va. Thomas Jeffers, substitute ; absent, sick at Bentonville, N. C. ; mustered out to date July 1 1, 1865, by order of war department. Albert Johnson, drafted; mustered out June 9, 1865, Washington, D. C., by order of war department. Edwin E. Jones, discharged September 22, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. John L. King, mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Samuel Kuhlman, killed May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville, Va. Albion F. Lee, mustered out July 1 1, 1865. Martin Lindley, discharged March 21, 1865, at hospital, Columbus, O., by order of war department. James Linn, died June 27, 1864, in hospital at Chattanooga, Tenn. Isaac Livensparger, wounded and captured May 2, 1863, in battle at Chan- cellorsville, Va. ; discharged April 30, 1864. 20 150 History of Erie County. Philip Livensparger, killed May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville, Va. Peter H. Livengood, discharged October 20, 1862, at Cumberland, Md., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Edwin S. Morse, appointed corporal October 3, 1863 ; wounded May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville, Va. ; returned to ranks March i, 1863 ; mus- tered out July 19, 1864, at Camp Cleveland, by order of war department. John McConahy, wounded July 20, 1864, in battle of Peach Tree Creek, Ga. ; mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. John B. Martin, drafted ; mustered out with company July ii, 1865. Lewis Mesnard, wounded August 9, 1862, at Freeman’s Ford, Va. ; mus- tered out June 22, 1865, by order of war department. John W. Miller, wounded March 19, 1865, in battle of Bentonville, N. C. mustered out June 16, 1865, by order of war department. John McLaughlin, captured July 2, 1 863, at battle of Gettysburg, Pa. ; mus- tered out October 23, 1864, on expiration of term of service. Oliver Melroy, captured September 15, 1863, at Bristow, Va. ; mustered out October 23, 1864, on expiration of term of service. Jackson V. Perdew, mustered out with company July ii, 1865. Van Buren Palmer, captured July 17, 1863, at Aldie, Va., mustered out October 23, 1864, on expiration of term of service. Benjamin F. Perkey, discharged January 26, 1863, at New York, on sur- geon’s certificate of disability. John Plotts, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps March i, 1864; mustered out January 26, 1866, at Columbus, to date August 21, 1864. George W. Price, died December 18, 1 862, at Baltimore, Md. Isaac Reed, wounded July 20, 1864, in battle of Peach Tree Creek, Ga. - mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Frank Ray, wounded July 20, 1864, in battle of Peach Tree Creek, Ga., ; discharged March 16, 1865, at Fort Schuyler, N. Y. Alfred G. Rumur, died May 18, 1863, at Brooks’s Station, Va., of wounds received May 8, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville, Va. Abner Royce, discharged October 7, 1862, at Columbus, O., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Robert P. Ralston, died July ii, 1862, at Sperryville, Va. Lawrence Rumbacher, drafted ; mustered out June 9, 1865, at Washing- ton, D. C., by order of war department. Corwin K. Sites, mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Samuel Stone, wounded and captured May 2, 1863, at battle of Chancellors- ville, Va. ; mustered out with company July ii, 1865 ; veteran. Michael Schiffler, mustered out with company July il, 1865; veteran. Reed A. Stacks, wounded July 12, 1864, in action at Chattahoochie River, Ga. ; mustered out with company July ii, 1865. Military History. 151 Joseph Soncraut, drafted; mustered out May 31, 1865, at David’s Island, N. Y., by order of war department. Jonathan Shell, wounded June 15, 1864, in battle of Kenesaw Mountain; mustered out August li, 1865, by order of war department ; veteran. George W. Steward, died July 14, 1863, of wounds received July 4, 1863, in battle of Gettysburg, Penn. Thomas T. Spafford, died March 3, 1863, at Brooks’s Station, Va. William Starkey, killed July 3, 1863, in battle of Gettysburg, Penn. John A. Seawalt, killed August 27, 1864, at Turner’s Ferry, Ga. Elias Saddoris, drafted; died Feb. 28, 1865, in hospital at Savannah, Ga. Jesse Sneath, discharged May 23, 1862, at Franklin, Ya. George W. Stull, transferred to company H, Seventh V eteran Reserve Corps, January 12, 1864. Henry H. Trowbridge, died July 30, 1862, at Baltimore, Md. William H. Tallman, killed August, 30, 1862, in battle of Bull Run, Va. Benjamin Wagner, drafted; mustered out with company, July ll, 1865. John A. Wilson, discharged March 25, 1863, at Brooks’s Station, Va., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Barney Weigle, wounded August 30, 1862, in battle of battle of Bull Run ; discharged January 9, 1863. Fernando West, discharged December 26, 1862, on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Enoch B. Watson, wounded August 30, 1862, in battle of Bull Run, Va. ; May 15, 1864, in battle of Resaca, Ga. ; transferred to company I, Seventeenth Veteran Reserve Corps August 3, 1864; veteran. George M. Wagar, transferred to Sixteenth company. Second Battalion, Veteran Reserve Corps, August 5, 1863. John B. York, killed May 2, 1863, in battle of Chancellorsville, Va. THE SIXTY-FOURTH INFANTRY. This regiment formed a portion of the Sherman Brigade. It was organized and recruited at Mansfield during the summer and fall months of 1861. In several companies of the regiment were men from Erie county, although no considerable portion of either company was from here. At Nashville, Tenn., the Sixty-fourth joined the national forces. Its first lively battle was fought at Pittsburg Handing, on the 7th of April, and even here but a part of the regiment was engaged. General Garfield commanded the brigade. It participated in the events just preceding and in the battle of Corinth, and afterward built Fort Harker, at Stevenson. It joined in pursuit of Bragg in August, and was repulsed in a battle with the rebels at Munfords- ville. The next important battle was at Stone River, where the regiment was attached to Crittenden’s Corps and Wood’s Division. In this fight it was more 152 History of Erie County. or less closely engaged for three days and lost about seventy-five men in killed and wounded. For some days preceding Chickamauga it was skirmishing fre- quently, and in the main battle was closely engaged during the whole day on the 19th of September. It here lost over one hundred in killed, wounded and missing. On November 25th it was engaged at Mission Ridge with but slight loss. In January, 1864, about three-fourths of the regiment veteranized, after which the men returned home on a thirty-days’ furlough. The regiment joined Sherman’s army and participated in the charge at Rocky Face Ridge. Foss, twenty-one killed and sixty five wounded. Next came Resaca, on June 14th, and thereafter daily skirmishing until the 20th of July, at which time it took part in the fight at Peach Tree Creek. Until the latter part of August the regiment was almost daily under fire. It next en- gaged at Jonesboro, September 3d, and then at Fovejoy Station, on the 6th. After the fall of Atlanta the Sixty- fourth encamped in the city, but two weeks later, with the Fourth Corps, joined in pursuit of Hood’s forces as far as Chattanooga. Here four hundred recruits were added to the regiment and the veterans were paid off. After following Hood about fifty miles south of Chattanooga the regiment returned to that point, after which it was sent to Athens, Ala., and thence marched to Pulaski and Spring Hill, at which latter place it had another sharp fight. From Spring Hill the regiment marched to Franklin, Tenn., and engaged in the battle there with heavy loss. After that it returned to Nashville and was engaged in sorties and battles before that city. It then pursued Hood again and finally went into camp at Huntsville, but soon left and moved to Decatur and Athens, remaining about two months and then returned to Huntsville; thence into East Tennessee and soon after returned to Nashville. From the latter place it was sent to New Orleans where many died from sickness. About the middle of September, 1865, the Sixty-fourth went to Victoria, Texas, where on the 3d of December following the men were paid off, discharged and sent home. THE SIXTY-FIFTH INFANTRY. The Sixty-fifth was one of the regiments raised at Mansfield, and known as the “ Sherman brigade,” having been recruited mainly through the efforts of Hon. John Sherman. It was organized at Camp Buckingham, and was mus- tered into service on the first of December, 1861. Erie county was represented in this regiment by about thirty-five men, nearly all of whom were members of Company G, while a few, and only a few, were scattered through other companies. The army life and experiences of this regiment, according to Whitelaw Reid, in his “ Ohio in the War,” were as follows : “ The regiment left Mans- field for active duty, on the l8th of December, and moved, by way of Cincin- nati, to Fouisville, Ky., where it remained for a week, and then marched to Military History. 153 Camp Morton, arriving there on the 30th. The Sixty-fifth was assigned to a brigade composed of the Sixty-fourth and Sixty-fifth Ohio, the Fifty-first In- diana and Ninth Kentucky. Colonel Harker, of the Sixty- fifth, commanded the brigade, and General Wood the division.” On January, 13, 1862, the brigade broke camp and proceeded to Hall’s Gap, arriving there on the 24th, when it was at once placed at work to cordu- roy the roads. On account of the swampy, miasmatic nature of the country many of the men fell sick and died. On February 7 the regiment left this place and marched to Lebanon, where by rail it proceeded to Green River, and remained in camp at Munfordsville, until the 23d, after which it went to Nashville, arriving there on March 13, tired and worn from having marched over obstructed roads, and carrying baggage over places impassable for the loaded wagons. In the latter part of March, with General Garfield commanding the brigade, the regiment again took up the line of march by way of Columbia to Savan- nah, and thence by steamer to Pittsburg Landing, at which place a fight was in progress, but the Sixty-fifth was not engaged though on the field. Follow- ing close upon this event came the siege of Corinth, in which the regiment participated, being under fire much of the time and meeting with some loss. After the enemy evacuated the place the regiment moved to Bridgeport, and was assigned to guard duty along the Tennessee River, until the latter part of August, when it joined in pursuit of Bragg’s retreating forces, and finally reached Perry vllle late in September. A week later it marched to Nashville. At this place the army was reorganized, the Sixty-fifth holding its place in the brigade, with Colonel Harker in command. On December 26 the brigade moved on the Nashville Pike, fighting its way into Lavergne, across Stewart’s Creek, and up to Stone River. On the 29th, at night, the regiment forded the river, armpit deep, in the face of a galling fire, and gained the opposite bank, where they formed and engaged the enemy; but supporting troops fail- ing to arrive they were forced to retire, which was done in good order. The men lay on their arms all night and early the next day moved to the support of McCook’s corps, which was having much the worst of it in a fierce battle. For eight long hours the regiment was engaged before the enemy was finally put to rout. The loss of the Sixty- fifth in this engagement amounted to nearly one hundred and seventy-five killed, wounded and missing. Forty officers and men were killed. Stone River was the most destructive battle in which the regiment participated. At Chickamauga, on September 19 and 20, the regiment was again en- gaged, but on the last named day retreated to Mission Ridge, thence fell back to Chattanooga, at which latter place, on November 23-25, it was again closely engaged and lost heavily, there being in killed, wounded and missing no less than one hundred men. Added to this was the loss in the battle at Mission Ridge, on the 25th, in which thirteen were killed and two wounded. 154 History of Erie County. The regiment next participated in the Atlanta campaign, and was engaged at Rocky Face Ridge, May 5-9, 1864; at Adairsville, May 17, 18; at New Hope Church, May 28 ; at Kenesaw Mountain, from June 9 to 30, losing ten in killed and wounded ; at Big Shanty, on June 28 ; at Peach Tree Creek, with a loss of four killed, one wounded and one missing. During the siege of Atlanta the regiment was also engaged. It participated in the flanking move- ment to Jonesboro, and from there advanced to Lovejoy. After the rebels evacuated Atlanta the regiment returned to that place and went into camp. Three weeks later it joined in pursuit of Hood. It marched to Mission Ridge, and thence, by rail, went to Alpine, Ga. After four days of rest it again moved to Chattanooga, and did guard duty along a line of railroad near the Tennessee River. On November 29 it participated in the battle at Spring- field, losing forty-one in killed, wounded, captured and missing. Again, on the 30th, at Franklin, it was engaged with a loss of forty-two men. On the 3d of October the non veterans were discharged and sent home. This left the Sixty-fifth with only one hundred and thirt}^ available men. The last battle of the regiment was fought at Nashville, Tenn., on the 15th and l6th of December, 1864, and after following the defeated rebels for some time, re- turned to the city and went into camp. In June, 1865, the regiment moved from Nashville to Johnsonville, where it embarked on transports for New Orleans. It remained here for several weeks, and was then ordered to Texas, where it performed garrison duty at San Antonio until December, 1865, when it was ordered to Camp Chase, O., and was mustered out, paid and discharged, on the 2d day of January, 1866. Roster — Field and Staff. Charles G. Harker, colonel; promoted to brigadier- general September 20, 1863 ; killed June 27, 1864, in battle of Kenesaw Mountain, Ga. Daniel French, lieutenant-colonel; resigned August 8, 1862. Alexander Cassil, lieutenant-colonel ; promoted from captain company A, August 8, 1S62; resigned March 22, 1863. Horatio N. Whitbeck, lieutenant-colonel ; promoted to major from captain company E, October7, 1862; wounded December 31, 1862, in battle of Stone River; promoted to lieutenant-colonel March 22,1863; wounded September 19, 1863, in battle of Chickamauga, and June 27, 1864, in battle of Kenesaw Mountain; discharged August 16, 1865, for wounds. Orlow Smith, lieutenant-colonel ; promoted to major from captain company G, September 22, 1863; to lieutenant-colonel, October 10, 1865; to colonel, November 24, 1865, but not mustered; mustered out November 30, 1865. James Olds, major; resigned October 7, 1862. Samuel C. Brown, major ; promoted from captain company H, March 22, 1863 ; died September 22, 1863, from wounds received in battle of Chicka- mauga, Ga. Military History. iSS Brewer Smith, adjutant; appointed sergeant-major from corporal company G; promoted to second lieutentant January l, 1863, and acting adjutant March I, 1863; to first lieutenant and adjutant March 23, 1863; to captain company K, August 29, 1864. John C. Zollinger, regimental quartermaster; appointed from first lieutenant company K, February 13, 1865 ; mustered out November 30, 1865 ; veteran. Roster Company G. — Erie County Men. Clark S. Gregg, first lieutenant ; appointed November 26, 1861 ; died May 11, 1862, at St. Louis, Mo., of disease. Dolsen Van Kirk, second lieutenant; promoted from first sergeant August 12, 1862 ; killed December 31, 1862, in battle of Stone River, Tenn. Patrick R. Nohilly, first sergeant; appointed corporal June 12, 1862; ser- geant, November i, 1863 ; first sergeant, July 31, 1864; killed November 29, 1864, in battle of Spring Hill, Tenn. ; veteran. John C. Zollinger, sergeant; promoted to quartermaster-sergeant July 13, 1 864 ; veteran. William Clark, sergeant ; mustered as private; appointed sergeant; mus- tered out December 14, 1864, at Nashville, Tenn., on expiration of term of service. August Keimlin, sergeant ; appointed from corporal; transferred to com- pany F, seventh regiment Veteran Reserve Corps. Adam Apple, sergeant; appointed corporal November i, 1864; wounded November 29, 1864, in battle of Spring Hill, Tenn. ; appointed sergeant May I, 1865 ) mustered out November 30, 1865 ; veteran. John V. Nicholai, sergeant ; mustered as private ; appointed sergeant * transferred to company B, Seventh Veteran Reserve Corps, September i, 1863. Brewer Smith, corporal; appointed corporal November ii, 1861; pro- moted to sergeant-major June i, 1862. H. C. Jennings, corporal; discharged January 26, 1863, at Murfreesboro, Tenn., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Privates. John Boyd, transferred to forty-third company second battalion Veteran Reserve Corps, August 31, 1863. John Brown, veteran ; no other record found. Christian F. E. Blaich, discharged May 20, 1863, at Murfreesboro, Tenn., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. Martin Casey, died October 22, 1862, at Nashville, Tenn. John C. Ernst, discharged August 18, 1864, at Camp Dennison, O., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. John Geideman, mustered out December 14, 1864, at Nashville, Tenn., on expiration of term of service. 156 History of P2rie County. Theodore Geesey, died October i, 1862, at Louisville, Ky. Fred. Koegle, died October 4, 1862, at Louisville, Ky. i' Henry Leidkie, discharged November i, 1864, at Camp Dennison, O., on < surgeon’s certificate of disability. James Murty, no record found. John Murphy, wounded December 31, 1862, in battle of Stone River, ' Tenn. ; wounded December 15, 1864, in battle of Nashville, Tenn. ; discharged to date November 25, 1865, at Columbus, O. ; veteran. John Malaney, discharged January 18, 1865, by order of war department. Michael Nash, mustered out December 14, 1864, at Nashville, Tenn., on ’ expiration of term of service. C James Nolan, died January 30, 1863, at Nashville, Tenn., of wounds re- ceived December 31, 1862, in battle of Stone River, Tenn. George W. Philo, died April 30, 1862, at Nashville, Tenn. Peter Sharp, transferred to third company second battalion Veteran Re- serve Corps, April 29, 1864. John Sullivan, mustered out December 14, 1864, at Nashville, Tenn., on expiration of term of service. J. C. Weidemier, discharged June 10, 1 862, at Louisville, Ky., on surgeon’s certificate of disability. William Walsh, discharged April 6, 1863, at Murfreesboro, Tenn., on sur- geon’s certificate of disability. THE SEVENTY-SECOND INFANTRY. This regiment in the main was recruited in the county of Sandusky, Com- panies A, B, C, D, E, F, H, and I, being raised almost wholly in that county, while Company G, and a very small contingent of Companies Hand A were re- cruited in Erie county. Company K was principally from Medina county, and a few men in C and E were from Wood count}'. The regiment, about nine hundred and fifty strong, left Fremont for Camp Chase, on the 24th of January, 1862. In February it was ordered to General Sherman’s army and reported at Paducah, where it was brigaded with the For- ty-eighth and Seventieth Ohio Regiments, and placed under command of Col- onel Buckland. The first regular engagement in which the Seventy-second took part was at Pittsburg Landing, and it was not until the third day’s proceedings at that place that it became fully initiated in army service. On this day, the 6th of April, 1862, the brigade to which our regiment belonged withstood three successive attacks from the enemy, and firmly held their position until General Sherman ordered it to retire. The next day it was again engaged and took part in the charge that routed the rebels and drove them from the field. This battle cost the regiment one hundred and thirty- five men in killed, wounded and missing. ■ Military History. 157 During the service of the regiment down to and after the siege of Corinth, the ranks were fearfully reduced by disease, and nearly as many were lost or unfitted for field service from this cause, as by the results of battle. At Cor- inth the regiment was again closely engaged. Colonel Buckland returned to the command of the regiment, and General Denver took the brigade. After Corinth the army proceeded to Memphis, the Seventy-second being stationed at Fort Pickering. While here it was brigaded with the Thirty- second Wis- consin, the Ninety-third Indiana, Ninety-third Illinois, and the One Hundred and Fourteenth Illinois, and designated as the First Brigade of the Third Di- vision, Colonel Buckland again assuming command of the brigade, and General Lauman the division. While holding the bridge over Wolf Riv'er the brigade had a taste of guer- rilla tactics, but it did them no loss. It remained in this place some two weeks and in January, 1863, received orders to proceed to Corinth, where it arrived after a long and weary march in the dead of winter. Here the brigade was assigned to the Sixteenth Corps, and placed on picket duty at White’s Station, nine miles from the city. The strength of the regiment was increased while at this place by about forty nine months recruits, and other men formerly of the command who had been absent and sick. About the middle of March commenced the movement southward, and by a series of journeys by land and by water until Jackson, Mississippi, was reached and a battle fought on the 14th of May, and after that came the labor of the siege of Vicksburg. After the surrender of that city the regiment participated in the movement against General Johnson, at Jackson, and afterward pursued the rebels to Brandon where another engagement took place. In September the command joined in the four days’ scout to Mechanicsville, and on the 15th of October moved on General McPherson’s expedition to Canton, but soon af- terward went into camp in rear of Vicksburg. From here it went to guard duty on a line of railroad between Memphis and Charleston. This occupied the re- mainder of the year. On January 2 the men of the Seventy-second re-enlisted and moved to Memphis, and after taking part in the expedition to the Talla- hatchie River, returned to Ohio on veteran furlough on the 23d of February, 1864. Early in April, having been strengthened by many recruits, the regiment returned again to the seat of operations and made a stand at Paducah to defend that place, and shortly after moved to Memphis where it remained till the 30th of April, when it again joined an expedition against the rebel Forrest, thence to Bolivar, and from there to Ripley, but soon returned to Memphis. In June following twelve regiments, of which the Seventy- second was one, again started in pursuit of Forrest, and found him much to their sorrow at -Brice’s Cross Roads, and were badly defeated and routed, losing a part of their wagon-train and destroying the rest. They retreated in disorder and confusion, and escaped 158 History of Erie County. annihilation or capture only by a rapid retreat to' Memphis, nevertheless, many were killed and captured. After this disastrous campaign the regiment, or what was left of it, was attached to the First Brigade of the Sixteenth Corps. It next participated in the battle at Tupelo in which the rebels were defeated, as they were also at Tishomingo Creek. In both of these fights the brunt of battle fell upon the brigade of the Seventy-second, and its loss amounted to twenty-five men. The regiment then joined the Atlanta expedition, but Mower having charge of the division, was ordered to Arkansas to resist Price, but failed to meet him. It then marched northward continuing eighteen days, and finally reached the Mississippi, where it embarked on transports for St. Louis, thence moved to Jefferson City. It then pursued Price’s cavalry as far as Lit- tle Santa Fe, and then turned back to St. Louis, which point was reached on the 1 6th of November. The Seventy-second next participated in the battle at Nashville, December 7th and 8th, and also at Walnut Hills soon afterward. McMillan’s Brigade in this battle numbered less than twelve hundred effective men, still they captured two thousand prisoners and thirteen pieces of artillery, but sustained a loss of one hundred and sixty of its own force. The division then moved to Eastport, Miss., and went into camp. In February, 1865, the brigade moved to New Orleans and camped on the old battle-ground. On the 28th of the same month it went to Dauphin Island ; moved to the east side of Mobile River on the 19th of March, and on the 27th laid siege upon Spanish Fort, which was evacuated on the 8th of April. The next day it captured Fort Blakeley. It was then or- dered to Meriden, Miss., where it was assigned to garrison duty. In September the Seventy-second moved to Corinth, and soon afterward to Vicksburg, where it was mustered out September 1 1, 1865, after which it returned to Camp Chase and was paid and discharged. Roster Company G — Unofficial. James Fernald, captain; mustered out with regiment. William C. Biddle, first lieutenant; promoted to captain; transferred to company E. John H. Poyer, second lieutenant; resigned December 3, 1862. Jacob M. Beecher, first sergeant; promoted to first lieutenant in U. S. Col- ored Infantry, April 17, 1864. Jonas Stanbury, first sergeant; wounded at siege ‘of Spanish Fort, Ala.; mustered out with company. George Downing, sergeant ; mustered out with company ; veteran. Charles Hawes, sergeant; mustered out with company; veteran. William P. Shilk, sergeant; mustered out with company; veteran. George Taylor, sergeant ; mustered out with company ; veteran. Robert Dalzell, corporal; mustered out with company; veteran. Military History. 159 Elihu Fernald, corporal; promoted to sergeant; transferred to company E.; veteran. Christian Eyle, musician; discharged August 7, 1865 ; veteran. Privates. Erasmus H. Andress, not on muster-out- roll; Sidney Adams, mustered out with company, veteran ; John R. Ackers, not on muster-out-roll ; Ebenezer G. Allen, mustered out with company ; Burel Butman, mustered out with com- pany ; David Brownell, veteran, mustered out with company ; Charles Barber, mustered out with company; Peter Brones, mustered out with company; Lewis C. Clark, veteran, mustered out with company ; Wilson S. Crhm, veteran, dis- charged August 7, 1865 ; John Coon, John Call, Samuel Dailey, Edward Daniels, veteran, mustered out with company; Willard Dike, discharged De- cember 14, 1864; William Davie, discharged December 14, 1864; Henry W. Dakin, discharged December 14, 1864; Christopher Edwards, Erastus Erskin, veteran, discharged May 13, 1865; Henry L. Ewing, discharged June ii, 1864; Louis A. Ervin, Thomas C. Fernald, Hiram B. French, Henry French, Eu- gene Frankenburg, died in Andersonville prison; Norman Foster, veteran, mustered out with company; John Franigan, Edward B. Fuller, Edward Gibbs, Nicholas L. Grow; John Haughn, discharged December 14, 1864; Alfred Haun ; Charles Haughn, discharged to accept promotion July 10, 1864 ; Fran- cis Higgins, James Hageny, Solomon Hower; Charles Harley, veteran, dis- charged August 7, 1865 ; Joseph Imhaf, David H. James, John H. Jefferson, Frantz Kromer, Charles Kramus, Andrew Laughlin; John V. Ladd, discharged October 29, 1864; Comfort M. Lewis, Charles Lausen, George W. Lewis, Ru- fus W. Lawrence, Dennis Lavler ; William H. McEnalley, veteran, mustered out with company; Dennis Mark; Philip Mons, died in rebel prison ; Michael McCarty ; Augustus Mulchey, veteran, mustered out with company ; Robert Meek, William Perry, John Plum, Calvin R. Porter, James L. Porter, William Rood, William L. Robertson ; Albert Rice, veteran, mustered out with com- pany ; Augustus Rice, George W. Reed; George H. Sutherland, discharged December 14, 1864; Erastus Squires, Merritt Sextons, John C. Steward, dis- charged by reason of fracture of right ankle September 27, 1864; James M. Smith, Frederick Schafer; William Seitt, discharged February 10, 1865 ; Henry Sprow, Morris Sweet, John Shadenck, Joseph R. Turner, Benjamin Thurlby ; John D. Turner, veteran, mustered out with company; Michael Parchner; Jon- athan Taylor, recruit, mustered out with company; De Witt C. Vance, died of wounds August 8, 1864; Isaac Vanderpool, Henry Wile, Thomas J. Wright, Harrison Warren, William H. Walker. THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIRST INFANTRY. This regiment was organized during the summer of 1862, and at a time i6o History of Erie County. when almost every engagement resulted disastrously to the Union arms, and at a time, too, when it required something more than enthusiasm or mere love of excitement to become a soldier; it was a stern and positive duty, and the recruits knew full well that untold privations and hardships awaited them. The One Hundred and First was raised in the counties of Crawford, Wyandot, Huron, Erie and Seneca; the contingent from Erie county comprising com- pany B and a large part of company G. On the 4th of September, 1862, and before being fully organized for field duty, the command proceeded under orders hurriedly to Cincinnati, and thence to Covington, Ky., to repel the threatened invasion of Kirby Smith’s forces; and on the 24th the regiment moved to Louisville, when it was placed in Car- lin’s Brigade, Mitchell’s Division, and attached to the army under General Buell. Soon after the 1st of October commenced the pursuit of Bragg’s rebel force, which culminated in the battle of Perrysville on the 8th. Again the re- treating rebels were overtaken and their rear guard attacked at Lancaster. The regiment then moved to Nashville, Tenn., where General Jefferson C. Davis took command of the division, and on the 26th of November joined the army of the Cumberland, General Rosecrans being chief in command. At this time was fought a battle near Nashville, at Knob Gap, where the regiment made an excellent record for coolness and bravery, being, as they were much of the time, under a heavy and telling fire from infantry and artillery. On December 30 commenced the battle at Stone River, the brigade to which the One Hundred and First belonged having the right of the line and was the first on the field. On the day following they had it “ hot and heavy,” no sooner being driven from one position than they made a determined stand at another, all through the day. They held their position on the right until January 2, when the brigade was ordered to support the left. From this time until April the regiment was posted at or near Murfreesboro, from which point they were constantly moving on various wearying expeditions ; but from April to June it rested in camp at Tullahoma. In June was fought the battle at Liberty Gap, after which, in August, the brigade crossed the mountains into Georgia, but returned shortly afterward and took part at the Chickamauga battle, August 19 and 20. In this fight the One Hundred and First made a fierce charge and regained a national bat- tery, fighting over the guns with clubbed muskets. After this splendid achievement the command retired to Chattanooga, where the regiment was made a part of the First Brigade, First Division, Fourth Army Corps. During the latter part of October the brigade moved to Bridgport, Ala., where it re- mained in camp until January 16, 1864, when it proceeded to Oldtawah, Tenn- The regiment participated in the Atlanta campaign in 1864, making its first move in May, and first engaging the enemy at Catoosa Springs, and drove Military History. i6i him as far as Tunnel Hill, from which place it went to Buzzard Roost Gap, where misfortune awaited it, as the command got much the worst of it in a mountain fight, and was compelled to seek refuge behind rocks and remain concealed until late in the evening. It afterward took part in the operations about Atlanta during the siege of that city, and fought at that place and at Jonesboro and Lovejoy. At Franklin it regained an important position that another command had lost. The regiment was afterward engaged at Nashville, and pursued Hood’s retiring force for a time, but soon after went into camp at Huntsville. At this place, on the I2th of June, 1865, the One Hundred and First was mustered out of service. Soon after it returned to Camp Taylor, where the men were paid and discharged. Roster Field and Staff. Leander Stern, colonel ; killed December 26, 1862. Isaac M. Kirby, colonel ; promoted from major ; mustered out with regi- ment. John Trautz, lieutenant-colonel; resigned October 14, 1862. Moses F. Wooster, lieutenant-colonel ; promoted from major ; died of wounds January 3, 1863. John Messer, lieutenant-colonel; resigned January 7, 1864. Bedan D. McDonald, lieutenant-colonel ; promoted from major ; mustered out with regiment. Daniel H. Fox, major; promoted from captain; resigned September 28, 1864. John A. Lattimer, major ; promoted from captain ; mustered out with regiment. Roster Company B. — Unoffcial. This company was raised in and about the cit}’ of Sandusky ; mustered in August 30, 1862 ; mustered out June 12, 1865. Thomas C. Fernald, captain ; resigned on account of disability Januarj- .25, 1863. Stephen P. Beckwith, first lieutenant ; promoted to captain February l, 1863 ; resigned November 30, 1864, by reason of disability. Otis L. Peck, second lieutenant; dishonorably discharged Januar}' 25, 1865. John M. Butler, first sergeant; promoted to first lieutenant Januar}' 25, 1863 ; resigned December 29, 1863. Charles E. Smith, sergeant; discharged for disability Februaiy 14, 1863. Jay C. Butler, sergeant ; promoted to second lieutenant January 25, 1863 ; to first lieutenant March 29, 1864, and to captain March 16. 1865. James Gordon, sergeant; discharged for disability March 8, 1863. History of Erie County. 162 Simeon Huntington, sergeant ; wounded at Stone River; died from wounds January 19, 1863. Alonzo R. Sharp, corporal ; discharged for disability June i, 1863. Henry J. Ely, corporal ; discharged February 17, 1863, for wounds re- cieved at Stone River. Joshua B. Davis, corporal ; transferred to First United States Engineers July 29, 1864. William D. Taylor, corporal; promoted to sergeant January 25, 1864; mustered out with company. Francis F. Pease, corporal ; transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps April 6, 1864. William B. Rice, corporal ; promoted to sergeant January 25, 1863. Jacob Merkley, corporal ; mustered out with company. John W. Ward, corporal ; discharged for disability March 8, 1863. George W. Hill, musician; died at Perry ville, Ky., November I2, 1862. William P. Barton, wagoner ; mustered out with company. Privates. Harper Austin, mustered out with company. Seth A. Barton, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps January 4, 1864. William P. Bartow, no record found. William Burrell, died in service. Allen M. Curran, promoted to sergeant January 25, 1863. William H. Carpenter, discharged for disability January 15, 1863. Edwin Claflin, discharged April 5, 1865, by reason of accidental wound. Robert Cullen, mustered out with company. Wilbur F. Cowles, promoted to first sergeant January 25, 1863 ; captured at battle of Chickamauga. William H. Coveil, transferred to Marine Corps May 3, 1863. John W. Dodge, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps February 4, 1864. Milton C. Dodge, missing in battle at Chickamauga September 20, 1863. Simeon A. Davis, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps May 3, 1864. Charles B. Dennis, mustered out with company. Henry M. Elwood, discharged for disability December 20, 1862. Sidney W. Faxton, discharged for disability January 28, 1863. James C. Fitch, discharged for disability May 29, 1865. Amos W. Fox, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps July i, 1863. Alfred Foreman, discharged for disability January 14, 1863. Theodore Ford, wounded in battle at Chickamauga, Tenn., September 19,. 1863. Alfred Grant, discharged for disability January 24, 1863. Feonard Gay, discharged for disability January 10, 1863. Military History. 163 James Glinn, died in service November 5, 1862. Charles Gross, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps (date unknown). Alexander C. Hosmer, transferred to company A ; promoted to second lieutenant. William L. Hutton, discharged for disability October 7, 1863. Jerome Holly, died May 8, 1863. Albert Hinman, discharged by reason of wounds received at Stone River. Harrison J. Hammond died in service February 14, 1863. Francis Houseman, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, March 18, 1864. Orlando Holly, died in service November 8, 1862. Smith Harrington, discharged for disability February 24, 1863. David Hinds, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps. Oliver Holbrook, discharged for disability March 10, 1863. Martin Ingles, died in service December 9, 1863. James L. Hill, no record found. Philip Kuntz, not on muster-out roll. Emmitt Lincoln, transferred to marine service. George W. Littleton, mustered out with company. James H. Laden, discharged for disability April 7, 1863. George W. Ladd, promoted to sergeant January 25, 1863. Justus Luhrs, promoted to corporal June l, 1864. Charles McGettigan, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps May 3, 1864. Dennis Mullen, mustered out with company. Joseph T. Marshall, discharged Lebruary 28, 1863, from wounds received at Stone River. William Meacham, mustered out with company. John L. Miller, died May 26, 1864, from wounds received at Nashville, Tenn. J. Edward Matthews, promoted to hospital steward April 14, 1863. Charles D. Pierce, discharged for disability June il, 1863. Edwin C. Pomroy, died June 30, 1864, from wounds received at Chatta- nooga, Tenn. Oscar Pertschman, promoted to corporal March l, 1865. Henry B. Penfield, discharged for disability December 30, 1863. William R. Pope, discharged March 12, 1864, by reason of wounds received at Chickamauga. Theodore Rebadue, captured at Huntsville. Aden Rice, clerk at head quarters, Lourth Corps, mustered out with com- pany. Robert Sankey, died at Nashville, Tenn. Thomas Shea, deserter. Jay C. Smith, promoted to sergeant-major January 4, 1863. 164 History of Erie County. Robert Schell, mustered out with company. Charles Shupe, prisoner of war; no record of discharge. Orange Seamons, discharged for disability January 9, 1863. Bradford J. Severy, mustered out with company. Ralph E. Taylor, discharged for disability October 9. 1863. David W. Thompson, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps September 20, 1863. Royal A. Tucker, discharged for disability May 29, 1865. Joseph H. Terrill, captured September 20, 1863, and died in prison April I, 1865. Joel S. Wolverton, discharged for disability December 30, 1862. Daniel Wood, discharged for disability January 7, 1864. Mack Wood, discharged for disability December 30, 1863. Anton Wauck, discharged for disability December 30, 1863. Henry O. Wright, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps. Samuel G. Wright, discharged for disability December 30, 1863. Dustin Washburn, transferred to United States Engineers j^Tugust 29, 1864. Jacob Young, promoted to corporal March i, 1865; mustered out with company. Jacob M. Zimmerman, missing at Chickamauga ; died in rebel prison Janu- ary 9, 1864. Additional names of company : Rolla Meeker, no record ; Ansor*. Doug- lass, no record; Christian Wall, deserter; George W. Hill, died in service ; Thomas Johnson, deserted at Covington, Ky. Roster Company G, Unoflicial. This company was recruited mainly in the east and west parts of the coun- ty, one 'portion from Margaretta township and the other from Berlin, Flor- ence and other localities, while a few were from outside the county. John Messer, captain ; promoted to lieutenant-colonel to date January 3, 1863; resigned January 7, 1864. John P. Fleming, first lieutenant ; promoted to captain May 23, 1863 ; mus- tered out with the company. Horace D. Olds, second lieutenant ; promoted to first lieutenant May 27, 1863 ; discharged December 25, 1864, to accept promotion in First United States Volunteer Veteran Engineer Corps. William H. Van Ness, first sergeant; discharged October 26, 1863. Ambrose B. C. Dunman, sergeant; captured September 19, 1863. Jonathan Cooke, sergeant; transferred to First United States Veteran En- gineer Corps, August 7, 1864. George W. Fleming, sergeant; discharged March 4, 1863. Squire A. Butler, corporal; promoted to first sergeant May 3, 1864; mus- tered out with the company. Military History. 165 George Mordorf, corporal; promoted to sergeant July 2, 1864; mustered out with company. Isaac C. Capen, corporal; promoted to sergeant March 4, 1863 ; killed in battle September 19, 1863. Francis M. Miller, corporal; discharged October 18, 1862. George L. Smith, corporal ; died December 4, 1862. Jasper F. Webster, corporal ; promoted to second lieutenant May 3, 1864 ; to first lieutenant February l, 1865 ; mustered out with company. John White, corporal; promoted to sergeant October 15, 1863 ; mustered out with company. Roderick Russell, musician; discharged March 26, 1863. Privates. Franklin Andrews, promoted to corporal March, 1865. Emerson Andrews, mustered out with company. Squire Abbott, mustered out with company. Henry E. Burbank, not on muster-out roll. Isaac Baldwin, died June 12, 1863. Daniel S. Barber, discharged Eebruary 21, 1863. Oliver W. Benschoter, died December 28, 1862. Albert A. Blair, mustered out with company. James C. Burkholder, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps May 27, 1864. Walter C. Beardsley, captured September 19, 1863. Oliver M. Butler, mustered out with company. Marcus Crawnell, wounded December 15, 1864; mustered out with com- pany. John Daniels, died January 19, 1863. Hezekiah S. Drake, promoted to corporal March i, 1865. John J. Dunning, discharged July 16, 1863. William Dunham, killed at Kenesaw Mountain June 25, 1864. Floron Dalzell, died January 28, 1863. Henry E. Dwight, mustered out with company. Henry D. Fisher, mustered out with compaii)!. Alpha B. Falley, discharged June 23, 1863. George L. Fowler, promoted to sergeant July i, 1864; mustered out with company. Ralph G. Fuller, mustered out with company. James Ford, transferred to Mississippi Marine Brigade March 1 1, 1863. Alfred Ford, discharged for wounds May 13, 1865. Peter Grimer, transferred to Signal Corps October 22, 1863. Oliver Gardner, mustered out with company. Daniel W. Harris mustered out with company. 22 History of Erie County. 1 66 George Hewitt, killed in battle of Stone River January 5, 1863. George Hoover, mustered out with company. Jacob Hay, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps May 3, 1864. William Hutchinson, killed in battle of Nashville, Tenn., December 5, 1864^ Malachi Humphrey, discharged for wounds May 25, 1865. Daniel B. Higgins, mustered out with company. Miles E. Hale, discharged January 31, 1863. Edgar F. Horn, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps. Alba Howey, mustered out with company. John Howey, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps. John Howell, mustered out with company. Frederick Houck, mustered out with company. Benjamin Jones, mustered out with company. Peter Landin, discharged February 7, 1863. Laban D. Lowrey, discharged December ii, 1863. Charles Long, mustered out with company. Alexander Lewis, died December 2, 1862. Charles D. Morehouse, discharged February 28, 1864. Curtis B. Mullenox, killed in battle of Stone River January 2, 1863. Andrew Menikle, killed in battle of Stone River, January 2, 1863. Francis Magill, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps. La Fayette Miller, transferred to Engineer’s Corps, August 7, 1864. Daniel Myers, mustered out with company. Andrew J. Miller, promoted to corporal March i, 1865. William Munson, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps April 10, 1864. George B. Morse, promoted to corporal January l, 1865. Leroy Mullenox, died from wounds July 25, 1864. Lewis Osborn, died in Libby Prison December 14, 1863. Stephen Paxton, promoted to corporal May 10, 1863 ; mustered out with company. James J. Pike, discharged January 6, 1864. David Plue, promoted to corporal July i, 1864; mustered out with com- pany. John Russet, mustered out with company. Charles Russet, mustered out with company. Giles W. Ray, promoted corporal July l, 1864. Horace V. Ramsdell, discharged for wounds March ii, 1863. Lyman B. Russell, mustered out with company. Almon W. Sherman, mustered out with company. Elisha D. Smith, discharged June 4, 1864. Russell Sanders, discharged August 15, 1863. George W. Shaffer, died June 19, 1864. Military History. 167 Alfred Sutton, mustered out with company. De Witt Thompson, mustered out with company. Martin V. Wilbur, discharged for wounds March 27, 1865. John D. Wheat, mustered out with company. Maddison E. Wells, promoted to sergeant July i, 1864; mustered out with company. George W. Wheal, discharged February 4, 1863. Andrew Bradley, starved to death in Andersonville prison September 24, 1864; captured September 23, 1863. THE ONE HUNDRED AND SEYENTH INFANTRY. This was one of the many regiments composed of steady-going Germans that joined the Union army. Many of those who were in what was known as the German regiments were unable to speak English, and some were taken prisoners by the rebels. When the “ Johnnies” found so strong a foreign element among the Union soldiers, they supposed as a matter of course that the North had been receiving aid from Germany, and were at great loss to thoroughly understand it. This was noticeably the case among the Pennsyl- vania regiments, a large number of whom were what might aptly be termed “ solid Dutch.” The German regiments were, as a rule, somewhat slow in their movements, but they were, nevertheless, generally on hand when wanted. They were hard, determined fighters, and made excellent soldiers. The One Hundred and Seventh was a part of the Second Brigade, First Division, and Eleventh Army Corps, under command of Major-General Sigel, whose fighting qualities were well known all through the army. One company, F, of this regiment, was raised in Erie county and was called the “ Sandusky Yaegers.” The regiment rendezvoused at Camp Taylor, near Cleveland, and first took to the field in September, 1862, at Covington, Ky., where Kirby Smith was threatening an invasion. After this scare was passed the regiment came to Delaware, O., but soon left for work and duty on the defenses about the national capital. In November it went into Virginia, at Stafford Court House, at which place it was assigned to Sigel’s army as already stated. Some two weeks later it participated in the movement designed to bring the command in rear of Fredericksburg, and acting with Burnside’s Corps, make a second attack on the city, but the exceedingly bad condition of the roads made the plan fail. In the early part of May, 1863, the regiment participated in the battle of Chancellorsville, but Stonewall Jackson proved too much for Howard, and defeated him with serious loss, the One Hundred "and Seventh alone losing two hundred and twenty- nine in killed, wounded and captured. After this the regiment lay in camp at Brooks’s Station until the 12th of June, at which i68 History of Erie County. time it moved northward to engage with the forces against General Lee. It took a prominent part in the Gettysburg fight, commencing July r, and was engaged actively for that and the next day. The regiment went into the bat- tle about five hundred strong, and its total loss in killed, wounded and missing amounted to nearly four-fifths of that number. This was a terrible fight for the One Hundred and Seventh, and their loss was in a measure offset by their capture of a stand of colors from the famous Louisiana Tigers. Having but a trifle over one hundred serviceable men left, the command joined in the pur- suit of Lee’s army, following it to Hagarstown, thence to Catlett’s Station. The regiment started by boat for Folly Island on the ist of August, and remained at that place performing garrison and picket duty until the following February, when an expedition was made to Seabrook Island and Jones’s Island. After that it went to Jacksonville, Fla., where it remained, except for about a month, until December, 1864. Its fighting days were now about over, nevertheless, until the latter part of March, 1865, it performed valuable service, and had a short, but sharp brush with the rebels at Sumpterville, capturing three pieces of artillery and a number of horses and prisoners. Afterward, at Singleton’s Plantation, it captured a railroad train and a large amount of stores and ammunition. After Lee’s surrender the regiment went to Charleston, where it remained on provost duty until July 10, when it was mustered out, sent home and dis- charged from the service. Roster, Field and Staff. Seraphim Meyer, colonel; resigned February 8, 1864, for disabilities. Charles Mueller, lieutenant-colonel; resigned October 24, 1863. John S. Cooper, lieutenant-colonel ; mustered out with regiment. George Arnold, major; resigned August 21, 1863. August Vignos, major; resigned September 30, 1864. Edward S. Meyer, major; resigned January i, 1865. F. C. Suhner, major ; mustered out with regiment. Roster Company F, not Official. Henry Bernhard, first sergeant; discharged March 2, 1863. George Beck, sergeant; missing in action at Gettysburg July i, 1863. Justus Thornberg, sergeant; promoted to first lieutenant; wounded May 2, 1863. Leopold Weinman, sergeant ; mustered out with company. Carl Groesch, sergeant; discharged December 22, 1862. John Becker, corporal; mustered out with company. Frederick P'rey, corporal; promoted sergeant March 5, 1863; mustered out with company. Military History. 169 Charles Wahler, corporal ; wounded at Gettysburg July i, 1863. Henry Roder, corporal ; mustered out with company. Henry Frey, corporal; died November i, 1862. Joseph Fels, corporal ; discharged for wounds May 27, 1864. Stephen Schnurr, musician ; mustered out with company. Joseph Meier, wagoner; mustered out with company. Py'ivates. Herman Breunmy, discharged April, 1863. Jacob Bretz, died October 8, 1863. T. Xavier Buerge, mustered out with company. Augustine Burzikafer, mustered out with company. Jacob Beecher, mustered out with company. John Bucher, mustered out with company. Frederick Biehl, captured at Gettysburg; eight months a prisoner. Adam Bergheeler, promoted corporal ; mustered out with company. John Becker, wounded at Gettysburg ; promoted corporal. John Breil, died May 14, 1865. Frederick Busch, mustered out with company. Joseph Bishop, died December 31, 1862. Andrew Bengel, killed in action March 2, 1863. John Ernst, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, September 26, 1863. Jacob Ensdorff, promoted to sergeant October i, 1864; mustered out with company. Charles Eranck, mustered out with company. John G. Eott, mustered out with company. Charles Gerdes, mustered out with company. Edward Gessler, mustered out with company. Edward Giteman, mustered out with company. John Hormes, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps by reason of wounds. George Helmech, killed in action at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. Henry Hossle, mustered out with company. William Heinzmann, not on muster-out roll. William Hacker, missing at Gettysburg July i, 1863. Martin Indlekofer, died June 19, 1865. John Kastor, mustered out with company. Charles Krumbholz, not on muster-out roll. Henry Kappel, promoted corporal March i, 1864. Anton Lung, mustered out with company. Ferdinand Loeblein, killed in action May 2, 1863. Alphouse J. Lefflor, not on muster-out roll. Frank Mangin, mustered out with company I/O History of Erie County. John Moos, mustered out with company. Jacob G. Miller, absent, sick when company was mustered out. Conrad Missig, promoted to corporal March i, 1864: wounded Maya, 1863, iri breast and shoulders. August Mathew, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps May 20, 1863. Joseph Mueller, mustered out with company. Frank Newberger, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps May 20, 1863. Gustav Philips, promoted to corporal November 24, 1862; wounded in action May 2, 1863 transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps August 22, 1864. Peter Reader, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps March 5, 1864, for reason of wounds. Peter Reis, died from wounds July 10, 1863. August Raber, died of wounds August 2, 1863. Nicholas Rimel, died in Libby Prison. Henry Ross, mustered out with company. John Surren, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps February i, 1864. William Sneider, promoted to principal musician. Adam Schaul, wounded in action March i, 1863 ; mustered out with com- pany. Valentine Scheidler, not on muster-out roll. John Schorner, mustered out with company. John Smith, not on muster-out roll. Christian Thomas, mustered out with company. Wendel Viethauer, not on muster-out roll. Jacob Walter, wounded in action May 2, 1863; mustered out with com- pany. Garret Walter, missing at Gettysburg July i, 1863. Anthony Wintersteller, not on muster-out roll. Jacob Zuber, not on muster-out roll. THE ONE HUNDRED AND T^YENTY-THIRD INFANTRY. This was among the latter regiments raised in Ohio for the three years service. It was mustered into service by companies during the months of September and October, 1862. Erie county was represented by company G and a small portion of K, the larger part of the latter being recruited at Tiffin and vicinity. The regiment rendezvoused and was organized at Camp Mon- roeville, in Huron county, and immediately after the muster-in of the last com- pany it was ordered to Zanesville ; thence into Virginia, where its time seems to have been occupied in scouting and marching from place to place, and eventually brought up at Webster, not twenty-five miles from its starting place. Soon afterwards the regiment went to New Creek and remained there in camp until the 12th of December. In January it marched to Morehead to Military History. 171 relieve the One Hundred and Sixteenth Ohio, and on the loth left that place for Romney. Here it was employed in scouting duty along the line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and while so doing one company of the One Hundred and Sixteenth and a small detail of the One Hundred and Twenty- third were captured by McNeil’s Cavalry. But this loss was comparatively trifling as against that that fell to the regi- ment at Winchester on the 13th of June and the days following, and although the men fought like demons, this regiment making three desperate charges in attempting to break through the rebel lines, it was of no avail ; they were sur- rounded, their retreat cut off, and the command, with but few exceptions, were captured and taken to Richmond. The officers were confined in Libby prison,, but a few managed to effect their escape. The privates were exchanged in the course of a few months and sent to the parole camps at Annapolis, and at Camp Chase, O. About the ist of April, 1864, the regiment was re- assembled at Martins- burg, and from thence moved to Winchester, the city of their recent downfall. From here it moved, under General Sigel, up the Shenandoah and engaged in battle at New Market, on May 15th, but with heavy loss was compelled to retreat to Cedar Creek. Here General Sigel was succeeded by General Hunter in the command of this branch of the army. On the 5th of June Port Repub- lic was fought and two thousand prisoners taken from the Confederacy. After this commenced Hunter’s retreating fight from Lynchburg to Salem, a retreat memorable for its disasters, and when the command arrived at Gauley Bridge it was in a most forlorn and pitiable condition. On the 6th of July the regi- ment reached Parkersburg, and thence marched to Martinsburg, which latter place it left two and a half months before with seven hundred men, but on its return could muster but two hundred and fifty. With the Army of West Virginia the One Hundred and Twenty-third fought at Snicker’s Ferry on July i8th, and afterward joined in the pursuit of the rebels with alternating success and reverses for some days. Then the regi- ment joined the army under Phil Sheridan. It participated in the battle at Berryville, on September 19; at Strasburg ; at Cedar Creek, on October 19th, when Sheridan made his famous ride and turned disaster into victory ; at Hat- cher’s Run, on the 2d of April of the following year ; at High Bridge, where the One Hundred and Twenty-third was again captured and taken to Appo- mattox Court House. But at this place the whole of Lee’s army surrendered to General Grant, and thus the prisoners were rescued. The regiment then returned to Camp Chase, O., where on the I2th of June the men vVere mustered out of service. Roster Field and Staff. William T. Wilson, colonel ; mustered out with regiment. Henry B. Hunter, lieutenant-colonel; discharged December 8, 1864. 172 History of Erie County. Horace Kellogg, lieutenant-colonel ; promoted from captain ; mustered out with regiment. A. Baldwin Norton, major; resigned March 3, 1863. , John W. Chamberlain, major ; promoted from captain ; mustered out with regiment. Roster Company G. — Unojficial. Mustered in September 24, 1862; mustered out June 12, 1865. Charles H. Riggs, captain; died September 15, 1864, from starvation while in rebel prison at Charleston, S. C. Charles H. Rosenbaum, first lieutenant ; promoted from private to first lieutenant; to captain March 7, 1865. Frank B. Colver, second lieutenant ; promoted to first lieutenant June i, 1863 ; discharged by special order of war department April 4, 1865. Sherman A. Johnson, first sergeant ; promoted to second lieutenant Janu- ary 14, 1864; discharged for wounds June 15, 1865. George A. Scobey, sergeant ; transferred to non-commissioned staff April 6, 1863. Wesley B. Jennings, sergeant ; promoted to first sergeant Janaary i, 1864. Charles M. Keyes, sergeant ; transferred by promotion to Company K April, 1864. Martin L. Skillman, sergeant; captured June 15, 1865 ; mustered out with company. Myron E. Clemons, corporal ; promoted to sergeant; wounded at Hatcher’s Run, March 3 i, 1865. John Steele, corporal; discharged March, 1863. Augustus O. Garrett, corporal ; promoted to sergeant ; captured June 15, 1863. Frank W. Canfield, corporal ; discharged for disability. Jacob Wentz, corporal ; died in rebel prison January 27, 1865. William Gallard, corporal; killed in action June 13, 1863. William H. Metcalf, corporal; name not on muster-out roll. William H. Levering, corporal; name not on muster-out roll. William Jennings, musician; mustered out with company. William Allen, musician ; mustered out with company. George R. McConnelly, wagoner; absent as brigade teamster. Privates. Louis Buyer, captured June 15, 1863. Solomon Brown, died of wounds November-2 1, 1864. Charles Brumm, discharged for wounds March 20, 1865. Napoleon Buyer, absent when company was mustered out. Luther Barnard, wounded in action September 19, 1864; captured June 15, 1863. Military History. 173 Henry C. Barnard, captured June 15, 1863 ; mustered out with company. George N. Bonn, captured June 15, 1863 i mustered out with company. Jay Bogart, mustered out with company. James Burns, captured June 15, 1863 ; mustered out with company. Albert D. Buck, mustered out with company. Henry Blosier, captured June 15, 1863 ; mustered out with company. Michael Clark, captured June 15, 1863 ; mustered out with company. John Clavin, discharged for disability. James Cross, captured June 15, 1863 ; mustered out with company. William H. Chamberlain ; discharged for disability. Cornelius D. Conger, captured June 15, 1863; mustered out with com- pany. George B. Drake, promoted corporal; captured June 15, 1863 ; mustered out with company. Benjamin Drake, captured June 15, 1863 ; mustered out with company. Jacob Detless, died from wounds received in action November 21, 1864. Martin Dipple, discharged for disability. Benjamin E. Deeley, captured June 15, 1863; mustered out with com- pany. Edward Eorrester, on detached service. Conrad Eillmore, absent, sick in hospital. Joseph Groff, captured June 15, 1863. Joseph H. Goff, captured June 15, 1863 ; mustered out with company. George W. Greenhoe, captured June 15, 1864; mustered out with com- pany. Charles W. Gillen, discharged for disability. William Golden, captured August 10, 1864. George Golden, jr., died June 21, 1865. Bryant Headley, transferred by promotion to lOist United States Colored troops, September i, 1864. Charles Hegoney, no date of muster-out. John Harper, captured June 15, 1863. James Hoyt, died March 6, 1863. William Hoyt, died May 25, 1863. Richard Howe, captured June 15, 1863 ; mustered out with company. Charles Hammond, discharged for disability ; no record. John Hines, on detached service. George Hines, captured June 15, 1863; mustered out with company. Henry D. Johnson, died from wounds received in action June 15, 1863. Charles G. Knight, promoted to corporal; captured June 15, 1863. Thomas Keyes, captured June 15, 1863 ; mustered out with company. Lyman Luce, mustered out with company. 23 174 History of Erie County. Patrick Laughlin, captured May 15, 1864; exchanged March ii, 1865; mustered out with company. John La Fere, died in rebel prison. Andrew J. Lewis, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps. Frank Littlefield, discharged for disability. Jonn P. McElwane, died in rebel prison. William Morgan, mustered out with company. Barney McGookey, died in hospital May 9, 1865. Richard Martin, missing in action June 15, 1863. Foster Neil, captured June 15, 1863. Thomas Neil, starved to death in Andersonville prison. Theodore Ochs, killed in action March 31, 1865. Albert Ott, killed in action July 12, 1864. William Oehen, in hospital when company was mustered out. August Raab, absent in hospital when company was mustered out. Conrad Rhohella, discharged for wounds receivd in action June 13, 1863. Delos C. Ransom, captured June 15, 1863. William Reed, captured June 15, 1863 ; mustered out with company. James Reed, died of wounds July 12, 1864. Samuel E. Stowe, captured June 15, 1863 ; mustered out with company. Andrew Strawson, captured October 19, 1864. Albert Southey, name not on muster roll. John R. Snvenack, mustered out with company. Peter Sheur, captured June 15, 1863 ; mustered out with company. George Stockley, captured June 15, 1863. George Shesley, on detached duty. Benjamin Thompson, on detached service. Frederick Tucker, in hospital when company was mustered out. Alfred C. Van Tine, discharged for wounds February 20, 1865. George A. Warren, died in hospital at Cumberland, Md. Albert L. Walker, promoted to first lieutenant March 14, 1865 ; assigned to 1 86th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment. William P. Wheeler, promoted to corporal ; wounded in action September 19, 1864 ; discharged from hospital. Solomon Kriss, discharged for disability. William Stahl, discharged in hospital. George Weber, captured June 15, 1863. John G. McGookey, mustered out with company. Richard H. Trimmer, wounded in action; captured June 15, 1863. Thomas Parsons, captured June 15, 1863. Milo H. Wagner, wounded in action ; captured Juue 15, 1863. William Kelley, wounded in action; captured June 15, 1863. Military History. 175 National Guards — One Hundred Days Service. THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIFTH INFANTRY. This command was called into the United States service in the spring of 1864, and was the first regiment composed in any considerable part of Erie county volunteers, that enlisted in the one hundred days service. Parts of sev- eral companies were raised in Erie county. The regiment rendezvoused at Camp Chase, but not long was it permitted to remain there, for it was at once ordered to the national defenses at Washington. Upon the arrival of the reg- iment at the capital it was assigned to garrison duty at Eorls Whipple, Wood- bury, Cass, Tillinghast and Albany, on the south of the city, on what is known as Arlington Heights. The men of the One Hundred Eorty-fifth, during their months of service, were not once engaged with the rebels, but their duty was, nevertheless, labo- rious and severe. At that period of the war the capital was threatened with invasion and the defending force was kept constantly on the alert, ready at any minute for an attack should it come. In July the rebel commander. General Early, with his force made a raid down the valley of the Shenandoah River, and threatened to lay siege to Washington ; and from where the regiment lay en- camped the noise of his troops could be heard, but he made no attack. The One Hundred and Forty-fifth was in service from the loth of May un- til the 20th of August, 1864, and after the expiration of its term of enlistment the men returned to Camp Chase, where they were mustered out of service. It is not deemed important for the purposes of this chapter to furnish a roster of this regiment, or the portion thereof from Erie county, other than to give the field and staff, and the commissioned officers, which were as follows. Colonel, Henry C. Ashwell ; lieutenant-colonel, Lloyd A. Lyman ; major, Henry C. Olds; surgeon, Henry Besse ; assistant surgeon, John D. Janney ; adjutant, William E. Moore; quartermaster, James H. Stead; chaplain, W. G. Williams; captains, Edward M. Jones, Lewis Moss, James Wallace, James M. Crawford, Richard W. Reynolds, John J. Penfield, David H. James, Archibald Freswater, William H. Wilson, John Cellar; first lieutenants, Hugh J. Perry, Frederick W. Cogsville, Cornelius Hull, David G. Cratty, John A. Cone, Wil- liam E. Bates, G. W. Flemming, Jackson S. Post, James W. McGookey ; sec- ond lieutenants, Joseph S. Hall, James S. Harmon, Henry M. Bronson, John Neley, John T. Munsell, John D. Van Deman, E. H. Draper, H. B. Wood, Chris. R. Caulkins, Samuel M. White, jr., Aaron M. Decker. THE THIRD CAVALRY. This regiment was recruited largely from the counties of Erie and Huron, the contingent from Erie being represented in the companies B, E, I, and K. It was organized and prepared for service at Camp Monroeville, in Huron 1/6 History of Erie County. county, from which point it proceeded to Camp Dennison on the 14th of Jan- nary, 1862, but one month later moved to Jefifersonville, Ind. jS' On the i8th of March the command arrived at Nashville, and ten days * later left for Pittsburg Landing, where it arrived and went into camp on April * 25. In May the first engagement of the battalion was had at Monterey, and there the enemy were driven back. After this it moved to a point near Cor- inth, when it took a position within sight of the rebel lines, but being com- pelled to fall back, the rebels pursued and a brisk battle followed. Again, on May 27, on the railroad west of Corinth, another battle was fought, and the enemy beaten. On July 18 the Third reached Winchester, where it camped until August 14, and then moved to McMinnville. Major Foster took his battalion to Dun- lap, five miles distant, where the enemy was again encountered and their pickets driven in, after which the command returned to its division. On Sep- tember 3 Nashville was again reached, thence Gallatin, and from there to Mumfordsville, arriving at the latter place on September 21, just in time to meet the enemy and drive them three successive times into their earth-works, and with a loss to themselves of less than fifteen. On the next day began the march to Louisville, arriving October i, and from here the Third took up the work of following and harassing Bragg’s rebel army, but on the 20th a detachment of the regiment, some two hundred and fifty strong, fell into the hands of the guerrilla John Morgan. The prisoners were robbed of their personal effects, and paroled and allowed to return to the Union lines, but subsequently sent to Camp Chase. The remaining force of the Second and Third Battalions was then stationed along the railroad between Bowling Green and Gallatin, where a battle was soon brought on against Mor- gan’s force and a large amount of supplies taken as well as many prisoners. The regiment then went into camp at Hartsville. From this place the detachment under command of Captain Elisha M. Colver moved up the Cumberland River to Carthage to intercept a drove of mules and rebel stores, which were being removed by rebel quartermasters, and accompanied by an escort of Morgan’s raiders. After a chase of twenty- six miles, fording the river four times, the detachment captured the entire train, and drove off one hundred and forty- six mules, besides routing the escort and taking seventeen of them prisoners. During the greater part of the month of December the Third was actively engaged in skirmishing and foraging through the enemy’s country. On the 26th it took a position on the right of Rosecrans’s army, near Franklin. On the 27th a battle was fought here and the rebels routed. The regiment then moved to Triune, and at night again engaged the enemy. The next few days it saw plenty of service. On the 29th a reconnaissance in force was made ; on the 30th the Third was assigned to a position on the extreme right ; and at Military History. 177 two o’clock on the morning of the 31st the rebels made an advance, whereupon the brigade to which the Third belonged was advanced as skirmishers ; at four o’clock the line was driven in by Wheeler’s Cavalry, and after a sharp battle of two hours was driven from the field. The next morning General McCook’s Corps ammunition train was captured, but the Second and Third Battalions of the Third made a dash and re-captured the whole train, as well as a large number of prisoners. In this efficient work the Third sustained thirteen killed and a large number wounded. The year 1863 witnessed many stirring events for the regiment. On the 1st the Third left the field to escort a train of four thousand wagons to Nash- ville for supplies. The train was attacked by the rebel cavalry under Stewart and Wheeler, but the attack was repulsed by the Third, supported by the Tenth Cavalry. During the whole journey the rebels hung about and made frequent attacks, but as often were they defeated by the escorting party. Their duty was at length performed faithfully and well. After this, and after the battle of Stone River, the Third was sent in pursuit of the enemy, and at Mid- dleton, Tenn., attacked the rear guard and captured a wagon train. It then went into camp at Murfreesboro. Here the Second Battalion was detached and sent to Readyville to battle against John Morgan’s guerrillas. The Third Battalion, remaining at Murfreesboro, was surrounded by rebels and a sur- render demanded, but Lieutenant Brenard, in command, could not see it in that light, and at once ordered a sabre charge, cutting his way out and taking a number of prisoners. On the general advance of the army from Murfreesboro, in July, the Third was engaged almost daily. In the Sequatchie Valley the enemy was encoun- tered, and a running fight of three days’ duration ensued. During the battle at Chickamauga the Third occupied the extreme left of the line, and afterward pursued Wheeler’s Cavalry through Tennessee, engaging him at McMinnville and Farmington, and in the latter battle secured a large number of prisoners. In November detachments of the Third scouted through the mountains of East Tennessee, and thus ended the year’s campaigning. While at Pulaski, Tenn., in January, 1864, the regiment veteranized, but its ranks were fearfully decimated, the results of its many engagements. It there- fore became necessar}" to recruit and add to its effective strength, there being then but four hundred men fit for duty in the whole command. Through the efforts of Major Skinner and Captain Elisha M. Colver nearly one thousand troops were raised in Northern Ohio, and when the regiment returned to the front, at Nashville, it numbered over thirteen hundred serviceable men. At Nashville the regiment was re-equipped, armed and mounted. Much was ex- pected of the command, and it more than fulfilled that expectation. We find them first engaged with Rhoddy’s command at Courtland, Ala., ■early in May, 1864, at which fight the rebel loss amounted to upwards of thirty tf 178 History of Erie County. men in killed and wounded. At Rome the Third was on the left of Sherman’s army, and was engaged at Etowah, Kenesaw Mountain, Noonday Creek, and at the crossing of the Chattahoochie River. It was sent to Roswell, Ga., to destroy the rebel stores and factories at that place. In this affair four hundred factory girls were captured and sent through the lines. At McAfee Bridge, on July 9, four companies of the Third, commanded by Captain Colver, became engaged with a large force of rebel Texas cavalrymen, in which battle several rebels were killed and a large number fell into the regiment’s hands as pris- oners. The regiment participated in the battle at Peach Tree Creek, in the raid upon Covington, Stone Mountain, and in the Stoneman raid, in each of which engagements it met with severe losses. After the fall of Atlanta it went in pursuit of Hood’s rebel force, and was engaged at the battles of Eranklin and Nashville ; also in the Wilson raid through Alabama and Georgia. It was at Selina, Montgomery, Macon and Griffin, and in the chase after Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president. Under the orders of General Thomas, the Third Cavalry turned over to the government its horses and arms, at Macon, after which it proceeded to Nash- ville and was mustered out of service. It then returned to Camp Chase, where,- on the 14th of August, 1865, after a severe service of almost four years,, it was paid off and discharged. CHAPTER XIV. THE PRESS OF ERIE COUNTY. E ducation is the great civilizer, and printing its greatest auxiliary. Were it not for the aid furnished by the press the great mass of the peo- ple would still be groping in the darkness of the middle ages, and knowledge would still remain confined within the limits of the cloister. It is surprising, when searching our libraries, to discover how little has been written of the “Art preservative of all Arts,’’ and the educator of all edu- cators. While printing has been the chronicler of all arts, professions and learning, it has recorded so little of its own history and progress as to leave even the story of its first invention and application wrapped in mystery and doubt. We only know that from the old Ramage press which Faust and Franklin used, capable of producing a hundred impressions per hour, we have now the ponderous machine which turns out one thousand copies per minute. In glancing over the pages of history, we discover the gradual develop- The Erie County Press. 179 ments in the arts and sciences. We notice that they go hand in hand — one discovery points to another, one improvement in the arts leads to others con- tinually, and the results of the last few centuries show that observations of no apparent use led to the most important discoveries and developments. The falling of an apple led Newton to unfold the theory of gravitation and its rela- tions to the solar system ; the discovery of the polarity of the loadstone led to the construction of the mariner’s compass ; the obseiwation of the muscular contraction of a frog led to the numerous applications of galvanic electricity ; the observation of the expansive force of steam led to the construction and application of the steam engine ; the observation of the influence of light on the chloride of silver led to the art of photography ; the observation of the communication of sound by the connected rails of a railroad led to the inven- tion of the telephone ; the impressions taken from letters cut in the smooth bark of the beech tree led to the art of printing — the art which transmits to posterity a record of all which is valuable to the world. Thus is progress discernible in every successive generation of man. Grad- ually has he advanced from a state of rude barbarism and total ignorance to a degree of perfection which gives him almost absolute dominion over all ele- ments, and in the pride of glorious and enlightened manhood he can exclaim Avith Cowper : “ I am monarch of all I survey, My right there is none to dispute ; From the center all ’round to the sea I am lord of the fowl and the brute 1 ” So long as mind shall occupy its seat, so long will progress be the watch- word of man, and onward and upward will be his march to an endless and lim- itless ascent — where all the hidden and occult secrets of creation will unfold their mysteries to his comprehension and crown him master of them all. The printing office has well been called the “ Poor Boy’s College,” and has proven a better school to many ; has graduated more intellect and turned it into useful, practical channels ; awakened more active, devoted thought, than any alma mater on the earth. Many a dunce has passed through the univer- sities Avith no tangible proof of fitness other than his insensible piece of parch- ment — himself more sheepish, if possible, than his “sheep-skin.” There is something in the very atmosphere of a printing office calculated to aAvaken the mind to activity and inspire a thirst for knoAvledge. Franklin, Stanhope, Ber- anger, Thiers, Greeley, Taylor, and a host of other names, illustrious in the Avorld of letters and science, have been gems in the diadem of typography, and OAve their success to the influence of a printing office. The neAvspaper has become one of the chief indexes of the intelligence, ciAulization and progress of the community in AAffiich it is published, and its files are the footprints of the adA^ancement and refinement of the period of its i8o History of Erie County. publication ; and the printing office is now deemed as essential as the school- house or church. It has taken the place of the rostrum and the professor’s chair, and^ become the great teacher. No party, organization, enterprise or calling is considered perfect without its “organ” — the newspaper — as a mouth-piece. Turning from this comment upon the art of journalism, let us see what Erie county has done in the way of newspaper publications. THE SANDUSKY REGISTER. The journal now known as the Sandusky Register was founded in the year 1822 by David Campbell, a New England printer. An effort was made, how- ever, in the year 1821, by this same person, associated with Adonijah Champ- lin, to establish a paper in Sandusky, to be known as the Ohio Illiiininator, but from lack of that substantial support so essential to the successful conduct of a newspaper, or any other enterprise, the Ilhmiinator never sent forth its rays of light upon the people of the county. The Sandusky Clai'ion^ a weekly publication, succeeded the Illuminator project, and made its first appearance on the 22d of April, 1822, David Camp- bell acknowledging its paternity and assuming its maintenance. It was a four-page sheet, four columns to the page, printed on what would now be called coarse paper, and the advertisements and reading matter appeared in much the same size and style of type. Under the name of the Clarion the paper was continued until 1843, when Mr. Campbell issued a daily edition, which he called the Daily Sanduskian. After continuing for some years longer the proprietor sold the entire plant to Earl Bill and Clark Waggoner. The former of these persons was afterward chosen clerk of the United States District Court for the district of Northern Ohio, while the latter became editor of the Toledo Blade. Still later he was on the editorial staff of the Toledo Commercial, but at a quite recent day embarked * in the limitless field of history. 'X Messrs. Bill and Waggoner subsequently sold an interest in the paper to « Henry D. Cooke, and the firm style was thereupon changed to H. D. Cooke & a Co. Upon taking formal possession of the office this firm dropped the old » name and called the paper, in all its editions. The Covimercial Register, three ; editions, daily, tri- weekly and weekly, being printed. H. D. Cooke & Co. jj continued the Register publications for some twelve years, when Mr. Cooke m : retired to become the editor of the State Journal, Mr. Waggoner to accept a W position on the Toledo Blade, whereupon the paper passed into the hands of 9 Bill & Johnson. The Commercial Register changed hands three or four times between 1855 J . and 1869. In the last named year Isaac F. Mack purchased a half interest, I and in 1870 the other half He dropped the first part of the name, and since® i The Erie County Press. i8i that time the paper has been called The Register. In 1874 John T. Mack be- came a part owner, and for fourteen years the paper has been published under the firm name of I. F. Mack & Bro. In 1882 a Sunday edition Avas started, and since that date has been published every morning in the year. In 1869, when the present editor took charge, the Register was an evening daily, but be changed it to a morning paper in May, 1869. The Register, from the time of its establishment to the death of that party, was an ardent advocate of Whig principles. It became Republican in 1856, and has so since remained, being all these years the recognized organ of that party in this county, From the office of the Register are now issued four separate editions — daily, Sunday, tri-weekly and weekly. The business department is in charge of John T. Mack; Isaac F. Mack is editor-in-chief; C. P. Caldwell has the charge of the Sunday edition, and Charles Kline is in charge of the city de- partment of the Daily Register. THE MILAN FREE PRESS. Second in the order of founding in the county was the newspaper carrying the above head line. The paper Avas established at Milan in February, 1830, under the editorial management and proprietorship of Warren Jenkins. Its publication continued at that place for a single year only, after Avhich the pro- prietor moved to the county seat for the purpose of starting an anti-Masonic paper. As to Avhat end this last venture finally came Ave have no reliable in- formation, but it seems to have failed of its main purpose in extinguishing Free Masonry, judging from the present popularity of that order throughout the county. THE REPUBLICAN STANDARD. The Standard came into existence as a Aveekly publication at Sandusky in the year 1832 through the efforts of E. and J. H. BroAvn, and was intended to be the “ organ ” of the Jacksonian Democracy, and especially to advocate the cause of “ Old Hickory.” But the Standard proved to be a short-lived journal, and was soon discontinued. THE HURON COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER. On the 17th of January, 1837, the first number of the Advertiser made its appearance, issuing from an office at Huron, and from the editorial manage- ment of H. C. Gray. During the succeeding }^ear the office was destroyed by fire, but in March, 1839, the paper again appeared and Avas published regu- larly until the year 1842, at Avhich time the office Avas moved to Sandusky and a new weekly paper issued under the heading of the Commercial Advertiser, the publishers being M. H. Snyder & Co. Sandusky seems to haA^e been, at that period at least, a no more profitable field for journalism than Avas Huron, 24 i 82 History of Erie County. for in the fall of the year of its removal to that place the Advertiser became numbered among the evanescent journals of the county. In the office of the paper while at Huron it seems that use was made of the material of the Milan Times, a paper published at Milan, but of the precise time of its birth or death, as a journal, no reliable information is obtainable. George M. Swan is said to have been at one time connected with the paper, and that he was, “ perhaps,” one of the original proprietors in connection with i Mrl Gray. THE DEMOCRATIC MIRROR. In December, 1842, William S. Mills and Sylvester Ross purchased the material of the defunct Commercial Advertiser and issued the first number of the Democratic Mirror, a weekly paper of Sandusky These proprietors con- tinued its publication with varying success until the year 1847, when John Mackey, then recently admitted to the bar, but not yet in practice, became a part owner in the office, and the firm was changed to Mills, Ross & Mackey. Under the management of these gentlemen a daily was started, and in connection with the weekly edition was continued for about two years, or until May, 1849, when Mr. Mackey retired from the firm to practice law, and J. W. Taylol", better known as “ Signal Taylor,” took his place in the firm. During the fall of this same year Mr. Ross was attacked with cholera and died. Mills & Taylor continued the publication until 1852, when the latter retired, leaving Mr. Mills sole editor and proprietor. In the fall of 1853 the paper was sold to Joseph and Fielding Cable, father and son, under whose control the name of both daily and weekly was changed to the Bay City Mirror. The Cables published the Mirror but a short time and then sold out to Asa Dimmock, and he soon afterwards to Ray Haddock. About this time the daily edition was discontinued. Charles Orton, formerly connected with the Norwalk Experiment, became the owner and proprietor of the paper in May, 1856, but after two years’ ex- perience in its publication disposed of it to his son, T. S. Orton, but one'year later its publication was suspended. THE MILAN TRIBUNE. In the year 1843, the Tribune as a newspaper of Erie county first saw the light of day. It was founded by Clark Waggoner, who brought to Milan for the purposes of the publication the materials formerly used by him in the pub lication of the Lower Sandusky Whig. After publishing the Tribune, a weekly paper, at Milan for something like eight years, Mr. Waggoner discontinued operations at that place and became interested in the Sandusky Clarion, and moved his stock to the building in which the Clarion was published in San- dusky. Thus ended the life of the Milan Tribune. Mr. Waggoner subse- quently severed his connection with the Clarion to assume an editorial position The Erie County Press. 183 on the Toledo Blade, but at a still later day became connected with the Toledo Commercial. THE INTELLIGENTE BLATT (GERMAN). This paper was established in the year 1851, by Augustus Reimmele and Herman Ruess, and was the first German paper of the county. Mr. Ruess was the editor, and his partner had charge of the business and mechanical depart- ment. The latter was killed by an accident on the old Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad, near Castalia, in September, 1857. The paper was continued by Mr. Ruess, and Frederick Kelley until 1859, when it passed by sale into the hands of Jacob Neuert, H. Hamelstein and Charles Bachy. J. Lippart was the editor. In November of the same year, 1859, the paper was sold to Engle 8: Co., under whose ownership it was edited by A. Thieme and Frederick Reidding. In May, 1861, the latter became sole editor and proprietor. Until 1854 the Intelligente Blatt pinned its faith to the Democratic party, but in the year named it became Republican in politics. About the time of the war the publication of the paper was suspended. THE BEACON. This weekly paper made its first appearance at Huron in the year 1853, un- der the proprietorship of Mr. Haddock ; but it seems to have been the more remarkable for the short term of its existence, as it “ passed away” in the next year, 1854. THE BAYSTADT DEMOKRAT (GERMAN). The Demokrat, the outgrowth of which is the present Sandusky Demokrat, was established at the county seat in 1856 by Louis Traub, and edited b}^ H. Raw. In the fall of the same year the paper was sold to Frederick Hertel, who thereupon became editor and publisher. It advocated the cause of the Democracy. In 1873 the property passed into the editorial control of William Senn, and appeared under the name of the Sandusky Demokrat, by which it has ever since been known. Two issues of the Demokrat are published each w'eek — a semi- weekly and weekly. It enjoys a very extensive circulation among the German element of this county, and in Ottawa, Sandusky, Huron and Lorain as well. THE SANDUSKY JOURNAL AND LOCAL. The Sandusky Journal was first established as a weekly newspaper in the year 1866, in a job printing office conducted by Addison Kinney and Frank B. Colver. This office was located in rooms over where Melville Bro.’s drug-store is at present situated, on the northeast corner of Columbia avenue and Market street. In the month of August of that year Messrs. Kinney and Colver were joined by John C. Kinney, a brother of the former, and the first number of the Jour- History of Erie County. 184 Jial was issued on August 16, 1866. The new paper was an eight column folio, very neatly printed for the times, and was edited by John C. Kinney with vigor and ability. At the end of six months Mr. Colver retired from the firm, and the paper was conducted by Kinney Brothers until the ist of January, 1868, when M. F. McKelvey became associated in the firm, and a daily and tri-weekly edition of the Journal, were established as an experiment. These editions were continued with varying success until Mr. McKelvey went out of the firm in September of the same year, when they were suspended. The Weekly Journal was not affected by this event, however, but kept up its issues regularly as an independent publication until the nomination of Horace Greeley for president in 1872. It then espoused his cause, and became the exponent of Democratic principles, which it always afterwards advocated. In the year 1879, John C. Kinney, who had been its editor, felt compelled by failing health to retire from active business, and at the close of that year the Journal was sold to Frank and Charles A. Dayman, who, on the 8th of Janu- ary, 1880, issued the paper under the firm name of Layman Bros. After his retirement from active business John C. Kinney acted as stenog- rapher in the Court of Common Pleas, but later his failing health confined him to home, and in a little over eight yeai's after relinquishing control of the paper of which he was one of the founders, he died at his residence in Sandusky, on February i, 1888, at the age of fifty-eight years. Layman Brothers, who were journalists from Columbus, concluded to re- issue a daily edition of the Journal, which they did in the form of a six-column folio, on January i, 1885, since which time it has continued with only a brief interruption. In 1882 the office of publication was moved from 212 Columbus avenue to the Ramsey block on Market street, in rooms formerly occupied by the Sandusky Trib 7 uie and Sandusky Independe 7 it, the former paper having been published a few years as a daily and weekly, and the latter only about three months as a weekly. The Layman Brothers sold out the establishment on March i, 1886, to Frank Stible and Felix Breen, who published the journal, daily and weekly, for six weeks under the firm name of Stible & Breen. At the expiration of that time Mr. Stible purchased the interest of Mr. Breen, and continued to publish both editions, employing E. P. Moore as editorial writer. Some time later, in the year 1886, a Sunday edition was added, which appeared regularly several months, when it ceased for want of adequate support. In January, 1887, the Jojirnal office met with a disaster by fire, which ne- cessitated the suspension of the paper’s issue for some weeks, after which the publication of the daily edition was resumed by Mr. Stible, and continued until March 3, 1887, when the whole establishment passed by sale into the posses- sion of A. E. Merrill and C. C. Bittner, and was consolidated with the Sandusky Local, a daily and weekly newspaper which had been in existence as an oppo- sition Democratic publication for several years. The Erie County Press. 185 The Sandtisky Local was founded as a weekly newspaper by Ernest King, jr., of Middletown, Conn., who at that time was one of the proprietors of the Middletown Sentinel and Witness, one of the oldest publications in that State. The first number of the Local was issued November 18, 1882, as an indepen- dent weekly newspaper politically. It was a six-column quarto, with publica- tion office in the third story of No. 212 Columbus avenue, in rooms formerly occupied by the Sandusky Journal. The weekly issue of the Local met with such continued success that a daily was projected and successfully published by its proprietor, beginning on the 2d of April, 1883, as a six- column folio. The publication of the paper in these two editions was continued independent in politics until November, 1884, when the paper espoused the cause of Democracy, that party at the time having no daily paper to champion its prin- ciples. In April, 1885, Mr. King finding that the newspaper property in which he had an equal interest with his father in Middletown, Conn., de- manded his personal attention, sold out the paper to F. P. Lyman and F. W. Stevens, the latter having been an attachee of the office since the paper was first issued. The first paper appearing under the proprietorship of the new firm was dated April 27, 1885. In March, 1886, O. P. Wharton, a veteran Democratic editor of Youngstown, O., was engaged as editorial writer and con- tinued in such capacity during the proprietorship of Lyman & Stevens. In July, 1886, Mr. King having sold his interest in his eastern paper, and desiring to again enter the business in Sandusky, bought out the interest of Lyman & Stevens, the services of Messrs. Wharton and Stevens being retained by Mr. King. The paper continued under the proprietorship of Mr. King until March 3, 1887, when he received an advantageous offer from A. E. Merrill and C. C. Bittner, who were desirous of uniting the two factions of the party by consoli- dating the two opposing Democratic organs, and the consolidation was there- fore effected by the sale of the Local to these parties on the above date. This purchase finished the publication of the Local, as it did also that of the Journal as a separate concern, the consolidated paper appearing on March 3, 1887, the Sandusky Daily Journal and Local, and the weekly edition on March 5, as the Weekly Journal and Local, under the firm name of Merrill & Bittner. At the time this co-partnership was formed, A. E. Merrill was filling the offices of probate judge of the county and president of the Citizens’ National Bank, so that the entire management of the paper devolved upon Mr. Bittner, a lawyer by profession, and who had previously held the position of justice of the peace, and member of the board of education, and, at this time, was one of the recognized leaders of the Democracy of the county. O. P. Wharton was retained by the new firm as editorial writer, as were also several of the attachees of both offices. The consolidated paper first appeared as a six-column folio, but the demands for advertising space was such that the new proprietor found History of Erie County. 1 86 it necessary to enlarge ; therefore, in April the paper was issued as a seven- column folio. On June 23, Judge Merrill feeling convinced that the consoli- dation of the two papers had accomplished a much desired end — the harmony and good will of the two opposing factions of the party — sold out his interest to the active partner of the establishment, Mr. Bittner, who continued as the sole proprietor of the paper until November 14, 1887, when F. W. Stevens, who had been connected with the office since the consolidation, and who at one time was one of the proprietors of the Sandusky Local, formed a co-partner- ship with Mr. Bittner by the purchase of an interest in the paper, which ap- peared on the above date, under the proprietorship of Bittner & Stevens, and has so since continued. THE MILAN ADVERTISER. From the statistical information furnished by Rowell’s Directory of Ohio newspapers, it is learned that the Advertiser is a weekly paper, issued each Saturday in size 30 by 44, and having a circulation of over five hundred. It appears as a fact, but not upon the above quoted authority, that the Milan Advertiser is issued only in this county, the type and press- work being per- formed at Tiffin. W. B. Starbird, an attorney of Milan, is the resident editor. A paper of this same name was founded in the year 1869, and was issued through that part of the county as an advertising sheet, and without expense to its readers. In the year following it became a subscription paper at one dollar per annum, but subsequently the price was raised to a dollar and fifty cents. Several changes and enlargements were made in the size of the paper to keep step with its increasing circulation. Of this newspaper the present Advertiser is the outgrowth. THE HURON REPORTER. In the year 1879 the Reporter made its first appearance. At the present day it appears as a weekly (Thursday) publication, 30 by 44 in size, with a circulation of something over five hundred copies, and under the management of D. H. Clock as editor and publisher, THE SANDUSKY TRIBUNE. On the 30th of April, 1879, the first issue of the Daily Tribune made its appearance in Sandusky, under the editorial control of C. M. Brown & Co. Some six weeks later from the same office there came a weekly edition, and' added to that, after an interval of about two months, a tri-weekly was issued. But the enterprise proved unsuccessful from a business point of view. The daily was continued for about a year, and suspended in February, 1880. The weekly and tri-weekly editions were maintained until the year 1881, when they dis- appeared from the sight of the reading public. Brown sold the enterprise to Howe & Rutledge, and it was under the latter management that publication was suspended. The Bench and Bar. 187 THE INDEPENDENT. The Independent succeeded the Tilbnne, and was published in the rooms occupied by its predecessor. Its first number appeared in April, 1881, and its last in July of the same year. It was edited by G. W. Rutlege, one of the proprietors of the defunct T 7 'ib 2 ine. The Independent was a weekly publica- tion. THE SATURDAY GAZETTE. The Saturday Gazette is the youngest occupant of the journalistic field in Erie county. It was established in Sandusky county, in October, 1886, by C. C. Hand and W. I. Jackson, but the latter on January i, 1887, became sole edi- tor and owner. It was the aim of the founders to establish a paper that should be free from political bias, and become useful especially as a clean family paper. Among the special features of the Gazette one entire page is devoted to musical, dramatic, and athletic news ; another to humorous sketches and choice clippings from the spicy and popular writers of the day. The Gazette seems to be established on a sound basis and determined “ to stay,” notwithstanding the misfortunes that have overtaken previously founded weekly journals in the county. In connection with the press, in general, of the county, it may be well enough to mention the Mercury, a Sunday paper published for a very brief time in Sandusky by J. L. Sweeny. It was started in 1879, but did not long continue — long enough, however. And in this same connection there may be made mention of the several publications of the socialists of Berlin township, but, fortunately, their end was timely, as they were conducive of no good results, nor are we aware that, during their brief but eventful career, they did any special injury to the good people of that locality. The socialistic publications were the Age of Freedom, the Social Revolu- tionist, the Good Time Coming, the New Republic, The Optimist, and Kingdom of Heaven, The Prmcipia, or Personality, the New Campaign, and the Toledo Sun, the last named having been removed to this locality in 1875. CHAPTER XV. BENCH AND BAR. I T was many years after the organization of Ohio before the northern por- tion of the State had either bench or bar, and for a long time after the ter- ritorial government had ceased, the only courts known were the Indian coun- i88 History of Erie County. cil and the court martial, while the bar consisted of the feathered chief and the uniformed commander. The jurisprudence of the State, as of all the northern territory embraced in the Virginia cession, was founded -on the common law of England, modified and construed by the several charters of King James I to the early settlers of Virginia, and by the ordinance of 1787. In 1793, by the Territorial Legisla ture, a statute was adopted from Virginia declaring “ that the common law of : England and all statutes made in aid of the common law prior to the fourth! year of James I, which were of a general nature, should be a rule of decisions until repealed.” By the second section of the act of February 22, 1805, thisj act was repealed, but by the first section of the act was re-enacted; it was ^ again repealed January 2, 1806. So it may safely be said that the British ' statutes never had any effect in Ohio save as adopted by the Legislature. [l , Chase, 190, 512, 528.] The English common law, however, so far as reason- able in itself, suitable to the condition and business of our people, and consist- j ent with the letter and spirit of the Federal and State constitutions and stat- utes, ever has been and is followed by our courts and may be said to constitute , a part of the common law of Ohio. [2 O. S. 387.] After the organization of the State by the adoption of the constitution of 1802, the written law of Ohio may be said to have commenced, but the prac- tice was far from uniform, and it was not until 1845, when the able work ofi Joseph R. Swan, whose name needs no title to the bar of Ohio, Practice and\ Precedents, was published, that uniformity began to prevail with either bench or bar. Previous to that time, paraphrasing from the preface of that able work, most of the members of the bar and bench, whose opinions moulded our judi- cial system, had pursued their legal studies in other States of the Union, and | brought with them a high respect for the practice and decisions of the courts where they were educated. Almost all the States of the Union had been thus represented at our bar and upon our bench, and had produced a very great diversity of law in different parts of the State. In truth, a local common law existed to some extent in each judicial circuit. In one the English common law was looked to as the only pure fountain ; in another the common law of England was modified by the laws of New York ; in another the common law of Massachusetts ; in another of Connecticut ; in another of Pennsylvania. The statutes of the State indicated the same heterogeneousness. The practice act came from New Jersey; the attachment law from Pennsylvania; the adminis- tration law from Massachusetts, and the non-imprisonment act from New York. This state of things sometimes gave rise to divisions of opinion in the court, in bank, and often subjected the adjudications to severe and unjust criticism. It is certainly no disparagement to the many able jurists who aided in giv- ing to Ohio a uniform and perfect system of jurisprudence, to say that to Judge Swan is the bench and bar of Ohio most indebted for the desirable consum- The Bench and Bar. 189 matioa ; and his work at once became the law of practice to bench and bar throughout the State, and remained so until the enactment of the code of civil procedure in 1853, after the adoption of the Constitution of 1851. The common law as to crimes, and the mode of procedure in criminal cases, was never in force in Ohio — all this was the matter of legislative enactments, [i O. 132, 2 O. S. 387. 100. S. 287.] The history of the various revisions and codifications of the statutory law and modes of procedure within Ohio is interesting, and is so concisely and ac- curately stated in the preface to the first addition of the revised statutes made by the codifying commission, appointed under the act of March 27, 1875, and published in 1880, that we copy literally : “ The first revision was made during the session of the Legislature held at Chillicothe, in 1804-5, at which all the laws, with few exceptions, adopted by the governor and judges, or enacted by the Legislature under the territorial government were repealed. That revision embraced statutes for the adminis- tration of justice, the conveyance of property, the collection of the revenue, the organization of the militia and the punishment of crime, and other statutes pre- viously adopted or enacted were amended and re-enacted. “ With these statutes for a basis other legislatures followed the example, and accordingly, the laws were revised at the session of 1809-1810, the ses- sion of 1815-1816, the session 1823-1824 and the session of 1830-1831, each revision being an improvement on that which preceded it, the practice and other remedial statutes gradually becoming more liberal and the penal enact- ments more humane. “In 1835 the statute relatingto felonies was again revised and further pro- vision was made to simplify the practice, and in 1840 an act relating to the settlement of the estates of deceased persons, based on the statute of Massa- chusetts, was prepared by Joseph R. Swan and enacted by the General Assem- bly. The principal part of it has remained without change to the present day. At the same session the statutes in relation to wills, elections and other sub- jects, were revised. “ Meanwhile the statutes had become so numerous and had fallen into such confusion that a systematic republication of the laws in force had become a necessity. Fortunately the work was undertaken by one competent for the task, and it is only just to say that with the material before him, and in the ab- sence of all power to change it, perhaps no other man would have been able to produce a collection of our statutes so admirable in all that pertains to the work of an editor, as Swan’s Statutes of 1 841. In 1854-5, in i860 and in 1868, Judge Swan performed the same task of collecting and arranging the statutes in force, the notes to the edition of i860 having been prepared by Leander J. Critchfield, and the notes to the edition of 1868 by Milton Sayler. While these editions of the statutes have now become comparatively useless, they are none 190 History of Erie County. the less monuments to the industn^ and ability of the gentlemen who were en- gaged in their preparation. “ In this connection it will not be out of place to notice a collection of the statutes of a more permanent character. In 1833—1835 (subsequently Chief Justice) Chase prepared an edition of the statutes. It included the territorial laws, whether adopted by the governor and judges, or enacted by the Territo- rial Legislatures and the statutes down to and including those of 1833. This embraced seven volumes of territorial laws and thirty volumes of the statutes of the State, and the whole was republished in chronological order in three vol- umes. The work was continued on substantially the same plan by Maskell E. Curwen, who republished in four volumes, the general laws from 1834 to i860, inclusive. Since the death of Mr. Curwen, the work has been continued by J. R. Sayler, who has republished, in four volumes, the general laws from 1861 to 1875, inclusive. “ It will thus be seen that the statutes of Chase, Curwen and Sayler — all admirably edited — are a republication of all the general laws adopted or en- acted under the territorial and State governments from 1788 to 1875, inclu- sive, in the order of the original publication. While only a very small number of the statutes which these volumes contain remains in force, the remarks of Judge Chase with respect to them, in his first volume are entirely just. ‘ Many questions of right and remedy,’ said he, "depend upon the provisions of re- pealed statutes. In reference to such questions the examination of the whole series of laws affecting them is a matter of absolute necessity. In addition to this, a knowledge of the acts repealed is often essential to a correct understand- ing of the law in force. No lawyer, nor intelligent legislator ought to be sat- isfied with knowing what the law is, unless he also knows what the law has been.” “ Recurring to the subject of codification, it is evident that it had engaged the attention of the people to some extent, previous to the adoption of the present constitution. Provision was made in that instrument for a commission; and it was ordained that ‘ said commissioners shall revise, reform, simplify, and .abridge the practice, pleadings, forms, and proceedings of the courts of record of this State ; and as far as practicable and expedient shall provide for the ■abolition of the distinct forms of actions at law now in use, and for the admin- istration of justice by a uniform mode of proceeding, without reference to any distinction between law and equity.’ “ In obedience to that provision an act was passed and William Kennon, William S. Groesbeck, and Daniel O. Morton were appointed commissioners. They confined their labors to the subject of practice in civil cases, and reported •what was known as the code of civil procedure, to the fiftieth General Assem- bly, and that body on March ii, 1853, adopted it Though somewhat changed in language and arrangement, the principal part of it re- mains substantially as it was reported by those commissioners. The Bench and Bar. 191 “ With the growth of the State in population and wealth, the annual vol- umes of the general laws increased in size until the statutes of a general nature, in force, exceed two thousand in number. The subject of codification then began to attract attention here as in other places. In 1869 a bill prepared by Senators Charles H. Scribner, Daniel B. Linn, and Homer Everett, codifying the statutes in relation to municipal corporations, became a law, as did also a bill embodying a code of criminal procedure, which had been prepared by Sen- ator Frank H. Hurd. The subject was further agitated and finally, in 1874, Representative George W. Boyce, of Hamilton county, introduced a bill pro- viding for such codification. Subsequently, Senator Lucian C. Jones, of Trum- bull, Trumbull county, introduced a bill on the same subject, which, on March 27, 1875, became a law. [72 v. 87]. The following are its leading features; “ The governor was required, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint three competent commissioners to revise and consolidate the general statutes of the State, and he was authorized to fill any vacancy in the commission. “ In performing the duty the commissioners were required to bring together all the statutes and parts of statutes relating to the same matter, omitting re- dundant and obsolete enactments, and such as had no influence on existing rights or remedies, and making alterations to reconcile contradictions, supply omissions, and amend imperfections in the original acts, so as to reduce the general statutes into as concise and comprehensive a form as might be con- sistent with clear expression of the will of the General Assembly, rejecting all equivocal and ambiguous words and circuitous and tautological phraseology. “ They were required to arrange the statutes under suitable titles, divisions, subdivisions, chapters, and sections, with head notes briefly expressive of the matter contained therein, with marginal notes of the contents of each section, with reference to the original act from which it was compiled, and foot notes of the decisions of the Supreme Court upon the same ; and they were required to report the whole, in print, to the general assembly for its adoption. “ On the day of the passage of the bill Governor Allen appointed, and the Senate unanimously confirmed, Michael A. Daugherty, Luther Day, and John W. Okey as the commissioners. Commissions were issued to them on that day, and immediately thereafter they entered upon their duties. Judge Day continued to be a member of the commission until February i, 1876, when he resigned, having been appointed a member of the Supreme Court commission, and John S. Brasee was appointed by Governor Hayes to fill the vacancy, and Judge Okey continued to be a member of the commission until November 9. 1877, when he resigned, having been elected a judge of the Supreme Court, and George B. Okey was appointed by Governor Young to fill the vacancy. No other changes were made in the commission.” The codified or revised statutes consist of four parts. The first part (Polit- History of Erie County. 192 ical) contains the enactments which are organic, being the frame-work and machinery of our government ; the second part (Civil) relates to person and property; the third part (Remedial) includes everything connected with civil procedure in all the courts; and the fourth part (Penal) embraces the pro- visions relating to crimes, criminal procedure, and jails and the penitentiary. Constitution of 1802. — Under the Constitution of 1802 the judicial power of the State, both as to matters of law and equity, was vested in a Supreme Court, in Court of Common Pleas for each county, in justices of the peace, and in such other courts as the Legislature might establish. Under this latter pro- vision the Circuit Courts were established. The Supreme Court consisted of three judges — two of whom formed a quorum. It had original and appellate jurisdiction, both in law and in chan- cery, in such cases as the Legislature might direct, and which would be beyond the province of this chapter to enumerate. The Legislature was empowered to add another judge to the number after five years, and in that event the judges were authorized to divide the State into two circuits within which any two could hold court. The Courts of Common Pleas consisted of a president and two associate judges. The State was required by law to be divided into three circuits with a president judge for each circuit, and not “more than three nor less than two” associate judges for each county. Any three of these judges constituted a quorum and composed the Court of Common Pleas, and had common law and chancery jurisdiction, and also jurisdiction of all probate and testamentary mat ters and of guardians and minors, and of criminal cases. Clerks were appointed by the court for a term of seven years. Power was conferred on the Legisla- ture to increase the number of circuits and of the president judges after the expiration of five years. The Supreme Court was required to be held once a year in each county. All judges were appointed by a joint ballot of both houses of the General Assembly, and held office for the term of seven years, “if so long they behaved well.” Justices of the peace were elected in each township and held office for three years. Their “powers and duties” were “regulated and defined by law.” THE BENCH OF THE COUNTY. By the act that completed the civil organization of Erie county it was pro- vided that the first Court of Common Pleas should be held on the second Mon- day in December, 1838, yet there is a record of the holding of a court in April prior to that time. There appears not to have been present any president judge, and the proceedings were conducted by Moses Larwell, Nathan Strong, and Plarvey Lowler, the associate justices. These proceedings, however, were brief, no cases being tried. The Bench and Bar. 193 During the time that Erie county was attached to Huron it appears that Judge David Higgins was upon the bench of the Common Pleas Court. He was succeeded by Judge Ozias Bowen, of Marion county, who presided for a number of years, and until he was replaced by Judge Myron H. Tilden, of Toledo, but formerly of Norwalk. Next in the succession came Judge Ebenezer B. Sadler, of Sandusky City, who went upon the bench in 1847, so continued until the adoption of the new constitution by which he was legislated out of office. The above named comprise all the common pleas judges that presided over that court in this county prior to the constitution of 1852. Judge Sadler was the first president upon the bench that was a resident of Erie county, and the only such prior to the new constitution, but in after years this county was as well represented upon the bench of the courts as any in the district, excepting, perhaps, Lucas county. After the adoption of the new constitution Erie county was placed in the first subdivision of the fourth common pleas district, the other counties being Huron, Sandusky, Ottawa, and Lucas. The first president judge in this sub- division was Lucius Otis, then of Eremont but now of the city of Chicago. Judge Otis served one term of five years, and was succeeded by Judge Sebas- tian F. Taylor, a prominent lawyer of Erie county. He served two terms of five years each, and was himself succeeded by Walter F. Stone, of Sandusky. The constitution provided for the selection of an additional law judge to be chosen whenever the business of the sub-division should warrant it. It was during Judge Otis’s term of office that this provision was carried into effect by the selection of Judge John Fitch, of Toledo, in 1854. Other additional law judges were from time to time appointed, among them Samuel T. Wooster, of Norwalk, and John L. Green, of Fremont. The latter is still judge in the dis- trict. Judge Stone continued on the bench as president judge for some years, when he was advanced to the Supreme Court bench. He was succeeded by William G. Lane, of Sandusky, but, on account of failing health the latter was compelled to retire, whereupon Cooper K. Watson, of Sandusky, followed him. Judge Watson died in office, and John Mackey was appointed his successor. By appointment and two subsequent elections. Judge Mackey held this office for nearly seven years. Next in the line of succession came the present incum- bent, Judge J. L. De Witt, of Sandusky, who assumed the office in Februar}-, 1887. The first sub-division of the Fourth District remains now as originally formed, and the courts therein are presided over by five common pleas judgesj three in Toledo and two in the other counties comprising the subdivision. These judges are as follows: Louis H. Pike, David H. Commager, and Reuben C. Lemmon, of Toledo; John L. Green, of Fremont, and J. L. De Witt, of Sandusky. 194 Hisi'ory of Erie County. THE OLD ERIE COUNTY BAR. Elsewhere in this work will be found a detail of the events that made per- fect the organization of this county, and it is only the province of this particu- lar portion of this chapter to refer to and mention, in some manner, those per- sons who were identified with the practice at the bar of the courts, and who were residents of the county. To be sure there were the inevitable “circuit riders,’’ lawyers who lived in other counties, but who were always in attendance upon every court, and who controlled a fair share of the business thereof This was not through any weakness of the resident attorneys, but rather in verification of the old proverb, “ a prophet is not without honor save in his own country.’’ These circuit riders were for many years in attendance upon every court and in every locality. They managed to get a certain amount of the “catch practice,” most generally in the criminal branch, and were sometimes called into a case by the attorney of record, and served in the capacity of associate counsel. In this manner they could pick up enough business to pay expenses, and some- times a little more. But the circuit rider was almost a necessity; not, how- ever, in the light of the adage that “ necessity knows no law,’’ as they numbered among them some of the brighest trial lawyers of the times. At this period of which we write, the early days of the county, there were but few, if any, resident practicing attorneys of much prominence except the firms of Parish & Sadler (Francis D. Parish and Ebenezer B. Sadler), and Beecher & Campbell (Lucas S. Beecher and John F. Campbell), all of Sandusky City; also Ebenezer Andrews and Philip R. Hopkins of Milan. Elentheros Cooke had been a prominent attorney of Sandusky, and a pioneer of the pro- fession ; but at the time of which we write was practically retired from active practice to engage in other pursuits. He was an able man and lawyer, and possessed of unusual oratorical power. He drifted into the sea of politics, and represented the Fourteenth District in the Twenty-second Congress. He was, moreover, one of the most prominent men, in every step looking to the ad- vancement and welfare of the county, and contributed generously of his means and advice to every worthy enterprise. Hence his popularity. William H. Hunter, more commonly known as “Colonel” Hunter, was nom- inally a lawyer, but more of a politician. In 1835 he was collector of customs at this port, and in 1836 was elected to Congress. John Wheeler is also remembered as a lawyer, though he was content to rest his professional career on the office of justice of the peace, which he held for a number of years. Of these old pioneers of the profession but two are now living, Hon. E. B- Sadler and John Campbell, the latter, however, is not a resident of the county. He took a somewhat unusual course for a lawyer, in that he afterward became a minister of the gospel, and is now understood to fill the most honorable office of bishop of the Lutheran Church in Virginia. The Bench and Bar. 195 Francis Drake Parish was a man of Puritanical stripe. He was honest, con- scientious, faithful, and zealous in his profession and in every good work. He possessed a moral firmness that could not be excelled ; a man of good acquire- ments and legal abilities; a man who hated iniquity and despised meanness; a strong religionist, a temperance tetotaler, and a strong abolitionist when that outspoken sentiment meant personal and professional unpopularity. Mr. Par- ish had the courage to avow his sentiments in this regard even in the face of an excited and howling mob. This man was a native of New York State, born in the year 1796. When twenty- four years old he came to Columbus, O., where he read law, and where, in 1822, he was admitted to the bar. In the same year he came to Sandusky City and commenced practice, which he continued until the year 1852 when he retired from the hard work of the profession on account of a bronchial affec- tion. In 1875 he left Erie county and removed to Lorain county, where he died a short time ago. Lucas Selkirk Beecher was born in New Haven county. Conn., on the 3 ist of March, 1798. At the age of about thirteen years he was maimed by the loss of a leg. When about eighteen years old, with his parents he became a resident of Genesee county, N. Y. The early education of Mr. Beecher was received at the common schools and at the village academy. After coming to reside in Genesee county he taught the village school. Later he entered the office of Hopkins and Beecher at Canaseraga, where he studied the law until the year 1824, when he was admitted to the bar, after which he began the practice at Williamsport, Pa. Two years later in the year 1828, Mr. Beecher came to San- dusky, where he formed a law partnership with Hon, Elentheros Cooke. No sooner had our subject become fairly established in professional busi- ness at this place than a terrible misfortune befel him ; he became totally blind. After a time under the invitation of kind friends he went to the City of New York for treatment, hoping that his eyesight might be restored, which, in a measure, was accomplished — sufficiently to allow him to resume his practice and read and write a little. Returning after some months to Sandusky Mr. Beecher formed a copart- nership with John F. Campbell, who also subsequently became totally blind, and was obliged to retire from the profession. Mr. Beecher then associated himself with Pitt Cooke, and subsequently Cuyler Leonard, and finally in 1853 with his son, John T. Beecher, which latter firm continued until the death of its senior member in the year 1882. Disabled as he was, when just entering upon the threshold of successful practice, nevertheless, he rose to a height which enabled him to easily maintain his position as a leader in this most difficult of all professions. We take pride in rendering this tribute of regard to the memory of a man so deservedly hon- ored by the profession as an example of the success which can be achieved by 196 History of Erie County. an earnest man, full of a great purpose, striving against a fate which usually be- numbs the faculties and palsies the energies of its victims. John F. Campbell the law partner of Lucas S. Beecher, is remembered as being a man of light complexion, young, smart, active, facetious, witty and pos- sessed of a keen sense of the ludicrous. About the year 1840 he had an at- tack of sore eyes that unfitted him for professional work, and in fact rendered him partially blind for a time at least. He quit the practice of law and went to Pennsylvania. After a time his eyesight was restored, and he studied for and entered the ministry of the Lutheran Church, and subsequently became a resident of the State of Virginia. Still later he became a bishop of the church. He seems to have met with decided success in his new calling; but those that knew him well as a lawyer say that he was the last man they ever dreamed would finally become a clergyman. He evidently followed the command to “multiply and replenish the earth,” for when last heard from his family con- prised a wife and nine children. Ebenezer Andrews of Milan, was a plain, sensible, unassuming man, and a fair and honest lawyer. He was probate judge of the county from 1852 to 1855. He died many years ago. John N. Sloane entered upon the practice of law in 1840. His regular oc- cupation, however, was that of merchant. He died September 24, 1881. Hon. Ebenezer Lane, unquestionably the most distinguished and most hon- ored of the many gentlemen of the legal profession that have practiced at the bar of the courts of this county, became a resident of Sandusky in the year 1842, two years after the civil organization of the county was made complete. ' Judge Lane was born in Connecticut, in the year 1793. He was educated at the University of Cambridge, and afterward read law with his uncle Judge Matthew Griswold, of Lyme, Conn. He commenced the practice of law in the year 1814, at Norwich, Conn., but in 1817 came to the Western Reserve dur- ing the same year. In 1819 he moved to Norwalk, the county seat of Huron county, having previously been appointed prosecuting attorney for that county. At Columbia in 1822 he was admitted to practice in the United States Circuit ■ Court. Soon after he was appointed Common Pleas Judge of the Second Cir- cuit, and continued in office six years, when he was appointed judge of the Su- preme Court of the State, sitting first in that capacity in 1830. He was reap- pointed in 1837, but resigned his commission eight years later. It was during his life upon the bench that Judge Lane became a resident of Sandusky City. After thirteen years of residence here he moved to Chicago, having accepted the appointment as counsel and resident director of the Cen- tral Railroad of Illinois, an office that was ably filled by him for nearly fourteen years. After having severed his connection with the railroad company Judge Lane made an extended tour of Europe, returning to this country in April, i860. He lived but six years longer, and died on the 12th of June, 1866. The Bench and Bar. 197 In 1850 Judge Lane received the degree of Doctor of Laws from Harvard University. In 1856 he was elected a member of the New England His- torical and Genealogical Society, also he was a member of the New York Historical Society, the Ohio Historical Society and the Chicago Historical Society. Another of the pioneers of the legal profession in Erie county was Philip B. Hopkins, of Milan. He was, at the time of the county’s organization, fully up to, if not past the middle age of life. His practice was by no means confined to Milan, as he was frequently at Huron, and also in the counties adjoining. Counselor Hopkins was a clear- minded, shrewd and practical lawyer, and possessed, moreover, an almost inexhaustible fund of natural humor. His witti- cisms were never forced, but seemed to spring from his lips involuntarily, and none seemed more surprised at their sound and effect than he. An amusing anecdote will clearly show what manner of man he was. One day at the dinner-table in the Mansion House at Sandusky, were gath- ered a number of legal lights, and among them the irrepressible Hopkins. Some allusion was made to a certain lawyer from a distant county not at all remark- able for his legal learning, and Joseph M. Root, another prominent lawyer of this county, asked Major Hopkins if he knew how this man came to be a law- yer ? “No,” said Hopkins, “I don’t.” “Well,” says Root, “he was a sort of peddler in a one-horse wagon, and carried around with him Swan’s Treatise, and so caught the law just as a person would catch the itch or measles.” “Well,” answered the Major, “it never broke out on him much, and they say it is worse when it strikes in.” One day Hopkins and Mr. Andrews were trying a case before Judge Sad- ler, Hopkins for the plaintiff, and Andrews on the defense. In presenting the testimony Hopkins constantly asked leading questions, which Andrews object- ed to ; but as the former did not seem to get along very well without, he was allowed to proceed ; but when Andrews called his first witness he very properly asked him a leading question, directing his attention to the subject matter in controversy, to which Hopkins objected. What is your objection ? It is lead- ing. The court remarked to him pleasantly, that he thought he was the last man to object to leading questions. He replied, “I am the last man, I just did it.” Joseph M. Root is also remembered as one of the early lawyers of Erie county. He came from New York State and read with William H. Hunter, and then opened an office for practice. Afterward he located at Norwalk, and trom there was elected to Congress, first in 1845, was twice thereafter re- elected, the last time while residing in this county, to which he had returned. This was in 1849. He practiced here a number of years after his term of office expired but is now dead. 26 History of Erie County. 198 William H. Hunter was a somewhat prominent figure in the profes- sion and he too represented the district in Congress during the year 1837- 1839. Justin H. Tyler will also be remembered by the old residents of Huron township especially. He was a Massachusetts Yankee, but came to this State from New York. He was located at Huron early in the forties but left in a few years and became a resident of Henry county where he now lives. Rush R. Sloane was born in Sandusky. He read law with F. D. Parish, and was admitted at Mansfield, Ohio, in 1849. He retired from practice to assume the duties of the office of probate judge, to which he was elected in 1857. He was re-elected in i860, but resigned in April, 1861, to accept the appointment from President Lincoln, as general agent of the post-office de- partment and located with headquarters at Chicago. Beside these who have been mentioned in the above sketches, there are a few others who were members of the old bar and who are members of the pres- ent bar of the county, in which latter connection notice of them will be found. And it is possible that in the recollection of these pioneers of the profession, the names of some may, through inadvertence, have been omitted, and it may be true too, that some of the itinerant characters may have been entirely over- looked. There is, in every profession, and the legal is not exempt from it, some evanescent characters, some who have branched off into other pursuits, some who perhaps may have fallen by the wayside, and to the profession have become lost. But as the years came and went, the county grew more popu- lous and of course the ranks became swelled in numbers, and among them may be found the names of men well known throughout the entire county. In the year 1855, seventeen years after the organization of the county, it is found that the profession, in the city of Sandusky, was represented in the legal profession about as follows ; Samuel Minor, who afterward went to Los Angeles, Cal. ; O. C. McLouth, who was clerk of the courts from 1870 to 1875, and prior to that was prosecuting attorney from 1856 to i860; John Mackey, a mention of whom will be found among the members of the present bar ; Counselors Mc- Louth and Mackey were law partners in 18855. Lane, Stone and Lane were partners, the firm being composed of Hon. Ebenezer Lane, Walter F. Stone and William G. Lane. Concerning Judge Ebenezer Lane mention has already been made. Walter F. Stone, like the senior partner of the firm, became judge of the Common Pleas and also judge of the Supreme Court. He died in Cali- fornia. William G. Lane was the son of Ebenezer Lane. In 1843 he was graduated from Yale College, after which he attended the Harvard Law School. He further prosecuted his legal study under the instruction of the best Ger- man professors, at Berlin, after which he returned to this country and became professionally associated with his father, who, during the son’s absence, had been a resident of Sandusky. In 1873 Mr. Lane became judge of the Com- The Bench and Bar. 199 mon Pleas for the fourth judicial district. Judge Lane died at Sandusky on the 28th day of October, 1878. Alonzo W. Hendry, better known as Judge Hendry, from the fact of his having been, from 1863 to 1870, the probate judge of the county, was born in Erie county, N. Y., and came to Lorain county in 1834. He was admitted to the bar in 1842 and came to Sandusky in 1843. He is now virtually retired from practice. At a period earlier than that mentioned Mr. Hendry was prom- inently before the people of the county, as he was from 1848 until 1852, the prosecuting attorney of the county. Besides his political holdings Judge Hendry has been for many years a prominent figure in the affairs of the city. George Reber is remembered as a good trial lawyer, and although he seems not to have been conspicuous as an office holder, he nevertheless enjoyed a fair share of the legal practice and was connected with many of the leading cases. He is now dead. John J. Finch has been a member of the legal profession for many years but the greater part of his time has been devoted to other pursuits. At the present time he holds the responsible position of collector of customs for the port of Sandusky. William Tilden had, at the time of which we speak, an office at the corner of Market street and Columbus avenue, where he practiced for some time. He afterward moved to Cincinnati and is now deceased. Lawrence Wier was another of the old bar, and had an office at No. 66 Railroad street. Another of the old firms of the city was that of Converse, Giddings & Bige- low. Only one of these partners, J. G. Bigelow, is now known to the profes- sion in the county, and he is retired from its active, arduous work. John G. Miller had an office on the same floor as is now occupied by the city fathers. He is not now living. The firm of Camp & Leonard was composed of John G. Camp, jr., a son of Major Camp, one of the proprietors of the town, and Cuyler Leonard. Their office was located at No. 128 Water street. Neither partner of this firm is now living in the county. There were others, of course, who were in active practice at the time, 1855, all are mentioned in some manner in this chapter. A majority are joined with “the great majority” while a few are yet in practice. These latter will be found mentioned in the sketches of the members of the present bar. SKETCHES OF MEMBERS OF THE PRESENT BAR. Hon. E. B. Sadler.^ Judge Sadler certainly stands to day, the senior mem- Since deceased. 200 History of Erie County. ber of the Erie county bar, his connection therewith having covered a period of more than a half century. Ebenezer Brown Sadler was born in the town of Grafton, State of Massa- chusetts, on the i6th of November, 1808. When he was five years old his pa- rents moved to New Hampshire, where they remained only two years, and then went to Geneva, N. Y., traveling the entire distance in sleighs. After a year’s residence at Geneva the family again moved, this time to a town in Erie county, N. Y., fifteen miles east of Buffalo. Three years later they moved to Lima, Livingston county. At the age of eighteen years young Sadler bought his “ time ” of his father and started out to make his own way in life. During the summer months he worked as he could find employment and the winter found him at school. This continued until he was qualified for teaching, which occupation he then followed, devoting his leisure time, however, to the study of the law with Hon. John Dickson, of West Bloomfield, N. Y., then member of Congress from Ontario county. In this way he was engaged some three or four years, when, in May, 1835, he started west. For some time Mr. Sadler traveled about, visiting various localities, but finally settled down at Sandusky city. He entered the law office of Francis D. Parish, where he further prosecuted his legal study until the month of July, 1836, at which time he was admitted to practice. A partnership was then formed with Mr. Parish, which relation was maintained until the year 1847, when our subject was appointed judge of the Common Pleas Court for the circuit com- prising the counties of Huron, Erie, Sandusky, Ottawa, Lucas, Seneca, Wood and Henry. By the adoption of the new constitution of 1852, Judge Sadler was legislated out of office. He then returned to his profession and so con- tinued until his appointment as postmaster at Sandusky city, in which capac- ity he served about two years, but was then removed on account of the fact that he would not lend himself and his official position to certain political schemes, and A. C. Van Tine was nominated as his successor. In 1867 Judge Sadler was nominated and elected State Senator, serving in the Upper House of the Legislature two years. After his term expired he returned to professional work. In 1875 he formed a law partnership with his son, Charles W. Sadler, which firm relation has ever since been main- tained. Homer Goodwin. This well known member of the Erie county bar is a native of Ohio, born on the 15 th day of October, 1819. His father was a phy- sician of Burton, Geauga county, but resided during the youth of our subject, on a farm, and here Homer passed the days of boyhood and youth. He re- ceived an academic education, and in 1840 entered the Western Reserve Col- lege, then in Summit county, where he pursued a regular classical course of study and was graduated in July, 1844, receiving the the degrees of A. B. The Bench and Bar. 201 and A. M. He then read the law under the instruction of Judge Peter Hitch- cock, a well known and able lawyer of Geauga county, but during his legal studies Mr. Good-vyin was, for a time, engaged in teaching school. After two years at Columbus, O., he was admitted to the bar. This was in 1846. He at once commenced practice at Burton, but in June of the following year, 1847, came to Sandusky and became a member of the Erie county bar. Dur- ing his forty-two years of practice in this county Mr. Goodwin has been connected with many of the most important cases tried therein. Hon. John Mackey. Judge Mackey was born in Warren county. New Jersey, on the 7th of January, 1818, and became a resident of Milan township, to which place his parents and family moved in the year 1837. Our subject was educated in the common schools and the academy at Milan, and com- menced, in 1843, the study of law with Lucas S. Beecher, of Sandusky, still devoting, however, a portion of his time to the school-room and to farm work. At Fremont, in the year 1846, he was admitted to practice law by the Su- preme Court on circuit. After his admission to the bar and before he com- menced practice, Mr. Mackey engaged in an enterprise wholly outside the profession. He, with others, established a daily and weekly newspaper, known as the Sandjisky Mirror. This was the first daily paper published in Erie county. Mr. Mackey’s connection with the Mirror was continued up to the latter part of the year 1849, at which time he opened an office for the general practice of the law. His first partner was O. C. McLouth, but later years found him professionally associated with Hon. Joseph M. Root, and afterwards with Homer Goodwin, esq. From the year 1852 to 1856 Mr. Mackey held the office of prosecuting attorney of the county. In the spring of 1880 he was appointed judge of the Common Pleas Court to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Cooper K. Watson, and at the next general election he was elected to fill Judge Watson’s unexpired term. He was, upon the expiration of that term, re-elected for a full term of five years. After his last term upon the bench had expired Judge Mackey resumed his practice, to which his time has since been de- voted. Horatio Wildman was a grandson of Zalmon Wildman, who is well remem- bered as having been one of the proprietors of the town of Portland, afterward Sandusky, and of those proprietors he was the largest owner. Horatio Wild- man was a native of Connecticut, and was born at Danbury on the lOth of April, 1828. His parents were Frederick S. and Julia Wildman, and of their five children, Horatio was the oldest. At the age of twenty years young Wildman came to Sandusky, at which place his father had an extensive land interest, and here the young man believed was a good opening for business and professional engagements. Prior to his coming here he had graduated from Yale College, and had also read law with Charles Hawley, of Stamford, 202 History of Erie County. Conn. On locating at the county seat of Erie county Mr. Wildman read law with Erancis D. Parish for about one year, and was admitted to the bar at Mansfield September 17, 1849. During the thirty-nine years of Mr. Wildman’s professional life in San- dusky city he has not been without some political ambition. In 1851 he was elected mayor of the city; from 1856 to 1859 he was a member of the board of education, and from 1870 to 1879 he filled the position of city solicitor. It was during the latter period that the most important local improvements were made, and the duties of his office were indeed onerous. Jacob A. Camp. Mr. Camp was born at Buffalo, Erie county, N. Y., on the 20th of July, 1823, and came to Sandusky at the age of eleven years. His father was Major John G. Camp, than whom, in connection with the early land transactions of the vicinity, no man bore a more active part. Jacob A. Camp was graduated from Kenyon College, at Gambler, after a regular classi- cal course, in the year 1847. 1848 he entered Harvard Law School and remained there two terms, after which he read law in the office of Reber & Camp, at Sandusky, and was admitted to the bar in 1850 or 1851. He prac- ticed until the breaking out of the war of 1861-65, when he was made pay- master and so continued in the service of the government until November, 1865, when he returned to his professional work at Sandusky. About four years ago Mr. Camp retired from active practice, still retaining, however, an office in the city. Jabez G. Bigelow has been a member of the Erie county bar since the year 1852. He was a student in the office of L. S. Beecher for two years prior to his admission to practice. Mr. Bigelow was born in New Lebanon, N. Y., on the 7th of March, 1822.. His father was a farmer by occupation, and the family, during the childhood of our subject, emigrated from the Empire State to Michigan, but died after a residence in the latter State of a few years. Young Bigelow then started out p to make his own way in life. He worked on a farm and attended school when an opportunity offered. In 1844 he entered Oberlin College and re- ^ mained through his junior year, after which he came to Sandusky city and commenced a course of law study in the office of L. S. Beecher. In 1852 he was admitted to practice and at once opened an office in the city, where he- has since made a residence. Mr. Bigelow was appointed the first revenue assessor of this district, about, or soon after the breaking out of the war, and served in that capacity until the war closed. He has been no aspirant for political preferment although at one time he was a member of the city council. Of late years he has retired from the active work of the profession. Arthur Phinney was born in the Pine Tree State, Maine, at Gorham, on the 28th of March, 1837. At the age of twenty-one he took a preparatory course at Andover, Mass., for one year, after which he entered Dartmouth College The Bench and Bar. 203 and remained there one year. He then left and entered Yale College for a regular collegiate course, being received, on account of his advanced standing, into the sophomore class. From Yale Mr. Phinney was graduated with the class of ’64, after which he entered the scientific department of the sanitary commission, under Prof B. A. Gould, and was engaged in the recruiting de- partment for the navy in New York city, but one year later was transferred to Washington and Alexandria, where he remained until late in the summer of 1865. In August of the last named year he assumed charge of the Chester Academy, Orange county, N. Y., succeeding Prof Edward Orton, the geolo- gist, now of Ohio, but who was former principal of the academy. In the fall of 1867 Mr. Phinney came to Sandusky to take charge as principal of the High School, which position he held until the spring of 1870, when he re- signed. He then became a student at law in the office of Homer Goodwin, esq., where he remained one year, after which he entered the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, but was not graduated from that institution. At Columbus, on the 3d of December, 1872, he was admitted to practice. The next year he formed a law partnership with Judge S. F. Taylor, of Sandusky, and so remained associated until the death of Mr. Taylor in 1882. In 1884 the present law firm of Phinney & Curran was formed. Samuel C. Wheeler was born in Fairfield county, this State, on the i6th of September, 1828. At the age of fifteen he commenced alone to fight the bat- tle of life, and being dependent for a livelihood upon what he could earn, his early education was necessarily limited. He learned the trade of a saddler and worked at it for some years. In 1853 he came to Sandusky and, follow- ing the advice of A. W. Hendry, became a law student in the office of that gentleman. After a course of study of three years duration he was, in the year i860, admitted to practice. On the 3d of June, 1861, Mr. Wheeler enlisted in Company E, of the Seventh Ohio Infantry, and served with that regiment until at the battle at Port Republic, Va., on the 9th of June, 1862, he was wounded. He then re- turned to Sandusky, but was not discharged from the service until March 26, 1863. Some years later he again resumed practice and has so continued to the present time. Lewis H. Goodwin. Major Goodwin was born in Burton, Geauga county, O., on the 29th of December, 1833. He was educated in the schools of the county, and at the age of sixteen entered the Western Reserve College at Hudson, but at the end of his sophomore year the college was broken up on account of a difficulty between the president and faculty. He then taught school in Geauga county for some months, after which he entered the junior class of Marietta College, from which institution he was graduated in 1854, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. 204 History of Erie County. After graduation Mr. Goodwin came to Sandusky and became a law stu- dent in the office of his brother, Homer Goodwin, esq., where he remained until April, 1856, when he was admitted to practice. He then went to Wabash, Ind., where he practiced law for something like sixteen years, and until the outbreak of the war. In September, 1861, Mr. Goodwin enlisted as a private in Company B of the Forty-seventh Indiana Infantry, but while in camp and before going to the front he was elected to the captaincy of the company. He served in this capacity until October following, when he was advanced to the rank of major. At the battle of Champion’s Hill, May 16, 1863, Major Goodwin was wounded, but did not retire from the service. In the winter of 1863, his ranking officers being temporarily absent. Major Goodwin veteranized the regiment, and this was among the very first of the regiments engaged in the service that were made veterans. In the month of December, 1864, our subject was mustered out of service, after which he re- turned to Wabash and resumed the practice of law, which he continued until 1874, at which time, on account of the fact that the climate disagreed with his family’s health, he removed to Sandusky and formed a law partnership with his brother, Homer Goodwin, esq., of that city. In 1886 Linn W. Hull came into the firm, which is now styled Goodwin, Goodwin & Hull. Frederick W. Cogswell. The subject of this brief sketch was a native of the “Nutmeg” State of Connecticut, and was born at Woodbury, Litchfield county. His early education was received in the common schools and the academy, after which, in 1843, he entered Yale College for the full course, and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1847, this notwithstanding the fact that during this term he was prevented by sickness from prosecuting his studies one full year. In 1848 Mr. Cogswell became a law student in the office of Hon. Gideon Hall, of Winsted, Conn., and so remained about one year, when he was com- pelled by ill-health to retire. He then came to Cleveland, O., for medical treatment at the water-cure in that city. After about two years, his health being restored, Mr. Cogswell came to Sandusky and became a student in the office of Beecher & Leonard, and afterward with Homer Goodwin, esq. At Norwalk, in the fall of 1852, he was admitted to the bar. He soon opened an office in Sandusky and practiced continuously until the year 1864, when he en- listed in Company B of the One Hundred and Forty-fifth Ohio Infantry. This was a hundred-day regiment, and with it our subject served until the term of enlistment expired, holding during the term a commission as second lieu- tenant. During his years of practice in Erie county Mr. Cogswell has not been without some political holdings. For several years he held the office of city clerk; in 1 860 he was elected prosecuting attorney for the county and held The Bench and Bar, 205 that ofifice until 1873, and it was during his incumbency of this office that he entered the United States army service, leaving the work of his office to be performed by a pro tan. appointee. For a number of years Mr. Cogswell has held the position of United States commissioner ; also, for many years he was one of the cemetery trustees. Aside from his professional work he has dealt somewhat in real estate, and is otherwise interested in the Kelley’s Island Wine Company, and in the ice business at Sandusky. Hon. E. M. Colver. Judge Colver was born in the Empire State, but while yet young his parents moved to Ohio and took up their residence at Norwalk, the county seat of Huron county. Here our subject received his early education — at the common schools and academy. In the year 1858 he entered the law department of the Cincinnati College and was graduated in 1859. He had read law under the instruction of Hon. Caleb B. Smith, a member of Mr. Lincoln’s cabinet during his first administration. In April, 1859, Mr. Colver became a member of the legal fraternity, and soon thereafter located for practice at Perrysburg, Wood county. On the 2d of September, 1861, he was mustered into the service as first lieutenant of Company B of the Third Ohio Cavalry. Erom the rank of lieu- tenant he was, in October, 1862, promoted to captain of Company K, and as such was in command of the Third Battalion. In December, 1863, vet- eranized with the regiment while at Pulaski, Tenn. He resigned in November, 1864, and came to Sandusky city for the purpose of recruiting a cavalry regi- ment under orders from the war department. Others were engaged with Captain Colver in this work, and it was but a short time before they had en- listed a regiment of cavalry thirteen hundred strong. Captain Colver did not again enter the service, but opened a law office in Sandusky city, where he has ever since resided. In 1868 he was elected city solicitor and held that position two years. In 1869 he was elected to the office of probate judge of the county, taking his seat in February, 1870. He was twice re-elected and served in all three terms of three years each. Upon the expiration of his last term Judge Colver formed a law partnership with J. L. De Witt, which was continued until the last named person was elected mayor of the city. A new partnership was then formed with Philip C. Schenkel, under the name of Colver & Schenkel, but subse- quently Edmund B. King became one of the firm and the style was then changed to Colver, Schenkel & King. Mr. Schenkel died in 1886, since which time the remaining partners have been associated professionally, and are now recognized as one of the leading law firms of the city and county. Omar Bailey was born in Vermont, the Green Mountain State, on the i8th day of December, 1834. When less than a year old his parents moved to Ohio, and became residents of Lorain count}^ Omar attended the common 27 206 History of Erie County. schools of the locality in which his parents lived, and when of sufficient age he entered Oberlin College, where he remained two years, but did not graduate from that institution. His early law studies were prosecuted in the office of Messrs. Plum & Plum, where he read for more than two years. He was ad- mitted to the bar at Columbus on the 14th of December, 1863. Mr. Bailey practiced law for a few years in Lorain county, and in the fall of 1868 went to Iowa, where he remained three years. On returning to Olho he opened an office at Norwalk, Huron county, and lived and practiced at that place until the month of September, 1863, at which time he came to Sandusky. His practice is general, but if there is any class of cases for which he has a preference, it is in that branch of the profession usually called criminal practice. John T. Beecher, son of Lucas S. Beecher, was born in Sandusky on the 23d of July, 1831. His early education was obtained in the schools of his na- tive town, after which he attended the academy at Mt. Vernon, O., and still later, for a time, Kenyon College, at Gambler, Knox county. His study of the law commenced almost at the same time with his education, but it was not until he left Kenyon College that he became a regular law student in the office of his father. He was admitted to the bar on the i ith of October, 1853, and | immediately became interested in his father’s practice, an association that con- tinued until the death of the latter, some few years ago. In 1883 Mr. Beecher formed a law partnership with Hon. Thomas P. Linne- frock, of Lremont, O., which relation has ever since been maintained. During the years 1879 and 1880 Mr. Beecher filled the office of city solicitor of San- dusky. Ulysses T. Curran. By far the greater of the years of this man, since the i days of youth, have been devoted to the school-room, either in the capacity of student or teacher, and it was not until the year 1884 that he beceme an active member of the legal profession, although he was admitted to practice in 1872. Mr. Curran was born at Harrisburg, the capital of the Keystone State, on the 7th day March, 1834. His education was obtained at the Miami Univer- sity, at Oxford in this State, his parents and family having become residents, of Brown county in 1840. He was graduated from this institution in 1856, and then received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Lor the three years next succeeding his graduation Mr. Curran was en- gaged as assistant superintendent of public schools at Ripley, in Brown county^ and at the same time engaged in teaching. He then became principal of the academy at Harford, Ohio county, Ky., and remained there until the outbreak , of the war, when, from the fact that he was not in sympathy with the great mass of the people of that State, he was compelled to leave, and leave quickly too. Lrom there he moved to La Layette, Ind., where he opened a select school, but this was not a'successful enterprise. During his residence there Mr. Cur- The Bench and Bar. 207 ran was constantly watched, as he was known to have come from Kentucky. False reports were circulated concerning him, and he was, for a long time, be- lieved to be an emissary of the secessionists, but before leaving the place peo- ple became fully satisfied of his loyalty and integrity. After residing at La Fayette for about a year Mr. Curran returned to Ohio and became superintend- ent of the public schools of Middletown, where he remained for three years, but then went to Glendale and became principal of the academy at that place. Again after another three years had elapsed he established what proved to be a very successful school at Cincinnati, for the preparation of young men for Flarvard and Yale Colleges. It was during his residence at Cincinnati that Mr. Curran read law under the direction of Major L. M. Hosea, a leading attorney of that city. This study was supplemented by a course in the law department of the Cincinnati Univer- sity, after which, in 1872, he was admitted to practice in the courts of the State. Soon after this he came to Sandusky and accepted the position of superintend- ent of the public schools, which he held for eight years, but on account of the adoption of certain books to be used in the schools, a heated and bitter con- troversy was created, during which our subject resigned his position. In 1844 the law partnership of Plinney & Curran was formed. Horatio N. Shipman was born in the town of Essex, Chittenden county, Vt., on the 3d of June, 1829. When he was less than four years of age his parents left Vermont and came to Trumbull county, O. The early education of young Shipman was obtained at the district schools of the vicinity in which his parents lived, and on account of the need of his ser- vice on the farm, his study was limited to a small part of the year. At the age of twenty-five he commenced reading law with Charles A. Harring, of Trumbull county, but he was soon obliged to withdraw from the office as he had not sufficient means to maintain himself He then returned to farm work and devoted his leisure time to the study of Blackstone, Kent and Greenley, having purchased the books for the purpose of qualifying himself for the legal profession. In August, 1854, he came to Berlinville, Erie county, and en- gaged in teaching school fora number of terms, but in the fall of 1857 he went to Norwalk, where he became a student in the office of T. R. Strong. In June, 1 857, he was admitted to the bar and located for practice at Milan, in this county. In the fall of 1861 Mr. Shipman recruited Company C, of the Fifty- fifth Ohio Infantry, and was made its captain. He served for about two }"ears. With the exception of this time he has been in constant practice at Milan. Hon. James L. De Witt, one of the present judges of the Common Pleas Court of this subdivision, was born in Perkins township, in this county, on the 20th of September, 1848. He was educated at the district schools of Perkins, and at the age of nineteen became a student at the Buckeye Commercial Col- lege, at Sandusky, where he remained one winter. At twenty he attended 208 History of Erie County. “ Job Fish’s School” at Berlin Heights, in this county, where he remained some time. He then taught school in the county for five or six years, but between terms attended Oberlin College. While teaching he devoted his leisure to reading elementary law works. He read law regularly with Hon. John Mackey and with Homer Goodwin, esq., and was admitted to the bar at Sandusky, in March, 1873, but devoted more time to teaching school than to the practice until the year 1875. The next year Mr. De Witt moved to Sandusky, and thenceforth continued his practice until the spring of 1883, at which time he was elected mayor of the city. In this office he served two terms. During his second candidacy no nomination was made against him. In the fall of 1886 our subject became the candidate of his party ( Democratic) for the of- fice of judge of the Common Pleas. He was elected and assumed his duties as such in February, 1887. Charles Webb Sadler was born in Sandusky, August 27, 1848. After an early education at the Sandusky High School, he, in 1865, entered Kenyon College, and after a four years’ course was graduated thereform in 1869. He then read law in the office of his father, Hon. E. B. Sadler, of Sandusky, but supplemented his legal study with a year’s attendance at the Columbia Faw School of New York city. In 1875 he was admitted to the bar and immedi- ately commenced practice at Sandusky city, in partnership with his father. Cyrus B. Winters, the present prosecuting attorney for Erie county, became a resident lawyer of Sandusky in 1881, and in the fall of that same year was elected to the office he now holds. His first vote in the county was cast at the polls of the election by which he was chosen to that office. His successor will be elected in November, 1888. Mr. Winters was born in Sandusky county on the 5 th of July, 1849. Aside from a common school education he was for some time at the Western Reserve Normal School, at Milan, but was not graduated. He then read law with A. B. Putman, commencing in 1873, and was admitted to the bar in 1876. From this time until about 1880, he was deputy clerk of the courts and deputy sher- iff of Sandusky county, but at the time named he went to Eaton Rapids, Mich., where he practiced about one year. In 1881 Mr. Winters came to Sandusky city, and in the fall of the same year was elected public prosecutor. Edmund B. King became a resident lawyer of Sandusky in the year 1875, but his admission to practice dates two years earlier. He is now prominently connected with the local military organization of the city, being the command- ant of the Sandusky Guards. Mr. King was born at Montzelle, Medina county, O., on the 4th of July, 1850. He was brought up on a farm, at work and attending school in season, until he reached the age of twenty. He attended Oberlin College one year and also Baldwin University, at Berea, for two years. From 1871 to 1873 Mr. King read law with George Knapp, also Messrs. The Bench and Bar. 209 Wickham & Wildman, of Norwalk, but during these years his time was in part occupied in teaching school. In August, 1873, at Elyria, Lorain county, he was admitted to the bar, and in the fall of the same year was elected prosecut- ing attorney of the county of Medina, but before the expiration of his term of office he resigned and came to Sandusky City. Here he formed a law part- nership with W. W. Bowen, esq., with whom he was associated about two years, after which he became the junior partner of the firm of Taylor, Phinney & King. Three years later the firm of King & Sloane was formed, and con- tinued five years. After practicing alone for one year, Mr. King became one of the firm of Colver, Schenkel & King. Mr. Schenkel died in 1886, and the firm then became Colver & King. Charles H. Cramer was born in Seneca county, O. He attended school at Whitehall, in that county, and afterwards entered the college at Tiffin for one year, but did not graduate. He was admitted to practice at Mansfield, O., and became a resident of Sandusky in 1881, in which city he has since resided and practiced the law. Walter W. Bowen was born at Akron, in this State, in September, 1849. He was educated at Oberlin College and the Baldwin University ; read law in the office of Messrs Walker & Bailey, of Norwalk, and was admitted to the bar at Elyria, Lorain county, in 1873. The next year, 1874, he came to practice in Sandusky. In 1876 Mr. Bowen was elected as prosecuting attorney of Erie county, and filled that office two years ; and again, from July, 1880, to January, 1881,. he held the same position. In the last named year he was elected to the office of city solicitor, and re-elected at the expiration of his first term. Grayson Mills was born in the city of Sandusky. He was educated at Kenyon College, at Gambler, and graduated from the Columbia Law College, of New York City, in the year 1876. Eor about two years he practiced at Cincinnati, but came to Sandusky in 1878. From 1881 to 1883 Mr. Mills filled the office of prosecuting attorney of this county, and since that time has been engaged in the general practice. John P. Stein. Mr. Stein was born in Milan township of this county, in the year 1858. He was educated at the Milan Normal School, and came to Sandusky and entered the office of J. W. Tilly, as a student at law. This course was supplemented by further study in the law department of the Uni- versity of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, after which, in 1881, he was admitted to the bar. Two years later he was elected justice of the peace, the duties of which office were performed in connection with his professional work. George C. Beis, the present city solicitor, of Sandusky, was born in Lucas county on the 12th of September, 1861. His early education was received in the common and high schools of his native county, after which he became a law student in the office of Scribner, Hurd & Scribner, of Toledo. He after- 210 History of Erie County. ward attended the University of Michigan, and was graduated with the class of 1883. In the same year he came to Sandusky and opened an office for practice. In the spring of 1885 Mr. Beis was elected city solicitor, and re- elected in 1887. Linn W. Hull, the junior partner of the law firm of Goodwin, Goodwin & Hull, is a native of this county, born in Perkins township April 9, 1856. He was educated at Oberlin and Union Colleges and at Cornell University, but was not graduated from either of these institutions. He took a course at the law school at Cincinnati, ahd was graduated in 1883 and admitted to practice. Prior to that time he had read law with Taylor & Finney, also Homer and Lewis H. Goodwin, of Sandusky City. In 1886 Mr. Hull became a partner in the present firm. Fred Reinheimer was born in Sandusky in 1843. During the war he en- listed in the Eighth Infantry and still later in the Third Cavalry. He read law in the office of J. G. Bigelow, and was admitted to practice in 1873, since which time he has practiced in Sandusky. Hewson L. Peeke was born at South Bend, Ind., April 20, 1861. He graduated from the Chicago High School in 1878, after which he entered Wil- liams College, and was graduated therefrom in 1882. He then read law with Tagert & Cutting, of Chicago, for one year, after which he went to Dakota and practiced law for a time. In 1883 he returned east and read law with Homer Goodwin, esq., of Sandusky, and was admitted to practice in January, 1885. He located at Sandusky. Mr. Peeke is a strong Prohibitionist. He was the candidate of the Prohi- bitionists for common pleas judge in 1886, and again the candidate of the same party for circuit judge in the fall of 1887. William A. Childs was born in this State November 2, 1857 ; read law in the office of Hon. Allen M. Knox, of Conneaut, after which he entered the Albany Law School, at Albany, N. Y., and was graduated in February, 1880. During the same month he was admitted to practice in Ohio. For a time he practiced at Conneaut and came to Erie county, locating at Vermillion, in 1882. He has twice been elected justice of the peace, and also served two years as mayor of Vermillion. W. B. Starbird, the present associate editor of the Milan Advertise^', was born in New York State. He commenced the study of the law at the age of nineteen years, and was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-four. • He commenced practice in 1882, but in connection with it, has for the last three years held the position of associate editor of the Advertiser. Among the members of the Erie county bar, there may be mentioned the names of others who have been in active practice during the few years last past, but whose efforts are now directed in other channels of trade or profes- sion : Thomas M. Sloane, Gottlieb Stroebel, Benjamin F. Lee, Charles L. Hub- The Medical Profession. 21 I bard, Rush R. Sloane, Lester Hubbard, C. C. Bittner, H. S. Kellogg, Herman Ohly, now in an insane asylum ; and possibly a few others whose names can- not now be recalled. CHAPTER XVI. THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. I NTRODUCTORY observations. ^ “ When we consider the importance and elevated character of the science of medicine — its object, the preservation of the health and lives, and the healing of diseases, and the amelioration of the physical and mental sufferings of our fellow human beings — its extent embrac- ing a knowledge of all science — it is evident that medical education should engage the earnest attention of the entire medical profession. The advances made in all the branches of knowledge, and especially in the science of medi- cine during the past century, have exceeded in extent and value those oU all past ages ; and it is no longer possible to compress its vast domain within the narrow limits of ‘ seven Professorships.'' The present age owes its wonderful progress to experimental a7id scie7itific research. “ Evolution and development are the talismanic watchwords of the nine- teenth century, and the doctrine is being accepted that things in the world do grow, and are not made; it is no longer generally accepted as a matter of religious faith that the universe was created by supernatural power, for many of our deepest thinkers, men of the most profound understanding, believe that it has been gradually unfolded by the action of natural causes. But, not wish- ing to be accused of heresy, it may be stated that, whether the theory be according to Darwin or Hackel or Spencer, or some other philosopher, the law will be the same in any case, and away back, behind ‘protoplasm,’ ‘ger- minal matter,’ and ‘cellular germ' there exists abundant proof of a ‘ First Great Cause,’ of an ‘ Infinite wisdom,’ for the depth of which, language has no expression. A great flood of light on this subject is now pouring forth on the world, but its acceptation as a convincing truth rests in a great measure wholly with the individual.” ‘’‘The world,” says Goethe, ‘‘ is not so framed that it can keep quiet.” All the natural energies are brought into full force by the spirit of enterprise, by the spirit of progress. The telegraph wires wipe out all territorial boundaries, and railways penetrate the utmost confines of the earth, and by them States and territories are bound fast together in one web. From selected sketches. “ Qid facit per alium, facit per se.’’ 212 History of Erie County. “The Bible,” says Gail Hamilton, “is full of excellent precepts, and the world is full of bad examples. If a man smite us on the right cheek, we — knock him down. If a man sues us at law, we stand suit, and if he would bor- row of us we promptly turn away, unless he can give ample security.” Science and enterprise have spanned the continent with electric wires, cabled the Atlantic Ocean, given us the measurements of revolving planets, spread forth the canvas to the gale, and made the trackless ocean a highway through the world. By the use of scientific and cunningly devised instru- ments bleak skies and rude winds are foreseen, and the navigator places him in safety. The electric light has displaced gas as effectually as the latter did the “ tallow dip,” and is established upon a secure commercial basis. School- houses, churches, newspapers, and books open up to the poorest the lights and opportunities of knowledge. The wealth of nations increases and we see all the arts of life approaching nearer and nearer perfection. In science, art and literature each succeeding generation is wiser than its predecessor. The mistakes of past experience serve as beacon-lights to warn us off the rocks of error and lead us to the port of truth. The great and wide advancement in the different branches of medical science within the last generation is as much a marvel as the progress made in any other of the arts and sciences. The poorest laborer can now obtain ad- vice and medicine far superior to that which royalty could command one or two centuries ago. “ The advance in medical knowledge within one’s memory,” says Sir James Paget, “ is amazing, whether reckoned in the wonders of science not yet ap- plied, or in practical results, in the general lengthening of life, or, which is still better, in the prevention and decrease of pain and misery, and in the in- crease of working power. “The dawning of medical science, which now sheds its-light through the world, began with Hippocrates nearly twenty-three hundred years ago, and he first treated of medicine with anything like sound or rational principles. He wrote extensively, much of which has been translated, and serves as a foundation for the succeeding literature of the profession. He relied chiefly upon the healing powers of nature, his remedies, being exceedingly simple. He taught that ‘ the people ’ ought not to load themselves with excrements, or keep them in too long; and for this reason he prescribed ‘ meats proper for loosening the belly,’ and if these failed he directed the use of the clysters. “Three hundred years before Christ, Erasistratus invented and used the catheter, introduced the tourniquet, and produced an instrument for lithotriptic operations. Celsus flourished A. D. 50 to 120 as the greatest of Roman sur- geons. “Through the centuries from the beginning of the Christian era down to The Medical Profession. 213 the time of the discovery of the circulation of the blood by Harvey, 1619, medicine shed but a glimmering light in the midst of the darkness then en- shrouding the world, and the greatest strides in the advancement of the vari- ous branches of medical science have been made in the last one hundred years, and most of them may be placed to the credit of the last half century. “ Physiologists no longer believe with Paracelsus in the sixteenth century, that the planets have a direct controlling action upon the body, the sun upon the heart, and the moon upon the brain ; nor do they now believe that the vital spirits are prepared in the brain by distillation ; nor do they admit that the chyle effervesces in the heart under the influence of salt and sulphur, which take fire together and produce the vital flame. On the contrary modern physi- ology teaches that the phenomena of the living body are the result of physical and chemical changes ; the temperature of the blood is ascertained by the thermometer, and the different fluids and gases of the body are analyzed by the chemist, giving to each its own properties and function. “ While the eighteenth century witnessed greater advancement in the de- partment of medical science than any or all its predecessors, the crowning achievements seem to have been reserved for the nineteenth — the present century. Among the thousands of elements that comprise this century’s advance in medical science mention will be made of but one, and that among the first discoveries, i. e., the use of anesthetics, which benumb the nerves of sensation, and produce a profound, but transient state of insensibility, in which the most formidable operation may be performed while the patient sleeps and dreams of home and happy hours, and the physician is left to the pleasing reflection that he is causing no pain or suffering.” But it appears that as rapid as has been this advance during the last hun- dred years, so, correspondingly, have there developed new forms and phases of disease to baffle the skill of the most eminent physicians and scientists in the land ; and while diseases malarious in their character, have for a time de- fied the attempts to overcome them, they have, nevertheless, been subdued and conquered. Medical skill has proved equal to every emergency. There is, to-day, known to botanists over one hundred and fort)^ thousand plants, a large proportion of which are being constantly added to the already appalling list of new remedies. Many of these new drugs possess little, if any virtue, save as their sale adds to the exchequer of some enterprising pharma- cist. A drug house of this State recently issued a circular, in which they ad- vertised 33 syrups, 42 elixirs, 93 solid extracts, 150 sugar-coated pills, 236 tinctures, 245 roots, barks, herbs, seeds and flowers, 322 fluid extracts and 348 general drugs and chemicals. “ The ancients were not so well supplied with drugs. It was the custom among the Babylonians to expose the sick to the view of passengers, in order to learn of them whether they had been afflicted with a like distemper, and 28 214 History of Erie County. by what remedies they had been cured. It was also the custom of those days | for all persons who had been sick, and were cured, to put up a tablet in the temple of Esculapius, wherein they gave an account of the remedies that had restored them to health. Prior to the time of Hippocrates all medicine was in the hands of priests, and was associated with numerous superstitions, such as sympathetic ointments applied to the weapon with which a wound was made, incantations, charms, amulets, the royal touch for the cure of scrofula, human or horse flesh for the cure of epilepsy, convulsions treated with human brains. “ While all this credulous superstition of early ages, born of ignorance, ex- isted to a vastly large extent, it has not been fully wiped out by the generally advanced education of the present day. The latest appeal to the credulity of the masses of the people is an invention to relieve the unfortunate sick, and is known as ‘ the Faith Cure.’ The persons seeking to popularize this means of cure are either deceived themselves, or are deceiving others. Upon this point says a popular writer: If the disease be an incurable one, all the prayers in the world will not cure it. Filth brings fever ; prayer cannot interpose. “There is probably no department of medicine at the present time more promising of good results than is sanitary science. While physiology and pathology are making known to us the functions of the human body, and the nature and cause of disease, sanitary science is steadily teaching how the causes of disease may be removed or avoided, and health thereby secured. This knowledge is of the greatest practical importance to all, and especially to the people of this county where, upon not less than four occasions, have there been visitations of the dreaded cholera, and, save upon the first of these, swept the inhabitants away like chaff before the wind. But the probabilities of a future cholera epidemic are very materially lessened by the greatly improved sanitary condition of Sandusky in the introduction of a complete system of trunk and lateral sewers, and the provision of an excellent water supply, by which the use of the old wells was discarded, and the sewage matter carried by force of the water to points beyond the possibility of injury. “ Progress during the coming one hundred years, if only equal to that of the past, will more than have accomplished great ryorks in the advancement of sanitary science ; but the accomplishment of this work calls, not only for the labor of the physician, but for the intelligent co-operation of the people. The physician cannot do it alone. If anything really great is to be done in the way of sanitary improvement, and of preventing disease and death, it must be done largely by the people themselves. This implies that they must be instructed in sanitary matters. They must be taught what unsanitary conditions favor the origin of disease, how disease is spread, and the means of its prevention. If it is true that that knowledge is of greatest value to us which teaches the means of ‘ self preservation,’ then the importance of a wide spread knowledge of how to prevent disease and premature death cannot be overestimated.” The Medical Profession. 215 The older residents of this county well remember the cholera scourge of the years of 1849, 1852, and lastly in 1859, and there may be still living a few that can recall the first visitation in 1832. But then the county had not ac- quired a sufficient population to make felt the ravages of this disease in its greatest severity ; nor was there then a sufficient accumulation of filth in Avhich the germs of the disease could breed and develop. But during the years 1849, 1852 and 1854 the scourge was indeed terrible, and hundreds of per- sons fell victims to its ravenous greed. The medical force of the county at that time was small, only in proportion to the population, and those here had little knowledge of the disease or of the means of its cure and prevention. Of the early members of the medical profession of Erie county only a tra- ditional record exists. It is one of those classes of occupations that record but little of their own history except as shown by local societies formed at different times, and in this county there appears to have been none organized prior to the year 1850. The great body of medical practitioners in Erie county may be divided into two classes, and known commonly as Allopathic and Homeopathic. The name of the former, however, is rarely applied by its representatives to themselves, they claiming to be “regular” physicians, and considering all others as the cre- ation of a digression from the true and correct principles of medicine and prac- tice. The name Allopath is one applied by Homeopathists to the “ regulars ” to distinguish them from their own body. In this chapter space is devoted to each of these branches of the profession. Among the medical practitioners of Erie county there have, perhaps, been none that attained a standing of special eminence in the profession, but there have been, and are now to be found in the ranks, men of understanding, men of science, men of great mental and moral worth and integrity, whose influence has been so salutary and all-pervading that the whole profession seems to have caught something of its spirit, and maintained a freedom from all unworthy methods, such as can be found in but few communities. SOME PIONEER PHYSICIANS. Reliable information concerning the names of the pioneers of the medical profession in all parts of Erie, or what afterward became Erie county is indeed meagre, and in the following mention it is more than possible that some names are lacking. But from facts gleaned from all sources we are enabled to furnish the names of several who were identified Avith the profession at a very early day. The pioneer in the tOAvn of Sandusky was, unquestionably. Dr. George An- derson, Avho came to this place from New York State, and continued in prac- tice for several years. Dr. Anderson died during the first cholera epidemic. Dr. John W. Russell came to the town in the spring of 1828, and left in the fall folloAving. Another pioneer in the profession Avas Dr. Jeremiah S. Coch- 2i6 History of Erie County. ran, who came to Sandusky in 1832, just at the time of the first cholera out- break, and rendered efficient service during its continuance. He died in July, 1845. Elwood Stanley came here during the cholera epidemic of 1849,. and rendered efficient service during that and the subsequent cholera periods. Waitsell Hastings commenced the practice of medicine in Oxford town- ship as early as 181 1, but he afterward moved to Parkerstown, a hamlet of Gro- ton township, where he died. Dr. Strong succeeded Dr. Hastings in Oxford,, and was, in turn, himself succeeded by Dr. Carpenter. The latter subsequently moved west, and Dr. George Carpenter took his place. Dr. Isaac Rogers, a Botanical physician, also practiced in Oxford. At Huron Dr. Ansolem Guth- rie located in 1813, but after four years removed to Canada. Dr. McCrea, a former resident of New Jersey, practiced in Huron township at a very early day. Dr. Charles H. Leggett came here in 1830, and practiced at the village about two years. He was drowned in the Huron River in 1832. Dr. George S. Haskins settled at Huron in 1832, and Dr. Joseph Caldwell in 1833. The first physician of Berlin township was Dr. George S. Baker, who locat- ed here in 1822. Dr. Xenophon Phillips, Dr. Guthrie, Dr. Harkness, Dr. Fay, Dr. Daniel Butler, also David Butler, — the latter a “root and herb” physician — practiced here, but all were not resident practitioners. Among others of later years were Professor L. B. Hill and Dr. George S. Hill. In Margaretta, Dr. Hartshorne established at Venice as early as 1817; Dr. Samuel Carpenter at Castalia in 1824, and at the same place Dr. M. J. Morseman came in 1836- Drs. James F. Wilson, R. C. Luce and J. D. McKim were also quite early phy- sicians of Margaretta. Dr. Strong seems to have been the pioneer of the pro- fession in Vermillion. Dr. A. E. Merrill, formerly probate judge of the county, and F. C. McConnelly were settlers of a later day. Dr. George Hastings applied the healing art to the people of Groton town- ship as early as 1810. He died in 1864. In Perkins Dr. Richard P. Christo- pher performed a like service commencing in 1815, and in Milan were Drs. Goodwin and Guthrie. THE MEDICAL SOCIETIES. The first steps looking to the organization of a medical society were taken while the lands embraced by Erie county were included within the territorial limits of Huron, and at a time when the idea of establishing such a county as Erie was unconceived. On the loth of April, 1824, an order was promulgated by the press (the old Clarion), which being copied herein will fully explain itself. “ Medical Notice. — Pursuant to an act to incorporate medical societies for the purpose of regulating the practice of physic and surgery in this State, I hereby notify the medical gentlemen, resident in the counties of Richland, Huron, Lorain, Sandusky and Seneca, that a meeting will be holden at Nor- walk, the last Tuesday of May next, at 10 o’clock A. M., for the purpose of or- The Medical Profession. 217 ganizing a medical society agreeable to said act. It is expected that there will be a general attendance of physicians of this district, as the eleventh section of the act provides that no person, other than members of one of the medical so- cieties in this State, shall be permitted to practice physic or surgery after the ist of July next. Daniel Tilden. "Norwalk, April 10, 1824.” The Clario 7 i, in its issue of June 2d following, contains the following report relative to the proceedings had in pursuance of the above notice: "Communication. — Agreeable to the act on the 25th instant, came on at Norwalk the first meeting of the Fourteenth Medical Society in this State. The meeting was full, and upon the whole we were much pleased with the re- spectable display of parchment. At three o’clock the gentlemen proceeded to organize by choosing Dr. Tilden, of Norwalk, president; Dr. Anderson, of San- dusky, vice-president; Dr. Mantor, of Elyria, secretary; Dr. Fay, of Milan,, treasurer; Dr. Lucas, of Uniontown, Dr. C. G. Miller, of Mansfield, Dr. Baker, of Florence, Dr. Sanders, of Peru, Dr. Strong, of Bloomingville, censors. Officers for 1825. — Dr. Nathan H. Mantor, president; Dr. John B. Johnson, vice-president; Dr. Amos B. Harris, secretary ; Dr. Lyman Fay, treasurer; Dr. George G. Baker, Dr. Moses C. Sanders, Dr. Daniel Tilden, Dr. Eli Dresback and Dr. Charles E. Ford, censors. Officers for 1826. — Dr. Moses C. Sanders, president; Dr. George Ander- son, vice-president; Dr. Amos B. Harris, secretary; Dr. Lyman Fay, treasu- rer; Drs. George G. Baker, Daniel Tilden, Nathan H. Mantor, Daniel Brain- ard, junior, and Joel Luther, censors. Officers for 1827. — Dr. Allen G. Miller, president; Dr. George G. Baker,, vice-president; Dr. A. B. Harris, secretary; Dr. Lyman Fay, treasurer; Drs. George G. Baker, William F. Kittredge, Moses C. Sanders, Daniel Tilden and Eli Dresback, censors. Officers for 1828. — Dr. George G. Baker, president; Dr. Moses C. Sanders, vice-president; Dr. Amos B. Harris, secretary; Dr. Lyman Fay, treasurer; Drs. William F. Kittredge, Allen G. Miller, Eber W. Hubbard, Moses C. Sanders and Daniel Tilden, censors. Officers for 1829. — Dr. Moses C. Sanders, president; Dr. Daniel Tilden,. vice-president; Dr. Amos B. Harris, secretary; Dr. Lyman Fay, treasurer;. Drs. George G. Baker, Nathan H. Mantor, William F. Kittredge, William W. Nugent and Henry Kuhn, censors. At a meeting of the society held in 1830, a resolution was adopted approv- ing of the efforts then being made for the suppression of intemperance. During^ the year Dr. George Anderson was the president, but no further mention of the proceedings of this society are found, and it is probable that the organiza- tion was not maintained much later than the year 1830. In 1828 the practicing physicians of Huron county were as follows ; George 2I8 History of p:rie County. G. Baker, Daniel Tilden, M. C. Sanders, George Anderson. Lyman Fay, Will- iam F. Kittredge, William W. Nugent, Amos B. Harris, H. M. Clark, Joseph Pearce, Andrew McMillen, Richard P. Christophers, Samuel Stephens, Charles Smith, Samuel B. Carpenter, W. Merriman, Lemuel Powers and A. H. Brown; and inasmuch as this county was embraced within Huron at that time, the phy- sicians above named, or part of them at least, resided within what afterward became Erie county. ERIE COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY. The Erie County Medical Society was the outgrowth of a meeting of physi- cians held at Sandusky on the 6th of April, 1850, at the office of Dr. E. S. Lane. Of this meeting Dr. Daniel Tilden was chosen chairman, and Dr. E. Lauder- dale, secretary. This gathering was wholly informal and the main business transacted was the declaration of intention to organize the society, and the ap- pointment of a committee on constitution and by-laws, as follows : Drs. E. S. Lane, Robert R. McMeens, C. Cochran and E. Lauderdale, of Sandusky ; Dr. Galpin, of Milan ; Dr. Caldwell, of Huron, and Dr. Wilson, of Castalia. The constitution and by-laws were adopted and the society organized on the 13th of April, 1850. The first officers were Dr. Daniel Tilden, president ; Dr. E. S. Lane, secretary. The original members of the society were Doctors Daniel Tilden, sr., Aaron Austin, E. S. Lane, Robert R. McMeens, E. Laud- erdale, and Charles Cochran. P'rom that time the society received acquisitions in membership and was productive of much good, both to the members and the people of the count)r It would be difficult, if not absolutely impossible, to state the numerical strength of the society at any time after its full organization. As new names were ad- ded the persons respectively signed the “articles of faith” of the society, and from the roll thus formed we are enabled to furnish the names of members in the order of seniority in the society. In addition to those whose names are given above the following appear to have been, at some time, received into membership : Daniel Tilden, jr., Moses C. Hoyt, Samuel B. Carpenter, jr., John A. Blanchard, Henry J. Donahoe, James Hitchcock, H. S. Parmenter, Henry D. Mann, James F. Wilson, George W. Carpender, Joel Morse, — . Horwitz, A. H. Agard, Joseph Caldwell, James D. McKim, Philip Graefe, J. E. Wood- bridge, A. H. Rankin, A. J. Gawne, Elwood Stanley, W. Graefe, Leopold Pape, Charles T. D. Gibson, Carl Heiter, T. S. Field, R. C. Luce, F. C. McConnelly, Samuel H. Bassinger, Michael A. Hughes, P. H. Clements. J. T. Cushing, George S. Haskins, William Storey, T. M. Cook, William R. Page, G. W. Decker, M. J. Love, Rev. Samuel Marks, A. Szendery, Alta F. Cook, Charles Graefe, A. C. Friend, W. D. Wilson, L. S. Szendery, R. L. McNees, W. J. Esch. The society continued in a prosperous condition for something over ten years, until the breaking out of the war, and thenceforth it seems to have suf- fered with the general disintegration, not only of societies, but of parties and The Medical Profession. 219 all manner of civil associations. From 1861 to 1870 but few meetings were held and no proceedings were entered on the records of the society. In 1870 the society was again brought together, mainly to take some appropriate action upon the occasion of the death of Dr. Tilden, which occurred during that year, but since 1861 the society has never been as strong as at and prior to that time. It now numbers not to exceed a dozen active, working members. Its present officers are as follows : Dr. William Graefe, president ; Dr. Elwood Stanley, first vice-president ; Dr. W. J. Esch, second vice-president ; Dr. Al- ta F. Cook, secretary and treasurer. According to the record of medical so- cieties of the State for the year 1887, the following persons, physicians, are members of the Erie County Society : T. M. Cook, Alta F. Cook, William J. Esch, William Graefe, Charles Graefe, Ralph W. Nees, Alvis Szendery, Louis Szendery, Elwood Stanley, Carl Tuttle. THE BAY CITY MEDICAL SOCIETY. This organization, the junior of its class in the county, was formed in the spring of 1878, and was made up in part of members of the older society just before mentioned. During the ten years of its existence the Bay City Med- ical Society has never been strong in point of membership, and it numbers now but eight members, as follows : Henry J. Donahoe, A. J. Gawne, E. J. Good- sell, Carl Heiter, M. J. Love, F. C. McConnelly, William Storey, and L. Szen- dery, Its officers are A. J. Gawne, president ; F. C. McConnelly, vice-presi- dent; E. J. Goodsell, secretary and treasurer. HOMEOPATHY. It is a trite saying that the improvements, inventions and discoveries of the last fifty years exceed both in number and importance all that had been ac- complished for many centuries before. Admitting this to be true, it may be said that in no department of human knowledge have greater advances been made than in medicine. To affirm that all the different theories on the subject of the best methods of treating disease are alike valuable, would betray ignorance, if nothing worse; to deny that each or any of the theories had, in at least a limited degree, some practical value, would not only convict the individual of ignorance, but be an assumption of wisdom that only bigots would claim, and even credulity could hardly admit. Among the systems or theories on the subject of curing the sick that have received recognition and practical application in this country within the last fifty years, is that known as homeopathy. An enthusiastic believer in the law of cure expressed in the legend “ Siinilia Similibus Curantur” once undertook to enforce the truth and value of this system, by asserting that the law on which it rested proceeded directly from the throne of God. A “ doubting Thomas ” 220 History of Erie County. to whom the remark was addressed, replied that the endorsement of a patent by the Almighty was considered sufficient, but as there is a very gener- ally accepted opinion among the best informed people that about all the laws that govern this world, or effect its inhabitants, proceed from the same source, there does not seem to be any peailiar importance conferred upon the system, in virtue of its origin. That the law of cure expressed by the above legend, when honestly and absolutely followed, will cure disease, restore the sick to health, is a fact as well attested as any statement resting on human testimony, and is capable of dem- onstration on precisely the lines of argument and proof whether pathological or dynamic, that apply to all other restorative methods, or medical dogmas of the age. The history of the introduction of homeopathy into this city, and the experience of the pioneers of the practice, are not peculiar or specially note- worthy, unless it be in the fact that its advent was welcomed by a few influen- tial friends and supporters who, after forty years of experience, are still numbered among the patrons of the system whose birth and baptism they helped to celebrate. Thirty-four years ago Sandusky had one homeopathic physician; now there are six. Then there were seven thousand inhabitants ; now we have twenty-three thousand. The entire yearly receipts of the busi- ness of the only homeopathic physician in Sandusky, in 1854, was a little less than $3,000. Several of those here to-day will largely exceed that amount in 1888. The homeopathic physicians of this city are doing more business in proportion to their numbers, than the “ old school.” They have now, and have always had a relatively large clientage among the wealthy and best people of the city. The homeopathic physicians of the city compare favorably with those of any city of the same population ; not only is the comparison favorable so far as their own school is concerned, but in comparison with any other school. The homeopathic physicians in the other parts of the county would suffer no loss by a similar comparison, either with their brethren in the city, or with their competitors of other systems of practice. Since 1847 fifteen homeopathic phy- sicians have settled in this city (Sandusky), of whom six reside here now, and are engaged in active practice. The same number have at different times lo- cated in other parts of the county ; each of the following villages having at one time or other had one or more homeopathic physicians : Berlin, Castalia, Hu- ron, Kelly’s Island, Put-in Bay, Milan and Vermillion. Of those who have set- tled in the city at different times, to the present date, February, 1888, only six are here now. Of the whole number, all are still living but two. Dr. Henry Wigand, who died about 1870, in Dayton, O., and Dr. D. T. Kramer, who died in Kansas two or three years ago. The following are the names of the, different physicians and the order of their location in Sandusky : Henry Wigand R. Caulkins, D. T. Kramer, C. Hastings, I. B. Massey, J. D. Buck, L. L. Leg- ; gett, E. Gillard, G. A. Gordon, C. E. Stroud, S. A. Henderson, D. Gillard, Dr. Newton, Wm. Gaylord, James Gillard. 5 The Medical Profession. 221 The first homeopathic physician to settle and practice in Erie county, O., was Dr. Henry VVigand. He was a German by birth ; a man of robust and commanding physique, pleasing manners, scholarly attainments, and very suc- cessful in his profession. He settled in Sandusky in 1847, remained here until after the cholera of 1849, when he removed to Dayton, in this State. He published a work on practice in 1856, which had a limited sale, but has been out of print for many years. Dr. Wigand came to this city from Bos- ton. He was not only the first homeopathic physician to settle in this county, but he represented that system in its most distinctive characteristics. The next physician of this school of practice to locate in Sandusky was Dr. R. Caulkins, who came in 1848. He remained here in practice until 1850, when he left and returned again about 1862 or ’63. From here he finally moved to Toledo, and after a few years spent in that city, went to New York State. He is now in charge as physician of one of the hospitals in Buffalo, N. Y. Dr. Caulkins is a man of pure life, devoted to his profession; very religious in his nature ; honest in his opinions and thoroughly independent in asserting them, and urged by his impulsive temperament he at times expressed himself with a vehemence and personality that reached the very verge of social pro- priety. The next representative of homeopathy in this city was Dr. D. T. Kramer. He came here from New York State. He graduated from the Homeopathic College in Philadelphia about 1848 and located here the same year. Dr. Kra- mer was a man of sterling character, and commanded the respect of all who knew him. He devoted himself and his utmost skill to the best interests of his patients. He believed most thoroughly in the law expressed in the legend “ Similia shnilibus ctirantnr," and as those who knew him best can testify, whatever professional success he attained was the result of a faithful applica- tion of the teachings of the founder of the system he had adopted. Home- opathy suffered no loss at Dr. Kramer’s hands; on the contrary, it grew in influ- ence, and its patrons increased in numbers. A man of modest and unaffected address, and possessing but little personal magnetism, his success and popularity were never factitious, but the reward of true manhood and real merit. Dr. Kramer moved with his family to Kansas in 1874, where he died in 1884. It is with sincere pleasure that the author of this simple tribute to Dr. Kramer’s memory embraces this unexpected opportunity to bear testimony to some of the many virtues of a man of so few faults. About 1852 a Dr. Hastings came to this city, and remained a year or two and from here went to Detroit. He never obtained much practice, and had only a limited acquaintance, even among the patrons of homeopathy. Of his subsequent history the writer has no information. In May, 1854, Dr. I. B. Massey came with his family to Sandusky from Jefferson county, N. Y. At that time Dr. Kramer was the only homeopathic 29 222 History of Erie County. physician in the city ; those before mentioned as having been here, had all left. The first year of his residence in this city was at the old “ Townsend House,” kept at that time by R. D. McDonald. In April, 1855, he formed a copartnership with Dr. Kramer, which continued for three years ; their office being most of the time at Dr. Kramer’s house, the present residence of Dr, John A. Graham. Dr. Massey graduated from the medical department of New York University in April, 1846. The venerable Dr. Valentine Mott was president of the faculty, and professor of surgery. Dr. Massey was in active practice as an allopathic physician from the time of his graduation until he came to Sandusky ; he had, however, for two or three years previous to his coming west, been investigating the claims of homeopathy, and devoted most of the year of his residence here before commencing practice with Dr. Kramer, in that gentleman’s office, familiarizing himself with the matei'ia medica and the- rapeutics of the system which he had decided to adopt, and in which practice he is still engaged, having practiced thirty-four years as a homeopathist in Sandusky, and eight years as an allopathist in New York. He is therefore the senior in actual age — having been born January 17, 1821 — as well as in years of practice, of all the homeopathic physicians of Erie county. Dr. Mas- sey had for many years a large and lucrative practice, extending not only over Sandusky city, but more or less into the different townships of the county. He was from 1861 to 1871 physician to the county infirmary, a term of ten consecutive years. He was also for several years a member of the board of health, and a portion of the time health officer of the city. Admonished by increasing years and the growing infirmities incident to long exposure in the duties of a “ doctor’s life,” that the call from labor to ‘‘ rest and refreshment” had sounded, the doctor is endeavoring to enjoy the fruits of an active profes- sional career, among those who remain of friends, patrons, and acquaintances, extending over a period of thirty-four years — more than a “ generation of time.” Dr. L. L. Leggett, son of General Leggett, of Cleveland, located here about 1870, and remained a year or so, when he relinquished his profession and en- gaged with his father in the patent law business. Dr. Leggett has the quali- fications that will make him succeed in whatever he undertakes. The loss of such men to the profession is a misfortune to it and the public. The next recruit to the ranks of homeopathic physicians in Sandusky was Dr. J. D. Buck. He was born in Lredonia, N. Y. State, November 20, 1838. He studied medicine and graduated at Cleveland Homeopathic College in the spring of 1864; commenced practice at Battle Creek, Mich. ; moved to San- dusky in the spring of 1865, forming a copartnership with Dr. ^D. T. Kramer. In the fall of i866he was appointed to the chair of physiology in Cleveland Ho- meopathic College which position he filled until he removed to Cincinnati in the fall of 1871, where he helped to organize, in 1872, the Pulte Medical College of The Medical Profession. 223 that city. Dr. Buck was for the first eight or nine years professor of physiology and registrar of the faculty. Since that time he has been dean and professor of theory and practice and clinical professor of throat and lung diseases. He was president of the State Homeopathic Medical Society in 1876. Dr. Buck has a large and lucrative practice at Cincinnati, and is one of the leading men of the homeopathic school of the State. A man of pleasing address, robust health, extremely social and attractive in his intercourse with his patients, and the public ; studious by nature ; gifted with strong mental powers, he is an honor to the profession and would be an ornament to any society where his lot might be cast. Dr. Geo. A. Gordon succeeded to the practice of Dr. J. Buck in 1871, on the removal of that gentleman to Cincinnati, O. Dr. Gordon was born in Washington county. Pa., in 1841. He followed farming until the spring of 1864, when he enlisted as a soldier in the Union army and remained until the close of the Rebellion. He graduated from Iberia College, O., in 1867, when he began reading medicine with R. B. Rush, M. D., of Salem, O. He gradu- ated from Cleveland Homeopathic College in February, 1867, and settled in Sandusky the following June, where he is still actively engaged in his profes- sion. The doctor is one of our most popular and successful physicians. He has few superiors as a prescriber. Dr. Edwin Gillard was born at Venice, Erie county, O., in 1845 1 attended the High School in this city; and Oberlin College ; served in the 145th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, usually known as the One Hundred Day troops. Re- turning to civil life he engaged in teaching school for five years and then en- tered Dr. J. D. Buck’s office as a medical student, beginning practice at Belle- vue in 1870. In 1871 he became a partner of Dr. I. B. Massey, and attended the Cleveland Homeopathic College where he graduated the following year. In 1882 he established the sanitarium at his present location No. 927 Wash- ington street. Dr. Gillard is favorably known as a practitioner of skill, and occupies a front rank among the physicians of the city. As a student or prac- titioner, nature has endowed him with a degree of industry, perseverance and pluck, that when supplemented by adequate professional knowledge always constitutes an energy that thrives by opposition ; and while accident or supe- rior force may hinder or delay, they seldom utterly defeat. Dr. Gillard was coroner of Erie county for one term, and is a prominent member of several secret societies. Dr. Clarence Eugene Stroud was born in Bloomfield, Ontario county, N. Y., January 14, 1847 ! educated at Palmyra, N. Y., and entered his fath- er’s dental office in Sandusky, in 1865, where he remained as student or part- ner until 1871. Then he entered the homeopathic medical department of Mich- igan University and remained one year, when he entered the Detroit Home- opathic College, graduating in 1872. His first location in practice after grad- 224 History of Erie County. uating, was at Wyandotte, Mich., where he remained one year. In the spring of 1873 he came to Sandusky, O. He was for a number of years a member of the board of health of Sandusky, and was, during the entire period, its effi- cient secretary. Dr. Stroud is a practical dentist and holds the degree of doctor of dental surgery from the Wisconsin Dental College, issued in 1881. His father and only brother are among the most prominent practitioners of dentistry in the county. Dr. Stroud’s industry and constant devotion to his profession, have achieved for him a measure of success, that is the best certificate of capacity that a doctor can desire, or community bestow. Dr. Sarah A. Henderson is a native of Burlington, Vt. She studied med- icine in Cleveland under Dr. Boynton, who was a member of the Cleveland Homeopathic College faculty, from which institution she graduated and prac- ticed on Kelly’s Island four years, removing to Sandusky in 1877. She is a member of the American Institute, the leading society of this school of medi- cine. Dr. Henderson and her friends have reason to be well satisfied with her social and professional status wherever she is known. She has demonstrated not only her individual fitness for the duties of the physician, but shown that the “ Lords of Creation” have not inherited or acquired all the skill or knowl- edge of the art of curing the sick. The intuitions, quick perception, and critical observation of woman amounts to an instinct in estimating human character and conduct, and is equally well adapted to the interpretation of the subjective symptoms that are often all the basis there is on which to form an opinion or diagnosis of disease. A physician who has not had occasion to confess that he has often been astonished and confounded by the interpretation of symptoms and the location of disease by women entirely ignorant of all the special knowledge on the sub- ject that doctors are supposed to possess, has had a rare experience — one that would expose him to a criticism scarcely less disparaging than was made by Dr. John Hunter, of a young surgeon of London, who was boasting in the famous surgeon’s presence that he had never lost a case of lithotomy: “Well,” said Hunter, “ I presume the same cipher would represent your successful cases.” That the conditions for making useful doctors depend more on the amount and quality of the brain, than the variety of the gender, will do very well as a ques- tion of discussion for a country debating society, but is hardly creditable to medical colleges of the present day. Dr. Warren Newton, at present at Ligonier, Ind., was born and raised in Ottowa county ; studied medicine with David Gillard, at Port Clinton ; grad- uated at Homeopathic Hospital College, Cleveland, about 1882. He settled in Huron, this county, and after practicing there a year or two, came to San- dusky, where he remained less than a year. Having an offer of a copartner- ship with a physician at Ligonier, he accepted in 1885, and is now engaged in The Medical Profession. 225 a large and growing practice at that place. The doctor is unusually well posted in materia medica, a factor of supreme importance in qualifying one for a prompt and successful prescriber. He stood high as a student and maintains an equally high relative position among practitioners. Dr. David Gillard was born at Venice, O., July 30, 1852; studied medi- cine with his brother, E. Gillard, and graduated at Cleveland Homeopathic College in 1877, and began the practice of medicine at Port Clinton; moved to Sandusky in the spring of 1882, and moved back to Port Clinton the same year; again moved to Sandusky in July, 1885, and formed a copartnership with his brother, Dr. E. Gillard, but dissolved partnership and returned to Port Clinton in the autumn of 1886, where he is now located. The doctor left a fine prac- tice at Port Clinton when he came to Sandusky in 1885, which involved so large an amount of country business that he hoped to improve his practice, at least in this respect. A year or two convinced him that having too much country practice could be endured quite as cheerfully, and more profitably, than having too little. The doctor has re-entered his old field, and has cause to be gratified with the renewed expressions of confidence manifested by the public in his skill and uniform success. Dr. John Mathews studied medicine with Dr. E. Gillard; graduated and commenced practice at Castalia, and for a while with Dr. Gillard, in Sandusky. He went to California, where he died a year or two ago. Dr. William Gaylord began the study of medicine in February, 1878, with Dr. J. D. Buck, of Cincinnati, as his preceptor. He was a locomotive engi- neer, running night express between Cincinnati and Richmond, Ind., and continued in this employment during his study and college course, until he graduated in the spring of 1883, the Pulte Medical College, Cincinnati, O. The following summer he was made lecturer on history and microscopy and resident physician in charge of the college dispensary ; the following year he was made professor of chemistry and toxicology, which positions he held until locating in Sandusky in 1885. While in some respects Dr. Gaylord’s medical education was obtained under disadvantages, yet there were other favorable conditions that more than compensated for the necessity of devoting so large a portion of the ordinar}^ hours of rest to providing the means of support while preparing himself for the profession he had adopted. He had the advantage of a large amount of clin- ical experience in the office of his preceptor, as well as the college and hos- pital clinics of any of the professors he chose to attend, and these privileges in an office like his preceptor’s, who was at that time a professor, and dean of the medical college, afforded him superior opportunities for witnessing and assisting in a large and varied amount of medical and surgical practice. Dr. Gaylord is the latest addition to the homeopathic fraternity of the city, and is as liberally equipped with the essentials of professional success as any who have preceded him. 226 History of Erie County. Among the homeopathic physicians of Erie county Dr. B. F. Hill, whose home when in the county was at Berlin Heights, was in his day a prominent member of the fraternity. Dr. Hill was born December i8, 1813, in Tioga county. Pa. Came to Hu- ron (now Erie) county, O., when a mere boy, and engaged in farming; began his education in the log school-houses of those times ; finally taught school for several winters; studied law at Norwalk with Cortland Latimer, during the years 1839-40. Owing to impaired health he was induced to turn his attention to medicine, and graduated in the Eclectic Medical College, Cincinnati, Octo- ber I, 1843. He was demonstrator and assistant professor of anatomy, and finally appointed to a full professorship of anatomy, which he held until 1852, when he was appointed professor of surgery in the Cleveland Homeopathic Hospital College, in which institution he remained as professor until i860. En- gagements of a business nature compelled him to spend a few years in Michi- gan, where he was elected in i860 to the Legislature of that State. His report on the establishment of a homeopathic medical department in the University of Michigan is justly celebrated, and accomplished the purpose for which it was written. In the spring of 1863 he was appointed by President Lincoln consul to Nicaraugua. While engaged in the medical profession, dur- ing the years 1852 and 1853, he built the “Water Cure” at Berlin Heights; in the meantime wrote several books, among which was “ Hill’s Homeopathic Healing Art,” also “Hill’s Epitome of the Homeopathic Healing Art,” eleven revised editions of which have been published. He was representative in the Ohio Legislature from Erie county during the sessions of 1867, 1868, 1869 and 1870. Dr. Hill died at Marysville, Cal., May 13, 1871, aged fifty-seven years. The doctor was in many respects a remarkable man. Notwithstanding he was cut off when but little past middle age, he had accomplished more than the ma- jority of men under similar circumstances will ever achieve, no matter to what age they are spared. The record of his labors is the best monument to his memory that even filial affection could erect. Dr. George S. Hill is a brother of the late B. F. Hill. He lived at Berlin Heights, and was a very successful practitioner. He moved into the southeast- ern part of the State many years ago. As it was omitted in the biography of B. F. Hill, it may be mentioned here that he (B. F. H.) was the author of “The- American Eclectic Practice of Surgery,” and the “Homeopathic Practice of Surgery,” both works of real practical merit. Dr. Morley of Huron, was born December 17, i860. Studied medicine with Dr. C. S. Morley, at Pontiac, Mich. Graduated at Cleveland Homeopathic College in 1884. At once located in Huron, where he is meeting with flatter- ing success. Dr. Morley gives promise of becoming one of the leading physi- cians of the county. Dr. Bond of Vermillion, is an ahinimis of Detroit Homeopathic College, re- The Medical Profession. 227 ceiving his degree in 1873. He is esteemed by his patrons and acquaintances for his many excellent qualities of head and heart. Miss Spalding, a graduate of Cleveland Homeopathic College, practiced medicine a number of years on Kelley’s Island, previous to 1873. Miss Spald- ing moved to Kansas with the family of Captain W. A. Webb, and remains there at this date (1888). Dr. Sarah A. Henderson succeeded her on Kelley’s Island. Not having Dr. Spalding’s address the writer has not been able to ob- tain any further items in connection with her professional history. Drs. McConly, Ailing, Catlin, Simmons and Sweazy, are names familiar to the people of Milan, the last two being engaged there now, and the others at differ- ent times in the past. Of the first three the writer can speak but from a lim- ited acquaintance, enough however to convince him of their ability and success in the profession. The two occupying the field at present are in good practice, which, in an intelligent community, is a sufficient endorsement of professional merit. It is due to the writer to say that the preparation of this article was un- sought, and attempted with much hesitancy, mainly for the reason that his acquaintance with the profession outside the City of Sandusky has necessarily been comparatively limited, and therefore the little time at his command in which to obtain detailed and correct information of the different physicians who have at one time or another practiced in the county, made it impossible to do exact justice to those whose acquaintance he had been so unfortunate as not to have made. That there are those about whom no reference has been made, or if so, simply to mention their names, is no evidence or test of their comparative influence or ability in the fraternity; but because I had not, and under the cir- cumstances could not, be more thorough or critical in alluding to them. Of those of whom more has been said, still more flattering mention might have been made, but as the purpose was barely to refer to a few of the characteris- tics of each, if my estimate of their mental and professional status is fairly cor- rect and just, my purpose is obtained; more than this I had no right to expect. Fraternally, I. B. Massey. 228 History of Erie County. CHAPTER XVII. THE GERMAN ELEMENT OF ERIE COUNTY.* WRITTEN history of this country, as well as any part thereof, would'be incomplete without devoting an appropriate space to the Gennadi Element, that in years gone by helped materially to develop its resources and is still aiding in a humble way to shape its future destiny for good or evil in a social, moral, and political way. A political history, strictly speaking, cannot be claimed for the German element in America, and yet in the conglomeration of the diverse elements constituting this Union has it played such a potent factor, that its peculiar traits and characteristics as a nation call for a special recognition. The tenacity in keeping up and preserving the old mother tongue in song and speech and the rigid observance of religious ceremonies and holy days as of old, are most ’ Retrospecting, we find German emigration in its earliest infancy forced. ' Refugees in its proper meaning were the small number of pioneers that crossed the ocean a century or more ago. They were stripped of all earthly posses- sions, and yet are thankful in their pious devotion, that God did spare their bare lives, a repetition of so-called Christian tolerance so well illustrated in his- tory in the persecution and expulsion of the Salzburger and Mora'C'ian sects. Without a home, a country of their own, or any protection, an easy and read}'’ prey for the sharks of Holland and England, they had only one desire — to sever | completely the ties of former bondage and oppression. It cannot be said that the first immigrants bettered their condition materi- ally in their new home ; they entered a servitude bordering closely on slavery, but notwithstanding all this they felt contented, their final efforts culminated in the acquisition of a home and a few spare acres of land to provide them- selves and families with the necessaries of life. It may sound harsh and offen- sive to the national pride of to-day, and yet it is an indisputable fact, that Germany furnished for a long time the English colonies not only with bought up and conscript soldiers — Hessians — but almost entirely with the rude hands for manual labor. The German colonists of the eighteenth century became the coolies of this country. The star of glory at one time so bright in the old home dictating the pol cy of all other nations, had lost its lustre and its power. The bloody wars, following the Reformation and the Thirty Years War in special, had sapped and taken the life blood of this nation, and had destroyed its power, progress, and energy for more than one generation. Devastation was over all ; the I noble guilds that in years of former prosperity were so actively engaged in the | marked. By Dr. E. Von Schulenburg, Sandusky, Ohio. The German Element. 229 erection of the beautiful structures, that by their lavish adoration of sculpture and exquisite masonry call loud for praise from the connoisseur of to-day. Their work was finished ; the peasant had neither horses nor oxen to cultivate his land, nor even the seed for sowing; the highways had become impassable in the many years of ceaseless war, and the potentates and rulers of the smal^ parcels of land were remorseless and deaf to the appeals of their subjects as long as the taxes were promptly paid in order to keep up their own luxurious life. They styled themselves rulers “by the grace of God,” and the kingdom or duchy had become their personal property. Only one way was left open to escape all this misery — emigration — the peasant and burgher alike had become so powerless and enervated, that to make front against their common oppressor was entirely out of the question. Flight then in the dark hours of the night, flight to safely reach the frontier. The first German® emigrants gave up their fatherland without pain or tears, they had so completely lost confidence in themselves and the old home regime, that they blindly and hope- fully accepted the inducements held out by foreign countries. The German emigration did in course of time assume larger proportions and directed itself mainly to the shores of this country. Germany'so much in need of hands to commence the work of national reconstruction, througrh a false policy, gave to America a good share of its best productive power, but received only as a just retaliation French manners and vices, French luxuries, and an army of adventurers. The impetus of German emigration in its infancy may with a certain amount of correctness chronologically be given in the following order: Religious op- pression and persecutions (Moravians, Mennonites, and Futherans), famine and pestilence, over-population in certain districts, inability to make a living and a desire for a better existence. There has been a great deal of nonsensical talk in misinformed or prejudiced papers and books about an inborn proclivity of the Germans to change their domicile on the slightest pretext, but the perti- nent question may be excusable, will any one give up a home and sever forever all family ties, if even a shadow of happiness is left to share in the old beloved home ? The expectations of the German settlers became realized in a meas- ure. Fertile acres by the millions, the primitive wilderness, waiting only for the strong arm of the pale faced Teuton to carve out a home of his own choice, and as a God sent blessing, liberty in religion and in speech and equality be- fore a common tribunal of law. Verily, our forefathers had a trying time of it, but they were neither afraid nor ashamed to work, and hardened by many exposures and surrounded by the contrasting perils of the frontier life, did they live out their expectancy of three score and ten, and long enough to harvest, in many instances, the fruits of their own honest and energetic work. In a short time, thanks to their inborn saving trait, they became freeholders and prosperous on a piece of land that seemed inadequate to [support their Dutch 30 230 History of Erie County. or English neighbors. Peasants, common laborers, servants, and disappointed merchants made up the bulk of the German emigration at the beginning of the present century, but none of them truthfully expressed the true inwardness, the character and genius of their nation ; they represented it to a certain extent by their independence, by a multitude of dialects and everyday habits, and yet they were destined in their physical and moral healthfulness and strength to become a most valuable factor. An amalgamation of the different elements of this country by means of intermarriage and closer social intercourse was nec- essary to transfuse new blood, new life and vigor into this country. Endurance, perseverance, a limited greed for earthly possessions were then as they are now, marked traits of the Germans ; their aspirations were for a home of their own, and in this respect they differed greatly from the true Yankee, who is ever ready and willing to sacrifice almost anything provided it brings a mercenary gain or is a bargain. For the first time then in his life is the German put on his own feet, no red tape, no barriers, no passport or policeman at every move or step, the rigidly enforced etiquette of the old home has become a dead letter. For the first time in his life a free man amongst a multitude of freeholders, welcome, but obliged to depend from now ' on upon his own judgment, energy, and strong arms for all the necessaries of life. The proverbial “help yourself” becomes the true guiding angel from this day on, on which his foot touches the soil of this free country. He passes the first years of probation hard and ceaselessly working day after day, and by and by the language of the foreign country, so similar to the sounds of home, is ,, mastered and with it his interest in common as well as national questions be- f comes aroused ; the poor despised German feels proud to be placed on a level with the rest, and deposits his first ballot as a true and loyal citizen, well know- ing its importance, and year by year does he learn better to understand and to appreciate the numerous blessings everybody is welcome to in this country, provided he is willing to live up to its laws. The leaders of the Anarchistic and Socialistic movement seem utterly to forget, that not more than a century ,, ago the routine work of a happy and well contented laborer in the old honie * ceased only with the looming up of the stars, that it was impossible for him ever to better his condition in life and to give to his children such an excellenc education as is furnished in this country, even to the most humble subject as free as the air we breathe. We have no serfs, thanks to God! No slaves any more ! In this country all work in the different branches of industry, and al- though keenly competed gives to all, excepting a spendthrift, more than one chance to get well enough along in life ; and it is an indisputable fact that the much cursed and maligned monopolist started out in life as impecunious as the so-called and big-mouthed reformer, the only perceptible difference being that " the one knew how to save his earnings and properly invest them, the other only how to squander. Many instances may be cited of German immigrants The German Element. 231 that landed on the shores of this country almost penniless and in years of hard labor did they earn a competency, but it was their enterprise, fair dealing and hard work that made them such, and a score or more of German families could be named in this little county of Erie that in a short time have been elevated from obscurity and poverty to richness. May they deservedly enjoy it to their heart’s content ! Wealth brings comfort and comfort brings ease, but many would gladly have given up a good share of their wealth had they only learned in their younger days the art of how to properly enjoy it. As a rule the wealthier classes of Germans in Erie county have been instrumental in building up its branches of industries, formerly unknown or at least much neglected, such as the wine, grape, and the fish business. In these branches of trade many thousands of hands are employed in the busiest seasons. The American continent was, excepting its geographical location, as unknown to the first German settlers as to the crew that embarked under Columbus on August 3, 1492, at Palos in the fragile ships. The Germans had no object in view; they did not come to perfect any idealistic ideas, neither did they have any outlined work ; they presented rough, unhewn blocks, that should fit themselves after repeated dressing and become a useful material in building up a great nation. Please glance over American history : Go back to the war preceding the Declaration of Independence — go back to 1812, and the bloody war of secession — and the names of loyal German- American citizens will be found in great numbers, and many of them in the front ranks, who were as willing as the rest to sacrifice their blood and lives for the preservation of the Union and of peace ! Two generations had to go down into their graves before an amalgamation of the German, and the inborn clement could be consummated from that day on, though the German offspring became a true American citizen, not only in name, but in body and soul. With great pleasure do I recall the happy days of my youth,- when I was brooding over the tales and legends, so masterly written by Grimm and Musaus, of the sunken countries and cities — of Vineta, on the Baltic Sea. Tradition says, that on a bright night, when the waters are calm, the towers of this sunken city were plainly seen at the bottom of the sea and the tolling of the bells could be distinctly heard in the stillness of the night. Many of the old settlements of the first German pioneers are buried alike ; tradition, entries in the old family Bible or church record, dilapidated and broken up slabs in the remote corners of a neglected church or grave-yard, tell in a faint way the story of a century or more ago. It was with the utmost reverence that the writer of this chapter opened two years ago the old time-worn chest which the great-grandfather of his children had willed to him as a small token of his love. Old books dating back to the time when their ancestors came to the shore of America as refugees, nearly two hundred years ago — old, but priceless books — an almost complete list of works first printed in America in the be- loved mother tongue, by Sauer, of Germantown, Pa. 232 History of Erie County. German emigration assumed the most gigantic proportions in the middle of the present century. As it will undoubtedly interest the general reader, an authentical list, taken from the record of the Statistical Bureau at Washinerton. is given below 1820, German emigrants 968 1821, “ 383 1822, " “ 148 1823, “ “ 183 1824, “ “ 230 1825, “ “ 450 1826, “ “ 51 1 1827, “ “ 432 1828, “ “ 1,851 1829, “ “ 597 1830, “ “ 1,976 1S31, “ “ 2,413 1832, “ “ 10,194 1833, “ 6,988 1834, " “ 17,686 1835, “ “ 8,311 1836, “ 20,707 1837, “ “ 23,740 1838, “ ■“ II, 683 1839, “ “ 21,028 1840, •' “ 29,704 1841, “ “ 15,291 1842, “ " 20,370 1843- “ “ 14441 1844, “ “ 20,731 1845, ‘‘ “ 34,355 1846, “ “ 57,561 1847, “ •' 74,281 1848, “ ■ “ 58,465 1849, “ " 60,233 1850, “ “ 63,182 1851, “ “ 88,196 1852, “ “ 145,918 1853, German emigrants 141,946 1854, •' “ 215,009 j 1855, “ “ 71,918 I 1856, “ “ 71,028 [1 1857, “ “ 91,781 j 1858, “ “ 45,310 i 1859, “ ■' 41,784 I 1860, “ “ 54,491 1861, “ “ 31,661 1862, “ “ 27,529 1863, “ “ 33,162 1864, “ “ 67,276 II 1865, “ “ 83,424 11 1866, “ " 115,892 \ 1867, “ “ 133,426 I 1868, ■■ “ 123,070 l! 1869, “ “ 124,788 I' 1870, “ “ 91,779 !j 1871, “ “ 107,201 1872, “ “ 155,595 ll 1873, “ “ 133,141 1874, “ “ 56,927 1875, “ “ 36,565 1876, •* “ 31,323 1877, “ “ 27,417 1878, “ “ 31.958 i 1879, “ “ 43,531 1880, “ “ 134,040 1881, '■ “ 249,572 jj 1882, “ “ 250,630 jl 1883, “ “ 180,812 l! Total in sixty-four years 3,817,195 This list will speak for itself Conclusions may be drawn by every one that is familiar with the history of his nation. The ravens of Kueff Hteuser desert their former habitation ; Barbarossa sleeps now in peace — once more a solid and an undivided empire in strength and power as of old. The price was dear, and many thousands of our brave sons were laid to rest in a strange land ; once more did the bloody wars of 1866 and 1870 take the life-blood of this nation, but when King William placed the emperor’s crown of a once more united country on his silver hair in the halls of Versailles, it was another just retaliation, when he remembered in that eventful hour, with tears in his eyes, the humiliation of his country and The German Element. 233 his own beloved parents in the dark hours of 1806. Once more were the reins of supremacy placed in the hands of a ruler, that had proven not only a de- fender of his and his people’s rights, but a protector and preserver of peace. From that day on has the flag of our old fatherland given ample protection to her sons, that are scattered over all the world’s creation, as outspoken as the stars and stripes we now adore. And still they come, the Teutons, but not as refugees as of a century ago stripped of all earthly possessions, — they come now of their own free will, with means, and the same strong and muscular arm that cleared the wilderness so many years ago. The light so conspicuously displayed by the goddess of lib- erty, at the main port of this country, seems to draw them nearer and nearer. The German element form about the seventh part of the total population of this country ; entire counties and cities are almost given up to them. San- dusky city has a German population of nearly one- half, and New York city has become the third largest German city in the world, and yet the strength and influence of the German element is far less than should proportionately be expected. The Germans confront in this country an inborn nation that has for two centuries not only accepted and welcomed, but digested the diverse ele- ments of the old world ; an inborn element, that in all those years had become powerful and strong, and it cannot reasonably be expected that it abruptly should change their habits, ways of Sabbath consecration and all existing laws, simply to please a foreign-born element, far less to obey their dictations. Fif- teen hundred years is a long while ; in that time laws, traits and a once com- mon language change to such an extent that the link of close relationship may seem entirely defunct, and yet blood will tell and call for recognition at first sight. The Anglo-Saxons and the Germans meet once more after 1,500 years of separation, and, strange as it may seem, on a newly discovered continent, to join hands to build it up mutually for their combined interest and glory. “ In union there is strength.” There are many vital questions to be de- cided in a fair and unprejudiced way by a coming generation ; questions to match in battle, civilization and rudeness ; intellectual power and genius against stupidity; but it is to be hoped that religious questions will never en- ter the race, and that the horrors of inquisition and religious intolerance and persecution that came at one time very near strangling the new-born babe and destroying the future prosperity of this country, may not be repeated. The fathers of independence, and the framers of our constitutional laws, were in the right by ignoring, entirely, in their declarations all religious mat- ters, holding that every one had a perfect right to accomplish his salvation in a way that suited him best. They did plainly foresee, that by granting the ut- most liberty in this direction, emigrants would come from all parts of the world to the shores of America, and that it would have been much like the work of a Sisyphus to regulate by law the spiritual welfare with the worldly, alike.. 234 History of Erie County. If we, to come to a close, correctly understand the mission of the German ele- ment in this country, we must come to the conclusion that its future prosper- ity is not to be found in a strict exclusiveness and in fantastic dreams of a Utopia. Our final mission is to become more closely amalgamated, and to unite with the inborn element, and to preserve at the same time the many- laudable traits of the Teutonic race. Let us preserve our love for the home circle, domestic felicity, our love for everything sublime in arts, our classical music, our gold mine of poetry, our mother tongue, and song and speech, and feel contented that our influence in political, social and every day affairs will become greater in the proportion we make ourselves better understood. There will be nothing regretted then, if we lose our name as a distinct nation. It is useless to simulate ; whoever emigrates gives up his fatherland, and cannot claim it with any more right than he could claim two fathers. The name German-American becomes less and less distinct from year to year, and will, by gradual transmutation, become as defunct in the course of time as the aborigines of the wilderness and the buffaloes of the plains. More has been said in the foregoing lines than was originally intended, but as the incorporated sentiments are the key to understand properly the mission of the German element, it will be duly appreciated. REMINISCENCES AND OLD LANDMARKS. The time that has passed since the pioneer first walked in the wilderness by the side of the river and creeks, is almost fourscore years. Strange and startling scenes, in life dramas, have been enacted before and since then. The Indian, glorying in his wild freedom, and holding undisputed possession of the forest, has here lain in wait for the deer to come and drink. Human blood has flowed by the side of the streams. The white man came, and. with hard labor rolled together the logs for a humble home. The prattle and the laugh- ter of little children mingled with the songs of birds. The sound of the ax was heard along the shore, and the crushing of falling timber shook the earth. ■ The forest melted away before the march of the army of peace. The countr} was dotted with human habitations ; a village grew up and became a busy mart. The church and school-house appeared. Where once were no sounds but those of nature, there had come the hum of industry, the bustle of trade, a hurrying to and fro, the greetings of man with man, the activity impelled by varied human interests. There were births, marriages, deaths, the ever occur- ring joys and griefs of humanity; the change and mutation of life and time. The old log-houses well nigh faded from existence; the houses and landmarks of old Portland rolled away. Men who were babies when the country was new, grew old and went down to their graves. It is the fulfillment of a hard task that the writer came in possession of such facts, that are little, if any, known, excepting to a few more closely interested. It is a great pleasure to him to The German Element. 235 present to the reader of to-day carefully trimmed outlines of the characters of those men and women whose lives were passed in preparing the wilderness for the present generations. Wherever we failed to come into possession of a cor- rect family record, we have striven to perpetuate, at least, the names of those who bore the brunt in the great struggle of subduing a new country, who sur- mounted its obstacles and faced its dangers bravely. The hard work has been persistently carried on for many months. May these offerings, with all their imperfections, find a warm place in the hearts and homes of his German fel- low men, and may the living generation learn from the past something about the contentedness, frugality and honesty of the good old time. The writer’s table has been covered for weeks, with numerous letters, pass- ports, certificates and musty papers, dating back half a century and even more. The time worn pages of the old Clarion and Baystadt Democrat, tell of many well-meant but ill-spent endeavors of our forefathers, of incidents and official acts, that will appear ridiculous at this day. That a well-meaning member of the City Council of Sandusky, nearly forty , years ago, to be faithful to his constituents, introduced a resolution that, chickens caught in the act of tres- passing, might lawfully be killed, is only a sample ; but may it truthfully be said that after a fierce battle, not the chickens, but the resolution was un- mercifully killed. The aspirations of our city fathers did not, apparently, run high in those days, and instead of confining themselves strictly to the ' needed work, they allowed the golden opportunity to slip and Cleveland and Toledo to reap the harvest. To confine ourselves more closely to the subject, very little, if anything, is known about the German settlers in Erie county, before the beginning of the present century. Anton Eickhoff’s claim in Der Dentschen Heimath, page 229, that a Ger- man Polander, by name Sodowsky, established a trader’s post at the beginning of the past century, and before 1728, on the southern shore of Lake Erie, at the present site of Sandusky, is not sufficiently substantiated. His claim that Sandusky received its name from this trader is disputed by the noted historian George Bancroft, and others. The German element may, without fear of contradiction, though, celebrate its centennial in Erie county, in kind remembrance of the good deeds of the Moravians, who established a mission in Milan township in 1787, under the leadership of David Zeisberger and Johann Heckenwelder. History should spare them a page, and fame should keep alive the names of these heroes that sought out the rude savages of the forest and did what they could to civilize and elevate them. The first permanent settlements in Erie county were made in the first and second decades of the present century, in about the following chronological or- der : Townships — Huron and Vermillion, 1808; Portland and Groton, 1809; Berlin and Milan, 1810; Margaretta and Oxford, 1810; Florence, 1811. 236 History of Erie County. No German names appear in the list of the first settlers excepting the name of a Mohawk German, Peter Cuddeback, who settled in Vermillion township in l8lo, about two miles west of the river. He died in 1833. In the spring of 1828 Martin Eldis (originally litis), settled in Portland township, Sandusky, and opened a bakery and provision store on Water street, at a place known in our days as “Turner Hall.” Martin Eldis was born at Munster, St. Gregori- enthal, Elsass, January 4, 1798, and emigrated to America in 1817. He was married in 1827 to Louise Guckenberger, at Cincinnati, O., and died on No- vember 28, 1852, leaving to his wife and children an abundant share of earthly goods. “We were not welcomed,” said the old esteemed lady to the writer, “on our arrival sixty years ago, we were advised to better move on; if it had not have been for the steamboat trade,” she continued, “ we never could have made a living in the first year or two. By and by though, the inborn element be- came more friendly to us, and learned to respect our ways. For nearly four years we were the only German family in this hamlet, and in all probability in the county.” In the following lines a list of names of the German settlers is given, who lo- cated permanently in Erie county between 1830-40. In son-y: instances it was extremely difficult to obtain accurate information, not only because of the vagueness of memory, but of the imperfection of records. Again, the lives of some of our most esteemed pioneers have been made a target by an illiterate and unscrupulous writer, and for said reasons they were reluctant, and withheld information that otherwise would have been of great value. As it is, we claim, that this list is as complete and reliable as circumstances will permit : Portland township, (Sandusky), population: 1820, 300 souls; 1830, 594 souls; 1840, 1,500 souls. The Booss family who settled here in 1833 was possessed of great wealth in the old country. When Roesel, one of the family engaged to become married, some remarks were made about her diminutive stature. Her father simply said, “ If Roesel will stand on a half bushel of crown dollars she will not look so small.” And he was perfectly able to redeem his pledge. This happened in the good old time. The Booss family, who emigrated to America years af- ter, was still in possession of considerable means. Of nine children that left Bahlingen, in Baden, more than half a century ago, only two are living, Mrs. John Schmidt and Mrs. Aug. Hornung. Fred George Booss was born November 9, 1812, and was married on Christmas eve, 1836, to Christine Rohrbacker, in Sandusky. He worked in Martin Eldis’s bakery for years, and became the proprietor of the Portland House, one of the old landmarks of Sandusky. He died in i860 ; his wife sur- vived him many years; she died in 1886. Jacob, who had a butcher stand, died in 1876. His widow lives on East Market street. William was drowned The German Element. 237 years ago. Martin died in Toledo in 1885. Mrs. Parsons, Mrs. J. Bauer, and Mrs. Peter Gilcher sleep at the side of their life companions at Oakland Ceme- tery. The Magle family settled here in 1832. The two brothers were born in Mehringen, Wurtemberg, and emigrated in 1831, making Sandusky their home in the following year. They were blacksmiths by trade. George Magle was born March 21, 1814, and was married in 1835 to Theodora Mahler. He was one of the founders of the First German Evangelical Church in Sandusky, and a member of the Ancient Order of Druids. He died July 15,1 882, on his farm near the county poor-house. His brother John preceded him on his last jour- ney many years ago. John Hoken settled here in 1833. Very little of his family record could be ascertained. He was a stone-cutter by trade, and a sample of his masterly work representing sun, moon and stars, may be admired at any time in passing Nic. Biglin’s house on Market street. He died in the cholera time, 1849, dropping dead in front of the National House, and it is a common popular belief that he was buried alive. Peter Gilcher was born at Essweiler, Rheinbayern, on May 24, 1812, and emigrated to America in 1833, arriving in New York City June 24th. He was a carpenter, and worked faithfully at his trade for years. The Venice Mill was built by him and Fred Reinheimer. He started into the lumber busi- ness about 1845, his yard being located at the corner of Hancock and Jeffer- son street. The business rapidly increased, and was transferred to its present location on Water street in 1853. He was married to Christine Barbara Booss on May 2, 1837. Of a large family of eleven children three died in their in- fancy, eight surviving: Magdalena Heck, Wilhelm Heinrich Gilcher, Peter Gil- cher, Christine Barbara Kunz, Carl August, Heinrich Johann, Josephine Ma- tern and Louise Reif P. Gilcher was one of the founders of the First Ger- man Protestant Church in Sandusky, and its presiding officer for many years. For political honors he cared little, devoting his time principally to business and his family. In later years he served his constituents as infirmary di- rector, councilman and water- works trustee. He was at the time of his death vice-president of the Third National Bank. In all his dealings he was honest and highly respected by his fellow-citizens. He died July i, 1877. His wife, Christine, followed him two years later, on August 3. Henry Laubsher was born in Weingarten, Baden, and emigrated to Amer- ica with his wife, Catharine, in 1833, making Sandusky his home in the same year. Of the four children of their married life only one is now living, Mrs. Catharine Neumeyer, born May 16, 1834. She is, as far as the writer could as- certain, the second German girl born in the city. Mr. Laubscher was a mason by trade. He died in 1847, and his wife, Catharine, in 1883. Nicolaus Biglin, originally Bueglin, is one of the oldest settlers in Sandusky. 31 238 His'I'ury of Erie County. He was born in Arlesheim, Canton Basel, Switzerland, on February 12, 1817, and came to America with his parents in 1832. The family settled in Rich- land county, near Mansfield, O., where his father died in 1833. In 1835 they moved to Sandusky. Mr. Biglin was married to Christine Louise Hornung June 12, 1847. Six of their children are now living: Marie Louise Ernst, John Louis, Louise Schoeneman, Nicolaus, Edward and Augustus Eberhard. Mr. Biglin was a common laborer, and retired from work some years ago, enjoying with his wife, excellent health and a well deserved rest. Johannes Hornung and his wife, Anna Maria Reichenecker, emigrated to America with a family of six children in 1833. Rummelsbach, Oberamt Tu- bingen, Wurtemberg, was their former home. For a short time they lived in. Pennsylvania and Richland county, O., and in 1835 moved to Sandusky. Mr. Hornung died of cholera in 1849, his wife, Anna Maria, in 1850. Five of their children are now living : Johannes, Christiana Biglin, August Wilhelm, Jacob and Albert. Christopher Daniel. The Daniel family had their former home in Dorn- diel, Kreis Tieburg, Hessen Darmstadt. Christopher was born February 25, 1813, and emigrated with his wife, Marie, in 1835, making Sandusky his home in the same year. He was a blacksmith, and worked at his trade in the S. M. and N. R. R. shop till 1849. of year he bought the Loffler property on the corner of Market and Fulton streets, and became engaged in the grocery business. His first wife died July 10. 1850. He was married again the following year, and died of cholera at his brother Peter’s place in Perkins township on August 3, 1852. His second wife, Veronica, died in 1886. Pe- ter Daniel, his brother, was a tailor by trade; after working a few years at Put- in-bay Isle he moved into Perkins township, on a piece of land he had bought. He died in 1880. His wife, Dorothea, is living at this writing. Jacob Lay, a son of Christian and Barbara (Stein) Lay, was born at Schaff- hausen, Baden, in 1814, and came to Sandusky with his wife, Maria Anna Balz- meyer, in 1836. He was the pioneer in Erie county in the brewing business, manufacturing small beer. He kept a grocery store at the corner of Water and Hancock streets, where L. Guth’s hotel is now located. He died in the first cholera epidemic of 1849. His three sons, Henry, Jacob and John L.,are en- gaged in the fishing business, under the firm name of Lay Bros. Christian Lay, the father, died in La Porte, Indiana. Barbara, his wife, died many years ago in the old country. John Martin Zimmerman was born April 13, 1807, in Buechenau, Oberamt Brugsal, Baden, and crossed the ocean with his life companion, Louise, in the spring of 1834. His wife, Louise, dying on shipboard, found a watery grave a few days before he landed on the shore of this country. He was married to his second wife, Margaretha Fisher, on December 9, 1834, in Sandusky, and en- joyed all the blessings of a happy life with her for nearly fifty years. Of their The German Element. 239 twelve children, five are now living: Martin, Joseph, Mrs. Margaretha Embse (widow), Johann, and Mrs. Maria Eitzpatrick. Mr. Zimmerman was a weaver, but did not follow his trade in this country. His first home was located on Wayne street, where L. Herb’s livery stable is located at present. Eor years he worked in Hollister’s warehouse, established himself as a drayman after- wards, and retired from work in i860, having run a saloon on Wayne street for several years. He died on December 14, 1884. His wife, Margaretha, pre- ceded him in 1881. John Eisher and the Guenther family in the German set- tlement, Perkins township, all came to this country in the same boat. The Schuck family consisting of father, Jacob, and two sons, Jacob jr., and John, emigrated to America in 1833. Their former home was in Essweiler, Rheinpfalz, Bavaria. In Albany, N. Y., they parted. Jacob, jr., the older of the two brothers remained with his wife in Albany, intending to make it his future home ; his father and brother, John, went west. Their path was not strewn with roses. A few weeks of hard work in a trench and Jacob broke his leg and to fill the measure his wife died in the same year and was buried in Albany. Left in a strange country, without means or funds he had only one desire, to meet again his father and brother, who in the meantime had di- rected their steps to Buffalo, N. Y., and in their nomade wanderings to Ken- ton, Massillon and Seneca county, O., where they finally had stranded. Here they met again in the summer of 1834 and kept council. It was decided to give Sandusky a trial, and with the royal fortune of fifty cents in their pockets did they walk all the way to the Bay City. A small house on Jackson street, near where Biemiller’s Opera House is located now, gave them their first shel- ter. They went to work the next day. The building occupied at this writ- ing by Barney & Eerris on Water street, was then in course of construction and they busied themselves carrying up bricks, the father for seventy-five and John for fifty cents per day. It would occupy too much space to go into de- tail, but it is sufficient to say that perseverance and faithfulness received a proper reward. The father, Jacob, born in 1781, lived long enough to see his chil- dren well provided for in life. He died in 1861. Jacob, jr., the oldest son, was born February 22, 1802, and married his second wife, Magdalena Benz, in 1834 in .Sandusky. He worked for six or seven years in a warehouse and became engaged afterwards in the dray business. He died .March ii, 1879, at his homestead on Adams street. His wife, Magdalene, died June 12, 1875. His four children now living are Mrs. Marie Pietchman, Mrs. Julia Schumacher, Mrs. Wilhelmine Fisher and Mrs. Christine Schumaker. A son by the first marriage is now living in Minnesota. John Schuck, born April 22, 1817, and married in 1840 to Louise Knerr, is the representative of the family in Erie county. He is the oldest German settler in Sandusky with the exception of one. His wife, Louisa, died in her seventieth year. May 9, 1883. Mr. Schuck retired from active life about 1871, having accumulated considerable property. 240 History of Erie County. Of the five children of wedded life, four have died, only one now living, Ran- del Schuck, born October 6, 1843, a partner in the prosperous lumber firm of Gilcher & Schuck, located on Water street, a stone’s throw from where his father and grandfather found their first shelter. Gottlieb Schieble. The Schiebles had their former home in Switzerland, in the village Fisselsbach, Canton Aargau, and emigrated to America in 1832. Gottlieb was a mere lad of eleven years, when his parents, John Louis and Maria Schieble left the old homestead to better their condition in life. In the same year they settled in Richland county, O., six miles west of Shelby, and moved to Huron village, Erie county, in 1836. In 1842 they made Sandusky their permanent home. Gottlieb, born February 27, 1821, started for himself in 1834. There must have been something of the idyllic life of an Alpine shepherd boy in him, when he hired himself to James Fore- man in Sandusky, in 1834, to take charge of a thousand or more sheep, that found an abundant pasture ground, and gratis, where Sandusky stands to- day. Foreman (old settlers will remember him well as an outspoken advocate of the doctrines that found a champion in Bob Ingersoll) paid him three dollars per month and board. In 1836 he started to work for L. S. Beecher ; a few years later he became a sailor and crossed the lakes till he entered the port of matrimony with Catharine Homegartner in January, 1850. Of the seven chil- dren of wedded life, five are living, Maria Price, Joseph, Frank, Henry and William. Gottlieb resides on Clinton street, Sandusky, and is in easy circum- stances. He owns a small farm of about fourteen acres near the brick mill in Margaretta township. His father died in the first cholera (’49) and his mother, Maria, in 1882. Johann Fehrenz came here in 1834. “ Froehlich Pfalz Gott Erhalt’s ! ’’ It was a balmy day in the spring of 1833, when the Fehrenz family said good- by to friends, neighbors, and made their parting call to the dear ones slumber- ing in the little graveyard of Welgsweiler in Rheinpfalz, one consolation it was that trusted friends, the Schuck family and Peter Gilcher and Fred Reinhei- mer took passage on the same boat to share their lot. Without question many a tear was shed when the songs of the old fatherland died slowly away in the stillness of the night and when they timidly directed their thoughts to what would become of them in a strange land. John Fehrenz felt confident that his strong muscular arms and his trade as blacksmith, would well support his lov- ing wife and his two children. He was in the prime of life, being born on June 17, 1795, and his wife, Julianna Steinhauer, was ready and willing to help him ; as for the children Philippine was in her twelfth year and Charles in his fourth, and they should share in what they honestly expected to accomplish in their new home. It is well that providence does not acquaint us with our destinies, The German Element. 241 as otherwise it would lame our hands before having made an earnest effort. In the summer of 1833 the family located in Massillon, O., and Fehrenz started to work at his trade. In the year following his wife died and was buried at that place. In the winter of 1834 he moved with his motherless children to Sandusky and opened a blacksmith shop on Wayne street, next to the old Hoelzer House, his earnings being insufficient though for support, he moved back to Massillon where he faithfully worked at the anvil from 1836-46, when he retraced his steps to the Bay City. His two children had, in the meantime, grown up and were in a condition to take care of themselves. His daughter, Philippine, born January 30, 1823, had in 1840 taken Peter Unckrich as a partner, and Charles, born August 9, 1829, had found employment in a shop. Back then in Sandusky they opened a provision store and saloon on Water street next door to the old Bethel Church, under the firm name of Fehrenz & Unck- rich. In 1849 John Fehrenz entered for the second time the bonds of matri- mony. His life companion, Caroline, did go him one better, having buried two husbands, Boehm and Reber in succession. Her dower consisted princi- pally in the two children, Amalia Boehm and Frederick Boehm, being nine and eleven years old respectively. In her sixteenth year Amalia was married to Ferdinand Geiersdorf, who became one of the most popular Germans in San- dusky, and was elected mayor repeatedly by a rousing popular vote. He ac- cumulated great wealth in the fish business ; his goodness was proverbial. He died September 22, 1870, lamented by all who knew the kindness of his heart. His widow, Amalia, married again in 1872, choosing Louis Adolph as a part- ner (Adolph & Zollinger). She died on February 9, 1 888. Fred, her broth- er, is foreman in the extensive fish business of his brother-in-law. Old Father Fehrenz, as he was commonly called, reached an old age. He was a founder of the first German Church, and although he left no fortune his children inherited an honored name without a speck or stain. Philippine’s husband, Peter Unckrich, was born May 17, 1817, in Hoch- staedten, Rheinpfalz, and emigrated in 1837. He died September 23, 1870. The children born to them are all living in Sandusky (excepting one) and are highly respected. They are Julianne Bauer, Crawford county; Elizabeth Ker- ner, Philippine Koegele, Emilie Zimmerman, Carl, Johann and Ferdinand. The widow, Philippine, now resides on the corner of Clinton and Madison streets. Charles Zollinger came to this county in 1835. In the list of German pi- oneers the Zollingers take a well deserved place. Uprightness and fairness in all their dealings, and an exemplary Christian life call for a more than passing notice. Charles Zollinger was born July 23, 1813, in Wiessbaden, Nassau, and emigrated to America in 1835. ^le was a wood-turner by profession and made Sandusky his permanent home in the same year. His stepfather, Will- iam Meyer, and his mother, Johanette, settled in Richland county, where they 242 History of Erie County. lived on a farm for several years. They subsequently moved to Sandusky and then to Fort Wayne, Ind., where they died, being respectively seventy- five and eighty-three years of age. Charles being a skillful mechanic found ready work in Thomas White’s cabinet shop on Hancock street, near the east Market Square, and was in his employ for nearly five years. Whenever you pass O. Follett’s house on the corner of Wayne and Adams streets, look up to the bannister’s and scroll work, they are samples of his work dating back to 1836. In 1840 Charles Zollinger branched out for himself on the corner of Wayne and Washington streets, by renting a wooden structure belonging to the Clemons family on the Peninsula. He employed from four to six work- men all the year round. In those days nothing was known about “cheap ' John ’’ goods, everything was substantial and made to last for a generation or two. Improved machinery and cheap labor put an end to this as well as | many other industries that were prosperous in the good old time. In the cholera of 1849 shop was running day and night to meet the demand for I cofifiins, plain and unfinished as they were. In 1863 he moved his shop to Wayne street, next door to the corner of Market. Undertaking had then be- come the most remunerative part of his business. He retired in 1868 in pos- session of considerable wealth. Christ R. Ruff (member of the firm of Ruff, Son & Kugler) became his successor. Charles Zollinger was married in 1839 : to Christine Schmidt, who was born April 14, 1821, in Bahlingen, Baden. Of the twelve children born to them in married life ten are now living, viz.: Maria Nagele, Sandusky; John, Adolph and Zollinger; Henriette Weiss, San- dusky; Catharine Schneer, Elyria; Carl, Columbus ; Christine Crass, San- dusky; Elizabeth, Sandusky; William, Powers & Zollinger; Frederick, Third National Bank; and Frank, Sandusky. Mr. Zollinger died in 1868. His widow is enjoying good health and the fruit of hard and honest work. Johannes Schmidt was in Bahlingen, Baden, in 1784, and emigrated with his wife, Catharine Ernst, in 1833. He was a baker by profession. Their journey through France was accomplished by wagon. In Havre de Grace they took passage with the Booss family on the sailing vessel Henry Clay. The Booss family were very wealthy, said the Widow Zollinger, in conversa- tion to the writer, the chest containing their money and valuables was heavy enough to require two men to lift it on the wagon. For seven long weeks did they' encounter wind and storm on the ocean. At their arrival in New York they directed their steps to the metropolis of the west, Sandusky. The steamboat Perry landed them safely near the B. and O. R.R. shops. A little house on Water street was their first home, but they did not stay more than two or three weeks, when the}' moved to Richland county, the El Dorado in those days, as the name plainly signifies. Here Johannes Schmidt settled with his wife and children, here he toiled and died. Fand was cheap in those days, fifty dollars paid for their first homestead of forty acres, but it was a wilder- The German Element. 243 ness, tasking physical strength to the utmost. In order to lessen the burden the older children left the parental roof and came to Sandusky in 1834, where Christine found work in Hollister’s family and John in a baker shop. John lived only a short time in Sandusky when he moved to Fremont, Toledo, and in the gold fever to California. In 1852 he came back to Sandusky and en- gaged in the wholesale liquor business on Water street with his brother-in-law Parsons. He died several years ago. His wife is living on Jackson street. Johannes Schmidt died February 22, 1870, and his wife, Catharine, on Janu- ary 16 of the same year. The names of their children are as follows: Chris- tine Zollinger, Maria Barbara Holderman, Elizabeth Nicolai, Frederick, John, Catharine Klink and Rosine Schroeder. Valentin Nicolai was born in Saxonia in 1806 and emigrated in 1834. He worked at his trade, that of carpenter, for many years with Peter Gilcher and F. R. Rheinheimer. In 1837 he was married to Elizabeth Schmidt; of their six children four are now living : Frederick, residing in Tiffin ; Ezra, also a resident of Tiffin ; Johannes, residing in Cincinnati, and Christine Scheer, of Michigan. Mr. Nicolai died of the cholera in the epidemic of 1849. His widow is living at the Rohrbacher homestead in Perkins township. Johannnes Heimgartner (Homegardner) was born in Fisselsbach, Canton Aargau, Switzerland, and emigrated with his wife, Catharine, to America in 1833. He settled in Richland county, O., in the same year, on a farm con- sisting of one hundred acres, which he had bought for ten shillings per acre, the regular market price in those days. In 1837 he sold his farm, doubling his money, and moved to Sandusky, where he died in 1840. His widow sur- vived him twenty-six years. Following are the names of the children of this marriage : Barbara McHatton, widow ; George, Catharine Schieble, Eliza- beth Hauck, widow; John and Jasper. The three brothers were engaged in their earlier days in the timber business, felling the stately oak and hickory trees near Venice. They found a ready market whenever they came to San- dusky with their oxen teams. John Homegardner, representative of the family in Erie county, was born December 20, 1829, and was married in 1852 to Marie Eoeblein. In i860 he engaged in the wood, sand and stone business, and has become one of the most substantial business men of the town. He has served his constituents for many years in different capacities, being elected councilman in the fifth ward. He held this office for twenty-one consecutive years. In 1881 he was elected county commissioner, and retired in 1887, after six years of service. He was a member of the Buckeye Fire Company for eight years. The Home- gardners are devout Catholics. Of their six children five are now living: Catharine Giedeman, John, Fouise, Josephine and Fred. Conrad Poppenbo settled here in 1835. In conversation with his step-son, Herman Windau, the following interesting sketch of the first German engineer 244 History of Erie County. on the old Mad River road was taken : “ My step-father, Conrad Poppenbo,’' he said, “ was married to my mother, Lucaea Burman, in the old country fifty years ago. My father, Anton Riedenbusch, had his residence in the castle Windau, Westphalia, and was a high officer in the government service. He died in 1832. For some reason our mother never acquainted us with our father’s name till we were grown up, and we had in the meantime adopted the name of our former estate, ‘ Windau.’ The family consisted of five of us when we emigrated in 1835, my parents and three of us children, viz.: Joseph Ried- enbusch- Windau ; Moritz Riedenbusch, Seneca county ; and Hermann, of Sandusky. Sandusky became our home in the same year, and I have lived and worked here faithfully for nearly half a century.” Standing in the yard of the old Mad River Company’s shops he pointed out a landmark ; “ where you see the three old oak trees near the Market street entrance,” he said, “ Davidson’s slaughter-house was standing fifty years ago ; to your left and only a short distance from the paint-shop was the boundary line of the first burying-ground in Sandusky, that was located at the foot of Shelby street. Everything has changed. I was a mere lad of twelve or thirteen years when the first road to Bellevue was surveyed in 1839, but I recollect it as well as to-day, when I was carrying the chain and made myself generally useful. After the strap rails were laid Thomas Hogg became the first engineer on the primitive branch of the road, and my step-father, Conrad, became his fireman. In my recollection the Lane, Erie, Sandusky and Wyandotte were, in the order named, the first engines operated on this road. The crew consisted of three men, an engineer and a fireman, and wood passer. They worked by the day and received $1.50 and $1.00 respectively. It was customary in those days that everybody had to work himself up on the ladder. After Thomas Hogg’s promotion to the place of master mechanic, my father took charge of Tom’s engine, and Paul Klauer, who settled here in 1837, became his fireman. After Klauer’s promotion, a few years later, he engaged John Hauer as fireman, who, in due time, was entrusted with an iron horse of his own. Both died of the cholera in 1849. Paul Klauer, in harness, being taken sick on the road, was carried from his engine into the station-house at Urbana, where he died. His widow, Catharine, was married in 1852 for the second time, choosing Math. Dietz as a partner. She is living on Fulton street in feeble health. ‘ This reminds me,’ said my captive, ‘ of a curious affair that occurred in the first years after the old Mad River road became operated. A young man, by name Besterman, had found employment on one of the loco- motives as fireman, and had made a trip or two when his work terminated rather abruptly. His aged mother, after having implored him to give up the devil’s work, threw herself bodily before his engine as he was ready to pull out, and prayed so fervently to give up the devil’s wagon that her prayer was answered. He resigned the same day and moved subsequently to Cincinnati The German Element. 245 with his mother.’ My step-father, C. Poppenbo, resigned his post in 1859, and died six years ago on a farm which he had bought out of his savings, in Big Spring township, Seneca county.” Hermann Windau said : “As for my- self, I was born on June 24, 1826, and worked on this road from boyhood, at first in the yard, then as wood passer, and for years past, as you see me now, attending the boiler in our extensive shops. I was married to my wife, Marie Eva Caspar, in 1847. Of our seven children, five are now living. You had better see old Kenne and Hank Pfenner, if I have left space for supplement- ing,” he said, as I closed my book with many thanks for the interesting in- terview. Johann Loffler settled in this county in 1835. Every one of the old set- tlers will recollect the Lofflers, and these lines will bring to memory their tragic end. It seems cruel that the cold hand of death should exterminate a whole family of six within the short period of a week or two, leaving a helpless baby to the cold mercies of this world. Johann Loffler was born in Rentheim, Bavaria, and was a tailor by trade. He emigrated to America in 1835, and was married to Catharine, in Sandusky, in the same year. He became quite prosperous from the start, and acquired a little property on the corner of Ful- ton and Market streets, where he worked at his trade and kept a saloon and boarding-house in combination. In 1846 he built the commodious brick house on the corner, owned at present by Anselm Albrecht. In the meantime he had added a selected stock of groceries to his business. Here they lived hap- pily and prospered until 1849, when the cholera overtook them alike with countless other families in Sandusky. Of a once happy family circle none was left excepting John, the babe, who in his innocent prattle betrayed no signs of grief. We give the death record of this unfortunate family: John and Catharine Loeffler ; George, aged eleven; Francisca, aged eight years; Conrad, aged six years ; and Wilhelm, aged four years. John, although in- heriting the old homestead, is a poor man. The administration for many years swallowed up a large share of the estate, and what finally passed into his hands was quickly lost, as he had no chance in his former dependent life to acquire correct business principles, and was left without a guiding hand. He is now in his fortieth year, honest to a fault, and single. With him will die the last of the Loefflers. Fred Reinheimer settled here in 1833. As a young man of twenty-two years did Mr. Reinheimer leave his native village in Bavaria to better himself in the new world. He was a carpenter by trade and worked side by side with Peter Gilcher and Valentine Nicolai for years. He accumulated considerable property, but was so unfortunate as to lose it again. His last days were passed in almost total blindness. He could have saved himself from ruin, had he chosen, but he preferred rather to live and die in scantiness than to deviate from the path of honor. He was one of the founders of the first German Prot- 32 246 History of Erie County. estant Church in Sandusky. He was born February 15, 1811, in Horschbach, Rheinpfalz and was married in 1840. His first wife died in 1849 of cholera. Elizabeth Gartner became his second wife. She is living on Meigs street in a little house of her own. Seventeen children were born in the two marriages. Mr. Rheinheimer died March 13, 1882. John Jacob Klooss (Close) and his wife, Magdalene Walter, had their former home in the Grand Duchy of Baden, in Weingarten and Groetzingen, respec- tively. They joined hands in 1829 and it was God’s will that they should mu- tually share for fifty years the joy and sorrow of a married life. Two children, John Henry and John Jacob were born in the old county. In the spring of 1834, they emigrated to America, arriving at Sandusky in May. In this city they lived and worked for half a century, with the exception of six years (37-43) when Massillon, O., became their temporary home. Nine children were born to them, including the two born in the old country. At their festive day of golden wedding, in the fall of 1879, they could count the Closes by the score, nine children, forty grandcnildren and two great-grandchildren. Klooss was a day laborer, but managed to acquire a home of his own in a short time. He was a respected and well loved citizen. He was one of the founders of the first German Protestant Church. He died July 22, and his wife in February,. 1880. A practical joke, played on him only a few years after his coming to San- dusky, may find a place here, it will bring a smile even to the lips of a misan- thrope. Close was very found of poultry and fancied his ducks especially. One night they failed to reach their home and nothing was heard or seen of them for several days ; all hopes of their recovery had long been given up, when in the morning a solitary duck entered the gate with the following orig- inal poem well secured on her neck : “ Guten Morgen, Herr Klooss ! Hier bin ich, arm unci Blooss, Doch meine arme Camerathen Sind alle Gebrathen !” The perpetrator has not been found to this day. Henry Sprau came to this place in 1839. Two old, time worn papers are before me, the one a citizen paper dated September 26, 1844, and signed by Rice Harper, clerk of Erie county, and the other a Dienstbuch, from which I copy the following entry : “ Das betragen von Meiner Mackt is gut, welches Ich bescheinige.” 27th December, 1836. “ Johannes Ross, “Zu WURZELBACH.” As an explanation I will say, that servants were under strict police control fifty years ago in the old country and that by a heavy penalty, their conduct had The German Element. 247 to be written into a special book (Dienstbuch) every year by the head of the family they were employed by. They were not allowed to change their places without due cause and reason before the expiration of the contract. The first bvelve pages of this interesting little book gives in twenty-two articles, the laws passed in 1838 in Hessen, regulating the conduct and duties of servants. For the edification of those interested, one of the articles is given in translation : Article VIII. Servants not born in the district where employed, shall forci- bly — auf dem schub — be expelled and taken to the nearest boundary line for the following reasons, viz : 1st. For breaking their contract without cause. 2d. For absenting themselves at night time without permission of the lady of the house. 3d. For associating with bad company. 4th. For changing places repeatedly in a year’s time. 5th. For contracting at the same time with different parties. The citizen paper bears the name of Henry Sprau ; the “ Dienstbuch ” was atone time the property of his second wife, Marie Justine Bauer. Henry Sprau was born in Waldshausen, Bavaria, in 1815 and emigrated in 1839, making Sandusky his permanent home, where he was engaged in the dray business for thirty years. He was married twice. One of the three sons of his first mar- riage, Henry, is living at Put-in-bay Island. With his second wife, Marie Jus- tine, he had eight children, four of whom are now living viz : Paul, Marie, Wilhelm and Susie. Mr. Sprau died in September, 1869, and his second wife on March 27, 1874. He left to his children a homestead on Adams street. Conrad Ebner emigrated to America with his wife, Catharine Biehler, in 1836. Their wealth consisted principally in three helpless waifs, Marie three years old, Peter, nearly two years, and Caroline, nine months. After a short stay in Sandusky they moved into Richland county, where they settled on a farm, returning to Sandusky in 1845, where they died. Their children live and prosper in this city. Peter, now a confectioner on Market street ; Marie, wife of Conrad Mooss, residing on Decatur street, and Caroline, widow of Ph. Walter, residing on Tiffin avenue. Jacob Knerr, whose home was in Battenbach, near Zweibruecken, Bavaria, where he kept a tavern, engaged, in his spare hours, in the honest profes-^ sion of tailor. His wife, P'.lizabeth Margarethe Schweitzer, having died, he took heart to cross the ocean with his four children, Fouise, Catharine Eliza- beth, Catharine and Elizabeth. Almanacs could not have been as plenti- lul then as now. The similarity in names was perplexing enough to cost the writer a couple of hours work to cut the Gordian Knot. Fouise became the wife of John Schuck, and died in 1883; Catharine Elizabeth was married to Matthew Dietz and died in 1851; Catharine became Paul Klauer’s wife and suc- ceeded her sister, after her husband’s death in Urbana, in marrying M. Dietz, 248 History of Erie County. and Elizabeth, Jacob Hertels first wife, died in . Mr. Knerr worked fora short time at his trade, when he retired, to live with his children. He was one of the founders of the First German Protestant Church in Sandusky and used to busy himself as sexton of his church for years. He died in 1849 of cholera. Jacob Benz came to Sandusky in 1834. If there is anything in a name it is not easily comprehended why the village of Weingarten (Vinegarden) in Baden should have furnished such an unusual large contingent of early settlers. In this as in many other instances can the real cause be traced to repeated failures in crops and high and accumulating taxes; again the whole town was intermarried and the glowing letters from the new world spread like wild fire and awakened a desire to participate in all the blessings so vividly described. Jacob Benz, sr., was one of the many that left Weingarten in 1834 with his wife, Barbara Meyer. He was a weaver but never worked at his trade in this coun- try. He made his living as a day laborer and drayman. On account of the deep interest he took in the establishment of the First German Protestant Church, he earned the name of Church Father (Kirchen-father) Benz. Of the original eleven founders of this church only one or two are living at this writ- ing. Of the five children born in wedlock two have died viz.; Mrs. Jacob Schuck and Christian. The Benz family is represented in Erie county by Ja- cob jr., a drayman ; Eva Catharine Reinheimer, Barbara Walter. Jacob Benz> sr., died in , and his wife, Barbara, in . Jacob Benz, jr., was born July 23, 1 823, in Weingarten, Baden, and was married in 1847 to Christina Wagner in Sandusky, O. Seven children were born to them, all of whom are now living: Christine Waterfield, Elizabeth Bersch, Port Clinton; Fred, Car- oline Belt, Toledo, O. ; Marie Moore, Julia Hayden, Indiana, and Jessie Hoe- lein. Johann Heinrich Platz was Pennsylvania German and was born near Beth- lehem, January 7, 1819. He came to Sandusky in 1 832, where he learned the carpenter trade with Sam White, sr. In 1845 he was married to Margarethe Bauer. He was a charter member of the First German Protestant Church and an organizer of the first fire company in Sandusky. He died in the prime of life on July 22, 1849, of cholera. His widow became the wife of J. Clemens in 1851. J. Clemens died in May, 1888. John Koegle, who came here in 1839, was a son of Jacob and Catharine Koegle, and was born September 23, 1813, in Weingarten, Baden, and emi- grated with his wife, Maria Eva Meyer, and their infant daughter, Elizabeth, in 1837, making Sandusky their permanent home in 1839. Elizabeth was mar- ried to Ferdinand Ziegler, and died a year ago. Of the six children born to them in this country only two are now living viz. ; George, the efficient street commissioner, and August, the prosperous dry goods merchant of Hancock street. For thirty-six years did John Koegle work faithfully for the old San- dusky, Mansfield and Newark, and the B. and O. R. R. He retired a few years The German Element. 249 - ago to pass the years of his allowance in peace and rest. His first wife died in i86l. Susanna Gablentz became his second partner. Two sons and one daughter are the fruits of this marriage. John Klauss came here in 1835. No reliable information could be ascer- tained about this family. Mr. Klauss was a day laborer and was married in Sandusky. They had no children. He died in the last cholera time (1854). His widow moved to Elmore, O., where she married again. Gottfried and Charles Doerflinger came here in 1836. A majestic bronze statue “ Under den Linden ” in Berlin represents Doerflinger, the general in chief, the hero of the battle of Eehrbellin (1675), the trusted friend of Fred- erick of Brandenburg, who laid the corner stone to Prussia’s present might and glory. A poor tailor in his younger days did he exchange the yard stick for the sword and became a hero, immortalized in song and speech. Gott- fried the subject of our sketch, has seen similar changes in his life ; a tailor like him — although the habitations in the old country are too far apart as to admit of any relation — did he exchange the yard stick for the terror of unruly boys, the I'od, and became the first German teacher in the public schools of San- dusky many years ago. He commanded, like his namesake, an army, but only of boys and girls, and worked his way faithfully and without any osten- tation for more than thirty years. He retired a year or two ago to spend the remainder of his life with his wife and children. Carl Doerflinger, his brother, emigrated in the same year, 1836. He was born in Blankenloch, Baden, in 1825, and was married to Margarethe Maul in Sanduskj" in 1850. For more than thirty years has he been in the employ of the Old Mad River Railroad as carpenter. The names of the children of his family are given as follows : Louise Prediger, Christine Bock, Frank and John. Heinrich Walter came to Sandusky in 1835. His cradle stood in Kret- zingen, Baden, where he was born in 1813. He emigrated in 1836 making Sandusky his home until about ten years ago, when he settled with his grown up boys on a well cultivated farm in Perkins township, about five miles from town. Walter was married to Barbara, a daughter of old Jacob Benz, in San- dusky. By trade he was a shoemaker, and managed to accumulate by hard work sufficient means to pass his last days in comfort. Of the nine children born in married life, six are living, viz.: Jacob Walter, Caroline Spiegel, Per- kins township; Susanne Fischer, Middle Bass Isle; Wilhelm W., Johann W. and Carl W. in Perkins. Christian Engel came to Sandusky in 1835. Of the five children of John Peter Engel and his wife Sophie Frederika Eleonore Ernstine, two died in the old home in Ostheim, For der Rhoen, in Saxonia ; the remaining three, Christian, Christiane and Marie made Sandusky their home. Christian, the oldest, became a resident as early as 1835. He was a shoemaker by trade, and had his workshop where Kunzman’s hotel is located on Jackson street. 250 History of Erie County. He was married in Sandusky to Maria Anne Biglin. A number of years ago he left his bench and settled in Put-in-Bay Island, where he is engaged in the grape culture. His children are living at the same place. Christiane Eliza- beth was born March 8, 1812, and married in 1843 to John Christopher Klee, and came with her husband to Sandusky a year before the first cholera. She died in 1887. Her husband, and the only son, John, are living on Adams street. Maria, the oldest one, was born in 1808, and married in the old coun- try to Andreas Duennisch. After her husband’s death she made Sandusky her home. She died in 1886. Her two sons are well provided for; Louis is > the manager of the Butlers’ planing mill, and Christian, the oldest, has become a wealthy farmer in Margaretta township. |i Daniel Reinheimer, a son of Peter and Elizabeth Reinheimer was born in Horschbach, Bavaria, in 1815, and joined his uncle Fred in Sandusky in j] 1840. Regine Emele became his wife in 1844. Eleven children were born : to them. In 1854 the family moved west and settled on a farm near Sheboy- ^ gan, Wis. Wilhelm R. was born in 1822, and made Sandusky his home in 1845, was married two years later to Eva Catharine Benz. Nine children were born to them, all are now living, except one. Wilhelm now resides on ;i Perry street. Jacob was born October i, 1820, and was the last of the family to this country in company with the aged parents. The old day book of | Peter Reinheimer is before me and I take liberty to copy from it (translated). 1848, May 18, we left Horschbach this day. j May 24, we arrived at London. ' June I, started on shipboard. July 9, arrived at New York. i July 21, landed at Sandusky. September i, bought a lot for $330. Build house same year for $486.40. i Summary $816.40. ; Old Peter Reinheimer and his wife died years ago. The children are liv- ing, honest and industrious as they are, they never accumulated means of any | account. The support of a large family absorbed the earnings of a year's hard work. Adam Hemberle came here in 1838. The Hemberle family, consisting of ' the parents, Adam and his wife and five children, John, Frederick, Caroline, Christine and Marie, left their former home, Blankenloch, in Baden, in the I spring of 1836, and settled on a farm in Crawford county, O., in the same j year. Two years later they moved to Sandusky where they lived and died years ago. Of the five children only three are now living: Frederika, wife of John P'isher; Caroline, wife of Adam Bauer, and Marie, wife of Adam Zim- mermacher. John and Christine, who was the wife of Casper Schneider are in a better world. Mr. Hemberle was a day laborer and much respected. The German Element. 251 Jacob Hopfinger was born in 1795 in Eisenthal, Rheinpfalz, and came to Sandusky in 1840. His first wife, Sylvia Braun, died in the old country. He married again, choosing Elizabeth Burghofer as a partner. Two of his children are living in Sandusky, viz : Margarethe Weiss and Magdalene Scherer. He died on June 12, 1879, in Ottawa county. Conrad Linker came to Sandusky in 1839, and was a son of Heinrich and Anna Elizabeth (Rudolph) Linker. He was born May 15, 1791, in Specks- winkel, Hessen, and was married in 1818 in the old country to Christine Rose. He left his home in 1832 with the intention to meet relatives in Crawford county, O. His wife died almost in sight of their destination and was buried in Mansfield. She was in her thirty-eighth year. In 1839 Linker moved to Sandusky to live with his daughter Catharine Elizabeth, who had become the wife of Jacob Hertel, the founder of the Baystadt Demokrat. He died of cholera in 1849. The names of the children are given in chronological order : Catharine Elizabeth Hertel, born June 10, 1819; Anna Elizabeth Schmidt, born January 30, 1822 ; Johannes, born July 18, 1824; Anna Catharine, May 17, 1827; Johannes F. born January 2, 1830. The Merklein family settled in Sandusky about 1835. reliable infor- mation could be had about this family. They came to Sandusky about 1835, where they both died of the cholera in 1849. George Werner, formerly living' on the corner of Hancock and Madison streets, was a brother of Mrs. Merk- iein ; he was a day laborer employed in the warehouse. August Mueller settled here in 1835. His name would long have faded from memory had not a rather peculiar incident occurred which kept it alive. Sandusky, fifty years ago, afforded an excellent pasture ground, not only for old Foreman’s sheep, but for a number of cows, that in a go-as-you-please way, found food and water, shelter and shade among the hazel bushes of the village. Mueller was the proud possessor of a cow, but it was a great chagrin to him that his cow returned dry repeatedly, in the evening. A kind hearted neighbor enlightened him that in all probability some one procured the precious lacteal fluid without consent. Whether our friend August in his younger days had read Cooper’s “ Lederstrumpf ” and the “ Last of the Mohicans ” or not, we leave this an open question. He started on his war- path, the scalping knife in his pocket, I see him plainly wend his way through the bushes on hands and feet, and there he sits, the perpetrator of all his misery, leisurely abstracting the precious fluid. One warwhoop, one jump and he had him by the ear, one cut and he had the trophy in his hands. His friends persuaded him, as he apparently was not conscious of the enormity of the crime, to take passage on a boat that was ready to leave for Buffalo on the next morning. Between the two ports he worked on shipboard for nearly two years, but never allowed his feet to touch the soil of this city, except under the cover of night. He subsequently moved to St. Louis, and may 252 History of Erie County. live there yet for all I know. His victim. Lemon, minus one ear, died years ago in Sandusky. Jacob Schmied, a son of Jacob A. and Catharine (Meyer) Schmied, settled here in 1838. He was born in Oberendingen, Canton Aargau, Switzerland, on June 8, 1820, and came with his parents to this country in 1829. They settled on a farm. Jacob came to Sandusky in 1838, where he worked as a cooper for many years in Post & Co.’s employ. He was married in 1857 Margaretha Rivers, and ten children were born to them. He died in 1884. His widow now resides on Washington street. Johann Caspar Ritter, The day-book of this unfortunate man is before me. It gives in twenty-four pages an accurate account of his trip across the ocean. It is dated April, 1837, and well preserved. I take the liberty to copy from it as follows : {Translation}^ “My name is John Caspar Ritter, merchant. I left Burg- sinn, Hessen, on April 3, 1837, with my wife, Wilhelmine Charlotte, a daughter of the game-keeper, Jungerman, of Mittelsinn, and our four children: Chris- tiane Elizabeth, age nine years; Emilie Frederike Margarete, seven years; Wilhelm Heinrich, five years; Ernst Christoph, three years We reached Fulda the same night Rothenburg the next day, and Cassel on the fifth of April, 1837. . . . Weather-bound; the oldest inhabitants cannot recollect a storm of such severity. Snow, reaching up to the middle of the win- dows, and no living soul to be seen on the streets. ... A damper, but we are determined to move on and regret only the delay. Victuals cheap, espe- cially beer, and it is excellent. The officers are very polite ; everybody is ad- dressed by ‘sie’ (you.) In presenting my passport I was offered a chair, and repeatedly insisted upon to make use of it. . . . Goettingen, April, loth’ snow five and six feet deep in the streets; regular tunnels are constructed at the crossings; it looks like a labyrinth. Nordheim, i ith, Einbeck, April 13th, and Bremen the 14th. Left Bremen May ist on the sailboat "'Isabella” Captain F. Meyer. . . . May 16, my wife Emilie, Wilhelm and Ernst are seasick, Christiane and myself are in good health and eat double rations. Ours are the only children on shipboard. . . . May 20, Emilie’s birthday; I gave her a crown dollar as a keepsake. . . . Our board is excellent, and many wish the voyage to last a year. Arrived at New York June 12, where we boarded on John street, paying $12 per week for the family. My wife was confined on St. John’s day, (June 24, 1837) in this place. The mid- wife, Caroline Collman, was skillful, and was educated in an institute in Wuerzburg. I paid her fifteen gul- den for her services. We left New York July 6, and arrived at Buffalo July 14, reaching our destination, Huron, on the i6th, at 2 P. M This is only a meagre abstract, but the original written in a bold hand testi- fies in numerous instances of the great kindness and love Ritter had for his family. Well educated, and in possession of means, he would, undoubtedly, The German Element. 253 have become a prosperous and prominent citizen, had not the hand of a villain terminated his life in a most cruel and unprovoked way. After a short stay in Huron the family moved to Sandusky, where Ritter opened a general provis- ion store on Columbus avenue. He was shot dead at his own door by a crip- pled tailor, called Evans, for which crime the latter was made the culprit of the last scene of execution witnessed in Erie county, in Huron Park in 1840. Ritter died on May 5, 1840, in his forty- sixth year, leaving his widow and six children well provided for. His wife died in December, 1880, in her eighty-third year. One of the daughters, VVilhelmina, a faithful and trusted servant in the United States mail service for many years, is well known by every man, woman and child in this city. The writer does most heartily wish that she may survive all changes of the national administration for many a year to come. Conrad Wiegand was born in Hessen, and came to Sandusky in 1835, where he worked for years at his trade as shoemaker. His wife having died, he moved to Put-in-bay Island to spend his last days with his children, who took good care of him. He had become very infirm and crippled up with rheumatism. He died a year ago, and was buried at the side of his wife in Oakland Cemetery, Sandusky. He was a highly respected citizen His chil- dren are prospering. Franz, Joseph Motri came here in 1834, An old marriage certificate, well preserved reads thus : “Know all men by this presents that Joseph Motri, a taylor, and Elizabeth Ziegler, were lawfully joined together in holy matrimony on the 22d day of July, in the year of the Lord, 1834. “F. W. Geissenhainer, sen. “St. Mathaus Church, “N. Y. City.’’ Aside from its value as a family relic, this paper becomes more precious in having the signature of one of the most noted Germans of New York attached to it.^ Motri was born on March 31, 1811, in Untergrombach, Baden. His ‘ The name of the officiating clergy-man calls for a more than passing notice. The First German Lutheran congregation was organized in New York in 1749, and the first substantial church edifice was erected in 1767, on the northwest corner of William and Frankfort streets. The building was standing as late as 1850, and was, in its dilapidated condition, finally used as a livery stable. Johann Christopher Kunz, son-in-law of old Muehlenberg, of Revolutionary fame, became the first pastor. F. W. Geissenhainer, sr., succeeded him. He preached exclu- sively in German. As in 1814 some of the members of old Mathaus Church made an effort to abolish the German language in song and speech in their devotional exercises, Geissenhainer rather gave up his pastorate, than enter into this bargain. F. C. Schaeffer, his successor agreed to preach mornings in the German, and evenings in the English language. Geissen- hainer, who in the meantime had moved to Pennsylvania, where his beloved mother tongue was held in better reveration, was recalled seven years later. He gained his point ; German was exclusively spoken from that day on in the old pioneer church. Geissenhainer, a typical German, died in 1838, in New York City, lamented by all who knew him, 33 254 History of Erie County. wife, Elizabeth, was born in Weingarten, Baden, in 1808. They emigrated in 1834, and lived in Sandusky up to the time of their deaths. Of the six chil- dren of this marriage, three are living: Theodor, born June 30, 1838 ; Frede- rick of Port Clinton, born January 16, 1841, and Heinrich, born March 12, 1842. Elizabeth, Motri's first wife, died in April 26, 1843, in childbed. On November 15th, of the same year, he married the second time, taking Theresa Leonhard as wife. Five of the children of the second marriage are living: Eliz- abeth Molitor, born August 25, 1844; Joseph, born October 26, 1845 > Alex- ander, born October 20, 1846; Carl Ludwig, born September 23, 1848; John Frank, born November 16, 1850. Motri was a tailor by trade, and had his first workshop where Robertson’s store is located at present on Water street, mov- ing from there to a place now occupied by the Ruprecht family. He subse- quently built the National House on Market and Wayne streets, where he kept a hostlery in connection with his tailor shop. In 1854 he engaged in the nurs- ery business in Bigfield. He was a great hunter and known far and wide as an excellent marksman. He died May 4, 1867. His widow lives on Hancock street. He was, without question, the fashionable tailor in his time. His old ledger, dated January i, 1840, is before me. In its index I find the following names of the aristocracy of our day, the Mooses, Folletts, Sloanes and many others. Most interesting though for our purpose, are the names of the old German settlers that opened an account with him nearly fifty years ago. In giving their names I am in hopes that those appearing in the foregoing pages may quasi supplement my carefully prepared list. From this interesting book I copy the following German names : John Bauer, John Bach, 1843 ! Fred Booss, Jacob Benz, Clausius, 1841 ; Valentin Degen, 1843; Martin Eltis, Fred Epp, 1842; And. Earney, 1843; Anton Fink, 1842; Peter Gilcher, Guckenheimer, 1843; John Hornung, Wilhelm Heisser, 1845 ; Alph. Lucas, 1842 ; Hopfinger, Hocken, Iceman, Henry Laub- scher, John Meyer, 1843 ; I. Paul, 1840; Valentine Peter, 1842; Fr. Rein- heimer, and John Schnecker. For the edification of our merchant tailors, I will say that according to Motri’s figures, thirteen cents was charged for cutting a pair of pants, and that .a good share of his earnings were liquidated by accepting almost anything from a load of wood, stone, or sand, down to farm produce and labor in ex- change. Fr. Reinheimer’s account is balanced by thirty-nine days of work, $53.43 ; P. Gilcher’s account thirty-seven days of work, $5 i.oo ; Henry Laub- scher’s account for two days’ work, $3. By this we see that skilled labor was well paid for, and that even forty years ago a boss carpenter received as much as twelve shillings wages per day. 1830-1850. POLITICS, SOCIETIES, SCHOOLS, CHURCHES AND PRESS. Federal organization and the liquidation of the war debts became the prin- cipal work for our law makers after the declaration of independence. The German Element. 255 One party, the Federalists, aimed principally to shape our government after the English fashion, the other party, “ Republicans,” more often called Democrats, were anxious to transplant the new patriotic ideas of France into the young republic. A king even would have been acceptable to the Feder- alistic party, had not Jefferson, under Gallatin's advice and guidance most vigorously resisted. Jefferson’s election as president decided the issue and a political lethargy reigned for years. The German element without hardly any exceptions made front against the Federal party, and played as such an important factor in shaping the form of our national administration in those days. In 1824 the political pot com- menced to boil again. A diversity of opinion in the domineering party ended in their defeat. Instead of entering the battle in an unbroken phalanx, did the leaders of the Republican party quarrel among themselves, and headed their national ticket by three candidates, viz : Crawford, as legitimate suc- cessor, Clay, the choice of the national Republicans, and Jackson, as banner carrier of the convention, posing as “ Democrat.” Jackson, although receiv- ing the majority of the popular and electoral votes, was, nevertheless, lacking the required plurality, and the election for president came up before the House of Representatives for final action. By their decision Adams, the Federalist, was elected, and the deal was brought about by a compact between Clay’s fol- lowers and the leaders of the Federal party. The wrong was righted four years later, when Jackson was elected by an overwhelming majority. In 1828 we find the German element again supporting Jackson, and Ohio gave him the electoral votes in 1828 and 1832. A great change though in public opinion took place after his second election. New and vital questions had come to the front, and the champion of the party had made himself disliked by his uncalled for action against the United States Bank, his numerous vetoes, and by practically carrying out the nefarious doctrine : “ The spoils belong to the victor.” A reconstruction of the party as planned by Jackson, was never reached. The older German settlers had in the meantime in close pursuit of daily work learned better to understand the true inwardness of pol- itical promises and pledges, had cooled down and become more conservative in their views, a large portion of them united in 1834 with the Whig part}". To follow up the strides and efforts of the German element in the political arena in the years following would call for more space than could justly be claimed for this chapter. the more liberal German element had always a strong leaning towards the Democratic party and deservedly so, as they owed to this party all conces- sions made to foreigners. It is an indisputable fact, that by the unceasing efforts of this party the price of government land was fixed at a nominal figure, was put in the market in parcels to suit the means of the individual purchaser, ’and that a non-citizen became legally qualified to particpate in this great 256 History of Erie County. boom. After many a fierce battle laws were passed by a Democratic body to | enable a settler to pay for his land almost with the yield of the first year’s harvest. These liberal concessions were opposed by Clay, as leader of the - Whig party. ■ If we furthermore consider, that at that time the amalgamation of the i National Republican and the Whig party took effect, and that in the new-born party the first nativistic doctrines came to the surface, it is not surprisingat all that the German element eii masse cast their lot with the Democratic party. To bring about a more effective and uniform action, German societies of various natures were organized in every town in Ohio, wherever they had any representation | to speak of The German element became a potent factor in political life, but it would have been impossible to perpetuate and preserve for any length of '[ time harmonious action, had not circumstances of a specific nature come to its relief The Germans were at all times considered unruly by the leaders of political parties as a nation not easily harnessed or controlled by an autocratic wish or will. Even the far-seeing Franklin laments that the Germans will out- | number the inborn element in a little while, and that the political power will | pass into their hands. In this respect though Franklin’s fears were un- grounded, the inborn jealousy of the different German nationalities, not to speak of the difference of opinion in religious matters, excluded such presump- tions plainly. It cannot be denied that the Germans tipped the scales more than once in national elections. At the least provocation, if ever they mis- ; trusted that customs and ways of their own were endangered, they made a | solid front ; in all other respects they were reliable, consistent and loyal. They never were wax in the hands of party rulers, and the most eloquent appeals of politicians would never have persuaded them to follow blindly their dictations had personal or principal interest combined not made a stronger appeal. The j nativistic movement of 1836 and 1838 strengthened the knees of those that had become stragglers and drove them into the flock for mutual safety and protection. The power and strength of the German element was well known even in those days to the inborn American. An editorial extract from the American, published in New Orleans in 1838, may find a place here: “ Ohio is ruled by ignorant Germans who have inundated sections of this glorious State. The votes are cast and the results are known as endangering our government and the welfare of all concerned ; . . . This trouble will not end unless the privilege of voting is restricted.” As far as the ignorance of the Germans — God bless them — and the en- dangering of the government and general welfare are concerned, the editor was a poor prophet, but he came nearer to the mark in predicting laws aimed against the Germans to make use of the royal privilege as voters. The ghost of nativism v\ms banished for another decade, the liberal party gained a vic- tory in 1844 and the German element was instrumental in bringing it about. The German Element. 257 By this time the Germans had outgrown their baby shoes ; no political party in Ohio would take their chances without previously consulting their wishes. They demanded in 1838 that public documents should be published in their mother tongue, and their wish was granted. The representation of this ele- ment in the State House of Columbus was about twenty-five per cent, since the adoption of the new State laws in 1851. Erie county is, at this writing, represented in the Legislature by Fred. Ohlemacher, of Sandusky ; in the Senate by Joseph Zimmerman, of Fremont, and in the congressional district by Jacob Romeiss, of Toledo. All three were rocked to sleep in the old country, and came to America’s shores as poor and impecunious lads. This solid German representation may count for nothing than a mere coin- cidence, and yet it demonstrates clearly that the Germans had learned, in years of bondage and humiliation, to use their irresistible strength for something better than quarrels. Not more than thirty years ago the Germans had very little if any standing, politically and socially, in Erie county. An editorial in the Baystadt Democrat, June 26, 1857, reads as follows: “ The true Americans, and better to call them by their right names, the Knownothings, are becoming rather arrogant in their deportment. To them the foreigners are simply tools, to be used at will, and as long as they can be utilized. After that their thanks are a ‘pereat.’ In our city, laws have been passed of late, directly aimed against the Germans. They cannot acquaint themselves with the provisions of law as very few understand the English lan- guage. Thousands of dollars are annually expended for school purposes, where not a cent is granted for the preservation of their mother tongue. A general meeting of the German element of this county has been called to con- sider our duties and rights as citizens of a free countr}^.” The meeting was held in the Volks Theater Hall on June 20, 1857, and was largely attended. Conrad Ernst was the presiding officer, and W. F. Meyers acted as secretary. The following resolutions were unanimously adopted (abridged) : 1. All ordinances to be published in the German language. 2. Wholesome drinking water to be supplied liberally, free of cost, in all the wards of the city. 3. To introduce German tuition in the public schools, and to cut down the salary of the superintendent of instruction, to confront the every day cry for want of means. 4. To pay all city employees in cash. 5. To denounce imrnorality and drunkenness, but protect respectable citi- zens engaged in the liquor traffic. 6. To abolish license laws. 7. To repeal the market ordinance. 8. To invest any surplus in our treasury in factories and institutions em- ploying skilled labor, instead of donating it to railroads and wildcat schemes. 258 History of Erie County. 9. To reorganize the fire department. 10. To elect for local offices only men of unquestionable character, with- out considering political creed or religion. 1 1. To denounce the rulings of Judge Taylor as being biased and nativistic in the extreme. The following members were elected as a standing committee to^uard the interest of the German element, viz.: C. Parson, Jacob Hertel, Ph. Dauch, Adam Bauer, W. F. Meyers, and H. Ruess. Between 1840 and 1850 German societies were organized in nearly every town in Ohio, and Sandusky had its share. The following societies flourished in those days: Jaeger Company, organized by Captain Louis Traub; ArtiB lerie Company, organized by Dr. Silva, and F. Bollinger; Harmonie Band; Hacken & Leiter Company; Cossuth Garde, J. Bauer, commander; Freie deutsche Harmonie, Sandusky Gesangverein, Freimaenner Verein, Turn Verein, Druids, Odd Fellows, Workingmen’s Society, and others. Sandusky could also boast of two German theaters, the Volks Theater and the Concordia Theater. Some of our most prominent citizens of to-day took an active part. A well preserved programme reads: CONCORDIA THEATER In Von Hausen’s Block December 26, 1853. Repertoire — Menschenhass und Reue, by Kotzebue. Admission, 25 Cents. Another one : VOLKS THEATER Hubbard’s Block, Jackson Street March 3, 1857. Repertoire — The White Slave. In an editorial in the Baystadt Democrat of May i, 1857, Hertel argues that any allusion to religion and politics “ should be excluded.” Undoubtedly these societies had their ups and downs. The resolutions passed at a meeting that was called for the purpose of expelling four of the unruly members of the Volks Theater, April 20, 1853, is in my possession. The signatures of the following members of this society are attached: Jacob Engels, president: Dr. Silva, secretary; Jacob Bentz, F. G. Willi, Carl Gaa, Gregory Haegy, Georg Von Hausen, Ernst Boeth, Carl Bretz, A. Miller, Georg Bergmoser, Joseph Keller, G. Nusly, Cornel. Schnaitter, Andr. Riesterer, Philip Kunz, Georg Baer, Jacob Steitz, Carl Wagner, M. Malzky, Jacob Alder, L. Baumann, Ph. Lanz, Jacob Baubach, Joh. Walter, Georg Graul, Jacob Schaub, John Bricht, Dr. Lange, N. Auer, Georg Geiss. The German Element. 259 We take pleasure to put also on record the names of the leaders and stars of the two societies ; Volks Theater. — Natan Baer’s Hall, on Water street. J. M. Geyerstanger, J. Jandorf, Christ. Wiedel, Jacob Neuert, A. Sorg, Conrad Ernst, L. Kind, August Seeger, Fr. Wentz, Chas. Baetz, Georg Graul ; Mrs Graul, Peters, Lehr and Hauser, and Miss Steitz and Ruemmele. Concordia Theater. — Rudolph Holverscheid, A. Textor, Bretz, Georg Von Hausen, H. Brohl, Conrad Mooss, Schaub and Willi ; Mrs. Kranz, Von Hau- sen and Birkmeyer. Dances and entertainments for the pecuniary benefit of the numerous societies were then, as now, the order of the day. The admission fee was unusually high, considering times. A few advertisements, taken from the German press, may find a place here : F irst annual hop of the freimaenner- Verein, in Euterpean Hall, December 26, 1853. Tickets, $1.00. Z. Engels, Steitz, Stark, Dauch. G reat ball, in west hall. Harmonie Band. July 4, 1857. Admission, $1.00. M ilitary band ball — euterpe.vn hall, July 4, 1857. Tickets, $1.00. In classical music Sandusky has always excelled and taken the lead of cities of similar size in Ohio for many a year. Even the automatic orchestrion music of more than thirty years ago could not help but develop this culture to a high degree. As a relic we give the programme of Fr. Butz first orchestrion concert ; GRAND ORCHESTRION CONCERT In Euterpean Hall, April 29, 1857. Admission, 25 Cents. PROGRAMME : I. Die Stummen of Portici. — Aider. II. German songs. III. Was gleichet wohl auf Erden. IV. O, Susanna. V. Introduction. VI. Yankee Doodle. VII. Duett. VIII. Selections from “ Freischuetz.” IX. Patric, willst du nun. X. Jaegerchor aus “ Freischuetz," XI. Overture, “Wilhelm Tell.” XII. Overture, “ Postillion de Lorjumean.” XIII. Overture, “ Romeo and Juliet.” XIV. Najades Walzes. — Labitzky. 26o History of Erie County. The Mozart Quartette Club was organized by Ph. Ruppert. The Great Western Band, organized by Charles Baetz many years ago, has, under his leadership, gained an almost national reputation. Bauman, Hauser, Berg- moser, Bock and others are experts on their separate instruments. The last one, in a long list of musical societies in Sandusdy, is the Philhar- monic Orchestra, under the leadership of Professor F. Puehringer, a noted musician and composer. The members of this society are, with the exception of six, of German parentage. The first meeting was held at Fischer’s Hall, March 12, 1888. The names of the members are given: J. C. Hauser, Geo. E. Anderson, F. A. Hubbard, C. Schnaitter, John Traub, John I. Esch, A 1 J. Peters, George C. West, J. C. Feser, F. J. Taubert, A. Haecker, Willie Peters, Joseph Febensburger, C. F. Schrenck, J. H. Dempsey, Fane Lock- wood, Walter Scott, Louis Scherz, jr., John Bauer, Fred. Bauer, Al. Bauer, John Schaub, Ed. Rossfelder, George Knopf, John Trieschman, Eugene Baetz. The first German Protestant church in Sandusky was organized in 1845; it was situated on the public grounds between Grace Church and the old court- house, and became the mother of six prosperous offsprings. The names of the charter members of the Emanuels Church are given : John Schuck, Paul Klauer, John Hauer, Jacob Hertel, Peter Gilcher, Fred. Reinheimer, John Klauss, John Platz, Georg Magle, Fred. Booss, and John Bauer. John Schuck is the only survivor. The German Reformed Church was formed by seceders of the Emanuel’s Church and organized into a body August 12, 1853, by the late Rev. Peter Briecker. The house of worship is situated on the corner of Hancock and Jef- ferson streets. The Salems Church, “evangelical association,’’ was built of stone in 1854. Size forty by sixty. The society was organized in 1840 by John Hull and M. Stroh, Charles Zollinger, Henry Kreiner, Jacob Brest and Leonhard Scheuer- man were the first trustees. The Lutheran Zion’s Church on the southeast corner of the public grounds was organized in June, 1852. The names of the first officers are John H. Bud., Wilhelm Schade, August Klotz, George Hartman, Henry Wenck and George Klein. German Methodist Protestant Church, organized about 1845. German Protestant. St. Stephen’s Church, on the corner of Jefferson and Poplar streets, organized by old members of the Emanuel Church in January, 1882. The first officers were Heinrich Rudolph, president; Jacob Stein, sec- retary, Adam Oehm, treasurer ; trustees, Charles Krueger, Jacob Dick, jr., Adam Nagel ; elders, Jacob Dick, sr. ; John Quehl, Jacob Hartman. Dr. von Schulenburg, pastor. The German Catholics did not own a place of worship, for years attending Father Mastbeaf’s church in Western Liberties. At this day they are in pos- The German Element. 261 session of a magnificent structure on the corner of Miami avenue and Jefferson street. For any additional information the reader is kindly referred to the general chapter on church organizations. The Germans became thrifty and monopolized many branches of industry. The “ Stoss-seufzer ” of the English nativistic press in those days, that they were irresistible in annexing trade and manufactures was called for. As the Germans before 1830 excelled in agricultural pursuits, they now had become a potent factor in the diverse branches of industry. The brewing business is exclusively in the hands of Germans in Erie county. The Kuebeler Brothers, Frank Stang and Anton Ilg have become wealthy in this trade. The fish, wine and lime business is likewise controlled by Germans. Most of the representative firms have started out years age on a small scale and be- come prosperous beyond expectation. The capital invested in the fish business by Adolph & Zollinger, Simeon Schacht, A. J. Stoll, Lay Brothers, Fruechtenicht & Nielson & Arend Brothers ; in the wine business by Engels & Krudwig, Wm. Alstaetter, John G. Dorn, Conrad Ernst, August Guenther, M. Hommel, Morris Link, Edw. Mooss, Edw. Steuck, John Strobel and Albert Textor; in the lime manufactory by Daniel Kunz and the Ohlemacher Brothers represents more than a million of hard cash and provides bread and butter for many a hundred of families. To facilitate business the Germans organized in September 16, 1872, the Third National Bank, a prosperous and almost exclusive German institution, electing L. Cable as president, Philip Graefe, vice-president ; George Ander- son, cashier; Christ F. Schoepfle, Dr. Donahoe and Jacob Engles, directors. Lorenz Cable was born 1823, March 20, in the village of Siegen, Elsass, and came to America in the spring of 1843. He worked as a cabinet-maker for David Moore, Bellevue, O., till spring of the next year, when he wended his way to Sandusky, where he resided for nearly forty-five years. On his ar- rival in this city he found a place open in H. F. Merry’s cabinet shop, and subse- quently in Charles Zollinger’s and the old Mad River Railroad Shops. In 1856 he embarked with John Bricht in the boot and shoe trade. He has become pos- I sessed of great wealth. In 1872 he was elected as president of the Third Na- tional Bank, a position he holds to this day. The capital stock of this bank is $200,000, with a surplus of $34,000. L. Cable resides with his second wife on the corner of Monroe and Law- rence streets. Jacob Engels was born 1799, in Solingen, Germany, and emigrated in 1848, making Sandusky his home in the year following. He became quite wealthy in the wine business. He always took an active part in organizing societies that aimed to cultivate and preserve the German language in song and speech. He died November 6, 1875. 34 262 History of Erie County. The office as postmaster in Sandusky is held for the first time by a German, George Daniel, who came to America as a lad in the 40’s. The German element is represented in the city council by thirteen, and in the school board by twelve members. Dr. Von Schulenburg was the chairman of the committee on Ger- man instruction for several years. The board of cemetery trustees is exclu- sively German, viz.: John G. Strobel, Jacob Witzel and Louis Duennisch. German Physicians. — Drs. Von Sick, Silva, Philip Graefe, Lange and En- derle (’48- 50). Heiter, Leop. Pape, William and Charles Graefe, Szenderyand Von Schulenburg. William Graefe is a conservative and skilful surgeon, and has spent several years abroad attending lectures in the Universities of Berlin and Vienna. Dr. C. Heiter was educated and took his degree in a Russian college. Dr. Von Schulenburg was educated in Germany, and has a large prac- tice among the Germans. The German language was taught as early as ’52 in pay schools by Charles Plate, Hoffman, Keller and Lehrer, through the arduous work of Adam Bauer, the first German school director, who served his constituents faithfully for nearly twenty years. It was finally introduced in the public schools of San- dusky and became a part of the regular course of study. Nearly a thousand children are benefited by it at this day. German Press. — The first German paper published in Erie county was the Intelligenz-Blatt, by Ruemmele and Ruess. The first number made its appear- ance in April, 1851 ; it existed for nearly twenty years. In 1856 the Baystadt Demokrat entered the field as a rival. Captain L. Traub was the first publisher. A few months later it was sold to Jacob Hertel, who was editor and proprietor till 1873, when it passed into the hands of the present proprietor, William Senn. It has greatly improved in size and appear- ance since then, and has become the exponent of true Democratic principles under his regime. It is well conducted and prosperous. By all their love for the new, the Germans never failed to take a propor- tionate interest in the welfare of the old fatherland, and many an imposing procession, that wends its way through the streets of the town testifies plainly of their ardent and true love for their former home. The capitulations at Se- dan and following restoratian of the old German Empire, manifested itself by an outburst of joy and jubilee. At the bicentennial anniversary of German em- igration in 1883, the strength of the German element was plainly seen. It was a multitude of thousands, that turned out on that bright Sunday afternoon to honor their pilgrims. A very accurate account of this celebration was pub- blished in the local columns of the Sandusky Demokrat., October 9, 1883, and we take the liberty to quote from it : “ A gala day. Two thousand in procession and six to eight thousand at the fair ground ; the most imposing demonstration ever witnessed in Erie county. The procession started from the West Market at 2 P. M., under Railways of the County. 263 the leadership of Charles Baetz and Constantin Zipfel, assisted by Osterman, Motry and Wiedeman. All the German societies of Sandusky were represented ; the old German pioneers were under the command of Cornelius Schnaitter. A large delegation representing the German element of Kelley Island, Middle Bass and Put-in- Bay were in line. L. Herb’s State coach, drawn by four white horses came next. The president, Adam Bauer, Captain Dewald, of Mexican fame, Councilman August Kunzman, and the orator of the day. Dr. von Schu- lenburg, were the proud occupants. In the following carriages the members of the city council and the vice-presidents were seated, prominent among them being Messrs. Torch, Mooss, H. Rudolph, Pietchman and Wm. Brehm. A cavalry troop of a hundred men under Gottlieb Epples’ command came next, followed by an endless caravan of v'ehicles of all descriptions, music bands. and drum corps heading the subdivisions. A score of thousands of people lined the streets. In strict accordance with the program of the day, the president, Adam Bauer, introduced at the fair grounds after an overture by the Great Western Band, the orator of the day. Dr. von Schulenburg, who spoke at length about the true mission of the German element in America, defining it in mas- terly and well received-way. Herman Ruess made an eloquent address. The Frohsinn and Harmonie singing societies captured the immense audience by their superb rendering of patriotic songs. The Active and Social Turnverein gave an exhibition of gymnastic exercises, Gambrinus even had a stand but may it be put on record that not a single one could be found in all this multi- tude, although watched with argus eyes, who did not deport himself respect- fully.” May this feeble effort to put the Germans of Erie county on record, be kindly accepted by all interested. CHAPTER XVHI. RAILWAYS OF THE COUNTY. T T is now more than half a century since the first railroad was put in opera- X tion in Erie county, and in relation to this class of institutions the county enjoys the distinction of having constructed within its borders, the first rail- way in the State and among the first in the country. In the year 1832 two railroad companies, each having a part of their line in Erie, or what afterward became Erie county, were chartered as follows ; The Mad River and Lake Erie, and the Milan and Columbus companies, the first being chartered January 5, 1832, and the other on the i ith February following. The 264 History of Erie County. Milan and Columbus road was never built nor are we possessed of any in- formation showing the performance of any substantial act other than the in- corporation thereof. Then, again, although the creation of a later period, in reviewing these facts a mention must be made of that mythical and mysterious thoroughfare of travel known as the “ Underground Railway,” having its invisible, though well pat- ronized route between the city of Sandusky, O., and Malden, in Canada. This was the usually traveled route taken by escaping slaves who sought a refuge beyond the reach of the owner’s power and the driver’s lash. There lives in Sandusky to-day, probably not to exceed fifty persons who recall the partial construction of the road of the Ohio Railroad Company, which was chartered at the session of the Legislature of 1835-6. The route of this road was entirely practicable, but its enterprising projectors had not the means sufficient to complete the work, and it was abandoned after a vast amount of money had been expended. The route of this road, as defined by its charter, was as follows ; “ Beginning at the westwardly line of the State of Pennsylva- nia, and extending westwardly to the Maumee River in the State of Ohio,” a distance of one hundred and seventy-seven miles. The line of this road, had it been completed, would have crossed Washington Square, in Sandusky. And many of the people of the county will remember the old Sandusky & Louis- ville Railroad Company, to the construction of which they liberally contrib- uted, but the road was never built. THE INDIANA, BLOOMINGTON AND WESTERN RAILROAD. This road is, indeed, of comparatively recent creation. But the line now in part operated by the receiver of the above company, has a history more va- ried and more interesting than that of any road now in operation in the State of Ohio ; and for an intelligent and clear, as well as an accurate narration of the facts of that history we must look back to the early years of the present century and note the efforts that were made to establish the first railroad in this State, or in the west, and recall the events of the early life of a road famed in history as the Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad. When the people of Sandusky were by fraud, deceit and corruption de- feated in their efforts to establish communication between this point and the Ohio River by canal, the most enterprising and energetic of her residents said, “ Let us build a railroad.” This was prior to the year 1825. During the pe- riod of the greatest agitation of this question a public meeting was held in San- dusky which was attended by all the leading men of the place, prominent among whom can be recalled the names of David Caswell, who was made chair- man ; Dr. George Anderson, Colonel John N. Sloane, Elentheros Cooke, Cy- rus W. Marsh, Hector Kibourne, Moors Farwell, Colonel Abner Root, David Campbell, Aaron C. Corbett, William Townsend and others, possibly, whose names cannot, at this late day, be remembered. This was in 1826. Railways of the County. 265 By these persons the situation was freely discussed, and united action was determined upon to urge the subject of building a road to connect Sandusky and Dayton, thence reaching south by the proposed Miami canal to Cincinnati and the Ohio River, thus opening direct and free communication between the great lakes on the north and the large rivers on the south. But it was several years before the fond hopes of the people of this locality were realized, but at last the thing was made possible. The Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad Company was incorporated by an act of the Legislature of Ohio, passed on the 5 th day of January, 1832. Among the persons named as commissioners in the act, three, William Townsend, Henry H. Wilcox, sr., and George Anderson were residents of Sandusky. It became the duty of these commissioners to open books for subscriptions to the stock of the company, but no organization could be effected until there had been subscribed to the corporation stock the amount of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. This was accomplished in the course of a few months, and in October of the same year the company was organized, Horatio G. Philips, of Dayton, Montgomery county, being elected president. A treasurer was chosen at the same meeting. Other than this no business was transacted at this time, except to receive reports and urge the importance of prompt action in getting sub- scriptions to the stock of the company. In the year 1834 another annual meeting was held, and Mr. Philips, being unwilling to hold further the office of president, declined a re-election, where- upon Joseph Vance, of Champaigne county, was chosen as his successor. In the spring of the next year, 1835, James H. Bell was appointed chief engineer of the company, and by him the route was located and surveyed between Sandusky and Tiffin, by the way of Bellevue, after which the work of construc- tion was at once commenced. Ground was first broken at the east end of Water street, at the intersection of IMeigs street, in Sandusky, on the 17th of September, 1835. General William Henry Harrison, the hero of Tippecanoe, afterwards president of the United States, put the first spade in the earth, at the point above indicated. That was a day of general jubilee in Sandusky, and the celebration was followed by a banquet at the Victor’s Hotel, the distinguished guests and the prominent citizens taking part in the festivities of the occasion. In this same year, 1835, the contracts were let for bridging and grading on the located line, and the work of construction commenced. In 1836 Colonel John H. James, of Urbana, one of the pioneers of the State, was chosen president of the company, and under his management the work of construction was pushed with the greatest energy the limited means of the corporation would permit. In this same year Colonel James contracted for the iron to be used between Sandusky and Bellevue. He also entered into 266 History of Erie County. a contract with the firm of Rogers, Ketchum & Grovenor, of Paterson, N. J., for the construction a locomotive to be named the “ Sandusky.” This firm was at that time engaged in the manufacture of cotton machines, and under- took the work of building a locomotive with the greatest reluctance, but sub- sequently they became most celebrated as manufacturers of locomotives, and the outgrowth of their factory is found in the present extensive “ Paterson Locomotive Works.” The locomotive ‘‘ Sandusky,” was brought from Buffalo on the vessel Sandusky, Thomas C. McGee, skipper, to the town of Sandusky, in the year 1837, and, during that fall, was placed upon the track and run between San- dusky and Bellevue, the road having been completed between these points in that year, all statements, impressions, and opinions to the contrary notwith- standing. In the year 1850 the road was completed to Dayton, a distance of one hun- dred and fifty-four miles, and in the following year was in operation. Colonel James was succeeded in the presidency of the company by William Hunt, and he, in succession by these men : Hon. Ebenezer Lane, E. F. Osborne, R. E. Runckle, John P. Yelderton, Oran Follett, Rush R. Sloane, and John S. Earlow, the last named having been continued to the present date, notwithstanding the frequent changes in the name of corporate management, The same year in which the Mad River and Lake Erie road was completed to Dayton, another line, known as the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Rail- road Company, met the former at Dayton, and thus, in 1851, was constructed and in operation a through connection between Sandusky and Cincinnati. In 1851 an act was passed by the Legislature incorporating the Sandusky City and Indiana Railroad Company. This company was organized in fact for the purpose of constructing a road from Sandusky to Tiffin, by the way of Clyde, to be built, moreover, in the interest and with the capital of the Lake Erie and Mad River road. On the ist of December, 1854, this road, via Clyde, was leased for ninety-nine years, renewable forever, to the Mad River Company, and the old road to Tiffin by way of Bellevue was discontinued and abandoned. The first change in the name of the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad was made on February 3, 1858, under a decree of the Common Pleas of Erie county, by which the road became known as the Sandusky, Dayton and Cin- cinnati Railroad Company. And under a bill filed in the Erie county Common Pleas on February 4, 1865, Oran Follett was appointed receiver, under order of the court, and continued as such until its reorganization, on July 2, 1866, when, under that reorganization, the line passed under the management of the Sandusky and Cincinnati Railroad Company, and so remained until the 8th of October, 1866, when the line was leased for a term of ninety-nine years, re- newable forever, to the Cincinnati, Dayton and Eastern Railroad Company, and Railways of the County. 267 Rush R. Sloane was made president. On the 9th of January, 1868, this lease was surrendered. In 1868, on the ilth of January, by a decree of the Common Pleas of Erie county the name was changed to the Cincinnati, Sandusky and Cleveland Railroad Company, by which it is known at this day, although managed by the receiver of the Indiana, Bloomington and Western Company as a part of that system. That part of the road between Dayton and Springfield was leased for a term of ninety- nine years, renewable forever, to the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Company, in 1868. This contract of lease was nego- tiated by Rush R. Sloane, and it was, without doubt, the most profitable lease for the lessor company that was ever effected and executed in the State of Ohio. About the year 1881 or 1882 the Cincinnati, Sandusky and Cleveland por- tion of the road was leased to the Indiana, Bloomington and Western Com- pany. This latter corporation was operating a line of road extending from Indianapolis, Ind., to Springfield, O., and desirous of obtaining a lake connec- tion, leased the part above named and made it a portion of their system. Some months ago, however, the Indiana, Bloomington and Western Company became insolvent, and a receiver was appointed, and since that event the Cin- cinnati, Sandusky and Cleveland as well as the Indianapolis, Bloomington and Western Company has been operated by the receiver of the general Indiana, Bloomington and Western System. THE SANDUSKY, MANSFIELD AND NEWARK RAILROAD COMPANY. This company embraces three others of much earlier organization, which, with the dates of their charters, respectively, were as follows : The Monroeville and Sandusky City Railroad Company, chartered March 9, 1835 ; the Mans- field and New Haven Railroad Company, chartered March 12, 1836, and the Columbus and Lake Erie Railroad Company, chartered March 12, 1845. The two first named were united under the name of the Mansfield and Sandusky City Railroad Company ; and that, in turn, consolidated with the Columbus and Lake Erie Company, and became known as the Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark Railroad Company, on the 23d of November, 1853. In the year 1856 the road was sold and then reorganized, retaining, however, the former name. On February 13, 1869, the road was leased to the Central Ohio Railroad Company, and the Baltimore and Ohio Company guaranteed and assumed the covenants of the Central Ohio Railroad Company. The road extends from the city of Sandusky to Newark, O., a distance of one hun- dred and sixteen miles. The work of construction on the old Monroeville and Sandusky City road was begun in the year 1835, and was, of course, necessarily slow. At a point six miles south of Sandusky the workmen encountered a ridge of slate, and this 268 History of Erie County. proved the rock on which the founders of the enterprise, the Hollisters, were wrecked. In 1837 an effort was made to purchase the iron, to be used in building the road, in England, and for that purpose James K. Campbell was sent to negotiate ; but this effort was unsuccessful. The bed was finally com- pleted as far as Monroeville, a distance from Sandusky of sixteen and one-half miles. It was operated as early as 1837, but the motive power used was horses, with which regular trips were made between these points. The rails were of hard wood, and as no great speed was acquired or desired this primi- tive method answered very well for a time. The State rendered considerable substantial aid in the construction of this old road, which was completed and put in operation under the presidency of Burr Higgins. Its results, however, were not very satisfactory from a financial point of view, therefore a reorganization became necessary, to which reference i has already been made. The stock, which was considered of little value, was bought up, and by the results of the lease, virtually to the Baltimore and Ohio Company, bids fair to be of some considerable value in the future. The road is now earning an excess above interest on its bonded indebtedness. The line of this road through Sandusky formerly and for some years lay through Eranklin street, but it was subsequently changed to Warren street. ' The old residents of the city will remember the old depot of the Monroeville and j| Sandusky City Company, that was located about in front of the old Lake House on Water street. THE LAKE SHORE AND MICHIGAN SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY. The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway proper was created or formed by the union or consolidation of other lines of road having an existence prior to the year 1869. And inasmuch as this is, undoubtedly, the most im- portant railway now passing through Erie county, a brief mention of the several coporations from which it was formed will not be considered inappropriate in this connection. The first union occurred by the consolidation of the Buffalo and State Line Railroad (extending from the City of Buffalo, N. Y. State, west to the State Line of the State of Pennsylvania, a distance of sixty-eight miles), with the Erie and Northeast Railroad (extending from the Pennsylvania State Line to the city of , Erie, a distance of twenty miles), under and in pursuance of laws of the States of New York and Pennsylvania, in the year 1867, and became known as the s Buffalo and Erie Railroad Company. And by the consolidation of the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Pail- 1 road (extending from Erie, Pa., to Cleveland, O., a distance of ninety- five miles), 1 with the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad (extending from Cleveland to Toledo, a distance of one hundred and thirteen miles), with a branch or northern divis- j ion of the latter road extending from Elyria twenty-six miles west of Cleve- Railways of the County. 269 land to Sandusky, a distance of thirty-five miles. Also from Oak Harbor, (twenty-six miles west of Sandusky) to Millbury, near Toledo. These two last mentioned roads were consolidated under the name of the Lake Shore Railway Company in March, 1869, under the laws of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Then the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad, extending from Toledo to the city of Chicago, 111 ., a distance of two hundred and forty- four miles, was consolidated with the Lake Shore Railway Company in May, 1869, under the laws of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, un- der the name of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company. In August, 1869, the Buffalo and Erie Railroad Company was consolidated with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company, under the lat- ter name, thus forming a continuous line of road five hundred and forty miles in length between the cities of Buffalo and Chicago. This, in the main, formed the ground-work of the great Lake Shore and Michigan Southern System. It will be noticed above that mention is made of a “branch” or “Northern Division” of the Cleveland and Toledo Road. This is the line extending through Erie county, and is described above as “extend- ing from Elyria (twenty-six miles west of Cleveland), to Sandusky, a distance of thirty- five miles.” This branch road, as it was called, was that formerly chartered as the Junc- tion Railroad, intended to reach from Cleveland to Sandusky, and thence to Fremont. It was chartered March 2, 1846, and amended so as to extend to Toledo in January, 1851. It was built during the years 1851 and 1852, but about the same time the lower division, known as the Toledo, Norwalk and Cleveland Railroad was built, which road by connecting with one already in operation, reached Cleveland before the northern line was completed, and thenceforth did everything possible to obstruct the latter, among other acts to prevent the bridging of the Cuyahoga River. Then, again, the construction of the southern line from Toledo to Norwalk tapped the Eremont region, thus rendering unprofitable the building of the Junction Road from Sandusky to that point. The Fremont people gave it no encouragement and the project was abandoned. After the abandonment of the plan of building to Fremont it was still nec- essary to have a western outlet for the Junction Road, and the idea was con- ceived of crossing the Sandusky Bay and running to Port Clinton, and thence west to Toledo ; but in this several obstacles must be overcome. There was much opposition to building across the bay, that being navigable water; then, again, the charter did not call for a road over that route. This led to the char- ter granted the Port Clinton Railroad Company, and under it the road was built, though not without many difficulties and much litigation, but at last it was accomplished and put in operation. 35 2/0 History of Erie County. But the difficulty at Cleveland was not satisfactorily adjusted, and the Junc- tion Road was eventuall}^ “frozen out,” and being so unfortunately conditioned, the two divisions, the north and south, were finally consolidated under the name of the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad. That part of the old Junction Road be- tween Cleveland and Elyria was practically abandoned, though never entirely so, and the two branches joined again at Milburn, a town west of Sandusky, and near Toledo. Under the consolidation of 1869 the Cleveland and Toledo systems, both divisions passed to the control of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Com- pany, and is by that company managed at the present time. The former line of this road through Sandusky lay along Water street, but the Lake Shore people needed more room for the transaction of their largely increasing business in the city ; therefore, a part of the line was changed to pass through the south portion of the town over which the bulk of their freight busi- ness passes, the Water street line being used only for accommodation purposes. Another part was sold to the I. B. & W. Company, and is now used by them. In 1870 the revenue from passenger traffic at Sandusky on the Lake Shore Road was $8,858, while in 1886 it amounted to $39,892. In 1870 the freight forwarded amounted to over twenty-six thousand tons, and freight received to more than eighteen thousand six hundred and forty-four tons. In 1886 the shipment of freight was four hundred and eighty- four thousand six hundred and eighty-six tons, and freight received one hundred and forty-eight thou- sand one hundred and seventy-four tons. THE WHEELING AND LAKE ERIE RAILROAD COMPANY The main points touched by this road in Erie county are Huron and Milan. It starts from the former and follows the general course of the Huron River to Milan, and thence passes into Huron county on the south. The company was chartered by an act of the Legislature, passed April 6, 1871. By June 30, 1873, ten miles of its line were graded. In 1876 the road was completed from Huron to Norwalk, a distance of twelve and one-half miles, and thirty-five miles more of the road were graded. In the spring of 1878 the company passed into the hands of a receiver. Toward the construction of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Road the citizens of the city of Sandusky were invited to contribute, and for that purpose sub- scription books were opened. It was promised, and generally understood that Sandusky should be one of the points touched by the road, but at a time when the company were seriously in need of funds, several prominent residents of Huron came forward with liberal contributions, and the road was built to that place. An attempt was afterward made to secure the subscription books at Sandusky for the purpose of collecting the amounts by the several persons sub- scribed, but they were not secured, nor was the money paid. The road was Railways of the County. 271 not, therefore, particularly friendly to the Sandusky people or interests. The road is easily reached by way of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Road at Huron. THE LAKE ERIE AND WESTERN RAILROAD. This is the youngest of its class of corporations now in full operation in Erie county. The company was chartered about 1879, and the road went in- to operation some two or three years later. The line runs from Sandusky to Fremont; thence via Findlay, Lima and Nuncie, to Bloomington, 111 From the latter point the road will soon be fully completed to Peoria, 111 . As an encouragement to build the Lake Erie and Western road, the City of Sandusk)^ in 1881, issued its bonds to the extent of sixty thousand dollars, the avails of which were given to constructing the road THE SANDUSKY, ASHLAND AND COSHOCTON RAILROAD. No part of the corporation erection of this company is now in operation except official organization. The company was chartered in 1883 and was formed for the purpose of tapping the vast coal and iron regions of the south- ern counties of the State and elsewhere, and for the purpose of bringing those products to Sandusky for consumption and manufacture. The line of the pro- posed road is one hundred and thirty-nine miles in length. It is a well known fact that there exists in Coshocton county a bed of the finest quality of cannel coal, and this road will bring this city of Sandusky in direct communication with that region and afford a desirable outlet for its most valuable product. The capital stock of the company is five millions of dollars, but instead of asking for subscriptions to the stock the company have issued bonds and have arranged to build and stock their road with the proceeds of the bond sales. In fact, W. D. Crane, of New York city has agreed to take the bonds and build and equip the road, and construct extensive docks at Sandusky as well. The present officers of the comapany are Hon. John Mackey, president; P. H. Clark, secretary, and David Brubaker, treasurer. TFIE NEW YORK, CHICAGO AND ST. LOUIS RAILWAY. This road, which is more commonly known as the “ Nickel Plate,” has its line across Erie county, entering from the east, in the north part of Vermillion tov/nship, and departing near the southwest part of Groton township. The road is of no practical benefit to the county, having but an occasional passen- ger train and doing but little other than a through freight business as a part of the “Vanderbilt system.” 2/2 History of Erie County. CHAPTER XIX. SOME EVENTS OF ERIE COUNTY'S POLITICAL HISTORY. E rie county has never achieved a standing of any special importance in the political history of the nation or of the State of Ohio; but to the county it- self its political history has been as important as that of any county in the State to itself. In the year 1838, at the time the county by Legislative enactment was created, there existed but two recognized political parties, the Whig and the Democratic; but there did exist at that time a strong anti-slavery feeling in the hearts of a few, and but a few men, whose chosen, fearless and out-spoken champion was Francis D. Parish, who had then had a residence in Sandusky of some sixteen years. At the time of which we speak the cause of the De- mocracy was championed by Colonel Hanies, at one time collector of the port; William H. Hunter, at one time member of Congress ; William B. Smith, Horace Alpin, H. W. Conklin, Zenas W. Barker, John S. Campbell, and oth- ers, who, though less active, were none the less zealous in their labors. The Whig principles were advocated by Elentheros Cooke, Oran Follett, Colonel John N. Sloane, Colonel Abner Root, William Townsend, Joseph M. Root, ’ John Weeden, John Wheeler, Philip R. Hopkins, Judge Caldwell, Judge Far- well, Major Camp, David Campbell, and perhaps others equally prominent ? whose names cannot now be recalled. i The political complexion of the county at that time was Democratic, and nearly, if not quite all, of the first officers were of that party. Horace Alpin j' was recorder, H. W. Conklin was auditor, William B. Smith was treasurer, Zenas W. Barker was clerk of the courts, Harvey Long was sherifif, and John S. ' Campbell was prosecuting attorney, and each was elected on the Democratic ticket. At the next election, however, there seems to have been a decided change in affairs, brought about in part by the increase in the Whig ranks, and in part by the fact that General Harrison was upon the ticket as a candi- date for the presidency, and his personal popularity rallied to his support the entire Whig strength and drew largely from the opposition party. In that year the Whigs elected C. B, Squires for recorder, William Neill for auditor, Zalumna Phillips for sheriff, and Francis D. Parish for prosecuting attorney. Mr. Parish affiliated somewhat with the Whigs, that party coming nearer to his principles than any other. But during the first ten years of the county’s political history the majority for the successful party, which ever it may have been, was very slight and liable easily to be overthrown by the unpopularity of a nominee. General Harrison, as is well known, died soon after entering upon the discharge of his duties as president and John Tyler succeeded him. His administration was Political History. 273 hardly in accord with true Whig doctrines, and resulted disastrously to the party. James K. Polk succeeded by the election in 1844, as the candidate of the Democracy. In the county Ebenezer Merry, Whig, was elected recorder; Orlando McKnight, Democrat, for auditor ; Rice Harper, Whig, for clerk ; Ebenezer Warner, Democrat, for sheriff, and S. F. Taylor, Whig, for prose- cuting attorney. In 1848 the Free-Soil party took shape, and in the campaign of that year Mr. Parish and other anti -slavery men supported the nomination of its candi- date, Martin Van Buren, while Zack. Taylor appeared as the Whig nominee, and General Lewis Cass as the choice of the Democracy. General Taylor, better known as old “ Rough and Ready,” carried the day, and with it came a majority of the local offices into the hands of Whigs. In the fifties the old Whig party gradually merged into the Republican party, except a few who could not adopt the full platform of the latter party, but this decade saw a majority of the county offices in the control of the Whigs and Republicans. The Know-Nothing party also became developed suffi- ciently in the county to put a candidate in the local field for the several offices, although in part it fused with the Republicans. A. H. Striker became their nominee for the probate judgeship and was elected, but he had also the Dem- ocratic support. They also supported Horace N. Bill for clerk, although he was also the Republican candidate. During this same decade, in 1852, the Democratic and States’ Rights parties nominated and elected Franklin Pierce; and again, in 1856, they triumphed by the candidacy of James Buchanan In this latter campaign the Northern, Free-Soil, and Abolition parties supported John C. Freemont, while the Know-Nothings found a candidate in Millard Fill- more. From 1850 to i860 the office of recorder was held by Charles Wilbur and James W. Cooke, both Republicans ; the office of auditor, Foster M. Fol- lett and Charles H. Botsford, both Republicans ; the office of treasurer by John B. Wilber, Democrat; John W. Sprague, Thomas S. Fuller, Holly Skinner, Whigs and Republicans, and Thomas S. Fernald, Democrat; the office of clerk by Rice Harper and Horace N. Bill, both Whigs ; the office of sheriff by George W. Smith, G. B. Gerrard and Fred. F. Smith, Democrats; the office of prose- cuting attorney by A. W. Hendry, John Mackey and O. C. McLouth, Whigs and Republicans. In i860 Mr. Lincoln became the candidate of the Republicans, or united Whig and Abolition parties; Stephen A. Douglass and John C. Breckenridge of the divided factions of the Democracy, and John Bell of the old American or Union party. Mr. Lincoln was triumphantly elected, carrying every Northern State except New Jersey. After this came the secession of the Southern States, followed by four years of civil war. The Union must be maintained and the Republican president and his cabinet must be supported, both in Fed- eral, State and county politics ; therefore it is not surprising that the ranks of 274 History of Erie County. the Democracy became decimated and those of the Republican party largely increased. The office of prosecuting attorney between the years i860 and 1870, was held by F. VV. Cogswell, a Republican; sheriff by D. S. Worthing- ton and Jesse Davis, both Republicans; clerk by John J. Penfield, George W, Penfield and George O. Selkirk, all Republicans; probate judge by George Morton and A. W. Hendry, both Republicans; recorder by James W. Cook, John W. Reed and William A. Till, all Republicans ; auditor by George W. Smith and Ebenezer Merry, Republicans, and the office of treasurer, W. H. Mc- P'all and James D. Chamberlain, both Republicans. After the close of the war there became a desire to reward with office those who had been in the service. To this end nearly all of the local offices were filled with soldiers, who had no difficulty in obtaining a nomination in the con- vention, and who had to make but little effort to secure an election, as the Re- publican majority in the county reached, on certain occasions, something like seven, eight or nine hundred. But after a number of years many people be- came tired of this and began to realize the fact that a person that had not a soldier record had no chance for a position. This drove many to support the candidates of other parties. Then, again, after the Republicans had been in power, both in general and local politics, there became a growing dissatisfaction with the party and a de- sire for a change. These things resulted in a gradual diminution of the Re- publican vote and a corresponding increase of the Democratic, until the parties were again nearly equally divided, and not infrequently would the minority party of the county elect a candidate to an important office. The floating vote, as a rule, inclines to a growing party, and as a result of this and other causes, the Democracy succeeding in capturing, not only most of the fat offices, but in a few years had a decided majority. And it is a fact that during the last six or eight years that party has been in the ascendancy in the county, although it is evident that the majority is becoming less with each succeeding year. Of the present officers of the county nearly all are Democrats. Elsewhere in this chapter reference has been made to the anti-slavery prin- ciples, so strongly advocated by Francis D. Parish. This idea with him was by no means a desire to become conspicuous among his fellow men, but rather the result of deep conviction. The early history of his connection with the anti- slavery party and its few adherents in this county, became an important feat- ure of the political history of the county, insomuch that in compliance with a general request, we feel constrained to enter somewhat into the detail of that history ; and from the further fact that bat little, if anything, has heretofore been written upon that subject. For the facts following upon this matter the writer depends upon the au- tobiography of Mr. Parish, written some years prior to the time of his death, and never appearing in print heretofore, although the case at law, growing out Political History. 275 of Mr. Parish’s efforts at securing the liberation of fugitive slaves, has been ful- ly stated in the United States law reports. There were but two suits brought to recover the value of escaping slaves, which arose from transactions in this county. One of these was brought against Mr. Parish and the other against Hon. Rush R. Sloane, and these it is proposed particularly to notice. From the Parish autobiography the following is taken. “The question arose as to the relative merits and the tendency of the col- onization and the anti-slavery societies, the latter of which was being organized in different localities in the free States. I had hitherto supported the coloniz- ation society, upon the assumed ground that it would lead ultimately to the abolition of slavery. But the discussion worked an entire revolution in my mind. I became thoroughly convinced that the tendency of the colonization scheme was only to add value to slave property by the removal of free labor- ers to foreign lands, and thereby strengthen and perpetuate the slave system in the United States. Consequently I changed to an open and zealous hostil- ity to that society, and became an advocate of the anti-slavery society. “ As the agitation of the question became general, violent opposition de- veloped itself in all quarters. The abolitiontists were not only opposed, but persecuted with great violence, both in church and state. The press, religious as well as secular, and literary institutions of the countr}q were so entangled and involved in the interests of the slave power of the land, that they at once combined in a general onslaught upon all abolitionists. All heartily joined in a common effort to overwhelm them, and if possible, to silence and suppress all discussion of the subject in compliance with the arrogant demands of the slave holders. Men of the highest respectability in the country were repeatedly subjected to mob violence, stimulated and encouraged by men of property and standing in the cities and in the country generally. “ Elisha Parish Lovejoy, publisher and editor of a religious paper, moder- ately advocating anti-slavery principles, first in St. Louis, then in Alton, 111., was driven from place to place and finally murdered, and his press destroyed at the latter place. Not the least notice in law was taken of the outrage. “ William Lloyd Garrison, publisher and editor of the Liberator, was at one time dragged through the streets of Boston with a rope around his neck or body, by a furious mob composed ( as was announced in the papers) of ‘ men of property and standing ’ of that city. Examples might be multiplied of sim- ilar mobs in other cities and towns. “The press of the Philanthropist, early published in Cincinnati, O., was three times destroyed, to replace which I had the pleasure to as often contrib- ute. For some time I stood alone in Sandusky as a known abolitionist, and for a time my person and residence were exposed to and threatened with mob violence. “ Abolitionists and some others helped along fugitive slaves in their flight 2/6 History of Erie County. through the free States to Canada, where alone they could find peace and safety. On reaching the southern borders of the free States, by the aid of the north star, they found some one ready to point out the right way, and some often con- veyed in wagons and carriages from place to place, till they reached the waters of Lake Erie or the rivers. Sandusky was the general point of shipment of such articles for Canada. Here I was in readiness to see them safely on board a reliable craft. Hence I was often designated as the ‘ keeper of the depot or warehouse of the Underground Railroad.’ I have helped along hundreds and perhaps thousands. Often the fugitive was hotly pursued, and there were those in and about Sandusky eager to seize him at the beck of the hounds in pursuit. Haste and skill were therefore required to insure the deliverance of the panting victims. It was known to the general public that it was my busi- ness and practice to send forward, by water or otherwise, all such as were for- tunate enough to reach Sandusky ; yet I was never molested but once. In that case I was sued in the Circuit Court of the United States for the district of Ohio, under the fugitive slave law of Congress, of 1793, and was finally mulcted in the sum of $i,ooo and costs, which were taxed at $500.” The Driscoll Case . — “ In the fall of 1844 there came to my house a fugitive slave woman with six children. The oldest was a son of seventeen or eighteen, and the youngest, also a son, about six years old ; one daughter, about fifteen, and three other sons, aged respectively, about sixteen, fourteen, and twelve. As they arrived the steamboat for Detroit had just left the dock. It proved to be the last trip as the bay was that night frozen over. It thus appeared proba- ble that they must pass the winter in Sandusky. The two older boys, how- ever, soon made their way to Canada by land and ice. I gave the mother and youngest boy a place in my family, the mother doing work at $i per week and board of self and little boy. Places were found for the girl and other two boys to work for their board. These boys were sent on errands through the streets, and one of them was often sent for water to a pump in the street near the Townsend House. It so happened that a Kentucky traveler, stopping at th.^t hotel, saw and recognized this boy, and so informed the man who claimed to be the owner, Peter Driscoll, of Mason county, Ky. The other boy, who was called ‘ Doc,’ was with a family near my own residence (No. 5 Washington Row) . “ On one of the last days of February, 1845, the woman of this family came hastily into my kitchen, exclaiming, ‘ Mr. Parish, what does this mean ? Two men came into our wood-house, where he was sawing wood, seized Doc, and carried him off, he screaming for his life.’ T “ Understanding at once what was up, I passed hastily to my front door, on opening which I saw two men walking rapidly past my front gate and turn the corner of my lot, apparently to go to my wood-house, which was con- nected with the kitchen. On turning the corner they saw me upon the plat- Political History. 277 form of my steps, and one of them exclaimed, ‘ Oh, here is Mr. Parish !’ And both turned and walked back to my front gate. Mitchell (as I afterward learned) asked me if there was a colored woman at my house, called Jane Gar- rison. My prompt reply was, ‘There is, sir.’ He then said he was the agent ■of the owner of the woman and the family, and was authorized to take and return them to their master. ‘ Very well,’ says I, ‘ if you have a right to take her, and pursue the legal course, I shall not resist, but you must pursue the course pointed out by law in such cases, and if you prove your right, very well. I shall, however, see that she has a fair trial.’ ‘ Well,’ says he, ‘I also am a law abiding man, and ask nothing but what the law gives me.’ He asked to see the woman, and I told him I had no objection, if the woman was willing to see him. I stepped into the house and asked Jane if she was willing to see the men. She said not, but on my advising her to do so, she went with me to the front door, and stood on the platform, while the men were outside the gate, ten feet from her. Mitchell spoke to her, calling her by name, but I do not remember that she made any reply, Mitchell asked the little boy, who stood by his mother, to come and shake hands with him, and I said, ‘ it is not nec- essary.’ Mitchell then urged me to have the woman taken before a justice of the peace at Castalia. I objected, saying that there were competent officers in the city, after which they went away, not having been inside the gate. I tlien took out a writ of habeas corpus, to take the boys whom they held in confine- ment in their room at the hotel, and at the same time lodged a complaint against Mitchell and the other man for assault and battery upon the boys. The proceedings were before the late Judge Farwell, who, after hearing the whole evidence on both sides, discharged the boys, and they departed. Mit- chell and his companion were bound over to court to answer the charge of assault and battery. “In August, 1845, I was served with two writs of summons from the United States Circuit Court of this State, at the suit of Peter Driscoll, in one case demanding the penalty, and in the other claiming the value of the slaves, under the law of Congress of 1793, for the alleged rescue of the slaves from their owner. The suits were instituted by Henry Stansbury, then of Colum- bus, but later of Covington, Ky., the same man who was attorney- general under Andrew Johnson. Salmon P. Chase, of Cincinnati, and John W. An- drews, of Columbus, were my attorneys, voluntary, that is, they made no charge for their services. The issue was duly made up, and I attended court from year to year, generally with several witnesses from Sandusky, until the final trial in 1849. The cases were twice tried; once the jury could not agree, and once a verdict against me was set aside and a new trial granted. At the term of 1848, at the solicitation of kind friends of the Ohio bar, the Hon. Thomas Ewing volunteered in the defense. In the fall of 1849 Ewing was called to the cabinet of President Taylor, and could not be present at the 36 I 278 History of Erie County. term of that year ; but at the like solicitation, the Hon. Thomas Corwin vol- unteered assistance in the defense.” Upon the third and final trial of the case, the details of which are deemed unimportant here, Mr. Parish was mulcted in damages to the extent of $2,000, besides costs, amounting to several hundred dollars more. But the judgment for damages was reduced to $1,000, and the costs were likewise reduced to $250. By the generous assistance of personal friends, and friends of the cause to which Mr. Parish was so earnestly devoted, the whole amount of judgment and costs, amounting to $1,250 was paid. This was the first case of this character brought against a citizen of San- dusky, upon a cause of action arising in Erie county, and becomes important from its very nature, and will prove doubly interesting to the thousands of friends that hold the victim of the prosecution in such kindly remembrance. The names of the slaves, the value of whom was sued for, were Jane Garrison j and Harrison Garrison. The case has but one fellow, that is, an action brought against a resident !' of Sandusky, and this was the case of Lewis F. Weimer against Rush R, s Sloane, then a young and active practicing attorney of the city. But this dif- fers in some respects from that just quoted, and was brought under a more !| recent act of Congress, procured to become a law through the great power of j southern chivalry, and by which the value of a slave was fixed at $1,000, re- ' gardless of physical condition, age, or actual value. The names of the slaves. | that were aided in their escape were George Bracken, Emily Bracken, Ellen Bracken, Robert Pritt, Matilda Pritt, Eliza Pritt, and Thomas Pritt. The action of Weimer against Sloane was brought to recover the value of three of these^ and, for the events at the time that led to the suit we have recourse to the testimony of Major Foster M. Follett, one of the witnesses for the defendant, although the evidence offered by the plaintiff was somewhat different. “Mr. Follett, sworn: ‘ Was mayor of Sandusky city October 20, 1852; heard a noise in the street; the crowd came into the office; was writing at the time ; knew there were slaves there ; negroes were seated in the room ; paid no attention but kept on writing, with back to negroes ; after some time. Rice (Oliver Rice the marshal at the time) came in and laid the papers on my desk; did not look at the papers. Mr. Bill asked what I was going to do. I replied that I had no jurisdiction; think he did not speak to Patton (the slave catcher), or Patton to him ; after some time Rice came to my desk and I handed the papers to him, but Rice asked if I had examined them, and I said I had not, after which I went towards the door. “‘The defendant (Sloane) then came in, turned around and said, “ By what authority are these persons held in custody? Are there any papers to show- why they are held here?” Think Patton said Rice had the papers. Defend- ant then said, “ Colored citizens, I see no authority for detaining your colored Political History. 279 friends.” The negroes and crowd then went out, after which Patton said to Sloane, “Here’s the papers ; those slaves are mine and I will hold you respon- sible.” There was not much noise or excitement.’” These slaves had arrived in Sandusky on the evening of October 20, 1852, the day on which these events occurred, and were immediately taken on board the steamboat Arrow, that lay at the w'harf. The slave-catcher, Patton, saw them on the boat and at once called upon Oliver Rice and others to arrest and take them into custody, which was done. They were then taken before Mayor Follett that the ownership might be proved; and it was during the early part of the proceedings in the mayor’s office that some colored men had gone for Mr. Sloane to engage him to appear in their defense. To a person unacquainted with the arbitrary laws then in force regarding fugitive slaves, it would seem that the part taken by Mr. Sloane after his ar- rival, formed a very flimsy foundation upon which to base an action. But the reader mu.st bear in mind that that law was enacted by Congress at a time when the Southern people held absolute sway in the legislative halls of Congress, and by their controlling strength could and did pass measures wholly in their favor, however tyrannical and oppressive they may have been to others. The section of the act under which the slaves were detained provided, “That where a person held to service or labor in any State or Territory of the United States, has heretofore, or shall hereafter escape into another State or Territory of the United States, the person or persons to whom such service or labor may be due, or his, her, or their agent or attorney, duly authorized by power ©f attorney in writing, acknowledged and certified under the seal of some legal officer or court, of the State or Territory in which the same may be exe- cuted, may pursue and reclaim such fugitive person, either by procuring a war- rant from some one of the courts, judges or commissioners aforesaid, of the proper circuit, district or county, for the apprehension of such fugitive ; or by seizing and arresting such fugitive, where the same can be done without pro- cess ; and by taking or causing such person to be taken before such court, judge, or commissioners,” etc. It was by the authority of this act that these slaves were detained, and it was on account of the part taken by Mr. Sloane in the proceedings before Mayor Follett that he was summoned to answer in damages in the United States court. The trial resulted in a verdict against the defendant in the amount of three thousand dollars, one thousand dollars for each slave claimed to be owned by Weimer. This judgment and costs Mr. Sloane paid in full. Another suit growing out of the same transaction was brought against him by Charles M. Gibbons, but through a defect in the paper the action was dis- missed.* 28o History of Erie County. CHAPTER XX. HISTORY OF THE CITY OF SANDUSKY.* THE SEAT OF JUSTICE OF ERIE COUNTY. ''T^O attempt the production of an original chronological history of the City S ]_ of Sandusky would be out of the question. Various historians, both local and non-resident, to the number of nearly a score, have made an effort in this direction, and, in some few instances, with a fair measure of success; so that j for a writer upon the ground to-day, there seems but very little opportunity for enlargement upon things and events of the last quarter of a century, and no |j room whatever for any additional revelations regarding the happenings of an earlier period. At best the modern writer can but revise, classify, and per- haps paraphrase that which has already been made patent through the labors of early historians. And, peradventure, there may be revealed some events that have been heretofore overlooked or considered unworthy a place in history, [j and thus it may be possible that a satisfactory record be made that shall be of ! some substantial use and benefit to the present and future generations of this county. ! The writer of modern times finds the most satisfaction in the fact of being able to give to the public something before unknown, or to settle conflicting opinions, or to give a new and satisfactory version of misunderstood things. Yet in the present case there seems no avenue of escape by these subterfuges, and we must loo,k the facts squarely in the face, scan, and if possible, criticise past jj works, still depend upon them for truth, then sift and separate the good history from the bad, and present the former to the reader, clearly and in the most in- i telligent manner possible, and finally, ask the most kindly indulgence and for- I bearance of the reader for not having been able to provide new, startling and wonderful historic revelations. So much by way of explanation — not apology. || It has not been deemed advisable for the purposes of this chapter to restate or re- narrate the events of the Indian occupation of the lands now comprised i by the corporate limits of this city, but to commence this subject at a time within the memory of man, referring the reader to the earlier chapters of this volume for such knowledge as may be sought concerning the savages whose i different tribes held jointly and in severalty the country which we now occupy. *The point, Sandusky, first became so named from the beautiful bay on the shore of which it is situate. The bay was known to the Indians as a lake — a small lake of cold water, and ' from that the name “ Lac Sandouske ” was applied. This name, however, partakes largely of the French accent, and is believed to be of French origin The Jesuits carried on their labors | through this region generally, but of them we have no reliable, ancient record ; and it is quite | probable that the Indians adopted, as nearly as possible, the name the French had given. The name was first mentioned, so far as we have knowledge, in 1708, at which time the 'Iroquois Indians destroyed a village of the Eries on “Conti Lake.” j The City of Sandusky. 28r The territory now included within the city limits of Sandusky formed a very small portion of the historic “ firelands,” which was donated to the inhab- itants of certain towns of Connecticut to compensate them for losses sustained at the hands of the British soldiers during the Revolution ; and that donation was made before the Indian claims to the land had been extinguished. No at- tempt at permanent white settlement could, of course, be made until that title was acquired. And it is a fact that the survey and partition were not per- formed until after the treaty by which the occupants relinquished their claim of title. After these preliminaries had been satisfactorily settled, the whites came to the region and found on the site of the city a “lone” cabin, presided over and occupied by an Indian named “Ogontz,” and from this occupant the town, if such it might be called, received its first name. OGONTZ PLACE. From all authority it appears that this chieftain was the acknowledged ruler of the town, and the Indians who then occupied the locality. The cabin of Ogontz was situate at a point some ten or fifteen rods from the bay shore, be- tween what are now known as Columbus avenue and Wayne street, about in rear of the building standing between the Moss National and the Second Na- tional Banks. Authorities differ, however, on the subject of the location of the chief’s cabin, but from the best information obtainable, it is thought the spot indicated is about correct. Ogontz, like all rulers of high degree, had a history ; and inasmuch as he was in a manner identified with the past of this city, it will not be considered too much out of place to make some mention of his life and tragic death, as the same was sketched by one of the pioneers of i8io, and now a resident of Perkins township, from which sketch we copy almost literally : Ogontz . — “ His life and somewhat romantic death have been written with varying testimony. He was captured near the head of Lake Huron, about the middle of the last century, by some Jesuit missionaries, and taken to Quebec when he was but a small lad. He was sent to a missionary school, was bap- tized in the name of Ogontz, and was taught the English and French lan- guages. He graduated with the highest honors, and was sent back as a mis- sionary to his own people. During the latter part of the eighteenth century he came to Sandusky and settled with the Ottawa Indians, on the southern shore of the bay, then a beautiful plain, dotted over with Indian wigwams, burr oaks, and clusters of hawthorns. “ In the year 1805, John Fleming came from Canada, and settled on the east bank of the Huron River, three miles from the lake, where he established a small trading post, exchanging ammunition and other commodities for furs. 282 1 IiSTORY OF Erie County. Ogontz and Fleming soon became acquainted and their friendship continued until the death of the former. “ In the summer of 1808, a number of Indians, with their chief and Ogontz, assembled at Fleming’s for a yearly sacrifice. The chief, with the others, be- came intoxicated and quarrelsome. The chief had been jealous of Ogontz for some time, on account of his steady and sober habits and the popularity he had gained among other Indians; and fearing he might be chosen their chief over him, soon got into a quarrel with Ogontz. A deadly conflict ensued in which Ogontz slew his antagonist. “ The next day he was arrested and tried for murder, Fleming acting as judge. He was honorably acquitted, and the same day he was chosen chief over the tribe. As Ogontz had no children of his own, he adopted the only son of the slain chief, who was but a small boy. He inherited that spirit of revenge that is generally found in the Indian character. As soon as he be- came a young man he watched his opportunity, and one day, while they were on a hunting excursion, near Perrysburg, he shot his adopted father, assumed the title of chief and ruled the tribe. Thus fell the learned Ogontz, one of the most noble sons of the forest that ever trod the soil of the Sandusky plains. “ Young Ogontz’s career as chief was short, for he soon became a habitual drunkard and died in the year 1822.” “ His name,” continues the same writer, concerning Ogontz, “ will never be forgotten by those at Sandusky. His wigwam was on the bay shore at the foot of Wayne street. His favorite retreat from the piercing sun in midsum- mer day was in a little cluster of hawthorns near the foot of Columbus avenue. Beneath this shade was a beautiful stone chair formed by the hand of nature. Here the chief reclined for hours, smoking his pipe or watching the breeze- ruffled waters of the broad bay as they glistened in the sunlight, or gazing at the foaming and dashing waves of the lake beyond.” Such, then, was the location and situation during the early years of the present century ; a situation real as well as fanciful, although the latter lends an additional charm to the scene. Ogontz’s Place was the name by which this locality was known and desig- nated until the efforts of Zalmon Wildman changed it to the less romantic, 9 though more appropriate — Portland. The first attempt at settlement by the whites, at what was known as Ogontz’s Place, was made in the year 1810, by one John Garrison and family. ; He was a former resident of New York State, and came to this region inquest^; of a home. Not many, however, ventured into this locality at that time. There were loud and ominous threatenings of war. The Indian occupants were still friendly to the British, and the latter were continually urging the sav- y ages to deeds of violence against all colonists. The storm-cloud of war at length broke, and until after the year 1815 had passed, settlement was danger- ous. The City of Sandusky. 283 John Garrison came to Ogontz’s Place, as has been stated, to make a home. He brought a stock of goods to exchange for furs, and to supply the whites that then chanced to live in the country. He was the intended victim of a murderous Indian named Semo, but the designs of the latter were frustrated by the outbreak of the war, causing Garrison to return to New York State. The Indian, however, with an accomplice, murdered Michael Gibbs, a trapper, living on Pipe Creek. This occurred while a party of rangers were at Huron, for defensive purposes, and when the news reached them Semo was tracked and captured and subsequently hanged. His companion in crime was an In- dian named Omeek, and he being afterward taken, killed himself Few of the Connecticut sufferers occupied the lands donated them. Their interests were purchased by others, who became known under the style of “ Proprietors,” and it was by the extensive purchase of sufferers’ claims that Zalmon acquired title to the large body of land whereon stands a part of San- dusky. (Zalmon VVildman was born at Danbury, Conn., in the year 1774, and died December 10, 1835. with his brother, Seymour Wildman, were hatters at Danbury. From 1808 until 1835, Zalmon Wildman was postmaster at Danbury, and from 1817 to 1824 he was associate judge of the county court of Fairfield county. He first came to the fireland in 1810, on horseback. Here he had several thousand acres of land which he acquired by purchasing suffer- ers' certificates. Judge Wildman was never a resident of Ohio, although he frequently visited this locality, looking after his land interests. In 1833 he subscribed $15,000 toward the construction of the Mad River Railroad, and paid it in full. Upon his death his son, Frederick S. Wildman, and his son- in-law, Nathan Starr, were appointed administrators of his estate. They also subscribed a large tract of land to the building of the railroad, taking stock or scrip of the company in payment, but never realized anything from the stock.) Mr. Wildman unquestionably saw that this locality was destined to become a city of some considerable magnitude, and with this belief strongly impressed upon him, in the year 1816 he laid out and caused to be platted the town of PORTLAND. Up to this time the town had been, it is generally conceded, known as Ogontz’s Place, and this belief seems to be well founded, taking the declara- tions of Zalmon Wildman as authority. Mr. Wildman acquired title to a large body of land in this immediate vi- cinity by the purchase of sufferers’ rights. This surveyed township was but a fraction of a whole township lying north of Perkins, or rather, north of town number six in range twenty-three, and between town six and the bay. It has been generally understood that Mr. Wildman, in the year 1816, laid out and platted his lands here, or at least a part of them, and gave to the place 284 History of PIrie County. the name of “ Portland.” This may be true, and the belief is in a measure verified by referring to the map itself (on record), which is drawn under the title of Portland. The signification of this name becomes clear by simply di- viding the syllables thus, ‘‘ Port-land;” the first. Port, meaning a harbor, and by adding the suffix land, we have the meaning; land upon a harbor, or, more clearly, land located upon a harbor, or adjoining a harbor. Portland, as a town, had a very brief existence, in fact, even if it had any. One thing is sure, and that is, that the town was knoivn as Portland for some time, but whether such was its name as a truth, and whether that name was given it by Mr. Wildman, or those acting for him and under his direction, is a question susceptible of argument. Custom, prevailing opinion and tradition, all say that it was named Portland, and so named honestly. This we shall not contradict, nor shall we make an attempt to disprove it, but if we take the county records as a standard authority (and in preparing this work great de- pendence is placed on the records), it will be found that the name of “ San- dusky City” was given the place by Zalmon Wildman, on the 17th day of August, 1816, by his dedication, which was follows: ‘‘The within town plat is situated on the south shore of Sandusky Bay, on the ground formerly known by the name of Ogontz Place.” “ A store is now erected on the southwesterly side of lot number six, on the easterl}^ side of Main street.” “ The foregoing town plat, by the name of ‘ Sandusky City,’ I allow shall be subject to and governed by the same laws that other town plats are in this State. . Zalmon Wildman. [Seal.] “ Huron, August 17, 1816. “ Signed, sealed and acknowledged before Jabez Wright, associate judge.” From this instrument it seems clear that, at the above date, Zalmon Wild- man laid out the town of Sandusky City. The article also states that the same is situated on the ‘‘ ground formerly known by the name of Ogontz Place.” Well, Portland or Sandusky City, which ever it may have been, comprised four separate blocks of land, two large and two small, and contained in all sixty lots. The streets were ; Commerce on the east. State (in the dedication called Main) in the center, and Mechanic on the west. These run north and south. Water street had an east and west direction and separated the small blocks from the larger. State street separated the larger blocks, and also the smaller. There was but one store at that time on the tract, situated at the corner of State (or Main) and Water streets. There seems to have been at this time, or very soon afterward, a claim in- terposed to the effect that Zalmon Wildman was not the rightful owner of this whole tract. And just here it may be stated, parenthetically perhaps, that The City of Sandusky. 285 conflicting claims of title to the lands of Sandusky City was the greatest ob- struction or obstacle in the way of its early growth ; an obstacle that was not finally removed until after the year 1840; and by that time her sister cities, Cleveland on the east, and Toledo on the west, had a decided advantage over her in point of early and substantial settlement and internal improvement. This was one, and but one, of the many causes that seriously retarded San- dusky’s growth at a time when enterprise and harmonious action were most needed for her future welfare. But to return. In explanation of this conflict of claims to title is, may be remarked, that Mr. Wildman and Isaac Mills, the latter interposing the claim, made an amicable adjustment of their existing difficulties, which, in the year 1818, resulted in the platting and laying out of the more extensive tract of land whereon, in part, now stands the city of San- dusky. And here another actor appears upon the scene, in the person of George Hoadley, the ancestor of the late Governer of the State of Ohio. As to how he acquired an interest in these lands the record does not show, but it was unquestionably a lawful and valid title, else it had not been made. The dedication made by these three men appears upon the records as follows : “The city of Sandusky is situated on the south shore of Sandusky Bay, about three miles from the entrance into said bay, on the portion lying between town number six in the twenty-third range and the said bay. “ The above and within (referring to the map accompanying the instru- ment) is a true and accurate map or plat of the city of Sandusky. The streets east and west are: Water street, which is four and one- half rods in width; Market street is five rods ; Washington street is six rods ; Adams street is five rods; Jefferson, Madison and Monroe are four rods; Wayne and Jackson are each five rods; and all the other streets running northerly and southerly, to- gether with Poplar and Elm streets, are each four rods in width. Columbus, Huron and Miami avenues are each six rods wide. The two open spaces on Market street, marked B.B., are appropriated as and for public market grounds, and forever to remain for that purpose and for no other. “Washington Square is hereby appropriated as and for a Public Ground, Parade and Walk, and is never to be obstructed, except that part of it included in lines marked A. A., which is hereby appropriated for public building for re- ligious, literary. State, county and city purposes, but no jail or State’s prison is ever to be erected thereon. “The Columbus, Miami and Huron Parks are also hereby appropriated as and for public areas as walks ; as are also the three small areas or triangles on the Miami and Huron avenues, which are never to be obstructed in any way whatever. “The city and outlets which are for sale are all numbered by progressive numbers, according to the within map or plat, and each lot, except the water lots and the lots on the Huron and Miami avenues, are five rods in front, on 37 286 History of Erie County. the street, and extend back twelve rods, except where the Market place is and the curve of Water street, together with Washington Row, do prevent ; and the water lots are all two rods in front on Water street, and extend northerly into the bay to the channel water thereof. “ The open and public slips to the water from Water street are as follows, viz.: On the Columbus avenue, ten rods in width; on Wayne and Jackson streets, nine rods, and on all other streets eight rods in width, and so to remain forever. “The land on which the city of Sandusky is laid is owned by Zalmon Wildman, three-quarter parts thereof, and by Isaac Mills and George Hoadley, one-quarter part thereof, undivided and in common. “ Dated the 5th of June, 1818. Zalmon Wildman, “ By his attorney, Isaac Mills, “ George Hoadley, “ By his attorney, I. Mills, “ Isaac Mills.” Thus was the city of Sandusky laid out and its streets, areas and public places dedicated to the common use ; and thus have they, with slight altera- tions, remained to the present day. This was the first really substantial step in the direction of a municipal organization, although it was some six years after this that Sandusky aspired to any municipal existence independent of the adjoining country of which it until then formed a part. The worthy and generous proprietors seemed, even at that early day, to be possessed of the belief that this was destined to become a city of much im- portance, and with this end in view made liberal provision of land for the pur- pose of buildings — State, county and city ; also for religious, literary, educa- tional and other uses. How thoroughly this provision was utilized is attested by the many substantial, and in some cases elegant structures that now adorn the square. To be sure the proprietory control of the city in later years fell into the hands of a few persons who seemed not to be imbued with the same spirit of enterprise, the same progressive disposition, or the same ardent desire to improve, build up and populate, as actuated ‘Messrs. Wildman, Mills and Hoadley, and that lack of energy and thrift, coupled with a desire for specula- tion and money getting, lost to Sandusky many people and many of the aux- iliaries of prosperity. That same spirit, or lack of public spirit, nearly caused a change in the location of the county seat, and were it not for the efforts of certain individuals, other than the controlling element of that day, that change would have been made. There was, however, among the proprietors some who were earnest in the work for the welfare of the town, but their interests were not considered ; their counsel and advice was not followed ; they were a minority, and soon sold out. But this state of affairs did not exist until lit The City of Sandusky. 287 some twelve or fifteen years after the town was laid out by the three proprie- tors above mentioned. They made the start, they laid the foundation for a large commercial and manufacturing city, but the afterwork was not well done, and to-day, in a measure, Sandusky feels the effect of it. But it is not the purpose of this chapter to lament the misfortunes of the past, nor to revive unpleasant recollections, nor to speculate upon what might have been, but rather to record the things that were and now are in being. SANDUSKY SEVENTY YEARS AGO. The old pioneers of the town of Sandusky city are all dead and gone. There were among them some who were prominent in its affairs and contributed largely toward its early building up and development. Zalmon Wildman, in his orig- inal plat of 1816, refers to a store standing on the southwesterly side of lot number six, and this is believed to have been the building erected by John Garrison, the merchant and Indian trader of 1810, and who leftaboutthe time the war of 1812-15 broke out. VVe have no evidence that Garrison again re- turned to the place. Title he had none and was but a squatter on the land. This building seems to have been the only one that stood within the limits of Wildman’s first town, which has generally been known as Portland, but which he gave the name of Sandusky city. With the platting made by Wildman, Mills and Hoadley, settlement at once commenced ; buildings were erected here and there, and the city of Sandusky appeared to be entering upon an “ era of unexampled prosperity.” These improvements, together with the names of their projectors, and the dates of their coming, may with propriety be classed under the general head- ing of The First of Everything Pertaining to the Town. For a great part of the information relating to the pioneer efforts in the direction of early settle- ment and improvement, the writer is indebted to a directory published by I. F. Macks, esq., of the Register, and compiled by G. G. Nichols, in the year 1873. Zalmon Wildman is said to have built the first frame structure in the town in the year 1817. It was located on Water street, on the ground now in part oc- cupied by Reber’s block. It was occupied, for a time, by Moors Farwell, for mercantile purposes, but the first mayor soon discontinued business on account of great competition in trade, but Mr. Farwell afterward became a somewhat central figure in the “ village ” affairs of the place, and was by no means con- signed to permanent retirement as the later pages of this chapter will show. To W. B. Smith is due the credit of having erected the first frame dwell- ing in the town, in the year 1817, but his first visit to the locality was made prior to the war of 1812. This building stood at the corner of Water and Wayne streets, on the site afterward occupied by Scott’s American Hotel. The second dwelling house stood near that just mentioned, and was built during the same year by Cyrus W. Marsh. And it was here a few years later that the 288 History of Erie County. owner built a front portion to the house and opened the first hotel in the town, known as “ Marsh’s Steamboat Hotel.” This building, with its subsequent modifications, repairs and improvements, made to keep step with the general progress of the place, is still standing, although its original name has been changed several times as well as its management. It has been known as “ Port- er’s Verandah Hotel,” “Raymond’s Hotel,” and lastly as “ Scott’s American ” and the “ New Lake House ” which latter name it bears to-day. Mr. Marsh was quite a prominent personage in early times, and conducted a lively coach line as well as the hotel. He was a Connecticut Yankee and came to this place in 1817. He lived here about fifteen years and then sold out and moved to Canada, but later went to Michigan. The second hotel in town was presided over by Colonel Root and was known as the “ Portland House,” taking its name from that by which the town had been called. This was also on Water street, on the ground on which was afterward built Keech’s Block. The old Portland House also passed through other hands and was finally put to use as a publishing and book establishment. Then it was burned down. W. B. Smith seems to have been a somewhat en- terprising man. In addition to his frame dwelling, he is also credited with having erected the first brick house, manufacturing his own material, and he being architect and builder. It was located in front of his frame building. There came to reside in Sandusky, in the year 1821, Elentlieros Cooke. In the many projects looking to the benefit and advantage of the place, that were set in motion at and about this time, no person was more prominent than he. Mr. Cooke was a lawyer by profession, and as such was the pioneer in this locality (for the reader must be mindful of the fact that this was then a part of Huron county), but in his profession and out of it he was a man of de- cided ability and learning, a magnificent orator, a man whose mind and capac- ity was held by no narrow environment, whose public-spiritedness was un- bounded. After he became a citizen of the town there was made one grand step forward. Not alone in building up the town was Mr. Cooke prominent, but in railroad enterprises and others equally important was he actively engaged. His first work was in the erection of a dwelling on Columbus avenue, of native stone, the pioneer of its kind in the town. Old heads said there was not suf- ficient material to be obtained here for that purpose, but notwithstanding that the building gradually approached completion, and after it was done there ap- pears to have been a few ( ! ) stones left, judging from the amount of them used subsequently. It may not have been known at the time to these old wiseacres that Sandusky was “ founded on a rock,” but this was certainly the case. Having devoted some attention to the “ first ” structures of various kinds in Sandusky town, it will be appropriate here to notice another pioneer venture that was established about the same time by an enterprising individual in the person of David Campbell. He was associated in this venture with Adonijah The City of Sandusky. 289 Champlin, and by their joint effort hoped to bring forth the Ohio Illuminator. But this paper, a proposed weekly publication, never shed its light upon the town and surrounding country. The Illuininator project was not a complete success from a business point of view. The good people of the country wanted “ light.” but they wanted more than that, s© on the 22d of April of the follow- ing year, there was heard the first notes of the Sandusky Clarion. But enough of this. Suffice it to say that the Clairon lived and prospered, and though changed in name and appearance, still lives, and is now recognized as the lead- ing paper of the county. The chapter devoted to the “ press ” furnishes a complete history of the Ilhiminator, the Clarion and the other papers of the county as well. The town grew rapidly in point of population, industry and tra.de during the first few years, and among the many who availed themselves of the grand business opportunities that were offered, the names of a few may be recalled, as follows: Moors Farwell was in mercantile trade representing Zalmon Wild- man. There was also Jennings & Darling, who came from Connecticut and opened a dry goods store in 1818, at the corner of Water street and Columbus avenue. William Townsend started in the same line of business in 1819, in a small frame building standing near the corner of Water and Lawrence streets. Mr. Townsend died of cholera in 1849. David McMurray, in the fall of 1817, built a store on the site of the Register office building, in which he started the drug business. One year later William Kelley became a partner of Mr. Mc- Murray. There was in trade here, as early as 1819, a Hebrew named Cohn, who had a small jewelry establishment on Water street. In this same line was John N. Sloane, but the latter did not commence business until some years later. Others of the early tradesmen in various branches of business, but whose location and time of coming cannot, in each case be definitely fixed, were Gal- in Atkins, 1820, boots and shoes; D. C. Henderson, 1820, baker; Wheeler & Galloway, hotel keepers and merchants (about 1821 or 1822); A. ]\I. Porter, 1820 or 1821, tanner and currier; S. Pennewell and S. H. Stearns, both tan- ners; Milton and Jennings, 1819, cabinet makers ; Alexander Clemons, 1820 or 1821, cabinet maker; J. C. Hurd, 1823 or 1824, hatter; Colonel A. Root, 1822 or 1823, saddler and harness maker; Sylvanus A. Cone, 1820 or 1821, butcher ; Bush & Hollister, merchants ; O. and L. Cook, dry goods ; Bassett Bethel, tailor ; D. H. Tuttle, lumber dealer; Samuel and Leicester Walker, and Abner Lyman were local carpenters. George Anderson was the pioneer physician. The legal lights of the town at this time were Elentheros Cooke, Francis D. Parish and H. J. Harmon. The first two were prominent men in the city for many years, but of the last mentioned, Mr. Harmon, there appears no rec- ord or tradition. 290 History of Erie County. Having passed the “settlement” stage of its life and taken upon itself the more dignified name of town, the enterprising inhabitants began to look a lit- tle to the world outside this place and cast about for the most convenient and approved means of ingress and egress. Upon this subject we quote from the publication of W. D. Root, for the year 1855: “ As early as 1821 the project of a canal across the center of the State be- gan to be agitated. In the outset no other line than the Sandusky and Scioto route was thought of The monstrous, suicidal policy of constructing two canals across the State, to unite the same waters, was wholly an after-thought — the offspring of a corrupt bargain and sale between interested sections. In the legislative session of 1821 the first law was passed authorizing a survey. During the season following Judge Geddes, an eminent engineer from New York, was employed to make the examination of several routes. Finding an abundant water supply on the Central, or Sandusky and Scioto route, he was prepared to report in favor of its location for the canal, but was prevented from doing so by a portion of the commissioners interested in other routes, and thereupon immediately resigned his position, declaring that he could not consent to retain an office while denied the exercise of what he deemed its un- doubted prerogatives. “The next year a certain Judge Bates, whose best recommendation was his suppleness in the hands of interested commissioners, was employed as chief engineer, upon whose report the two lines of canal were finally located. No single line had the power to carry the measure ; it could only be done by the corrupt process of bargain and sale. Cuyahoga had first to conciliate the Muskingum ally by a sop of some two millions for the river improvement, and then buy up the Scioto Valley by encountering a second - summit of ascend- ing and descending locks, and still, not having votes enough, Cincinnati and the ‘ Miamis’ had to be subsidized.” It was by this resort to corrupt methods that the plan to construct the canal by the most convenient, natural and direct route was defeated ; and thus Sandusky lost what would given her at least her present population fifty years ago. In order in some measure to compensate Sandusky for the great wrong done her in depriving her of this valuable water-way communication with the country to the south, the project of a railroad to connect with the canal from Dayton to Cincinnati was suggested, but it was not until some years later that the same was consummated. Although Sandusky was for a time defeated in every attempt to open com- munication with the outside world by a canal, and was long delayed in the railroad project she, nevertheless, held open communication with the east and west by way of the lake, and reached Columbus by stage. The steamer, Walk- in-the- Water, made regular trips up and down the lake until the year 1821, when she was lost. The Superior next visited this place in 1822, making tri- The City of Sandusky. 291 monthly trips between Detroit and Buffalo, touching a tSandusky both going and coming. The Town of Sandusky Incorporated . — From the time of its original platting in 1816, until the latter part of the year 1823, the town of Sandusky had ac- quired a population of something like three hundred souls, and it became a matter of necessity that some provision should be made for local government and improvement, independent of the township organization of which it had hitherto formed a part. Many things were needful, many improvements could be made and many substantial benefits derived if the inhabitants of the town could be allowed to act independently. The Legislature of the State, on the 14th of February, 1824, passed an act providing for the incorporation of the town of Sandusky, and providing for the election of officers thereof. The limits of the town as provided by the act were as follows : Commenc- ing at a point in Sandusky bay, eighty rods from low water mark, directly op- posite the north end of McDonough street; thence running a direct line to the said north end of McDonough street, and along said street to Washington street; thence east along said Washington street to Decatur street ; thence south along said Decatur street to Jefferson street; thence east along said Jef- ferson street to Hancock street; thence north along said Hancock street to Washington street; thence east along said Washington street to Warren street; thence north along said Warren street to the shore of Sandusky bay ; thence to a point in said Sandusky bay eighty rods from low water mark, directly opposite the north end of Warren street ; thence running directly to the place of beginning, shall be, and the same is hereby erected into a town corporate, henceforth to be known and distinguished by the name of Sandusky; subject, however, to such alterations as the Legislature may from time to time think proper to make ; and the remaining part of said town, as shown by the plat thereof on record, shall be, and the same is hereby vacated, excepting the streets and public grounds thereof On the first record book of proceedings of the authorities of the town there appears the following entry ; “ Be it remembered that in pursuance of an act of the Legislature of the State of Ohio, passed February 14, 1824, entitled ‘ An act to incorporate the town of Sandusky, in the county of Huron, ’ the qualified electors who had been residents of the said town of Sandusky six months then immediately pre- ceeding, convened at the school-house in said town on the first Monday of May, 1824, and then and there, according to the direction of the said act, pro- ceeded to the election of nine suitable persons, being citizens, house-holders or free-holders, and inhabitants of said town, to serve as mayor, recorder and common council of said town, by ballot ; at which meeting John Weeden and Benjamin Gregg were chosen and qualified as judges, and Frederick Devoe as clerk. 292 History of Erie County. “ Whereupon, after closing the polls and canvassing the votes which had been duly given by the qualified electors aforesaid, according to law, it ap- peared that George Anderson, Aaron C. Corbett, William Townsend, William Kelley, Cyrus W. Marsh, Alexander Clemons, Elentheros Cook, John Wheeler and M. Earwell were duly elected to serve in the capacity aforesaid; and the said judges thereupon declared and in due form certified the said per- sons duly elected, as will more fully appear by their certificate and return on file.” In pursuance of the act of the common council met at the office of Elen- theros Cook, in the town of Sandusky, on the loth day of May, being within ten days from the aforesaid day of election, and then and there proceeded to elect, by ballot, from their own body, three persons to serve as mayor, re- corder and treasurer, with the following result: Mayor, M. Earwell; recorder, William Townsend ; treasurer, William Kelley. Thus organized the council proceeded to elect a town marshal, Wesley An- derson being the fortunate candidate. He, however, resigned on the 12th of February following, and Daniel Newton was appointed in his stead. The next work of the newly created board was to determine the term of office of the several members, with this result: For one year, Cyrus W. Marsh, William Townsend and John Wheeler; for two years, Elentheros Cooke, Aaron C. Corbett and M. Earwell; for three years, William Kelley, Alexander Clemons and George Anderson. On July 30 following John K. Campbell was appointed as town assessor. About the first business transacted by these doughty old councilmen after their organization had been complete, was the passage of ordinances for local government, which were not of importance sufficient to warrant their publi- cation in these pages. One thing, however, seems worthy of mention. They provided that the non-attendance at meetings of the council should be pun- ishable by a fine of one dollar, and judging from the frequency with which this penalty was imposed, as shown by the proceedings, the treasury must have been in good condition, that is, if the fine was collected, which fact does not appear. There ought not to have been any trouble in securing a full attend- ance at meetings, for many of them, before a suitable room was provided, were ! held at the “house” of Abner Root, and he was noted as being one of the ' most genial and hospitable landlords of that day. Many a glorious meeting these worthy city fathers must have had under the treatment of “ mine host ” Root. M. Earwell continued in the office of mayor for five years and was, in 1829, succeeded by George Anderson, and the latter, after two years, by J. M. Root. Thus were passed the first years of the life of Sandusky as an incorporated town; and a smart, bustling little place it was. Water street seems to have contained the business houses of various kinds, and in this same locality was The City of Sandusky. 293 I 1 I i :l . 1 ' \ I'l! I t i! I also situate a majority of its dwellings, although they were scattered over the tract generally as the owner was best able to afford. The town had a news- paper, the Clarion, a school, the building being situate at the corner of Col- umbus avenue and Washington row; but another was built in 1828, on the ground whereon, in later years, was erected the Episcopal Church edifice. A school was established in town as early as 1818 near the Steam Boat Hotel, but was succeeded by that on Columbus avenue. Nor were the people unmindful of their spiritual comfort and welfare, as a church society was organized as early as 1819, but no churchHiome for this struggling band was provided before 1836. This was a missionary station under the charge of the Connecticut Missionary Society. Revs. John Seward and Joseph Treat conducted the services for some years. The first regular minister came in 1826, the Rev. W. M. Adams. That the reader may have an idea as to who were the residents of this locality at or soon after the incorporation of the town, we give the names of the residents of Portland township for the year 1829. The list includes the names of those who lived in the town as well as those within the township and outside the town. This enrollment was made in May of the year named, by the trustees of the township for the purpose of dividing the same into school districts, and to be numbered one and two, respectively. All that part of the town and town- ship lying east of Columbus avenue and a line drawn south in continuation thereof to constitute school district number one, while the land to the west of Columbus avenue and the line above mentioned, should form district number two. The resident householders of district number one were as follows; Thomas Galaway, Isaac Darling, William Cogswell, McGovern, Jesse Withington, John Turk, Jerome Hardenbrook, Conrad Rhodes, Charles F. Drake, David B. Smith, Thomas T. White, David Campbell, Chauncey Terry, Presley Thompson, Erastus Cooke, John Hamer, Leicester Walker, George Anderson, William Chapman, Samuel Walker, Cyrus W. Marsh, James Foreman, Richard Hill, Judah W. Ransom, James Wright, Daniel R. Ellsworth, Darwin H. Tuttle, Michael Green, Lewis C. Ellsworth, Jacob Goodrich, Marble Tatie, Abner Lyman, Martin Eldis, Gurdon C. Burnham, Aaron C. Corbett, Adolphus Woodbridge, Davis Dougherty, Winslow Corbett, Thomas McGee, William Lisle, Abner Root, Hezekiah Bigford, Joseph Darling, Roswell J. Jennings, Widow Hurd, Widow Amsden, Widow Cook, Widow Hancock, Alexander Clemons. 294 History of Erie County. The householders of district number two were as follows : Benjamin Gregg, Kelley Smith, A. M. Porter, Francis D. Parish, Knovvlton Youngs, William Louther, Daniel Newton, Hewitt Hastings, Lucus Hoskins, Erastus S. Gregg, Augustus Cook, John Poorman, Ezra Wells, Elias Hand, William Townsend, George Lantes, Andrew Grimes, John Morgan, Benjamin Withington, Isaac Rice, John Wheeler, Elijah Belknap, Richard Martin, Henry Victor, Isaac Tupper, Amos McLouth, Russell Woodruff, Jacob Bouck, Samuel Pennewell, , John Weeden, Rufus G. Carter, Widow Henderson, Widow Costello, Widow Martin, Widow Bishop, Widow Falley, Daniel Wisopp, H. H. Wilcoxen, A. M. Moore, George Dorrell, E. E. Clemons, George S. Reynolds, Joshua Fairchild, Michael Gill, Henry I. Slater, W. D. Colvin, John Kfr Sloane, Perry Darby. The question has frequently been asked : Why was it that Sandusky town^ possessed, as it was, of every natural facility for trade, commerce, and manu- facture, was so seriously retarded in its early growth, after the original propri- etors had made such generous provision for a large city ? This might be explained clearly and every contributing cause set forth, but it is hardly within the province of this chapter to discuss these misfortunes further than they become a part of the city’s history. But there was one leading reason that it may be well enough to present at some length at this time. This injurious cause, stripped of an explanation of its detail of facts and circumstances, was the uncertain title to the lands on which a part of the town plat was laid, and the conflicting claims to ownership which resulted in the famous litigation of Lockwood and others against Wildman and others. People looking for a place of residence in the then new country could hardly be expected to invest in lands the pureness of the title to which was in doubt. Then, again, soon after the year 1830, there was an investment made in the purchase of a large tract of land in the town, which the purchasers hoped to develop and build up, but unfortunately, the control of the tract fell into- the hands of a person who was, to say the very least, exceedingly careless of his own and his associates’ interests. It was soon after the year 1830 that Major John G. Camp visited the town of Sandusky with a view of making an extensive purchase of its lands, but it seems that he was not sufficiently possessed of ready funds to obtain all that, he desired ; so he at once cast about for associates in the enterprise, and suc- ceeding in enlisting the support of Thomas N.eill, who is well remembered as- having lived in this locality, a part of the time in Margaretta township, and The City of Sandusky. 295 afterward in Sandusky; and who was, moreover, an honest, true, and conscien- tious man. Also Oran Follett, who at the time was a prominent resident and business man of Buffalo, N. Y., and Isaac A. Mills, the son of Isaac Mills, one of the original proprietors of the town as laid out in the year 1818. These gentlemen became the associates of Major Camp, and purchased from the owners, Wildman, Mills, and Hoadley, all that part of the surveyed fractional township that lay east of Wayne street ; taking a contract therefor at a consideration less than fourteen thousand dollars. This was late in 1833, or early in the succeeding year. Major Camp and Isaac Mills lived in the town; Thomas Neill in Margaretta, and Mr. Follett in Buffalo, so that for the ready transaction of business the management of affairs was entrusted to Major Camp and Mr. Mills, the former being the leading spirit. Matters progressed satisfactorily for some months ; lots sold freely, and cash appeared to be steadily filling the joint treasury, but there also was ap- proaching the day of reckoning, the payment on the contract of purchase at last fell due. Major Camp, unfortunately, was addicted to excesses, and in his indulgences of various kinds he had spent the proceeds of the sales, and the exchequer proved to be in a depleted condition. The condition of affairs steadily became worse, but something must be done and that very soon. This brought Oran Follett to Sandusky in May, 1834. He called upon Major Camp for an explanation and payment on the contract, but received no satisfaction whatever. Becoming disgusted with such management, he sold his interest to William J. Reece, of Philadelphia. In the hands of the new proprietors matters were delayed for some time and until the contract had run to its conclusion. About this time Zalmon Wildman died, and in due time thereafter the proprietors came to close the matter and take back the lands ; but numerous sales had been made to pur- chasers in good faith, and the re-taking of the lands meant eviction to them. After a season of argument and negotiation, an extension for time of payment of the contract was made, and the proprietors executed a deed of their inter- ests in the lands to Mr. Follett, in trust, to make the sale of lots, pay the pur- chase price, and, after accomplishing this, to turn the balance of the lands over to his former grantors. This, in the course of time, was done. The original proprietors were paid in full, the purchasers of lots were protected, the taxes were paid, and all need- ful things accomplished to the entire satisfaction of all parties. And after hav- ing faithfully executed his trust, Mr. Follett deeded back to Messrs. Mills, Neill, Camp and Reece, lands fully worth twenty-five thousand dollars to each of them. When all these matters had been fully and properly adjusted, it was near the year 1840. Then Erie county had been in existence for some two years. The lands on the west of Wayne street were, after the sale to Neill, Follett, 296 History of Erie County. Camp and Mills, still held and retained by Zalmon Wildman and others, and they, as proprietors, were selling and developing the same, though not without hardships and trials ; but it is not the purpose of this chapter to pursue them in detail. But while narrating the events of these years it will not be deemed out of place to make some reference to the action of Lockwood and others versus Wildman and others, involving the title to a large part of the land on which now stands the city, and which was, furthermore, one of the obstacles that re- tarded the city’s early growth. This action grew out of an error in the original survey of the firelands tract, by which the land in this fractional township was underestimated by something more than a thousand acres, and the difficulty arose in making or attempting to make an apportionment or annexation thereof to adjoining sec- tions. A subsequent survey was made, upon which the directors of the fire- lands acted in making their apportionment, while the parties in possession and defendants in the suit relied, apparently, on the first survey in which the error occurred. The case is digested as follows : “ The township of Portland, containing four thousand five hundred acres, was estimated, in making the partition, to contain but 2,783 acres, and was all disposed of in three annexations, each hav- ing a portion of the base line, in the proportion that its quantity of acres bore to the whole supposed quantity of the entire tract.” It is not proposed to go into this case further than to explain that it involved the tract whereon stands the city ; and that because of the uncer- tainty of the result no extensive operations for development of the lands could reasonably be made. The case was finally settled and disposed of about the time that Sandusky became a city. Notwithstanding these early misfortunes there was a steady gain in popu- lation, and from the natural attractions and advantages of the location it could not well be otherwise. The loss of the canal, through treachery and fraud, was the first serious blow against the prospects of the town, when by every consideration its north- ern terminus should have been here. This was the nearest point to the navi- gable waters of the south part of the State, and a thoroughfare for boat travel would have not only been of inestimable value to this location, but its con- struction, by way of the Sandusky and Scioto route, would have been com- pleted at a far less expense than by the route finally adopted. This, also, was the most convenient route for the transportation of mer- chandise and passengers across the country to Cincinnati, and almost daily there could be seen in this little town a large number of teams awaiting the ar- rival of goods by boat from the east. One prominent gentleman of the city remembers having seen encamped on the public square, at one time, one hun- The City of Sandusky. 297 dred and fifty teams by actual count, ready to load and start upon the coming of the boat from Buffalo. This kept the little town in a constant state of ac- tivity ; it kept business in an enlivened condition, and impressed all new com- ers with its importance as a commercial center. So it will be seen that the early life of the town was not one of unexceptional adversity and calamity, and there came an occasional ray of sunlight between the clouds of misfortune. In 1830 the population of the town was not far from four hundred souls. The year 1835 was an eventful one in the annals of Sandusky, for during that year was commenced the construction of the old pioneer Mad River Rail- road, connecting this point by direct and rapid transit with Dayton, and the country to the south of that place. And although it was some few years be- fore the road was completed, an impetus was given to the town growth that made it at once an important point in the then western country. The Mad River road was projected as early as the year 1822 or 1823, and that project was the outgrowth of a bitter feeling created by the defeated canal building project from this place south. A meeting was held at the famous hostelry of Colonel Abner Root, at which attended some of the leading men of the town, and although the plan was thoroughly discussed and commented upon by the worthies present, the work of completing not only the discussion, but of car- rying out the plan and constructing the road became the lot of another set of enterprising citizens. In after years this became known as the Cincinnati^ Sandusky and Cleveland road. The construction of the above road, the pioneer not alone of Sandusky in its kind, but of the State of Ohio as well, was soon followed by another in 1837, the commencement of the Lake Erie Division of the Baltimore and Ohio road, and it is difficult to determine which was, in fact, first completed,, as both' were during the same year ; still, the distinction of being the pioneer enterprise is generally and properly accorded the first mentioned. These rail- roads are elsewhere made the subjects of special chapters and need no further mention at this time. The year 1838 witnessed an event in the life of Sandusky that was of far greater importance than any of previous or after occurrence, in the erection and civil organization of Erie county by which these lands became separated from the mother county — Huron, to which the people of this locality had form- erly paid allegiance, — likewise tribute. The framers of the act seem to have assumed beyond the possibility of a question that the city of Sandusky was the only appropriate location for the county seat of the new erection, as, in the act itself, it is declared that the county buildings shall be located there, without resort to the usual proceeding of appointment of three commissioners to view the several suggested localities of the county, hear arguments, and then decide upon the most eligible site for such buildings. This proceeding, however, was afterward resorted to and com- 298 History of Erie County. missioners were appointed in pursuance of an act of the Legislature, by which it was proposed to change the county seat, and this act was passed on account of the neglect of the proprietors of the lands here in providing suitable build- ings for court and county purposes, as they had pledged themselves to do in case Sandusky should be selected for ^the county seat. And had it not been for the prompt action of the citizens of the town in guaranteeing the necessary buildings to the county commissioners, Huron would have been, unquestion- ably, the county seat of Erie county to-day. The final determination of this matter in favor of the city of Sandusky was of the greatest importance to her, and from that day her future prospects be- came far brighter, her population rapidly increased, and that increase was steady, healthful and permanent. With the building of its railroads, the location of the county seat, and the assurance that the people would be undisturbed in their possession of lots, not- withstanding the action still pending and undetermined, the town had acquired a population in 1840 of fifteen hundred persons. Thus favorably conditioned the subject of a city charter began to be dis- cussed, and as such transformations were not the work of a day, some time was required to bring about this organization, and it was not until the year 1844 that it was finally consummated. By that time the population of the town num- bered some three thousand or more persons. But before entering upon that branch of the city’s history it will be well to present to the reader the names of those who were identified with the control of its governmental affairs up to that time. The first board of cit}' fathers com- prised the following persons; 1824. — Moors Farwell, mayor; William Kelley, treasurer; William Town- send, recorder; and Cyrus W. Marsh, John Wheeler, Elenetheros Cook, Aaron C. Corbett, Alexander Clemons and George Anderson, councilmen. 1825. — Moors Farwell, mayor; Francis D. Parish, recorder; Matthew Mc- Kelvey, John Wheeler; Lemuel Robinson, marshal. 1826. — Moors Farwell, re-elected mayor; Henry H. Wilcoxson, Henry Victor; Lemuel S. Robinson, marshal. 1827. — Moors. Farwell, mayor; councilmen elected, George Anderson William Kelley, David Campbell ; Charles F. Drake, marshal. 1828. — Moors Farwell, mayor; councilmen elected, John Wheeler, Elias Hand, Benjamin Gregg. Elias Hand, recorder; David Campbell, treasurer. 1829. — George Anderson, mayor; councilmen elected, Henry Victor, Eli- jah E. Clemens, Charles F. Drake. L. S. Beecher elected in place of Elias Hand resigned ; Solomon C. Moore elected in place of William Kelley ; Ab- ner Root elected treasurer, and Augustus Cooke, marshal. 1830 — John Wheeler elected mayor; Solomon C. Moore, Elias Hand, George Anderson, councilmen ; Burr Higgins, treasurer, and Augustus Cooke, marshal. The City of Sandusky. 299 1831. — John Turk, mayor; George R. Peck, Joseph M. Root, councilmen; D. H. Tuttle, recorder, and Elijah E. Clemons, marshal. 1832. — Joseph M. Root, mayor; Michael Gill, Thomas White, James S. Blaine, councilmen ; James Hollister, appointed recorder in place of George R. Peck, resigned. 1833. — Joseph M. Root, mayor; John Wider, Solomon C. Moore, George Anderson, councilmen elected ; Thomas T. White, recorder. 1834. — John Beatty, mayor; James Hollister, Austin Allen, John Beatty,, elected councilmen; R. J. Jennings, marshal. 1835. — John Beatty, mayor; Zachariah Brown, Thomas T. White, William B. Smith, councilmen elected; John Wheeler, treasurer; William B. Smith, recorder; R. J. Jennings, marshal. 1836. — John Beatty, mayor; Solomon C. Moore, James Hollister, William Maraen, councilmen elected; Hollister refused to serve and William M. Hun- ter was appointed but found ineligible, whereupon Charles F. Drake was ap- pointed ; William Maraen was appointed recorder. 1837. — Samuel B. Caldwell, mayor; S. B. Caldwell, John Wheeler, Rod- erick Williston, councilmen elected. 1838. — Samuel B. Caldwell, mayor; A. H. Barber, Zachariah G. Brown, John H. Williams, councilmen elected ; R. J. Jennings, marshal. 1839. — Samuel B. Caldwell, mayor; Josiah W. Hollister, Erastus S. Gregg, William Kelley, councilmen elected ; F. M. Follett, recorder. 1840. — John N. Sloane, mayor; John Wheeler, John G. Camp, Daniel Dib- ble, councilmen elected ; William Kelley, recorder. 1841. — John N. Sloane, mayor; A. H. Barber, Jno. M. Sloane, Henry P. Radcliff, councilmen elected ; De Witt C. Henderson appointed to council vice William Kelley resigned. D. C. Henderson, recorder; A. H. Barber, treasurer; Roswell J. Jennings, marshal. 1842. — John N. Sloane, mayor; Ebenezer B. Sadler, De Witt C. Hender- son, Abner Root, councilmen elected ; Abner Root, recorder ; C. F. Drake, marshal; Roswell J. Jennings, clerk of market. 1843. — John N. Sloane, mayor; David Campbell, W. W. Witherell, John Wheeler, councilmen elected; George W. Smith, marshal and clerk of market. 1844. — Ebenezer B. Sadler, mayor; A. H. Barber, Henry P. Radcliff, R. B. Hubbard, councilmen elected; W. W. Witherell, treasurer; Earl Bill ap- pointed to council and recorder vice Abner Root resigned ; George W. Smith,, marshal and clerk of the market house. In the above record of town officials there has not been noted the name of every incumbent appointed to fill vacancies that frequently occurred. The board in every case appointed all officers except councilmen, three of whom were elected annually by the people; but still, the council had power to fill any vacancy in their body. Resignations were of frequent occurrence, and it some- 300 History of Erie County. times happened that more than one member would resign in the course of a year. This it is believed will explain the presence of some names not found among those regularly elected at the annual meeting at the polls. This was the last board chosen under the town incorporation. During the legislative session of the winter of 1844-45 ^^t was passed incorporating the City of Sandusky, and by that act the city became a municipality of a higher grade. On the 28th of March, 1845, council met and read act entitled “an act to incorporate the city of Sandusky, and for other purposes,” after which it pro- ceeded to appoint places for holding elections in the wards, as follows ; For the first ward, at the mayor’s office, and appointed David Campbell, Henry P. Rad- cliff and John G. Pool, as inspectors. For the second ward, the West Market House, and appointed Alexander H. Barber, William W. Witherell and John Wheeler as inspectors. For the third ward the office of the West Slaughter House, and appointed DeWitt C. Henderson, James M. Davidson and Samuel Eastman as inspectors. The last meeting of the “town” common council was held on the 31st of March, 1845, at which Earl B.ill was paid the sum of $11.20 for services, and this was the last official act of the board under the old administration. SANDUSKY CITY INCORPORATED. On the 6th day of March, 1845, by an act of the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, was incorporated “Sandusky City,” and thus did it remain in name until the Fegislature, by a subsequent enactment, made it necessary that the “city,” should be dropped. From the time of this last mentioned act this city has been known and called “Sandusky.” Of the act of 1845 there is not believed to be more than one or two copies in the city to-day, so that the reader may have a complete knowledge of the various provisions of the act (so far as they appear to be important). They are fully set forth as follows : “Section i . Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That so much of the township of Portland, in the county of Erie, as is contained within the following bounds, to-wit: beginning in the center of Sandusky Bay at a point half a mile east of the northern corner of the east boundary of the 1 town plat of Sandusky (as now recorded among the records of Huron county), running thence in a direct line parallel with the eastern boundary of said town plat, until said line strikes the shore of Sandusky Bay, thence in a direct line at right angles with the eastern boundary of said town, until a line so drawn shall intersect said eastern boundary, thence along said eastern boundary in a direct line to the southeast corner of the annexation to Sandusky plat, called South- wark, thence westerly along the south line of Southwark, and on a line in the aame direction with said line to a point opposite to the south end of Shelby The City of Sandusky. 301 street, thence in a direct line to the southeast corner of the recorded plat of the Western Liberties, so called, and from thence westerly along the southern boundary of said Western Liberties to the western boundary thereof, thence northerly along said western boundary to the shore of Sandusky Bay, thence on a line parallel with the eastern boundary of the recorded plat of the town of Sandusky to the center of said bay, and from thence easterly along the center of said bay to the place of beginning, shall be, and the same is, hereby declared to be a town corporate, atid the inhabitants thereof are hereby created a body politic and corporate, with perpetual succession, by the name and style of San- dusky City, and shall, in all respects, be governed by the provisions of an act entitled ‘an act for the regulation of incorporated towns,’ passed February sixteenth, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, except as hereinafter provided.” “ Section 2. The said Sandusky city shall be and is hereby divided into three wards or election districts as follows : the first ward or district shall con- sist of all that part of said Sandusky city which lies east of Columbus avenue ; the second ward or district shall consist of all that part of said Sandusky city which lies west of Columbus avenue and east of Lawrence street ; and the third ward or district, shall consist of all that part of said Sandusky city which lies west of Lawrence street, including the Western Liberties.” ‘‘Section 3. The government of said Sandusky city shall be vested in a mayor, recorder and nine councilmen, any seven of whom, exclusive of the re- corder, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, each ward to elect three councilmen, who shall be electors, and reside in the wards in which they shall be elected. The said mayor, recorder and councilmen shall be elected annually, on the first Tuesday of April in each and every year, and they shall hold their respective offices until their successors are elected and qualified, and the said mayor, recorder and council shall exercise all the pow- ers and be invested with all the privileges of the mayor, recorder and trustees of incorporated towns, under the general law, in addition to those herein granted and shall be subject to the same duties and liabilities, provided that the mayor shall only be entitled to a casting vote when the council is equally divided, and the recorder shall not be entitled to a vote except to give the casting vote when acting as mayor.” ‘‘ Section 4. The first election of mayor, recorder and councilmen, under this act, shall be held at such place in the several wards as the present mayor and council of the town of Sandusky may direct, who shall also appoint judges of said election for the several wards, and the judges of said election, so ap- pointed, shall appoint their own clerks, and in case such appointments shall not be made, then, and in that case, the said election shall be held on the day aforesaid, in the several wards, as nearly in conformity as may be to the pro- visions of the general law in relation to incorporated towns. And annually 39 302 His'J'ory of Erie County. thereafter, the said election’ shall be held in the several wards at such places as the mayor, recorder and councilmen may appoint ; and the said councilmen shall be judges of election in their respective wards, and shall appoint clerks of the election. The said several clerks of election, so to be appointed as above, shall forthwith, at the first election, and at every subsequent election to be held under this act, certify the true returns of said election in their respective wards, to the mayor and recorder of said Sandusky city, which said certificate shall be verified by the judges of election under their seals. And the said mayor and recorder shall forthwith canvass the votes given for mayor and recorder and notify, in writing, immediately after such canvass, the persons elected to said offices ; said returns, so to be made as above, shall, at the first election, be made to the present mayor and recorder of Sandusky, who shall have power to act in the premises.” Of the other sections of the act number five defines the powers of the com- mon council relating to the streets of the city; number six relates to real es- tate, buildings, markets and other places; number seven to tax sales for non- payment of taxes and assessments ; number eight vests in the city all property acquired through the sales, and section number nine relates to acts already passed, and further provides that this act shall take effect on the first day of April next (1845). In pursuance of the provisions of the above recited act an election of mu- nicipal officers was held at the places designated by the old council, on the first Tuesday of April, 1845, which time the following officers were chosen for the year next ensuing : Mayor, William W. Witherell ; recorder, William R. Chapman; councilmen. First ward, Lester S. Hubbard, John J. Schock, John W. Beatty; Second ward, John Weeden, Erastus S. Gregg, John M. Boalt; Third ward, M. G. Woodbury, Charles Cross, George W. Keller. These officers were sworn to the faithful discharge of their duties by the retiring mayor, Hon. Ebenezer B. Sadler, and having been duly organized, on the 7th of April, proceeded to elect the subordinate city officers as follows: Marshal and clerk of the markets, Alonzo Wade ; treasurer, John Weeden, After transacting some unimportant business the council passed an ordi- iiiance for the protection of the streets and public grounds of the city ; also ap- pointed John Weeden, Lester S. Hubbard and John W. Beatty a committee to prepare a set of by-laws and ordinances for the government of the city. On the 17th of May, Alonzo Wade resigned his office of marshal and clerk of the markets, and Francis W. Pomeroy was appointed in his stead. Thus commenced the municipal history of Sandusky city. Its affairs pro- gressed favorably and were embarrassed by no untoward event until the year 1849, at which time the country suffered greatly from the ravages of the chol- era epidemic. Especially severe was this visitation felt in the little city of San dusky where no opportunity was had for the improvement of its sanitary con- The City of Sandusky. 303 dition. Prior to this and about 1834, this dread disease threatened the town, but, fortunately, it did not manifest its presence at that time, but upon the oc- casion mentioned its ravages were terrible in this locality and many persons were stricken and died. Three years later, in 1852, there came a similar visi- tation upon the people, and again were its medical men taxed to their utmost to stem the tide of disease and death. This subject will be found noticed at greater length in the chapter devoted to the medical profession, in an earlier chapter of this volume. The year 1852 witnessed a complete revolution in the municipal govern- ment, by reason of an act of the Legislature of the State, passed on the 3d day of May. The new State constitution had then been recently adopted and this enactment was, in a great measure brought about by the provisions of that constitution. But before setting forth the effect of this act upon the municipal- ity of Sandusky city, let us look to the record and see who, up to that time, had been in charge and control of city affairs. The officers of the year 1845 are given on an earlier page, and need no repetition here. From that time until the radical change of 1852 took place, the officers were as follows : 1846. — Mayor, Zenas W. Barker; recorder, Henry D. Ward; councilmen, first ward, John M. Boalt, Lester S. Hubbard and William P. Chapman; sec- ond ward, John Weeden, William H. Caswell and Page M. Ring; third ward, Manley G. Woodbury, Charles Cross and David Souter ; council appointments, Charles Rice, clerk of markets; Lester S. Hubbard, treasurer. This year the council elected the following officers under the city ordinances; city attorney, Alonzo W. Hendry ; city surveyor, William Durbin, jr. ; chief engineer, Foster M. Follett ; assistant engineer, Henry P. Radcliff; fire wardens, S. E. Hitchcock and R. Lathrop for first ward; Charles Barney, and Philandef Gregg for second ward and Samuel Eastman and William Spaulding for third ward. 1847. — Mayor, Ebenezer Warner; recorder, Sylvester Ross; councilmen — first ward, Foster M. Follett, David Campbell and Rice Harper ; second ward, John H. Ballard, Erastus Cooke and Smith Peck ; third ward, David Souter, George Morris and Jacob Hertel ; council appointments, William Benschoter, marshal, clerk of the markets, and collector ; David Souter, treasurer ; George Reber, city attorney; Foster M. Follett, chief engineer; Henry P. Radcliff, assistant engineer. 1848. — Mayor, Ebenezer Warner; recorder, Zenas W. Barker; council- men — first ward, Samuel E. Hitchcock, Charles Cassiday and John G. Pool ; second ward. Smith Peck, Freeland T. Barney and William W. Withered ; third ward, Jacob Hartel, John Carr and David Souter; council appointments, William Benschoter, marshal, clerk of the markets, and collector; David Sou- ter, treasurer ; George Reber, city attorney ; Freeland T. Barney, chief en- gineer ; John G. Pool, assistant engineer; William Durbin, city surveyor. 304 History of Erie County. During this year the mayor, Ebenezer Warner, and the recorder, Zenas W. Barker, both resigned. Zenas W. Barker was thereupon elected mayor^ and William P. Chapman was elected recorder. 1849. — Mayor, John M. Brown; recorder, Charles Barney; councilmen — first ward, Henry C. Williams, Daniel Dibble and Rollin B. Hubbard; second ward, Freeland T. Barney, Solomon C. Moore and Erastus Cooke ; third ward, David Souter, John H. Buck and Thomas Comstock; council appoint- ments, William Spaulding, marshal ; I. W. Upp, collector ; David Souter, treasurer; Walter F. Stone, city attorney; I. W. Upp, clerk of the markets; E. S. Flint, chief engineer ; William H. Clark, assistant engineer ; William Durbin, jr., city surveyor. 1850. — Mayor, John M. Brown; recorder, Charles Cochran; councilmen — first ward, C. C. Keech, Cuyler Leonard and John A. Wright ; second ward, Freeland F. Barney, Solomon C. Moore and Christian Engel ; third ward, Charles Cross, George C. King and George Homegardner ; council appbint ments, O. Rice, clerk of the markets, collector, and marshal ; Charles Cross, treasurer ; Walter F. Stone, city attorney ; W. H. Clark, chief engineer ; Henry P. Radcliff, assistant engineer; William Durbin, jr., city surveyor. 1851. — Mayor, Horatio Wildman ; recorder, George J. Anderson; coun- cilmen — first ward, William P. Chapman, William B. Smith and William W. Withered ; second ward, L. S. Beecher, Elias H. Haines and Conrad Wei- gand ; third ward, Solomon C. Moore, Charles Cross and George Homegard- ner ; council appointments, O. Rice, marshal, clerk of the markets, and col- lector ; Charles Cross, treasurer ; Homer Goodwin, city attorney; Henry P. Radcliff, chief engineer ; W. M. Pierce, assistant engineer ; William Durbin, jr., city surveyor. 1852. — Mayor, Foster M. Follett ; recorder, Samuel Lewis; councilmen — first ward, Earl Bill, Jacob A. Camp and William Marshall; second ward, Frederick S. Thorpe, Michael Lipsett and John Chapman; third ward, George Homegardner, Charles Cross and William S. King ; council appointments, 0 . Rice, marshal, collector, and clerk of the markets ; L. S. Beecher, city at- torney ; Charles Cross, treasurer ; Foster M. Follett, chief engineer ; I. S. Thayer, assistant engineer ; William Durbin, jr., city surveyor. The act of the State Legislature, passed on the 3d of May, 1852, was brought about by the new constitution then just gone into effect, and its pro- visions materially affected this and several other cities of the State. Regard- ing the classification of municipal corporations the language of the act is : “ In respect to the exercise of certain corporate powers, and to the number, char- acter, powers and duties of certain officers, municipal corporations are, and shall be, divided into the classes following : Cities of the first, and cities of the second class ; incorpoi'ated villages, and incorporated villages for special pur- poses. The City of Sandusky. 305 “ All cities which, at the last federal census, had or now have a population exceeding twenty thousand inhabitants, shall be deemed cities of the first class, and all other cities shall be deemed cities of the second class.” A further provision declares that “any incorporated village which, at any future federal census, or at any census taken under the authority of the State, as aforesaid, shall have a population exceeding five thousand and less than twenty thousand inhabitants, shall be deemed a city of the second class.” It will be seen from the above extracts that Sandusky was, at the time the act was passed, a city of the second class, as by the census of 1850 within the corporate limits was a population of five thousand persons. A further section of the act provided that “ the corporate authority of citi- zens, organized or to be organized under this act, shall be vested in one prin- cipal officer, to be styled the Mayor, in one board of trustees, to be denomi- nated the Common Council, together with such other officers as are in this act mentioned, or as may be created under its authority. “ It is also provided that in cities of the second class the mayor shall be elected annually, on the first Monday in April, by the qualified voters of the city ; and that he shall serve until his successor is elected and qualified.” Section fifty-nine provides “ that the qualified voters of each ward within the several cities shall, on the first Monday of April, 1853, elect, by a plurality of votes, two trustees, who shall be residents of the wards in which they shall be elected, and who shall at the time be qualified voters therein ; and when the city council, elected under this act, shall have been organized, as hereinafter provided, they shall proceed and determine by lot the term of service of each trustee, so that one of the trustees from each ward shall serve for two years, and the other for the term of one year ; and at every succeeding annual city election, one trustee shall be elected by the qualified voters of each ward, who shall possess the qualification hereinbefore required, and whose term of service shall be two years, so ' that the terms of the two trustees of each ward shall always expire in different years.” The same section also provides that the council shall elect, from their own body, a president ; they shall also appoint, from the qualified voters of the city, a city clerk. A further section provides for the election, by the qualified voters of the city, of all such city officers as shall be necessary for the good government of said city, and for the due exercise of its corporate powers, etc. It became necessary under this act to substantially reorganize the city government. The discussion of it occupied the minds of the council for some time, and at their request called forth a long and able opinion from the city attorney, L. S. Beecher. In the course of his observations this officer ex- pressed the belief that certain provisions of the act would have to be interpreted by the courts before an intelligent understanding of their meaning could be had. 306 History of Erie County. The first city election under the above described act was held on the first Monday in April, 1853, at which the following named persons were chosen to fill the respective city ofifices : Mayor, Charles Cross ; city solicitor, John G. Miller, jr. ; city treasurer, Nicholas Buyer ; city marshal, James E. Mygatt ; assessors — first ward, John A. Wright ; second ward, George A. Wheeler ; third ward, Vincent Kerler ; trustees — first ward, Lester S. Hubbard, David Campbell ; second ward, L. S. Beecher, Henry H. White ; third ward, Charles Cross, Jacob Hertel. On the 1 6th of April of this same year the council passed and adopted an ordinance by which the city was divided and two additional wards created, increasing the number to five. A special election was thereupon ordered for the selection of trustees for the first, third and fifth wards, with the following result : First ward, William St. John and I. H. Robinson ; third ward, L. S. Hubbard ; fifth ward, John Carr and George Homegardner. By this sub-division of the municipal territory the ward boundaries were as follows : First ward. — All that portion of the city lying east or eastwardly of the center of Franklin street. Second ward. — All that portion of the city lying west or westwardly of the center of Franklin street, and east or eastwardly of the center of Columbus avenue. Third ward. — All that part of the city lying west or westwardly of the cen- ter of Columbus avenue, and east or eastwardly of Fulton street. Fourth ward. — All that part of the city lying west or westwardly of the center of Fulton street, and east or eastwardly of the center of Camp and Shel- by streets. Fifth ward. — All that part of the city which lies west or westwardly of the center of Camp and Shelby streets. In 1855 Sandusky had acquired a population variously estimated at from six thousand to six thousand five hundred souls; and from 1850 to i860 its growth was three thousand. It had, at the time first mentioned, three lines of rail communication with points east, west and south. These were the Mad River and Lake Erie road, running to Dayton ; the Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark road, and the Cleveland and Toledo road. These were sufficient for the exportation and importation of goods and material for trade and manufac- ture at that time. Added to this was the harbor and lake traffic, which, of it- self, was of large extent, the year 1850 showing imports to the value of $I 3 >" 644,670, while the exports were valued at $4,656,641. During the next year these figures were nearly doubled. At this time the population was decidedly mixed in characteristics and na- tionalities, the German and Celtic combined nearly equaling the American res- idents in point of numbers. The City of Sandusky. 307 The mercantile business of the city, which, in early years, was substantial- ly confined to the vicinity of Water street, was constantly reaching to other points, up Columbus avenue to the square, and largely on Market street, both east and west of Columbus. Manufacturing industries were then, and always have been, kept as near the bay shore as possible, for here was the railroad center as well as the harbor. Turning briefly to the mercantile, manufacturing and other business insti- tutions as shown by the compendium of 1855, the following appears: Produce and Commission Merchants. — C. H. Williams, S. W. Butler, S. E. Hitchcock, on Columbus avenue ; Boalt & Smith, George Thornton, A. Cheeseborough, on the Mad River Railroad dock ; James D. Whitney, on the S. and C. Railroad wharf ; Marshall Burton, A. H. Barber, James A. Riley, Peck & Norris, Upp Brothers, on Water street; Lockwood & Smith at Bay City Mills dock. Dry Goods Merchants. — Charles Converse, Monroe & Peck, J. W. Steven- son, Everett, Drake & Co., John N. Sloane, Hubbard, Shepard & Wilcox, on Water street ; W. T. & A. K. West, T. D. West, on Columbus avenue. Tailors and Clothiers. — W. V. Latham, Lytle & Walter, J. Kneale, J. Kronthall, L. Monat, Lewis Dietz, L. Bowman, C. Prediger, Wm. Guiterman & Co., G. Hart, Cooke & Bloomfield, Adolph Cohen, on Water street; S. Kneen, on Market street. Milliners and Dress Makers. — Mrs. Thomas Quick, Mrs. E. P. Smith, Miss Humphrey, on Columbus avenue ; Mrs. C. R. Souter, Miss E. McGraves, on Market street ; Mrs. Kramer, Wayne street. Hardware, Iron and Stove Merchants. — L. T. Barney & Co., W. V. Moss, Gibbs & Sanborn, Joseph Llood, Gale & Gibbs, Water street; J. H. Williams, Washington Dewey, John M. Bailey, Columbus avenue; John B. Rickhart, Market street. Upholsterers and Lurniture Dealers. — Thorpe, Norcross & Thorpe, J. B. Mayer, Jacob Steitz, Market street; J. H. Guild, Jackson street; Charles W. Zollinger, W. H. Zurhorst, Wayne street. Jewelers. — Hiram T. Dewey, William Simpson, Robert Holverscheid, Water street; V. Neesley, Wayne street. Grocers (wholesale). — S. S. Hosmer, J. W. Witherell & Co., Porter & Ly- tle, Smith & Parsons, Jacob Engel, all on Water street. Grocers (retail). — E. Rosenbaum, C. Wigand, R. Hathaway, C. Hadley, H. Aplin, W. A. Simpson, H. P. Radcliff, Lamb & Eck, John Irvine & Co., Straub & Lezer, J. Lammers, M. Hexter, Water street ; H. Richenbach, Car- roll & Gagen, Thomas Laden, Homegardner & Vogt, .William Fox, Market street; Parsons & Derr, Nathan Bear, Jackson street; Henry Lutz, Washing- ton street; Ricker & Hubbard, Ira T. Davis, William Thompson, N. L. Brown, Robertson, Brown & Co., Columbus avenue. 308 History of Erie County. f Drug Stores. — Adams & Fay, A. R. Belden, F. R. Lange, W. G. Brain & Co. Book and Stationery Stores. — George J. Anderson, William L. Cooke & Co., Ruemonele & Ruess. Hats and Caps. — C. C. Keech, Austin Ferry. Boots and Shoes. — Gray & Son, J. P. Bean, L. B. Schrum, H. Walter, A. Moos, Joseph Fiedler, L Olrick, J. Ruprecht, Schneider & Bright, E. Otto, John Lehr, B. Esch, John Brandle, John Kuhn, C. Wigand. Crockery Dealers. — L. H. Kilbourne, H. P. Merrill. Manufacturing, in its several branches, seems to have been well represented by N. G. Olds, D. C. Henderson & Co., C. J. Messer, G. V. Griffith, the Ful- ton Car Works, and the machine and repair shops connected with the various railroad companies. Those above mentioned were engaged in the machine shop and foundry business. There were engaged at the same time in wood working and lumber enter- prises, J. D. Lea & Co., Hubbard & Pierce, R. B. Hubbard, Peter Gilcher, P, Sprague. No less than twelve hotels were doing business in the city in 1855, and this will be a no more surprising statement than the fact of there being twenty resident physicians and twenty-six lawyers, all in active practice. The names of the former will be found in the chapter devoted to the medical profession, while the latter are enumerated in that relating to the bench and bar. Of architects, there were four ; of dentists two ; painters and glaziers four; car- riage manufacturers two ; liverymen four ; confectioners three ; photographers three ; soap and candle makers two, and other branches of trade and manu- facture were equally well represented. But not these alone made up the enterprising municipality of Sandusky, for there must be mentioned the other institutions, the schools, the churches, the public buildings, the attractive business blocks and residences. Then, again, were its societies, secret, social, literary and benevolent ; the fire and police departments, and other necessary adjuncts of a prosperous city. Such was Sandusky thirty-five and more years ago, with a population of less than seven thousand persons. That the city’s growth has been steady and healthful, and not influenced by the later day creation, called “ booms,” is attested by the fact that in i860 the federal census showed a population of 8,000; 1870, 13,- 000 ; 1880, 15,838, and at the present time, according to the estimate of care - ful observers, the population cannot vary much from 20,000. Business, trade, manufacture and commerce were never so great as now. Nothing seems overdone, but all branches of industry have kept even step with the general progress. The natural advantages of situation, the excellent sanitary condition, added to which are the local improvements for various purposes, all combine to The City of Sandusky. 309 make the city of Sandusky one of the most inviting and desirable localities for business and residence to be found in the Buckeye State. It will not be nec- essary to trace here in chronological order, the history of the institutions with which the city is supplied, nor its trade and commerce, nor its societies, nor the several branches of its government, as each is made the subject of special notice in this chapter. Recurring again to the subject of the political history of the city, at the time of re-districting the same, and the creation of five wards out of the original three, and the special meeting for the election of additional ward offi- cers. For all time of the life of the town and subsequent city, it was a part of the township of Portland ; and it so continued to remain until, by a proceed- ing of the common council, and a proper application to the commissioners of the county, the whole of the township was included within the city’s bounda- ries. Thereafter Portland, as a sub-division of Erie county, passed out of ex- istence ; and from that time forth its history was that of Sandusky. The truth is, that Portland never had much of a history save that given it by having contained within its boundaries the shire town of the county. It possessed much good farming land and a number of substantial citizens, some of them pioneers upon the soil. But with the gradual increase in population, business and enterprise of the county seat, it became necessary that the town- ship should surrender its name and identity and become a part and parcel of the municipality of Sandusky. The proposition for the annexation was not readily accepted by the whole people of the township, many of whom had no special anxiety to be brought within the range of a city assessment and taxation ; therefore they raised good and valid objections to the annexation, but without avail ; the project was a necessity ; the commissioners so viewed it and their action carried it into ef- fect. The ordinance of the council under which the proceedings were instituted was passed on the l8th of November, 1871, but the matter was not fully consummated until the following year. Ordinances were passed and adopted providing for the annexation of the newly acquired territory to the several wards as they then existed, without an increased number, nor was any in- crease made in the number of wards until the adoption of an ordinance De- cember 15, 1884, by which there was made an increase of five. During the year succeeding that in which the limits were extended over the whole of Portland township, there began, and was thereafter carried out and accomplished in due time, some of the most substantial and worthy local improvements. Besides the water-works, provision was made for a proper system of sewerage. This was a substantial reform movement as well as an original effort. Its necessity was painfully apparent. Upon this question we quote the words of a leading physician of San- 40 310 History of Erie County. dusky : “ From the first settlement of the city to the time the water- works and sewerage system were completed, its sanitary condition was, of course, very imperfect. This, in part, was attributable to the fact that the water is near the earth’s surface. There was very little other than surface drainage to carry rapidly away the accummulated filthy and stagnant waters, and thus to keep the soil and air dry and healthful. The city, however, had this natural advantage. Instead of being flat and level, the ground over much of its area has a decided declination toward the bay, which, with its inlets, or arms, surround the city largely on three sides, and at the same time furnishes the very best natural fall and receptacle for all surface drainings. By this means the movements of the surface water were, in many parts of the city, rapid. In the level portions of the city, on the other hand, the lack of proper drainage bore, as it always does in every thickly populated district, the inevit- able result — a greater or less decomposition of animal and vegetable matter which influences health and promotes the development of intermittent, remit- tent, bilious, typhoid and scarlet fevers. Diphtheria, diarrhoea and dysentery also prevailed in some seasons to a considerable extent. Then, again, the rock being so near the surface, it was difficult and expen- sive to obtain sufficient drainage for factory refuse, stagnant pools, and to effectually get rid of dirty house waters. In gutters and low spots of ground in many places, the gases showed themselves on the surface of polluted waters in the form of bubbles, and when they burst and showed their noxious con- tents in the immediate vicinity of or under dwellings in those lower, flat dis- tricts of the city, especially after a rainfall in the summer season, they would remain until evaporated, pregnating the air and seriously affecting the health of the people. In many parts of the city were superficial and deep wells, which were always suspicious sources of water supply, and particularly so when water is obtained by boring in lime rock till a crevice is struck in which it is found, for in such rock it is practically impossible to secure a supply free from surface overflows and disease breeding seepage. During the terrible cholera scourge of 1849, again in 1852, it was found that in every district in the city, and also in the outlying villages where the disease was most wide spread and fatal, the people were depending upon wells cut in the rock for their water supply. Several of these were public wells, and in the immediate communities about them the cholera swept with the most terrible and death-dealing force. One well, especially, in a thickly populated part of the city, from which water was obtained for culinary and drinking pur- poses by a large number of citizens, was noted for its fatal power, and the use of its water was prohibited. These are but few of the many reasons why it became absolutely neces- sary that there should be inaugurated and carried out a complete sewer system j The City of Sandusky. 311 for the city. And it may be said in addition to what is already stated that the mercantile streets and localities were being rapidly built up with large three, four and five story business blocks and hotels, and none had any commendable sewer connection prior to the year 1872, except that extending through Col- umbus avenue as far south as Market street. On the 3d of June, of the year 1872, the council passed an ordinance to “establish Central Sewer District No. l, in order to form a plan for the drain- age of a small portion of the city.” This was followed by another ordinance in May, 1873, for the establishment of Sewer District No. 2 ; and in August of the same year by the Whiskey Run Sewer District, No. 3 ; and in January, 1874, for the construction of sewers connecting with the public sewers; and further, in the year last named, an ordinance was passed providing for the pro- tection of the sewers of the city. This was but the beginning, but thanks to the enterprise of the council and the people who were burdened with the tax for the improvement, it was car- ried forward until to-day Sandusky is as well provided with trunk and lateral sewers as a means of preventing, so far as may be possible, the spread of contagious or epidemic germ diseases. Accompanying the establishment of the sewer system was the adoption of a city water works, the work for which was commenced in the year 1872. The water is taken from a crib well out in the bay away from the possibility of contact with sewerage discharge. The water supply system of the city needs no extended notice in this place as that is made the subject of special mention elsewhere in this chapter. These two great improvements, the sewerage and water supply systems, being accomplished, next came the paving or macadamizing of the principal streets with mainly, if not wholly, native stone, and this last enterprise was accomplished in due time, satisfactorily and well. The performance of these expensive improvements was the longest stride ever taken by the city of San- dusky in th‘e direction of a complete, metropolitan appearance; and it certainly was such, and it is, furthermore, very doubtful if any city within the State of Ohio, having no greater population than this, can present to the attention of a visitor as many substantial and permanent improvements as can Sandusky. And all this work has been accomplished since the year 1872. Its benefit is readily apparent; manufacture has doubled, and the mercantile business nearly so, in this time; and the city’s population has increased from thirteen thou- sand in 1870, to at least twenty thousand at the present day. If this does not speak well for Sandusky, then certainly nothing does. The attention of the reader is directed to the department relating to the manufacturing industries, later in this chapter, for evidences of growth and the present well-being of the city. This desirable condition of things has not been brought about without much effort, and it does seem a fact that a people are better able to appreciate the 312 History of Erie County. 1 value of such work when accomplished in the face of some opposition. For- | tunately for Sandusky, she has had in the control of her affairs men of energy, | i determination, and sense ; men who possessed the firmness to argue and the courage to carry out a proposition ; men of honesty, integrity, and worth. M To these, and to the electors and taxpayers for their generous and willing sup- port of these several measures, is due the honor and credit of having beauti- fied, adorned, and benefited the whole city. Of course the burden fell upon the taxpayer, but the municipality has not been plunged hopelessly in debt, and there hangs over it now a no greater burden than can be easily borne. Sandusky became a city of the second class under the provisions of the law passed by the Legislature in the year 1852, and had there been no modification, amendment or revision of that law, it would now be ranked with the cities of the first class, for it is reasonably certain that the present population is in excess of twenty thousand persons. But the act was subsequently modified — materially and radically modified » — and not a year had elapsed before the Legislature repealed and amended many sections, but nothing that then materially affected Sandusky other than the term of the office of mayor was extended from one to two years. The representatives of the wards were called “ trustees,” but when assembled for the transaction of business of the city they constituted the ‘‘ common council.” By the name of trustees they were designated for a number of years, when, under proper authority, they became in name as well as in fact “ common councilmen,” or “ members of the common council.” Again, it is found at certain times the office of city clerk was elective by the people, and again by the council, but this was due to legislative acts. The first occasion upon which a clerk was elected by the people was in the spring of 1859. The law authorizing this passed but a very short time before the election, and its provisions were unknown and unexpected to the great mass of the voters. But in some manner an enterprising young Democrat, named William Everingham, became cognizant of the fact, and managed to secure six votes for himself for the office of clerk and thus displaced Mr. Cogswell for a - single year. The latter, nevertheless, resumed his old position in the succeed- ing year, and this was the only breach in his long and faithful term of service. . Commencing with the first election held after the passage of the act above mentioned, it is proposed to furnish a civil list of the officers in the leading* positions of the city government. There are cases in which members have resigned, and their successors have been appointed by the council, but these are exceptional, and are not intended to be generally mentioned ; rather, only those who were elected at the polls, together with the leading officers appointed by the council after that body became organized for the conduct of official business. It will be noticed that many of the city officers that were appointive prior to the act of 1852, were, by that act, made elective ; and as this list, from The City of Sandusky. 31J year to year, is perused, other changes in the method of selecting officials are made. CITY OFFICERS SINCE 1852. 1853. — Mayor, Charles Cross; city solicitor, John G. Miller, jun.; city treasurer, Nicholas Buyer; city marshal, James E. Mygatt. Trustees, first ward, Lester S. Hubbard and David Campbell; second ward, L. S. Beecher and Henry H. White; third ward, Charles Cross and Jacob Hertel. Assessors, first ward, John A. Wright; second ward, George A. Wheeler; third ward, Vincent Kerler. Council appointments, David Campbell, president of council; Frederick W. Cogswell, city clerk ; Thomas Hogg, chief engineer fire depart- ment; Hiram A. Lyman, assistant engineer. Additional trustees subsequently elected to represent divisions or wards created by resubdivision of the city. First ward, William A. St. John and I. H. Robinson ; third ward, L. S. Hub- bard ; fifth ward, John Carr and George Homegardner. 1854. — City treasurer, Nicholas J. Buyer; marshal, Oliver Rice. Trustees, first ward, J. H. Guild ; second ward, William P. Chapman ; third ward, Charles F. Drake; fourth ward, William G. Melville; fifth ward, John Carr. Assessors, first ward, William St. John ; second ward, William B. Smith ; third ward, Christian Keating; fourth ward, Jonas J. Perry; fifth ward, Jacob Her- tel. Council appointments, chief engineer, Foster M. Follett ; Hiram A. Lyman, assistant engineer; Joseph B. Darling, city civil engineer. 1855. — Mayor, Charles Cross ; city solicitor, A. C. McLouth ; treasurer, Nicholas J. Buyer ; marshal, Oliver Rice. Trustees, first ward, William C. Deely ; second ward, Earl Bill ; third Ward, Casper J. Parsons ; fourth ward, Solomon C. Moore (long term), Lawrence Cable, (short term) ; fifth ward, Jacob Hertel. Assessors, first ward, John Kreup ; second ward, Samuel M. White; third ward, Theron Goodwin ; fourth ward, Joseph Flood; fifth ward, Patrick Gagan. President of council, Earl Bill ; city clerk, Frederick W. Cogs- well. 1856. — Marshal, Andrew Casey; treasurer, James Alder. Trustees, first ward, Obadiah C. McLouth ; second, William P. Chapman ; third, William Farwell ; fourth, John J. Finch ; fifth, George Lochyer. Assessors, first, John A. Wright; second, John W. Holland, jr. ; third, Edward Farrell; fourth, William H. Clark, jr. ; fifth, Patrick Herr. President of council, Earl Bill ; clerk, Frederick W. Cogswell; chief engineer, Thomas Hogg; assistant engi- neer, Frederick Kelsey. 1857. — Mayor, George W. Smith; treasurer, George J. Anderson; solic- itor, L. S. Beecher; marshal, Enoch Weller. Trustees, first ward, Martin Clarkson ; second, Frederick S. Thorpe ; third, George S. Patterson ; fourth, John Carr; fifth, John Homegardner. Assessors, first ward, William Boer; second, John Holland ; third, Edward Farrell; fourth, Ezra Wells ; fifth, Peter Benn. President of the council, George S. Patterson ; clerk, Frederick W. Cogswell. 3H History of Erie County. 1858. — Marshal, Enoch Weller; treasurer, Casper J. Parsons. Trustees, first ward. Rice Harper; second, Henry Canan ; third, John M. Bailey; fourth, George Ramsey; fifth, Vincent Fox. Assessors, first ward, William Boer; second, Christian Degensfield ; third, Thomas Larch ; fourth, William W. Cooke; fifth, Peter Benn. President of council, Martin Clarkson ; clerk, Fred- erick W. Cogswell. This year began the election of chief engineer by the fire department. 1859. — Mayor, John G. Miller; city clerk, William Everingham ; treasurer, Casper J. Parsons; solicitor, Abraham H. Stryker; marshal, Patrick Herr. Trustees, first ward, Martin Clarkson ; second, John H. Hudson; third, Henry J. Donahue; fourth, Calvin Carr; fifth, John Homegardner. Assessors, first ward, D. Davis; second, Henry Y. Upp; third, Edward Farrell; fourth, Nicholas Buyer ; fifth, Peter Benn. President of council, Martin Clarkson. 1860. — City clerk, Frederick W. Cogswell; marshal, George Littleton; treasurer, Andrew Zerbe. Trustees, first ward, Enoch Wells ; second, John Mackey; third, James H. Stead; fourth, George Ramsey; fifth, George W. Barker. Assessors, first ward, David Davis ; second, Charles C. McGee ; third, William Cooke ; fourth, August Seeger ; fifth, Peter Benn. President of council, John H. Hudson. During this year the office of mayor became vacant by the resignation of John G. Miller, jr., whereupon, in December, Rice Harper was elected to fill the vacancy. 1861. — Mayor, William S. Pierson; clerk, Frederick W. Cogswell; treas- urer, John H. Williams; solicitor, Abraham H. Stryker; marshal, William K. Chapman. Trustees, first ward, George Barney ; second, Chauncey C. Bill ; third, Henry J. Donahue ; fourth, William Hudson ; fifth, Vincent Fox. Assessors, first ward, David Davis ; second, Charles C. McGee ; third, Wil- liam Cooke ; fourth, August Seeger ; fifth, Phillip Ruppert. President of council, Henry J. Donahue. 1862. — Mayor (to fill vacancy), Obadiah C. McLouth ; treasurer, Gottlieb Hart; marshal, William R. Chapman ; trustees — first ward, Jabez G. Bigelow ; second, John Mackey ; third, Adam Bauer ; fourth, Farrell Mulvey ; fifth, John Homegardner; Assessors — first ward, David Davis; second, John W. Hol-_^^ land; third, Edward Farrell; fourth, Henry Roos ; fifth, Phillip Ruppert.-^ President of the council, John Mackey. .f#- 1863. — Mayor, Ferdinand Geiersdorf ; solicitor, Obadiah C. McLouth;^ marshal, Samuel C. Wheeler; trustees — first ward, James H. Steward (full term), Rudolph Rummels (short term); second, Edward Cassady ; third, Eb- enezer B. Sadler; fourth, Philip Graeffe ; fifth, Peter Benn. Assessors — first ward, James S. Rice ; second, John W. Walters ; third, Edward Farrell ; fourth, August Seeger ; fifth, Phillip Ruppert ; president of council, John Mackey ; clerk, Frederick W. Cogswell. " 1864. — Marshal, Samuel C. Wheeler; trustees — first ward, Rudolph Rum-"^ The City of Sandusky. 315 f — mels ; second, John Mackey; third, James W. Cooke; fourth, George Dan- iels ; fifth, Vincent Fox ; assessors — first ward, James S. Rice ; second, John W. Walters; third, Thomas J. Drake; fourth, Philip Weil ; fifth, Philip Rup- I pert; president of council, John Mackey; clerk, Frederick W. Cogswell, r 1865. — Mayor, Ferdinand Geiersdorf ; solicitor, Elisha M. Colver; marshal, I Samuel Currie ; trustees — first ward, William G. Land (long term), Timothy t Ingle (short term) ; second, William P. Chapman ; third, Peter Gilcher (long i term), Jared Keyes (short term) ; fourth, T. W. Torrey ; fifth, Charles Cross ; I assessors — first ward, John A. Wright ; second, L. C. Loomis ; third, Edward ' Farrell; fourth, Daniel Rohrbacher; fifth, Philip Rupert; president of coun- . cil, John Mackey ; clerk, Frederick W. Cogswell. 1 1866. — Marshal, Frank L. Myers; trustees — first ward, Timothy Ingle ; I second, Charles N. Ryan ; third, Jacob Maul ; fourth, George Daniels ; fifth, William Hoch ; assessors — first ward, Henry Reutsch ; second, L. C. Loomis; third, Edward Farrell ; fourth, August Seeger ; fifth, Philip Ruppert ; presi- dent of council, John Mackey ; clerk, Frederick W. Cogswell. 1867. — Mayor, Ferdinand Geiersdorf ; solicitor, Elisha M. Colver ; marshal,. Thomas Muldowrey ; trustees — first ward, Christian E. Schaflle; second, Wm. B. Hudson; third, Gottlieb Hart; fourth, William H. Wilson; fifth, Jacob Her- tel; assessors — first ward, George Waterfield; second, William B. Smith; third,. Edward Earrell; fourth, August Seeger; fifth, Philip Ruppert. Zenas W. Barker, justice of the peace, was appointed mayor pro tern., to act only in case of absence or disability of the regular officer. President of the council, George Daniels ; clerk, Charles Cross. 1868. — Marshal, Thomas Muldowrey; trustees — first ward, Ira F. Davis; I second, John H. Williams; third, Adam Bauer; fourth, George Daniel; fifth, Jacob Ulmer; assessors — first ward, Henry Reutch ; second, William B. Smith; third, Edward Farrell ; fourth, August Seeger; fifth, Charles Betzler ; presi- I dent of council, George Daniel ; clerk, Charles Cross. 1869. — Mayor, Philander Gregg; marshal, Thomas Muldowrey; clerk, : Charles Cross ; city civil engineer, George Morton ; solicitor, Sebastian F. Tay- \ lor ; street commissioner, Nicholas Buyer ; trustees — first ward, Elisha M. Colver; second, Frank E. Foster; third, Clark Cewter ; fourth, William H. Wilson; fifth, John Homegardner; assessors — first ward, John M. Ernst;, second, Gottlieb Stroebel; third, Edward Farrell; fourth, August Seeger; fifth, Charles Betzler ; president, of council, George Daniel ; clerk, Charles Cross. 1870. — City solicitor, Horatio Wildman ; treasurer, Andrew W. Prout, jr. ; I chief engineer, John H. Williams ; trustees — first ward, Ira F. Davis ; second, I James D. Chamberlin ; third, S. W. Dorsey (long term), Christian Keating (shortterm) ; fourth, George Daniel (longterm), Bernard Tierney (short term) ; fifth, Jacob Ulmer; assessors — first ward, John C. Ernst; second, John W. Walter; third, Edward Earrell ; fourth, August Seeger ; fifth, Philip Ruppert ;. ; president of council. Prank E. Poster; clerk, Charles Cross. 3i6 History of Erie County. 1871. — Mayor, George Daniel; marshal, H. G. Robinson; chief engineer, David Myers ; solicitor, Horatio Wildman ; city commissioner, Nicholas Buyer; •councilmen — first ward, I. B. Massey; second, Frank E. Foster; third, Gott- lieb Hart (long term), John R. Miner, (short term) ; fourth, W. J. Haverly ; fifth, John Homegardner; assessors — first ward, E. B. Schafer; second, L. C. Loomis; third, Edward Farrell; fourth, August Seeger ; fifth, Phillip Ruppert; president of the council. Dr. I. B. Massey ; clerk, Charles Cross. 1872. — Councilmen — first ward, Elmer Atwood ; second, Charles V. Olds; third, Ebenezer B. Sadler ; fourth, N. H. Moore, George Whitney (short term) ; fifth, Jacob Ulmer; assessors — first ward, E. B. Schafer; second, L. C. Loomis; third, Edward Farrell; fourth, August Seeger; fifth, Philip Ruppert; chief engineer, Richard C. Cuthbert ; civil engineer, George Morton ; president of council. Dr. I. B. Massey ; clerk, Charles Cross. 1873 — Mayor, George Daniel; marshal, William Berrigan ; solicitor Ho- ratio Wildman; city commissioner, Lee Chambers ; justices of the peace, Ze- nas W. Barker, Gottlieb Stroebel and Thomas Drake ; councilmen — first ward, A. H. Barber; second, Frank E. Foster; third, William H. Wilson, William Zimmerman (short term) ; fourth, Patrick Quinn; fifth, John Homegardner; assessors — first ward, E. B. Schafer ; second, Clifton Hadley; third, Edward Farrell; fourth, August Seeger; fifth, Philip Rupert; president of council, William H. Wilson. 1874. — Councilmen — first ward, Jacob A. Barker; second, B. F. Ferris; third, William Zimmerman ; fourth, Constantine Zipfle ; fifth, Henry Zim- merman ; assessors — first ward, E. B. Schafer; second, Clifton Hadley; third, Edward Farrell; fourth, August Seeger; fifth, Philip Ruppert; constables, Henry Eichler and Charles Bang ; president of council, William H. Wilson ; clerk, Charles Cross. At the polls, also during this year were elected cemetery trustees and a board of education. The former were E. Alvord and Christian C. Keech for long term, Adam Stoll and Neil H. Moore, for short term. Board of education, H. J. Donahue, George J. Anderson and Winsen Fox, for two years, Isaiah B. Massey, James D. Lea and William Hudson for one year. 1875 — Mayor, George Daniel; marshal, William Berrigan ; solicitor, Ho- ratio Wildman ; street commissioner, Nicholas Buyer; cemetery trustee, John J. Finch ; trustees of water works, James D. Lea for three years, C. C. Keech for two years, and Peter Gilcher for one year. Councilmen — first ward, Lewis F. Taubert , second, John C. Zillinger ; third, W. Scott Sanford ; fourth, Pat- rick Quinn ; fifth, John Homegardner; assessors — first ward, E. B. Schafer; second, Clifton Hadley; third, Edward Farrell; fourth, August Seeger; fifth, Henry Mall; president of council, Jacob A. Barker; clerk, Wm. W. Wltherell. 1876. — Councilmen — first ward, W. T. West; second. Perry G. Walker; third, Henry Jordon; fourth, Philip Graeffe; fifth, Christian Miller ; assessors — first ward, E. B. Schafer; second, Gottlieb Schleichrum; third, Edward Far- rell; fourth, August Seeger ; fifth, Henry Moll ; president of council, John C. The City of Sandusky. 317 Zollinger ; clerk, William W. Witherell. Mayor’s appointments : Edwin Graves, civil engineer; A. Y. Stoll, chief of fire department; James Farrell, assistant fire engineer ; Andrew Brown, captain of police. 1877. — Mayor, William H. Wilson; marshal, William Berrigan ; solicitor, Horatio Wildman ; street commissioner, Jacob Schwab; cemetery trustee, M. F. Cowdry ; trustee of water works, C- C. Keech ; chief engineer, J. B. Kae- ferle ; councilmen — first ward, A. Motry ; second, John C. Zollinger; third, Charles Keyes; fourth, R. Schenck ; fifth, John Homegardner ; assessors — first ward, J. J. Kepley; second, G. Schleichrum; third, Edward Farrell; fourth, August Seeger; fifth, Philip Ruppert ; president of council, John C. Zollinger; clerk, William W. Witherell. 1878. — Councilmen — first ward, Dr. Elwood Stanley; second. Perry G. Walker; third, Fyman A. Spencer; fourth, W. B. H. Hunt; fifth, James Flynn ; assessors — first ward, Joseph J. Kepley ; second, Gottlieb Schleichrum; third, Edward Farrell ; fourth, John Augst ; fifth, Philip Ruppert ; president of coun- cil, John C. Zollinger ; clerk of council, William W. Witherell. 1879. — Mayor, Rush R. Sloane ; marshal, John Gleason; solicitor, John T. Beecher; city commissioner, F. A. Fyman; councilmen — first ward, Henry Dehul (long term), Elwood Stanley (short term) ; second, Simon Schacht ; third, John Krupp ; fourth, John Quinn; fifth, Charles Cross; assessors — first ward, James B. Sanderson; second, Gottlieb Schleichrum; third, Sylves- ter Brengartner ; fourth, August Seeger; fifth, Philip Deitrich ; president of council, Charles Cross ; clerk, William W. Witherell. 1880. — Councilmen — first ward, F. W. Alvord ; second. Perry G. Walker ; third, Lyman A. Spencer ; fourth, William B. H. Hunt ; fifth, James Flynn ; assessors- — first ward, James B. Sanderson; second, Gottlieb Schleichrum; third, Sylvester Brengartner; fourth, Nicholas Buyer; fifth, Philip Deitrich; president of council. Perry G. Walker; clerk, William W. Witherell. This year the people voted to build a city hall and prison. 1881. — Mayor, William B. H. Hunt; marshal, John Gleason; solicitor, Walter W. Bowen ; street commissioner, Charles Schoeffle ; councilmen — first ward, Henry Deuhl; second, Edmund B. King; third, Byron Gager; fourth, Samuel Irvine ; fifth, Frank Stang ; assessors — first ward, George J. Roegre ; second, Gottlieb Schleichrum ; third, .Sylvester Brengartner; fourth, J. M. Dei- bold ; fifth, Philip Deitrick ; * president of council. Perry G. Walker ; clerk, William W. Witherell. 1882. — Councilmen — first ward, Samuel C. Wheeler; second, August Kuntzman ; third, William Zimmerman; fourth, Robert Haylor ; fifth, John B. Kafferly ; assessors — first ward, George J. Koegle ; second, F. Dahm ; third, Sylvester Brengartner ; fourth, John M. Deibold ; fifth, Philip Dietrich ; president of council, Edmund B. King ; clerk, William W. Witherell. 1883. — Mayor, James F. De Witt; marshal, Andrew Bowen; solicitor, Walter W. Bowen; street commissioner, Charles Schoeffle; councilmen — first ii 3i8 History OF Erie County. ward, John H. Smith ; second, Edmund B. King ; third, Thomas N. Sloane ; fourth, Patrick Glancy ; fifth, Charles Wildenthaler ; assessors — first ward, George J. Koegle ; second, Jacob Schnell ; third, Sylvester Brengartner ; fourth, John M. Deibold ; fifth, Charles Reider; president of council, Thomas N. Sloane ; clerk, William W. Witherell. 1884. — Councilmen — first ward, H. H. Knight ; second, Daniel Kunz (long term), Paul Miller (short term); third, G. Hart; fourth, Albert Bernmoser ; fifth, J. B. Kafferle ; assessors — first ward, Lewis Metzgar ; second, G. Schlei- cher; third, Sylvester Brengartner; fourth, F. Heberlein; fifth, Charles Kessler; president of council, Thomas N. Sloane; clerk, William W. Witherell. 1885. — Mayor, James L. De Witt; marshal, Andrew Bowen; solicitor, George C. Beis ; street commissioner, George J. Koegle; councilmen — first ward, Thomas L. McEwen ; second, George B. Hodgman ; third, John R. Lea ; fourth, Patrick Glancy ; fifth, Charles Wildenthaler ; sixth, Michael Hommel ; seventh, George Gosser and Chris. Berner ; eighth, William C. Smith and Adam Bauer; ninth, John H. Biehl and J. F. McCrystal ; tenth, James R. Davies and Barney Callan ; assessors — first ward, John Metzgar; second, J. D. Chamberlain ; third, S. Brengartner ; fourth, F. Haberlein ; fifth, Charles Kessler; sixth, John Diehr, seventh, George A. Free; eighth, Lewis Abele ; ninth, G. Schleichrum ; tenth, Lewis Metzgar ; president of council, J B. Kafferle ; clerk, Albert W. Miller. 1886. — Councilmen — first ward, H. B. Breining; second, Daniel Kunz; third, M. Fischer ; fourth, M. M. Doyle ; fifth, J. B. Kafferle ; sixth, A. G. O’Donnell; seventh, Jacob Schmid; eighth, Henry Graefe ; ninth, John Strickland ; tenth, Christian Zimmerman ; assessors — first ward, Lewis Metz- gar ; second, C. Hadley; third, S. Brengartner; fourth, F. Haberlein; fifth, Charles Kessler; sixth, John Diehr; seventh, George A. Free; eighth, J. B. Keyes; ninth, G Schleichrum; tenth, William Clark; president of council, John B Kafferle ; clerk, Albert W. Miller. 1887. — Mayor, William B. H. Hunt; marshal, Andrew Bowen; city isolicitor, George C. Beis ; street commissioner, George J. Koegle. COUNCILMEN. ASSESSORS. First ward John Waterfield Lewis Metzgar. Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth .Carl Meilsen C. Hastings. .George D. Lewin S. Brengartner. .Frank Link Frank Haberlein. .Philip Burkle John Gruelch. .Michael Hommel John Diehr. .John De Witt George A. PTee. .Adam Moos C. Roade. ( Charles Wellmes and ) \ William Dedidius. ) .Charles Weschke William Clark. .John G. Abele. The City of Sandusky. 319 To the councilmen above named may be added those elected in 1886, and all constitute the present Common Council of the city. The justices of the peace at the present time are Jacob Schnell, Philip Diet- rich and Thomas McKenna; cemetery trustees, W. G. Hastings, John G. Strobel and Lewis Duennisch ; constables, John Diehr and Charles Kessler; chief of police, appointed by mayor, John Langanberger ; chief of fire depart- ment, appointed by mayor, Daniel Myers ; assistant engineer, John Unckrich ; city member of board of infirmary directors, Albert W. Miller. THE CITY OF SANDUSKY — ITS PRESENT. As now constituted Sandusky belongs to the third grade of the second class of the cities of the State, having shown at the last federal census a population of less than twenty thousand inhabitants. This is provided by the laws of the State. Prior to the year 1869 it was known as “ Sandusky City,” and was of the second class at that time. By an act of the Legislature passed the 7th of May, 1869, it was provided that “all municipal corporations, now organized and established, including special road districts, and all municipal corporations organized under the pro- visions of this act, shall be and they are hereby declared to be bodies politic and corporate, under the name and style of the city of ; the incor- porated village of ; the village of ,” etc. By this act it became necessary to somewhat modify the style of this municipality from that by which it had up to that time been designated ; that is, Sandusky City. And in order to conform to the law so passed, the “city” was dropped from its place ; thenceforth the name was changed to “ the city of Sandusky.” It is proposed to devote the remaining pages of this chapter to a descrip- tive record of the various institutions and enterprises of the city of Sandusky, municipal, federal, public and private Not that it is sought in recording pri- vate or individual interests to have this work appear to be, in any manner, a directory, but rather to place upon record the various institutions and enter- prises that have been established in the past, and that have endured to the present, with a hope and prospect for future usefulness. Such is the purpose of the following pages. The Market Places. — This is, perhaps, the most appropriate manner of designating these two localities, for should they be called “The Markets,” the presumption would at once arise that the city was possessed of such places wherein was transacted business incident to market places in general, but such seems not now to be the case ; that is, so far as this city is concerned. It will be remembered that the proprietors, Wildman, Mills and Hoadley, in their plat of the city made in the year 1818, mentioned two separate par- cels which they dedicated to the prospective city in the words following : “The two open spaces on Market street, marked BB, are appropriated as and for 320 History of Erie County. Public Market grounds, and forever to remain for that purpose and for no other.” In due course of time the city, or, as it then was, town, became sufficiently large to warrant the erection of buildings for the purpose indicated in the ded- ication. The first record mention of official action in this direction by the authorities of the town was made in the year 1835, and thereafter the buildings were erected by citizens of the town. They were frame structures, one story in height, with a projecting roof, and in dimensions about thirty by fifty feet. Each lot was provided with a market house, and it was not until a few years ago that they were removed. A solitary hay-scale now marks the spot where for many years stood what was known as the East Market ; while on the other site stands a substantial stone building, erected within the last few years and for the express purpose of a “ market house ” ; but a later idea seems inclined to make the building useful for an additional purpose, not- withstanding the emphatic and clear language of the dedication. The propo- sition to utilize this site for a city hall went before the people for determina- tion some few years ago but it was defeated overwhelmingly. A subsequent council, however, submitted to the people a proposition to erect a market house on the lot, and that was carried. As was provided, this was to be a one-story stone building, forty by two hundred feet in size; but after the work had progressed somewhat, the council determined to add a sec- ond story, which was done at an additional cost of about four thousand dollars, the original contract price being ten thousand dollars. Only the lower floor is fitted for occupancy. The news in some manner got afloat that the upper story was to be arranged with apartments for city officials. The question then arose whether such an occupancy would not work a forfeiture of the land and building, and the matter finally reached the court, where a construction was put upon the dedication, and it was held that such a use of the building would not subject the city to a forfeiture of the land. So the matter now stands and arrangements are making for the occupation of the upper portion of the build- ing for city officers. The Fire Department . — It was back as early as the year 1830, and at a time that the town of Sandusky had a population of less than five hundred persons, and when there were not even seventy buildings within its limits, that measures were taken to provide for security against loss by fire. At a meeting of the town council, held in the latter part of Eebruary of that year,.^ an ordinance was adopted providing for the organization and discipline of reg- . ular fire companies, as understood at that day, whose experience and knowl- | edge in the proper course and conduct to be pursued in case of fire, “will.-., render their assistance highly important and useful.” Eor the proper organization of this primitive fire brigade the town was divided into two wards, to be known as numbers one and two, being separated The City of Sandusky. 321 by Columbus avenue. The mayor was authorized to and did comply with the ordinance of the council by appointing Henry H. Wilcoxsen as chief fire- man ; James Hollister as fire warden number one of ward number one ; Will- iam Kelley as fire warden number two of ward number one ; Erastus Gregg as fire warden number one of ward number two ; and Ezra Wells as fire war- den number two of ward number two ; Isaac Carling and Moors Earwell as the committee of safety of ward number one, and William Leonard and Thomas Chesnut as committee of safety of ward number two. Also Cyrus W. Marsh as captain of the fire company of ward one, and Elias Hand as captain of the fire company in ward two. Josiah W. Hollister was appointed first engineer, and Amos L. Patterson as second engineer in ward one, while John Chesnut and John Mumford were to perform the same duties respectively in ward number two. A further provision was made that men be enlisted for each company ; and that each man should provide himself with one substantial bucket, and in case of fire to appear “ equipt ” with his bucket. This was the original fire and bucket brigade of the town of Sandusky, and from the number of men ap- pointed to positions of rank therein, it would seem that every man in the place was in some manner connected with the department. One bucket and one hook was afterward provided for each company, and to be paid for out of the funds of the town. From this outlay it is not surprising that Sandusky has a large bonded indebtedness. During the latter part of the year 1834 the subject of the purchase of a more approved and suitable means of fighting fire was under discussion, but it was not until February of the following year that the desire was consum- mated. The council then appointed Thomas T. White and John Wheeler a select committee to make the purchase. They entered into negotiations with James Smith, of New York city, and that person offered to sell the town a hand engine of such pattern as was then in use in his city for the sum of seven hundred and fifty dollars. The finances of the town were then in a somewhat reduced condition, and voluntary subscriptions by the citizens of the town were received, and this, with the funds in the treasury, was used and the pur- chase made. This engine was named Ogontz, and the company that manned it was called Ogontz Fire Company No. i. In 1839, with the growth of the town it was thought desirable to make some further provision for this branch of municipal service ; so the council, on the 7th of February, passed an ordinance providing for more efficient means of safety and security of the citizens against fire, and elected officers for the department as follows: Foster M. Follett, chief engineer; Ebenezer B. Sadler, assistant engineer ; and William W. Witherell, William B. Smith, Page M. Ring, A. H. Barber, Abner Root and Isaiah W. Hollister as fire wardens. 322 History of Erie County. In the year 1848 there was organized a new company which was provided by the council to contain not less than forty, nor more than sixty men, to be designated as “ Buckeye Company, Number 2 ” and for this company was pur- chased the engine that was named “ Buckeye.” Not long after this a hook and ladder company was organized. In 1853 Hornet Compan}^ Number 3, was formed. , Thus well equipped and organized for business the city seemed well pro- vided against a severe fire loss. To make the old hand engines available wells were dug in various parts of the city from which water was to be taken. In 1858 the officers of the department were F. C. Ford, chief engineer; Enoch Weller, first assistant; Charles Ruemmelle, second assistant. In 1859 Foster M. Follett was chief, Casper J. Parsons, first assistant and William Cook, sec- ond assistant. In i860 Enoch Weller was chief, Casper J. Parsons, first and William Cook second assistant engineer. But the time came when the old hand engines, like all other ancient contriv- ances, must give place to more modern inventions. In 1865 the council, as- sisted by the contributions of citizens, made a purchase of a steam engine of the Amoskeag manufacture. This is still in use in the city although it has fre- quently undergone repairs. Three years later a Silsby engine was purchased, and again in 1869, another of the same pattern. With this improved appara- tus and the purchase of a hook and ladder truck, it became necessary to re- organize the whole department, and the council wisely concluded to make it a paid department. By their ordinance, passed May 27, 1872, it was provided that each engineer should receive sixty dollars per month, the firemen or as- sistant fifty dollars, each teamster fifty dollars, and each minute-man ten dol- lars per month. Richard C. Cuthbert was elected chief engineer. This ordinance, with some subsequent amendments, remained in force and by it the department was governed until the ordinance as passed and amended in 1884, came into effect. This provided that the fire department “shall con- sist of three hose companies and one hook and ladder company. Each of said hose companies shall be composed of six men, and said hook and ladder com- pany shall be composed of seven men. One of said men in each hose company shall be know as plugman, one as teamster and the other four as minute men. One of the men of said hook and ladder company shall be known as captain, one a teamster and the other five as minute men. The hose carts and hook and ladder trucks shall have one hose each.” The compensation provided to be paid under this ordinance was: Each plugman, forty- five dollars per month; each teamster, forty-five dollars per month ; each minute man, ten dollars per month. The present officers are Daniel Myers, chief engineer ; John Unckrich, as- sistant ; Christian Zimmerman, chairman of fire company. The apparatus is located as follows: Engine House No. i, foot of Hancock street; Frank Cassady, plugman ; A. Windisch, driver. Engine House No. 2, corner Market and The City of Sandusky. 323 Lawrence streets; Frank S. Erney, engineer; Thomas Aliurray, driver. En- gine House No. 3, corner of Elm and Monroe streets; Adam E. Hartung, plugman ; Charles Spaith, driver. Germania Hook and Ladder Company, No. I, corner of Market and Lawrence streets ; August Widemann, foreman ; Daniel Sprau, driver. It may properly be stated in this connection that since the construction of the present system of city water works the steam engines of the fire depart- ment have become practically useless, but they are held in reserve for an\^ emergency that may arise, in case of fire occurring out of reach from the water mains. In the thickly populated portions of the city the mains are of sufficient size and the pressure upon them so great that water can be thrown over the top of the highest buildings, thus is rendered unnecessary the pressure of the steamers at fires. The Police Department . — This department of the local government was or- ganized almost as soon as the town was created, although under a name and style somewhat different from that which entitles this sketch. It is found that in the year 1825 Lemuel Robinson was appointed town marshal, and in him was invested the police authority of the place. But as the population of the town increased it was found necessary to enlarge this department. In the year 1854 the council adopted an ordinance in pursuance of the act of the Legisla- ture passed May 3, 1852, and relating to incorporated villages, by which the powers and duties of the marshal were defined and further providing for the appointment of deputies of the marshal to such number as would ensure pro- tection against law breakers. Under this protection the city lived until the ordinance of 1870, by which the department was reorganized, and provision made for policemen and night watchmen. Erom 1825 until 1870 the following named persons acted as mar- shals of Sandusky ; 1825-26, Lemuels Robinson; 1 827-28, Charles F. Drake ; 1829-30, Augustus Cooke; 1830-31-32—33, Elijah E. Clemons; i834to 1841 inclusive, Roswell J. Jennings; 1842, Charles E. Drake; 1843-44, George W. Smith; 1845, Alonzo Wade, Francis W. Pomeroy ; 1846, ; 1847—48, William Benschoter; 1849, William Spaulding; 1850—51—52, Oliver Rice; 1853, (elected) James E. Mygatt ; 1854-55, Oliver Rice; 1856, Andrew Casey; i 857~58, Enoch Weller; 1859, Patrick Herr ; i860, George Littleton; 1861-62, William R. Chapman; 1863-64, Samuel C. Wheeler ; 1865, Samuel Currie; 1866, Frank L. Myers ; 1867-68-69, Thomas Aluldowrey. The ordinance of 1870 provided for the appointment by the mayor, by and with the advice and consent of the city council, of one chief watchman, and one person from each ward to perform the duties of policeman and night watchman, each to hold office for one year. The same ordinance also provided for the like appointment of five persons from each ward as a reserved watch, subject to duty if called upon by resolution of the council. 324 History of Erie County. But this ordinance by no means abolished the office of marshal, but contin- ued the same as established by the ordinance of 1854, and modified by that of 1871, which latter law materially abridged his powers and duties. Under the provisions of the ordinance adopted on the 2d of February, 1880, and amended June 6, 1882, the department of police was organized as it at the present time substantially exists. By the terms of this local enactment it was provided that there shall be nominated in writing by the mayor of said city, at the first meeting of the new council in each and every year, for their approval, twelve persons as policemen and night watchmen, who shall hold such position for the term of one year, unless sooner removed for cause, etc. Also that one of the persons so nominated shall be designated as captain. A further section also provides for the compensation to be paid the captain and policemen. The present force of police of the city consists of one marshal, a captain of police and eleven patrolmen. The council committee on police is composed of Carl Nielson, Charles Wellmus and George D. Lewin; marshal, Andrew Bow- en ; captain of police, John C. Langenberger. The headquarters of this arm of the city government is at the mayor’s office on Columbus avenue, the chief executive officer of the city having magisterial power for the trial of offenders against the ordinances of the municipality. The patrolmen meet in an old and dilapidated building on Water street, that was formerly used for housing fire apparatus. Here, to, is the city lockup in w'hich petty offenders are temporarily confined. The City Water Works . — The accomplishment of this vast undertaking wfith its attendant expense, was the most important of the city’s achievements, and was brought about by the public-spiritedness and generosity of its citizens. It was not the result of an extravagant idea hastily carried to an end, but rather the result of mature reflection and deliberation. There has been no half way work in the whole enterprise from beginning to end, and the effect is clear ; Sandusky is abundantly supplied with pure and wholesome water, and to an amount sufficient to meet the future growth of the place for many years. The plan was well discussed and arranged, so that when once under way nothing was required to be done a second time. For many years prior to the establishment of the city water works system its necessity was seriously apparent to the people, and the city council as early as the year 1853 discussed the subject of constructing both water and gas works, but for a variety of reasons no steps were taken in the matter beyond agitating the question, and the real burden of the work fell upon the people of twenty years later. In the year 1875, by an ordinance passed the i ith of January, the question was submitted to the electors of the city for them to determine whether the wa- ter works should be established for the purpose of supplying the city with wa- ter, to increase its manufacturing facilities, to aid in the extinguishment of fires and prevent the destruction of property. The City of Sandusky. 325 The election was held on the 15th day of February, 1875, and at the polls it was determined by a fair majority to make the improvement contemplated. It will be observed that the question was submitted to the electors of the city, and not restricted to tax-payers. Had the latter course been pursued the meas- ure would have been defeated by a wider majority than that by which it was carried, for the proposition to bond the city to the extent of three hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars, at a rate of eight per cent, annual interest, was calculated to strike terror to the hearts of the most liberal of tax-payers, there- fore a majority of them voted against the measure, but it was carried by the votes of enthusiastic non-tax paying electors. By a further ordinance passed March 8, 1875. it was provided “That water works are hereby ordered to be constructed in the city of Sandusky, the water for which shall be supplied from the Sandusky Bay, in accordance with the plans of J. D. Cooke, civil engineer, made to the council, or a modification of such plans as to reservoirs, unless a better quality of water can be procured from the lake or other source of supply at a cost not exceeding the estimate made by said J. D. Cooke in said report,” and further, that “a board of trust ees is hereby established consisting of three members to be known as trustees of the water works, who shall have all the power, and perform the necessary duties prescribed by the municipal code and the amendments thereto,” etc. At the annual city election held on the first Monday in April, 1875, there were elected trustees of the water works: James D. Lea, for the term of time years; C. C. Keech, for the term of two years, and Peter Gilcher for the term •of one year. This board of trustees met and organized on the first of May fol- lowing: James D. Lea being made president, and D. M. Arndt, secretary. J. D. Cooke was appointed chief, and Erwin Graves assistant engineer. “From the 3d day of May until the 27th day of May sealed proposals were solicited to furnish two thousand six hundred and sixty- three tons of cast-iron water-pipes and special castings.” Sixteen bids were received for this work from various sources, and the contract was awarded to H. R. Smith & Co., of Columbus, for the sum of thirty-seven dollars and eighty-three cents per ton for the cast-iron pipes, and fifty-five dollars per ton for the special castings ” For the work of trench-digging and pipe-laying Hochstader and Hartman, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., were the lowest bidders, and the contract was awarded to them at the following prices: For digging trenches and laying twenty-inch pipe, $1.80 per lineal foot; for sixteen-inch pipe, $i.6o; for twelve-inch pipe, $1.18 ; for eight-inch pipe, eighty-five cents ; for six-inch pipe, sixty-three cents per lineal foot. “On the 3d of June the trustees, in company with the chief engineer, started on a tour to inspect the practical workings of pumping machinery, fire h}’- drants, etc., with a view of adopting the most efficient and economical plan. On their return the trustees reported to the council that they visited the water 42 326 History of Erie County. works of Erie, Buffalo, Rochester, Poughkeepsie, Brooklyn, New York, Boston, Lynn, Salem, Lowell, Cambridge, Jersey City, Newark, Rahway, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Cleveland and Toledo, and that after due deliberation, they were unanimously in favor of the Stand-pipe system. “ Having determined upon the general plan of the works, and having selected a site for the erection of the stand-pipe, engine house, bay crib and influent pipe, sealed proposals were asked from contractors (opened Septem- ber 20) to furnish the labor and materials to complete the above as per speci- cations.” The contract for the construction of the stand-pipe, for the sum of $46,297, and for the erection of the engine and boiler house for the sum of $9,690 were awarded to John Carr, of this city. The contract for furnishing materials and laying the influent pipe was awarded to Neil H. Moore, of Sandusky, for the sum of $19,790. The pumping machinery was furnished by H. R. Worthington, of New York, at the contract price of $32,500. Statement showing the cost of the Sandusky water works and the several accounts charged therewith; also the amount paid out during the year 1878. Water Pipes and Branches, Pipe Laying Stand-pipe, Engine, Boilers and Appurtenances Influent Pipe and Conduit, Bay Crib Pump Well, Hydrants Gates and Valves, Engine House Dwelling House for Engineer, Smoke Stack, T raveling and telegraphing expens’s Implements and Tools Office and Engine House Furniture, including Iron Safe Filling and Ornamenting Engine House Grounds, Office Expenses, Stationery, Adver- tising and Printing, Sundries and Incidentals, and anal- ysis of Water Ferrules, Stops, Boxes and Service connections Officers’ Salaries Engineering, Superintendence and Inspection Total amount paid out Deduct for Construction, and Ma- terials sold at sundry times Net cost of the Works, Amount paid prior Amount paid in Amount paid in to December 30, (876. the year 1877. the year 1878. $ 106,827 27 $ 1,530 95 $ 98 86 88,202 30 3,248 58 43 68 20,981 87 26,046 20 1,079 98 5.543 47 27.137 15 19,819 62 12 50 3,753 03 1,462 28 2 65 9.135 15 579 50 7,660 12 398 09 ‘3 50 II, HI 54 2,056 91 5'3 50 757 62 2,081 45 10 00 610 04 8 61 704 87 172 23 34 02 477 20 69 63 769 62 1,177 71 1,061 16 1,136 i6’ 178 62 12 40 580 68 288 03 2,034 65 5,099 76 1,255 70 3.733 99 525 00 7.016 45 500 00 1301,740 46 $ 69,555 26 $ 4.356 92 289 69 194 77 94 25 Total Cost. $108,457 o8. 91,494 56 48,108 05 32,680 62 19,832 12 3.753 03 ' 1,464 93 9.714 65 8,071 71 13,168 45 1,271 12 2,091 45 618 65 91 1 12 546 83. 3.008 49 1,326 82 868 71 8,390 1 1 4.258 99- 7.516 45 $375,652 64 587 71 $375,064 93, The City of Sandusky. 327 The city’s water supply is taken from a crib in the bay located some eight- een hundred feet from the stand-pipe and station. The crib has an outside diameter of forty feet, and on the inside of twenty-five feet, the space between being filled with broken stone. From the crib a wrought iron pipe, three feet in diameter, and one-fourth of an inch in thickness, extends to the pumping well. From the well the water is pumped directly into a metallic stand-pipe, one hundred and eighty feet high, and twenty-five feet in diameter, and from here it flows gradually into the street mains. Inside the main stand-pipe is an auxiliary stand-pipe, three feet in diameter and reaching to a height of two hundred and twenty-five feet. Than this there does not exist in this country a more complete and desirable water works system ; and in justice to all con- nected with its construction, in every branch, it may truthfully be said that the work was faithfully and honestly performed, in which there appears no material defects due to careless performance after a service of ten years. The City s Cemeteries . — The first ground within the limits of the city as now constituted, that was used for burial purposes, was located in rear of the Second National Bank, on Columbus avenue, and not far distant from the spot on which stood the cabin of Ogontz, the recognized Indian chief and ruler of the place. Tradition says, we have no record, that this was used as late as the year 1810, at which time the redoubtable John Garrison first appeared in the locality with his stock of goods for Indian trade and barter. But this place was not by any means used by the white residents after they became resi- dents of the locality. A small lot is said to have been set apart as a burial ground near the foot of Shelby street as early as 1817. However this may have been there appears no record of its existence, and it was closed, so it is also said, in the year 1820. The first action of the town council looking to the establishment of a burial place was taken in the year 1830, upon the presentation of a petition of citi- zens of the town praying that a suitable “ burying ground ” be selected. For this purpose the council authorized councilmen Root and Tuttle to make a purchase of a parcel of land containing between two and three acres on the southeast corner of lot number forty-nine in Portland township. This the committee did, at the cost of one hundred dollars; and here the first regu- lar burying ground of which definite knowledge is to be had was laid out. In the year 1849 a committee of the council consisting of F. T. Barney, John M. Brown and Foster M. Follett was appointed to again select a location for a larger and more appropriate cemetery tract ; and in 1850 another com- mittee, consisting of councilman Solomon C. Moore, was appointed for the selection and purchase of a tract of land for the purpose of a cemetery and city poor farm. The negotiations of this committe resulted in contracting for a tract in Perkins township, and one hundred and thirty-six acres in extent, with Jane S Williams, at the agreed price of four thousand seven hundred '.'4} 328 History of Erie County. and one dollars and ninety cents. It was on this tract that the beautiful Oak- land Cemetery was laid out. The project of erecting a poor house for the city seems to have failed, and the city sold such part of the land as was not re- quired for the purpose of a cemetery. The portion retained comprises be- t veen fifty and sixty acres, and only a portion of it is as yet laid out. The Oakland Cemetery is well adapted for burial purposes, the grounds being laid out in exceedingly good taste. A large and convenient superin- tendent’s residence is built upon the tract. Although not within the city limits Oakland Cemetery is one of the institutions of the city, and owned by it. Its management and control is vested in a board of cemetery trustees, a body created by an ordinance of the common council of the city, and, at present, is comprised of the following persons : W. G. Hastings, John G. Strobel and Louis Duennisch. In addition to the institutions and properties owned and controlled by the city, it also possesses a tract of land on Market street, just west of Columbus avenue. This parcel has a frontage on Market street of four rods and extends back a distance of ten rods. The land was acquired for the purpose of city buildings and offices, but as yet no move has been made looking to the erec- tion of a building for that use. Likewise the city exei'cises control over the parks, Washington and those situate on the Huron and Miami avenues, which were provided by the pro- prietors in their platting and laying out of the town in i8i8. The immediate control, however, of these parks is vested in a board of park commissioners, which board was created by an ordinance of the common council passed Au- gust 29, 1879, and supplemented by further provisions adopted January 19, 1880. The City's Bonded Indebtedness . — These several institutions of the city, and the many local improvements made during the last eighteen years, while they h ive been a source of burden upon the taxpayers, have, nevertheless, been of the greatest benefit to the people and have given Sandusky an enviable posi- tion among the municipalities of the State. Every citizen has received a benefit from them and the taxpayers are paying for them ; but, fortunately perhaps, the area of the city is so great that the severity of taxation is much relaxed through the wide scope of assessable property. From the year 1871 to the year 1888 the annual statement of the bonded indebtedness of the city has shown as follows: 1871, $17,500; 1872, $18,- 500; 1873, $22,500 ; 1874, ; 1875, $33,000 ; 1876, $316,000; 1877, $448,500; 1878, $458,500; 1879, $465,900; 1880, $453,600 ; 1881, $401,- 600; 1882, $413,400 ; 1883, $505,600; 1884, $583,400; 1885, $575,500 ; 1886, $537,500; 1887, $520,500. This statement includes bonds issued for all purposes, whether municipal or for the encouragement and assistance of corporate enterprises outside the The City of Sandusky. 329 government. For instance : The statement for the year 1882 shows an in- crease of more than one hundred thousand dollars over that of the previous year. This increase was in part occasioned by the bonding to assist a railroad enterprise. The County's City Property . — The county’s interest in the property within the city limits is comprehended by the magnificent court-house and the attrac- tive appearing and substantial jail building, both of which were erected during the years in which the city’s greatest improvements were being made. The old court-house, while it was a well built structure, and served the purposes of the county for many years, was by no means an ornament to the city from an architectural point of view, and while ornamentation appears not to have been a factor in the old building the new more than compensates for the former lack of attractiveness. The subject relating to the erection of the several county buildings within the city of Sandusky, as the county seat, having already been fully discussed,^ nothing beyond a mere mention of the fact is necessary in this connection ; but among the proceedings that led to the establishment not only of that seat of justice, but to the creation of a new county, which was named Erie, there appears one interesting feature not before mentioned. As is well known, the proposition to divide Huron county and to establish Erie county met with much opposition from residents of the former, and espe- cially from those in the vicinity of Norwalk. Of course the people of this locality were almost a unit in favoring the project, and to get, if possible, a majority of the whole people interested in the division, it became necessary for the advocates of the new county to resort to a little strategem. The people of Norwalk and vicinity became somewhat alarmed lest, should the new county be formed, their county seat would be removed to a point further south and nearer the geographical center of that county’s territory as it would exist. Such a change, of course, would be pleasing to the people in the south part of Huron, and, in order to accomplish their main purpose (having the new county set off) the strategic sons of this town sent a “ missionary” to labor among the southern residents of Huron county, representing to them that a change in the location of their county seat would greatly benefit them. This in a measure succeeded, and by it the new county project found many warm supporters in the remote parts of Huron. The representative of Sandusky in this laudable effort was Colonel John N. Sloane, who went among the southern people armed with the following document proclaiming his authority : “ To whom it may concern : This may certify that Colonel John N. Sloane is authorized in behalf of the citizens of this town to confer with the people in the south and west parts of the county of Huron on the proposition of attending the proposed convention at Norwalk, on the 12th instant, and to make arrange- ments for a full and punctual attendance. Sandusky, September 5th, 1835. 330 History of Erie County. (Signed) Moors Farwell, Abner Root, Oran Follett, James N. Davidson, Charles F. Drake, Ebenezer B. Sadler, M. L. Babcock, John Beatty, John Weeden, James Hollister, Zenas W. Barker, William Neil.” The advocates for the new county erection eventually succeeded in their part of the undertaking, and in the year 1838 Erie county was formed, but the expected results hoped for by the people in the south and west parts of Huron county were not so fully realized as Norwalk continued to be the county seat, notwithstanding its location in the extreme northern portion of that county. After the county was set off Colonel Sloane ceased his missionary labors, and he and his advisory council soon lost interest in the welfare of that people, at least so far as the removal of the county seat of Huron county was con- cerned. The Fish Hatchery . — In the eastern part of the city, on the same lot on which stands the City Water Works buildings, is the State Fish Hatchery. This institution was established in Sandusky as the most available location for the purpose of propogating fish from spawn, or eggs, taken from captured fish. The number of fish produced here is simply incalculable, there being in the hatchery building no less than four hundred and twenty jars, each containing about one gallon of eggs. From this production it is estimated that the em- ployees of the State in this enterprise place in the lake, annually, from thirty to forty millions of young white fish and pickerel. The hatchery was built in this city some seven or eight years ago, upon which a similar institution at Toledo was abandoned. This is the only hatchery now in the State, and is under the superintendence of James Douglass. The Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Home . — Although the buildings of the Sol- diers’ and Sailor’ Home are not within the limits of the city proper, but in Per- kins township, still the institution is regarded and looked upon, and in fact is, a part and parcel of the city’s work ; for its establishment at this point was made possible only through the magnanimity and generosity and public spirit- edness of the people of the city. The city will derive benefits from this insti- tution in a hundred different ways. Provision was made for the establishment of a Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home by an act of the Legislature of 1885-86, under which act a board of trustees was appointed as follows: R. B. Brown, of Zanesville ; Durbin Ward, since deceased, and the vacancy filled by the appointment of Thomas B. Paxton, of ; Cincinnati ; W. P. Orr, of ; T. T. Dill, of Mansfield, and Isaac F. Mack, of Sandusky. The board was organized on the 3d of June, 1886, by the election of Isaac F. Mack as president, and R. B. Brown as secretary. Subsequently, and on the ist of July, the board met, after due notice given, at Sandusky, at which time propositions from towns and cities desiring to offer sites for the Home were duly considered, and thereafter, and between the 12th The City of Sandusky. 331 and 31st of July, the board visited Newark, Mount Vernon, Canton, Wooster, Perrysburg, Kenton, Springfield, South Charleston, Yellow Springs, Spring- boro, McArthur, Zanesville, and Piqua, and on the 31st, at Dayton, decided to locate the home at or near the city of Sandusky, provided the terms offered by the people of that city were satisfactorily guaranteed. These terms were : A clear title to the State of the ninety-acre tract of land, the building of a sewer from it to the Augustine inlet, an arm of Lake Erie, the extension of an eight- inch water main from the city to the grounds, the extension of the gas main and the electric light lines, the extension of street car lines, and the extension of a side track from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to the grounds. The citizens of Sandusky performed each and every of the acts they had pledged themselves to do. At their expense a main sewer was built six thousand and seventy- five feet in length, extending from the grounds of the Home to an inlet of Lake Erie ; an eight-inch water main was extended, without expense to the State, to the grounds ; the right of way from the main line of the Balti- more and Ohio Railroad was donated by the citizens to the State, and cost $1,650; the railroad company promptly extended a branch road over this right of way, one mile in length, and reaching the boiler-house on the grounds ; at the expense of the county the two highways leading from the city to the site of the Home, have been widened to ninety-nine feet, and substantially rebuilt, and the street railway company are extending their line of track over the same. The Home buildings are now in course of erection. They are of stone with brick partitions. The plan, in substance, calls for a main, or administration building, a general dining-room and kitchen, laundry, chapel, hospital, power- house, and cottage dormitories for about fifty men each. Regarding the capacity and cost of the Home, the trustees report of December, 1887, says: “When the plans already approved have been carried out the Home will accomodate six hundred inmates and the employees, and the cost will be, on the basis of present contracts, about three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. To increase its capacity thereafter for additional inmates will call for about twelve thousand dollars for each fifty inmates, or about ninety-five thousand dollars for four hundred additional inmates, making a total of one thousand, or double that for eight hundred additional inmates, a total of from $500,000 to $540,000 for fourteen hundred inmates. This esti- mate includes cottages for fourteen hundred, the administration building, domestic building, boiler-house, laundry and bath-houses, chapel, hospital, stables, workshop, and such other buildings as the board regards necessary to a complete institution.’’ The expense of furnishing the Home is not included in the above, but it is confidently believed the entire cost of buildings and furnishing sufficient for the accommodation of fourteen hundred inmates will cost not to exceed the sum of seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 332 History of Erie County. The work of construction is under the immediate supervision of H. C Lindsay, of Zanesville, as architect, and Charles C. Barnett, of Piqua, as ■clerk of the works. Herman Haerlin, of Cincinnati, is the landscape gar- dener, and Colonel Thomas T. Dill has charge of the improvement of the grounds. T/^e Custom House and Post-office . — The establishment of a custom house at this point was by no means the result of accident, but rather through the earnest efforts of Colonel James Kilbourne. By the act of 1805 Sandusky Bay was declared to be a port of entry, and was included in the district of Miami, but by the act of 1812 was changed to Sandusky. At this time the seat of the district was located at Danbury, on the peninsula, and it was through the influence of Colonel Kilbourne that the seat was, in 1821, moved to Sandusky, then a little struggling town in the factional township of Portland. In this connection it is proper to state that to the labors of Colonel Kil- bourne was due not only the establishment of the port here, but several other prominent acts of great importance at that time. Somewhere about the year 1815 James Kilbourne was in the employ of the Worthington Manufacturing Company, of Worthington, near Cincinnath .This company desired to find a northern outlet for their goods, and sent Kilbourne to survey a route to the lake, or at least to look up the most favorable route for the opening of a road to the lake. This being the point where the waters ex- tended farthest south, he naturally concluded that it would afford the best out- let ; but on reaching the place found no white residents, only Indians. He in- quired for their chief and was directed to the cabin of Ogontz. The latter in- formed Kilbourne in answer to a query, that the land hereabouts was owned by a man in Connecticut. The Colonel then returned to Worthington, and sub- sequently went to Connecticut, where he found the owner, Zalmon Wildman, and found, furthermore, that he and Isaac Mills were engaged in a dispute re- garding the ownership of the lands which they were unable to amicably settle. Kilbourne represented to them the folly of their course, and said if they would come to an agreement, and lay out a town on the site, that he, Kilbourne, would, get a turnpike established from the lake running south to the Ohio River; that he would get, through influence at Washington, the customs port removed to the place, a post-office established, and, as his compensation, would take an in- terest in the town lands. The proposition was agreed to, the dispute was set- tled, the town laid out, Kilbourne making the survey, the turnpike company was formed and the road built, the customs port was changed to this point, and the post-office established here, all just as was promised. Kilbourne eventually got his land but not until a number of years after his part of the agreement had been fulfilled. The post-office was established here in 1820, with Hector Kil- bourne, son of James Kilbourne, as postmaster. From that until the present time the incumbents of the office have been as follows: Hector Kilbourne, The City of Sandusky. 333 Francis D. Parish, Erastus Cooke, D. Caswell, E. Brink, W. B. Smith, D. Powers, J. M. Brown, T. C. McEwen, Ebenezer B. Sadler, A. C. Van Tine, John M. Boalt, Charles M. Keyes, and the present incumbent, George Daniel. In the year 1854 the government purchased a tract of land at the south- west corner of Columbus avenue and Market street, for the sum of eleven thou- sand dollars. On this lot during the years 1856 and 1857 was erected a sub- stantial three- story stone building, costing about $65,000, thenceforth to be used as a custom-house and post-office and revenue office. The building was erected by John Carr, a contracting builder of Sandusky. The custom business at the Port of Sandusky during the last thirty years shows a large excess of exports over imports. An effort was made to have pre- pared from the collector’s books a statement showing the gross amount of both exports and imports annually, since the establishment of a port at that place,, but this information could not be acquired through the local offices. Recourse, therefore, was had to the treasury department at Washington ; but it appears that the accounts of collectors of customs were not rendered to the Washington office by districts prior to 1856, and further, that during the years 1862-63 and 1864 the transactions of the custom district of Sandusky were not separately stated, but were included in “Cuyahoga and Lake Ports of Ohio’' reports. Through the courtesy of the officers in charge of the Bureau of Statistics at Washington, we are enabled to furnish a statement of the gross amount of exports and imports from 1856 to 1887 inclusive, excepting for the years 1862, 1863 and 1864, before mentioned. Statement showing the exports of domestic, and the imports of foreign mer- chandise, from and into the custom district of Sandusky, O., during the years ending June 30, 1856 to 1887 inclusive. Years Ending June 30. Exports. Imports. Years Ending June 30. Exports. Imports. 1856 123,859 .$8,222 1873 $53,209 ^36.753 1857 14,568 19,712 1874 264,914 26,240 1858 3,260 12,475 1875 8C406 17,867 1859 IT 354 87.783 1876 71.132 15.951 i860 1,858 22,174 1877 61.945 14,262 1861 29,391 26,927 1878 39.035 16,01 1 1862, 63 and’64 separately stated. 1879 67,126 19.941 1865 24,023 17,066 1880 17,003 30.689 1866 5.532 .35,007 1881 24.083 32,828 1867 3.252 8,127 1882 56,396 54,999 1868 ... . 12,515 20,771 1883 48,544 50,716 1869 18,666 28,562 1884 126,704 40.375 1870 .... 38.673 25,956 1885 27.818 42.531 1871 .. . 14.933 30,554 1886 129,846 40.834 1872 .. 137. 145 29,655 1887 239,589 53.662 ’ No foreig'n exports. 43 334 History of Erie County. Statement giving names, dates of appointment, and term of office of col- lectors of customs in the customs collection district of Sandusky, O., since its creation by act of March 2, i8ii, §2 (2 stat. p. 657). NAME. Date of Commission. Served from Served to Epaphras W. Bull Peter P. Ferry Moors Farwell YVilliam H. Hunter, Elias H. Haines, April 15, 181 1. April 20, 1816. June 14, 1822. Nov. 5, 1829. July I, 1837. April 19, 1816. June 13, 1822. Nov. 4, 1829. June 30, 1837. April 20, 1846. William Patterson April 3. 1846. April 21, 1846. June 13, 1849. John Youngs, May 24, 1849. June 14, 1849. June 15, 1851. Harlow Case, May 23, 1851. June 16, 1851. Feb’y 28, 1853. James A. Jones, April 4, 1853. April 12, 1853. May 6, 1857. George S. Patterson, April 9, 1857. May 7, 1857. April 23, 1861. John Youngs, March 30, 1861. Api'il 24, 1861. March 3, 1874. John G. Pool, Febr’y 17, 1874. March 4, 1874. June 14, 1882. Clark Rude, John J. Finch June 2, 1882. July 12. 1886. June 15, 1882. July 26, 1886. July 25, 1886. United States Signal Service . — A station under the control and direction of the war department was established at Sandusky in 1877, and placed under charge of Sergeant E. F. McComas. This signal station is of great impor- tance to those engaged in lake traffic, and has proved a benefit to the whole people of the county. Succeeding Sergeant McComas was Charles R. Dow, and subsequent to that officer, W. A. Massey, M. H. Parry and Benjamin F. Hough have been in charge, the last named being the present incumbent. The station is under orders of discontinuance on account of a lack of funds at the command of the department officers. EDUCATION AND TFIE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF SANDUSKY. Among the first cities in the State to take advantage of the laws favoring common school education, Sandusky has endeavored uniformly to keep pace with the progressive spirit of the age. Any failure which may have occurred can be safely credited to errors in judgment rather than lack of a hearty ap- preciation of the advantages to be gained by general culture and enlighten- ment. To deny that such errors have occurred from time to time would be to assume that the citizens are more than mortal. To state that any school sys- tem is not necessarily imperfect would be worse than pedantic, and to discuss school methods at any considerable length is not the province of the historian, hence we will at once take up the subject of our chapter. An old manuscript dated May 29, 1829, and in the hand writing of Judge Parish, declares that the trustees of Portland township, in the county of Huron, do certify that they have divided said township into two school districts as follows, to wit: All that part of the township lying east of the center of Columbus avenue, and a line * Cannot give dates of commissions of these officers. The City of Sandusky. 335 running in the same direction therefrom to the south line of the township to constitute school district number one, and all that part lying west of said avenue and line to constitute school district number two. An annexed list of house holders shows that there are forty - nine in num- ber one, and forty eight in number two. Very few, if any, of the men whose names appear on the list, are among the living to-day, but their descendants’ names may be found among those who have been honored by the nation, as highly as the true Ohio man could wish. We are told by local historians that Miss Sallie Stimpson started a school in a log cabin on lot one. Water street, in i8i8, but another writer states that the Steamboat Hotel, now called New Lake House, was built in 1817 on the same ground. The foregoing statements may be harmonized perhaps by assuming that the lots in those days were large in proportion to the scarcity of people. Though there were numerous private schools existing from time to time previous to 1838 it seems most proper to date the direct beginning of the present public schools September 10 of that year, when Lucas S. Beecher, S. B Caldwell and M. Farwell were appointed local school directors by John F. Campbell, superintendent of common schools. These gentlemen, on the day of their appointment, met the Portland township board, and arranged for the anexation of the township to the city district for school purposes. For some reason not explained in the records examined by the writer an election was held on the 21st of September, and Oran Follett, Francis D. Par- ish and Samuel B. Caldwell were chosen directors, and in October this new board passed resolutions to the effect that two female teachers be employed, and schools lasting three months from the beginning of November be estab- lished in convenient parts of the town. Mr. O. Ransom, Miss Ann Gustin and Miss E. Hendry were employed that year, the rooms were engaged, and school was kept at an aggregate cost of three hundred and fifty-five dollars ; as to the number of children in attend- ance, their ages, and the branches taught, the records are mute for several suc- ceeding years. In October of the year 1839 entirely new board was elected, J. N. Davidson, William B. Smith and Henry F. Merry. They met Novem- ber g, and resolved to rent three rooms in the Methodist chapel, one room in the Western Liberties, one room in the Presbyterian Church, and two rooms in Grace Church. Noah Merrill, at twenty five dollars a month ; D. Higbie, at thirty dollars per month ; Mary L. Brown, twenty-four; Annie Gustin and Sarah A. Brown, fourteen dollars each, and Martha J. McElwain, at fifteen dollars, constituted the corps of teachers for 1839-40. During the winter months of 1840-1 there was a new male teacher, and five 1 female teachers, at about the same salaries as had been given the year before ; but the year following there were two male teachers again, and the same num- 336 History of Erie County. ber of ladies. Rev. B. H. Hickox was required to ring the church bell in ad- dition to his duties in the school room, and he received for the double service thirty dollars per month. The records do not state whether or not he was to preach an occasional sermon by way of recreation ; but it is fair to assume that he was. In September of this year Earl Bill, Zenas W. Barker and W. W. Weth- erell were elected directors — ^just why the election occurred in that month does not appear ; but schools were run on very peculiar lines at that time, so it is most probable that the date happened to be convenient. The gentlemen did not qualify however, and Superintendent Cochran appointed a board composed of the same membership, excepting Mr. Bill, whose place was filled by F. M. P'ollett. A school report made in 1842 by A. Root is the earliest definite statistical record that the writer has been able to find. It shows that the total enroll- ment amounted to three hundred and seventy-seven pupils, of whom one hun- dred and ninety-three were males and one hundred and eighty-four females. The expenses for rent of school-rooms, and other expenses not enumerated, amounted to the immense sum of one hundred and seventy-four dollars, not including a desk costing four, and a stove costing twelve dollars, which swells the grand total to one hundred and ninety dollars. This school furniture seems to be the first property either personal or real belonging to the public schools of Sandusky. The report also declares that a tax of two mills on the dollar had been levied for public school purposes, and two hundred and forty-twn dollars was the amount of the total assessment, one hundred and seventy-five having been paid in, and the remainder was delinquent; but later in the year the fund was swelled by money from other sources to no less than three hun- dred and ninety-four dollars and nine cents. At this time the best accessible statistics place Sandusky’s population at something over twelve hundred souls. A very short calculation in percentage will also show that the valuation of taxable property w'as $121,000. If the citizens understood the under- valuation scheme of the present day as thor- oughly as they apparently did the delinquent tax matter, the valuation re- corded may be solely multiplied by ten. The branches taught at that 'time were reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geography, and philosoph)c Not a very extensive list of studies, but still something more than the three R’s. The first school buildings owned by the city were built in 1844-45 accordance with plans suggested by a special committee consisting of Messrs. M. Farwell, A. M. Porter, and Z. W. Barker, appointed at a convention of the voters of the school district called for the purpose. Elentheros Cooke was a prominent mover in the enterprise as he was in other matters of public interest. The committee recommended the erection of three buildings, one in the West Liberties, and one each near the east and west markets respectively ; also The City of Sandusky. 337 .a high school building on the public square ; the plan of the last named build- ing to be such as should be creditable and ornamental to the town. In 1844-45 there were four men and three ladies employed as teachers, Mr. H. Goodwin, since so prominent in the legal profession, was among the former. In this year we find Latin added to the course laid down in 1842. The ex- penses for tuition amounted to five hundred and nineteen dollars and twenty- four cents, and six thousand fifty dollars was the cost of the four school-houses completed. In 1845-46 we find the force of teachers increased to nine. Mr. A. C. Heustes as principal of the high school, and E. Merry, jr., since prominent in Erie county official work, as a teacher in one of the outer districts, having been added to the corps. The attendance was three hundred and seventy-one, a trifle lower than that of 1842. French, chemistry, and physiology had been added to the course. The tuition expenses had been increased to eight hundred and eight dollars and sixty- one cents. A “ Programme for the exhibition of the students of the Sandusky City high school, Friday evening, February 6, 1846,” contains no less than forty numbers, original and selected, embracing orations, colloquies, recitations, songs, compositions, beginning with prayer and closing with a benediction. This paper is of peculiar interest as illustrating the ideas of the time on commencement exercises, and because of the fact that it contains the names of many citizens since quite prominent in public affairs. In their order on the paper they are : T. H. Goodman, H. Annis, Elizabeth Thompson, Sarah P. Corbett, Adelaide Van Vleet, E. A. Williams, Thomas Laden, Mary C. New- ton, Caroline Dibble, Julia F. Farwell, Catherine Earl, Elizabeth and Francis Roosevelt, Jane Davidson, James Currie, F. E. Parish, John T. Beecher, Sarah A. Moore, Sebastian Graff, Louisa Sloane, Sarah L. Gregg, Lucretia Gregg, Levancia Monroe, Annette Tilden, Cynthia Davidson, Leverett Hall, James E. Darling, M. Y. Graff, Mary S. Strong, Minerva E. Wells, Cordelia A. Hitch- cock, A. R. Bodley, Miranda Brooks, Jemima Johnson, E. G. Ross, R. R. Sloane, G. A. Cooke. Several names appear twice. In September of this school year was held the first teachers’ institute in Ohio, for the benefit of all grades of teachers. Hon. E. Lane, Rev. L. Hull, C. B. Squires, and others, were proniinently connected with the work of securing lecturers and creating an interest in the then new undertaking for the advancement of educational interests. Wise as they were in projecting this effort, how little could they have realized its true import to the schools of Ohio. There were ninety-seven teachers in attendance, and the work of instruc- tion was performed by Hon. S. Town, of New York, Hon. E. Lane, M. F. Cowdery, A. D. Lord, C. B Squii'es, and Lyman Pi'eston. The meetings con- 338 History of Erie County. tinued one week, being ably conducted, and very satisfactory to all interested in the cause of education. Mr. Cowdery afterwards became superintendent at Sandusky, holding the position for many years with honor to himself and last- ing benefits to the schools. In 1846-47 the enrollment of pupils reached four hundred and ninety. Algebra and astronomy were added to the course of study in the high school. This brings the history of our schools up to their first grading under the original of the present school law, and it is perhaps necessary to explain that, while the general public had for a period of nineteen years enjoyed such schools (during a limited portion of the year) as the most advanced citizens of the State at that time deemed proper at public expense, still the era that followed was a great stride in advance of the general sentiment in regard to such matters, In November, 1848, F. M. Follett, H. F. Merry, and C. Leonard — the school board — elected F. M. Cowdery as superintendent of instruction with power to classify the pupils in such a degree as the buildings and circumstances in general would permit. On the first Monday in December of that year the pupils were assembled and classified as primary, secondary, grammar, and high school students. During the first week of school four primary classes were established with an aggregate membership of two hundred and sixty, three secondary, with one hundred and eighty, two grammar schools with one hundred and sixty pupils, and a high school numbering about sixty ; six hundred and sixty in all. It is- not to be inferred that this grading was entirely satisfactory to those who had brought it about, but it was an evident improvement on the old method or lack | of method which had existed in the fullest sense of the word for a number of ! years. j Under the new order of things Mr. Cowdery acted as superintendent and J principal of the high school, Mrs. Cowdery and Miss L. A. McElwain as assist- l ants. Mr. W. H. Nye with Misses A. Osborne, E. Barker and Helen Barker i took charge of the grammar schools. Misses E. Lewis, H. M. Hoyt and E. " Moore took the secondaries, and Misses L. Barney, M. Barrett, A. Smith and | Fannie B. Stone were appointed to the primary schools. Nearly thirty years |j later Mr. Cowdery in preparing a paper for the Centennial of U. S. Independ- ! ence speaks with enthusiasm of the spirit and ability manifested by these teach- j| ers, and the members of the board who helped to bring the change about. He j omits to mention what the writer may add that M. F. Cowdery is entitled to a full measure of the honor due those who thus early saw something of the future possibilities of our great graded school system, and was willing to labor for its j' advancement, even against a general public sentiment of distrust or apathy, or j worse at times, active opposition. As soon as the school law of eighteen forty- nine was received at Sandusky after its passage in February of that year, it was resolved unanimously by public The City of Sandusky. 339 election to adopt the new law for the control of the city schools. F. T. Barney, E. Bill and D. Souter, were added to the membership of the board elected the fall before. Many difficulties were experienced by these pioneer graded school workers that have been lessened somewhat by time, experience and observa- tion. They had no neighboring school systems organized, and going forward as those of the present day are doing. They had comparatively few educational works and papers, few meetings of experienced educators, and in fact they had more disadvantages than it would be profitable to undertake enumerating, let alone discussing at length. A feature of this new system was an unclassified school which, as its name implies, was made up of pupils of vastly different dispositions, qualifications, ages and surroundings, who for various reasons could not be easily distributed among the various classes of the regular grades. This school was kept up with satisfactory results for over twenty years. The average attendance at this school was eighty pupils, two-thirds boys. Miss M. Kelley, Miss Julia A. Hitchcock and Mrs. F. Hull had charge at differ- ent times. Pupils were promoted at all times during the year to any grade in the city that they were prepared for, and this practice, doubtless, aided these excellent lady principals in disciplining their, at times, somewhat irrepressible classes. The first plan under which the schools were graded contemplated teaching in the primary grade the simplest elements of language, numbers, geography and vocal music, with object lessons adapted in kind and extent to the capacity of children from six to eight years of age. The qualifications for promotion from this grade were fluency in reading in the Second Reader, familiarity with half the multiplication table, ability to name from the maps all the countries and large bodies of water in North America, and one term of practice in out- line drawing. Cleanliness and morality were always encouraged, and Bible reading as an opening exercise was quite generally practiced for some years in all the schools. Mr. Cowdery mentions with particular commendation the suc- cess Mrs. Mary N. Clarke, who is still in the schools, and after a service of thirty-eight year's, doing excellent work for the little ones. Mrs. M. C. Dewey, now principal of the fourth ward building, and for twenty-six years a faithful teacher, is also commended. Kind mention is also made by him in his centen- nial article of Mrs. F. Hull and Miss Fannie McFall. The primary grade occupied two years, fi'om six to eight; the secondary schools were expected to give fluency in reading the Thii'd Reader, ability to construct maps of the United States and other countries, to answer mental questions in text-books of arithmetic, to parse and analyze, etc., vocal music, and essay writing also received attention in this grade. The pupils were kept here nominally two years but in practice, nearer two and a half Among the teachers who deserve honorable mention Mr. Cowdery names in this grade Miss 340 History of Erie County. Mary Comstock, Misses Fannie Harris, Annie Aplin, Hattie Fisher and Sarah Clarke; the latter is still at work in the grade. Prior to i860 he mentions Misses E. Moore, E. Lewis, F. B. Stone, M. Loomis, C. M. Walker, S. L. Sprague, E. M. Jackson, E. D. Bartlett and E. S. Booth. The grammar schools comprised a four years course in the work already be- gun in the other two grades, and fitted the classes to enter the high school. Messrs. W. H. Nye, L. E. Walker, G. C. Woollard, J. Chandler, M. H. Lewis and W. H. Rayl, and Misses Helen Follett, F. B. Stone, L. A. McElwain, E. W. Jackson, L. Perry, E. Hutchinson, E. Moore and S. J. Moore (the latter still in the work) were very successful as principals in the grammar schools between the years 1850 and 1887. The high school was established in 1845, by 1847 Latin, French, physiology, chemistry, astronomy and algebra had been added to the course. The high school was then an experiment, but to use the lan- guage of a recent educator, it is at this time no longer an experiment, but a mansard roof on the public school system. In 1848 it was decided that the English branches (whatever they may be), should alone be taught, and this ac- tion excluded French and Latin from the schools up to i860, when on petition of R. B. Hubbard and others Latin and Greek were introduced. A sort of compromise was effected that gives pupils a chance to graduate in an English course in three years, or to take a full course in four years, thus making the complete school course, as at the present time, cover twelve years. Mr. S. S. Colton, principal of the high school from 1852 to 1867, with his assistant. Miss A. A. Breck and others, is credited with establishing the high school on a permanent basis by means of the popularity secured through con- ducting it so successfully. The present high school building was erected at the close of his administration at a cost of $92,033.88. Volumes I and II of the Gleaner, a monthly magazine edited under the aus- pices of the high school and superintendent, lies before us as we write. Con- siderable matter contained therein is worthy of special mention, if not of repro- duction, did our space permit, but we must be content for the present with a limited notice of its general characteristics. Mr. Cowdery is nominal editor, but for some time this work seems to have devolved upon the brighter members of the high school class. About this time contributions of books and curiosities were commenced for the benefit of the schools, and the June number of 1850 contains a list of such contributions as do other numbers later in the year. Misses Martha Hastings ' and Henrietta T. Day are the editors of this number, which is the first one print- ed, and e.stablishes the following terms: Single copies five months, fifteen cents; ! three copies, forty cents ; five copies, sixty-two and one-half cents (not stating who shall make the change); ten copies, $1.10; twenty copies, $2.00 — cash al-’’' ways in advance. The editors began this publication with over three hundred 11 paid subscriptions, and the money thus received was deposited in the bank sub- The City of Sandusky. 341 ject to the draft of the publishers as they complied with the terms of the con- tract made with the editor-in-chief The paper was to be stopped promptly as the advance money of individual subscribers ran out ; but its editors hoped to continue the publication on and on into the inscrutable future as they said, mak- ing it a record of the knowledge, the improvements and virtues of the young minds arounds us. While happy to exchange with all school papers, they were determined to pay and receive the difference between their publication rates and those of their exchanges. In short, they enjoyed a happy state of abso- lute independence seldom attained by newspaper publishers in this part of the world. An inquirer discusses the question on an inside page “ Do worms fall from the clouds?” leaning strongly to the opinion that they do not, and criticising some contemporary who has evidently maintained the opposite opinion in a number published while the paper was published in manuscript form. Another item informs certain lads in our town that it isn’t polite, when in- vited to a party, to drink lemonade enough to run a saw-mill three months in the year, and eat cake and candy enough to stock two confectionery shops. This number also contains a poem by Leonora, on the burning of the steamer Griffith on Lake Erie, with three hundred souls on board. Number two, pub- lished in October, 1850, takes up the subject of punctuality in the schools, and discloses what at the present time would be regarded as next door to anarchy by our teachers and the patrons of the public schools. Seventy-one excep- tions are noted in the High School in four weeks. The First Grammar School Las 293 cases, the Second 193, West Market 66, West Liberties 156, West Prairie 44, East Prairie 85, total 908. The total enrollment at this time was less than 800, so the little ones must have been absent or tardy more than ■once around, or some of them were kept pretty busy to bring the delinquency up to these imposing proportions. ■ ■, Later issues of this paper contain letters and statistics from Milan, Norwalk r| and other towns. A correspondent from Norwalk glories in the fact that they Vi have (1851) a four-room school building located on what is to be the principal ti, street when a certain railroad is completed. Mechanic street it is called, and )| the information is also furnished that Prof De Wolf, since school commissioner, I* was principal at that time in Norwalk. L Their High School course was much like Sandusky’s, but our correspon- dent informs us that in the secondary school they study young studies, such as mental arithmetic, geography, reading, writing and spelling, while the pri- mary scholars he says study “ Infant studies, such as the A B C’s, Ab’s, etc.” 4 ; The correspondent is evidently a pupil, as he goes over the rules of the school with the remark that they are all “ I can think of, or at least, all I care to re- til' member.” Among those enumerated are no whispering, and pupils must fold their hands during opening prayers. ' 44 342 History of Erie County. A correspondent writing from St. Louis tells of his trip there via Chicago; from the latter city they went by canal boat to La Salle, and he tells how on the way their toiv boat passed a steam canal boat going in the same direction at its best speed, all enjoying the exciting race. Lrom La Salle they took the steamer Prairie Bird, which he says flew over the water, giving them scarcely time to behold the beautiful scenery as they passed. Volume I, No. i, of this interesting and valuable little paper is edited by Misses Martha Hastings and Henrietta T. Day; No. 2, by Messrs. Wm. Tilden and Isaac Mills ; No. 3, by Misses Mariette Larwell and Emma L. Coan ; No. 4, by Messrs. D. Lampman and L. W. Alvord; No. 5, by Misses Lrances Jennings and Sarah Root. Volume II, No. i, is the work of Super- intendent Cowdery and contributors, as are the other numbers of this volume; most of them contain communications from the schools of surrounding towns. Number 2 contains an announcement of the Huron and Erie County Teachers’ Association to be held at Milan on the first Saturday in June, 1851 ; all inter- ested in education are invited, and it intimated that teachers who care for professional standing had better attend, also that the number attending will determine whether they meet at Milan again. Mr. Cowdery was about this time connected with the editorial staff of the Ohio Journal of Education. A report in this paper for 1852, places the city fifth in population and sixth in school enrollment ; Cincinnati, Cleveland, Co- lumbus and Dayton being larger, and Lancaster, though but one-third as large^ having a greater number of pupils enrolled, — probably outsiders mostly. Sandusky’s population at that time was 10,000, and her schools enrolled 1,01 1 pupils. The library was valued at $625. Three male and nineteen fe- male teachers were employed, the former at an average salary of $700, and the latter $180. The school tax was four mills, which taking into account the purchasing power of money was nearly double that of the present time. By an article furnished this journal in 1854, we find that in the primary schools of the city ten minutes were given to religious exercises, ten to moral lessons and ten to physical exercises each morning. Professor U. T. Curran, a man of energy, professional spirit and marked ability, in 1872 succeeded Mr. C. R. Dean, who had followed Mr. Cowdery in 1871. His administration of eight years was marked by numerous improve- ments in the previous excellent management of the schools. The fourth ward building was erected in 1872, costing about $15,000. Drawing and music were embodied in the course during the same year. In 1873 the schools were regraded on substantially the same basis as the present. In 1874 the present board room in the high school building was fitted up ; the fifth (now sixth) ward building was erected at a cost of $22,778. A training school for young teachers was also established. Mr. Curran left the schools in 1880 for the more lucrative legal profession, and his withdrawal from school work has been, and is, regretted by many friends both in and out of the profession. The City of Sandusky. 343 In the fall of 1880 Dr. Alston Ellis was elected superintendent of schools, and held the position until 1887, when he resigned to accept a position in Hamilton, O., where he had served for eight years previous to his election in Sandusky. Like Messrs. Cowdery and Curran, he was an active educational worker outside the school room, and on his retirement was presented with a me- mento in the shape of a valuable pin, by the Erie County Teachers’ Association, of which he was an ever active and brilliant member. In 1887-8 he was ap- pointed a State school examiner, elected president of the Ohio State Teachers’ Association, tendered degrees by an Ohio college, and received many other tokens of the high esteem in which he is held by Ohio educators. During his administration at Sandusky many improvements were made in the school sys- tem ; a remarkably fine discipline was maintained, the cases of absence and tardiness were reduced to a minimum, and the Campbell school building was erected in 1885-6 at a cost of about $30,000. Notwithstanding the fact that this building cost but one-third as much, many consider it much finer in archi- tectural beauty and finish than the high school. The Campbell street building, like the sixth ward building, was erected by Sandusky builders : V. Kerber built the latter, and Adam Feick & Brother, the former. Dr. H. A. Balcam, of New York, but more recently superintendent of the Fostoria College, succeeded Dr. Ellis in the schools, and is conducting them at the present time on nearly the same general plan, but there are indications of changes in some directions at least. Dr. Balcam is a man of wide experience in school work, and his efforts will be supplemented by his cultured wife, who is a lady of rare elocutionary abilities. Wm. H. Rayl, for over twenty years principal of the grammar schools, re- signed at the same time with Dr. Ellis. His place was filled by Miss M. J. Healy, for many years a successful teacher in our city. The present public schools employ sixty-two teachers, of whom five are specially employed to teach German, for which purpose a room has been as- signed in each of the five large buildings. The principals are: High school. Miss Emma Paddock ; A, grammar. Miss M. J. Healy; fourth ward, Mrs. M. C. Dewey; fifth (sixth) ward, Mr. A. A. Bartow; eighth (Campbell street). Miss E. A. Cassidy; first (tenth) ward, Miss M. E. Ferguson; Washington, Mrs. Mary N. Clarke; East Market, Miss C. Polley ; West Market, Miss Fannie Loomis; Huron Park, Mrs. M. E. Fors- ter. There are nine buildings in the city, the A grammar and high schools both being in the Central building. The present complete school system embraces twelve D primaries, enrolling 563 pupils; eleven C primaries en- rolling 443 ; eight B primaries with 419 ; seven A primaries with 320. There are six D grammar classes with 310 pupils; four C grammars with 203 ; three B grammars with 145 ; two A grammars with 100, and 344 History of Erie County. four high school grades with 145 pupils enrolled. The complete school course covers twelve years, beginning with the D primary and taking the course followed above in enumerating the grades. The complete course in- cludes instruction in reading, spelling, writing, drawing, geography, grammar, arithmetic, physiology, German, Latin, rhetoric, English and American litera- ture, natural philosophy, science of government, botany. United States and general history, algebra, geometry, astronomy and composition. Of course with the present efficient corps of teachers, there is much intel- lectual and moral culture secured to the pupils in all parts of the course. The graduates are quite generally well prepared to enter on the active duties of life or complete their studies in higher educational institutions. Platt R. Spencer was in 1856 connected with our schools as teacher of penmanship ; he was succeeded by Mr. J. Hornbeck, and he by L. S. Thomp- son. From time to time other special teachers of music, drawing, etc., have been employed, but at present the only special teachers are those of German. They are Mr. Charles VVommelsdorf, and Misses Herckener, Kate Seitz, Marie C. Weier, and Sophie Kiefer. There was at one time a separate school for colored pupils in the city,, under the control of three directors of their own race, but it was done away with during Mr. Cowdery’s administration. Sandusky City Business College . — Among the educational institutions of the city, the Sandusky City Business College, organized in 1887 by R. L. Meredith and R. B. Harris, is worthy of special notice. Though a compara- tively new enterprise, it has an enrollment of nearly a hundred. As its name implies, pupils are thoroughly fitted for business. A teacher’s training depart- ment is also conducted in connection with this institution of learning. This department has been eminently successful thus far, and the reputation of its managers is a guarantee of future prosperity. PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS. The city receives State funds for all the children of school age, and collects taxes from all citizens alike. It is a fact that nearly one-third of these pupils however, receive their education from private schools supported by the Cath- olic churches. If other congregations should take the same course, what a reduction in taxes would be necessary to keep down the surplus. SCHOOLS OF ST. MARY’S CONGREGATION (GERMAN). Since the year 1855 this congregation has supported a parochial school. With the increase of population it became necessary to erect buildings, and in 1863, under the pastorate of Rev. N. Moes, a stone building with four spacious rooms, was built on the lot at the corner of Decatur and Jefferson streets, fronting on the latter street. In 1887 a similar structure was erected at a cost The City of Sandusky. 345 of $6,000, all paid by the congregation. This building fronts on Decatur street, and is quite tastily designed. During the past ten years the attendance at these schools has ranged from five hundred and seventy-five to six hundred and fifty pupils. The highest class of boys is taught by Joseph Gerhardstein. The remaining pupils are taught by seven “ Ladies of the Sacred Heart” from Cleveland, and one lay teacher. The children from six to fourteen learn besides their religious instruction in the catechism and Bible history, English and German reading, writing and composition, United States history, geography, arithmetic, and music. At the option of the parents they are taught bookkeeping, algebra, and geometry, and the girls needlework. All these schools are under the immediate direc- tion of Rev. Moes. the pastor, the general direction of a board of school direc- tors for the whole diocese of Cleveland, and a special board of examiners for various districts. Rev. N. Moes, of St. Mary’s church, is president of the board for the district in which Sandusky belongs. These schools put a yearly burden of $3,000 on the congregation which supports them. They rank high among Sandusky educational institutions. SAINTS PETER AND PAUL’S CHURCH SCHOOLS, Under the charge of Rev. Father Sidley, owns a large lot on the corner of Jackson and Jefferson streets, where are located a three-room brick building, costing about $2,000, and a stone building worth in the neighborhood of $4,000. The former is for girls, and has an attendance of about 200 ; the lat- ter for boys, and has not far from 125 in attendance on the average. These schools are under the superintendency of Rev. Sidley, and are conducted by the “ Ladies of the Sacred Heart,” by whom the girls are taught. The boys are instructed by lay teachers. The schools are kept open during ten months of the year. The age of pupils range from seven to thirteen years. Semi-annual promotions are made. These schools were established in 1856, and have been conducted since that time by the ladies of the order men- tioned above, with marked success, graduating many bright scholars. Miss H. Fitzgerald has acted as principal for twenty-three years past, and is still at her post of duty with excellent prospects for the future. THE HOLY ANGELS CHURCH, LOCATED ON TIFFIN AVENUE, Has a fine, little two-story brick school building on Jefferson street near Tiffin avenue. About one hundred children are in attendance at present, though there are accommodations for nearly twice that number This school is under the supervision of Rev. Father Tracy, the pastor of the church, and is taught by lay teachers Misses McGushen and O’Don- nell. The course of study is similar in this school to that of the grammar de- partment of the public schools. 346 History of Erie County. CHURCHES OF SANDUSKY. Wayne Street Baptist Church, west side of Wayne, between Adams and Washington, Rev. Granger W. Smith, pastor. As early as 1838, Rev. S. B. Webster, of Monroeville, made an unsuccessful effort to gather together all the ^ Baptists living in Sandusky, and organize them into a church of that denomi- nation. After his attempt seven years passed before such an organization was actually made. There is no record, however, that it existed longer than three or four years. It died during the cholera plague of 1848 and 1849. Its only pastor was Rev. R. W. Henderson. Of its members, one is a member of the Baptist Church now in existence, i. e., Mrs. Lewis Benjamin. The Wayne street Baptist Church was organized in 1854, by Rev. L. Ray- mond, and the succeeding pastors , were Rev. J. D. Fulton, D.D., 1855-1859; Rev. William Cormac, 1859—1860; Rev. Edward Jones, 1865-1867 ; Rev. C. H. DeWolf, 1867— 1868; Rev. E. P. Roberts, 1876-1878 ; Rev. James Samis, 1879; Rev. C. W. Palmer, 1879-1881, and Rev. Granger W. Smith, 1881. Two men have served no stated supply, Rev. L. Bailey, 1862, and Rev. C. Havens, 1875. Previous to the present the longest pastorate was that of Dr. Fulton. He was with the church nearly three and one-half years, during which time quite a large number were received into its membership, although but little was added to its permanent strength. The church was organized, and for a short time worshiped in what was known as Campbell’s Hall, on Water street. Early in 1855, however, the church purchased of the Wesleyan Methodists their house of worship, situated upon the northwest corner of the Court-House square. At that time only the basement of the house was finished, but the year following, under the leader- ship of Dr. Fulton, the church finished and furnished the room above. To accomplish this, a debt was incurred, which became so burdensome that in 1862 they exchanged buildings with the German Lutheran, thus coming into possession of their present meeting-house on Wayne street. In 1880 the church decided to enlarge its house of worship, but the city council having raised a question as to the legal rights of its ownership of the land upon which it stands, the matter was necessarily and indefinitely postponed. The final de- cision of the court was not rendered until November, 1887, by which the right | to the property was confirmed and given all that it had claimed. During the history of this church, extending over a period of thirty years, j there have been three hundred and thirty-nine members. Of this number one hundred and eighty-one were received upon profession of faith and baptism. Two of those first baptized are still members of the church, Mrs. John Kel- ham and Mrs. Thomas Browning. The following brethren have served the 1 church as deacons: H. B. Green, J. E. Norcross, A. H. Gale, Thomas Brown- ing, John Kelham, Edward Corbett, A. D. Kinney, J. S. Chandler and Daniel The City of Sandusky. 347 G. Olds. William Marshall served the church as clerk, for more than sixteen years. The present clerk has held the office for ten years. The church has had but two treasurers, A. H. Gale from 1854 to 1867, and Thomas Browning from 1867 to the present time. The following persons have been members of the church for a quarter of a century or more, viz. : Mrs. Louisa Benjamin, Mrs. E. Kelham, Deacon Thomas Browning, Mrs. T. Browning, Mrs. Wm. Mar- shall, A. Williams, Mrs. A. Williams, Mrs. C. Clemens, Harvey Warren, Mrs. Harvey Warren, Mrs. Elizabeth Sulton, Mrs. M. A. Owen, Mrs. Neil Moore, Mrs. F. Francisco, Mrs. J. W. Upp, and Mrs. Helen Stanley. The pastorate of the present pastor. Rev. Granger W. Smith, began Octo- ber I, 1881. Present deacons are: Thomas Browning, J. S. Chandler; D. G. Olds, clerk ; secretary and treasurer of benevolent fund, Charles L. Polley ; treasurer, Thomas Browning ; corresponding secretary, J. S. Chandler ; trus- tees : Thomas Browning, J. S. Chandler, D. G. Olds, William Kelham, C. Ben- jamin. From its first organization this church has taken a very positive position on the questions of slavery and intemperance, and this at a time when it meant more than it now does. In its church covenant is included a total abstinence pledge, and it holds its position firmly on this basis to-day. The church is now healthy and vigorous and hopeful of a successful and bright future. It would not be fitting in this brief history of Sandusky’s first Baptist Church, to omit an allusion’ to one of its former pastors. Dr. Fulton, who has since earned for himself a wide reputation as an avowed opposer of Romanism. After a settlement in other cities, and a charge in Boston and Brooklyn, he has at last abandoned the pulpit to give himself entirely to the work of oppos- ing this evil that menaces American institutions. Zio 7 i Baptist Church {colored^, west side of Decatur, between Washington and Adams. In the year 1856 Elder Norman Campbell organized this church with only seven members, viz., William Hamilton, E. P. Reynolds, J. Reynolds, Mrs. M. French, Mrs. Harper, Mrs. Susan Jones, Mrs. Hamilton. Trustees, E. P. Reynolds, J. Reynolds and William Hamilton. Deacons, E. P. Reynolds and William Hamilton. Elder Campbell took charge of the church and remained its pastor for three years. During that time the church increased in membership, and in March the following year a revival was held that resulted in the accession of thirty nev/ members. Among the number was Nathaniel Jones. In the spring of 1857 a building was purchased and partially paid for through the agency of Elder Campbell, who was appointed to collect funds for that purpose. In the fall of 1859 he left and was succeeded by Elder H. H. Hamilton, who became pastor and labored here during 1859. In that year the society was incorporated, and the following persons chosen trustees: Nathaniel Jones, Laurence Johnson and E. P. Reynolds. 348 History of Erie County. During the year i860 the members made a great effort to pay off the debt still remaining on the lot, but notwithstanding all their exertions they did not succeed, and Nathaniel Jones met the difficulty by mortgaging his own house and lot, for means to pay the debt. About this time William Hamilton, one of the principal deacons died, praying that the debt might be removed. There was no regular pastor at that time, but in the autumn of 1861 Elder Dardes took charge of the church as pastor but failed to add to the church financial or spiritual power. In 1862 they called Elder Bowser to be pastor. In 1863 there was a divi- sion the church caused by E P. Reynolds, and as it could not be satisfactorily adjusted by the church itself, it was referred to the association, and it recom- mended that two sister churches be called in to settle the matter. Churches •of Columbus and Urbana were selected, and the matter settled by a committee of three — Elder Poindexter and Mr. John Cooper of Columbus, and Brother Chaffee of Urbana. Soon after this E. P. Reynolds left the city taking with him the church books and papers. Elder Bowser continued to serve as pastor a year, and then for two or three years the pulpit was supplied by different min- isters until about 1865, when James Shoecroft was called to be the pastor, and filled that office for two years, during which time twenty- five members were added to the church. He was succeeded by D. B. Huston, who remained in charge for four years. Elder McViney succeeded him and remained two years. During his pastorate the church was greatly blessed in a large accession of mem- bers, twenty-two being added in the two years. L. Burley followed him and remained one year, and he was succeeded by Elder P. Williams, who filled the pulpit for six months, when it was again occupied by Mr. Viney for six months. This was about one year ago and during the interregnum there has been no settled pastor. Brother W. Shelton from Cincinnati has supplied the pulpit as missionary for about five months. The present membership of the church is forty-nine. Present trustees are Harrison Bartlett, Harrison Washington and Nathaniel Jones. Deacons, Harrison Washington, Nathaniel Jones, Moses Washington, Moses Thompson. Church of the Holy Angels, corner of Jefferson street and Tiffin avenue, Rev. John Tracy, pastor. Half a century ago, in Northern Ohio there were but few Catholic Churches, and these were widely separated. There are those still living who relate the difficulties they met in trying to attend the first meet- ing called in Sandusky for the purpose of establishing a church. After walk- ing from Bellevue, they reached Sandusky in time to see the people dispers- ing. Rev. P. Machebeuf had taken steps to bring about the desired result, and the meeting was held in a vacant store-room which now forms a part of Mr. Kunzman’s carriage-shop, on Water street. That year the walls were partly built, and during the next year they were completed. But the roof was not put on until the year following, and the un- The City of Sandusky. 349 finished building was at once occupied by the waiting congregation. At this time there was nothing within but bare walls and uncouth plank seats. This was in 1843. It was a bold enterprise for a man to undertake in those 'days, when men had nothing to give toward it but their labor; Father Machebeuf found it no easy thing to carry out his design, and after exhausting all the resources within their reach he was forced to see the work stop and wait for new strength. At this time he was called to leave Sandusky and go to France on business of a private character, and decided to make this an occasion for raising funds to carry on the building he had begun. During his absence. Rev. Father Rappe, then of Toledo, but since bishop of Cleveland, took charge of the congregation in Sandusky. There has been much fault found with these early fathers. It has since been thought by some to have been a lamentable mistake that this church should have been built so far from the center of the city ; but it must be re- membered that the few scattered Catholics of that time were poor, and when Mr. W. H. Mills offered four or five lots for a site for a church on a leading^ avenue, with several acres at a short distance for a cemetery, it was but too gladly accepted. At that time the growth of the town was westward. The Mad River railroad was just opened, with its shops at that end of the town,, and the congregation was desirous of securing land enough for a school and priest’s residence, for which the amount given was more than sufficient. The reverend gentlemen had but few such offers, and the generosity of the donor was the more marked because prejudices at that time were strong and bitter. What was afterward deemed a mistake has been blessed with abundant in- crease, having proved the nucleus from which two large and flourishing con- gregations have been formed, viz. : St. Mary’s, and St. Peter and Paul. When Father Machebeuf returned from his foreign trip, the work was at once resumed and completed. Its consecration followed immediately by Rev. Bishop Purcel. Scarcely had it been finished before it was found too small for its rapidly increasing congregation. It was forty by sixty, with an octagonal niche at the west end of twenty feet. This formed a recess for the altar, but failed to furnish sufficient room for its worshipers. Two wings were added. It was still too small, but the German-speaking portion of the congregation finally withdrew and built a church for themselves. Rev. Father Machebeuf in the meantime continued to provide for the ac- commodation of his ever-increasing flock, and at one time occupied and held services in a large building on Wayne street, now occupied by Mr. C. Cook. This accommodated those who lived in the eastern portion of the town. About the year 1850 Father Machebeuf was called upon to leave for other fields of duty in the far West, and although his congregation were greatly at- 45 350 History of Erie County. tached to him he was called upon to leave the church for which he had so faithfully labored. Success followed him to his new field of labor. He is now known as the first bishop of Denver. He was succeeded by Father Conlan in 1851, who saw that something must be done at once for the welfare of the church of the future in Sandusky. A more central location was looked for, and lots purchased on the corner of Jackson and Jefferson streets, at a cost of $2,000. On one of these it was decided to build a school-house at once, and in 1852 the large brick school-house, now used chiefly for girls, and also as a dwelling for the Sisters was built at a cost of $7,000 by Father Conlan. This resulted in a debt of $10,000, which, in those times, was a heavy burden, but under the faithful work of Rev. Felix M. Boff, who succeeded Father Con- lan, this was greatly reduced and the troubles were tided over. In 1856 Rev. Alexis Caron took charge of Holy Angels and labored zeal- ously for the glory of God and the good of Sandusky, in season and out of sea- son, and seeing the pressing need he resolved to build a chapel himself, which he called St. Mary’s. He walked three-quarters of a mile, through heat and cold, sun and storm, to say mass on Sundays and holy days, and when he left he bequeathed this legacy of work and good deeds to his successor. He also built a school-house for boys on the chapel grounds, at a cost of $1,599. This was built and paid for by penny collections. Rev. Fouis Melon succeeded Father Caron in 1861 and remained for a couple of years, and was followed by Rev. Father Sidley. The demand for more room became more and more pressing, and in 1865 | Father Sidley having secured a suitable location on the corner of Columbus | avenue and Jefferson street commenced the erection of a church there, which [ has since been known as that of St. Peter and Paul. After four years of per- * sistent labor it was completed and the entire congregation of Holy Angels re- |j moved to it. For some years after there was an early service in the church of the Holy Angels, but there was no organization, no revenue, and after a time l| the doors were closed, and all that remained of its former self was the deserted building. 1 There were some business complications, however, which could not be re- | moved or transferred. In order that its obligations to Mr. Mills might be j ■complied with it was evident that the church could not be abandoned, and i therefore in 1875 Rev. P'ather Smythe was appointed pastor and the bounda- J ries of the parish fixed and determined. From this period is dated the history f of the second church of the Holy Angels. By wise and prudent management Father Smythe rallied and united the Tiiembers of his congregation, and succeeded in building a fine two-story brick school house, and also made many" other improvements. He remained twelve years and was succeeded by Rev. Father Tracy, who entered on his duties on the 7th day of August, 1887, and is still pastor of the church of Holy^ Angels. The City of Sandusky. 351 i f, s i H f ■f ) 1 1 i He has decided on renovations and improvements, which will add greatly to the prosperity of the church. There are at present about one hundred and fifty families belonging to the congregation. They are all to be found in the humbler walks of life, but they are willing and anxious to assist their pastor to the extent of their ability, that their church in its new adornments shall stand as a lasting memorial of his faithfulness and earnestness. S/. Mary's Catholic Church, southeast corner Decatur and Jefferson street. St. Mary's Catholic Clmrcli (new), northwest corner Jefferson and Miami ave- nue, Rev. Nicholas Moes pastor. There was a meeting of German Catholics in the Bell House before the church of the Holy Angels was built, and for sev- eral years this organization continued without a building of their own, and wor- shiped in the church of the Holy Angels. In the year 1855 they built a stone church at the corner of Jefferson street and Decatur, also a residence for a pas- tor and a frame school-house, under the pastorate of J. Hamene. In the year 1862 and 1863 a stone school-house with four spacious rooms was built under the pastorate of Rev. Hackspiel and Nicholas Moes, the present pastor of St. Mary’s. In the year 1873 the corner-stone of the new edifice at the corner of Mi- ami avenue and Jefferson street was laid by Right Rev. R. Gilmour. This building was completed and dedicated the 28th of November, 1880. It is an elegant Gothic structure of the style belonging to the fourteenth century, and built of the cut stone out of native quarries. It is one of Sandusky’s great or- naments, and from its conspicuous size and height attracts the eye in every di- rection. It measures one hundred and eighty-four feet long by seventy-eight wide. The steeple is two hundred and twelve feet in height. This church cost with all its contents and surroundings $100,000, and has a membership of seven hundred. families. There are six hundred children in its schools. The entire property is valued at $130,000. St. Peter and St. Paul's, corner Columbus avenue and Jefferson street> Rev. R. A. Sidley, pastor. The history of a church, like that of an individual, is so intimately connected with the past that it is sometimes almost impossible to dissociate them. In writing the history of this church we see its early life, in a measure, interwoven with that of the earlier organization known as the Church of the Holy Angels. We find its very existence was the result of a mistake of years ago, and all it has since been to the city is traceable to this cause. Rev. Father Sidley came to Sandusky April 28, 1863, to take charge of the Church of Holy Angels. He was vigorous, enthusiastic, and in the prime of life. He found a building sadly in need of repairs ; a debt of $3,500 on the property, and a not very attractive house for the pastor to live in. He proceeded to have the church edifice put in order, at a cost of $900, 352 History of Erie County. and bought and paid for an addition to the old grave-yard at a cost of’ $i,o8o. Two years later, in the spring of 1865, he called together the principal members of his church, by the advice of the ordinary of the diocese, Rt. Rev, . ,^. Bishop Rappe, to see what could be done for the better accommodation of his congregation. After due deliberation the meeting resolved that it would not be wise to add to the present church, whose location was not central, but that a lot be purchased on the opposite side of the street from the school, for the erection of a new building. This proved too small, and after great difficulty the two lots on which it now stands were selected and purchased at a cost of $2,400. - In the spring of 1866 the foundation was begun for a new church on the corner of Columbus avenue and Jefferson street. The corner-stone was laid by Rt. Rev. Bishop Rosecrans, and from this time, the 22d of July, until the following Easter the building was pushed rapidly forward to completion. On , the 9th of April, 1871, the congregation took possession of their new edifice. The altar was consecrated by Rt. Rev. Bishop Gilmour on the 25 th of May, 1872, under the invocation of the two great apostles. Saints Peter and Paul. ■ The entire church was consecrated by the same prelate on the 3d of November, 1878. It is a handsome building, one hundred and forty-five feet in length and seventy-one feet in width. The height of the tower is one hundred and -■ thirty-five feet. The material is blue lime-stone ornamented with sandstone. The interior is neat and finished with taste. The ceiling is particularly worthy of mention. It is composed of several large arches, delicately tinted and heavily groined, entirely unsupported by pillars and giving an increasing effect to the altar and windows. The cost of the church was $75,000. It can accommodate 1,200 people very comfortably. Adjoining the church is the pastor’s house, built also of blue stone at a cost of $5,000, in 1871, and increased by an addition the following year for the Sisters’ school-house. This cost $2,000. For five years the entire congregation worshiped in the new church. Then a division of the parish was made, a part of which afterward became the parish of the Holy Angels. Father Sidley also interested himself in the transformation of the little chapel built by Rev. Father Caron, into a hall under the title of “St. Aloysius Young Men’s Catholic Temperance Hall,” and there all temperance meetings are held, as well as other Catholic meetings, and is neatly arranged and pro- vided with a library for the use of members who desire to benefit by it. There is also a reading-room for young men, a school-room for girls, and a sewing- room for ladies’ societies. The City of Sandusky. 353 At the time Father Smythe was appointed to the Holy Angels, the debt on St. Peter and Paul amounted to between $10,000 and $12,000. The schools of the church are well attended and in excellent condition. One fea- ture of this church cannot but strike the most thoughtless reader, and that is, the harmony and unanimity of action between pastor and people. During the years of trial and sacrifice always attending the building of a place of worship, a suggestion from the pastor was always sufficient to bring a response from his people, and the result is a building of which they may well be proud. It is an ornament to the city, and ranks with the best of the diocese in elegance, taste, and convenience. The present amount of property owned by St. Peter and Paul’s Church is $90,000, with an indebtedness of $2,000. Father Sidley is still its faithful pastor, laboring for the welfare of his people. Congregational Church . — The first religious organization in Sandusky was that of the Congregational Church, established on the 28th day of May, 1819. Its members at that time were six in number, viz.: Nathan T. Jennings, Maria Jennings, David McMurray, Elizabeth McMurray, Lydia Watkins, and Anna Silvia. Revs. John Seward and Joseph Treat, missionaries of the Connecticut Missionary Society, conducted the exercises, and from the church record we make an extract of their entry at that time : “And having obtained satisfactory evidence that these individuals were suitable persons to belong to Christ’s visible church, notwithstanding the num- ber was small, still, as there were others who would have been present and offered tliemselves had they not been providentially prevented, it was thought proper to proceed and organize a church.’’ It was not, however, until a year later that any accessions were made to the number, when four more names were added to the original six. During this time nothing is found that shows the presence of any clerg}/man, and for a period of eight years no addition was made to their number. Sandusky grew but slowly. Death and removals reduced the list to two, viz. : Samuel Walker and his wife, Mrs. Sally Ann Walker. Six years passed, and these two souls, with a few others of different denominations, held regular prayer meet- ings and conducted a Sabbath meeting by reading a sermon and devotional exercises. In 1825 Rev. Isaac S. Demund, employed by the United Missionary Society, preached every other Sabbath for six months. The alternate Sab- baths he preached in Milan. The first minister employed by the people to preach the gospel in Sandusky was Rev. William M. Adams, in 1828, under whom several members were added to the church. He remained a part of a year, and from 1830 to 1835 Rev. Henry Cowles, S. J. Bradstreet,. Lorin Robins and Bennet Roberts offi- ciated for different lengths of time. 354 History of Erie County. In 1836 the first pastor was installed, and dismissed in 1838. Since that time the following clergymen have succeeded to the pastorate : Rev. Alvan Nash 1838* U J. A. Hart “ 1838 “ 1845* u Leveritt Hull “ 1845 “ 1847* (( N. W. Fisher • 1 t 1 • t 00 1849* u R. B. Bement “ 1849 “ 1850* u C. J. Pitkin “ 1850 “ 1852* ( ( J. S. Edwards “ 1853 “ * 00 ( ( Alexander Duncanson 00 • 1 1857* (( James Walker 00 Cn 1863* u E. P. Ingersoll “ 1863 “ 1868 < 1 H. N. Burton “ 1868 “ 1876 i ( Josiah Strong “ 1876 “ 1881 ( i E. C. Barnard “ 1881 “ 1883 i ( George H. Peeke ‘‘ 1883 “ the present. From its first origin the church has been strictly Congregational, formed under what is known as the plan of Union. This did not mean that it should, under any circumstances, be under the care of a Presbytery, but made a pro- vision for the appointment of ruling elders, who might be called upon to dis- cipline members. In the year 1835 a charter was obtained providing that “The First Con- gregational Church of Sandusky be a body corporate and politic, with the power to hold property,” etc. During the first fourteen years this organization had no fixed place of wor- ship. Sometimes they worshiped in small school-houses, sometimes in an empty work-shop, and often in private dwellings. Sectarianism in these early times was not strong, and all who loved the Lord met together whenever and wherever occasion offered. In 183s the east end of the court-house (then called the academy) was fitted up for the use of this church and a select school for young ladies, and was used thus for eighteen months. At this time measures were taken to build, and a stone building measuring sixty by forty feet and fronting to the north on the Public Square was begun. It was finished in 1836 and dedicated to the worship of God. The single tower occupied the center of the north end and was furnished with a bell at once. This building was in use nineteen years, when its walls were mostly taken down to the main floor and the material used again in the present building, occupying the same site, but extending to Columbus avenue, on which it fronts. Its length is ninety feet ; width sixty- four feet; height of main tower, with spire, one hundred and sixty feet. The audience-room has a seating capacity of more than five hundred, and this * Those marked by a star are deceased. The City of Sandusky. 355 property is valued at $25,000. The church also owns a parsonage on Wayne street worth $7,500. The present membership of the church is four hundred and two, of which forty-two are on the retired list. This leaves a known membership of three hundred and sixty. One hundred and fifty- one of this number have been added to the church during the present pastorate. Taking into consideration the fact that two churches have gone from her midst, there is ample proof that she has ever been an active, growing organi- zation. In 1835 a part of her membership formed the Episcopal Church, and in 1852 nearly half of her followers again seceded to form the Presbyterian Church. The Congregational Church was widely known in the old slavery days for her strict adherence to the abolition of the evil and her defense of the oppressed. Sandusky was one of the principal stations on the Underground Railroad, and Deacon Parish was known far and wide for his bold and loyal devotion to the cause of freedom. Many a slave was aided to escape from bondage by this good man, who has now gone to his reward. Deacon M. F. Cowdray, recently deceased, was for many years an active deacon of this church. He was one of the foremost educators of the State, and was one of the very first to introduce the system of graded schools into Ohio. Deacon James Marshall, the present senior deacon of this church, has been one of its strongest supporters for the last twenty-five years. The present deacons are James Marshall, Arthur Phinney and G. W. Payne. Trustees — Henry Schumacher, John Poole, Samuel Irvine and H. C. Post. Among the names that are enrolled upon the books of this church as pas- tors, we find two that have since become known to the world through their literary work, viz.; Dr. Walker, whose “Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation” is still in use in many educational institutions, and Dr. Strong, whose work, “ Our Country,” has passed through several editions. A benevolent society was formed by the ladies in the early days of the church’s history, and is still one of its most attractive features. All through the dark days of the Civil War this society devoted its time exclusively to the soldiers, and when that need passed away, the same energy was used in work- ing for the missionaries on our western and southern frontiers and the needy at home. It is still in existence, and meets every Thursday afternoon in the church parlors, where, after the work is laid aside, a supper is enjoyed, and an hour of social intercourse passes the time until the hour for prayer meeting. It would be impossible to estimate the amount of good these ladies have accom- plished, and it is not surprising that they cherish an organization that has ex- isted so long. Grace Protestant Episcopal Church, southwest corner of Wayne and Wash- 356 History of Erie County. ington streets. Rev. Richard Howell, rector. With the chapels belonging thereto, viz : Calvary Protestant Episcopal Church, southwest corner of Eirst and Erie; St. John’s chapel, northeast corner of Monroe and Clinton. Rev. J. Hawthorne, minister in charge ; St. Luke’s chapel, west side of Hayes avenue, between Tyler and Osborne ; chapel at Venice. Among the oldest and most substantial church organizations of Sandusky, this church has a prominent place. It was organized on the 13th day of June, 1835, at a meeting of citi- zens at the house of Oran Eollett, on which occasion Zenas M. Barker was made moderator, and A. Root, secretary of the meeting, and it was there re- solved that the name by which it should be known, should be Grace Church Parish, Sandusky city. The first vestry was composed of Abner Root, senior warden ; Zenas M. Barker, junior warden ; John G. Camp, John N. Sloane, Ogden Mallory, Elen- theros Cooke, T. Neill, John Kinney, James Hollister and Wm. P. Chapman. At the first vestry meeting held June 20, 1835, it was decided to build immediately. The church edifice should be of stone and its dimensions should be seventy-five feet in length by fifty in width. Its situation was wisely chosen — on the corner of Wayne and Washington streets — and its corner stone was laid July 28, 1835, by the Rev. Wm. Shelton, D. D., of Buffalo, N. Y., assisted by the Rev. E. Tommison, of Norwalk. Abner Root was ap- pointed first delegate to the diocesan convention on October 21, 1835. By an act of the Legislature Grace Church Parish was incorporated on January 15, 1836. That same .year, in the month of August, Rev. Albert Bledsoe was elected rector of the parish, and entered upon his duties September i, 1836, the building being erected and enclosed, and the basement ready for occupa- tion. Mr. Bledsoe’s rectorship terminated April 31, 1837. The following names are recorded as the first communicants : Abner Root, Elizabeth Root, Zenas W. Barker, Eliza G. Barker, Quincy Adams, Rhoda Camp, Elizabeth Camp, Elizabeth G. Webber, Ann Boyce, Grace Neil, Christian Morton, Ona Mallory, Fanny Mallory, Fanny Cook, Elizabeth Chapman, Eliza Inman, Ann Wilbur, Eliza P. Hollister. Rev. Thomas H. Inman had charge of the parish about nine months. On the 15th of September, 1838, he resigned, and the parish was without a rector until December i, 1839. During the time from December, 1839, to April, 1840, Rev. E. Punderson supplied the pulpit, when Rev. B. H. Hickox became minister in charge May i. He infused such life and energy into the parish that the vestry elected him rector at the expiration of a year. As this was not approved by Bishop Mcllvaine, Rev. Mr. Hickox resigned October i, 1841. From this time the parish was without a rector until November, 1842, when Rev. Foster Thayer assumed the incumbency, resigning the following Easter. From Easter until Christmas the parish was again vacant. Rev. Edward Lounsbury was elected to fill the vacancy and officiated for the first time on The City of Sandusky. 357 Christmas Eve, this being the first service in the completed edifice. An organ procured the previous summer, was used for the first time, at this service. The consecration of Grace Church took place June 29, 1844, and the ser- vices were conducted by Bishop Mcllvaine^ In the autumn of that year Rev. Mr. Lounsbury was compelled to resign on account of his health. The sixth rector was Rev. L. N. Freeman, who entered upon his duties October, 1844, and remained one year, leaving a record of official work, the largest in the history of the parish. After a vacancy of one year. Rev. S. A. Bronson, D. D., president of Kenyon College, was chosen rector, and entered upon his duties October, 1850. For sixteen years the church enjoyed a period of great success. Dr. Bron- son laid the foundations broad and deep. Transepts and a chancel were added, and two chapels built. One of these was St. Mary’s, Western Liberties, the other St. Ann’s, Camptown. The church was enlarging her borders, and the spirit of her earnest pastor filled the people with enthusiasm. Through pesti- lence and civil war Dr. Bronson remained at his post, a faithful pastor, rec- ommending the Christian religion by a well-rounded life. He imparted his own stability of character to the parish, and it rose to be one of the first in good works for the Master. It became the missionary parish at home and abroad. Dr. Bronson resigned after sixteen years of earnest labor to accept a professorship in Kenyon College, Gambler, October, 1866. Rev. W. Farr, of Philadelphia, was called to be next rector. Building upon Dr. Bronson’s foundation he inaugurated an era of giving. He built a beautiful stone chapel in the Western Liberties under the name of St. John’s ; also a new stone church named Calvary. This latter took the place of St. Ann’s, Camptown. Calvary soon became an independent parish with its own rector. The land ^ for this church was donated by Mr. C. C. Keech, who also gave the land for St. Luke’s, where a temporary edifice was being built. To aid in this home mis- ; sionary work an assistant was elected in the person of Rev. G. R. Sturgess, who ij was succeeded by Rev. C. L. Pindar, and he by Rev. A. B. Nicholas in 1876. ?! Mr. Nicholas also assumed the title of rector of Calvary Church. ■i In 1875 the Hospital of the Good Samaritan was inaugurated and char- tered and the building commenced. In October, 1877, to the unanimous re- 7 gret of his parishioners, Mr. Farr resigned, and assumed charge and rector- 1 ' ship of the Church of the Saviour, in Philadelphia. During the eleven years 1; of Mr. Farr’s rectorship the receipts from all sources reached the large sum of I- nearly $100,000. In October, 1877, Rev. L. S. Osborne, of Xenia, O., was called to the i rectorship and entered upon his duties January 6, 1878. During his adminis- tration the church gave liberally to missions and built a beautiful chapel to take the place of the temporary building at St. Luke’s. At Easter, 1883, Rev. R. N. Avery was added to the clerical force of the parish. At the same time 46 358 History of Erie County. the chapel at Venice placed itself under the care of Grace Church. During the summer of 1882 and 1883, extensive repairs and improvements were made, and the parish was in a flourishing condition. The resignation of Mr. Osborne January 6, 1884, was the cause of univer- sal regret and sorrow to his parishioners and friends, and again the parish was without a rector. Rev. Francis K. Brooke, of Piqua, O., was called to the parish and assumed the rectorship March 23, 1884. Mr. Brooke was an earn- est, faithful worker, a staunch churchman, and deeply respected by all who knew him. He was called to St. Peter’s Church, St. Louis, and entered upon his duties there in the spring of 1886. The eleventh rector. Rev. Richard Lewis Howell, was called to the parish in December, 1886, and assumed the rectorship January i, 1887. In February he was elected rector of Calvary Church, and in April the new chapel in Venice, which had been closed for nearly two years, was opened and regular services held. Rev. Charles Sturges was called to Fernandina, Fla., and resigned Calvary Church in February. He was the much beloved successor of the Rev. A. B. Nicholas, who in his time had won the hearts of the whole community of church people in San- dusky, and had resigned to become general missionary of the diocese. Rev. Mr. Howell received Mr. William J. Hawthorne as a student and candidate for holy orders from Philadelphia, hoping for his ordination in the near future. Rev. William B. Guion, formerly assisting at Grace Church, Cleveland, was called as the assistant at Calvary Church. Mr. Guion remained but a few weeks. The past year has been one of great prosperity. St. John’s, St. Luke’s, Calvary, have all been greatly beautified and improved. The hospital has entered upon a bright era of prosperity. The generosit}' of the people has vastly increased, and already a parish building has been donated to Grace Church. There are rumors of other gifts, and the whole parish seems roused to a sense of its opportunity and responsibility. A debt exceeding $1,200 has been paid, and for the first time in many years, not a penny of indebtedness rests upon any of the five churches in the rector’s care. The Rev. B. M. Dougherty, of Christ Church, Huron, became the assistant in charge of Cal- vary Church, on Sunday, February 12, 1888. Grace Church property, $25,- 000 ; rectory, $6,000 ; Calvary Church and rectory, $6,000 ; St. Luke’s, $4,000; St. John’s, $4,000; hospital, $15,000. Emanuel German Evangelical Protestant Church. — North-east corner of Columbus avenue and Adams street. Rev. John George Enzlin, pastor. Until July, 1844, there was but one German Church in Sandusky. At this time twenty-three individuals mot in the old court-house to consider the practicability of forming a second organization for public worship. Jacob Hertel was chosen secretary, and the organization was formed. At the second meeting the subject of a building was introduced, and a committee of five was appointed to make arrangements for building. This was composed The City of Sandusky. 359 of the following gentlemen: Peter Gilcher, chairman; John Horning, Fred. Reinheimer, Jacob Knerr, John Claussius. In January, 1845, it was decided to build a brick church, thirty-six by forty feet, with a height of fifteen feet. At this time the church had already grown in its membership, until it numbered sixty-two members. Among these was John Shook, who is still living in our midst. In 1852 there were one hundred and seventy-one members, but in the year 1854 a number of the members concluded to withdraw and form a Lutheran Church, and left but one hundred and twenty members in the old church. There was no constitution framed until 1854, but the government was con- gregational. In 1857 the church called as pastor Rev. Moseback, who remained one year. After his departure Dr. Fisher was called on a salary of $300 per annum. He remained pastor of this church until 1867, when he was requested to resign and thereupon proceeded to form a church of his own, for which he built a church (now utied as a dwelling house) and continued in Sandusky many years as its pastor. In the year 1869 Rev. Seipell was called to the pastorate, and remained until 1872. In June, 1872, his successor, Rev. E. Von Schulenburg, became its pastor, and during his pastorate the church was united to the General Synod of North America, under whose care it still continues. After remaining four years Rev. E. Von Schulenburg left, but returned to the city again subsequently, and has since been pastor of the Church of St. Stephens. The present pastor, J. G. Enzlin, has been here since 1876, and the church has gained in strength and power. He raised money to purchase a parsonage, a pretty building on the corner of Jackson and Monroe streets, valued at $2,500, and the church has now sixty voting members, and a complete membership numbering two hundred and forty. He teaches two months every summer, and divddes his labors between Sandusky and Front’s Station, a rural station where he has a membership of forty-five voting members. He preaches in Sandusky every Sabbath morning, and every alternate Sabbath goes to his country church. The new church was built in 1866, and is worth $l 0,000, with a pipe organ that cost them $870. This building is situated on the corner of Adams and Co- lumbus avenue. To be a voting member the church requires not only that one should live a Christian life, but also that a certain amount be given to the church yearly. Where there are short-comings in these respects the members are excluded from the privilege of voting. Salem Church {^Evangelical Association), Rev. Matthew Guhl pastor, Ad- ams street, between Wayne and Columbus avenue. This is the oldest German Church in Saudusky, and has existed since 1840. In its government it is very 36o History of Erie County. similar to the Methodist denomination, and has its presiding elder, its bishop, and its conference. In 1840 it was a mere appointment, belonging to the so-called Sandusky circuit of the Ohio Conference, which at that time contained about thirty-five stations or appointments. The preachers of those early times worked hard, and endured great trials. For twelve years they visited this town every four or six weeks, and kept life in the little enterprise. At this time they held their meet- ings in the old court-house, and their prayer- meetings in private dwellings. The meetings in the court house were well attended, even Catholics came to hear the Gospel because they had no church. In 1840 A. Strob preached here with great power, and several persons were converted to God. Two years be- fore Mrs. Chr. Zollinger and some others had been converted. In 1843 the Ohio Conference located a preacher here permanently, Rev. John Lutz. This man of God did a good work among the Germans of San- dusky. The first building was erected on court-house square, and was a small frame house. It stood but three years, and was then sold and removed. In 1854 the present church was built, near the blue school-house. Rev. L. Scheuerman was then pastor. The first members of this church included some of the most respected Ger- man families, of whom some are still here, others have died, and many moved away. Most prominent among these are the following names: C. W. Zollinger and wife, J. Nicolai and wife, B. Wiegel and wife, John Kaegle and wife, Jacob Schumacker and wife, Mr. Traub and wife, John Walker and wife, John Brost and wife and others. The ministers who have been from time to time stationed here were the following: Rev. John Lutz, J. G. Ziegler Revs. Jos. Haffert, J. Hall, J. Kern, A. Miebel, G. Behner, G. F. Spreng, J. J. Lang, George Kagy, D. Hahn, L. Scheuerman, J. Strohman, J. Hanecker, C. T. Negele, J. D. Seip, J. Trech, K. Tramer, J. P. Schautz, J. Walz, J. Pontius, C. L. Well, and M. Guhl now in charge. The number of members has varied greatly, and when other German Churches were established it had many difficulties to contend with. There are at present one hundred and forty members. A Sunday-school is flourishing of one hundred and thirty scholars, and fifteen officers and teachers. The pres- ent officers of the church are J. G. Ziegler, S. Becker, J. Walker, J. Schumacher, P. Vinnes (trustees). J. G. Ziegler and P. Vinnes (class-leader), S. Becker and P. Fuhr stewards. The growth and success of this church would have been more continuous and greater could the first pastors have remained longer in charge. As a rule they remained but a single year, and as soon as they were acquainted with their people, were sent to other appointments. This kept the church from growing as it should have done. The present pastor has done a good work here, and is now on the third year of his pastorate. The City of Sandusky. 361 Gemtan Reformed Church, corner Hancock and Jefferson streets, Rev. Michael Treiber, pastor. Historically, this church is descended from the Swiss churches established in the sixteenth century, through the instrumentality of the reformer Zwingli. After the death of Zwingli the head of the church was assumed by John Calvin himself, who resided in Geneva. They are strictly orthodox in belief and have their churches in every town and city of our new world. The German Reformed Church of Sandusky was formed in 1852, by a number of seceders from the German Evangelist Protestant Emanuel Church, under the leadership of Rev. Peter Bricker, to supply a want long felt for an orthodox German Church. They are placed under the supervision of the High Dutch Reformed Synod of Ohio and the adjoining States. Their house of worship is on the corner of Hancock and Jefferson streets, and their church membership now numbers about two hundred. The value of their property is $6,000. Their present pastor is Rev. Michael Treiber. St. Stephen' s German Eva?igelical Protestant CJuirch, corner of Laurence and Jefferson streets. Rev. Ernst Von Schulenberg, pastor. In the year 18 Dr. Von Schulenberg organized this church, and with a few families from the Emanuel Church, and several others, took steps toward a permanent organiza- tion. The necessity for a building forced them at once to make arrangements for its beginning, and Dr. Von Schulenberg succeeded in seeing one erected at a cost of $3,500, of which all but three hundred is now paid. This church has a membership of fifty-five families, ten of these having been added since its organization. This church was dedicated in May, 1882, and at the present time the Sunday-school numbers one hundred and fifty scholars and fifteen teachers. In addition to the work of the parish, and the service of the church. Dr. Von Schulenberg carries on a large medical practice and accomplishes a large amount of literary work. He has been a large giver to the church, and, as in the course of years some of his best families have been removed by death or change of residence, the burden is not light. One of his principal families, Mr. Fruechticht, returned to Hungary, and at present there are none to rise up and take the vacant places, but the work goes on, and the doctor labors earnestly for his church. FrieJids. — Friends chapel is on the south side of Second street between Sycamore Line and Erie street. William Nicholson, minister. This so- ciety was organized in February, 1881. The house now occupied by them was built and formerly occupied by the Episcopalians, until their pres- ent house of worship was built on First street. At that time they sold their old church to the city School Board, to be used for school purposes, until the tenth ward school-house was built. The building then was left unoccupied, and in February, 1880, Rev. J. Strong, of the Congregational 362 History of Erie County. church, assisted by J. J. Howell and others, rented the house from the Board of Education and gathered in fifty children that had hitherto been attending no Sabbath-school, and proceeded to organize a Sabbath-school, and elected D. C. Walker superintendent, and J. J. Howell secretary and treasurer. Under their management the interest and attendance in- creased until it was concluded that the cottage-prayer meetings, that had been held throughout the winter in private houses, should be moved to the church; and through the interest of the people, and by their request, William Allen, a minister of the Society of Friends, from Indiana, with Charles Sweet, came and held revival meetings, at which there were several conversions. Thirteen or more requested to become members of the Friends Church, and thus Milan Monthly Meeting (at that time composed of the two meetings of Milan and Berlin), by the requests of these converts became interested, and the house was bought by the Friends. The church was organized in i88i, with J. J. Howell and Mary Jackson as elders. About this time Lida G. Romack, a noted lady minister and revivalist, of Alum Creek, held a series of meetings in which the whole community became interested ; so much so that the house could not hold the people, and an eager throng pressed around the doors and windows, even to the blocking of the street. More converts were thus brought in, and William Allen brought his membership as a minister from Indiana, and he and Charles Sweet preached for some time, until William was called to another field, and then the work rested on Charles Sweet for some months. Then G. J. Bartlett took charge of the work, with the other two appointments, until he was succeeded by William Nicholson, the present pastor. He was sent from East Richland by the Yearly Meeting’s Pastoral Committee, in September, to Mi- lan Monthly Meeting, and took this work in connection until one year ago, when it was decided to divide the work and give William Nicholson the work in Sandusky alone. At the time when he came to the city he found a mem- bership of about thirty. Since that time there have been thirty-five by re- quest, and five by letter, and the interest of the church is on the increase. The Society of Friends have a yearly conference, and a quarterly meeting or conference. This church belongs to the Alum Creek Conference and the Ohio Yearly Meeting. Wherever the Friends are found there is a monument to their founder, George Fox, who in 1657 organized the first society of this denomination, and lived to see 80,000 converted under him. The church in Sandusky is united and prosperous, and promises well for the future growth of its body, under its present earnest minister. German Lutheran Church . — Corner of Washington and Jackson streets. Rev. Jacob Dornbirer, pastor. In June, 1852, a meeting was called with the intention of forming a church, and Rev. Schladtermundt was appointed to draft the constitution. The City of Sandusky. 363 January 18, 1853, this organization joined the Lutheran Synod, of Ohio, and the same day proceeded to elect trustees and Sunday- school officers. The first trustees were : Bernhardt Meier, George Hartman, George Lanz. The first minister was Rev. Schladtermundt. Rev. Kline succeeded him August 6, 1853, and Rev. Seidel followed him March, 1855. Then came George Lehr in 1856, who remained twenty-two years and died February 6, 1879. His successor was J. Dornbearer in the same year. They own a parsonage and now have a church of two hundred families. Methodist Episcopal Church . — South side of Washington, between Jack- son and Decatur streets. Rev. J. F. Brant, pastor. Methodists are always pioneers. They are found wherever a few families have settled, and proceed to organize themselves at once into a class. In Sandusky City they did this in its earliest days, and until 1828 they worshiped in private houses. At this time they erected the first church building ever erected here, and had Rev. John Jajjnes for their pastor. It was a small one-story building on Jackson street, facing west from the present court-house. In those days it was customary for brother Daniel Van Fleet to blow the horn for assembling the people for worship, but in a few years this custom was relegated to the background, and the more modern fashion of ringing a small bell was substituted in its place. Rev. L. B. Gurley completed the in- terior of the church in 1830, and was heard to say that the pulpit was so unlike anything in heaven or earth that there would be no sin in worshiping it. Among the first members were the following persons: Daniel Van Fleet, Father Kelly, J. H. Norman, Father Allen, D. H. Tuttle, Mrs. Eunice E. Newton, Mrs. Mary Osborn, Mrs. Mary A. Paul, Mrs. Mary Holland, Mrs. Amanda Smith, Mrs. Elenore Smith, Mrs. Susan Dean, Martin C. Clarkson. From the erection of the first church in 1828 until the building of the second in 1847, ths following pastors succeeded each other in the charge of this church: John Jones, William Runnels, L. B. Gurley, Edward Thompson (af- terward bishop), Thomas Barkdull, John Quigley, Orin Mitchell, William C. Pierce, O. Burgess and Clark Johnson, Thomas Thompson and Ralph Wilcox, Harvey Camp and Thomas Cooper, E. McClure and S. I. Seymour, E. R. Jewett. It was when Mr. Jewett was pastor that the second Methodist Episcopal Church edifice was erected on what is now the High School grounds opposite the Congregational Church. When almost completed it was burned. The next church edifice was erected on the West Square between the Congrega- tional Church and the present stone church occupied by the German Luth- erans. The following were the regularly appointed pastors : Erom 1845, 1846, 1847, E. R. Jewett; 1847 1848, Ebenezer R. Plill ; 1848 and 1849, Hib- bard P. Ward, who died of cholera ; Thomas Cooper, appointed chaplain to the seamen in 1848, died of cholera in 1849; in 1849 and 1850, Edward S. 364 History of Erie County. Grumley ; 1850, 1851, 1852, James A. Kellam ; 1852 and 1853, Alexander Wilson; 1853 and 1854, Liberty Prentiss; 1854 and 1855, Samuel M. Beatty, second charge, the church being divided. It was during this year that the name of the district was changed from Tiffin to Sandusky. In 1855, 1856, 1857, Jacob T. Caples, Samuel M. Beatty, and Simon A. Lee, second charge, and William C. Pierce, presiding elder; 1856, 1857, 1858, Alfred Wheeler; 1858 and 1 859, Alpha Wright ; i860 and 1861, Moses K. Hard; 1861, 1862, 1863, T. L. Hildrith, E. R. Jewett, presiding elder; 1863 and 1864, W. H. Nickerson; 1864 and 1865, Alfred Wheeler; 1865-1867, William D. Godman ; 1867, 1868, 1869, A. J. Lyon; 1869, 1870, 1871, Leon- ard B. Gurley; 1871, 1872, 1873, John A. Mudge; 1873 and 1874, George W. Collier; 1875, 1876, 1877, P. B. Stroup; 1877, 1878, 1879, A. D. Knapp; 1879 and 1880, George W. Pepper; 1881 and 1882, B. G. Hoadley ; 1883, 1884. 1885, B. T. Stevenson; 1886, 1887, 1888, J. L. Brant. At present the church is known as Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a large, handsome, brick structure, with facing and two towers, the east- ern one terminating in a high, graceful spire. It is handsome!}^ finished within and furnished with taste. Rev. E. R. Jewett and the ladies of the church raised over $6,000 of the amount necessary to complete the present building. The property is valued at $25,000. The church was dedicated in 1882. This church has a present membership of two hundred and seventy full members and forty probationers, with a Sunday-school of two hundred and ten scholars. Stewards : D. C. Powers, Dr. William Gaylord, R. J. Hargraves, N. A. Hadden, R. C. Gould, Rev. E. R. Jewett, Edward Haylor, Homer Ward, E. Gilbert, S. G. Cathermaine, William Booer, E. L. Redding. Trustees : Charles Cooke, R. M. Wilcox, Joseph Porter, B. Crozier, William H. McFall, G. E. Harris, W. R. Zollinger, J. E. Freeman, Daniel Buck. Rev. E. R. Jewett, superannuated preacher ; Martin C. Clarkson, local preacher. German Aletliodist Episcopal Church south side of Jefferson, between Co- lumbus avenue and Jackson, Rev. John Kuster, pastor. The First German Episcopal Society was organized in 1851, with a membership of eight persons. The church was built in 1852, on the court-house square. It was removed to its present location in 1880. The value of the property is $2,500. Its pres- i ent membership is thirty-five. Trustees, J. Kachell, J. Richter, Fred Schor, H. Heinzerling, M. Crass, M. Marschall and A. Lickfeld. The first church of this denomination in Margaretta township was for a time connected with Sandusky, and is still under the care of the same pastor. Rev. Kuster. This church was built in 1886. The building committee was A. G. Miller, A. Wiedenhoeft and L. Schoewe. Value of property $2,500. Member- ship thirty-five. Trustees, A. G. Miller, E. Miller L,. Kleinoeder, J. Young and L. Schoewe. The City of Sandusky. 365 African Methodist Episcopal Clmrch, Steven’s Chapel, Rev. George Stevens first pastor and founder of the church in 1879. Corner-stone laid by Rev. Mor- ris in the same year. It has thirty members, and has had many obstacles to its growth, but still continues to exist in spite of all opposing forces. For many years one of its most active forces was Father Boston, well known to all San- dusky residents, and still living, but of great age. The First Presbyterian ChiLrch, corner of Washington and Jackson streets. Rev. D. E. Bierce pastor. It was not until 1852, when Sandusky was a town of respectable proportions, and had witnessed the changes incident to thirty-five years of growth, that it was deemed necessary to organize a Presbyterian Church. At this time, December ii, 1852, twenty- six persons took their let- ters from the Congregational Church, and formed themselves into the First Presbyterian Church of Sandusky. For a time their services were held in Campbell’s Hall on Water street, and not until the following year did they make a move in the direction of building. This was in 1853, and in 1854 the lecture-room was completed and occupied. The entire building was completed in 1855, and dedicated in June of thatyear. Its cost was $33,000 including organ and bell. The lot had cost $2,000, making an entire cost of $35,000. It is built of native stone, beautifully situated on the corner of Washington and Jackson streets, facing the city park. In some respects it is the most attractive church edifice among the Protest- ant denominations in the city. Its first elders were W. P. Gray and Charles Cockran. Rev. W. S. Kennedy was the first pastor. He took charge of his flock in 1852, and remained six years. He was an able and popular man, and at that time received and accepted a call to the Third Presbyterian Church of Cincin- nati. He was succeeded by Rev. Thomas C. Campbell, a young graduate of Allegheny Theological Seminary, who began his work December 20, 1859, and remained until July, 1861. From that time the church was supplied by Rev. Mr. Cross of Baltimore until the following December, when Rev. Franklin Noble, a graduate of Union Theological Seminary, was chosen pastor. He re- mained in Sandusky almost three years, and left July i, 1864. In October, 1864, the church called Rev. George H. Fullerton from the Lan- caster (Ohio) Presbyterian Church, and he became its pastor until November, 1867. He was a faithful servant and did a good work here. From Sandusky he went to the Walnut Hill's Church, Cincinnati. Rev. Dr. Keifer, professor of Heidelberg College, Tiffin, was called to succeed Mr. Fullerton, and continued his labors until February, 1869. In July of that year Rev. James McCoy, a young minister was called, and remained until October, 1872. He was suc- ceeded by Rev. Mead C. Williams (since D.D.) who served the church faithfully from June, 1873, until March, 1877. The church was now vacant six months, but supplied by Rev. D. J. Meese, 47 366 History of Erie County. who then became its pastor. He was not installed until November, 1880, and was a devoted and successful pastor until he received and accepted a call to the First Presbyterian Church of Mansfield, O., October i, 1886. After hearing various candidates the church decided to call Rev. D. E. Bierce, of Fargo, D. T., who accepted and began his work in 1887. During the history of this church, extending over a period of more than thirty years, there have been many changes in its membership, and the usual vicissitudes of all church life have varied its numbers from year to year, now increasing, now decreasing, until at the present time it numbers a membership reaching almost, if not quite, two hundred persons. It has a Sabbath-school that is in a prosperous condition. In 1869-70 it started a mission in the eastern part of the city, which has been promotive of great good, and is still cared for by the church. It averages about one hundred scholars, and the property is valued at $1,600. ASSOCIATIONS, SOCIETIES AND ORDERS. The Young Men' s Christian Association. Among the numerous societies of Sandusky there is none of greater value and importance to the people gen- erally, and none having more pure and praiseworth}^ objects in view — the reaching out for young men and drawing them away from vice, giving them opportunities for study and self-improvement, and providing them with honest employment — than that society known all through the land as the Young Men’s Christian Association. And there is no society in this city that has made the stubborn fight for life against many trials, hardships, disadvantages, and disappointments as has this. The Young Men’s Christian Association of Sandusky was organized in the year 1870, through the personal endeavors of J. R. Davies, James Woodworth, James E. Marshall, George J. Anderson, E. E. Upp and others, who felt the iiecessity of such an organization in the city, and saw abundant room for the society’s work. Mr. Davies was elected president, and Byron Gager, secretary. After presiding over the society for some years Mr. Davies retired and was succeeded by D. C. Powers, and he, after two years, by Henry H. West. The latter, with a brief interval, held the presidency until the year 1884, when the present president was chosen. During that interval of time Mr. Davies filled the position, and it was while so holding that William R. McCullough rendered efficient service as general secretary; and during the same period Mrs. Susan Collwell bequeathed to the association the sum of $500, to be used as the nucleus of a building fund. The association obtained a refusal of a parcel of land on Washington Row, on which it was proposed to erect a suitable building, but before the transac- tion was fully consummated the owners conveyed the property to other persons, having received an offer somewhat in excess of the price to be paid by the The City of Sandusky. 367 society. From that time there seems to have been no effort made toward securing property or erecting a building. For about three years the associa- tion has occupied rented rooms on Columbus avenue at No. 204, but prior to their locating there it had quarters in the Hubbard block, at the corner of Col- umbus avenue and Water street. The present officers of the Young Men’s Christian Association are as fol- lows: President, T. Bower; secretary, Howard Bradley; corresponding sec- retary, Richard Lee ; treasurer, O. B. Bannister. The association now num- bers seventy-five members. The Woman's ChristiaJi Temperance Union. This society, the aim of which is no less worthy than that last above mentioned, was organized in San- dusky in 1879, by a number of well known ladies of the city, among whom were Mrs. J. Y. Beattie, Mrs. S. C. Norris, Mrs. Rev. D. J. Meese, Mrs. Rev. Knapp, Mrs. Amelia Lewis, Mrs. Dr. Chandler, Mrs. W. B. Hudson, Mrs. Mary E. West, Mrs. Josiah Strong, Mrs. Emma Nason, Mrs. William Cooke, Mrs. Alvord, Mrs. Theodore Walker, Mrs. B. F. Thompson, and perhaps others whose names cannot now be recalled. The object of the society becomes at once patent by reference to its name — the work of combatting intemperance and kindred vices through Christian influences and Christian work. The union has a membership of about thirty, but unfortunately perhaps, the hard work of the society devolves upon some eight or ten of its more active members. The present officers are Mrs. Mary E. West, president ; Mrs. Samuel Facer, vice-president ; Mrs. J. Y. Be&ttie, secretary ; Mrs. B. F. Thompson, treasurer ; Mrs. William Cooke, superintendent of the Woman’s Temperance Publication Society. The Order of Free Masonry. Of the hardy pioneers, those who first settled in Ohio when its broad domain was but a vast wilderness, when the red man and the wild beast roamed at will through the then almost unbroken forest, many were Masons, made in the older States, from which they came. Small settlements grew into communities, and they were organized into villages, towns, and thus came cities, and when they who had been taught to use the trowel to spread the cement of brotherly love and affection without regard to the ordinary avocations of life in which their several lots were cast, found themselves gathered together in any given locality in sufficient numbers, feeling the want of a Masonic home, the members of the order proceeded from time to time to organize their lodges, and erect their altars, generally obtaining authority to do so from the grand lodges existing in the States in which a portion of them had lived before coming to Ohio, and they thereby owed allegiance to the several grand lodge jurisdictions from which they had obtained charters, so that prior to 1808 there were in this State six subordinate lodges respectively located, one each in the towns of Marietta, Cincinnati, Chillicothe, Worthington, Warren and Zanesville. 368 History of Erie County. By an arrangement previously made and entered into by and between the officers and members of the said several lodges a convention had been called to meet at Chillicothe, the then capital of the State, on Monday, January 4, A. D. 1808. The Legislature was assembled at the same time, and by virtue of said argument and call, said convention did assemble for the purpose of organizing a grand lodge, and during the week the grand lodge was organized to be known as the Grand Lodge of L. & A. M. of Ohio, The meager records preserved of the perfecting of the organization at that time show, that of the early settlers of Ohio some of whom gained not only a State but a national reputation and were honored and respected by the peo- ple, that Lewis Cass, Philoman Beecher, Rufus Putnam, Thomas Hender- son, George Tod, Isaac Van Horn, Robert Colver, Ichabod Ney, William Skinner,. Thomas Gibson, Elias Langham, Levin Belt, Charles A. Stewart, Peter Spruck, James Kilbourn, David Putnam, Henry Massie, John Seely and Lrancis Mennessier, all Master Masons, were present and participated in the good work in laying the foundation on which the great Masonic edifice in Ohio has been erected. After going through with the preliminaries necessary under the circum- stances “ to establish a more perfect union,” they proceeded to perfect the organization by the election of permanent officers, viz.: G. M., Rufus Putnam; D. G. M., Thomas Henderson; S. G. W., George Tod; J. G. W., Isaac Van Horn; G. Sec’y, David Putnam; G. Treas., Henry Massie; G. S. D., Philo- man Beecher; G. J. D., Levin Belt; G. Marshal, Charles A. Stewart; G. T}^- ler, Peter Spruck. Science Lodge No. 50, F. & A. M. of Sandusky. In June, 1818, when San- dusky was but a small village containing but a few hundred inhabitants, and the Indians in this part of Ohio outnumbered the whites, there were among these early settlers quite a number that were Masons. Among and of them ' were Hector Kilbourn, a surveyor. Dr. George Anderson, Eleutherus Cook, i Moers Larwell, John D. Wheeler, Ebenezer Ransom and others, having been made Masons before they came to Sandusky, and being more or less imbued ‘ with a love and reverence for the order, and feeling that they wanted a Masonic home wherein to gather in fraternal union, caused an application to be pre- pai'ed and signed by the requisite number of Master Masons, and forwarded it to the G. M. .of the Grand Lodge of Ohio, asking of him the authority to organize a subordinate lodge in Sandusky, and in July, 1818, Chester Gris- I wold, the then M. W grand master, granted the dispensation prayed for, and appointed Hector Kilbourn W. M., and by order of the grand lodge held at Columbus, December, 1818, Science Lodge with others was authorized to con- tinue its labors under the dispensation until the next communication of the grand lodge. At the session of the grand lodge held in Columbus, December, 1819, Hec- The City of Sandusky. 369 tor Kilbourn was its representative, and recorded as the master of the lodge in the published proceedings of that year, which also show that the returns of the lodge were not received in time to be acted upon before adjournment, whereby the lodge continued to work under the dispensation another year. At the session of the grand lodge held at Columbus, commencing Decem- ber 1 1, 1820, the committees on charters and dispensations reported in favor of granting a charter, which report was accepted and charter granted, and was duly issued, signed by John Snow, M. W. grand master, and Benjamin Gardner, grand secretary. Brother Lyman Farwell was its representative to the grand lodge at the session of 1820. In December, 1820, the organization of Science Lodge No. 50 F. and A. M. was perfected under its charter, and entered upon its course as a full fledged lodge, and the following is a list of its officers so far as reported up to and in- cluding the year 1835. 1820. — VV. M., Hector Kilbourn; S. W., Samuel B. Carpenter; J. W., Hen- ry Tuller; treasurer, Ebenezer Ransom; secretary, Eleutherus Cooke; S. D., Ab. Toutelett; J. D., John D. Wheeler; tyler, Ely Thompson. 1821. — W. M., Hector Kilbourn; S. W., M. Earwell; J. W., Eleutherus Cooke; treasurer, Wesley Anderson ; secretaiy, William Hull; S. D., Alexan- der Clemons; J. D., S. B. Caldwell; tyler, L. Walker. 1823. — W. M., Moers Farwell; S. W., Eleutherus Cooke; J. W., John Wheeler ; treasurer, George Anderson ; secretary, Lyman Farwell ; S. D., Wesley Anderson; J. D., A. Lyman; tyler, L. Walker. 1824. — W. M., George Anderson; S. W., John Wheeler ; J. W., Seth Hull ; treasurer, David Campbell ; secretary. Hector Kilbourn ; S. D., Wesley An- derson; J. D., A. Lyman; tyler, William B. Smith. 1825. — W. M., George Anderson; S. W., John Wheeler; J. W., Abner Root; treasurer, David Campbell; secretaiy, Samuel Allyn Otis; S. D., Will- iam Kelley; J. D., Luther Damison ; tyler, William B. Smith. 1826. — W. M., M. Farwell; S. W., Hector Kilbourn; J. W., Samuel A. Otis; treasurer, William Kelley ; secretary, J. N. Sloan; S. D., Alexander M. Porter; J. D., A. Root; tyler, Seth Hull. 1829. — W. M., George Anderson; S. W., H. Kilbourn; J. W., Abner Root; treasurer, A. M. Porter; secretary, H. H. Wilcoxon ; S. D., Samuel Walker; J. D., A. C. Corbett; tyler, Leicester Walker. 1830. — W. M., George Anderson; S. W., H. Kilbourn; J. W., Abner Root; treasurer, A. M. Porter; secretary. H. H. Wilcoxon; S. D. Samuel Walker; J. D., A. C. Corbett; tyler, Leicester Walker. 1831. — W. M., George Anderson; S. W., H. Kilbourn; J. W., Abner Root ; treasurer, A. M. Porter; secretary, H. H. Wilcoxon; S. D., Samuel Walker; J. D., A. C. Corbett; tyler, Leicester Walker. 1832. — W. M., George Anderson; S. W., H. Kilbourn; J. W., Abner 370 History of Erie County. Root; treasurer, A. M. Porter; secretary, Erastus Cooke; S. D., M. Earwell; J. D., J. N. Sloan ; tyler, Leicester Walker. 1833- — M., George Anderson; S. W., H. Kilbourn; J. W., Abner Root; treasurer, A. M. Porter; secretary, J. N. Sloan; S. D., M. Earwell; J. D., Eras- tus Cooke ; tyler, Leicester Walker. 1834. — W. M., George Anderson ; S. W., H. Kilbourn ; J. W., Abner Root; treasurer, A. M. Porter ; secretary, E. Cooke ; S. D., M. Earwell; J. D.^ : tyler, Leicester Walker. 1835. — W. M., J. N. Sloan; S. W., O. F. Drake; J. W., W. B. Smith; treas- urer, Samuel Walker ; secretary, Winslow Corbett ; S. D., M. Earwell ; J. D,,. Abner Lyman ; tyler, A. Root. During the years 1821—22-23 this lodge was not represented in the grand lodge. It was represented by Eleutherus Cooke in 1824; not represented in 1825 or 1826. Represented by Hector Kilbourn in 1827 ; Dr. George Ander- son in 1828; Hector Kilbourn and Abner Root in 1829; Platt Benedict 1830; Hector Kilbourn again in 1831 ; Abner Root in 1831-32-33 and ’34; Hector Kilbourn and John N. Sloan in 1835, and in 1836 by John N. Sloan. All o^ these old patriarchs in Masonry, who figured those days in Sandusky were called in due time, and when ripe in years, to take their seats in the grand lodge above. Called over the river from time to eternity to render an account of their stewardship. Called from labor to refreshment, and let it be hoped that each of them was found to have his credentials properly signed, and his eligibility found satisfactory, when examined for admission in the grand lodge above, and that their paths were strewn with more flowers and less thorns than when sojourning on this mundane ootstool. By reason of the reverses and vicissi- tudes of life that beset and overcome the good as well as the bad, the strong as well as the weak, the rich as well as the poor. Science Lodge was dormant from 1836, and intervening years up to 1848, and its charter was returned to the grand lodge. September 4, 1848, upon the application of George R. Morton, William B. Smith, Harvey Camp, C. D. Morehouse, David Powers, Eleutherus Cooke, Thomas Hogg and H. Howe, M. Z. Kreider, the then G. M., of Lan- caster, issued a dispensation, giving the same name and number, thus virtually reviving the old lodge, and appointed George R. Mortoi^, W. M.; Eleutherus Cooke S. W., and William B. Smith, J. W.; the other officers not recorded. And on September i i, 1848, at the regular communication of the grand lodge then held at Columbus, a new charter was granted which was issued of date of Sep- tember 26, 1848, bearing the names of George R. Morton, Eleutherus Cooke, William B. Smith, Henry Howe, Erastus Cooke, Andrew Lytle, David Powers, Archibald Brucefield and Henry Camp as charter members, and shortly there- after were elected the officers for the year 1848, and then follow the officers in proper succession to and for the year 1888, viz.: 1849. — W. M,, George R. Morton; S. W., W. G. Melville Milne; J. W., The City of Sandusky. 371 Archibald Brucefield; treasurer, Heu. Howe; secretary, Charles H. Lee; S. D., Andrew Lytle ; J. D., Rodney Lathrop ; tyler, Francis Bust. 1850. — W. M., George R. Morton; S. W., W. G. Melville Milne; J. W., S. Cadwalader ; treasurer, D. Powers ; secretary, Charles H. Lee ; S. D., A. Lytle ; J. D., Jos. Guiterman ; tyler, Nathaniel Bowles. 1851. — W. M., George R. Morton; S. W., W. G. Melville Milne; J. W., S. Cadwalader; treasurer, D. Powers; secretary, J. Guiterman; S. D.,J.K. Walsh; J. D., A. H. Gale ; tyler, Nathaniel Bowles. 1852. — W. M., W. G. Melville Milne; S. W., S. Cadwalader; J. W., J. Gui- terman; treasurer, D. Powers; secretary, George J. Patterson; S. D., R. T. Green ; J. D., N. H. Moore ; tyler, Nathaniel Bowles. 1853. — W. M., George R. Morton; S. W., W. H. Tucker; J. W., B. R. Pratt; treasurer, R. T. Green; secretary, George J. Patterson; S. D., W. Simpson; J. D., F. W. Pomeroy ; tyler, F. Butz. 1854. — W. M., W. G. Melville Milne; S. W., F. M. Follett; J. W., A. Lytle; treasurer, A. H. Gale; secretary, Frank Ward; S. D., R. D. Kellogg ; J. D., E. Tilden ; tyler, Heichenback. 1855. — W. M., F. M. Follett; S. W., A. H. Gale; J. W., G. S. Patterson; treasurer, W. Simpson; secretary, I. T. Davis; S. D., H. S. Adams ; J. D., L. H Kilbourn ; tyler, F. Butz. 1856. — W. M., A. H. Gale; S. W., W. Simpson; J. W., H. A. Arnold; treasurer, G. S. Patterson ; secretary, L T. Davis ; S. D., N. H. Moore; J. D., S. B. Conklin ; tyler, F. Butz. 1857. — W. M., A. H. Gale; S. W., George Morton; J. W., N. H. Moore; treasurer, G. S. Patterson; secretary, George J. Anderson; S. D., F. Kelsey; J. D., H. J. McCord ; tyler, F. Sharlleau. 1858. — W. M.,A. H. Gale; S.W., George Morton; J. W.,F. Kelsey; treas- urer; F. M. Follett; secretary, G. W. Glick ; S. D., J. N., Smead; J. D., J. B. Merrick ; tyler, F. Sharlleau. 1859. — W. M., E. H. Wilcox; S. W., H. G. Robinson; J.W., D. M. Arndt; treasurer, George Marsh; secretary, V. Scott; S. D., A. D. Kinney; J. D., Alonzon Yeomans; tyler, F. Kelsey. 1860. — W. M., George Morton; S. W., A. H. Gale; J. W.,J.D. Lea; treas- urer, F. M. Follett; secretary, H. F. Padden; S. D., E. Weller; J. D.,W. Spit- tle; tyler, F. Sharlleau. 1861. — W. M., George Morton; S. W., F. Kelsey ; J. W., J. F. Smith; treas- urer, F. M. Follett; secretary, V. Scott; S. D., W. Spittle; J. D., T. Ingle; tyler, F. Sharlleau. 1862. — W. M., George Morton; S. W., F. Kelsey; J. W., George J. Ander- son ; treasurer, A. H. Gale ; secretary, V. Scott ; S. D., H. F. Paden ; J. D., L. Monat; tyler, F. Sharlleau. 1863. — W. M., George Morton; S. W., F. Kelsey; J. W., Timothy Ingle; 372 History of Erie County. treasurer, L. Monat; secretary, B. W. Beatty; S. D., F. W. Cogswell; J. D., R. A. Forster ; tyler, F. Sharileau. 1864. — W. M., F. Kelsey; S. W., T. Ingle; J. W., George J. Anderson; treasurer, F. Monat; secretary, J. B. Harding; S. D., E. H. Wilcox; J. D., F. P. Robinson ; tyler, F. Sharileau. 1865. — W. M., T. Ingle; S. W., G. J. Anderson; J. W., E. H. Wilcox; treasurer, F. Monat; secretary,}. B. Harding; S. D., C. F. Ohlemacher; J, D., C. F. McEvven ; tyler, F. Sharileau. 1866. — W. M., A. H. Gale; S. W., G. J. Anderson; J. W., E. H. Wilcox; treasurer, F. Monat; secretary, E. M. Colver; S. D., F. Kelsey; J. D., C. Ben- jamin ; tyler, F. Sharileau. 1867. — W. M., George J. Anderson; S. W., E. H. Wilcox; J. W., C. N. Ryan; treasurer, F. Monat; secretary, V. Scott; S. D., V. B. Palmer; J. D., C. Benjamin ; tyler, F. Kelsey. 1868. — W. M., E. H. Wilcox; S. W., H. G. Robinson; J. W., Thomas Mc- Fall; treasurer, George Marsh; secretary, V. Scott; S. D., V. B. Palmer; J. D. , F. M. Fea; tyler, F. Kelsey. 1869. — W. M., H. A. Arnold; S. W., N. H. Moore; J. W., H. G. Robin- son; treasurer, F. M. Follett; secretary, H. D. M. Mann; S. D.,J. N. Neider- lander ; J. D., J. B. Bradley; tyler, F. Sharileau. 1870. — W. M., William Swanston ; S. W., H. G Robinson; J. W., F. Mo- nat ; treasurer, George Marsh ; secretary, V. Scott ; S. D., A. D. Kinney ; J. D., F. V. Follett ; tyler, F. Kelsey. 1871. — W. M., E. H. Wilcox ; S. W., D. M. Arndt; J. W., A. D. Kinney; treasurer, George Marsh; secretary, F. V. Follett; S. D., H. M. Bronson; J. D., S. S. Walker ; tyler, F. Kelsey. 1872. — W. M., D. M. Arndt; S. W., A. D. Kinney; J. W., H. M. Bronson; treasurer, George Marsh; secretary, Thomas M. Hubbard; S. D., S. S. Walker; J. D., Philip Kunz, jr.; tyler, F. Kelsey. 1 873. — W. M., A. D. Kinney; S. W., John C. Zollinger; J. W., Philip Kunz, jr.; treasurer, E. H. Wilcox; secretary, Thomas M. Hubbard; S. D., Henry F. Coffin; J. D., J. W. Post; tyler, F. Kelsey. 1874. — W. M., A. D. Kinney; S. W., John C. Zollinger; J. W., J. R. Miner; treasurer, E. H. Wilcox; secretary, V. Scott; S. D., F. V. Follett; J. D., J. W. Post ; tyler, F. Kelsey. 1875. — W. M., J. C. Zollinger; S. W., E. M. Colver; J. W., Charles E. Mar- tin; treasurer, E. H. Wilcox; secretary, V. Scott; S. D., C. M. Keyes; J. D., J. E. Wing ; tyler, F. Kelsey. 1876. — W. M., H. G. Robinson; S. W., C. E. Martin; J. W., C. Benjamin ; treasurer, E. H. Wilcox; secretary, V. Scott; S. D., A. C. Neiderlander; J. D., M. F. Starr; tyler, F. Kelsey. 1877. — W. M., J. R. Miner; S. W., E. M. Colver; J. W., F M. Fea; treas- The City of Sandusky. 373 urer, E. H. Wilcox; secretary, V- Scott; S. D., C. M. Keyes; J.D., H.L. Green; tyler, F. Kelsey. 1878. — W. M., E. M. Colver; S. W., L. Monat; J. W., U. T. Curran; treas- urer, E. H. Wilcox; secretary, F. V. Follett; S. D., J. B. Taylor; J. D., H. L. Green; tyler, F. Kelsey. 1879 — W. M., E. M. Colver; S. W.,L. Monat; J. W., U. T. Curran; treas- urer, E. H. Wilcox; secretary, A. D. Kinney; S. D., J. B. Taylor; J. D., James Ballantyne; tyler, F. Kelsey. 1880. — W. M., E. M. Colver; S. W., L. Monat; J. W., J. B. Taylor; treas- ij,rer; E. H. Wilcox; secretary, A. D. Kinney; S. D., S. A. Collins; J. D., Janies Ballantyne; tyler, F. Kelsey. 1881. — W. M., E. M. Colver; S. W., L. Monat; J. W., J. B. Taylor; treas- urer, E. H. Wilcox ; secretary, U. T. Curran ; S. D., James Ballantyne ; J. D., Moses Doyle ; tyler, F. Kelsey. 1882. — W. M., E. M. Colver; S. W., J. B. Taylor, jr.; J. W., E. B., Mackey; treasurer, E. H. Wilcox; secretary, U. T. Curran; S. D., James Ballantyne; J. D., A. F. Rice. 1883. — W. M., Eeopold Monat; S. W., D. R. Arnold; J. W., Alston Ellis; secretary, B. W. Thompson; treasurer, E. H. Wilcox; S. D., James Ballantyne; J. D., Adam F. Rice; tyler, John B. Taylor, jr. 1884. — W. M., Leopold Monat; S. W., D. R. Arnold; J. W., Alston Ellis; secretary, Benjamin W. Thompson; treasurer, E. H. Wilcox; S. D., Adam F. Rice; J. D., Charles W. Kelsey; tyler, John B. Taylor, jr. 1885. — W. M., David R. Arnold; S. W., Alston Ellis; J. W., C. F. Schoep- fle; secretary, B. W. Thompson; treasurer, E. H. Wilcox; S. D., Adam F. Rice; J. D., Charles W. Kelsey; tyler, John B. Taylor, jr. 1886. — W. M., David R. Arnold; S. W., Alston Ellis; J. W., C. F. Schcep- fle; secretary, B. W. Thompson; treasurer, E. H. Wilcox; S. D., Adam F. Rice; J. D., Charles W. Kelsey; tyler, John B. Taylor, jr. 1887. — M., Christian F. Schoepfle; S. W., Lewis M. Lea; J. W., Adam F. Rice; secretary, Benjamin W. Thompson; treasurer, L. Monat; S. D., James B. Sanderson; J. D., Gilbert E. Harris; tyler, John B. Taylor, jr. 1888. — W. M., Lewis M. Lea; S. W., Adam S. Rice; J. W., Edmund B. King; secretary, Benjamin W. Thompson; treasurer, Leopold Monat; S. D., James B. Sanderson; J. D., Hiram E. Dewey; tyler, John B. Taylor, jr. Since the reorganization in 1848 the organization has been kept up without having to encounter anything particular in shape of reverses except in 1849, when in its second childhood the cholera swept off many of its most treasured members. Latterly there has been a slow, silent, but steady increase, having to January i, 1888, a membership of one hundred and thirty-one in good stand- ing, and is in a good and healthy condition. The regular and stated commu- nications are held on the first and third Mondays of each month. 48 374 History of Erie County. Perseverance Lodge, No. 329, F. & A. M . — Early in the year A. D. 1860^ application was made to the grand master of the grand lodge of Ohio by George S. Patterson, Andrew C. Ery, Alexander H. Black and others for authority to organize another subordinate lodge in Sandusky, and the then grand master, Horace B. Stoker, issued to them a dispensation dated March 2,, i860, and he appointed as W. M., George S. Patterson; S. W., Andrew C. Fry; J. W., Alexander PI. Black; and on the 13th day of March, i860, under and by virtue of said dispensation the organization of Perseverance Lodge No. 329, F. & A. M., was perfected by selecting the following named brothers to fill the following offices under the dispensation, viz.; Treasurer, Joseph Lansdown secretary, VV. G. Melville Milne; S. D., Neil PI. Moore; J. D., B. J. McComb ; tyler, P'. Sharlleau, and adopting a code of by-laws, and said lodge continued to work under said dispensation until October 30, i860, when it was duly con- stituted, and the officers continued to December 25, i860. When the officers for the year 1861 were duly installed at the regular annual session of the grand lodge held at Columbus in October, i860, the granting of the dispensa- tion was approved and a charter was granted, and the by-laws previously pre- pared were presented and approved with the recommendation of a very few changes, which were accepted as amended, and the charter was duly issued of date of October 18, i860, with the names of George S. Patterson, Andrew D. Fry, A. H. Black, George A. Gaylord, Joseph Lansdown, B. J. McComb, Plorace Brooks, Niel H. Moore, and Hiram A. Arnold, appearing therein as charter members, signed by Plorace M. Stokes, M. W. G. M., and John D. Caldwell, R. W. G. secretary, with the seal of the grand lodge attached, and at the stated communication of said lodge held on the second Tuesday of Decem- ber, i860, a full set of officers were elected for the year 1861, and continued thereafter from year to year, viz : 1861. — G. J. Patterson, W. M. ; N. PI. Moore, S. W. ; C. S. Gregg, J. W. ; J. Lansdown, treasurer ; W. G Melville Milne, secretary ; A. C. Fry, S. D. ; William Gaylord, J. D. ; A. H, Black, tyler. 1862. — A. H. Black, W. M. ; G. Gaylord, S. W. ; D. F. Lumley, J. W. ; J. Lansdown, treasurer; S. M. White, jr., secretary; N. H. Moore, S. D. ; N. PI. Plammond, J. D. ; II. Brooks, tyler. 1863. — N. PI. Moore, W. M. ; D. F. Lumley, S. W. ; H. Brooks, J. W. ; J. Lansdown, treasurer ; S. M. White, jr., secretary; W. Dixon, S. D.; Thomas Williams, J. D. ; J. M. Bailey, tyler. 1864. — D. F. Lumley, W. M. ; J. Lansdown, S. W. ; H. E. O’Hagan, J. W. ; J. H. Blakesley, treasurer; C. Schnaitter, secretary; PI. Brooks, S. D. ; H. Appel, J. D. ; J. Neuert, tyler. 1865. — H. E. O’Hagan, W. M.; William Gaylord, S. W. ; Rosenbaum,, J. W. ; H. Brooks, treasurer; C. Schnaitter, secretary; Thomas Williams, S. D. ; A. Butts, J. D. ; J. Schaub, tyler. The City of Sandusky. 375 1866. — H. E. O’Hagan, W. M. ; J. Lansdown, S. W. ; C. H. Rosenbaum, J. W. ; S. M. White, jr., treasurer ; C. Schnaitter, secretary; R. Haylor, S. D. ; J. Renart, J. D. ; J. Schaub, tyler. 1867. — H. E. O’Hagan, W. M. ; T. Hubbard, S. W. ; J. Lansdown, J. W. ; S. M. White, jr., treasurer; C. Schnaitter, secretary; E. R. Dove, S. D. ; J. Renart, J. D. ; J. Schaub, tyler. 1868. — T. Hubbard, W. M. ; J. B. McComb, S. W. ; A. Butts, J. W. ; S. M. White, jr., treasurer; C. Schnaitter, secretary; D. Kunz, S. D. ; John Dean, J. D. ; J. Schaub, tyler. 1869. — T. Hubbard, W. M. ; B. J. McComb, S. W. ; W. J. Affleck, J. W. ; H. E. O’Hagan, treasurer; C. Brennen, secretary; D. Kunz, S. D. ; J. Dean, J. D. ; H. Selzer, tyler. , . 1870. — H. E. O’Hagan, W. M. ; D. Kunz, S. W. ; C. E. Ferris, J. W. ; R. E. Schuck, treasurer ; J. Kilby, secretary ; O. Wilson, S. D. ; W. F. Chaney, J. D. ; D. S. Worthington, tyler. 1871. — I. F. Mack, jr., W. M. ; A. J. Gawne, S. W. ; A. Butts, J. W. ; R. E. Schuck, treasurer ; W. S. Sanford, secretary ; H. Chamberlain, S. D. ; H. Selzer, J. D. ; G. W. Magle, tyler. 1872. — N. H. Moore, W. M. ; O. Wilson, S. W. ; W. F. Chaney, J. W. ; R. E. Schuck, treasurer; W. J. Affleck, secretary; H. M. Chamberlain, S. D. ; U. H. Whitmore, J. D. ; H. Ritter, tyler. 1873. — N. H. Moore, W. M. ; W. F. Chaney, S. W. ; H. M. Chamberlain, J. W. ; R. E. Schuck, treasurer; W. J. Affleck, secretary; J. Farmer, S. D. ; J. Butts, J. D. ; E. Gillard, tyler. 1874. — N. H. Moore, W. M. ; W. F. Chaney, S. W. ; H. Selzer, J. W. ; R. E. Schuck, treasurer ; W. J. Affleck, secretary ; H. Bricken, S. D. ; J. J. Butts, J. D. ; B. J. McComb, tyler. 1875. — W. F. Chaney, W. M. ; E. Gillard, S. W. ; H. Selzer, J. W. ; R. E. Schuck, treasurer; W. J. Affleck, secretary; H. Bricken, S. D. ; P. Quick, J. D. ; Charles Miller, tyler. 1876. — E. Gillard, W. M. ; H. Selzer, S. W. ; H. D. Steele, J. W. ; R. E. Schuck, treasurer; W. J. Affleck, secretary; Thomas L. Williams, S. D. ; P. Quick, J. D. : R. Haylor, tyler. 1877. — E. Gillard, W. M. ; C. E. Black, S. W.; J J. Butts, J. W. ; R. E. Schuck, treasurer; W. J. Affleck, secretary; Thomas L. Williams, S. D. ; P'. Philby, J. D. ; H. E. O’Hagan, tyler. 1878 — E. Gillard, W. M. ; J. J. Butts, S. W. ; T. L. Williams, J. W. ; R. E. Schuck, treasurer ; VV. J. Affleck, secretary ; W. H. Wilson, S. D. ; F. Philby, J. D. ; W. E- Chaney, tyler. 1879. — J. J. Butts, W. M. ; R. Haylor, S. W. ; W. H. Wilson, J. W. ; W . F. Chane}9 treasurer; H. D. Seele, secretary; W. Watson, S. D. ; F. Ward, J. D. ; B. F. Lee, tyler. 376 History of Erie County. 1880. — J. J. Butts, W. M. ; R. Haylor, S. W. ; W. H. Wilson, J. W. ; W. F. Chaney, treasurer ; H. Bricken, secretary ; W. Watson, S. D. ; F. Ward, J. D. ; J. N. Wild, tyler. 1881. — C. E. Black, W. M. ; A. E. Merrill, S. W. ; W. Watson, J. W. ; G. Hart, treasurer ; H. Bricken, secretary; C. Stroud, S. D. ; F. Ward, J. D. ; A. Butts, tyler. 1882. — C. E. Black, W. M. ; W. Watson, S. W. ; F. Philby, J. W. ; G. Hart, treasurer; H. Bricken, secretary; Wm. Melville, S. D. ; F. Wagner,}. D. ; A. Butts, tyler. 1883. — C. E. Black, W. M. ; William Watson, S. W. ; F. Philby, J. W. ;. G. Hart, treasurer; PI. Bricken, secretary; William Melville, S. D. ; F. Wag- ner, J. D. ; A. Butts, tyler. 1884. — A. E. Merrill, W. M. ; Charles Stroud, S. W. ; S. M. White, jr., J. W. ; G. Hart, treasurer; Henry Bricken, secretary; P'rank Wagner, S. D. ; Fred Ward, J. D. ; Andrew Butts, tyler. 1885. — A. E. Merrill, W. M. ; Charles Stroud, S. W. ; Charles C. Lance, J. W. ; G. Plart, treasurer; Henry Bricken, secretary; Frank Wagner, S. D. ; William R. Kelham, J. D. ; Andrew Butts, tyler. 1886. — Charles Stroud, W. M. ; Thomas L. Williams, S. W; John G. Stroble, J. W. ; Randall F. Schuck, treasurer; Henry Bricken, secretary; Charles E. Black, S. D. ; William R. Kelham, J. D. ; John N. Wild, tyler. 1887. — Charles Stroud, W. M. ; Thomas L. Williams, S. W. ; John G. Stroble, J. W. ; R. E. Schuck, treasurer; Henry Bricken, secretary ; William R. Kelham, S, D. ; C. H. Myers, J. D. ; John N. Wild, tyler. 1888. — Thomas L. Williams, W. M. ; John G. Stroble, S. W. ; William R. Kelham, J. W. ; Randall E. Schuck, treasurer; Henry Bricken, secretary; Cor- nelius H. Myers, S. D. ; Charles B. Dennis, J. D. ; John N. Wild, tyler. The first petition for initiation filed in Perseverance Lodge was signed by Charles L. Haines, March 13, i860, was referred to a committee composed of brothers Neil H. Moore, B. J. McComb, and Andrew C. Fry. The second regular stated meeting provided for under the by-laws was held on the fourth Tuesday of the month, March 27, i860. At this meeting peti- tions were received from the following named persons praying to be admitted into the order, viz : Horace N. Bill, Clark S. Gregg, William Gaylord, and S, M. White, jr., and referred to the appropriate committees. And by the record we find on that evening, March 27, i860, the committee having reported favor- ably on the petition of Charles L. Plaines, he was then and there the first man made a mason, the first born of Perseverance Lodge, No. 329, F. & A. M., Sandusky. From this small beginning she has by slow and silent increase grown, mak- ing a little average net gain, so that now she has a membership of eighty-nine in good standing. This lodge holds its regular stated meeting on the second and fourth Tuesday in each month. The City of Sandusky. 377 Capitular Masonry. — Sandusky City Chapter No. 72, Royal Arch Masons. In the year 1752, according to Companion Albert G. Mackey, the first grand lodge or chapter of Royal Arch Masons was organized in England. And from authority granted by it subordinate chapters were soon thereafter or- ganized in the colonies. And the organization of the first grand chapter in this country was perfected late in the seventeenth century. A grand chapter of Royal Arch Masons was organized in this State at the city of , October, 1816, and Samuel Hoyt was chosen as the first grand high priest. In March, 1856, Foster M. Follett, Andrew L3'tle, O. J. True and others. Royal Arch Masons in this city, applied to the M. E. G. H. P., Hor- ace M. Stokes, for a dispensation to organize a chapter in this city. And a dispensation was granted of date of March 27, 1856, and he appointed Com- panions F. M. Follett, high priest ; Andrew Lytle, king, and O. J. True, secre- tary, under the dispensation. And very soon thereafter the organization was completed and continued under the dispensation until a charter was issued by order of the Grand Chapter held at Zanesville in October, 1856, and it was issued of date of October 30, 1856, and the names of Foster M. Follett, An- drew Lytle, Orin J. True, R. R. McMeens, A. Pearsall, N. L. Brown, Casper J. Parsons, John McKinster, George Morton and F. Sharlleau, appear therein as charter members, and it was signed by Horace M. Stokes, G. H. P., and John D. Caldwell, grand secretary, and thereupon the Sandusky City Chapter No. 72 Royal Arch Masons, of this city, was fully organized and fully estab- lished under its charter. Its regular or stated meetings are held on the sec- ond and fourth Wednesdays in each month, and it has now a membership of one hundred and eighteen in good standing. The following named companions were chosen to fill the principal offices of the chapter for the first eight years after its organization was completed, viz.: Officers, 1856 — H. P., F. M. Follett; K., Andrew Lytle; S., O. J. True; secretar\', George Morton. 1857 — H. P., F. M. Follett; K., George Morton ; S., N. Byington ; secre- tary, H. S. Adams. 1858 — H. P., George Morton; K., F. M. Follett; S., A. H. Gale; secre- tary, H. S. Adams. ^859 — H- P-. A. H. Gale; K., N. H. Moore; S., H. S. Adams ; secretary, George J. Anderson 1860 — H. P., F. M. Follett; K., H. S. Adams; S., George S. Patterson; secretary, George J. Anderson. 1861 — H. P., F. M. Follett; K., H. S. Adams; S., George Patterson; secretary, George J. Anderson. 1862 — H. P., H. S. Adams; K., N. H. Moore; S., John Brannon; secre- tary, George Morton. 1863 — H. P., H. S. Adams; K., N. Byington; S., J. Brannon; secretary, George Morton. 378 History of Erie County. And deeming it not particularly necessary that they should be inserted, the names of those selected as officers therein, or omitted from 1864 to 1883, both included. And herewith appears a roster of the officers therein for the years 1884, 1885, 1887 and 1888: 1884 — T. L. Williams, H. P. ; D. R. Arnold, K. ; S. M. White, jr., S. ; L. Monat, C. H. ; E. B. Mackey, P. S. ; C. Stroud, R. A. C. ; D. W. C. Ruff, 3d V. ; H. C. Frederick, 2d V.; C. C. Lance, ist V.; G. Hart, treasurer; H. Bricken, secretary ; J. B. Taylor, guard. 1885 — T. L. Williams, H. P. ; Lewis M. Lea, king; G. W. Ferguson, scribe ; J. P. Seigfreid, C. H. ; H. G. Robinson, P. S. ; A. W. Williams, jr., R. A. C. ; C. M. Keyes, 3d V. ; Jas. B. Sanderson, 2d V. ; E. M. Colver, ist V. ; R. C. Schuck, treasurer; Lane Lockwood, secretary; Jno. B. Taylor, guard. 1887 — H. P., L. M. Lea; king, C. M. Keyes; scribe, E. Gillard ; C. of H., C. E. Black ; P. S., J. B. Sanderson ; R. A. C., A. C. Townsend; 3d. V., W. L. Lewis; 2d V., G. E. Harris; ist V., J. N. Wilde; treasurer, R. E. Schuck; secretary. Lane Lockwood; guard, John B. Taylor, jr. 1888 — H. P., L. A. Hultz ; king, Darwin Fay; scribe, John W. Sisty ; C. of H., James Black ; P. S., C. H. Ruggles ; R. A. C., B. F. Schaeffer ; G. M. 3d V., C. L. Mason; G. M. 2d V., Ransom Roscoe ; G. M. ist V., L. C. Mowry ; treasurer, J. H. Smith ; secretary, Addison Mixter ; guard, Levi Roscoe. Sandusky City Council, No. 26, R.and S.M. On or about March 17, 1857, a dispensation was granted by the T. I. G. Puissant John M. Barnes, of the Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters, of the State of Ohio, to Charles Curtis, George Morton, O. J. True, h'. Sharlleau, C. J. Parsons, R. D. McDonald, Neil H. Moore, Isaac N. Smead, W. M. Harrison and N. Byington, authorizing them to organize a subordinate council in Sandusky, to be known as Sandusky City Council No. 26, Royal and Select Masters. Their first meeting was held in March, 1857, and the organization was perfected by the election of the follow- ing officers, viz. : 1857 — T. I. G. M., George Morton; D. I. G. M., N. Byington; P. C. W., N. H. Moore; C. of G., O. J. True; recorder, C. J. Parsons; treasurer, Charles Curtis ; sentinel, F. Sharlleau. And they continued to work under said dispensation up to second Friday in December, A. D. 1857. That at the meeting of the Grand Council of R. and S. M., of Ohio, held at Columbus, O., in October, 1857, the granting and issuing of the said dispensation was approved, and the issue of a charter was ordered. And of date of October 16, A. D. 1857, the charter was issued with the names of said Charles Curtis, George Morton and others, in said applica- tion set forth as above, appearing therein as charter members, which were signed by John M. Barnes, grand puissant; J. M. Parks, grand T I. ; Joseph The City of Sandusky. 379 ' Hildreth, G. C. of the work, and J. A. Caldwell, grand recorder, and at a meeting held on the evening of the day of , 1857, the Sandusky City Council was regularly organized under and by authority of its charter, and the authority of the Grand Puissant, John M. Barnes, and the following is a complete roster of its officers for the years following to this, viz. : 1858— T. I. G. M., Geo. Morton; D. I. M., F. M. Follett ; P. C. W., Neil H. Moore ; C. of G., Isaac N. Smead ; recorder, Casper J. Parsons ; treasurer, A. H. Gale ; sentinel, F. Sharlleau. 1859 — T. I. G. M., N. H. Moore; D. I. G. M., John McKinston ; P. C. W., J. A. Wisner ; C. of K. G., F. A. Schalze ; treasurer, A. H. Gale ; re- corder, C. J. Parsons ; sentinel, P'. Sharlleau. i860 and 1861 — T. I. M., F. M. Follett; D. I. M., John McKinster ; P. C. W., Frederick Kelsey ; C. of G., E. Weller ; recorder, George Morton ; treas- urer, A. H. Gale ; sentinel, F. Sharlleau. 1862-3-4 — T. I. G. M., N. Byington ; D. I. G. M., N. H. Moore; P. C. W., Fred. Kelsey ; C. G., Henry F. Paden ; treasurer, A. C. Townsend ; re- corder, George Morton ; sentinel, F. Sharlleau. 1865 — T. I. G. M., George Morton; D. I. G. M., W. M. Harrison ; P. C. W., Fred. Kelsey; C. of G., W. E. Lay; treasurer, L. Monat ; recorder, B. W. Beatty ; sentinel, E. Sharlleau. 1866 — T. I. M., George Morton; D. I. M., N. H. Moore; P. C. W., W^. M. Harrison; C. G., H. E. Paden; treasurer, L. Monat; recorder, B. W. Beatty ; sentinel, F. Sharlleau. 1867 — T. I. M., N. H. Moore; D. I. M., C. J. Parsons; P. C. W., James D. Lea; C. G., Henry F. Paden; treasurer, L. Monat; recorder, B. W. Beatty; sentinel, Fred. Kelsey. 1868— T. I. M., N. H. Moore; D. I. M., C. H. Giddings ; P. C. W., Lewis M. Lea; C. G., L. Monat; treasurer, E. Halley; recorder, Voltaire Scott; sentinel, Fred. Kelsey. 1869— T. I. M., N. Byington; D. I. M., A. H. Gale; P. C. W., L. M. Lea; C. G., L. Monat; treasurer, J. D. Lea; recorder, Voltaire Scott; senti- nel, Fred. Kelsey. 1870— T. I. M., N. Byington; D. I. M„ H. E. O’Hagan; P. C. Wk, L. Monat; C. G., W. J. Affleck; treasurer, James D. Lea; recorder, Voltaire Scott; sentinel, Fred. Kelsey. 1871 — T. I. M., C. M. Keyes; D. I. M., John C. Stewart; P. C. Wk, S. M. White, jr. ; C. G., W. J. Affleck ; treasurer, H. S. Paden ; recorder, Val- entine Scott ; sentinel, Fred. Kelsey. 1872— T. I. M., N. Byington ; D. I. M., L. Monat; P. C. Wk, W. J. Af- fleck; C. G., E. M. Colver ; treasurer, J. D. Lea; recorder, Valentine Scott; sentinel, Fred. Kelsey. 1873— T. I. M., H. G. Robinson; D. I. M., G. Hart; P. C. W, W. J. Af- 380 History of Erie County. fleck; treasurer, N. H. Moore; recorder, V. Scott; C. of G., L. Monat ; sen- tinel, F. Kelsey 1874 — T. I. M., H. G. Robinson; D. I. M., G. Hart; P. C. W., Edward Hadley; treasurer, Ned. H. Moore; recorder, V. Scott; C. G., L. Monat; sentinel, P'. Kelsey. 1875 — T. I. M., H. G. Robinson; D. I. M., W. P'. Chaney; P. C. W., Neil H. Moore ; C. G., E. Monat ; treasurer, J. Krontlial ; recorder, V. Scott; sentinel, F. Kelsey. 1876— T. I. M., L. Monat; D. L M., W. F. Chaney; P. C. W., Neil H. Moore ; C. G., H. G. Robinson ; treasurer, J. Krontlial ; recorder, Voltaire Scott ; sentinel, P". Kelsey. 1877— T. I. M., E. Monat; D. I. M., G. Hart; P. C. W., PP D. Lutz; C. G. , W. J. Affleck; treasurer, J. Krontlial; recorder, V. Scott; sentinel, F. Kelsey. 1878— T. P M., A. C. Townsend; D. P M., E. M. Colver ; P. C. W., E. Gillard ; C. G., S. A. Collins; treasurer, J. Krontlial; recorder, V. Scott; sen- tinel, F. Kelsey. 1879— T. P M., H. G. Robinson; D. P M., E. M. Colver; P. C. W., E. Gillard; C. G., L. Monat; treasurer, J. Krontlial; recorder, Wm. J. Atfleck ; sentinel, F. Kelsey. 1880— T. P M., H. G. Robinson ; D. P M., E. M. Colver; P. C. W.. N. H. Moore ; C. G., L. Monat ; treasurer, J. Krontlial ; recorder, W. J. Affleck; sentinel, P"red. Kelsey. 1881— T. P M., H. G. Robinson ; D. P M., E. M. Colver; P. C. W., N. PP Moore; C. G., L. Monat; treasurer, Jacob Krontlial; recorder, Wm. J, Affleck ; sentinel, Fred. Kelsey. 1882— T. P M., E. M. Colver; D. P M., G. Hart; P. C. W., N. H. Moore; C. G., L. Monat; treasurer, Jacob Krontlial; recorder, W. J. Affleck; senti- nel, Fred. Kelsey. 1883— T. P M., E. M. Colver; D. P M., A. E. Merrill; P. C. W., L, M. Lea ; C. G., L. Monat ; treasurer, J. Krontlial ; recorder, W. J. Affleck; con- ductor, W. F. Chaney; steward, S. M. White, jr. ; sentinel, J. B. Taylor, jr. 1884— T. P M., E. M. Colver; D. P M., D. R. Arnold; P. C. W., L. M. Lea; C. G., C. F , C. F. Schcepfle ; treasurer, J. Kronthal ; recorder, W. J. Affleck; conductor, W. F. Chaney; steward, C. C. Lance; sentinel, J. B. Taylor, jr. 1885— T. I- M., L. M. Lea; D. P M., W. F. Chaney; P. C. W., D. R. Arnold; treasurer, J. Kronthal; recorder, W. J. Affleck; C. G., C. F. Schoe- pfle ; conductor, C. C. Lance ; steward, J. P. Seigfried ; sentinel, J. B. Tay- lor, jr. 1886— T. P M., L. M. Lea; D. P M., W. F. Chaney; P. C. W., C. M. Keyes ; treasurer, J. Kronthal ; recorder, W. J. Affleck ; C. of G., C. F. The City of Sandusky. 381 Schoepfle ; conductor, C. C. Lance ; steward, C. T. Stroud ; sentinel, J. B. Taylor, jr. 1887— T. I. M., L. M. Lea; D. I. M.. W. F. Chaney; P. C. W., C. M. Keyes ; treasurer, J. Kronthal ; recorder, W. J. Affleck ; C. of G., C. F. Schoe- pfle; conductor, C. C. Lance; steward, Jas. B. Sanderson; sentinel, J. B. Taylor, jr. 1888— T. I. M., Lewis M. Lea; D. I. M., Charles M. Keyes; P. C. W., Thomas L. Williams ; treasurer, Lucius W. Lewis ; recorder, William J. Af- fleck ; C. of G., William L. Lewis; conductor, James B Sanderson ; steward, Cornelius H. Myers; guard, John B. Taylor. The total membership of Sandusky City Council No. 26, R. and S. M., at this time is seventy. The regular stated communications are held on the sec- ond Friday of each month. K^iights Templar. The order of Knights Templar was reorganized in Europe in the latter part of the eleventh century, and was very popular among the royalty — kings, princes and nobles — the rich and titled especially, taking much of its symbolism from archaeology and claimed allegiance to the other previously organized Masonic bodies or organizations. Its membership was composed of the ruling classes, those high in authority, both spiritual and temporal. And for a time it seemed to be under the con- trol of the bishops and prelates of the church of Rome, yet its office was rather of a warlike nature than otherwise, and the Pope was one of its greatest patrons, and he used all his power to make the order subservient to his wishes, an in- strument to strengthen the power of the church, and early in the twelfth cen- tury, at his dictation and under his supervision, a code of rules and regulations to govern the order was duly promulgated. Though the Knights Templar flourished for a time, and thousands of the youth of Europe joined the order and marched victoriously to the city of David, and those who survived returned with great pomp, yet when the excite- ment was passed and the sound reasoning of men began to control their ac- tions, and a careful research of the records of the order was made, it was found that its rubrics were too broad and expansive, too catholic in their nature to permit the rules and regulations formulated by the hierarchy to be accepted for the government of the order. When this became known an effort was made to produce a compromise, but all propositions coming from that source were of such a nature that they could not be accepted, and proved futile, and oppres- sion produced a breach that was never healed, a chasm that never closed, a river that was never bridged over. When the heads of the churches found that suasion and ordinary pres- sure would not bring the order under abject surveillance and meek obedience, a determination to rule or ruin was made manifest, the machinery was put in operation for its destruction, the bulls of expulsion and excommunication were 49 382 History of Erie County, promulgated and sown broadcast through the land, and so far as the Roman or Greek churches knew, it was crushed out through the anathemas issued by the ruling spirits and power brought to bear upon the civil authorities. Yet it lived throughout the continent and Great Britain ; it survived persecution through the bigotry, ignorance, superstition and ostracism of the dark ages; like its confreres, it kept up the line of succession, and its good works and moral teachings and precepts were perpetuated and brought down through the ages of men, a cherished heirloom to the present generation, and its history is of the brightest recorded upon her pages, to which its followers and patrons point with pride and veneration. Many persons, brother Masons, who came to this country during the eighteenth century were Knights Templar, and when they found themselves ■congregated in number sufficient, made application through and received from the Grand Lodge and Grand Commandery in Great Britain authority to or- ganize subordinate commanderies in this country, and many were instituted, and in the latter part of the last and early part of the present century, the membership having become quite numerous, several Grand Commanderies were organized in the States. By an agreement previously entered into by and between the several Grand Commanderies, delegates were sent to Phil- adelphia in June, i8i6. The Grand Conclave assembled, and on the 22d of June, i8l6, the Grand Encampment or Commandery of the United States was duly organized, and by virtue of the power and authority thereto delegated, assumed control of the order in this country equal to that exercised by that of other countries ; since which time Grand Commanderies have been estab- lished in every State and Territory in this country. Many of the early settlers of Ohio were Knights Templar Masons when they came here, and early in this century subordinate commanderies were in- stituted, receiving authority as did the other branches of the order from the ■older States, and as they increased in numbers they began to think that it would be well to have a Grand Commandery in Ohio. Thereupon the proper application was filed with the proper authorities of the Grand Commandery of the United States for authority to organize a Grand Commandery, and Octo- ber 24, 1843, the Grand Commandery of Knights Tem.plar of Ohio was duly organized at Lancaster, and Michael Z. Kreider, an eminent physician resid- ing in Lancaster, was elected the first grand commander. Erie Conimandery No. 23, Knights Templar . — In September, 1869, N. H. Moore, J. D. Lea, C. J. Parsons and others applied for and received a dispen- sation to organize a subordinate commandery of Knights Templar in this city, which was issued of date of November 6, A. D. 1869, and N. H. Moore was elected the first commander of the Erie Commandery No. 23, Knights Templar, at Sandusky. That by authority from the Grand Commandery, a charter was issued of date of September 15, 1870, and the names of Neil H. The City of Sandusky. 383 i Moore, James D. Lea, C. J. Parsons, E. S. Chester, J. D. Buck, C. H. Gid- ^ dings, Isaac B. Massey, William Swanson, H. E. O’Hagan, J. A. Hubinger, ; F. W. Alvord, L. M. Lea, E. Hadley, H. H. Eldis, A. J. Lyon, S. Marks, V. Scott, A. C. Townsend, and John R. Minor, appear therein as charter mem- ' hers, and it was signed by Heman Ely, R. E., grand commander, and John i D. Caldwell, grand recorder. The regular stated meetings of Erie Commandery i are held on the first and third Thursdays of each month. Its membership in good standing at this time is 105, and the officers under the charter for the ; years 1869 and 1870 were as follows: I 1869. — E. C., Neil H. Moore; G. L, J. D. Lea; C. G., C. J. Parsons; prelate, J. D. Buck ; S. W., D. G. Pelton ; J. W., J. R. Minor; treasurer, A. C. Townsend; recorder, V. Scott; Str. Br., H. E. O’Hagan; Swd. Br., Isaac B. Massey ; warder, William Swanston ; sentinel, E. Hadley. 1870. — E. C., N. H. Moore; G. I., J. D. Lea; C. G., C. J. Parsons; pre- , late. Rev. Samuel Marks; S. W., D. G. Pelton; J. W., John R. Minor ; Treas., A. C. Townsend ; recorder, V. Scott ; Str. Br., H. E. O’Hagan ; Swd. Br., ; warder, William Swanston; sentinel, Fred. Kelsey. ' And the officers for the years 1885, 1886, 1887 and 1888 were as follows, I viz. : 1885. — E. C., E. M. Colver ; G. I., T. L. Williams; C. G., C. M. Keyes; prelate, E. H. Wilcox; S. W., H. C. Frederick; J. W., J. P. Seigfreid; treasurer, ; R. E. Schuck ; recorder, Henry Bricken ; Str. Br., A. C. Townsend ; Swd. Br., J. G. Strobel ; warder, D. W. C. Ruff ; sentinel, J. B. Taylor. 1886. — E. C., Thomas L. Williams; G. I., Charles M. Keyes ; C. G., David R. Arnold; prelate, Edwin Gillard ; S. W. Charles E. Black; J. W., Lewis : M. Lea ; treasurer, Randall E. Schuck ; recorder, Henry Bricken ; Str. Br., Asa C. Townsend ; Swd. Br., John G. Strobel; warder, Samuel W. Miller; sentinel, John B. Taylor, jr. 1887. — E. C., T. L. Williams; G. I., C. M. Keyes; C. G., D. R. Arnold; prelate, E. Gillard; S. W., C. E. Black; J. W., L. M. Lea; treasurer, R. E. Schuck; recorder, Henry Bricken; Str. Br., A. C., Townsend; Swd. Br., J. G. Strobel ; warder, S. W. Miller ; sentinel, J. B. Taylor, jr. 1888. — E. C., C. M. Keyes; G. I., D. B. Arnold; C. G., C. E. Black; I prelate, Edwin Gillard ; S. W., Charles Stroud; J. W., E. B. King; treasurer, R. E. Schuck ; recorder, Henry Bricken ; Str. Br., A. C. Townsend ; Swd. Br. J. G. Strobel ; warder, W. L. Lewis; sentinel, John B. Taylor, jr. I Independent Order of Odd Fellows. “The encouragement and support of ■ brothers of the order when in sickness, distress, or on travel, and for the pur- j pose of benevolence and charity.” Such is the object of the order of Odd I Fellows; an order that was first founded in this country as a permanent in- j stitution in 1818, although it existed therein as early as 1808. The order is strong in Sandusky as the following record of societies will show: 384 History of Erie County. Ogontz Lodge No. 66. — This Lodge of the I. O. O. F. is the oldest of the order in Sandusky. It was instituted on the 24th of July, 1846, with the fol- lowing charter members : John G. Camp, jr., John W. Witherell, Theodore Hosmer, William V. Moss, Bryan Hawley, Lester S. Hubbard, Jacob A. Bark- er and C. J. Chadwick. From these number the charter officers were elected as follows : Noble grand, Bryant Hawley; vice-grand, Lester S. Hubbard; secretary, John G. Camp, jr.; treasurer, Theodore Hosmer; R. H. S., Charles Chadwick; L. H. S., Eli M. Barnum. Ogontz Lodge now numbers one hundred and thirty-one active members, among whom are found some of the most substantial ele- ments of the city’s German population. It is composed mainly of Germans and does its “ work ” in that language. The present place of meeting is in the I. O. O. F. Hall at No. 127 Columbus avenue. The officers at the present time are: N. G., Sebastian Dussell ; V. G., Philip Linder; financial secretary, Gottleib Herman ; recording secretary, Charles Osberghaus ; R. S., William Strack ; L. S., Jacob Schmidt; W., Fritz Eichel ; C., John Fettel ; R. S. S., Jacob Schoor; L. S. S., Paul Herder; O. G., Fritz Lehner ; I. G., Jacob Lentz ; trustees, C. V. Wagner, George Erhardt and William Pfeiffer. Vallalialla Lodge [English) I. 0 . O. F. was instituted under a charter May 30, 1855, but on account of the depletion of its ranks during the war, suspend- ed work, and under that name was never revived. Sandusky Lodge No. 669 I. O. O. F. was instituted July 10, 1877. Its charter members were J. W. Newman, Allen A. Lyman, Daniel Kunz, Louis Linx, Henry D. Seeley, Frederick W. Alvord, A. W. Dwelle, William Korgele, Herman Kugel, J. W. Traber, C. W. Lane, G. P. Brestol, H. E. Cowell and W. Palmer. The lodge has a present membership of over one hundred per- sons, and is officered as follows : N. G., Fred. Gerold ; V. G., J. Piercey ; Sec., William Ohlemacher ; Perm. Sec’y, David Staner ; Treas , Paul Swissinger, R. S., J. Fay; L. S., Conrad Kreins ; Warden, William Bing ; Conductor, Butler Allen ; R. S. S., William Diebold ; L. S. S., Charles Matheas ; O. G,, Henry Miller; I. G., Adolph Long; Trustees, Conrad Martin, Herman Kugle and Walter W. Bowen. Sandusky Bay Lodge No. 179, Daughters of Rebeckah, I. O. O. F., was chartered May 21, 1886, with forty-eight members. Eric Encampment No. 27 /. O. 0 . F. was instituted on March 3, 1848, with Bryan Hawley, Hiram K. Steele, John Tift, Abijah Ives, John W. Buck- man, Thomas Johnson and Sumner P. Webber as its charter members. Of the first officers Thomas Johnson was elected chief patriarch ; Hiram K. Steele, high priest; John Tift, senior warden ; Bryant Hawley, junior warden ; J. W. Buckman, scribe, and Abijah Ives, treasurer. When first organized, and for some years subsequent to that time Erie En- campment worked in German, but afterward a change was made since which The City of Sandusky. 38s the work of the order has been conducted in English. Erie has a present membership of fifty. Its meetings are held on the first and third Friday even- ings of each month. The present officers are as follows : Christian Schlenk, C. P.; Butler Allen, H. P.; A. Kolb, S. W.; P. Swessinger, J. W.; Charles Osberg- haus, scribe ; C. V. Wagner, treasurer. Canton Perry No. 38 /. 0 . 0 . F. was instituted by charter dated April 9, 1886, with these charter members: Butler Allen, Charles Bauman, W. W. Bauman, H. E. Dwelle, M. Falotico, Adam Kolb, Ed. Keiner, Conrad Martin, John Mawby, Charles Osberghaus, Philip Schmidt, J. Smith, Paul Swessinger, John C. Whetstone, C. V. Wagner, Philip Ohlemacher, Conrad Kreins and S. D. Cutliff The membership of this society numbers eighteen persons, and is officered as follows : Captain, A. Kolb; lieutenant, Paul Swessinger; ensign, M. Falotico; accountant, C. Baumaux ; standard bearer, Philip Ohlemacher; guard, C. V. Wagner ; sentinel, Christian Schlenk ; picket, Charles Osberghaus. The combined Odd Fellows organizations, through the medium of an in- corporated company formed for the purpose, have made preparations for the erection of a temple on Washington Row, west of the Sloane House. The building, according to the plans proposed, will be three stories in height, and cover an area sufficient for four stores on the ground floor. The second story will be used for office and dwelling purposes, while the entire third floor will be fitted for the uses of the order. The entire cost of the building and land is estimated at thirty- five thousand dollars. Kriights of Pythias. This order is as strong, proportionately, as any of the other similiar organizations of the city, and its object is just as worthy and commendable. Friendship, charity and benevolence are the fundamental prin- ciples of Odd Fellowship. The order is founded upon naught but the purest and sincerest motives. Its aim is to alleviate the suffering of a brother, succor the unfortunate, zealously watch at the bedside of the sick, soothe the pillow of the dying, performthe last sad rites at the grave of a brother, offering con- solation to the afflicted, and caring, with a brother’s love, for the widow and orphan. Brotherly love and charity are the pillars on which it rests. Friendship and truth the bond and surety of its preservation. Western Reserve Lodge No. 128 K. of P. was instituted July 7, 1881, the charter members being William Altstaltter, Charles Baetz, John F. Bredbeck, Henry Denhel, Fouis Duennisch, C. J. Gibaut, Henry Graefe, J. Greenfelder, jr., T. J. Holzaepfel, J. M. Holzaepfel, Joseph Hower, Frank Kerber, Gust. Kirner, Fred. Kranz, R. P. Krudwig, Charles Kubach, F. R. Fange, Charles Miller, jr., H. Neumeyer, George Peters, W. E. Sloane, William C. Smith, E. F. Steuk, R. S. Tebbutt, I. J. P. Tessier, Charles F. Wagner, G. Zimmerman. Western Reserve Fodge, though but seven years old, has a membership of sixty-four. It, in common with all other of the Pythian organizations of the 386 History of Erie County. city, holds its meetings in the comfortable rooms at No. 620 Water street. The present officers are D. G. C., I. J. P. Tessier ; C. C., Charles V. Marquart ; V. C., J. M. Pf olzaepfel ; prelate, William F. Kubach ; PC. of R. S., P. J. P. Tes- sier ; M. of E., James Flynn; M. of F., G. Zimmerman; M. of A., John F. Cameron ; P. G., E. F. Steuk ; O. G., M. P^. Byriel. Courtesy Lodge No. 252 K. of P. was instituted September 6, 1887, with fifty- nine charter members, and is now officered as follows: A. W. Miller, P. C.; George C. Beis, C. C. ; E. J. Fay, V. C.; L. M. Eea, prelate; C. E. Col- ton, PC. R. S.; Henry Gertig, M. IT; F. P. Zollinger, M. E,; J. J. Deitz, M. A.; Daniel Schaefer, 1 . G.; J. M. Lloyd, O. G. Garfield Division No. 13 K. of P. was instituted March 30, 1882, with char- ter members, viz : Chas. P 3 aetz, Geo. J. Beier, Ph. Bing, J. R. Booth, Jno. F. Bredbeck, M. P. Byriel, John Cameron, John Campbell, Pdenry Dehnel, Louis Duennisch, James Flynn, C. J. Gibaut, J. Greenfelder, jr., F. J. Holzaepfel, J. M. Holzaepfel, Joseph Hower, Jacob Pveene, Frank Kerber, Gust. Kirner, Chas. Pvubach, Chas. P. Fuchs, Richard Budd, Wm. P^". Pvubach, Christ ICue- beler, I^. R. Lange, Geo. J. Marquart, Chas. Miller, jr., Henry F. Nusly, Geo. A. Owram, Geo. Pieters, Chas. P^einheimer, Fred. Schwenk, Wm. C. Smith, E. L. Steuk, R. S. Tebbutt, I. J. P. Tessier, Fred. G. Till, Chas. H. Walther, Frank Ward, jr., G. Zimmerman. The present members of the division are ; Sir Pvnight Captain, P. J. P. Tes- sier ; lieut., John P^. Cameron ; herald, John 1 ^. Booth ; sentinel, M. P. Byriel; guard, P^'. A. PCerber ; recorder, G. Zimmerman; treasurer, James Flynn; chap- lain, W. C. Smith ; quartermaster, John G. Dorn. Division membership forty. Endoivvieut Rank Section No. 528 K. of P. was instituted in November, 1882, with fourteen charter members, viz: James Flynn, John R. PPooth, G. Zimmerman, Christian PCuebeler, Chas. Wagner, Geo. Peters, Fred. Schwenk, Wm. C. Smith, Herman Miller, E. L. Steuk, Joseph Hower, G. C. Wattles, Chas. Caetz, Jacob Greenfelder. Present membership 13. Officers for 1888: Joseph Hower, president; Gottleib Zimmerman, vice-president; William C. Smith, secretary and treasurer. The Grand Army of the Republic is a military order, numbering in its State membership about forty thousand persons. The order has for its foun- dation stone the great principles of fraternity and charity. Pt is not, in the most strict sense of the word, a secret organization, yet it has its unwritten work and rituals. McMccn's Post was organized on the i8th of March, 1880, with the follow- ing charter members: Elisha M. Colver, William A. Till, W. J. Affleck, Chris- tian PTenry, J. R. Booth, S. D. Cutliff, B. P^. Church, John Heeter, Charles Groesch, Robert Pvimball, George A. P^ree, William Nash, Henry Landan, Martin C. Cross, John S. Murthy, Pdenry PPernard, John Geiser, Foster F. Neill, T. M. Cook, James Duffy, Philip Cann, and George R. Marvin. The City of Sandusky. 387 The officers for 1880 were William A. Till, post commander ; W. J. Affleck, senior vice commander; J. R. Booth, junior vice commander; S. D. Cutliff, adjutant; George A. Free, quartermaster; T. M. Cook, surgeon; Martin C. Cross, chaplain; Christian Walter, quartermaster sergeant; Christian Henry, sergeant major. The first four years of the life of this post were full of ups and downs, dis- couragements and ill luck. Many times it was believed best that the charter should be surrendered, and that the business be closed, but the same faithful- ness and courage that characterized the army life of some of the leading mem- bers, served them in this dilemma, and they steered the craft through safely ; and the following two years, the fifth and sixth, witnessed the acquisition of new life in the society, giving it an impetus in growth and development, both numerically and financially. The present membership numbers two hundred. Th^ McMeens Post takes its name from Dr. Robert R. McMeens, formerly surgeon of the Third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, who died suddenly at Perry- ville, Ky., while in the faithful discharge of his duties as medical director. Surgeon McMeens was among the first to offer his services to his country. On first entering the service he was made regimental surgeon, and by his gen- tlemanly deportment and undoubted professional skill, won for him the confi- dence and esteem of his brother officers; and at their request he was appointed medical director. Up to the date of his death, October 30, 1862, he continued in active service, filling many important positions in the medical department of the army. In his death the army lost a kind hearted, faithful and efficient officer, the country a true patriot, and the medical profession one of its bright- est ornaments. McMeens Post does not number among its members any officers that at- tained a high rank during the war, a colonel being the highest. Its officers have been, and still are, mostly from the ranks, and its standing in the depart- ment aptly illustrates the quality of the men that went to make up the rank and file of the grand army that saved the nation, and made stable the unity and integrity of the republic. The present officers of McMeens Post are as follows : Charles B. Dennis, post commander ; R. VV. Forster, senior vice-commander ; Joseph T. Marshall, junior vice-commander ; Josh. B. Davis, adjutant ; Benjamin W. Thompson, quartermaster ; Edwin Gillard, surgeon ; Isaac T. Mack, chaplain ; Lewis M. Lea, officer of the day ; John Heeter, officer of the guard. Craig Camp No. 143, Division of Ohio, Sons of Veterans, was organized October 22, 1886, with the following charter members: E. T. Rogers, F. H. Heyler, Ph. H. Traub, C. C. Canfield, E. S. Hines, C. N. Weis, Jacob Wilder- kehr, E. T. Briggs, Alta F. Cook, H. S. Oram, C. A. Craig, J. W. Cherry and C. W. Kelsey. Sandusky Lodge, No. 102, Knights of Honor, was instituted April 16, 1875, 388 History of Erie County. with charter members as follows: L. H. Lyman, B. F. Ferris, P. J. Niederlander, A. C. Niederlander, W. S. Spencer, William H. Van Horn, Frederick Groch, Charles C. Martin, L B. Massey, Voltaire Scott, A. D. Kinney, E. M. Colver, J. W. P'arwell, A. Bear, R. M. Hubbard. The lodge has a present member- ship of fifty-eight persons, and is officered as follows : Dictator, L. R. Hawes ; vice-dictator, Gottleib Zimmerman ; reporter, B. W. Townsend ; financial re- porter, N. A. Hadden ; treasurer, Charles E. Boughton ; guard, F. C. Reh- berg; inside guard, J. W. Farwell; outside guard, William W. Collins; past dictator, W. C. Zollinger. Royal Arcanum. The only representing society of this order in this city is Erie Council No. 152, which was chartered on May 3d, 1880, upon the follow- ing membership : J. D. Woolsey, D. C. Powers, J. W. Cherry, E. J. Waye, B. F. P'erris, E. E. Upp, P. H. Clemons, William S. Milne, H. C. Huntington, C. Ruff, Mozart Gallup, Arthur Phinney, Albert Texter, Henry Graefe, U. T. Curran, E. M. Colver, J. Q. Nichols, S. B. Dewey, W. V. Latham, John Mc- Kelvey, Charles V. Olds, R. M. Wilcox, J. W. Holland, E. Hadley, Thomas McFall, E. H. Howe and F. W. Thomas. The society has prospered fairly well and has fifty-seven members on its roll. It is officered as follows : Past regent, A. J. Neesly ; regent, J. Q. Nich- ols ; vice-regent, A. M. Roegele ; deputy grand regent, William K. Marshall ; orator, E. J. Wayne ; secretary, F. H. Schnaitter ; treasurer, Charles A. Gil- cher ; warden, J. L. Reiger ; guide, Frank Pelz ; sentry, Otto Ilg. Knights of Maccabees. Two societies of this order are in existence in this city : Protection Tent No. 7. and Junior Camp No. i, with uniformed rank. The first. Protection Tent, was chartered on September 16, 1884, with William Forde, Frank L. Welch, DeWitt Herman, Thomas O. Whitmarsh, Henry Graefe, Henry W. Wagenet, Charles Graefe, Frank E. Jones, Willard A. Bishop, G. A. Marsh, jr., Lewis A. Biehl, Fred. C. Wininger, Charles H. Reeves, Theo- dore F. Spencer, Herbert A. Chandler, Leonard S. Johnson, August H. Arend, John Traub, A. R. Scudder and Fred W. Stephens as original members. The uniformed rank. Junior Camp No. i, of the order, was instituted Feb- ruary 23, 1886, with charter members as follows: Charles H. Reeves, Charles Graefe, L. R. Hawes, J. M. Schumacher, F. W. Stephens, George F. Schmidt, L. A. Biehl, J. H. Jones, J. J. Marquart, J. M. Kistner, Joseph Andres, Frank Spiegel, H. A. Chandler, Clayton Platt, Thomas Hickling, Charles A. Craig, Frank H. Jones, Charles H. Ferguson, C. Arnold, C. G. Shippel, P. Schu- macher, William E. Fischer, W. C. Dahnk, M. P. Kinney, C. B Wilcox and Lewis F. P'lint. Sandusky Council No. 2, Order of the Red Cross. This order, over the charter of which appears the symbolic words, omnia pro caritati, was organ- ized on the l8th of July, 1885, with these persons as charter members: George D. Williams, William Balsley, Charles Graefe, George W. Knight, The City of Sandusky. 389 Wilber F. Clark. Ed. P. Brohl, Ed. C. Riegger, E. J. Miller, Albert Apple, Wilby Clothier, William Bender, William B. Curth and J. C. Scheifler. Prominent among the orders of the city not hereinbefore mentioned, is that known as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, the first society of which, in Sandusky, was organized in 1871, and was known as Sandusky Di- vision No. 130. The present organization is known as Put-in-Bay Division, No. 208. The Ancient order of Hibernians has an organization in the city, as also has the National Union (Bay Council No. 49) ; the Druids, whose m}'stic ini- tials are V. A. O. D,, by Guttenberg Grove, No. 9 ; the D. O. H., by Blue- cher Lodge No. 109, and the Knights of Labor (K. of L.) The German societies, other than some above mentioned, are abundant, and are represented by the Active Turn Verein, the Social Turn Verein, the Arbeiter Unterstuetzungs Verein, the Erohsiun Gesang Verein, the Sandusky Liederkranz, the Union Benevolent Association, the Bavarian Benevolent As- sociation, the Harmonie Singing Society, and possibly others, all of which for further mention will be found in the “ German chapter ” of this work. The Sandusky Light Guard. This, the only military company of the city, was organized pursuant to the provisions of the State Legislature, in the year 1875, and was mustered into service as a part of the Ohio State Guard on the 3d of May of that year. Henry Dehnel was the first commandant, and upon his retirement was succeeded by George Bachman, and the latter in turn bv Charles M. Keyes, in 1878. On July 13, 1885, Captain Keyes was made lieutenant-colonel of the Six- teenth Regiment Ohio State Guard, to which the Sandusky Guard was at- tached, and Edmund B. King succeeded to the command of the company. His commission was dated July 29, 1885. The Sandusky Light Guard is a well- uniformed and well-disciplined com- pany, and numbers fifty-one young and active men. It is officered as follows : Edmund B. King, captain ; George P. Barker, first lieutenant ; VV. L. Lewis, ■second lieutenant ; W. R. Zollinger, first sergeant, PORTLAND TOWNSHIP. The history of old Portland township was made between the years 1827 and 1872. Prior to the first named year it was attached for civil purposes to Perkins township, but in that year it was detached and erected into a separate township and given the name of Portland, signifying “ land lying upon the water,” a name that years before, by common consent, but not by any com- petent authority, was applied to this city. Portland, as a township, never acquired much history except through its connection with Sandusky, by which it was eventually absorbed and passed out of being. Unfortunately its early records cannot be found, and it is pre- 50 390 History of Erie County. sumed that they have been destroyed or lost. There does remain, however, a record book, showing proceedings from 1838 to 1859, from which a partial list of its leading officers has been obtained ; and it will be observed that many of these officers were residents, and, occasionally, officers of the municipality of Sandusky, which was an integral part of the township, although a corporation by itself. From an old township record found in the city clerk’s office the fol- lowing persons were found to have served in the local offices of Portland town- ship, from the year 1838 to 1858, both inclusive: 1838 — Trustees, Charles F. Drake, John G. Camp and Judah W. Ransom; clerk, John F. Campbell; treasurer, William B. Smith; overseers of the poor,^ Foster M. Follett and John N. Sloane ; constables, August P. Tower and Ros- well J. Jennings. 1839 — Trustees, Charles F. Drake, Josiah W. Hollister and Henry Victor; clerk, John F. Campbell ; treasurer, P'oster M. Follett; overseers, Alexander H. Barber and Zenas W. Barker ; constables, Roswell J. Jennings and Orlando McKnight. 1840 — Trustees, John Weeden, James N. Davidson and Henry'F. Merry;, clerk, William Kelley ; treasurer, William H. Caswell ; overseers, William A. Simpson and S. S. Hosmer ; constables, Roswell J. Jennings and William Marshall. 1841 — Trustees, John Weeden, Abner Root and Alexander H. Barber; clerk, Charles Cochran ; treasurer, William H. Caswell ; overseers, Sidney S. Hosmer and William A. Simpson ; constables, William Marshall and Roswell J. Jennings. 1842 — Trustees, John Weeden, Alexander H. Barber and Abner Root; clerk, Charles Cochran ; treasurer, Foster M. Follett ; assessor, Moers Far- well ; overseers, S. S. Hosmer, William A. Simpson ; constables, Roswell J. Jennings and Charles F. Drake. 1843 — Trustees, E. S. Gregg, Daniel Dibble and Feonard B. Johnson; clerk, Earl Bell (appointed by trustees, the election resulting in a tie vote) ; treasurer, Alexander H. Barber ; assessor, Zenas W. Barker ; overseers, Will- iam A. Simpson and Charles B. Squire ; constables, Charles F. Drake and George W. Smith. 1844 — Trustees, F. S. Gregg, David Campbell and Henry C. Williams; clerk, Waldo F. Converse; treasurer, W. W. Wetherell ; assessor, Amos Earl; overseers, Abner Fyman and Moers Farwell; constables, Alonzo Wade and George W. Smith. 1845 — Trustees, Charles Barney, Henry C. Williams and Hiram A. Ar- nold ; clerk, Waldo F. Converse; treasurer, Henry P. Radcliff; assessor, Phi- lander Gregg; constables, Alonzo Wade and John Youngs. 1846 — Trustees, William A. Simpson, John M. Booth and Gilbert Harris; clerk, Charles Cochran ; treasurer, Henry P. Radcliff; assessor, Jacob S. Sco- field; constables, Charles Rice and Samuel Austin. Tpie City of Sandusky. 391 1847 — Trustees, Philander Gregg, Charles Barney and Erastus Cooke; clerk, Charles Cochran; treasurer, Francis Whitney; assessor, John Youngs; constables, Charles Rice and Washington Dewey. 1848 — Trustees, Rollin M. Hubbard, Philander Gregg and John W. Beatty ; clerk, Charles Cochran ; treasurer, James Sanderson ; assessor, Gil- bert Harris ; constables, Theodore C. Barker and Horatio Jennings. 1849 — Trustees, Horace Aplin, Alexander H. Barber and Elias H. Haines; clerk, Jacob Hoombeck; treasurer, Henry P. Radcliff ; assessor, Gil- bert Harris ; constables, William Spaulding and John W. Upp. 1850 — Members of constitutional convention, James W. Taylor and Jo- seph M. Farr ; trustees, Samuel E. Hitchcock, Robert Hathaway and William B. Smith; clerk, John B. Norris; treasurer, John M. Bailey; assessor, Will- iam P. Chapman; constables, Jonas J. Perry and Jacob Hertel. 1851 — Trustees, William W. Wetherell, John G. Pool and Chris. C. Keech ; clerk, Gilman W. Pritchard ; treasurer, Warren Smith ; assessor, Thomas C. McGee; constables, Jonas J. Perry and Obadiah C. McLouth. 1852 — Trustees, John G. Pool, Chris. C. Keech and Lucas S. Beecher; clerk, Randall I. Gibbs; treasurer, William W. Jordan ; assessor, Charles Cross ; constable, Obadiah C. McLouth ; justice of the peace, Foster M. Follett. 1853 — Trustees, Horace Aplin, John G. Pool and William W. Wetherell; clerk, George J. Anderson; treasurer, W. W. Johnson. No further record found for this year’s officers. 1854 — Trustees, J. M. Bailey, Horace Aplin and Solomon C. Moore ; clerk, George J. Anderson; treasurer, H. W. House; assessor, Louis H. Traub; constables, Jonas J. Perry and Oliver Rice. 1855 — Trustees, John M. Bailey, Horace Aplin and Peter Gilcher ; clerk, John G. Pool; treasurer, Harrison W. Houk ; constables, Nicholas Smith and Oliver Rice; justice of the peace, George S. Patterson. 1856 — Trustees, Peter Gilcher, John M. Bailey and Alexander H. Barber; clerk, John G. Pool; treasurer, H. C. Bush; constables, Jonas J. Perry and Enoch Weller. 1857 — Trustees, John P. Thorp, William T. West and S. S. Hosmer ; clerk. Rush R. Sloane ; assessor, Jacob Winterstein ; constables, Jonas J. Perry and Enoch Weller. 1858 — Trustees, S. S. Hosmer, John P. Thorp and William T. West; clerk. Rush R. Sloane; treasurer, James Alder; justice of the peace, Horace Aplin ; assessor, Chris. C. Keech ; constables, Jonas J. Perrv and Enoch Weller. THE BANKS AND BANKERS OF SANDUSKY. Tradition — we have no record — says that the first attempt at the founding of a banking house in Sandusky was made by some of the prominent busi- ness men and capitalists of the town in the year 1834; and the result of that 392 History of Erie County. effort was the establishment, under the laws of the State, of the Bank of San- dusky. As was provided by law, the subscription books were duly opened by the commissioners, and the day fixed upon which the books would be closed. At the time designated it was found that less than one-third of the stock had been subscribed, and it became absolutely necessary that “ some- thing be done,” and that at once. In this extremity, Oran Follett, who was already a subscriber for a considerable amount of the stock, came to the res- cue and agreed to take the balance at par value, amounting to something over seventy thousand dollars. He knew, or felt satisfied at least, that the stock could be easily disposed of to New York capitalists, and did make a sale of such part of it as he could not conveniently carry. This timely act on his part made possible the establishment of the bank. A board of directors was chosen and a full complement of officers, William Townsend, then a leading merchant of the town, being elected president. The banking house was lo- cated on Water street, on the ground now covered by the West House. Mr. Townsend remained president for two years, when he was succeeded by Mr. Follett, under whose management the institution prospered for several years, and until Congress passed the “ Specie act,” by which a radical change in the management was necessitated. About this time, too, the eastern stock- holders desired to sell their interests, and for the purpose of purchasing, Mr. Follett made a journey to New York State, only to find that Burr Higgins had preceded him and bought the stock. After this the bank was short-lived, and, putting it modestly, soon went into liquidation. Immediately following the dissolution of the Bank of Sandusky, in 1847, another was started, and known as Sandusky City Bank. In this a number of persons were interested who had held stock in the old bank, but that insti- tution lived but little longer than its predecessor, although its ending was quite different. Its affairs were wound up about 1854 or 1855. About the year 1850 the Union Bank opened for business, but shortly afterward passed into the hands of Freeland T. Barney, Fester S. Hubbard and William D. Durbin, under the name of Barney, Hubbard & Durbin. This firm managed the affairs of the institution with a good measure of success until the death of Mr. Durbin, in 1863, after which the firm changed to Hubbard & Co., Fester S., Rollin B., Watson and Fangdon Hubbard becoming proprie- tors and owners. This firm did a banking business for only a few months, when, in January, 1864, their business was merged in the Second National Bank, a further mention of which will hereafter be made. The Moss National Bank is the junior, save one, of the banking houses of Sandusky at this present time, but it was the direct outgrowth of the first Natio-nal Bank established in the city, and among the first of the United States. But let us observe and note the events that led to the founding of this enter- prise. The City of Sandusky. 393 Augustus H. Moss came from Oneida county, N. Y., to Sandusky in the year 1837, established a mercantile business on Water street. He was thus engaged until the 8th day of June, 1850, when he opened a banking business in the city, conducting it alone for three years. On the loth of June, 1853, Augustus H., Truman and Horace O. Moss, under the firm name and style of Moss Brothers, succeeded to the business. Under the careful and successful management of this firm the bank was conducted for a period of ten years, or until the passage of the national banking act of Congress. The firm had cai'efully noted the progress made by the advocates of this act ; they saw the advantages of such a system, and being actuated by motives of patriotism, and a desire to support the general government in its endeavors to establish a uniform and safe system of banking throughout the country, therefore immediately upon the final passage of the law an application for a bank charter was filed with the proper officers at W^ashington ; but, owing to some defect in the certificate of authority, or charter granted by the depart- ment, a delay was experienced in the premises, so that when the charter was granted it was numbered sixteen, whereas, had the proceedings on the part of the government been in due and correct form the charter of the Fi 7 'st National Bank of SaiiFisky would have been numbered “ two ” in the stead of that it in fact received, and would have been preceded in organization only by the First National Bank of W'^ashington. The articles of association provided for the first board of directors of the First National Bank as follows: Augustus H. Moss, William S. Pierson, Homer Goodwin, Wildman Mills, and Jay Osborn Moss. The capital stock of the bank was one hundred thousand dollars, divided into one thousand shares. The first officers were as follows : President, Augustus H. Moss; vice-presi- dent, William S. Pierson; cashier, Horace O. Moss; assistant cashier. Jay Osborn Moss. The bank was opened for the transaction of business on the 1st day of July, 1863. Under the efficient management of these men the af- fairs of the bank were conducted and continued in successful operation for the term of twenty years ; and that period of its existence was perhaps remarkable for the fewness of radical changes, both in its directorate and immediate officers. Augustus H. Moss remained president and Horace O. Moss cashier through- out the life of the charter. William S. Pierson continued vice-president until the time of his death, when Jay O. Moss succeeded to the position. Having lived to the end of its charter it became desirable to, in a measure, effect a reorganization for a further continuance of business, but that the full honor and credit of its most excellent standing might be awarded to those to whom it was due, a change in the corporate name of the institution became necessary. To accomplish this end the First National Bank, as a body cor- porate, liquidated its business and passed out of existence, and on the 20th day of October, 1883, the Moss National Bank of Sandnsky, with a capital stock of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, took its place. 394 History of Erie County. The directors were Homer Goodwin, James Woolworth, John T. Johnson, Augustus H. Moss, and Jay O. Moss. Augustus H. Moss was elected presi- dent, and Jay O. Moss, vice-president. Charles H. Moss was appointed cash- ier, and Augustus C. Moss, actuary. At the present day the above named officers remain, except that Horace O. Moss is cashier, and Charles H. Moss, assistant cashier. The present board of directors is as follows: Augustus H. Moss, Charles N. Ryan, Homer Good- win, Horace O. Moss, J. O. Moss, John T. Johnson, Augustus C. Moss, James Woolworth, and Charles H. Moss. The surplus of the bank is $40,000. The Second National Bank. This institution had its origin in the banking house of Barney, Hubbard & Durbin, which was in turn succeeded by the firm of Hubbard & Co., also private bankers, to whose business reference has been heretofore made. The latter firm was in business from May, 1863, until Jan- uary, 1864, when the Second National Bank of Sandusky opened its doors for business. The Second National Bank was incorporated November 24, 1863, with an authorized capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars, in shares of one hundred dollars each. The first board of directors was composed of the fol- lowing persons: Rollin B. Hubbard, Lester S. Hubbard, Watson Hubbard, William T. West, Halsey C. Post, Lester H. Latham, James H. Stead, Chris. C. Keech, and William A. Simpson. The first officers were Lester S. Hub- bard. president, and Andrew W. Prout, cashier. Lester S. Hubbard continued as president of the bank until the time of his death, July 12, 1875, when he was succeeded by Rollin B. Hubbard. After the term of the bank’s charter had expired, it was renewed and business con- tinued without interruption and with little or no material change in manage- ment. The present officers are as stated heretofore, and the directory com- prises these persons: Watson Hubbard, C. C. Keech, George A. Cooke, H. C. Post, R. B. Plubbard, H. J. Donahoe, A. J. Stoll, John Whitworth, and A. W. Prout. The Third National Bank of Sandusky was an institution founded and opened for the transaction of a general banking business on the loth of Octo- ber, 1872. It cannot be said to have been the outgrowth of any former simi- lar business, but rather an original enterprise, necessitated by the growing manufacturing and mercantile business of the city and vicinity. The first board of directors comprised the following persons : Peter Gilcher, Jacob Engles, Henry J. Donahoe, Philip Graefe, Christian L. Schoepfle, George J. Anderson, and Lawrence Cable. The last named, Mr. Cable, was elected president; Jacob Engles, vice-president; and George J. Anderson, cashier. The capital stock of the bank was, and now is, one hundred thousand dollars. Prom the time of the starting of the bank to the present, Lawrence Cable has ably filled the office of president. Mr. Anderson resigned the cashiership The City of Sandusky. 395 after about a year’s service, and Henry Graefe was appointed in his stead. The latter continued until January, 1884, when he was, in turn, succeeded by Frederick P. Zollinger. Upon one occasion, during the cashiership of George J. Anderson, this bank was the victim of a forged draft to the extent of twenty-five hundred dollars, but through the prompt action of Mr. Cable, the president, the forger was overtaken just as he was about to leave the city, and compelled to deliver up his ill-gotten gains. His story was so exceedingly plausible, and his pro- testations of innocence so well feigned that the president did not seek to arrest and detain him, but rather to recover the cash. Subsequent events, however, clearly proved that the person was an expert criminal, and not a “ minister of the gospel,” as he had proclaimed himself. The present surplus of the Third National Bank is thirty-two thousand dollars. Its officers are : Lawrence Cable, president ; R. E. Schuek, vice- president; Frederick P. Zollinger, cashier; and J. M. Schumacher, teller ; board of directors : Lawrence Cable, Henry J. Donahoe, R. E. Schuek, Will- iam H. Gilcher, Norman Kelley, Jacob Kuebler, and C. G. Neilsen. The Citizens' National Bank. This institution is the youngest of its class- in Sandusky, having been incorporated on the 20th of February, 1884; but, notwithstanding its recent organization, its business has been of such magni- tude that its management has declared an annual dividend of eight per cent, for four successive years, and the bank now has an accumulated surplus of five thousand dollars. . The first board of directors of the Citizens’ Bank comprised these men ; George A. Marsh, Homer Goodwin, Truman B. Taylor, Albert E. Merrill, William Schade, Philip Graefe, George Feick, Gustavus Graham, and Joseph Kronthal. The officers were : president, A. E. Merrill ; vice-president, Gus- tavus Graham; cashier, Henry Graefe. The original capital stock of the concern was authorized at three hundred thousand dollars, but the bank has thus far transacted its business with a single hundred thousand. Mr. Merrill has held the presidency since the organization of the bank. John Krupp succeeded to the vice-presidency in January, 1886. Mr. Graefe still continues as cashier. The present directors are William Schade, Joseph Kronthal, Vincent Kerber, William Graefe, John Krupp, George A. Marsh, Albert E. Merrill, George Feick, and Truman Taylor. LOCAL IMPROVEMENT COMPANIES. Sandnsky Gas Light Company and Sandusky Electric Light, Fuel Gas and Supply Company. — Prior to 1854 there had been a growing public sentiment in favor of establishing a gas light plant in the city ; but nothing definite was done until May ii, of that year, when a charter was granted to the company first named in the heading of this chapter. 396 History of Erie County. The original incorporators were A. V. Barringer, Earl Bill, J. A. Camp, L. S. Hubbard and E. B. Sadler. The company’s application was certified by F. M. Follett, as notary, and Rice Harper as clerk of court; Wm. Trevitt signing the charter as secretary of State. The original capital stock of $75,000 was advertised for sale in the col- umns of the Daily Conitnercial Register and the Sandtisky Daily Mirror. Subscriptions to the amount of $42,750 were taken, and on May 24 an organ- ization was effected, the five incorporators being chosen as directors. E. B. Sadler was elected president, J. A. Camp secretary, and E. S. Hubbard, treas- urer. The works were erected by J. Lockwood & Co., on the grounds still occupied by the compan3c In April, 1855, the first semi-annual report shows that ninety-one private consumers were taking gas, and that the city was using seventy street lights. A dividend of three per cent, was declared the first year. Wm. H. Hudson was elected superintendent in June, 1855, to hold the po- sition at the pleasure of the board, which he did to their satisfaction until his retirement in 1874, when L. Moss took charge until 1878, following T. Taylor, who, after a short term, surrendered the position to the present efficient manager, Mr. Thomas Wood, who is known as an able advocate of electric lighting and fuel gas, if not as substitutes for coal gas, at least as valuable auxiliaries in meeting a popular demand. In 1857 C. Leonard became president of the company, in 1858 S. B. Caldwell succeeded him, in i860 A. H. Moss followed, and in 1865 W. A. Simpson was chosen, the last named gentleman filling the position until 1886, when A. J. Stoll was elected to this important office. The first franchise was for twenty years, and in 1874 the city granted a franchise for ten years, with the stipulation that the city might purchase the property during that time at an appraiser’s valuation, otherwise the franchise to become perpetual. The city did not purchase the plant and the franchise is now perpetual. The capital stock was increased in 1874 to $115,000, and about $40,000 spent in improvements. In 1880 the stock was increased to $125,000, and in 1888 to $250,000. In 1886 a new company, having substantially the same stockholders as those represented in the gas company (which remains un- changed), was organized under the name of the Sandusky Electric Light, Fuel Gas and Supply Company, with H. C. Post as president, C. C. Keech vice- president, A. W. Prout treasurer, and Thomas Wood superintendent and sec- retary. The last two gentlemen holding corresponding positions in the gas company. The capital stock now aggregates $270,000, the increase being the initial step in the introduction of fuel gas and incandescent lighting. The gas company’s real estate comprises nearly an acre of land on Law- rence, between Market and Water streets, covered, except sixteen square rods. The City of Sandusky. 397 with buildings. Nothing but the land remains of the original plant which was provided, of course, with facilities proportioned to the skepticism of investors, and to the limited demand for gas at that time. There were at first but six retorts, and perhaps two or three miles of mains, all told. But by 1869, when Mr. Wood engaged with the company, the capacity had been increased one hundred per cent, and a gas-holder capable of storing 32,000 feet, erected. At the present writing there are between fourteen and fifteen miles of main pipe, thirty-six retorts, and two gas-holders, with a combined capacity of 100,000 cubic feet. There are two engines in use, one of one hundred and twenty-fi\''e, and the other seventy-five horse power. Barney & Kilbey, who built the two engines, will soon finish one of one hundred and fifty horse power for use by the Elec- tric Light and Fuel Gas Company, in supplying the incandescent lights. The Electric Light, Fuel Gas and Supply Company, at first more directly for elec- tric lighting, was organized in 1886, with a capital stock of $10,000, after- wards increased to $20,000. The first street electric lights were put in position in 1886, and soon be- came so popular that by 1888 the whole city was lighted with the arc electric system, one hundred and seventy-five being required for this purpose. The electricity is generated by five dynamos, and fifteen miles of wire conducts the electric current throughout the city. The gas company has an extensive plumbing and gas fitting establishment in the Sloane block, and with the electric light company gives regular em- ployment to thirty men, and furnishes occasional work for nearly as many more. Wages to hands run from $1.50 to $2.50 per day, according to the class of work performed. Among public improvement enterprises these companies take high rank, from the fact that their efficient officers hav^e kept up with, if not ahead of, the progressive spirit of the times. They were among the first to introduce elec- tric lighting, and demonstrate its practicability to less enterprising corpora- tions. The Sandusky Street Railway Company . — This corporation was brought into life under the provisions of the laws of Ohio, during the latter part of Au- gust, 1881, the incorporators being W. E. Ludlow, A. J. Stoll, John C. Zollin- ger, Clark Rude, John T. Beecher, and W. E. Haekedorn. P'rom these, officers were chosen as follows: president, W. E. Ludlow ; vice-president, John C. Zol- linger; secretary, W. E. Haekedorn, and treasurer Clark Rude. The capital stock of the company was fixed at $75,000. The first board of directors com- prised these persons: W. E. Ludlow, Clark Rude, A. J. Stoll, John Homegard- ner, John T. Beecher, John C. Zollinger and W. E. Haekedorn. This company seems to have performed no further act than the organiza- tion above stated, and all work of construction therefore fell to their successors. 398 History of Erie County. On the 8th of May, 1883, the company sold their franchise, and all rights un- der it, to Messrs. C. W. D. Miller, A. VV. Bishop, A. H. Pomeroy, Thomas Curchward, S. H. Dewey, L D. Alcott and P. W. Barrett, all of Berea, O., who, having become the stockholders of the concern, elected the following board of directors: C. VV. D. Miller, A. W. Bishop, A. H. Pomeroy, P. W. Bar- rett, and subsequently Thomas Curchward, L. D. Alcott and S. H. Dewey. A. VV. Bishop was chosen president; Thomas Curchward, vice-president; A. H. Pomeroy, secretary and treasurer, and C. W. D. Miller, superintendent. Under this organization the work of construction and equipment was com- pleted. The line of the road commenced at the foot of Columbus avenue, and from thence to the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern depot by the way of Columbus avenue, Haye’s avenue and North Depot street. The road was completed and put in operation in the month of August, 1883. This company continued in the management of the road until the 23d of January, 1885, at which time they sold their franchise and acquired property, and a new organization was effected by the selection of another board of direct- ors as follows : Augustus H. Moss, J. O. Moss, Augustus C. Moss, Charles V. Olds and Clark Rude, all well known business men of Sandusky. Charles V. Olds was elected president, Augustus H. Moss, vice-president, Augustus C. Moss, secretary and treasurer, and Clark Rude, superintendent. As the road was tlien formed it was operated by this company until May, 1885, when an extension was built, continuing the line from its terminus at the Lake Shore depot, west to Camp street; thence through Camp to West Wash- ington; thence east to Washington Row; thence to Columbus avenue, striking the original line, and following it to its terminus at the foot of the avenue. This extension made a “belt line,” a trifle more than three miles in length. It was ■completed and put in operation about the 1st of July, 1885 - In July of the succeeding year, 1886, another extension was built, reaching from Haye’s avenue south through Columbus avenue to the fair grounds. A •still further e.xtension of this last line will be made, probably, in the near future, as far as the Soldier’s and Sailor’s Home. Mr. Olds filled the office of President of the company until his death in De- cember, 1887, upon which event Augustus H. Moss was elected to that posi- tion. The present officers are president, Augustus H. Moss; vice-president, J. O. Moss; secretary and treasurer, Augustus C. Moss; superintendent, Clark Rude; directors, A. H. Moss, Jay O. Moss, A. C. Moss, Horace O. Moss, Clark Rude. The stables and other buildings of the company are situate on Hayes' avenue, at the east end of North Depot street. SANDU.SKY FIARBOR. Sandusky has, undoubtedly the finest land-locked harbor on any of the great lakes. Lor safety it is unsurpassed, and in natural advantages shows such su- The City of Sandusky. 399 periority over those cities of the coast that have outstripped Sandusky as to be the marvel of the age why it is thus. When tornadoes and cyclones sweep over the prairies, and pursue their devastating way on either side, this city remains untouched, and the inhabitants almost believe they live a charmed life. With Cedar Point, the peninsula and the surrounding shore there is such an environ- ment as few cities or harbors possess, and had the people been quick to see, and wise to plan, Sandusky Harbor would to-day be alive with masts and smoke- stacks, and Chicago would find a dangerous rival on the shores of Erie. There were great opportunities in the early days, and at the present time it seems almost incredible that they were not seized and improved. P'rom an old record of that time we learn that “in 1828 there were four hundred and thirty- nine arrivals of vessels. Several steamboats navigated the lake from Buffalo to Detroit, stopping here to receive passengers, and already Sandusky was beginning to be of importance, for it was the only point on the Southern shore where merchandize could be landed for the interior.” From an old Ga- zetteer take the statement that “during all this time Sandusky Bay. and sur- roundings were wholly in their natural condition. Not a dollar had been ex- pended for improvement while the mouths of the rivers, for most part of the time in the business season, were closed up by sand-bars, which, at times, were so firm that loaded wagons could pass over them.” Then there came a time that the government put its shoulder to the wheel and said “there must be a better channel,” and dredging was begun and carried on until a channel was made from the lighthouse at Cedar Point, to the part of the bay opposite the Baltimore and Ohio docks. The channel thus made was two hundred feet wide, and sixteen feet deep, and after coming from the light-house it made a sharp elbow opposite the city, and then came in. It is now proposed and will soon be carried out that another channel shall be made, more direct than the old one, whereby the elbow shall be cut off, and a mile and a half of distance saved. This is the great question of the present, and when accomplished the bay will rank with any in our land. The topography of the coast surrounding the bay has changed so much in fifty years that were one brought to life who was familiar with it at that time, they would scarcely recognize the contour of the shore. In 1821, Peninsula Point, a promontory jutting out toward Cedar Point from the shore this side of Marblehead, was a prominent landmark. The water of the lake flowed into the bay through a narrow strait, not over one hundred rods wide, formed by the two projecting points. One of the oldest inhabitants of the city, Mr. B. F. Dwelle, tells of standing on Peninsula Point with his rifle, and shooting at geese on Cedar Point. At this time the Point in question rose above the v^^ater’s level fifteen feet in great sand banks where foxes burrowed and raised their young. These banks were just in the rear of the sloping beach, and beyond lay a strip of tall timber land, with a stretch of prairie reaching out to the other 400 History of Erie County. shore. Then the water began to encroach on the Point, and a marsh was formed that threatened to break off the peninsula from the main land. A crib of rocks and sand at considerable outlay of labor and capital was constructed to save it. but it was useless, and Point and crib went under to- gether, and sand banks and trees were lost to view beneath the rolling waves. At the present time where the bold peninsula reared its head fifteen feet above the water, the waves of old Erie lie from six to ten feet in depth. In 1867 Mr. Dwelle walked across this spot on the ice forty or fifty rods from shore, and saw through the transparent ice the remains of the old crib. Young’s Point, still farther to the west is one of the environments of the bay, and at the beginning of the present century was uninhabited by white men, until Mr. Dwelle’s father settled here about 1821. Eorty or fifty fam- ilies of the Indians made it their headquarters a part of the year, and gained a livelihood by trapping and hunting. B. F. Dwelle, then a mere boy, caught the fever, and tells of his first money earned b\^ muskrat skins. He remem- bers distinctly coming from Buffalo in a sailing vessel, when his father moved to the fire-lands, and after seventeen days they reached the lake shore off Cedar Point, where they were put ashore on a kind of raft with a feather bed laid on it. Cedar Point then was a bit of wild land seven miles long sheltering, by its long arms, Sandusky bay. It was covered with timber, and a sandy beach edged the shore. There was at that time no large amount of navigation on the lake, and no light-house reared its head on the Point to warn of danger. About 184001' 1841 the lighthouse was built and later the range-lights were placed in the vicinity — one at the mouth of the bay and two inside — forming a series of lights well known to all pilots and navigators on Lake Erie. During the sum- mer season, when fishing and sailing are the pastimes of the hour, it is con- sidered quite the thing to sail to the range-lights, and perhaps, visit the light- house on Cedar Point on the return. In 1882 B. F. Dwelle leased the Point from its owners, Mrs. Adolf and Mr. Stoll, and proceeded to make improvements upon it with a view to attracting pleasure seekers to its shores. The first thing to be done was to built a dock where boats could land their passengers, and then a steamboat began making trips across. After partially clearing a part of the land, a walk was built across from the bay to the lake; a house was erected on the side near the bay, and later bathing houses were put up on the lake shore, and Sanduskians be- gan to enjo}' their resort by forming parties and excursions to Cedar Point. Mr. Dwelle expended five thousand dollars on Cedar Point, paying no rental for the first season ; a moderate amount for the second, with the same rate of increase each year for the five of his lease. All this time the resort grew in favor. The steamboat, Hayes, made frequent trips, and the bay was aflutter with white-winged sailing vessels through the summer months. So popular did Cedar Point became that boats could scarcely be supplied to meet the de- mand, and newer and better sailing craft were added to the stock on hand. The City of Sandusky. 401 Boat building and renting is now an established business, and although some of the firms own forty or fifty boats, it frequently happens that every boat is out, and the party waiting must give up their sail until another day. With the delightful breeze of the water; the pursuit of pleasure under its many forms, such as fishing, picnicking, gathering pond-lilies and bathing, the summer in Sandusky is a season of continued gaiety and delight. Under a new ar- rangement the Point is now leased to a company of five gentlemen, including its former proprietor, Mr. Dwelle. These men are alive to the possibilities of the place and enter heartily into its development until the Cedar Point of the future will rival any of the resorts of our sea-boards in attractive features. A building is to be erected on the farther shore to combine all the features of amusement and entertainment to be found at the fashionable watering places. The old walk across the Point will be taken up and relaid by a plank walk twelve feet wide ; grounds will be cleared and beautified and the delightful stroll to the lighthouse made more agreeable. This company expect to make an outlay of $20,000 the coming season. The new building will be one hun- dred and fifty feet long by eighty wide. Those who have travelled and visited the summer watering places come to Sandusky and find here the perfection of a resort. There could be but two features added as an improvement to make it out-rival any that are known, viz., mountain scenery and mineral springs. But when it is remembered that Saratoga has no fishing, no possibilities of sailing and picnicking, and Long Branch lies under a glare of sunlight with little variety to its daily program, then contrast these with Sandusky and its many attractions. First among these we have placed Cedar Point because the aged or infirm, or those with moder- ate purses can all enjoy the bathing, sailing, fishing and sociability of this near delight. Then there are the various islands, each of which is a gem in its way. A steam tug from Sandusky will take a party to Canada’s shores or Pelee Island, where the Pelee club owns an elegant club-house with all the acces- sories of such an institution. This is one of the events of the season, and the memory stores it up as a red-letter day. On Pelee Island the dock is lined with blocks of native sand-stone, rich with fossils of by- gone ages, waiting for shipment. A walk through a delightful grove over velvety grass brings the visitor to the club house with its broad piazzas and welcome shade. Then lunch and the trip home in the early evening. Put-in-Bay, with its noted wine cellars, is sure to attract strangers who have heard of it from afar. Ives wine cellar is a curiosity, in and of itself, and when it is estimated how great the amount of the wine made, really is stored here, the figures seem almost incredible; 750,000 gallons yearly is the standard amount of this cellar, but the proprietor says it always e.xceeds these figures, and, with the exception of Heidelberg, Germany, here is found the largest wine cask in the world, containing over fourteen thousand gallons. 402 History of Erie County. and large enough for a cotillion to form on its head. With its bands of brass it is beautiful to behold. Just across from Put- in- Bay is Gibraltar, the summer home of Jay Cooke. It is built of native stone upon a rocky, jutting point of land, and its name is peculiarly fitting to it. Here, through the heated term, it has been the custom for Mr. Cooke to invite eight or ten clergymen at a time to spend a week or two in bodily recuperation, and many a jaded man has had occasion to thank the owner for the first real rest of his life. North Bass, Middle Bass, Catawba and Kelley’s Island, have each their attractive features ; and to those who do not enjoy the water, there are delightful drives into neighboring townships. All that is needed to bring thousands every summer to Sandusky, where hun- dreds now come, is a wider knowledge of its advantages, which may be enu- merated under the heads of cheapness, beauty, health, social delight, bathing, fishing and sailing. The business of the harbor is by no means to be overlooked as an item of prosperity. During the year 1887 the following entries were made of dutiable articles in their natural state : No. Cattle 32 Pigs 2 Horses 2 Corn (bu) 21 Pills (England) Smoked or frozen fish (lbs) 1,109,441 Butter (lbs) 794 Potatoes (bu) 169 Lumber Vegetables There were entered commodities free of duty : Fresh fish, 3,024,984 lbs ■. . . Furs undressed Green hides House goods Fine wool and other commodities Round timber Sand Value 4 215 5 21 Per cent, 20 20 20 5 50 Amoiuit. $79 60 80 43 00 2 10 10 50 5.547 23 31 76 2 00 51 20 54 $5,769 21 ■ 37,211 00 00 00 30 00 . . 175 00 . 11,054 00 . 4,220 00 50 00 $52,838 00 $5,767 21 $58,605 21 Investments in fisheries, etc $300,000 00 Value of fish handled annually in this port $1,000,000 00 Received irom Canadian fisheries (lbs) 4,137,435 Foreign entries of vessels 606 Foreign clearances 5®5 Foreign entries of merchandise 595 Domestic entry of vessels 1.725 Domestic clearances L 74 ° The City of Sandusky. 403 In addition to the above are entries from the district islands. The district lies between Vermillion River on the east and Portage River on the west. SANDUSKY’S FISH TRADE. It is always interesting to trace the rise and progress of a large industry and note the steps by which it has grown to its vast proportions. This is certainly true of the fish business of Sandusky, O., which is still comparatively young, but of world-wide notoriety. To read of its early start, seems like a page of ro- mance, and merely a thread of identity connects the primitive trade of its first beginning with the large interests of to-day. Sandusky ranks among the first of the fresh water fish- markets of the world. In quality, quantity, and the mercantile value of its fisheries, it is unsurpassed by any other city on lake or river. Fishing began first in the bay, while Sandusky was but a mere village, and for many years there was no market for the fish caught. These were mostly catfish, caught with hook and line, and they were exchanged for household commodities through the firms of Hollister & Co., and William Townsend. The population of the neighboring region must have salt and flour, and such necessities, and others needed leather for their shoes, and a few grocer- ies; so the exchange was effected. Large covered wagons, drawn by four or six horses, and loaded with maple sugar, flour, geese feathers, etc., drove into town, and passed the night in the large yard opposite the present I. B. and W. R. R. depot. In these wagons were all the conveniences for primitive housekeeping, such as bed, frying-pan, coffee-pot, etc. This was the first de- mand for catfish, which were scalded, salted, packed and kept on hand by the two dealers mentioned. There was no hotel, and but little money in Sandusky at that time, and the barter was carried on in produce exchange. At that time the business yearly, in fish, amounted to less than five hundred dollars a year. To contrast this with the present business, that aggregates about $600,- 000 per annum, shows the marvelous strides made in the course of a single lifetime. Fish are classified by dealers into two general divisions, viz. : hard and soft. To the former belong pickerel, black bass, muscalonge and whitefish To the latter: perch, catfish, bass, pike. These terms have no reference to the quality, flavor or fibre of the fish, but relates simply to their marketable value. This has greatly changed in the course of years. Herring, formerly considered the most worthless of all fish, and absolutely without any value, as also sturgeon, that were constantly thrown away when caught, are now the most profitable fish in the trade. Last year, 1887, the catch of herring sent from Sandusky was valued at more than $240,000. Two great industries have sprung up in connection with the fish trade — salting and freezing. The latter is the newer and more recent. The first fish 404 History of Erie County. were frozen in 1867 as an experiment. It was a success. Year by year this has increased until during the past year 3,71 5,000 pounds were frozen. To visit the fish houses and see the operation of preparing for and freezing this vast amount of fish, is one of the most interesting sights imaginable. Sheet iron pans a few inches in depth by two feet long and a foot wide, are used for this purpose. Into these, with their noses all one way are laid the herring, or fish to be frozen, and this pan is packed in large wooden boxes with salt and ice interspersed. When the box is full (and each box holds half a ton), the lid is put on, and these boxes are set in a row around the warehouse. This is called the process of sharp freezing, and at the end of six hours they are frozen as hard as ice. They are then taken from the pans and packed in storing rooms from floor to ceiling until the rooms are solid with frozen fish, whose noses all point one way. These storing rooms are about sixteen feet square, and kept at a steady, freezing temperature. When the fish are shipped they are packed in wooden boxes and sent off in refrigerator cars. In 1851 J. Spencer, with that foresight peculiar to New Englanders, came to Sandusky from Westbrook, Conn., to engage in the fish business. He brought the first pound ever used here, and drove the stakes in the bay. At this time whitefish were unknown in this locality, and no one had thought it possible to fish in the lake. Spencer would come in the spring, remain two months and then go back to Connecticut. All his nets were made there by women and brought here and joined together. In 1852 he persuaded Captain Kize, of Sandusky, to go in the business with him, and the latter having just been appointed to take care of the light- house at Marblehead, urged the exper- iment of trying a pound there. Not to lose too heavily, Mr. Spencer bought a second-hand shad net in Connecticut for fifteen dollars, to which they put lead- ers and heart, and put it out there, and the experiment resulted in a season’s catch that amounted to $1,800. The largest catch in the fall of 1887 was said to be 1,200 tons on the 6th and 7th of November, whereby all hands were kept at work day and night. A large amount of the fish brought to Sandusky come on steamboats that run to the different islands. The Eagle brings as many as three hundred boxes per day, and other vessels are laden in proportion. There was a change inaugurated this year in the prices paid for fish,;':, whereby one-eighth of a cent was added each month. In December two and one-half cents were paid, in January two and three-eighths cents, etc., etc. Dealers at a distance, in order to take advantage of this rate, made it a rule to crowd their orders upon the latter part of the month, and thus escape the' added fraction. The demand for salt fish was never better than during 1887- Over 3,000,000 pounds were packed and shipped, amounting in dollars and cents to more than $100,000 in salt fish alone. From reliable statistics the following figures give some idea of the business; The City of Sandusky. 405 Capital invested, $500,000; nets operated, 558: fishermen employed, 325; other employees, 200. Fish caught are in the following quantity : Herring, 11,914,- 500 pounds ; saugers, 980,000 pounds; whitefish, 567,950 pounds; hard fish, 508,620 pounds ; perch, 352,165 pounds; catfish, 151,560 pounds; sturgeon, 550,000 pounds. The value as follows: Herring, $238,280; saugers, $19,606; white, $37,656; hard, $30,5 17; perch, $5,28 1 ; cat, $9,693; sturgeon, $27,500. Of the total receipts, 4,000,000 pounds came from Canadian waters. There are eight firms engaged in scale-fish and two in sturgeon. The latter was for many years considered worthless and thrown away as a monster of the finny tribe, but in 1867 Siemon Schacht began the caviare business in a small way. This opened a market for sturgeon for which the fishermen were paid twelve and a half cents for the female, while the males were thrown away. Then Mr. Schacht began smoking and packing sturgeon meat. By degrees other parts of the fish were utilized for fish oil and isinglass, until now every stur- geon brings one dollar each. This fish is rapidly decreasing, although the firm Fruechtnicht & Neilson received two hundred and twenty-five tons of sturgeon, from which they produced nine hundred kegs of caviare. The senior member of this firm is in Germany at present, that being the market for caviare, and from that country it is shipped back again as an imported article. There are ten firms engaged in the fish business in Sandusky. Of these eight deal in scale fish, and two in sturgeon — the firm of Fruechtnicht & Neil- son, also Paysen & Co. Of the former trade are Adolph & Zollinger, Arend Brothers, Hosmer & Co., Lay Brothers, Henry Lay, H. C. Post & Co., Siemon Schacht, A. J. Stoll, In amount of business done, perhaps this list should be headed by the firm of H. C. Post & Co., and A. J. Stoll, but it is known that several of these firms do more than $100,000 worth of business yearly. H. C. Post & Company. The first regular business in packing and export- ing fish from Sandusky in large quantities began about 1856. At that time the firm of Jackson & Post commenced business in a little building fourteen by sixteen on the corner of the dock near their present spacious quarters. For this building they paid a rental of one dollar a week for the time they occupied it, which was but a portion of the year. Their rent at the present time is about one thousand dollars a year. In this small way they began by buying fish from fishermen, mostly from Spencer & Kize, at Marblehead. At that time their trade scarcely amounted to $5,000 per annum. In i860 Canadians began bringing fish from other waters in pound-boats or sharpies. The firm changed to Post & Lewis, and has since become, and now is known as that of H. C. Post & Co. The first experiment in freezing fish took place in 1867 and was a decided success. Since that time an enor- mous industry has been added to the old method of salting and packing, 52 4o6 History of Erie County. until now this firm alone handles the fish caught in one hundred and forty- pounds. Herring, formerly considered worthless, is now the principal article of trade,, and is exported by this firm in immense quantities to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington. In the year 1876 the steam tug Louise was built by Beemiller, Schatt, and the engineer, and after two or three years was bought by H. C. Post & Co. to run to Canada for fish. This firm also run the City of Dresden, for the same purpose. They bought a farm of eighty acres on Point Pelee, where they have built a house for dressing fish that measures forty by ninety, also a boarding- house for their employees, and ice-houses and boats. This gives them the con- trol of the point, which with the shore of the mainland under their control, gives them more than fifteen miles of fishing waters. They catch in April, May, June, and July, and sell fresh or salt. From September till the lake is frozen they export them, fresh, salt, or frozen, and through the season employ from seventy-five to one hundred men. They have ten freezing rooms sixteen feet square, and the fish purchased by them this fall amounted to sixty thou- sand dollars, while their spring trade will be at least twenty thousand dollars more. H. C. Post has been a leader in the business from the first, and emi- nently successful, and to visit his packing-house and storing-rooms convinces the observer that in the course of a single life-time, by the use of ordinary means, an industry may grow from a child to a giant. The sales from this firm for 1887 amounted to 6,795,700 pounds of fish — an enormous quantity when the mind fully grasps it. A. J. Stoll . — In 1877 A. J. Stoll bought from L. Anthony his present com- modious place at the foot of Columbus avenue, formerly occupied by O’Hagan & Anthony. He proceeded to fit up the building for the business of salting^ freezing and packing fish, with rooms for freezing and preserving, storing, etc. With a frontage of one hundred feet and a depth of two hundred, he has a capacity for storing four hundred and fifty tons.’ Their most profitable busi- ness is in handling and exporting fresh and frozen fish. Salting is not con- sidered profitable, and only the surplus is thus used. Mr. Stoll handles the fish from seventy-five pounds, employs during the busy season one hundred and twenty-five men, has his ice-houses capable of holding a year’s supply of ice, and carries on a large and successful business. He buys fish from the south shores of Lake Erie, the islands of the lake and the shores of Canada. His business has trebled itself in ten years, and he is known as one of the most prosperous men in the trade. During the fall he ship.s mostly to Buffalo, New York, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. During the entire year he supplys towns in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, New York, and Pennsylvania. Adolf & Zollinger . — In 1856 Ferdinand Geiersdorf started this business The City of Sandusky. 407 and continued in it for many years. He died in 1870, and two years later Mr. Adolf took charge of it. In 1880 it became the firm of Adolf & Zollinger. It is one of the most prosperous houses in the trade in Sandusky, and has a capacity for storing four hundred tons of frozen fish and an unlimited quantity of salt fish. It controls seventy-five pounds and employs about seventy-five men. In 1887 its business amounted to $75,000. Henry Lay & Co . — The firm of Henry Lay & Co. was established almost a quarter of a century ago by A. Biemiller, who, at that time, occupied a little building fourteen by sixteen, and began fish business in a small way. He continued in the business until i88oor 1881, when Henry Lay went into part- nership with him, and the firm became Biemiller & Co. Six months later Mr. Biemiller died and Henry Lay became proprietor, and the firm was changed to Henry Lay & Co. The buildings occupied in salting and packing cover two hundred feet in length by sixty-four in width. This firm gives employment to from twenty to sixty men. They use their own boats, and put up annually eight thousand packages of salt fish, besides freezing about one hundred and fifty tons. His trade extends to all parts of the United States, and is one of the most pros- perous firms in the city. Siemon Schacht . — The business of which Mr. S. Schacht is sole proprietor was established in 1865 by the Schacht Brothers. The trade at that time was the usual wholesale business of frozen, fresh and salt fish for home consumption and distant cities. Schacht Brothers were succeeded by Schacht & Co., and these in turn were succeeded by Schacht & Fruechtnicht. On the retirement of Mr. Fruechtnicht in 1880, Mr. S. Schacht became the sole owner. The building occupied by this firm is one hundred and eighty feet in length by twenty-five in width. The firm gives employment to fifteen men, and during the busy season often more. They send out four thousand pack- ages of fresh, six thousand of salt, and sixty or seventy tons of frozen fish an- nually. Their trade is mainly located in Ohio, Indiana and New York. Hosmer 6 f Co . — This well-known house was established in 1857 by Mr. Alvord, and was known as Alvord & Co. It is one of the oldest firms in the •city, and has done a large business in fish, buying in Canada, and following the ordinary custom of salting, freezing and packing for distant markets. In 1887 the firm was changed to J. Hosmer and Co. Last year they did a busi- ness amounting to $45,000. Pay sen &f Co., wholesale and retail dealers in fresh and smoked sturgeon, caviare, isinglass, and fish oil, was founded by F. Deuklefsen in 1878, and in 1881 became Paysen & Co. (the firm consisting of H. C. Paysen, Mort Man- gelsen and Jens Brickling), to be changed in 1883 to Paysen & Co. (H. C. Paysen and William Schoehemahn). The business employs from ten to fifteen hands, and their building is one hundred and sixty by sixty feet. Their busi- History of Erie County. 408 ness last year amounted to $20,000, and their caviare is sent to Germany and all principal parts of our own country. Frnechtnicht & Nielsen are wholesale dealers in sturgeon, caviare, isinglass,' etc., and were first established by Schacht & Fruechtnicht in 1866. Their warehouse is one hundred and eighty by twenty-five feet, and in it are em- ployed from fifteen to twenty-five hands. The general trade reaches not only to many parts of our own country, but quite an extensive trade has been opened with Germany. The firm was first known as Schacht Brothers, who were succeeded by Schacht & Co., and in 1881 by the present firm, Claus Fruechtnicht and Carl G. Nielsen, both natives of Germany. An average of fifteen thousand sturgeon are handled every year. For home consumption these are smoked, but for eastern markets they are frozen, as they are apt to get strong. From the bladders isinglass is made, and caviare from the eggs,, while the offal is used for fish oil, thus utilizing those portions of the fish hith- erto considered most worthless, and bringing into good repute a coarse-grained fish that has always been cast out and despised. Lay Brothers. — This firm was first established over twenty years ago by John Lay, and afterward, about the year 1880 or 1881, the present firm was formed. It occupies a two-story building, thirty- five by sixty feet in dimen- sions, and employs several boats and a working force of many men to carry on the business. They freeze three hundred tons annually and have a sale of five thousand half-barrels of salt fish, and the same amount of fresh fish. The amount of capital invested in nets, boats and appurtenances is twenty or twenty-five thousand dollars. They are also one of the seven dealers who are interested in the Sandusky Salt Fish and Steamboat Company. Arend Bros. — In the year 1864 Casper Boigt founded a business in fresh and salt fish, and native wines. From the magnitude of its business it rose to a prominent position among the fish houses of Sandusky, and in 1885 passed into the hands of Arend Brothers. The building is situated on Railroad street between Wayne and Columbus avenue, and has a first-class position. It is a fine substantial building sixty- six by one hundred and forty feet with ice houses and ample facilities for its business. The buildings have a capacity for one hundred and ten tons of frozen, fish, and a large amount of salt fish. The annual trade at the present time amounts to two hundred tons of frozen, three thousand barrels of salt fish and three thousand barrels of fresh fish. Beside a large local trade this house car- ries on an extensive wholesale business all over the United States. The Sandusky Steamboat and Fish Company. — This was incorporated in 1887 as a stock company with twenty thousand dollars stock on an equal basis. There are seven firms interested, and the purpose was to hold the Canada trade for these houses. The following are the firms included in this syndicate or corporation: Adolf & Zollinger, Schacht & Co., Lay Brothers, Henry Lay & The City of Sandusky. 409 Co., Arend Brothers, Hosmer & Co., A. Stoll. These men put in an equal amount of capital and share in the profits equally. They have also pooled their united interests in a salt fish trust company to control the trade in salt fish also. Hugo OJily and August Gunther . — This firm have just established a house at the foot of Sycamore street for pickling fish. This industry promises to be as successful as have been everything connected with the fish trade of San- dusky. Bear &f Ruth have, been for so many years connected with the mercantile life of this city, and more particularly with the fish trade, that a history of the business cannot well be written without giving their names a place, although they went out of the business last year. They did a large business for many years as Hosmer, Bear & Co., but in 1873 it passed into the hands of Bear & Ruth. This firm occupied a large two-story structure one hundred and eighty by thirty-three feet in dimensions, where the business steadily increased until they left it in 1887. SANDUSKY ICE INTERESTS. The present mammoth ice houses of Sandusky were almost unthought of twenty years ago, indeed the man who then dared to build even one of the largest of them might have expected to be set down at once as rash, if noth- ing worse. The first to put up ice in any considerable quantities and to see with any degree of certainty the future of Sandusky’s ice trade was, as far as we can ascertain from any accessible data, Mr. E. E. Upp, a life long resident here, and successor to his father’s ice interests established as early as 1852, though he did not begin shipping until about 1858-9. The demand gradually in- creased from the latter date until in 1868, he, with Rush R. Sloane and W. V. Latham put up an ice house with a capacity of sixteen thousand tons. The move was regarded by many business men a very risky experiment, from the fact that the expense of storing was then comparatively heavy, and the market quite uncertain. The experiment however proved a marked success, and was the forerunner of the very extensive trade since established. Mr. Upp soon after invented the switch for inclined runways, and in 1870- introduced the use of steam elevators, thus facilitating in a wonderful degree the process of putting in ice, and lessening the expense in a proportionate de- gree. He is president and manager of the Cincinnati Ice Company and is in- terested in the Sandusky and Cincinnati Ice Company, besides being a mem- ber of the firm of Upp & Walker, and associated with Henry Graefe and J. W. Smith in the firm of E. E. Upp & Co. These firms have a combined storing capacity of fifty thousand tons. John McKelvey & Co. own ice houses covering over an acre of ground, and 410 History of Erie County. have all the modern facilities for handling immense quantities of ice. Mr. Mc- Kelvey began active operations in ice about the year 1876 and has continued in it more or less actively since. There are numerous other prominent men who have been and are con- nected with the ice business in Sandusky in a considerable degree. At present Wm. J. Affleck and Jno. Mackey, Arend Bros., Bear & Ruth, Gager & Co., Holland & Tebbut, Kerber & Son, Alexander Motry, Smith, Zimmerman & Schmidt, A. J. Stoll, E. E. Upp and Wagner & Co. are the principal names that occur to the writer, though there are many others of substantial business reputations whose names have been long familiar to the trade. The ice business though very extensive, and quite profitable at times, is subject to so many difficulties in the way of an uncertain market and lively competition between the many firms along the great lakes that fortunes are made and lost in it at times with a facility that would do justice to the modern stock exchange. When an open winter occurs those who have stored a large quantity the previous year reap a rich harvest during the following summer, but on the whole it seems most reasonable to conclude that the business is not at present generally profitable except to the old and well established firms, one of which has a record of 850 car loads shipped over one railroad south in a single season. The several packers of note including brewers and wine men, put up about 300,000 tons of ice in the year, at an expense for help of not less than $60,- 000, or about twenty cents per ton. Employment is thus furnished for several weeks, at a time of year when it is most valuable to them, to nearly 2,000 men. The ice is taken from the bay not over half a mile from shore on an av- erage. With the small army of men cutting and fishing out the ice, horses scraping or planing the surface to remove roughness or dirt, and the tons of smooth, square blocks from six to sixteen inches thick, flying up the inclined runways to the gable ends of over a score of great dark buildings, the scene is quite an inspiring one, and not unfraught with a certain amount of danger. Hardly a season passed without a number of serious accidents, such as broken limbs, or immersions in the channels from which the ice has been taken. The latter, though not apparently a very serious affair, might quite easily be- come so if the unfortunate victim should by some means, get in under the ice, instead of remaining in the channel. But the men, like all hardy cheerful Amer- ican and German laborers, go to their tasks with glad hearts, thankful for the opportunity to earn a few dollars in mid-winter, and caring little for the nec- essary exposure to secure an honest living. Most of the ice dealers who do the extensive packing for outside markets are provided with facilities supplying the home trade. Subscription routes are laid out in the early spring, and the clumsy covered wagons rumble their daily rounds throughout the season. The City of Sandusky. 41 1 GRAPE CULTURE AND WINE MAKING. These interests, when carried to any considerable extent, are necessarily so closely related, that it is deemed best to treat of them here under a general head, although grape raising in a very small way was begun on the islands in this vi- cinity some years before grapes were produced in such quantities that it became necessary to convert them into wine for want of an accessible and profitable market. Mr. Charles Carpenter, of Kelley’s Island is credited with being the first to foresee the great future in store for this uncommonl)^ favored grape producing section. He came to the island in 1842, and noticing the few vines growing in gardens there, he was struck with the superiority of the fruit over that of the same varieties in the East. Mr. D. Kelley brought cuttings of Catawba and Isabella from Elyria in 1843, and setting them in his garden was much grati- fied at the result, as the Catawba, which ripens so imperfectly in inland places, matures to perfection here because of the protection afforded from frost by the waters of the lake. In 1845 Mr. Carpenter began planting in limited quantities, on account of the scarcity of vines, but by 1850 he had increased his vineyard to an acre; this was quite the most exteusive vineyard to be found in this vicinity at that time. In the latter named year he pressed two small casks of wine (one each of Catawba and Isabella), which, when it was a year old, was pronounced by Cincinnatians the best wine they had ever tasted. Planting in a small way soon became quite general, and a ready market was found for the fruit, at from ten to fifteen cents a pound, a price that would make millionaires in a few seasons of some of our present grape raisers who are making very comfortable incomes by selling their fruit at from one to three cents. Vineyards increased in size very gradually, there being considerable skepticism manifested with regard to a market when ail should come into bear- ing. Mr. Carpenter when asked if he thought it safe to plant as much as a quar- ter of an acre, replied that almost any quantity could be sold as soon as gen- eral attention was attracted by the planting of large vineyards. Phylloxera did not trouble the earlier grape growers as it does those of the present time ; and for some years there appeared to be nothing in the way of discouragements. So promising indeed was the outlook, that land which in 1845 could be purchased for fifteen dollars an acre, was sold within a few years at from five hundred to a thousand dollars an acre, usually paying good inter- est on the investment. In 1854 Mr. Carpenter built a wine cellar 30 by 90 feet; but this was soon outgrown, and in 1859 he commenced one in a seam between lime rocks in his quarry; he made the second cellar 36 by 123 feet, and covered it with a stone arch sixteen feet high. The Kelley’s Island Wine Company was formed in 412 History of Erie County. 1866 ; renting Mr. Carpenter’s cellar for a few years, they found the business so profitable that they purchased it later on and created a main building 82 by 128 feet, and three stories in height. The present large cellars are crowded to their utmost capacity, and sale for the product is found in all the leading cities of the world. Ten other establishments make wine in greater or less quantities, and it is estimated that six hundred thousand gallons are produced annually on this isl- and alone, while the grape interests have extended to adjacent islands and to the mainland surrounding. Thousands of acres of grapes grow in this vicinity, and the annual sales bring millions in money to our people. The grape interests nearer Sandusky did not begin a general development until about i860 or 1861, most dates being approximately fixed by those who depend on memory for their statements, at “about the commencement of the great Civil War.” Grape planting on a large scale began, we may say, in Erie county at Kelley’s (the only island within its borders), and on the mainland east of Sandusky, in what is known as the “big field.” Erom these points it spread toward the west side of Sandusky, and in many other directions, but in no case extending back to any great distance from the water, which is the great climatic equalizer that makes grape culture a success. The exact dates of many beginnings is not obtainable ; but in cases where it can be had, the uniform rule of-this writer has been to place industries in chronological order, rather than to try arranging them in alphabetical order, or with respect to their relative importance, concerning which opinions might dif- fer very widely, and still the difference of opinion be perfectly honest. Before taking up the wine producing establishments, mention may be made of the Lake Erie Wine and Fruit Growers Association, established March 12, 1886, and officered as follows; President, W. V. Latham ; vice-president, Will- iam Altstaetter; secretary, I. F. Mack; treasurer, Otto Engels. The objects are to promote harmony among fruit and wine growers, prevent hostile legis- lation, and to improve the quality of fruits and wines, as well as to widen the market for such products. Probably there is very little if any impure wine manufactured in this vicinity, but the practice of gallusizing wine, (putting water and sugar into the pure grape juice), is commended by consumers and dealers, though most agree that this is not in any sense adulterating, and that it improves the quality, (when not carried to excess), by reducing the acidity of the product. The general verdict is that wines from the sweeter varieties needs no reducing, and, that the first flow of Catawba, before the press has been applied, is quite sweet enough in the natural state. There is, then, no reason for believing that the wines of old Erie are in any sense impure, or inferior to those of any other portion of the coun- try, or the world. Aiming now to give a straightforward history of an impor- tant and growing industry, we will proceed with one who, as nearly as we can The City of Sandusky. 413 learn, is the oldest grape grower and manufacturer of wine in this vicinity after Mr. Carpenter already mentioned. Thaddeus Torch, a pioneer in the grape and wine production on the east side of Sandusky, purchased ten acres of land from Mr. John Upp about the year i860, and has been engaged in grape raising on the original lot ever since, making several additions as the demand for wine increased. He is credited with having as many varieties of vines as any raiser in this section. The cellars are located on the Huron road east ot Hancock street, and have a capacity of from fifteen to twenty thousand gallons. Much of the work is performed by himself and family, and the wines produced are kept up to a high standard by his personal supervision. From twelve to twenty thousand gallons is about a fair estimate of his annual product, the quanity depending of course, to quite an extent, on the crop from year to year. Sweet and dry Catawba, Delaware, Ives, etc., are produced more of late, but Mr. Torch was in the business when Isabella wine was quite generally pro- duced. The latter grape was discarded on account of a tendency to mildew, and because of the rankness of the flavor as compared to Catawba and the finer varieties. The wine of this establishment finds a market mostly in Ohio cities, although like his larger competitors the proprietor fills occasional orders from distant places. Conrad Ernst. This establishment is an outgrowth of the wine business of A. Biemiller & Co., begun in 1869 by Vincent Kerber, A. Biemiller and C. Ernst, the present owner Mr. Kerber and Mr. Ernst each had vineyards prior to their partnership. The former was one of the earliest grape growers on the mainland, having begun in i860. In 1873 Scott Sanford bought into the firm of Biemiller & Co., and Messrs. Kerber and Biemiller retired. Mr. Sanford retired in 1875, leaving Mr. Ernst the sole owner. The business location was changed in 1875 to its present site, and the building now occupied was erected. The cellar is twenty-four by eighty feet, with a press room above. The capacity of this establishment is about 35,000 gallons of wine per year, which is shipped over a wide portion of our country. Two men are kept at work the year around, and during six weeks in the fall from ten to twelve men are employed. Engels & Krudwig. In 1878 Messrs. H. and O. E. Engels, with R. P. Krudwig, established the business which now amounts to an average annual product of two hundred thousand gallons. The manufactory consists of a commodious stone storage building with a brick structure for the press, engine and machinery. The grounds, occupying the corner of Water and Wayne streets, are quite extensive, and afford facilities for the large business trans- acted. 53 4H History of Erie County. The wine is kept in one hundred and thirty storage casks with an average capacity of eighteen hundred gallons each. The grapes are mainly raised in the vineyards of the proprietors, though considerable quantities are purchased from other grape raisers on the islands and mainland. A twenty horse power engine furnishes the power for pressing and other purposes. The shipments of this firm extend over the entire United States. Nearly all the leading brands of native wines are produced. This establish- ment is the outgrowth of one started by Jacob Engels, who began the impor- tation of wines to Sandusky about the year 1850, and commenced grape grow- ing here in i860, on a ten acre tract east of the town. Adam Bauer, Still Wines. Factory on Decatur street, near Monroe, a frame building thirty by sixty feet. Mr. Bauer commenced the grape and wine business in 1861, and has been connected with it ever since, some seasons pro- ducing about eight or nine thousand gallons of wine which is mostly sold in the State of Ohio. Mr. Bauer is a German by birth, but is a very old resident, having come to this city in 1844. He was one of the first men to purchase a part of the Upp property and plant it with grapes, and still has the same vineyard with several acres added. The direct management of his work at the cellars is in the hands of his son, the father spending most of his time at the vineyard. William H. Mills commenced raising grapes in 1861, planting eighty-two acres on his farm of three hundred acres, in the west end of the city at that time. The first wine from this vineyard was pressed in 1865, since which time he has produced an average of 15,000 gallons per year. French makes of champagne are a specialty with Mr. Mills, and more of an effort is made to produce an excellent quality than to produce a great quantity of wine. The ■original vineyard has been reduced somewhat of late, but more vines are to be planted in the near future. A cellar, thirty by one hundred and sixty-five feet, with eighteen feet walls, and an arch fifteen feet in height, constitutes the storing capacity of the establishment. The date of Mr. Mills’s first planting will show that he was one of the pio- neers in grape culture on the mainland in this vicinity, and his familiarity with the products of the vine is evident to all who have heard him talk on the ■subject. His wines were awarded high honors at the Centennial Exposition, where the superiority of Lake Erie wines over those of the Pacific slope was very clearly demonstrated. He remembers when the so-called Greek wines were sold at $3.50 per bottle, but considers their quality quite inferior to those of local vintage now selling at one- fifth the price. Catawba and Delaware grapes are the varieties mostly pressed at this es- tablishment. About two years is taken in preparing the wine for the mar- ket, and a second fermentation is obtained in the process of manufacture. The City of Sandusky. 415 This second fermentation, he says, can only be produced when pure juice is used. E. L. Steuk, manufacturer of dry wines, but making a specialty of Cataw- ba, is located at the corner of the West Market Square and Decatur street. This business was started in 1863 by Wm. Steuk, father of the present owner. Mr. Steuk conducted the business under his own name up to 1874, when he associated E. L. Steuk with himself under the firm name of Wm. Steuk & Son. In 1876 the father died and left his part of the business to his wife, who acted as a silent partner up to 1882, when the present owner purchased her interest and has retained the entire management since. He makes from eight- een to twenty thousand gallons a year, exclusively dry or unsweetened wines, which he sells throughout Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and to some ex- tent in New York State. Like many other producers Mr. Steuk does much of his own work, and gives his personal attention to the conditions and methods, so nearly alike in many cases, but after all, depending for their results, very largely on the tact and judgment of the individual who carries them out. The building is of wood, and is about forty by sixty feet, two stories high, and has a large cellar in the lime rock which underlies the city. George Daniel. Wine cellars located at the corner of Adams and Law- rence streets. The business was begun by the present proprietor in 1865, and has been continued since in a greater or less degree. Mr. Daniel manu- factures from si.x to eight thousand gallons per year of Catawba, Ives Seed- ling and Virginia Seedling wines, the last named variety being bottled by him. His sales are made to the retailers in different towns in Ohio. Little help is emplo5^ed except in the pressing season. The cellars are twenty-eight by thirty, and eighteen by thirty respectively, with a storage room fourteen by eighteen. Mr. Daniel was appointed postmaster at Sandusky, by President Cleveland, in 1887. John G. Dorn, grower of grapes and manufacturer of all varieties of native wines, both dry and sweet, is located at No. 418 to 424 Water street, in a stone building sixty by one hundred and ten feet and three and one-half stories high. All necessary facilities are found in the building for handling the immense quantity of wine which this well known firm is called on to furnish the wide market in which their products are sold. The trade extends to all principal cities of the Union — east, west, and south, and to the upper lake cities. The business was begun in 1872 by John P. Dorn, father of the present proprietor, and conducted very successfully up to the time of his death. In 1886 it came into the hands of the son who is still widening the field of sale, and the source of supply. Mr. Dorn has a vineyard of about one hundred acres near Venice, this county, and in 1887 planted eighty acres of young vines. 4i6 History of Erie County. In addition to the many tons of grapes raised by the proprietor, considera- ble quantities are purchased from year to year of other growers who have limited wine-making facilities, or none at all. The establishment produces not far from a hundred thousand gallons of wine a year, and a still running in one of the departments of the enterprise turns out from one fifty to two hundred barrels of grape brandy. The firm has a large ice-house in which about six thousand tons are stored annually for use in the business. Mr. Dorn intends increasing his facilities in the near future, and to this end has enlarged his vineyard as before stated. His busi- ness furnishes employment for fifteen men during a greater part of the year, and at times a much larger force is required. The buildings are well located and commodious, with convenient storerooms, and a well furnished and com- fortable office on the ground floor. E. R. Moos, Hayes avenue, near Tyler street, succeeded in 1876 to the wine business established by his father, A. Moos, in 1868. The present cellars, etc., were erected in 1882. The building is of lime- stone, is twenty-six by sixty-four feet, and is one and one-half stories in height with a basement. The average product is thirty thousand gallons per year of red and white dry wines. One man is employed steadily, and a dozen or more are kept at work during the fall. Mr. Moos is his own traveling salesman, and sells his wines mainly from Detroit to New York. Sales have been made as far south as Richmond, Va. William Altstaetter, whose wine cellars on Eawrence Extension, near Monroe street, produce about 20,000 gallons of wine per year, began the business with his brother at the corner of Market and Decatur streets in 1876, but removed to the present location in 1879, and purchasing his brother’s interest has con- ducted the business alone since that time. All the leading dry native wines are produced at this establishment. The goods are marketed very largely in Ohio, Indiana, and New York, but occa- sional orders are filled in places much more distant. The work is conducted under the personal supervision of the proprietor, who gives most of his time and some physical strength to the work. M. Hommel commenced the manufacture of champagnes and still wines in 1878 at his present location on Clinton street, near Sandusky street. By close personal attention to business he has been able to increase his trade and facili- ties until he now uses several hundred tons of grapes annually, making some 200,000 bottles of champagne and 100,000 gallons of still wines. His custom- ers are mostly in the Mississippi Valley, but orders are received from San Erancisco and New York. His champagnes are all made by the old French method which he learned by practical experience in France. Hommel’s Extra Dry and Lac D’Or are the brands most largely manufactured. The work is The City of Sandusky. 417 conducted in a building thirty-six by eighty-eight feet, five stories in height, the lower part being of stone and the upper three stories of wood. During a portion of the year Mr. Hommel runs a fruit distillery, manufacturing about 2,400 gallons of grape brandy. Besides the main building he uses a storing cellar twenty- four by thirty- six feet, and numerous other auxiliary buildings perform their service in the work. No traveling salesmen are employed, but the proprietor makes a great many business trips during the year. J. G. Stroebel, on Hayes avenue near Tyler street, has a wine cellar with a capacity of thirty thousand gallons, which was established by himself in 1881. He purchases from forty- five to fifty tons of grapes per year and manufactures about ten thousand gallons of wine. Catawba is the leading white wine and Concord and Ives Seedling the red. The wines are all dry or unsweetened, and are sold mostly throughout southern Ohio. A. Schmidt, jr., & Co., of Tiffin avenue, makes a speciality of Sherry and Port wines. This company succeeded in 1883 to the property and business of the Sandusky Wine Company, which was one of Sandusky’s first organised efforts to produce wine, having commenced operations on Water street in . The present building, which is 120 by 50 feet, and three stories in height, having ample cellars for the storage of wine, was erected in 1875 by the original company. This establishment has a capacity of 200,000 gallons a year, and averages 175,000 gallons of sweet wines which are marketed from the Mississippi River to Boston and south as far as New Orleans. Large quantities of grapes are annually purchased by this firm from the adjacent vineyards between Sandusky and Venice, and from growers on Mar- ble Head Peninsula and Lake Erie Islands. Mr. Smith does most of the solic- iting in person, leaving the direct management of the cellars in charge of the competent superintendent and his other employees. A Textor, Columbus avenue, adjoining the L. S. &. M. S. R. R. makes ten or twelve varieties of dry and sweet wines, which he ships to all parts of the United States, from Kansas eastward. Only a wholesale trade is so- licited. The building is of limestone, substantially built, and is three stories in height with a length of one hundred, and a width of forty-five feet; it is thoroughly heated with steam, and so arranged that except during the press- ing season nearly all the work can be accomplished by steam power. The services of ten men are required during the busiest portion of the year. The average is 100,000 gallons of the various sorts of wine. Concord, Cataw- ba, Delaware, Riesling, Norton’s V. and Claret comprise the sour wines, and Sweet Catawba, Port, Angelica, Sherry and Ives the sweet. The business was begun in 1883 by Wehrle and Farciot, but about six months later passed into the hands of A. Textor. 4i8 History of Erie County. BREWERIES. A. Ilg & Co’s brewery at the foot of Harrison street, was established in 1849 by Winson & Fox, who conducted the business until 1864, when Messrs. Soergel, Dorn and Raible became proprietors carrying the business up to 1871. Strobel & Ilg purchased the brewery in that year, and in 1879 the present firm of A. Ilg & Co. became owners of the entire establishment. The grounds comprise about five acres of land, and the brewery building, a limestone structure two and a half stories high, has a base eighty feet wide by one hundred and sixty long. The ice house is a frame building ninety feet square, and is packed to its fullest capacity every winter. Thirteen men are steadily employed, and the annual product is about twelve thousand barrels on an average. Agencies are located at Findlay and Elyria. Otto Ilg, son of the proprietor, and lessee of the Sandusky Opera House, keeps the books and supervises the home establishment. Most of the beer is disposed of throughout northern Ohio — none is shipped beyond the limits of the State. The necessary traveling is done by the proprietors in per- son. The business is having a steady growth. Frank Stang’s brewery was built in 1857 by Dauch & Fischer, and the first named gentleman succeeded to the business a few years later, conducting it until 1864, when Messrs. Bricht, Cable & Alder purchased the property and continued the business until 1867. It then passed into the hands of Fox & Windisch, and Fox alone, who carried it until 1875, when Jno. Bender became proprietor, soon after associating with himself Mr. Stang, who afterwards re- tired from the business. At the death of Mr. Bender in 1878 the property reverted to Lena Stang, who, in 1880, disposed of it to Frank Stang, the present owner. The brewery about 225 by 250 feet, and three stories high, is located north of Madison and east of King streets. With the large ice houses which hold about 10,000 tons of ice, the building occupies nearly a square, and has an annual output of from fifteen to twenty thousand barrels of beer. From 35,000 to 50,000 bush- els of barley are used annually, and the business furnishes regular work for some eighteen or twenty men, besides a large number needed during the ice packing season. Seven teams are required in delivering the beer. The trade is mostly with neighboring counties. Shipping depots are lo- cated at Elyria, Crestline, and other towns in this vicinity. Two men are on the road constantly, and the shipping demand is rapidly increasing. Quanti- ties of the beer are sold in the home market, and to the islanders, who in some respects seem to prefer it to their “juice of the vine,” which is so easy of ac- cess that it loses its charm in a measure. Emil Busch has for a number of years conducted the local business and had charge of the books of the establishment. J. Kuebeler & Co.’s brewery was established in 1867 by the brothers, Jacob The City of Sandusky. 419 and August Kuebeler, who have remained at the head of the establishment since that date, and from a very modest beginning have brought the business up to its present proportions. The buildings consist of a limestone structure, one hundred and five feet square and four stories high, with an “L” fifty-four by eighty and a frame addi- tion fifty by one hundred and twenty, the last named containing a modern re- frigerator or ice manufacturing machine, with a capacity of thirty- five tons per day. This machine obviates the necessity for ice, except what is needed for shipping purposes, but the firm still packs abont five thousand tons for the latter purpose and as a reserve in case of accident. From fifty to sixty thou- sand bushels of barley are malted annually, and thirty-five thousand pounds of hops are consumed, the best of which are imported from Germany. This establishment produces from one to two hundred barrels of beer per day, which is disposed of in the city and at various other points within a radius of sixty miles. Steady employment is given to thirty men and nine teams, and the annual expense account is very great; but a fine balance is secured by annual sales of the product. Besides the home brewery there are branches at Bellevue, Monroeville, Findlay and Elyria. Within the past two years the brothers have each erected a fine brick residence with modern conveniences. In 1887 the ice machine, mentioned above, was put in at a large expense, and a gas well was drilled on the premises; but the supply of gas is limited, not being sufficient to light the establishment. The flow of gas is somewhat stronger when the well is pumped dry, but not of enough account to pay for the cost of pumping, which would be considerable, as the well is quite wet. Streube & Engels, manufacturers of cider and cider vinegar, have one of the most extensive establishments of this kind to be found in Erie county. The building is a frame structure, thirty by eighty feet, two stories high, with a basement, and is thoroughly supplied with vats, grinding machinery and storage casks. Throughout the cider making season some ten or twelve men are employed, but during the remainder of the year only three are required. The mill is located on Columbus avenue, north of the Lake Shore Railroad, and was erected in 1882 by H. C. Struebe, Mr. Engels becoming connected with the business later on. The local apple supply makes no difference in the amount of cider and vinegar produced, as the firm ships in apples from other sections when they are scarce in this vicinity. The annual production of cider averages in the vicinity of fifteen hundred barrels, and about the same amount of vinegar is made. The trade is confined to Ohio, and the firm finds the field ample for their present capacity. Occasionally orders are received from other States, but no special dependence is put on them in making up the year’s supply of cider. A powerful engine, in a brick addition, furnishes the necessary power for the establishment. 420 History of Erie County. Bottling Works. Charles Baetz, for over thirty years a resident of San- dusky, and for a long term just closed this year leader of the Great Western Band, has for the past ten years or more carried on the bottling business. He puts up the Pilsener beer, especially prepared from Frank Stang’s brewery, and has the sole agency for the beer thus prepared. His establishment is located in the basement of Biemiller’s Opera House. The beer, when sub- jected to his process of treatment, will keep for any length of time in almost any temperature, and can be shipped to a great distance. His goods are shipped throughout Ohio and adjoining States, and meet with a very ready sale in all cities. J. Murschel & Son’s bottling works was established in 1882 by the present proprietor at the corner of Hayes avenue and Tyler street. The business is carried on in a frame building thirty-six by forty feet. Belfast ginger ale, pop, birch beer, and carbonated drinks in general are prepared by this firm for shipment to the islands and to surrounding towns on the mainland. Surely, if there is another beverage needed after one has done justice to the many al- ready mentioned as manufactured here, the want is supplied by the above mentioned firm. MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. Wood Working Establishments. — R. B. Hubbard & Son. This planing- mill, run in connection with Tucker & Daniels’s lumber mills at Algonac, Mich., was established in 1840 by Hubbard & Co. In 1844 Mr. Hubbard as- sociated with Mr. G. S. Lester and puixhased timber lands in Michigan and erected a saw-mill. Watson and Langden Hubbard became interested later on, but in 1874 the planing-mill at the corner of Water and Lawrence streets, which is the object most directly of this sketch, was, with the lumber interests in Sandusky, purchased by the present firm. The building, which is sixty by one hundred feet, two stories high and of stone, is occupied partly by the Woolsey Wheel Company, but belongs to the firm whose name leads this sketch. A powerful engine, made by Barney & Kilby, and a large boiler made by the pcedecessor of the present Portland Boiler Company, furnish the power for both establishments. R. B. Hubbard & Son plane and match flooring, siding and lumber, and saw posts, etc. Last year’s work amounted, in round numbers, to nearly two million feet of planed lumber, of which 750,000 feet were flooring, 100,000 feet matched siding, and 1,200,000 feet general planed lumber. This business has been in operation for about thirty-five years, and the present building was erected over twenty years ago. The firm does a general retail and wholesale trade over a considerable portion of Ohio, but the bulk of the business is with local builders and those in adjoining counties. A large force of men is constantly employed. The business is conducted by the proprietors, with William Marshall as accountant and salesman at the office. The City of Sandusky. 421 G. W. Iscman ; long pine and hardwood lumber and timber ; corner Meigs and Washington streets. Mr. Iscman, the present proprietor of these important mills, succeeded to his father’s interests here some years ago, and is carrying it forward very successfully. B. Iscman, the projector of the enter- prise, and father of the present proprietor, commenced the lumbering business at Muskallonge, in 1841, removed to this city shortly after, and established the original Iscman saw- mill on Market street; but for the sake of procuring better shipping facilities and larger grounds, removed to his present location later on. The building is of limestone and has an upper story of wood ; the dimen- sions are forty by one hundred feet, without the engine and boiler rooms, which are in a wing erected for them especially. The engine, of eighty horse power, is frequently taxed to its utmost capacity to propel the extensive and powerful machinery used in turning out the very heavy work in long timber. Quite an extensive retail and wholesale trade in hard wood and pine timber and lumber, is carried on by this firm, the annual output being nearly one and a half million feet. Ten men are regularl}" employed at the mill, and consid- erable work is necessarily furnished choppers and lumbermen at the other end of the line, as it were. The pine logs are raffed down from the Michigan forests, and at times have been quite an inconvenience to the small sailboats with which Sandusky peo- ple recreate during the summer season. Of course, the writer has no inten- tion of reflecting on the proprietor or others connected with the mills, as they probably do all in their power to accommodate their neighbors. Jay C. Butler & Co., at the corner of Water and Decatur streets, estab- lished their present firm relations in 1880, at which time they succeeded Jaj' C. Butler, before whom were Wells & Butler, Upp & Wells, Norcross & Upp, Norcross alone, and Thorp, Norcross & Thorp, who started the business on Water street, near Fulton, in 1855. The main building is two hundred and sixteen by fifty-two feet, of brick, three stories high with a basement. It is supplied with all modern conven- iences, heated by steam and lighted with gas. The power is furnished by a one hundred and fifty horse power engine, and there is a great variety of improved wood working machines in the various departments of the factory. The prin- cipal products are sash, doors and blinds, but a large trade has been recently built up in telegraph arms and insulator pins, many of the leading construct- ors getting their supplies from this firm. Boxes and fish packages are also made to quite an extent. The factory grounds are quite extensive, and there are several auxiliary frame buildings. An average force of one hundred and fifty men is employed throughout the year, while the annual product is somewhat above one hundred thousand dollars in value. The principal sales are made in Ohio, to builders, 54 422 History of Erie County, but large orders are received from all parts of the United States. The busi- ness is increasing steadily, as each year finds a wider area over which the sales extend, and there is no falling off in the territory already covered. They have a private dock at which much raw material is received for the factory, and from which a portion of the products are sent abroad. VVoolsey Wheel Company was founded by Pierce, Woolsey & Company in 1855, The firm name afterwards became Hubbard & Woolsey, and in several subsequent changes the name of Woolsey remained prominent in flie trans- action of the business of the establishment. In 1877 a stock company was organized with a capital of $45,000. The stock has since been increased to $70,000, and the business enlarged in pro- portion. From one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and fifty men are employed steadily, and their wages aggregate over $60,000 per annum. The manufacture of all styles of wheels is carried on, taking the material in the rough and turning out one hundred and twenty-five sets per day under favor- able conditions and with the maximum force. The machinery is extensive and necessarily quite varied, as the bending of felloes, turning of spokes, bor- ing of square sockets for the tenons, and most other parts of the work, includ- ing the final polishing, are done by machinery. Native hickory, elm and oak are used in the construction of the wheels, which ai'e shipped to all parts of the United States, and bear an excellent reputation in the market. Lawrence Cable is president of the company, and George A. Cook, treas- urer ; E. McFall is secretary. Superintendent E. Flickenger has direct charge of the business. Schoepfle and Sloane. This enterprising establishment dates back to Jan- uary, i860, when it was started with a limited capital by Jacob Schaub, C. F. Schoepfle, Andrew Riesterer and Casper Schneider, under the firm name of Schaub & Company. The firm then manufactured sash, doors and blinds, in a stone building on the dock north of Railroad street, where the Woolworth Handle Factory has since been established in a new building, the old one hav- ing been destroyed by fire. Mr. Schaub retired from the business in the fall of i860, and the style be- came Schoepfle & Company, continuing until 1862, when Mr. Schneider sold his interest to Martin Groehr. In 1863 business was removed to its pres- ent location on Water street, where a large stone building, then owned by Pitt Cooke, was leased, and subsequently purchased by the present proprietors. Mr. Riesterer, in 1877, sold his interest to Schoepfle & Groehr, who car- ried on the business together until 1883, when F. G. Sloane purchased Mr. Groehr’s interest and the present firm relations were established. The build- ing is located at the corner of Water and Fulton streets, and the business has been enlarged to include the manufacture of desks, bar fixings and hard wood trimmings for the inside of houses, such as banisters, wainscoting, etc., which The City of Sandusky. 423 they have furnished for many principal buildings, both public and private, throughout the State. They are also securing a large trade in telegraph arms which have been used so extensively lately in the United States. Their fac- tory buildings include a three-story and basement stone building, having a width of sixty-two feet on Water street, extending back to Railroad street, and an office and ware-room, frame building, twenty-two by sixty-four feet. The dock is one hundred by five hundred feet, and has an ample depth of water for the boats employed in their trade. The power for the factory is furnished by an eighty horse power engine. Their dry kilns have a capacity of 70,000 feet per week. Fifty-eight hands were employed by this firm dur- ing the past season, and produced a large amount of finished work. D. J. Brown & Company ; patent sawed elm hoops, and bilge sawed keg staves. This large and important industry was established at Oak Harbor, in 1862, by Otto Schimansky, who removed to the present location, at the foot of Anderson street, in 1865. The present mill comprises a main building forty by eighty feet, two stories in height, with three additions, thirty by eighty, and a warehouse forty by one hundred and eight feet. There is a one hundred and fifty horse power saw- mill capable of turning out thirty thousand feet of lumber a day. Messrs. Brown & Schimansky, the present owners, have a capital of $23,- 000 invested, and employ fifty men during three-fourths of the year, which is all the time given to active operations at the establishment, the remainder of the time being given to disposing of the products and renewing stock. Four and a half million hoops, and two million staves are turned out yearly, and sold mostly in the East and South, trade extending quite uniformly over the several States of the union between New York city and New Orleans. The monthly pay roll of the establishment averages $1,200 while the mill is in active operation, and the annual product is in the neighborhood of $75,- 000. Large quantities of logs are shipped to the mill from Canada, and from the forests of Michigan and elsewhere. The mill is located on the grounds once occupied by the Sandusky Basket Factory, which with an old mill were purchased by the present proprietors in 1865. The specialties produced by this enterprising firm show quite plainly how important a business may become when followed with zeal and an enterpris- ing spirit. Though the business itself would at first thought seem to be only a part of the barrel making business, it has grown to be an important indus- try, from the fact that great skill and concentration of effort make it possible for the firm to produce this part of cooper’s stock cheaper than it could be produced where the barrels are made, while the quality is equally good. The Sandusky Wheel Company, with buildings and grounds extending from McDonough to Shelby street, fronting on Water street, and reaching southward nearly across the block, employs at present from two hundred to 424 History of Erie County. two hundred and forty men ; has a capacity of two hundred set of wheels and considerable buggy body and other work daily. The main building is of lime- stone one hundred and twenty by one hundred and ninety feet, three stories in height, with a brick extension in the rear. A one hundred and fifty horse- power engine drives the entire machinery, which is of the latest improved patterns throughout, and capable of doing many things that men only a few years ago believed could only be done by hand. The Greggs, and later Barney, Ockobock & Torrey carried on this business in its earlier stages of development; but in 1867 the present stock company was organised with a capital of $200,000. The business of this company extends over a very wide area, and a traveling salesman is employed continu- ally. A monthly pay roll of from $8,000 to $10,000 is regularly disbursed by the company besides large amounts for material from which to manufacture the wheels, bodies, and seats. Mr. J. M. Boalt, president, has been a resident of Sandusky from boyhood; vice-president C. M. Cook came here from Toledo in 1870; O. B. Bannister, secretary, has been connected with the firm since 1869. Samuel Irvine, super- intendent, has been in the employ of the company for nearly twenty years, and thoroughly understands all the details of the business. A. Kunzman, on Water street, near Wayne, conducts the manufacture of all styles of carriages, buggies, wagons, cutters, etc., and has been at this busi- ness m Sandusky since 1867, when he came here from Port Clinton, where he had been in the same line of business since 1854. The main building is three stories high and forty-six by sixty- eight feet on the ground, with a blacksmith shop in the rear. Mr. Kunzman keeps about fifteen men steadily at work in the various departments of the establishment, and gives much of his own time to the inspection of the work turned out. The average annual product is $15,000, and the goods are shipped over a wide extent of territory. Considerable local trade is also secured. All the ironing, painting, upholstering, etc., is conducted in the establishment, which, as the description shows, is quite spacious. A. Schwehr’s cigar-box factory. In 1880 the Fox Brothers established this business near the present location, at the corner of Water and McDonough streets. Later, A. J. Hare became interested, but in 1884 the present pro- prietor took hold of the business and has brought it up to its present flourish- ing condition. The establishment employs twenty people steadily, and has a capacity of ten to twelve hundred boxes per day. Mr. Schwehr’s trade ex- tends about one hundred miles in all directions, and amounts to nearly four- teen thousand dollars a year. Much of the work is done by machines operated by women and boys. J. H. Soncrandt came to Sandusky in 1885 and established a barrel factory under the Arm name of Soncrandt & Bailey ; but the latter named gentleman The City of Sandusky. 425 retired from the firm recently, and the extensive and increasing business is now conducted by the former alone. Mr. Soncrandt is also interested largely in a much more important establishment at Trowbridge, O., where he manu- factures staves, heading, etc,, and procures the material for the shops in this city. The shop furnishes employment for thirty men, and an annual product of three hundred thousand barrels is a fair estimate of the average work ac- complished. The barrels are mostly used by the lime men of Sandusky and Marble Head Peninsula across the bay. The deftness with which each man performs his allotted portion in the turning out of a barrel is only equaled by that of the men employed in the wheel and tool factories, where co-operation in labor, if not in net results, is brought to perfection. The shops are located on Water street, near Monk’s ship-yard. Though the buildings are all of wood, they are conveniently arranged and necessarily quite extensive. The grounds are quite large also, and conveniently located with relation to the lime-kilns in the northeastern part of the city. Mackey & Merrick, Water street, near Decatur, manufacture wooden ware,, step-ladders, clothes-bars, tables, etc., and do contract work in wood. Their factory is twenty- four by eighty feet and three stories in height. The busi- ness was established in 1887, but is growing in importance. Shipments are made to Pennsylvania and New York, but the bulk of the business is with Ohio towns. Iron and Metal Workers . — Portland Boiler Company. In 1849N. H. Moore began the boiler making business in Sandusky on a small scale. The business was quite successful and increased in volume until in 1883 it was organized in- to a stock company under its present name. J. F. Kilby is now president, W. E. Chapman, manager, secretary and treasurer. The office is located near the factory. The company makes a specialty of large stationary and marine boilers, the reputation of which has been well established during the past forty years. The demand is mostly for steel boilers during the later years of the enter- prise. The steel is punched by machinery, but the riveting is done by hand. The shops are located on West Water street near the I. B. and W. depot. The stockholders have been very fortunate in receiving dividends, one of 20 per cent, having just been declared. None but first class work is turned out by this company. Cutlery and Gun Factory. J. Ambacher, in January, 1868, located at his present place of business on West Market, and began to manufacture and re- pair guns and cutlery. He is a practical workman himself and the business has had a very steady growth until at the present writing his orders extend as far as California, although the bulk of his business is in Ohio and surrounding States. Four men are engaged regularly, and at times others are needed on special orders. Razors are hollow ground, and repairing outside the regular line is done at times. The buildings and grounds are quite spacious. 426 History of Erie County. Kraaz Plumbing and Gas Fitting Works. Fred. Kranz, at the north end of Jackson street on the bay shore has a very extensive and well equipped estab- lishment for the manufacture of plumbers goods etc. Everything in tin, cop- per and sheet-iron work is done here at short notice. The new factory is the outgrowth of a trade established in 1847 and com- ing under the present management in 1865. Mr. Kranz has by his own en- ergy and business integrity built up his present large trade, and at the same time improved his financial resources to the amount needed in handling the business. Some fifteen men are kept constantly at work in the various depart- ments of the business. Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works and Klotz and Kromer Ma- chine Company. — The present firm was incorporated in 1870, but the business was begun in 1845. In 1877 the consolidated business was placed in the ex- tensive shops where business is now done in both names, at the old stand on Water street opposite Norman Hall. The company manufacture marine and stationary engines, (both automatic and common) circular saw- mills, ax handle and spoke lathes, hub and wheel machinery, wine and cider presses, hydraulic, steam and hand elevators, a newly patented pump, also the Hero binders and selFrake reaper and power corn-shellers. The firm employs from fifty to seventy men, and necessarily has a large monthly pay roll. The output in all the varied departments of the industry amounted in 1887 to about $60,000, goods being shipped over a very large part of the United States, with some outside orders. The Messrs. Klotz and Kromer still take a very active part in the business, the former being treasurer, and the latter secretary of the consolidated company. Mr. W. F. Converse is president, and F. Rinkleff, superintendent. Barney and Kilby’s Foundry, located on Water and Fulton streets, with offices and machine shops on the former. This firm manufactures engines, sugar and paper evaporators, wood working and mill machinery and all sorts of castings. The frontage on Water street is one hundred and thirty- two feet, and the foundry two stories high, of red brick, extends back three hundred and twenty feet on Fulton, with a width in the rear of one hundred and ninety-two feet. The number of men employed averages one hundred and fifty in San- dusky alone, while many hands are constantly required in other cities to place and start machines and engines. W. W. Wetherell in 1846 established this business as a car-shop ; afterward it was conducted by D. C. Henderson as a mowing machine factory; after- wards the business was conducted with various modifications by Barney, Hornig & Pringle, and by Klotz & Kromer until the present firm was estab- lished in 1876. The facilities were greatly enlarged by them until the annual product of the establishment amounts to three hundred thousand dollars in The City of Sandusky. 427 value. Shipments of engines are made to all parts of the United States, to the dominion of Canada and to Cuba. Considerable work is also done for the accommodation of people located in and near Sandusky. Jacob Buyer established a file-making and recutting establishment on Water street in 1869, and afterward removed to the present location on Fulton near Market street. He employs seven men regularly, and has a trade ex- tending through Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, with occasional orders from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and several other States of the Union. The annual sales are quite uniform, and range from eight to ten thousand dollars, with indications of an increase in the near future. OTHER INDUSTRIES. Sandusky Lime Company. This company represents an investment of about half a million dollars, and a decidedly strong combination of business ability and integrity. The following manufacturing plants make up the San- dusky Lime Company : The Marble Head Lime Company, comprising L. B. Johnson & Co., Daniel Kunz, the Pt. Marble Head Lime Company, and John H. Hudson, contributes sixteen kilns ; the Olemacher Lime Company, twelve kilns; Gager & Zollinger, four kilns; the Moss Marble Head Lime Company, six kilns. The company also owns three kilns in its corporate name, making forty-one in all, with a combined capacity of 4,500 barrels per day. The lime is shipped in all directions, the following States being the leading markets : Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, Minnesota, and the Territories also receive large consignments by water to Duluth, thence to the interior by rail. The company is officered as follows : president, Hon. Frederick Olemacher ; vice-president, John C. Zollinger; treasurer, Leonard S. Johnson ; secretary, Charles B. Dennis. The Olemacher Lime Company was organized in 1867 by Fred. Olemacher, and had then a capacity of one hundred barrels per day. Mr. Zollinger took an interest in 1871, and in 1880 William Olemacher and others became inter- ested. Sandusky and vicinity has long been noted for its excellent lime, much of which is burned across the bay on Marble Head Peninsula, but considerable quantities are also burned in the city. By the present combination all the leading manufacturers in this vicinity get a fair share of the trade, and the facilities for handling the product are greatly improved. L. B. Johnson was interested in the production of lime before the Civil War ; he was among the first to see the importance to which the lime interest of this section would attain. Most of the gentlemen whose names appear in this connection have been long interested in the lime business in one way or another. John H. Hudson and Daniel Kunz, like Messrs. L. B. Johnson and Frederick Olemacher, are 428 History of Erie County. old residents of Sandusky. L. S. Johnson, C. B. Dennis and John Zollinger represent the younger element of the corporation, but have been actiYely en- gaged in the business for a number of years. Several hundred men find em- ployment at the various kilns, and a great deal of money is disbursed by the company at their principal office on Water street, west of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Few industries are doing more for the city in the way of attracting com- mercial attention than is the Sandusky Lime Company. Western School Supply. This firm is one of less than half a dozen such factories in the United States. They manufacture school crayons of pure white, and of several colors ; also railroad crayons and carpenter’s chalk. The process of mixing the ingredients is kept a secret, the entire work in this de- partment of the industry being performed by interested parties. Most of the work of crayon making is done in the spring, fall and summer, on account of the inconvenience attending the operation of drying in the win- ter. John Cowdery, L. Curtis and H. Curtis conduct the enterprise, and have been very successful in what was at one time considered a somewhat venture- some enterprise. The crayons are sold all over the United States and in many parts of Europe. The firm manufactures its own boxes in which to pack the chalk and crayons. There are some thirty men and eight girls employed a greater part of the time between March 1st and the middle of December. The men work mostly in the box department and the girls at packing and dipping crayons. The crayons are moulded in brass frames containing several dozen each. After standing a few minutes they are pounded loose with wooden mallets, and put away to dry and harden before packing for shipment. The buildings are located at the corner of Polk and Prospect streets ; the grounds occupy about half a square. The buildings are of wood, large, com- paratively new, and well adapted to the needs of the business. This enter- prise was started in 1869 by M. F. and J. S Cowdery, the former for many years superintendent of schools at Sandusky, and widely known and honored as an Ohio educator. The Adamantine Company. The manufactory in which this comparatively new compound is made is located on Water street, near the Sandusky Wheel Company’s building. Messrs. Brunck & Marsh organized a stock company for the manufacture of this finish for ceilings, etc., about five years ago. Some two years later H. W. and J. H. Wagenet, with Emil Pusch, bought the Marsh’s interest, and have continued the business since with growing success. The finish is in high favor with many who have heretofore used alabastine and diamond wall finish. The composition is covered by patents. E. Pusch is president and H. W. Wagenet is secretary. Flavoring extracts, H. A. Lee & Co., Water street, near Jackson. This The City of Sandusky. 429 business was established in 1881 by B. F. and H. A. Lee, and purchased in 1885 by the present firm. They do a wholesale business with towns on the lines of the several railroads that terminate in or pass through Sandusky. Mr. Lee does his own traveling, and finds a market in Ohio for all his goods. The Sandusky Paper Company (not incorporated) is located south of the Lake Shore depot. J. J. Hinde is president, J. J. Dauch, secretary and treas- urer, and P. Scanlan, superintendent. The business was started in 1880 by W. J. Bonn, and after passing through various hands was purchased in Sep- tember, 1887, by the present company. The grounds occupy about two acres. There are five tenant houses on the premises besides the mill proper, which consists of a stone building one story in height and forty by eighty feet, with an engine house thirty by thirty and a frame structure thirty by forty, two stories high ; two engines, with a combined capacity of eighty horse- power. From thirty to thirty-five hands are employed steadily. The force is divided, half working at night and half during the day. The product is straw wrapping paper exclusively, and an average of twenty-five tons a week is produced. Most of the paper is shipped east as far as Massachusetts. The straw purchased from farmers goes into a vat at one end of the build- ing and comes out in sheets of paper at the other end, where it is packed and carred. The annual wages amount to $12,000, and the product brings in the neighborhood of $75,000. Sandusky Tool Company. This is an incorporated company and began its existence as such in 1869 with a capital stock of $125,000, which was in- creased to $150,000 later on for the purpose of enlarging facilities. The business has been conducted with none but slight intermissions from the date of its establishment, nearly twenty years ago, to the present time. From one hundred and seventy-five to two hundred and twenty-five men have found steady employment here, and the company is usually disbursing from ten to fifteen thousand dollars per month, more than half of which is for labor. The principal work is in carpenters’ planes, cabinet-makers’ tools, planters’ hoes, awls, etc., bench screws, handles, coopers’ wood tools, and vari- ous other sorts of steel and wood implements. White beech is used in the manufacture of planes ; handles are made of white ash, and the bench screws are made of the hard maple. From three to four hundred car loads of timber are worked up by this company every year, a larger portion into planes, for the manufacture of which they have a world- wide reputation. Small tool-handles are made from hickory, of which thirty or more car loads are annually used. Before making up, all lumber is quite thoroughly seasoned in the dry-houses, a process which, in the case of planes, occupies two years or more. Large quantities of fancy wood, such as mahogany, rosewood, lignum vitae, etc., are made up into croquet balls, extra 55 430 History of Erie County. fine planes, and various articles. The iron working department furnishes plane irons in great quantities, the average capacity being not far from seventy dozen a day. Planters’ solid steel eye hoes, for which they are famed through- out the South, are quite a specialty at this establishment; they have facilities for making about fifteen hundred daily. Small awls, gouge chisels, saws, etc., are turned out in sets, which are put up in wooden pocket cases, and sold in great quantities to the trade. The grounds for manufacturing purposes occupy about five acres adjoin- ing the city water works lot at the east end of Market street. The main build- ing is three stories in height, sixty by one hundred and sixty feet, with a wing twenty-two by one hundred feet, in which the immense two hundred horse- power engine and the mammoth boilers are located. The iron and steel de- partment occupies a grinding room forty by sixty feet, an iron working room fifty by one hundred and four, and hoe finishing department twenty-two by one hundred and thirty- six feet. The warehouse is twenty- four by eighty feet, two stories in height. There is a packing and storage building two stories in height, twenty-four by sixty feet, with a wing sixteen by sixty, and five timber sheds one hundred and fifty to two hundred and sixteen feet long by thirty feet wide. The office and other minor buildings occupy various por- tions of the grounds. The lumber is mostly moved on small hand-cars, pushed over wooden tracks that reach all parts of the grounds. The machinery of the various departments is necessarily very complicated, and many of the devices made by the workmen of the establishment from time to time are very ingenious, performing work that at first thought would seem impossible except by hand. Nearly half a million feet of lumber is used an- nually by the company for packing-boxes in which to ship the various imple- .ments turned out of their extensive establishment. The president of the company, Mr. Mozart Gallup, is an old and honored resident of Sandusky, and is familiar from long experience with the duties of his position and the details of the business. Mr. Gallup is also the manager and treasurer. He came to Ohio from Massachusetts in the year 1844, and has been connected with the present company since 1880, having come to it from the extensive handle factory of James Woolworth, lately moved to Ken- tucky. His son, Frank M. Gallup, recently chosen secretary, has been long a resident of Sandusky. He is a practical business man, and quite valuable to the business. J. A. Montgomery, in 1869, accepted the position of superintendent of machinery, thus being with the company from the beginning of its career. Messrs. George A. Church, foreman of the wood working department, and H. H. West, in charge of the manufactured tools and shipping department, have served faithfully since 1870, and are still in the emphoy of the company. This establishment, like a number of others it has been our privilege to describe in The City of Sandusky. 431 these pages, brings large amounts of money to Sandusky and takes little or none away. The great value of such plants to a city needs no e.xplanation. The products of this industry find a market in our own States, in Europe, Au- stralia and South America. The G. B. Hodgman Manufacturing Company (Incorporated). This im- mense wood working establishment began operations under the present organ- ization in September, 1885. The officers are G. B. Hodgman, president, O. A. Knight, vice-president, and Henry Knight, secretary. The firm manufac- tures general cooperage supplies, but lists as specialties syrup, lard and pickle packages, butter tubs and patent hoops. Twenty acres are used in the business and the buildings comprise a ware- house thirty-one by three hundred and forty-five feet ; saw- mill thirty by one hundred and sixty-five feet ; band factory thirty by two hundred and thirty-six feet; cooper-shop thirty by eighty feet; stables thirty-two by seventy- two feet ; blacksmith and wagon shop each two stories in height. They have a brick engine and boiler room, their engine being an automatic with a forty- eight inch stroke, the diameter of the cylinder is twenty-two inches. The saw- mill and factory are heated by steam and lighted with the Edison incan- descent light, the company owning its own generator and lighting apparatus. There are six stock warehouses, the first tvventy-four by one hundred and fifty- six feet, the second and third each ten and one-half by three hundred and seventy-five feet, the fourth twenty- four by three hundred and thirty-six feet, the fifth ten and one-half by four hundred feet, the sixth twenty by two hun- dred and twenty- five feet, each of these buildings one story in height. Two steam dry kilns, sixteen by twenty- two and twenty- two by twenty-eight feet respectively. Owing to the bulky nature of their products the firm found it necessary to build cars specially adapted to their shipping requirements. These cars are owned by the firm and handled b}-’ the railroad companies on much the same terms that the refrigerator cars are run for the large western meat shipping establishments. The shipments of this company cover a very large portion of the United States, and the products enjoy an excellent repu- tation. The proprietors are well known for business integrity and thorough- ness. About one hundred and twenty-five men are employed the year around in the establEhment here, and the business of course gives employment to a great Hiany others in the pineries, where they own a saw- mill for preparing the lumber. The auxiliary mill is at Lenox, Mich. In 1887 was commenced the manufacture of long bridge and special bill timber, for which they have a large and growing demand. Mr. Hodgman, the president, commenced the present line of business alone in 1877, and contin- ued it with marked success until the stock company was organized in 1885, as mentioned above. Kilbourn & Company, on Water street, east of the Baltimore and Ohio 432 History of Erie County. Railroad, conduct one of the large cooperage establishments of Sandusky. On their lot, which is eight by twelve rods, are two buildings, the factory proper, twenty eight by ninety-six feet, and the warehouse, thirty by one hundred and twenty-six feet, besides numerous sheds, etc., for storing stock. Their principal work is in fish, syrup and pickle packages, which are sold in a dozen or more surrounding States. They employ on an average twenty- two men. A branch establishment is conducted at San Francisco. This bus- iness was established in 1878 by the present firm. It is the intention of the proprietors to enlarge their facilities in the near future. Ship Yard and Dry Dock. J. E. Monk, some thirteen years ago, estab- lished a ship yard at the north end of Meigs street, on the bay. Mr. Monk was a practical builder, having worked as long for others in the city prior to the establishment of his present enterprise as he has since for himself Some fine work has been turned out in this yard, and a great deal of general repairing is being done all the time; fifteen or twenty men are kept at work most of the season. The steaniers Ferris and Flayes, the barge Norma, the tug Mystic, the General Burnside, Silver Spray, L. L. Rawson, Rolland and other boats, well known at Sandusky, were built by Mr. Monk at this yard. Stirrup and Whipstock Factory. Mr. H. H. Knight, Monroe street, near Perry, has been in his present line of business in this city for nearly twenty years. He makes all sorts of wooden stirrups and whipstocks, that are widely known among teamsters as durable and conveniently light. His goods are sold in all the States and territories, and to some extent in foreign stock rais- ing countries. Mr. Knight’s stamp on a whipstock or stirrup is the average cowboy or teamster’s guarantee that the stock is superior in quality. He makes a cowboy stirrup, trimmed in sheet brass, that is eminently satisfactory to the hardy sons of the plains. Mattress Factory. J. Ricker’s mattress factory is an establishment of the city that, while it cannot boast as great sales as some establishments, is still very widely khown, and covers a large section of country with its wholesale trade. Over five thousand mattresses are annually sold by this concern to furniture dealers in the South and West. He was compelled to enlarge his fa- cilities some two or or three years ago to accommodate the increasing and profitable wholesale trade. Mr. Ricker is a practical workman himself and employs a number of men in his work. Sandusky Basket Factory. This is the only establishment of its kind in the city, and enjoys almost a monopoly of the large fruit basket trade of the sur- rounding vineyards, and of the peach orchards and vineyards of Marblehead and the islands of Lake Erie. The factory was started in 1883 by C. W. Koe- gle, C. Doerflinger and Mr. Herder. A year later the last named gentleman retired and was succeeded by John Doerflinger, a brother of C. W. Doer- flinger. The firm has remained the same since that time. The business re- The City of Sandusky. 433 quires considerable quantities of timber which is purchased from adjoining counties, and from the Dominion of Canada. The factory annually turns out an average of about fifty thousand dozens fruit baskets, and furnishes employ- ment for some thirty-five persons during a portion of the year. The wages paid vary in accordance with the skill and experience of the workmen, from seventy-five cents per day to two dollars. The buildings are located on the cove east of Meigs street, and are of wood. All the necessary modern appliances for rapid work are to be found in the establishment. The engine is run by C. W. Koegle, one of the owners mentioned above. MERCANTILE AND OTHER BUSINESS INTERESTS OF SANDUSKY. It is an undoubted truth that there has not been at any time during the past life and history of Sandusky a supply not fully equal to the demand in the mercantile branch of trade. As the old adage has it, “ competition is the life of trade,” but that same competition, carried to an extreme, may be equally the death of trade. Mercantile business, like any other, if overdone or over- represented, results in stagnation, and stagnation generally results in failure, unless the owner happens to be sufficiently well possessed of this “ world’s goods ” to weather a season of storm ; then those not so fortunately circum- stanced must yield to the inevitable. The reader must not infer from this that the city has been remarkable for its business failures, for such is not the case. Its business houses are as firmly established and as well conditioned as any other city similarly situated ; still, it appears to the careful and disinterested observer that every branch of trade is as well represented, and possibly a little more than that, as the population -of the city and surrounding country will warrant. This is, of course, benefi- cial to the purchaser and consumer, but is not especially profitable to the per- son whose capital is invested. The impression seems to have gone abroad through the country generally that during the last few years Ohio has made rapid strides in the direction of prohibition, and it is quite generally believed, in some other States at least, that in the very near future Ohio will be placed on the catalogue of the prohi- bition States. But whatever may have occurred elsewhere to give rise to this belief, the tidal wave of prohibition has certainly not touched the city of San- dusky, however much such an event might be desirable. We read in every paper of the great reduction in number of saloons in other places. Can it be possible they have removed here from elsewhere ? While it is by no means the province of this work to criticise or comment upon any existing condition of things, the presence of over two hundred saloons in a city of twenty-three thousand population is something unusual. But the city authorities seem to he fully competent to regulate the economy of municipal affairs, and it be- hooves not this work to lament or condemn their action. 434 History of Erie County. When Sandusky received its first pioneer inhabitants the mercantile busi- ness of the place, when established, was held to the vicinity of Water street and Columbus avenue, and it was not until some years later that it extended to Market street and other thoroughfares. The bulk of trade (outside of man- ufacturing and producing) still holds to the old localities, and maybe said now to be confined to the streets named, although, with the gradual increase in population, business enterprises were started and have been maintained in many sections outside the recognized center. Having in this chapter devoted considerable space to a mention and de- scription of the manufacturing and producing industries of the city, simple justice demands that there be made some notice of the mercantile interests and of those who are engaged therein ; but it is impossible to devote space to each individual enterprise beyond a mention in the general class to which each respectively belongs. And it is deemed inadvisable for the intention of this chapter to mention the location of each tradesman, but rather, to classify them under a general head, as has elsewhere been done in this work, that the reader may gain something of an idea of the increase in every branch of trade over that done thirty, forty, or fifty years ago in the same territory. And it is especially to be desired that this mention will not be considered as giving this work the appearance or character of a business directory, but that it will be treated as a part of a record of the things that now exist and as they exist. In 1888 it is found that there are engaged in business pursuits as Agricultural Implement Dealers. — Arend Bros. (Charles H., August H. and William G.), Jacob Arend, Sanderson & Foster, Rinkleff & Taubert (George M. Rinkleff 'and Lewis J. Taubert), T. B. Taylor & Co. (Thomas B. and Den- nis G. Taylor). Bakers. — Herman F. Cluever, Frank Conrad, Frank Frank, Glahn & In- gwersen, Jacob Kanzler, William Kreutsinger, William Krysinger, John B. Newmeyer, George Prestler & Son, Anthony Schaefer, Andrew Schott. Booksellers and Stationers. — J. L. Bonn & Son, Joseph Eisner, Julius Eck- ener, William Hamilton, H. C. Huntington & Co. Boot and Shoe Dealers. — Conrad Braun, Cable Bros., H. W. Curth, Bern- hard Esch, Frederick Federer, John A. Feuerstein, Christian Frey, Geideman & Homegardner, Isaac Grasgreen, Michael Heinzerling, George Held, Paul Herter, Klieger & Parsons, Oswald Link, Joseph Leitzinger, George Mayer, George Oberer, P'rank Pietschmann, William M. Rhode, John L. Rieger, Her- man Roth, Ambrose Schnell, Theodore Schneider, Carl Schultz, Michael Sil- bersack, Christian Stubig, A. W. Tamm, Jacob Wiederkehr. Crockery, China and Glassware. — Geo. Marshall & Co., William Schoene- mann. Cigars and Tobacco — Jacob H. Bauer, John C, Bickel, Andrew Diehl, Jacob Dietz, E. J. Fay, D. Frohman & Son, David Hart, Andrew Kreimes, J. F. Les- The City of Sandusky, 435 VTr. ser, Christian Linker, Joseph Loth, Harry Molyneux, Martin Otner, August Reinheimer, Frank A. Riedy, Henry Ritter, A. E. Ross, Joseph H. Schade, George Stahl, Jacob H. Stein, Charles F. Wetterer. Clothiers. — J. L. Hudson, Jacob Kronthal, Joseph Kronthal, M. & A. Leb- ensburger, McFall Bros., Schnaitter & Buderus. Coal Dealers. — C. E. Black, Browning & Kelham, M. Callan & Son, E. Col- ley & Son, Frederick Groch, Daniel Hoffman, Johnson, Kunz & Co., North- western Coal Sz Stone Exchange, The Sandusky Coal Company, Daniel Schaf- fer, William J. Von Seick, Wehrle & Hunt, J. G. Zeigler & Son. Confectioners. — William A. Anderson, Joseph Bordonaro, Martin Boysen, Peter Ebner, L. Seymour, Harry Hoffman, Samuel Meyers. Daily Markets. — Fred. Bumgartel, Gottlob Bentel, Mrs. John Biglin, Martin Cecil, Dempsey & Son, William Diebold, William Farrell, Joseph Gundlach, William Haecker, Jacob Hardy, Daniel E. Hartung, John Hecker, Kelly Bros., George Napp, Kuehler Bros., Charles Linder, Jay Littleton, Conrad Margard, Fred Mayer, Martin Murschel, Charles Rittman, William Schneider, W. B. Schneider, Speigel Bros., Joseph A. Stoll, Tritschler & Smith, D. Wolf & Son, Constantine Zipfel. Druggists. — Arnold & Henkelman, Lewis A. Biehl, James H. Emerich, W. A. Graham, J. C. Hauser, F. R. Lange, Charles A. Lehrer, Melville Bros., J. Pape, G. A. Wildenthaler & Co. Dry Goods Dealers. — Brand & Fox, J. F. Bredbeck & Co., William Brehm, Carl Ebert, Joseph Eby, John M. Fox, Mrs. Nellie Glover, Mrs. Lottie Gras- green, N. H. Hammond, Harris & Schumacher, Frank Hess, Adolph Hoff- man, August M. Koegele, Powers & Zollinger, L. Schuefler, Stein Bros., Edward Weis, Wm. T. West, E. H. Wilcox, Christ. Wolf, A. Zerbe & Son. Fancy Goods and Notions. — Louis Cohn, N. H. Hammond, Kugel Bros., Paul Westerhold. Flour and Feed Stores and Mills. — T. C. Adams, Dwelle & Williams, Ker- ber & Son, James D. Lea, T. L. McEwen, Anthony Pietschman, F. Pope & Co., Frank Rosino, Fred. W. Thomas. Fruit Dealers. — Pfranklin & Co., Scheufler & Curth, P'albot & Freeman. Furniture Dealers. — J. C. Butler & Co., Deek & Andus, J. Krupp & Son, J. B. Mayer, Jacob Murchel, Ruff, Son & Kugler. Furnishing Goods. — John R. Goosman, J. L. Hudson, George Knopf, Jacob Kronthal, Joseph Kronthal, W. V. Latham & Co., M. & A. Lebensburger, Mc- Fall Bros., C. H. Muenscher, Schnaitter & Buderus, Charles F. Stein, Christian Wiedel, Jacob Witzel. Grain Merchants. — J. A. Closser & Co., John H. Hudson, Frederick W. Thomas. Grocery and Provision Dealers. — Louis Altstatter, William Barz, Biehl Bros., Philip Bing, J. L. Bonn & Son, H. P. Breining, Herman Bremer, Buyer 436 History of Erie County. Bros., Claussen Bros., E. N. Curth, Charles Dahnke, John R. Davis, George Dressel, W. Eberle, Daniel Ennis, Adolph Ernst, Mary Feick, George Ferback, Michael Fischer, JohnVV. Flickinger, Mary Fuchs, Mrs. F. J. Gehri, Gfroehr & Arnold, John F. Ging, Erich Hartman, F. E. Hastings, August Heiberger, Anthony Herbert, Mrs. L. Jackson, Frederick Kade, Albert Kerber, Lorenz Kerber, Frederick Knopf, Mrs. P. Kominger, George Lehr & Co., Conrad Leon- hiser, Lewis & Dwelle, Mrs. Bridget Lotz, Daniel McCarthy, Michael McKer- nan, F. W. Marquart, George Marquart, John Myer, Henry Miller, J. O. Nichols & Co., Adam Oehm, Otto Pape, Hienry Pfeil, Ulrich Rau, F. C. Reyberg, Ed- ward F. Rentier, Robertson & Co., John B. Sartor, C. W. Schade, Joseph Schoefler & Son, Philip Schmidt, William Schoenerman, Mrs. John Seibel, Silva & Newbaurer, Mary A. Smith, William R. Smith, Charles Speigel, Paul Sprau, Paul Sweissinger, William R. Talbot, Lewis F. Taubert, Thiene & Son, Mrs. Caroline Walter, J. C. Whetstone & Son, J. Whitworth & Co., Wiehman & Sons, Jacob Weidmer, B. PP Weigel & Son. Hardware and Cutlery Dealers. — Arend Bros., Jacob Arend, Barney & Co., Sanderson & Foster, Butts & Whitworth, Rinkleff & Taubert, Mattern Bros. Hats and Caps. — John R. Goosman, J. L. Hudson, C. C. Keech, George Knopf, M. & A. Lebensburger, McFall Bros., C. H. Muenscher, Charles P. Stein, Jacob Weitzel. Lnniber Dealers. — E. R. Ayers & Co., Eureka Lumber Company, Gilcher & Schuck, Haws & William, R. B. Hubbard & Son, G. W.> Icsman, J. T. Johnson & Co., Lea, Herbert & Co., Schoepfle & Sloane. Marble Dealers. — J. V. Brost & Son, Alexander Hornig, Ambrose Lieb, Adam Montgomery, Christian Schlenk. Millinery Goods. — Caroline Cady, Amelia Christie, Mamie L, Clark, Louis Cohn, Rose Conley, Caroline Feiciler, Mrs. B. Goodrich, Nora E. Renehan, William Schade, Mrs. H. C. Young. Musical Instninients. — N. H. Hammond, Albert J. Nusly, Paul Westerhold, Mrs. P. A. Follett, Kirch & Rife, B. S. Barrett, J. R. Jackson. Saddlers and Harness Dealers. — F. H. Francisco, J. B. Kaeferly, F. R, Lange, Reddle & Weier, Conrad Rhode, C. V. Wagner, Franz Wagner. Salt Dealers. — E. R. Ayers & Co., C. E. Black, John H. Hudson, J. T, Johnson & Co., Frederick W. Thomas. Sand Dealers. — John Homegardner, Johnson, Kunz & Co., The Sandusky Paper Company, T. B. Taylor & Co. Seed Dealers. — John R. Davis, Dwelle & Williams, S. E. Hubbard, Fred- erick W. Thomas. Jewelers and Silvei'ware Merchants. — Henry Dehnel, Julius Erckener, N. H. Hammond, Charles Heimburg, George D. Lewin, Lewis M. Lea, C. L. Mat- thews, Albert J. Nusly, Paul Westerhold. Stone Dealers and Producers. — Ira T. Davis, John Homegardner, N. W. Coal The City of Sandusky. 437 and Stone Exchange, Ohlemacher Lime Company, Michael Callan, Kunz & Johnson, David McGory, O’Donnell Bros., Charles Schoepfle. Stoves and Timvare. — B. F. Ferris, Groff & Hosfeld, Mattern Bros., J. Mertz & Sons, Rickert Bros., Charles Ross, jr., John Schuefler, Peter Sherer. MercJiant Tailors. — Louis Deitz, Valentine Heim, Moritz G. Hopf, W. V. Latham & Co., Charles Miller, Malachi Nolan, J. P. Pfell, Schnaitter & Bu- derus, William Seitz, Jacob Smith, Ambrose Volk, Christian Weidel. Undertakers. — Agsten & Bernard, Deck & Andreas, J. Krupp & Son, Ruff, Son & Kugler. The above by no means represents the entire mercantile business of San- dusky, as there are many — hundreds — engaged in some branch of trade or pro- duction that might, in a measure, be classed as mercantile, while strictly speak- ing it is not such, and it would be absolutely impossible to make an individual mention of the name of each person engaged in any trade, business occupation or calling; such Ts not the purpose of this chapter, nor would it be desirable so to do. But there are other classes of occupations that go to make up the business interests of the city that are not mercantile, but are, nevertheless, worthy of mention in this connection. Of barber shops the city has twenty; saloons, over two hundred ; billiard rooms, fifteen ; boarding-houses, fourteen. Of surgeon dentists there are the following: Drs. Chandler & Son, A. F. Miller, Clarence D. Peck, C. T. Stroud & Son, Charles Stroud, Edgar T. Waye. Of insurance agents: J. A. Falk, Harry B. P'inch & Co., Theodore Gerald, Rosenbaum & Boslaw, U. T. Curran, Fannie G. Spencer, H. F. Spencer, Wag- enet & Davis. Of photographers: Willard A. Bishop, Charles A. Cross, J. M. Lloyd, C. J. Pascoe, Clayton W. Platt. Hotels. — From the time that Cyrus W. Marsh remodeled his dwelling and converted it into a “ public house,” there has been no lack of hotel accommo- dations in Sandusky. As can be said of every branch of trade can be said of the hotel business, that it has kept even step with the times and the constant growth in population. Of the hotels of Sandusky to-day there are eighteen well located, well appointed and well conducted. They are the Bing House, at No. 735 Market street; the Colton House, a large stone hotel at the corner of Water and Lawrence streets, Harry Colton, proprietor; the Germania House, at 935 Market street; the Grosser House, at 303 North Depot street; Grau’s Hotel, corner North Depot and Lawrence streets; the Hoelzer House, No. 212 Wayne street, George Schaeber proprietor; Kunzmann’s Hotel, Nos. 125-127 Jackson street, August G. Kunzmann, proprietor; the Lake Shore House, No. 317 North Depot street; the Lake View House, corner of Water and Hancock streets; the Mansfield House, No. 627 Water street, J. A. Mans- field, proprietor; the National House, corner of Market and Wayne streets ; 56 438 History of Erie County. the New Lake House, at the corner of Water and Wayne streets, on the site of Marsh’s Steamboat Hotel, the first in the town, Voltaire Scott proprietor; the Robert Blum House, 130 Tiffin avenue, Richard Reigger proprietor; the San- dusky House, 125 Decatur street, Thomas Hess proprietor ; the Schlenk House, 823 Market street, Solomon Schlenk, proprietor ; Sloane House, Washington Row and Columbus avenue, Captain A. W. Powers lessee; the West House, Columbus avenue and Water street, Colonel E. Geohegan manager, W. T, West & Co. proprietors ; the Wiedeman House, corner of Market and Decatur streets, John M. Wiedeman, proprietor. Of the hotels above named there are two, at least, worthy of especial notice. The West House was built originally for business purposes, and fitted up for hotel purposes in the year 1858, by W. T. and A. K. West. It is a substantial and fine appearing stone^ building, five stories in heighth, with a frontage on Columbus avenue of two hundred and sixteen feet, and on Water street of one hundred and thirty-five feet. On the first or ground floor there are commo- dious offices and rooms for all hotel purposes. The West House has rooms sufficient for two hundred guests, and is a thoroughly first-class hotel in every respect. The Sloane House was built during the year 1880, by Hon. Rush R. Sloane. The building is of brick, four and five stories high, and has an extensive front on Washington square (200 feet), and a depth of one hundred and fifty feet. This hotel will furnish accommodations for one hundred and fifty person. The present proprietor of the Sloane House is Captain A. W. Powers, a “Yankee” by birth, and a thoroughly competent landlord. His title of “Captain” was justly earned by his service in one of the first regiments that entered the service from Massachusetts. CHAPTER XXL HISTORY OF BERLIN TOWNSHIP. A n almost universal custom prevailed in the early history of Ohio to name localities from those who first bought or settled on them. In this way, what is now called Berlin, was named Eldridge, from one of its original pro- prietors. In 1832 it was changed by the commissioners of Huron county, of which it was then a part. About this time some of the territory of Vermillion was added to its northern boundary, extending it to the lake shore, and giving it a coast of several miles, thus making it a township of great possibilities. In looking over a map of Erie county, the mind would naturally ask, “ which of these townships is sure to progress most rapidly ? and, of course, a preference Berlin Township. 439 would be given to those with a coast line; then taking all that lie upon the lake, how can anyone predict a greater success of one than of the others? Yet one will often far outstrip the rest and attract to it from the beginning, those with a spirit of enterprise that would fail to be drawn elsewhere. When the subject of its name came up for discussion, there had been sun- dry rumors concerning the integrity of Mr. Eldridge, who seems to have been a pleasant gentleman, who had purchased the eastern half the township as a speculation, and was ruined by the taxes that rested on unimproved lands as heavily as those that were cultivated. Rumors came from the East that he had tried to redeem his credit by forgery, and these rumors were only too readily believed by those who looked upon a land speculator with distrust. It was just at the time of the Milan- Berlin treaty, and when the commissioners wished the name changed, Noah Hill suggested that as there was a Milan, why not have a Berlin. The township, as at first surveyed, was five miles square, and was afterward enlarged by the lake front. The surface is level (except where small valleys are formed by the streams) from the lake to the Ridge, where it rises from fifty to one hundred feet, and then extends southward as level as before. It is be- lieved by scientific geologists that this ridge represents what was once the shore line of the lake. It extends through the township from northeast to southwest, and in one place called the “pinnacle,” the base of the bluff is sixty feet above the level of the lake, and its slope presents three distinct terraces or shore lines, at heights of one hundred, one hundred and fifty and one hundred and ninety- five feet above the lake, each indicating a period of subsidence. Timber was abundant, and consisted of various kinds of oak, chestnut and white wood; of the latter, this township has supplied more than any other in the fire-lands. The eastern part of the northern division was most heavily tim- bered. The soil is generally sandy, though the northern is lower and has a clayey soil. There are four marshes in the township, of which two have been re- claimed, and the other two are expected to be. Sandstone abounds, and half a dozen quarries have been opened and worked at different times. Erom these large quantities have been shipped, and the home market supplied with grind- stones, and material for building. Salt-licks extended parallel with the ridge, and were the general resort for deer in the days of savage life. These animals came in large numbers and wore a path that afterward separated the lands of Nathan Tuttle and Ezekiel Sayles. During the dry season the surface of the licks is covered with an efflorescence of salt deposit, that is very marked. In the early times when salt was expensive and difficult to procure, the settlers dug a pit, into which they sank a section of a hollow tree, and took from this reservoir the water from which they made salt. The belief in the value of this salt spring was so 440 History of Erie County. strong in the miad of its first proprietor, Fosdick, that he refused to sell the adjacent land for many years. Later, Prof. B. L. Hill and others, made explo- rations for it, but were unable to find it, the floods of spring had swept it away. They found salt water, however, and proved the truth of the reports they had received from the early settlers. Traces of the mound builders can be found on the farm of Henry Hoak in the western part of the township, and covers an eighth of an acre. There are at present large trees growing on it, and while digging a cellar for a new house* a large human skeleton was found in a sitting posture. Others have been found near the same place, and various kinds of relics, such as arrow-heads, stone a.xes, and such articles as have always been found within these peculiar mounds. Near the center of the township, on a place once owned by Lewis Osborne, is another mound ; and in the northern part of the township is an old fortification of much interest. Hudson Tuthill possesses some of the relics belonging to this people, and H. L. Hill plowed up a French hatchet near the roots of a large stump. The tree had been cut down over twenty years before. It was very large, and near the heart of the tree were two or three plain hacks as if made by a hatchet. Outside of these hacks could be counted two hun- dred and nineteen courses, indicating the time that had elapsed since the marks were made, and bringing the date to a time parallel with the coming of the French to settle Canada. The surface of the country in this township is beautifully varied, in some places high, elsewhere rolling or level, and in some places large bowlders are to be found. All kinds of crops can be grown here, and no richer farming lands can be found than those of Berlin township. The first settlement was made in 1808, by a party of adventurers, who had launched a rude boat at the mouth of Walnut Creek, Pennsylvania. There were seven of these men, and they boldly sailed out upon the lake in pursuit of their fortunes. Their boat was loaded with provision, tools, and thirty bar- rels of whisky. When the storms began to beat upon them they reluctantly threw overboard the liquor, and after it was over gathered it up again. When they found the mouth of the Huron, the sand-bar kept them from getting ashore, and they were obliged to dig a channel for their boat from the lake to the river. They selected a field of eighteen acres of land now compos- ing the Kline and Minuse farm in Milan township, and put in a corn crop. After putting in their crop and hoeing it, they left it to go for their families, leaving an Indian to guard and protect it. It was not until the autumn that they returned, the men as before by boat with their goods, and the women and children on horseback, escorted by John Hoak’s father, Henry Hoak. He was the oldest of all the pioneers, having first seen the light in 1745, and remained here until his death, living to a grand old age and dying in his eighty-eighth year. The majority of this brave party deserted Huron on account of its over Berlin Township. 441 ' flows, and settled in Berlin. They found here rich soil and two creeks — one called the Chapelle, the other “ The Old Woman Creek,” because it was said : a squaw had drowned in it at an early date. It rises in Huron county and passes through the whole length of the central portion of this township. It has ! also a West Branch, and the two branches have had at different times more ^ than half a dozen saw-mills built along their course. The Chapelle empties into the lake in Vermillion. These strangers also found an abundance of wild ; game, turkeys, deer, and small animals, with a sprinkling of wolves and bears, ; sufficient to keep them in a state of anxiety continually. Men that worked by ' night, at that time, did so to the music of the wolves that barked on every side. A Mr. Freeman who settled in the eastern part of the township, had noticed i that his hogs came to the house badly wounded, and one moonlight night he heard one of them squealing. He seized his gun and flew to the rescue. A 1 large bear was carrying off a good sized hog. The hog was dead, and in : attempting to carry it over a log the bear had stood upon the log and was there shot. Its meat was divided among all the settlers and was enjoyed as a , rare treat, being the first of the kind they had ever tasted. ! A thrilling wolf story is told of a boy named Jacob Simpson, who was left I alone at the house of Mr. Fitzgerald. The boy had nothing to read, and no i company but a dog, so, as the evening was pleasant he went out of doors and I sat on a log, howling to imitate a wolf The dog joined in the concert, and ! his voice was even more shrill than the boy’s. It was but a short time before I they heard a reply from the genuine creature, and as they came near the house i the boy ran in and tried to coax the dog to go with him. It was worse than vain, the dog would not stir, and the pack of wolves surrounded the house i and attacked the dog. This made the dog willing to join his master and he came to the door to be let in, and so closely was he followed by the wolves that as Simpson opened the door to let him in, he nearly caught a wolf at the same time. He fastened the door and piled fire-wood against it to keep them out, and succeeded in doing so. The dog wanted to get out again, but he dared not let him go among them, and they remained around the house a long time trying to get in. Life had little time for pleasure then, all thoughts were cen- ; tered on getting a living and avoiding dangers. ! The first town-meeting was held at Thompson’s Mill, April, 1817. The > following is a list of those chosen township officers: Trustees, John Laughlin, , Samuel Reed, aud John Thompson; clerk, Henry Brady; treasurer, John ! Hoak ; constable, Daniel Butler ; lister and appraiser, Lybeus Storrs ; path masters, Christopher Brumbacker and Thomas Starr; fence-viewers, Jno. Hoak, Samuel Reed ; poor-masters, Heironymus Mingus and Christopher Brumbacker. All the voters had an office, and some of them two offices, after ! the idea of Artemas Ward, that all soldiers should be brigadiers. The first house is said to have been built by John Hoak, near the western 442 History of Erie County. line of the township. There were but four white men present to carry up the corners, but Silas David, an Indian chief, who was a frequent visitor to the whites, brought his friends to the “raising,” and would not allow them to touch a drop of liquor until the work was done. Then they had a drunken brawl. One of them became so beastly drunk that the others built a pen of rails around him, covered him up and left him till the morning of the next day. The first white settler was John Dunbar, who came from New York State in 1809, and settled on the farm afterward owned by the heirs of John Westerlow. Here he cleared the land and built a house, and was afterward joined by his brother, Isaac, who came with him, but afterwards built himself a house near the centre of the township. For many years all traces of the family have been lost. In 1810 he was joined by Perry and Thomas Starr, who came from Connecticut in a one-horse wagon to Cleveland. Mr. Starr was a blacksmith by trade, and used to follow the business of ironing vessels for the lake. He did the iron-work for the first decked-vessel that was built this side of Erie, Pa. It was owned by Captain Austin, of Vermillion. Mr. Starr had eight children, of whom his eldest son, William Eldridge, is said to be the first male child born in the town- ship. He and Thomas Starr built a mill on the lands since owned by L. H. Hill, and in the fall of the same year, 1810, the latter built a house on the farm now owned by J. S. Lowry. A snow fell the night before the raising and he was anxious fearing it might keep every one away, for the neighbors lived sev- eral miles in every direction ; but early in the morning “ old Mr. Burdue,” was on hand with his jug of whiskey and in as good spirits as though a June sun were shining. When the building was up the whiskey was enjoyed by all hands as only old settlers knew how to enjoy it. In this building the brothers kept bachelor’s hall for a time till Thomas was drafted in 1812, when he went into the army and on his return home married and moved to the center of the town- ship. There is a story told of “ old Mr. Burdue,” which deserves a place in his- tory. Soft water was like money, very scarce, and this man had a peculiar longing for it. He started out with a piece of soap in his pocket, and said he should travel until he found a spring of soft water, and there he would locate. In the afternoon he found a beautiful spring and decided to remain there. His orchard was the first to bear fruit, and by some strange freak of circumstance a school-house had been built near his apple-trees, and the old man’s life was kept in a constant state of worriment to guard his treasures. The boys watched his coming and sought to avoid him, and many said he seemed to them like the Evil One himself as he chased them with his white hair flying in the windi and the stones flying through the air. The first physician who came to this township was Dr. George G. Baker, who came from Connecticut in 1822. He did not remain long for he moved to Florence township, where he remained for many years, and then to Nor- Berlin Township. 443 walk. His practice was large, extending far beyond the fire-lands, and his success in treating the diseases of a new country was far beyond that attained by ordinary physicians. The first death was a tragic affair that resulted from insanity. The wife of John Dunbar had been ill with a fever, and her health was so shattered that her mind was left in a feeble condition that resulted in her throwing herself in the fire and burning herself so terribly that she died in a few hours from the effects of it. This was in i8i i, and there was no minister that could be found to attend the funeral. The first grist-mill was built by John Thompson. The first postmaster was Jeduthan Cobb, in 1820. The mail was then carried on horseback from Cleveland to Lower Sandusky, by Robert Wolverton, who afterward ran a sort of coach, carrying mail and passengers. The first hotel was built by a man named Walker on the Walker farm. Schools here, as elsewhere on the fire-lands, were among the first objects to be attended to after the land was cleared and a house built for the family. The first school-house of Berlin township if contrasted to-day with the ordinary country school buildings of the region would afford a striking illustration of the march of civilization. It was built on a farm since owned by Henry Hine, and in the year 18 ii was taught by John Leland. When the war broke out the feeling of insecurity made many of the settlers leave the place and return to the East and the school was broken up. The panic was so great that it nearly cleared the township, and in January, 1814, there were only four fami- lies left. The second school-house was built of logs covered with “ shake,” on the farm of Daniel Butler, in 1815, and the school was first kept by Sophia Case. The third school-house was built near the ” old man Burdue’s ” spring in 1818. It was sixteen feet by twenty, and the logs of which it was built were of all sizes and lengths, some running far beyond the others. The roof was covered with “ shake,” held down by heavy poles. The floor was made of logs split through the middle, with seats to match, without any backs. Writ- ing desks were of split slabs, supported by pins driven into the log walls. There were three windows, with greased newspapers for glass. One entire end of the building was occupied by the fire-place, which could burn logs of all sizes. There was not a board or nail in the house. The school here was opened by Thomas Stevens, who received ten dollars a month, paid in farm produce or work. In 1874 the Central district erected a building at a cost of thirteen thousand dollars. This is a graded school, and from the beginning was under the care of Mr. Job Fish, who taught the higher grade. There are now ten school-houses in the township, valued at twenty-six thousand four hundred dollars, and a single year’s expenses now are over four thousand dollars. The central district also supports one at the east end, whose building cost five hundred dollars. 444 History of Erie County. Religion was early planted on the soil of Berlin. Those who came from New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and other Eastern States, to make their homes in the far West, brought with them staunch religious convictions that were not likely to die out. The first person who was known to have “ expe- rienced religion,” on the fire-lands, was Lazarus Young, whose life has a rec- ord of consistency among trials that would test a man’s metal. The Methodists held class meetings as early as 1812, in private residences, with occasional preaching from Nathan Smith, Mr. Westhich, Dennis God- dard, William Pattee and Mr. Walker. At one of these meetings the following resolution was adopted : “ Whereas, Our lots, by Divine Providence, are cast in this wilderness land, where we are destitute of the preached word, destitute of an able shep- herd to take us by the hand, and believing it to be our duty, as professed fol- lowers of Christ ; and also feeling it to be our desire, and esteeming it to be our highest privilege on earth to do all we can to the declarative glory of God and the advancement of the Redeemer’s cause in the world, and the good of souls ; and believing it will most conduce to this glorious end to form our- selves into a conference state, in brotherly compact, and thereby mutually strive to maintain the glory of God, keep the Christian Sabbath, watch over one another in love, and be help to each other in our pilgrimage journey, and finding ourselves to be in union sentiments, we, therefore, do hereby this day agree to unite in brotherly compact in the best of bonds, for the purpose above named. March 4, 1818.” Signed by Joshua Phillips, Robert Wolverton, P. G. Smith, Levi Ful- ler, Fanny Smith, Rebecca Smith, Luther Harris. Some of these met in Florence at the residence of P. Starr, and with oth- ers of that township were organized by Elder Warner Goodale, into the Bap- tist Church of Berlin. They held their meetings at private residences in Ber- lin and Florence, with occasional preaching from Elders French, Hartwell, Hanks, Tucker, Abbott, Rigdon and Call. Elder Call was the first settled minister in the township, and, in fact, be- tween Cleveland and the ” Indian Land.” He settled on a farm in 1820, on lot seven, range five. Here he always resided, until he died in 1861, at the advanced age of eighty. The Baptist Church was really founded and sustained by Elder Joshua Phillips, whose name was first to be signed to the articles of agreement. He was dismissed at his own request in 1833, and the same year Elder Algood was secured to preach half the time. In 1837 Elder Wood preached in the same way, and in 1838 Elder P. Latimer was secured. He became a settled minister in 1839. In 1840 H. C. Sylvester took Latimer’s place, and was suc- ceeded in 1842 by Elder Warren. During his ministry he engaged the ser- vices of a celebrated revivalist. Elder Weaver, and the entire township was Berlin Township. 445 awakened as never before or since. In 1844 Elder Blake was called to be pas- tor, and that year the first Sabbath-school was organized. Blake was suc- ceeded in 1845 by Elders Storrs and Bloomer, and in 1847 by Henderson; he in turn, in 1848, by Wilder, and he by Willoughby in 1851. During his ministry the question of slavery agitated this as it had done many other churches, and it passed a rule, by a vote of seventeen to two, that no slave- holder could receive the hand of fellowship. This broke the power of a strong organization, and since that time, although the first church in Berlin, it has been shorn of its strength and influence. The Congregational church organization was formed in 1823 by Rev. A. H. Betts and S. B. Sullivan, with nine members. Mr. Betts preached oc- casionally until 1829. At this time they secured the services of Everton Jud- son to preach one- third of the time for two years. After that E. Barber preached a year, followed by Joseph Crawford two years, who, in turn, was succeeded by J. C. Sherwin in 1840, who remained until 1851. He was emi- nently successful, and very much beloved by his congregation and the entire community. He was succeeded fora short time by James Scott. G. C. Jud- son followed him in 1852 and remained one year. In 1853 John Parlin came, and in 1854 was succeeded by E. A. Demming, who remained three years. He was followed by E. M. Cravath, who remained until 1863, when he en- tered the army as chaplain. 1864 saw T. B. Penfield filling the pulpit, fol- lowed by George Candee, from 1865 to 1869. Sidney Bryant remained but a few months, and was followed by a year’s pastorate of J. C. Thompson. He was succeeded by Henry Brown, whose ministry was very short. In 1871 Levi Coring accepted the call and remained until 1874. A. D. Hall followed him and left in 1878, to go to Japan as a missionary. N. S. Wright became stated supply at that time, and was followed by Abner A. Pipes, who became stated supply until 1883. Then William Jones succeeded as a licentiate, and afterward became settled as pastor and remained until 1886, when J. H. J, Rice took charge of the church and has proved himself efficient and success- ful. The church is flourishing and prosperous, and everything looks forward to a future of more efficiency than all that has gone before. Mr. Rice came from Oberlin, where he studied to fit himself for the ministry, having pre- viously been a teacher. With the zeal of a young man, and the wider ex- perience of an older person, he brings with him the best qualifications to in- sure usefulness. Strange to say that instead of finding a Methodist Church the first to be organized in Berlin, as is generally the case in pioneer life, it was not until 1837 that a chapel was built by them in the eastern part of the township. Another chapel was built in 1850 in the western part. This division was a most unfortunate affair, and created a feeling that resulted in selling the west- ern chapel for a school-house. In 1870 a brick edifice was built at the 57 446 History of Erie County. Heights, but the different pastors who have labored in this field it is not pos- sible to give. The church has grown steadily from those class-meetings of the early part of the century, until now it stands on an assured foundation as a permanent and flourishing institution. Nature has helped man to start the industries of the fire-lands. Beneath the soil lie the formations that will furnish labor and wealth to untold numbers; the lake shore offers fishing and commerce. The rich soil suggests farms and dairies, and it needs no prophet to tell what shall be written as the industries of Berlin. Quarrying, fruit growing, dairying, and in former times lumbering engaged men’s minds. Quarrying was begun by Joshua Phillips on land since owned by J. M. Stahl. He had sold the land to Eldridge, but desiring to build himself a house, he reserved the use of the stone for a year. Elder Phillips, with an eye to business, secured a large number of teams and employed the hours of that year in getting out all the stone that he possibly could. As a result, he had not only enough for his own use, but was enabled to supply the general ■demand. Even then no one knew that the ledge of sand-stone, which crops out on the northeast of the Heights, was one of the most valuable in the State. What did the fact matter if were it not known ? George A. Baillie was the first man to make this fact known. It was not an easy thing for him to do, for it required a vast amount of work to clear away the rubbish and demonstrate that this desirable stone lay beneath. There was a fine gravel bed near by, and because of this the Lake Shore Railroad was willing to extend a branch road into the heart of the quarry. The stone is of superior quality and seemingly inexhaustible. The •strata lie from six inches to eight feet in thickness. General Gilmore made a test of it and thought it would bear a crushing force of 14,250 per square linch, and a well-known architect, E. E. Myers, says, “ He regards it as one of the best sand stones he has ever seen or used.” It is apparently unaf- fected by changes of temperature, by acids or age. There were four hundred car loads shipped to New York in 1878. There is another quarry seemingly as inexhaustible on the farm of H. Hammond, where Mr. Lowry began work- ing a few years since. Grindstones were formerly manufactured to quite an extent, but the business is now discontinued. As soon as they had cabins to cover their heads, the early pioneers began to clear lands for a crop, and then set out orchards, even while the forest trees were still standing. No apples could be obtained nearer than Canada, which seemed much farther distant then than now, when boats flit to and fro daily. The first fruit trees were brought from Canada in 1812 by John Hoak and Mr, Eleming, of Huron, who went across the lake and returned with a boat load of trees. Some of these are still growing on the old Burdue farm and in the orchard of Henry Hoak. There are three pear trees still living that are im- Berlin Township. 447 mense specimens of their kind, one of them measuring seventy feet in height and eight feet seven inches in circumference. They yield constantly, and average from thirty to fifty bushels each. This was the beginning of an in- dustry that has since made Berlin famous, and no township can compete with it in the amount or quality of fruit raised. Dairying was not considered profitable in the early years of this township’s history, but after the establishment of a creamery by Melvin Stone in 1877, a new impetus was given in this direction, and over two hundred cows were de- voted to this service. A finer quality of butter was made at a much lower cost, yet bringing a higher market price. An abundant stream of water of cool, even temperature, afforded the secret of the delicious product, and in 1878 an addition of a hundred cows showed how successful the enterprise had proved. With the broad prairies of Ohio for the cattle’s range, there is no reason why she should not become as noted for her butter as is New York. The one lack has been an even temperature, with good cellars and spring water, which are now being supplied, and the art of butter-making is sure to be carried to perfection. Good butter now brings from fifteen to twenty cents per pound. Berlin box manufactory, for making fruit boxes, was first started in 1865, and has been a leading interest. At first it was connected with the sorghum business, which began about the same time. In the year 1864 ten thousand gallons of syrup was made and the business continued until 1866. In addition to making boxes, barrels for shipping apples were also made, and in one year six thousand were sent out. Two years later the box business had so in- creased that all other interests were closed out. The owners have contiimally added to their buildings and increased their operations, until now one hundred thousand feet of timber are required annually. This furnishes employment to many who could find no way to earn a livelihood were the box factory closed. Twenty-five or thirty find steady work there. Much of the success is due to the mechanical genius and enterprise of its leader, Samuel Patterson, who has been with the enterprise from its beginning. It is always a place of interest to strangers visiting Berlin, and as fruit interests increase, this business must also grow. With all the glow of natural advantages, of energetic settlers, of romance and fact that are connected with Berlin, a single shadow has been thrown over it by the organization of a Free Love Community. The originators of the affair were not residents of Berlin, but came from States far rernoved from Ohio, and only succeeded in drawing into their toils a single citizen of the place, yet the atmosphere of their restless ideas seemed to affect many who never became identified with it, and there is no doubt that Berlin Avas more or less injured by the contact. A Community was not established at first. A small nucleus was gathered and their peculiar tenets taught and disseminated until i860, when Point Hope Community was organized with twenty mem- 448 History of Erie County. bers, and lasted a twelve month. The same year another Community was inaugurated, called the Industrial Fraternity, which also had twenty members, and lived but six months. Five years later the Berlin Community, or Chris- tian Republic, was started with twelve members and six children, and lived about a year. In an able article from the pen of one of Berlin’s most widely known citizens, Mr. Hudson Tuttle, we are indebted for much valuable infor- mation connected with the history of the township, and from the same pen we quote concerning the Community in question ; “ So far as testing communism, the affair was a perfect failure. The drift- ing to this section of so many individuals, who, to use their own phrase, were ‘ intensely individualized,’ and who remained after the complete failure of their schemes, has had an influence on the character of the town. They engaged in fruit growing, have multiplied the small farms, and added to the prosperity and intellectual life of the people,” etc. He then alludes to a sketch of this movement taken from Johnson’s En- cyclopedia, calling it a society of Spiritualists, which Mr. Tuthill says was false, because many of the bitterest opponents the Community had were Spir- itualists. A part of the number were atheists, some believers in different creeds, and some were Spiritualists. There was little toleration shown the new comers, and tradition has a record of certain women seizing the mail-bag and making a bon-flre of it in the streets, because it contained a lot of their pernicious literature. Newspapers have not been a successful investment. The Bulletin was first started in 1870 by VV. B. Harrison, and five years later F. J. Miles started the Index. Besides these there had been several papers started at different times by the Socialists, and after a brief career died. The Social Revolutionist, in 1857, conducted by J. S. Patterson, and is the first of which we find men- tion. Then followed in quick succession Age of Freedom, 185-8 ; Good Time Coming, 1859; the Nczv Republic, 1862; the Optimist and Kingdom of Heaven, 1869; the Prizicipia or Personality, 1868 ; the Nezv Campaign, 1871 ; the Toledo Sun, 1875. Temperance movements have not been successful in Berlin township. The circumstances of the pioneers were adverse to a strictly temperate life. Ex- posure to variable climate, hardships and privations had a tendency to make men resort to anything that could give temporary relief or comfort, yet in 1851 the Ark of Temperance was successfully formed and became one of the great- est helps the township ever had, mentally and morally. Mr. S. O. Kellogg was the founder, and the movement grew out of his desire to unite men and women in a society of culture and social enjoyment. The organization at one time numbered one hundred and eight in its membership, and from its influ- ence went a force that resulted in the formation of several other Arks, which would have no doubt been in existence at the present time if they had been pushed forward with any vigor and enthusiasm. Berlin Township. 449 \\ il u n r Before the formation of this society there had been a regular Sons of Tem- perance, but it lasted but a short time and has never been revived. Berlin has cause for pride in the record she made during the war by send- ing her men to the army during the various wars of our country. We find no other township rivaling her in this respect. During the War of the Revolution Orley Benschoter, Hieronynmus Mingus, and Aaron Von Benschoter were sol- diers. In the War of i8i2 Russell Ransom, Nathaniel Griffen, Ephraim Hardy, Prosper Carey, George Whitney, Joshua Phillips, P. T. Barber, Jacob Mingus, Nathaniel Burdue, H. Dunbar and T. Miller, served their country, and in the War of the Rebellion we have even a larger list. William Lowry, Samuel Mc- Gurkin, Richard Mulleneaux, Curtis Mulleneaux, Myron Rice, George Burgess, L. L. Hardy, D. D. Stage, W. A. Keith, Spafford Penny, J. Woodward, Osro J. Lowell, J. Hall, J. Daniels, Elisha Jenkins, W. Swartz, Diodot Ransom, George Johnson, S. Seeley, C. A. Graves, E. Hoffman, E. Hardy, Fred Huntley, James Smith, Charles Elwood, Henry Elwood, Aaron Hall, Lucius Smith, Daniel Weatherslow, Oliver Benschoter, Frank Bemis, William Bellamy. Berlin township has three villages within its boundaries. Berlin ville on the old State road was at one time a busy little thoroughfare, but when stage- coaches were superseded by railroads, it fell into the background and remained the same little village to the present time, but without the life and bustle of the early days. Berlin Heights has a wide reputation, and had it been directly on the line of the railroad would have grown much more rapidly than it has done. It has several stores, several manufactories, a saw-mill, a grist-mill, a fine school- building with graded school, three churches and a hotel. Ceylon on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad is directly north of Berlin Heights, and grew to its present size in an incredibly short time. It has two stores, two saloons, a hotel, a post-office and a saw- mill. There are six cemeteries in the township, one of which is being washed away by the united force of Chapelle Creek and the lake. The others are at Berlin- ville, Berlin Heights and Harpen’s Corners. Incidents belonging to this history might be given sufficient to fill a book, but a few connected with those who were most prominent in the townships his- tory must not be omitted. Perhaps no man had more influence in shaping the minds of the first decade than the Baptist Elder, Joshua Phillips, to whom we have referred in the previous pages. He came from New York, and alternated his labors in preaching, clearing away the forest and doing mason work. His children became identified with the interests of the country, and one of them had quite a reputation for success in treating climatic diseases, and when in later years he gave up his practice, he became a disciple of Ralph W. Emerson and Parker, and read constantly. He industriously collected many of the facts that make history so interesting and preserved them for later generations. 450 History of Erie County. Hudson Tuttle, a son of one of the early settlers, still lives at Berlin Heights, and both himself and wife are widely known as staunch spiritualists, and lite- rary characters. Mr. Tuttle has himself devoted much time to writing up the his- tory of this portion of the fire-lands, which he has done in a masterly manner. CHAPTER XXII. HISTORY OF FLORENCE TOWNSHIP. T he name of this township was originally Jessup, from Ebenezer Jessup, one of the first owners of the soil. It was subsequently changed to Flor- ence. It is situated directly south of Vermillion, and east of Berlin, and is said to be one of the most fertile townships in the county. It was first surveyed in 1807, but was afterward surveyed by Jabez Wright into lots in 1809. The surface is rolling, and the soil a sandy loam and clay. Fine timber formerly grew in abundance, and white oak, ash, walnut, hickory, beech and maple were obtained here in large quantities. Quarries of sandstone have been opened in various parts of the township, but one after another have been aban- doned until the only one worked a few years ago was that known as the King Quarry. This was peculiarly adventitious to the settlers, as it supplied them with grindstones. Vermillion River, which has its rise in a little lake of the same name in Ashland county, passes through this township on its way to the lake. There is but one other water-course in the township; Chapelle Creek, that rises in Townsend, and entering Florence from Wakeman, a mile and a quarter east of the west town line, empties into Lake Erie. Wild animals were found here many years after the first settlers came, but larger game like bears and wolves, belonged more to the marshy districts, and were seldom seen here. Deer, wild turkeys and smaller game abounded. The honor of killing the first bear fell upon two of the best shots in the country, Richard Brewer and Christopher Schaeffer. The latter was out with his gun one evening when a bear ran across his path ; as he raised his gun, some snow fell on it, and obscured the sight and the bear got away. The next morning he obtained the assistance of Brewer and two good dogs, and tracked the bear into Berlin. Here he ran into a log and was wounded by Brewer’s shot, which was the signal for the dogs to make the attack. They were worsted, however, and Brewer grabbed the bear by the fur, and plunged his hatchet into his head. At this, he loosed the dogs and rolled over dead. He was an unusually large one, his flesh on his sides measuring six inches. This man Schaeffer was a lamous hunter and killed more bears than any one in the township. He wa.s- Florence Township. 451 noted for his success in deer hunting, and is said to have killed over a thousand. In one season he killed seventy. The first settlement was made by Ezra Sprague and family, who came to the mouth of the Huron by water in May, 1809, and then went to Florence through an unbroken wilderness. Here he located and remained till his death. He was from that glorious part of New England which poet and painter have raved over, the Berkshire Hills. There is no reason given why this man should leave a home amid nature’s beauty to build up a new home in a new country. The Indians kept the settlers in a constant state of alarm and anxiety, and from the year 1810 to 1815 no new families came into the settlement. By this time a road had been opened from Rocky River to Huron, and those who de- sired could come by the land as well as water. Indians in straggling bands were always coming and going, and life had little cheer. The slightest reports of Indians having been seen in the vicinity filled every heart with alarm, and when war was declared all settlers were apprehensive about their safety. At one time they determined to fortify themselves by assembling in one house, and a block house was selected for this purpose, but some of them thought this movement unwise, and the thing was almost given up, when a circumstance occurred that proved the wisdom of the measure. One of them was moving his family to this house near sundown, and had given his gun to a young man with orders to go ahead and keep a sharp lookout for Indians, while he came on with his team and family. All went well until they were within half a mile of the fortress, when the re- port of gun was heard, and the young man came running back, saying he had been shot at by two Indians. The settlers knew from this that they might ex- pect an attack that night, and proceeded to do all in their power to protect themselves. The doors were barricaded, and women and children sent into the chamber. Those who had guns stood ready to fire, and the rest armed them- selves with clubs and pitchforks. In the middle of the night the alarm was given, and the Indians approached the building swinging fire-brands in their hands. The settlers had not thought of this mode of attack, and were greatly alarmed at the thought of being forced from the house by fire, or destroyed in the flames. It resulted in no serious danger, and as the young man who said he had been shot at, slept all night, they mistrusted that he must have given a false alarm. What they took to be Indians in the night, must have been sparks blown by the wind. The trials of those early years cannot be estimated by the citizens of the township to-day. Clothing, food, household conveniences were all meagre, and barely sufficient for their needs. They had no money but that made by cutting larger money into pieces. The first paper money was Oil Creek bank notes, of six and one- fourth, twelve and one-half, thirty-seven and one-half, and fifty cents. This bank soon failed, and all who owned any money lost it. 452 History of Erie County. Salt was then worth ten dollars a barrel, and two hundred pounds of maple sugar would purchase two barrels of salt. Tea was then worth two dollars and fifty cents a pound; homespun woolen, four dollars a yard, and everything else in proportion. The organization of the township took place in 1817. Ezra Sprague was first magistrate. The first election was held in the log school-house, near the residence of John Brooke. The number of voters were seventeen. Schools did not receive much attention during the first years of the history of the township, and the first school-house was built at Sprague’s Corners, on land owned by J. Brooks. The first teacher was Ruth Squire, and her school was supported by the parents of the scholars. This school-house was after- wards demolished and rebuilt on the south side of the road. The second school- house was located half a mile west of Birmingham, and this also had a lady for its first teacher. There is a historic account of her tribulations with certain individuals because she insisted on opening the school with prayer. Churches have been started at various times, until nearl}^ all denominations have been represented in this township. The first meetings were held at the house of Eli S. Barnum, at Florence Corners, under the care of itinerant min- isters. The first religious society organised was under Congregational auspices. This meeting was also held at the house of Mr. Barnum, and was conducted by a missionary named Loomis. This society included members from Vermillion, Wakeman and Clarksfield, as well as Florence. The present Congregational Church was organized January 7, 1832, by a committee of the Presbytery of Huron, consisting of the J. B. Bradstreet, Xenophon Bitts and Samuel Dunton. It had at that time seventeen members, and Uriah Hawley was chosen clerk. The church building was completed in 1 842, costing $2,01 2. The lot upon which it was located was donated by Jessup Wakeman. For several years j this church had to depend on preachers from the neighboring towns. In 1842 the first regular pastor. Rev. Eldad Barber, was called to take charge of it and remained in charge until 1871, almost thirty years. He was followed by Hub- bard Lawrence who remained until 1878, and he was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Hale, and he by Rev. Mr. Wright. The church never became very large, and fifty years after its organization its membership numbered few, if any more, than when it started. The first Congregational Church of Birmingham was originally presbyterian.' , It was organized in 1838 by a committee of three from different townships. Seven years later it adopted the congregational form of government, but con- tinued under the care of the presbytery until 1874, when it withdrew. Eldad Barber was the first preacher. Revs. Goodell and Carlisle followed him, and he in turn succeeded them. The last preacher was C. C. Creegan, of Wake- man, and after a time services were abandoned, and the building was occupied by the Methodist Episcopal society. Florence Township. 453 The Methodists at first held their meetings in the old log school-house one mile from Florence Corners, as early i8i6 or 1817, at which Rev. Nathan Smith usually officiated. In the past fifty years this society has grown, and more than one now are flourishing where this feeble one started. There has also been a Baptist Church started and organized as far back as 1818, by a minister from Richland county, Rev. John Rigdon. At the same time another Baptist Church was organized in Lorain county, when meetings were held in the school house about a mile east of Birmingham. The Baptists from Florence finally united with these, and in July, 1837, t>y resolution of the church of Henrietta, a branch was organized at Birmingham consisting of nine members. The society was called the Henrietta and Birmingham Baptist Church. In May, 1840, this branch organized into an independent church. The Church of the Disciples was organized at Birmingham with forty mem- bers in 1845. It continued to prosper, and increased its membership from forty to seventy, when one of its preachers, Sidney Rigdon, became a convert to Mormonism and drew off one-half the church. A building was erected the same year in which the society was organized, costing twelve hundred dollars. For many years there was no service. The Evangelical Church was formed twenty years ago with a membership of about twenty. They did not build until 1866. The postoffice was at Florence Corners, in the days when the first mail route through the township extended from Cleveland to the county seat on the Huron River. Eli S. Barnum was first postmaster. The first store was opened at Birmingham by Erastus Butler, and in the tax reports of 1826 he was the only trader mentioned. His capital at that time was eighteen hundred dollars. Twm years later another name was added, that of Cyrus Butler, with a capital of five hundred dollars. The year following Ferris & Wood, of Florence Corners were assessed on seven hundred and fifty dollars. In 1830 J. V. Vredenburg came in with a capital of six hundred dollars; J. L. Wood with six hundred and Charles P. Judson with seven hun- dred. Iron was manufactured in this township from ore obtained in Vermillion by a pioneer of Florence, Cyrus Butler, who was at one time owner of the old mills at Birmingham, and had a forge near his mills. The works were carried off by a freshet. An ax factory was also located there for a short time, under the care of a man named Pratt. Birmingham and Florence Corners are the only villages in the township, and the former has been a place of considerable business activity, but it failed to secure a railroad, and has gradually grown more and more stagnant. The quality of the inhabitants is indicated by the fact that the Prohibition party counts several adherents among their number, and it is said there is not a saloon in the township. 454 History of Erie County. Birmingham has a population at present of about three hundred and fifty, and has two schools well supported. There is a Methodist Episcopal Church, a Congregational Church and an Adventist organization. The first is the only one that has a pastor at the present time. A handle-factory has been started here and several changes in a business way. It has also a hotel, a blacksmith shop, three stores, one saw-mill and several smaller industries. HIS was originally known as the township of Wheatsborough. It was named after Mr. Wheat, who originally owned the greater portion of it, and the name was afterwards changed by request of some of the inhabitants, among whom was Nathan Strong, an old pioneer. The physical features of Groton are not unlike those of its neighbors, gen- erally level, dotted here and there with oak groves, and settled with thrifty, industrious, farmers, many of whom are Germans. Half the township is prairie, the northern half is covered with scrubby timber. The soil is rich, black muck in the south, with a sprinkling of sand ; while the northern portion has a limestone soil, with a substratum of limestone adapted to building purposes. A small stream runs through the township, rising in Lyme and flowing in a northeasterly direction to Oxford. The Indians gave it the name of Pipe Creek, which it still retains. Along its banks and at the bottom is found a soft clay used by the savages for making pipes. In former times a lime kiln was in operation here, but of late years it has been discontinued, and the stone is sent into a neighboring township to be burned, where several kilns are sup- plied by it. Wild animals formerly abounded here as elsewhere on the fire-lands, and those now living remember the time distinctly when wolves, deer, wildcats, foxes, wild turkeys, racoons and prairie-chickens were hunted and killed here. In an old record is a vivid word-picture of the method by which the natives used to attempt to catch wild turkeys. Mr. Rash relates: “To see about one hundred Indians surround the same number of wild turkeys, to see the turkeys fly without one of them being killed, and to hear the outlandish gutteral ejaculations of the exasperated red-skins, wishing the turkeys were in a place decidely remote from the happy hunting-grounds, was very funny to the spectators.” CHAPTER XXIII. HISTORY OF GROTON TOWNSHIP. Groton Township. 455 The Indians of this township were mostly members of the Senecas, and in many respects differed from the Wyandots and neighboring tribes. These were one of the nations included in the Iroquois Confederacy, and noted like them for the wisdom and genuine simplicity of character which has ever given them a place in history. The Seneca Red Jacket, the Cayuga Logan, and the Oneida Shenandoah are proof of the eloquence that distinguished them, while the fact that matrons were represented in their public councils, and exercised a veto influence in questions of peace and war, prove their advance and cultiva- tion in all that make men and nations great. Groton township is number five in range twenty-four, and is bounded on the north by Margaretta, south by Lyme, in Huron county, east by O.xford, and west by the townships of York and Townsend, in Sandusky county. Its organization dates to June 2, 1834, when an election was held at the house of William McCord, and the following were elected for the first officers: Trustees, Nathaniel Chapman, Bishop Stebbins, Nathan Strong ; clerk, Hiram Deyo ; treasurer, Stephen Crippen ; justice of peace, Stephen Crippen ; constable, Joshua Lace ; fence viewers, George Cook, Orange Potter, Elaphall Toppen ; poor-masters, James Bemiss, James Morecraft. The first settlement in Groton township was made on Pipe Creek by Jona- than Sprague, Squire Richey, and others in 1809. In 1811 Captain Seth Harrington, for many years one of the most prominent men of his township, moved in from Conneaut, Ohio, with his family. He was originally from Rhode Island. He had a family of ten children. Among other early settlers were Hiram Blackman, George Furguson, Alexis Jackson, William James, Phineas Dunham, and others. Squire Richey felled the first tree and built the first log-house. These log- cabins were very primitive affairs, but much more comfortable than those that had been built on the fire-lands by the wandering squatters who preceded them. These had built bark huts, with four posts and a ridge-pole. Layers of bark were wound round the sides of the post, over-lapping, so as to shed rain, and the roof was laid on in the same way. The trials of the early settlers were very great. Not only were they in danger from Indians, but they suf- fered from scarcity of food and clothing. There was not a family in this re- gion during the years 1809 and 1810 who did not endure these hardships in some form. Wild meat could be procured, it is true, but living entirely upon this developed feebleness and disease on every one except the savages. For many years after the war of 1812 clothing was made from the skins of wild animals, and caps of raccoon skin, with the fur outside, jackets and pantaloons of deer skin, and other garments to match were universally worn. There were no tanneries to dress leather, and when wet these articles became hard as a board, so that if thrown on the floor they rattled like tin kettles. A man draw- ing on these garments in mid-winter, felt about as comfortable as if wearing 456 History of Erie County. pieces of stove-pipe. Besides all these inconveniences, the season became sickly, and for several years privation and distress followed the settlers. Touching stories are found in the ancient records of events in Ohio during those early days, and we read with astonishment and wonder at the motive that induced those men to take their families to the new country where suffer- ing and danger awaited them. One young man with his family settled in thick woods, cleared his small patch of ground, became sick and died. Soon after a hunter passing the clearing saw everything still and mistrusted there must be something wrong with the family. He opened the door, and was startled by the appearance of a woman sitting by the fire, pale and emaciated, holding in her arms a sickly babe. She burst into tears and at length said,. “There is my little Edward,” pointing to the bed, “I expect he is dying. And here is my babe, so sick I cannot lay it down, and I am so weak I can hardly sit in my chair. O, that I was back in my own country, where I could fall in the arms of my mother!” Tears rolled down the cheeks of the hunter as he walked away for help. Amusing stories are told by the pioneers, of the make-shifts so necessary at that time, and in the light and comfort of the present they are sometimes heard to say, “ Ah ! those happy days of primitive simplicity when all family pride was forgotten in general friendship and kindness of personal attachment.” Could any amount of conventional elegance compensate for the hearty hos- pitality related in an old history when a visit was gotten up by the ladies to call on a neighbor who lived at a distance. The hostess at once began prep- arations for tea. She had but one fire-proof vessel, an old bake oven, and of course it would take some time. Some pork was fried in the kettle first to get lard, then cakes were made and fried in the lard, then short-cakes were made and baked in it, then it was used as a bucket to draw water, which was after- ward heated in it and the tea made in it. It is needless to say that at these times it was not customary for the young ladies to go barefoot. The first frame house was built by Seth Harrington in 1817, and was occu- pied by himself and wife until his death, a few years since. Tile first child born in this township was a daughter of George Furguson, named Ann. She afterward moved to Michigan and married a man named Phillips. The first death in the little settlement was that of a man named Standish Wood. There were no undertakers on the fire-lands then, and sorrow lacked even the accompaniments that made it more bearable. Instead of ele- gant coffins and plumed hearse, the bereaved were obliged to see their loved ones buried in rudest simplicity, and this first funeral is mentioned as an instance of the extremity to which the early settlers were reduced. The coffin, in this instance, was made from the boards of a wagon box, and those that were not used at this time were kept for another occasion. When the wagon box was at length used up, Seth Harrington and George Sprague made several coffins from oak trees, split into puncheons and dressed down to look like boards. Groton Township. 457 Money was a minus quantity. Dollars and cents did not estimate the value of people and their surroundings as at present, and when small change was needed a silver dollar was cut into four or more pieces, and this was usually done in such a manner as to add twenty-five per cent to its real value. The post-office was at Cleveland, and all mails for the fire-lands were re- i ceived here, until a route was established between Cleveland and Detroit, which was to pass through Groton and vicinity. John Paxton carried the mail in 1814. The first physician was Dr. W. Hastings, who commenced practicing in the early part of 1810. After the War of 1812 he moved to Knox county, Ohio, where he was elected member of the Legislature. He returned to Groton with his family in 1815. His wife died in 1848, and their descendants still reside ; in the country. They had eight children, all sons. Ephraim removed to San- dusky county in 1825, where his son, W. G. Hastings, was for many years en- I gaged in business in Parkertown, but now resides in Sandusky city. Ephraim continued to reside in Groton. The rest of the family are scattered all over — I some in California, and one when last heard from was in Australia. The doc- tor continued to practice until his death in 1864, at the ripe age of eighty-nine ' years. He practiced forty years in the family of Seth Harrington. The first magistrate was elected in 1816, and as Squire Richey, has lived in history in connection with a story told of a young couple he met (while riding I over the prairie), who were going to his house to be married. He dismounted, , and on the broad prairie, with heaven’s blue above them, proceeded to unite I them in the holy bonds of wedlock. The first school was taught by Elijah Eleming in 1818, and was supported i by subscriptions that amounted to fourteen dollars a month, and the school was supported by the prominent families of the township, viz., the Paxtons, Magills, Harringtons and others. This school was a mere hint of what the fu- ture decades would do on educational lines, and the pretty brick school-houses now found every few miles, show that the prophecy has been more than real- ized. There is nothing of which Ohio has juster cause for pride than her school buildings and educational laws. The farms of Groton are surpassed by none in other townships. Large, ' finely cultivated, well fenced, and stocked with good cattle, the owners have ' homes they are justly proud of. Among those whose names deserve a place I in the history of Groton, are the early settlers Amos McClouth, Samuel Be- i miss, Charles Rash and Worthington Nims. I Amos McClouth came into the township in 1817, with three other families. I They came from the beautiful Berkshire hills of Massachusetts, and must have ! found in the level landscape of Ohio, and the russet colors of her forests in au- i tumn a great contrast to the gorgeous scenery they left behind. Mr. Mc- j Clouth, however, remained in his new home, and out of a family of ten child- 458 History of Erie County. ren only three were living in 1880. He himself died in 1870 at the age of sev- enty-six. He held several prominent positions in the county and was at one time clerk of Court of Common Pleas. Although there were Indians in the neighborhood of the new settlement, there was no cause of fear and no hostil- ities were known. Samuel Bemiss came from Buffalo, by water, on the steamer Superior, the only vessel on the lake, she having taken the place of Walk-ou-ihe- Water, which had foundered a short time before. The interest in this ancient craft has just been revived by a picture of the steamboat just as she looked in those early days. A post-office was not established until 1854, previous to which time the inhabitants of Groton received their mail at Bloomingville. The postmaster was at that time a Methodist Episcopal minister, named Rev. Zar Patch. The office is now in the center of the township. Religious meetings were held in the dwellings of the settlers by Rev. Mr. Gurley and others. The pioneer church was Methodist and met in the north- east corner of the township, where they now have a church edifice. Another church is located on lot number thirty-five in section third. A grist mill was built by Eli and Edward Ford on Pipe Creek, and a dis- tillery just above it on the same stream. There was also, at one time, a cabi- net-shop of large capacity that carried on a good business. Charles Rash found his way to the fire-lands even earlier than the preced- ing, having arrived in 1815 from Ontario county, N. Y. He made the jour- ney on horseback, and was followed by his brother in the same way in 1819. The journey occupied nine days, and the brothers settled on the farm since owned by the brother, Libey Rash. Charles afterward became justice ot the peace in 1820, and served in that capacity for eighteen years consecutively. He died in 1853 aged sixty-one. The homestead has under good cultivation one hundred and seventy acres of land. Worthington Nims came from Massachusetts in 1826, and selected his home, then went back to marry his wife, and come to reside here. He built a cosy frame house which has since become his carriage house, while a more pretentious building takes its place. There is no village in this township. The Seven-mile House is the only center. Sand Hill Church is union of all denominations. II Huron Township. 459 CHAPTER XXIV. HISTORY OF HURON TOWNSHIP. T he township of Huron is irregular in form on account of its bordering on Lake Erie. The greatest length is from east to west, and the greatest width is at the western side where it extends from Milan township on the south across part of Sandusky Bay and the base of Cedar Point to Lake Erie, whose turbulent and shallow waters wash its whole northern side, and at various points on the shores have dug away many acres of once valuable farming land. The Huron River, which enters the township from Milan and flows diagonally across the eastern portion emptying into the lake at the eastern side of Huron village, is a deep stream, with rather abrupt, though not high banks. The bed of the river is of solid clay, and an old reliable resident tells that he has frequently seen steamers in turning around, purposely run their bows against the side of the river bed in hopes of getting aground sufficiently to turn the boat by reversing the paddle wheels, but the abruptness and slippery nature of the river bed would invariably slide the boat back into the channel. This river is navigable for the largest class of lake vessels for a distance of about four miles. This fact, in connection with its having accommodated small boats for a much greater distance up from the mouth, is probably the reason that Huron was the site of one of the first, if not the first, town on the Western Reserve. Early travelers, coming up the lake in small boats, found this an easy means of penetrating the back country, and no doubt, in an early day, men crossed to the tributaries of the Ohio River and down to the father of waters, of course making the necessary portages on the journey. Huron township is not favored with the rich river bottom lands to as great an extent as Milan, although in some places there are considerable areas of these lands. A great portion of the valley near the village is occupied by low marshes, into which the water is blown daily with the regularity almost of tides, by the lake breeze. Parties, who are perhaps in a better position to judge than the author of this, have estimated the marsh lands in the river valley and on the Sandusky Bay at about fifteen hundred acres, an estimate that is certainl}^ not too high, and possibly not too low. The western part of this township is prairie land, a portion of the same strip mentioned in the description of Milan, and with a small exception equally fertile. The eastern part is rolling and was quite generally covered with heavy timber, much of which, being oak, has been used in the ship yards at Huron and further up the river. Among the traces of the mound builders in this vicinity the old mound 460 History of Erie County. west of the river on the W. H. Wright farm, some three miles above Huron, though reduced by plowing and the explorer’s shovel, is probably most easily seen, and has the most definite outline. The whole base occupies nearly an acre, and the top has an area of several square rods. The highest point of this mound is not now over twenty feet above the surrounding field, though it was doubtless much higher at one time. There is also an old earthwork at the mouth of Saw-mill creek, two and one-half miles west of Huron, on land formerly owned by Dr. Haskins. This prehistoric relic is in the form of a fort, and encloses about half an acre. Many stone implements of greater or less value have been unearthed in this vicinity from time to time, but there are no considerable collections among the citizens of the town or township so far as we know. The original grantees of Huron township lands, like those of Milan, re- ceived allotments in proportion to their losses by fire. The valuation of the lands, like those of Milan, was fixed at £s>377< 8s. Section one amounting to £ 1 , 344 , 7s, was assigned to the heirs of William Stewart by Peter Lattimer, John Lester, John Welch, Joseph Hurlburt, Samuel Brown and Samuel Latti- mer, whose original losses aggregated ^2,769, 6s. 5d. The second section was located by William Winthrop, of New York, and the heirs of William Gale, of New London, Conn. ; Jeremiah Miller, John Ewing, John Barr and Eben Goddard being the original grantees, and their losses amounting to Y3.408, los. 2d. Section three was granted to Joseph Packwood, Bathsheba Smith and Richard Potter, whose combined losses amounted to ;^i,665, 2s. id. The heirs of William Parkins, New London, Conn., received the lands of this section. Section four was taken by the heirs of Stewart, Parkins and Winthrop, and the original grantees were : Samuel Lattimer, Richard Potter, Thomas Boyd, Ann Hancock, Richard Stroud, Eben May, widow Austus Piner, Bathsheba Skinner, Jabob Eenk, Ichabod Powers and Jeremiah Miller, whose losses ag- gregated £ 3 , 744 , 7s- 4d. The township was divided for purposes of allotment into four sections, each valued the same ; but as will be seen by a reference to the figures given above, the assignment of each section was an independent transaction, the re- lations of losses and relief being proportionate in each section, while the amounts lost were greater or less in each case. The valuation of the lands was very low, but no lower than that of Milan, a fact that seems a little strange when the amount of swamp lands is taken into consideration. The first settlements within the present limits of this township are not very definitely chronicled in history, but it is quite generally believed that a French trading post established at the mouth of the river about 1749 was the first white settlement in this part of the State. This settlement was abandoned previous to the Revolutionary War. Huron Township. 461 The early settlement of Huron township was quite intimately connected with that already mentioned in the northeastern part of Milan, and the Mora- vian mission there described might perhaps as justly have been credited to Huron since both townships were organized under one local government con- tinuing till 1820. B. F. Flemond is said to have visited the country along the lower Huron as early as 1790; but, however this may be, he settled here in 1805 on land known as lot fifteen, and lying on the east bank of the river just above the present Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railroad bridge. Mr. Flemond was a very remarkable man for his time. He was not highly educated, at least in the arts and sciences, but had considerable knowledge of the French and English languages, and spoke several Indian dialects quite fluently. Endowed with an excellent memory, a genial disposition, and in- domitable courage, he was of great service to General Harrison in the war of 1812 as a guide and scout. He was also interpreter and assistant executioner in the case of the two Indians hung at Norwalk for the murder of Jno. Woods and George Bishop. Mr. Flemond was married in 1811 to a daughter of W. Pollock, who re- sided near the south line of the township. This was no doubt the first Chris- tian marriage solemnized in this vicinity. His first enterprise in this section was the establishment of a trading post or store for the purpose of bartering eastern goods with the Indians for furs and other articles of value. Mr. Fle- mond probably died about the year 1827, and his wife survived him for about twelve years. He also left three daughters, one of whom married John Mc- Carty, and after his death became the wife of John Miller. She lived on the old farm until 1850 or thereabout, when she moved west, settling in Wood county, I believe. Almon Ruggles came to Huron in 1808, and Jabez Wright, for many years agent of William Winthrop, who owned at one time nearly the whole township, came here in the same year. Winthrop H. Wright, at present a very large land owner in this section, is the son of Jabez Wright, whose wife, Tamar, was a daughter of Almon Ruggles. W. H. Wright was born on the farm which he now owns, in 1813, and has resided here since. Jabez Wright and Almon Ruggles conducted the original survey of the township, completing it in 1810, the work occupying nearly two years, and being quite complete in its details. Mr. Wright was at one time a judge of common pleas, and his accidental death by falling down the lake bank in 1840 was sadly felt by a host of warm friends. Cyrus Downing came to Huron in 1809, settling on land west of the pres- ent village, near Saw-mill creek, where he resided about three years, remo\ing to Cleveland, and dying there about the beginning of the war of 1812. 59 462 History of Erie County. Mr. Jeremiah Daniels came here in 1809 also, and married a daughter of Mr. Downing in 1813, settling on a farm near the old Downing home, after- ward owned by W. J. Hinde. Mr. Daniels carried the United States mail between Huron and Cleveland for several years. The round trip was made in a week (no accidents prevent- ing), and was without doubt considerable of a journey, when the condition of the roads and the dangers of the forest are considered. Savages at that time were marauding occasionally on the Reserve, and though Mr. Daniels never met with any serious injury, it is said that he passed through several exciting experiences. Major H. Russell came to Huron in 1809, and in 1810 built a log-house on the Jeremiah Benschoter farm, afterward owned by Mrs. Stapleton and Mrs. Joseph Paxton. This building used as a hotel and store was probably the first public house in Huron county, it was opened for the reception of travelers in 1810; in the same year Mr. Russell, with J. S. Sprague as iron worker, be- gan the construction of a forty-ton sailing vessel, which he finished in 1811. This boat was fastened mostly with wooden pins instead of bolts. Two years later a second and larger vessel was completed and named The Fair America. British agents soon after purchased her, and she is said to have been delivered at Buffalo to them. Mr. Russell cleared a field on the W. G. Sage farm about this time, but it was afterward allowed to grow up to small timber, obliterating all traces of its first subjugation. Asa Smith visited this section in 1806, but did not locate permanently until 1810. He was elected justice of the peace in 18 1 1, and was quite an active citizen until his death in 1815. His wife survived him for a number of years, dying in Sandusky in 1832. J. S. Sprague settled on the east side of the river at first, but afterward moved onto land west of town, which is still known to old settlers as the Sprague place. He was a man of great natural ability and very highly esteemed by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. He was a justice of the peace for eighteen successive years, when he declined re-election on account of business relations, and from a feeling that he had done his full share of public service. He died in January, 1861, at the old homestead, and his honored and beloved wife followed him a number of years later, dying at the residence of her son-in-law, J. Durham, in April, 1872. n I 81 1-12 William B. Smith and mother started a hotel at the mouth 01 Huron River, on the east side, and they continued it through the war. Mr. Smith frequently told of hearing the guns of Commodore Perry when the memorable naval battle of Lake Erie occurred in September, 1813. He was married in 1819, moved to Sandusky in 1820, and was elected county treas- Huron Township. 463 urer in 1840. He was highly respected and a very useful citizen both in pub- lic and private life. In 1816 Reed Sanford opened a trading post at the mouth of Huron River, on the east side near the old Smith’s hotel. J. B. Flemond and F. Graham had direct charge of the business, and were eminently successful in their man- agement of it. Mr. Flemond’s command of the Indian dialects, and his genial disposition and knowledge of the tastes and habits of the Indian made him very valuable in such a position. William Winthrop was an early settler, and an active business man, as well as a very large land holder. He built the first saw- mill in this vicinity at the mouth of Saw-mill creek, which drains the prairie section and empties into Lake Erie about two and a half miles west of Huron village. Of late years this has been little more than a dry run, from the fact that the prairie lands are so thoroughly drained as to precipitate the water into the main outlet very soon after it falls in the form of rain. In an early day, however, when the wild grass, the sink holes and bogs prevented rapid evaporation and drainage, this stream furnished a very uniform supply of water for milling purposes. Messrs. N. M. Standart and C. Butler opened a general store at the mouth of the Huron River, but dissolved partnership a year later, and Mr. Standart soon became deeply interested in the development of Milan. In 1824 Daniel Hamilton, in connection with N. M. Standart, opened a general supply store and commission business at Huron, and were assisted by Charles Standart and P. Adams as salesmen. Mr. Adams boarded men work- ing on the harbor improvement about this time, and later, probably in 1825, removed to the old Adams homestead (now owned by Chris. Drumm), on the Sand road, running from Spear’s Corners to Huron, where he resided until his death. When Mr. Adams left the store the stock was purchased by Charles Standart and G. H. Gibbs, who conducted the business till the winter of 1826-7. Mr. Standart then took the business alone and conducted it a year or so, when he built a warehouse and dock, and embarked in the general storage and com- mission business. Tower Jackson, probably the oldest remaining settler on the fire-lands at this writing, came to Huron in 1819 from Milan. He was married at Mon- roeville in 1822 to Sarah Clock, a lady widely known and highly respected, and an aunt of D. H. Clock, editor and proprietor of the Erie County Reporter, now published at Huron. Mr. Jackson engaged with H. W. Jenkins in the dry goods and grocery trade on his settlement at Huron, remaining with him for several years In 1830 he went into partnership with R. E. Cole in the general merchandise and vessel building business. They built the steamer Delazvare in 1832. Mr. Jackson removed to Racine, Wis., in 1846, and in 1848 to Cleveland, O., where Mrs. 464 History of Erie County. Jackson died in 1854. He returned to Huron a year or two later, and was married to Miss Button, with whom he is still enjoying domestic felicity at the advanced age of ninety years. Mr. Jackson is a very vigorous and hospitable gentleman, and though not blessed with a college education, he takes a deep interest in all educational matters of a local nature. He built the Huron House in 1832 and the Amer- ican House in 1840, and has taken a lively interest in all matters pertaining to Huron’s welfare for a great number of years. H. W. Jenkins built the Ohio Hotel in 1832 or thereabouts, and after con- ducting it very successfully for a number of years, went to Cincinnati in 1840, and afterward removed to the Isthmus of Panama, where he died in 1850. When, in 1827, ’Squire Merry, of Milan, as agent of the United States government, took charge of the harbor improvements at the mouth of the river, he was assisted by a number of efficient mechanics, and among them T. Clark was regarded as best able to manage the carpenter work, necessarily quite extensive and very important, from the fact that the lake is quite open, here so that at times a very heavy sea comes thundering in upon the quays at either side of the river mouth. The reader will remember that Milan had not then secured the canal, and Huron was much more prominent as a town than Milan — indeed the latter, with all her advantages of active business men and water-power, was quite an unimportant town at that time. At once the active attention of moneyed men at Buffalo, Detroit, and other lake cities, was turned to Huron by the government aid which had been granted for harbor improvement, and vessel building was begun in a spirit that argued well for the future development of the place. In 1828 the steamer Sheldon Thompson, of 242 tons burden, was built here by Captain F. Church. In 1832, the United States, of 336 tons, and the Del- aivare, of 170 tons. The Columbus, of 391 tons, was completed in 1835. The energetic Captain Walker, in 1836 built the DeWitt Clinton, of 493 tons, and the Little Eric, 149 tons. In 1837 '^he Cleveland, and in 1838 the Great West- ern, of 780 tons, (the first upper cabin steamer on the lakes in all probability,) and the General Scott, of 240 tons were finished. There were numerous other vessels built at the port in an early da\’, and in fact much vessel building has been done here from time to time in more recent years, but data are not ac- cessible if indeed it were unquestionably desirable to devote a greater space than has already been given to this industry in a volume that aims to be a history of the development of this section rather than an encyclopedia of chronological events. Among early vessel men of particular prominence were Capain Reed, Cap- tain F. Church, Captain Pangburn, Captain B. Parsons, Captain F. D. Ketchum, Captain W. Cherry, Captain Asa Keating, Captain Joseph Keating, Captain S. Wilson, and Captain S. F. Squires. Huron Township. 465 Lying as it does, Huron was a general stopping place for boats passing up and down the lakes and carrying all the passengers and freight that was moved from east to west for a great many years; in fact, up to the date of the com- pletion of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad. J. B. Wilbor, who came here on the steamer Walk-in-the-Water, in 1820, from Tonawanda, N. Y., used to tell how some eight yoke of cattle were hitched to the old steamer to assist in bringing her up the current of the Niagara River from that port, her engines, like those of other steamers of an early day, being too weak to propel her against any considerable resistance. In 1832 Mr. Wilbor, with N. M. and Charles Standart, engaged in commis- sion business and general mercantile operations under the firm name of Wil- bor & Co., continuing until 1837, when the firm dissolved, and Mr. Wilbor went into trade with J. Fleeharty. The latter firm continuing until 1844, when Mr. Wilbor moved to Milan where he remained a few years, but returned to Huron, from whence he was elected county treasurer in 1850, and removed his family to Sandusky in 1854. Returning to Huron in 1857, he went into partnership with J. W. Sprague, building several large vessels here, and doing a general commission mercantile and forwarding business until 1861. A. Shirley came to Marble Head Peninsula in 1810, with his wife’s fam- ily, the Ramsdells. He resided on the peninsula when the Indians killed the three pioneers whose death is commemorated by a little granite slab near the farm of Robert Killey. Indeed it is said that he took an active part in driv- ing the red-skins away. Removing to Huron in 1828 he kept the old red tavern for several years, when he purchased the land known as South Huron and laid it out in town lots. Messrs. S. Van Rensselaer and B. Carman were the surveyors who helped Mr. Shirley very materially in this undertaking, and the work was very creditable to all concerned in it. Mr. Shirley was an active and respected citizen, taking an important part in all matters of general interest. He built the “ Shirley House ” at the corner of Main and Berlin streets in 1833, but received little material benefit from it as he died a year or so later of asiatic cholera. His descendants still reside in this vicinity. His wife, a relative of the Ramsdells, now living in the western part of Erie county, was a lady noted for her benevolence, intelligence and Christian spirit. W. B. Shirley, of Huron, recently deceased, was a son of this pioneer couple. D. Curtis settled on the lake shore very soon after Flemond came here; his son, Harvey Curtis, who was born on the old homestead in 1807, was probably the first white child born in this township, if not in Erie county. Efforts have been made to contradict Mr. Curtis’s claim to this distinction, but none seem to know really any more of the event than Mr. Curtis himself, and his claim is substantiated by recorded evidence, so as before stated, he was probably 466 History of Erie County. the first white child born in this vicinity. Mr. Curtis remembers hearing- Perry’s battle on Lake Erie. His relatives still reside in this vicinity and in Milan. Minor Curtis, senior member of the firm of M. Curtis & Son, who deal so extensively in threshers and engines at Milan and have sub-agencies in various parts of Ohio and Michigan, is a relative of Harvey Curtis. Like most other old residents Mr. Curtis remembers incidents much better than dates. A great many little pioneer experiences that would be particu- larly interesting if their dates and relations to other events could be definitely ascertained, are necessarily omitted from this work on account of the difficulty- above mentioned. Our sources of information are however on the whole un- commonly reliable. H uron’s first religious organization was the Presbyterian society, which began its course here in 1835, though occasional services were conducted by Rev. E, Judson, A. Newton, and others from 1829 to this date. Mr. Newton was called to Norwalk in 1835, where he remained for thirty-five years. At the preliminary meeting Rev. Conger preached from Proverbs 11:30, “ He that winneth souls is wise.” The following named members joined the society and meeting adjourned to the school-house where an evening meeting was held. Original members: J. T. Roberts, Jerusha Jenkins, Clarissa Ho- man, L. Newkirk, Mary Jones, A. Sheffield, Dorothy Sheffield, R. Morril, Jane Morril, Eli Holliday, Katherine Holliday, Horace Holliday, O. A. Beecher, Josiah Tracy and Cynthia Wadsworth. R. Morril and E. Holliday were elected deacons and elders, and were duly installed at this meeting. Revs. E. Con- ger, Xenophon Betts and E. Judson conducted the proceedings. Regular meetings were kept up in the school-house till 1840, when A. Sprague, J. Wright, J. Sly and J. Tracy, erected the house since occupied by Mr. Alvord, and let the church lease it at a nominal rental for a number of years. Arrangements were begun in 1850 for the erection of the present church edifice which was completed and occupied in 1854. Rev. C. H. Taylor, J. W. Sprague, C. Woodward and H. Holliday are credited with very active and valuable service in securing the erection of this church. Rev. E. Cole made the dedicatory prayer in January, 1854, and Rev. C. H. Taylor preached the dedication sermon. The latter was installed as pastor on the same day. The present parsonage was not built until 1884. The ministerial succession was as follows: Rev. J. W. Beecher, Rev. F. Fitch, Rev. S. Smalley, Rev. S. Dunton, Rev. E. Cole, Rev. C. H. Taylor, Rev. W. T. Milliken, Rev. G. E. Pierce, Rev. J. G. Rossiter, Rev. J. D. Jenkins, Rev. H. B. Dye, Rev. A. Baker, Rev. H. B. Rice, Rev. C. K. Smoyer, Rev. J. H. Snowden, Rev. E. L. Dresser, Rev. E. O. Hoyt, and the present incumbent. Rev. W. T. Hart. Huron Township. 467 Since its organization there have been received into membership some three hundred and fifty-four people, of whom two hundred or more are still mem- bers. During revivals in 1873 thirty-four conversions were made, and in 1887 twenty-five. The first superintendent of Sunday-school was Mr. J. Tracy, whose name was mentioned in connection with the first regular place of wor- ship. A Baptist Church was organized at Grangers’, or Haley’s Corners in 1833, and services held in the school-house for many years. The present very strong Episcopal society was started in 1837, Rev. F. M. Levenworth beginning his labors here at that time. The work was taken up in 1839 by Rev. Samuel Marks, a man of sterling qualities, fine education and affable disposition. He was dedicated to the service of Christ by Bishop Mc- Bvaine, at Philadelphia, Pa., and seemed to have an inspiration proportion- ate to the directness of his ordination from the aknowledged head of his re- ligious denomination. Fully equal to a much more important position he remained until his death a few years ago, in the service of his little flock at Huron. The name of this honored servant of Christ has been commemorated by both the Masonic and Odd Fellows Societies, of each of which he was a member, honored beyond the common degree by his brethren. But there is no honor that can outshine or outlive the loving pastoral service which he rendered both in and out of the pulpit. Many a loving friend both at Huron and in other parts of the State will echo the sentiment of the writer, and add many a veri- fying example of his faithful service. The Methodist Society in 1871 erected their present church and have regu- lar services. There are two German churches, a Futheran and an Evangelical, each of which is flourishing, and there is a prospect that a Catholic Church will be erected during the coming summer, grounds having recently been purchased with that end in view. The German Futheran Society was organized in 1862, and their house of worship erected in 1868. Mr. John Graham, with neighbors and friends in “West Huron,” near the western line of the township, erected a church for the Methodists of that sec- tion, and considerable interest has been manifested in its success from time to time by outside parties, as well as by local friends. Gustavus Graham and John Graham, jr., are descendants of the founder of this place of worship, Erie county people know both these gentlemen too well to need an introduction by the writer. Alvin Coe, in 1810, is said to have taught the first school in this section, and his successor was Miss T. Ruggles. In 1815 Wm. Chapman opened a school on lot twenty-five, section three, 468 History of Erie County. and conducted it with gratifying results for several years. Winthrop H. Wright, before mentioned, remembers attending this school some time after it was first opened. The present schools are fairly well graded, and supplied with an excellent corps of teachers; Miss Rena Halladay, a graduate of the Milan Western Re- ser\'e Normal, under the principalship of Prof. B. B. Hall, has charge of the High School; Miss Allie Snyder, a teacher of twenty year’s very successful experience at Vermillion and elsewhere, has charge of the A Primary School; Miss L. Spore, a young lady of recognized ability, has charge of the Gram- mar School, and Misses M. Kiefer, and Mary Hall, a lady of many years successful experience in her special line of work, conduct the two lower primaries. Superintendent Dougal, a stranger among the professional teachers in this part of the State, has undertaken to introduce some improvements in the school course. He is credited with bringing about a change in the time of graduation. The school-house is a fine new brick building, erected in 1886 at a cost ap- proximating $20,000. The special district boundaries are identical with those of the village corporate limits. The enrollment reaches from two hundred and fifty to three hundred. Prominent among the early papers of the reserve was the Commercial Ad- vertiser, published in Huron. It began its short course in January, 1837; was burned out in 1838, resumed in 1839, and discontinued in 1842. Volumes one and two, published by H. C. Gray & Co., were shown us. It is a four page paper,, six columns to the page, and largely made up of clippings. The markets are reported as a matter of course, and some effort is made to keep up with local port entries and clearances, but the present style of general local news is almost entirely wanting. One number contains an account of the appearance of a wolf on the ice in the harbor, and the efforts of hunters to capture the brute. Among the literary clippings is an account of General Santa Anna’s visit to Louisville, Ky., and the statement by a Cincinnati Whig correspondent that an irate citizen of Cincinnati went gunning after the distinguished Mexican, but failed to get him because of a change of route, occasioned by an ice gorge in the river. Under “Late and interesting news from Texas,’’ this journal tells eight days after the occurrence, of the interment of General Austin ; it also mentions indications of a rumpus between Mexico and the United States over affairs connected with the Republic of Texas. The issue of February 21, 1837, contains an account of a public meeting for the purpose of preventing blacks and mulattoes from coming to Sandusky, in violation of an express statute law. Dr G. R. Morton is reported as chairman and Albert S. Cowles as secretary; committee on resolutions Messrs. Wheeler, Brown, Cowles, Lester and Hull. A local correspondent calls attention to the fact that Huron, while behind only Huron Township. 469 one town (Cleveland) on the lake shore between Buffalo and Detroit, and while building two and three steamers costing from thirty to seventy thousand dol- lars each, has not a fit place in which to worship the God vouchsafing her ma- terial blessings. The issue of March 21, 1837, contains Martin Van Buren’s Inaugural Address. April i ith of the same year announces the opening of the Welland Canal upon the fifteenth of that month. April 25th contains a proc- lamation concerning public lands by Samuel Houston, president of the Repub- lic of Texas. May 30th announces that there are all told forty-two steamboats plying on the lakes, and expresses great satisfaction at the increase during the preceding twelve years, from one to the number stated. The issue of Tuesday, July 18, 1837, says, “ Daniel Webster arrived in Huron on Friday, on the steam- boat Thomas Jejferson. A goodly number of our citizens went on board, but the lateness of the hour deprived many of che opportunity who wished to see him. He is, as we learn, hastening on his way homeward.” Many clippings in this paper from contemporaries would be of interest to readers of United States History, as it covers the Seminole War, Texan struggle with Mexico, and the Patriot War in Canada, but in a local history it does not seem advisable to go into further detail on these subjects. As a local paper, though not up to the present standard in local matter, and of course slow in outside news like others of its day, it may still be considered a very excellent paper for those times. The facilities for travel may be compared with those of to-day by noting the time (six days) in which the steamboats proposed to make the round trip with passengers from Buffalo to Detroit, duringthe summer of 1837. their advertisements are the same in regard to this matter, and of course the distance could not have been made in so short a time by any other means of trans- portation. The Huron Beacon was published from 1853 to 1854, but no copies are ac- cessible. The Huron Times was a local publication, started in 1876, but afterward removed to Sandusky by its editor, J. D. Sweeney. The present H2iro)i Reporter began its course in the spring of 1879, Mr. T. M. Clock, son of the present proprietor having it in charge. It was then a four page paper, but in the following December, D. H. Clock, the present editor, took it in charge and enlarged it to an eight-page paper, securing a local edi- tor in the towns of Vermillion and Berlin as well as at Huron, and devoting a page each to matters of special interest to the respective villages. As a county paper, it is very creditable to its energetic and able editor, and is securing a full share of the patronage accorded to local papers by the intelligent population for which this section is noted. To the newspapers, as usual, the author of these lines is under obligations for dates and noteworthy events that could have been secured in no other way. 60 470 History of Erie County. For the use of volumes one and two of the Commercial Advei'tiser the writer is indebted to A. J. Brainard, an old and respected citizen of Huron, whose name has not before been mentioned in this article. He came hereabout forty years ago and has been one of those quiet, useful citizens whose unosten- tatious good works are never appreciated until it is too late. For access to valuable data we are under obligations to D. H. Clock of the Reporter and others. Were this an essay on newspapers and newspaper men in general, the writer might wax eloquent over the many past courtesies as- well as the present favors. But it is merely local and we forbear. Mark' s Masonic Lodge is one of the old established institutions of the town, named in honor of Rev. Samuel Marks, and embracing in its membership the best of men, and those whose names might have been much more widely hon- ored under more propitious environments than they have enjoyed in this quiet section of our great Republic. Lake Eric Lodge /. 0 . O. F., was established in 1887, and is, as far as can be determined at this early stage of its existence, destined to shine among sim- ilar organizations in the near future. Morse Post G. A. R., was also established in 1887, and is in quite a flour- ishing condition. The Knights of Labor have established a prosperous lodge which began its course in September of the same year. Three new lodges in a single year is a record not often beaten by towns of Huron’s size. Tlie first physician located at Huron was Dr. A. Gutherie, who settled here in 1813, remaining until 1817, when he removed to the Dominion of Can- ada, and for some years the village was undoctored as it were, except by Dr. McCrea, who lived in the western part of the township. Dr. Charles Fegget came here in 1830, and remained until his death, in ' 1832. The doctor and his wife were accidentally drowned in the Huron River, near Wint Wright’s farm, by the upsetting of a row boat. Their bodies were not found until the next day, when their unaccountable absence from the vil- lage called out a searching party. In commenting on the medical practitioners who followed Dr. Fegget at Huron, Dr. G. S. Haskin, to whom we are under obligations for data of con- j siderable importance on several subjects, says that numerous physicians were attracted to Huron by the great marshes which were considered mias- matic. But he adds, all is not gold that glitters, and the enticing swamps were delusive, as they were on a level with Take Erie, and the waters were pure and refreshing. Dr. Haskins was a pioneer, and came to the Reserve in 1831, locating at Huron in 1832, and practicing here until his death in 1886. He was quite universally esteemed as a physician, and had many warm personal friends. Huron Township. 471 ; Dr. J. Caldwell settled in Huron in 1833, and continued to practice until ‘ 1866, when he died. : Dr. J. T. Cushing came in 1865, and Dr. E. H. McNutt in 1874; both ^ have since removed to fairer fields. At present there are three practicing physicians. Dr. J. B. Esch (son of I Dr. Esch, of Cleveland lately deceased, and brother of W. J. Esch who has i just succeeded to his father’s extensive practice in that city), is one of the most ; popular and able physicians in Erie county. He came to Huron some eight or ten years ago, and is the oldest resident doctor in the village. [ Dr. E. G. Goodsel, who began here in 1882, is enjoying a good practice, and Dr. F. W. Morley is quite widely known and employed. He located here in 1884 or thereabouts. Attorneys have never seemed to have a particular desire for Huron ozone. Whether this peculiar coldness of the profession was due to the very peacable ; character of the people or some other equally potent cause, we are not pre- ' pared at present to state, but for some reason lawyers have always been scarce here, and this is sufficient for present purposes, without discussing the reasons I further. I Mr. T. Alvord, the only member of the legal fraternity now at Huron, is a i young man of acknowledged ability, and far brighter prospects than any of his ; predecessors. He secures a share of the practice before the Court of Common i Pleas at the county seat (Sandusky). Among prominent families who came here in a comparatively early day, i and whose descendants are a part of that staunch and intellectual farming com- ' munity for which Erie county is noted, are the families of J. Van Benschoter, ; E. M. Granger, John Hughes, Wolvertons, David Everett, Swifts, Starrs, Rose- ' kelleys, Jarrets, Isaac Collins, B. B. Jones, the Harris families, Edwin Stowe, i the Coles, the Scotts, the Hardys, the Cowans, Quayles, Dales, Crisses, Car- penters, Meekers, Ryans, Lakes, Krocks, Brooks, and many others whose names are prominent in the village affairs, but do not at present come to mind. The present population of Huron village is about thirteen hundred, and that of the township outside of the corporation is somewhat less, making a total of not far from twenty-three hundred, or about half that estimated by the authors t of a history published a few years ago. Before the completion of the Milan canal, the prospects for Huron’s ad- vancement wete very bright, except that there was a great deal of suffering j and death from cholera in 1834. The five physicians residing here at this j time labored manfully for a time, but continuous influx of foreign immigrants, I in many cases bringing infected goods and those sick with the dread disease, j had its effect even on the medical practitioners, and when one of their own I number died, the others, excepting the valiant Dr. G. S. Haskins, left for more j congenial parts. 472 History of Erie County. After this scourge had departed, as it did with early winter, business inter- ests began looking up and immigration increased until within the next decade a population of over two thousand had settled here, and business during the first half of the time had been very extensive and profitable, but as intimated in the History of Milan, the business men began moving up to the new head of navigation, and a great shrinkage in real estate values followed, involving several active and wealthy men so deeply that they never entirely recovered. Property that had been nominally worth thousands of dollars was sold for taxes, and destructive fires (said in some cases to have been set for the sake of securing the insurance) were quite common. During these conflagrations the records of the village were destroyed, and this fact has been a matter of con- siderable inconvenience to the city fathers as well as to us. Betrayed in a certain degree by her early friends who sought better invest- ments at Milan, and hampered for lack of sufficient capital and enterprise, Huron has still her great natural advantages and some stirring and successful business men. Among the few men who have remained with Huron during adversity and success ever since his first settlement in the village in 1833, is Jno. W. Wickham. A very great loser by shrinkage in real estate values during the dark days already mentioned, Mr. Wickham has never flagged in his efforts for and interest in the commercial development of the town. The old gentleman is eighty- two years old, but his intellectual vigor and social powers are unimpaired. No pleasanter hour was spent by the writer in search of data for the present work than that with Mr. Wickham at his com- fortable fireside. His wife, a daughter of S. Van Rensselaer, one of the pioneers of Huron, is a lady remarkably well preserved for her advanced years. She attended the Erie County Teachers’ Association held in Huron April 14, 1888. Jno. W. Wickham, jr., conducts the large business established in 1833 by his father and at present covering all the principal lines of trade carried on in Huron. Mr. J. Winchell is intimately connected with the management of the business, having assisted in the office for years. This firm handles pine lumber in considerable quantities, and also buys and packs a great portion of the catch of Huron fishermen. The fish interests at this point are far from insignificant, indeed they are quite important and give employment to a large number of men. Wickham & Co. also handle salt, sand, lime, plaster, etc., and buy many thousand bushels of grain during the year. There is also a large elevator at the L. S. and M. S. crossing which handles a great deal of the grain of this section. This business is controlled mainly by a company of dealers more specially interested in grain and potatoes. The village has two hotels. The Aicher House, an establishment run for years by John Aicher, now deceased, is at present under the proprietorship of John Aicher, jr., a very well informed and thorough young business man, who Kelley’s Island. 473 is bringing it back to its old-time reputation as a comfortable, well-kept hotel. The Shepards have started a hotel recently in the new brick block on Main street, and are doing a fair business considering the size of the town and the limited amount of travel. These gentlemen are also somewhat interested in the fishing business. The Lake Shore Railroad passes through the town from east to west, this being that part of the main line known as the northern division which branches at Elyria and runs via. Sandusky to a junction with the southern division at Millbury, near Toledo. A branch of the W. and L. E. railroad leaving the main-line at Norwalk, terminates here. This company has quite extensive dockage here, and great quantities of coal and iron ore are handled during the summer season. Sage’s Grove, just east of the river, perhaps a mile from town, is quite a lovely little picnicing ground, and attracts many rural visitors from further inland during the heated part of the year. The O. N. G. boys occasionally camp at tne grove during the summer and indulge in sham soldiering, sham lovemaking, and champagne to their heart’s content. Whatever may be Huron’s future, there is no disputing the fact that she has as many natural advantages and as few disadvantages as any port on Lake Erie. Her society includes many who might honor the social circles of any city in the land, and her hardy fishermen and sailors are noted for their courage and the tender hearts that beat beneath the rough exterior. Thanking her citizens for uniform courtesy and kind assistance in the difficult task of secur- ing reliable data for this work, the writer hopes sincerely that the time may come when Huron can truthfully say again that she is second to but one Ohio lake port city. HIS beautiful island, the gem of Lake Erie, so well known to tourists and travelers of the present day, is situated a little to the northwest of San- dusky in latitude 41° 35' north, and longitude 82° 42' west from Greenwich. Until 1834 this island was known as Cunningham’s Island, and for a con- siderable time was thought to belong to the fire-lands, which were to be bounded on the north by the territorial line, which was also the boundary be- tween Canada and the United States, and should include all the islands of CHAPTER XXV. HISTORY OF KELLEY’S ISLAND. 474 History of Erie County. Lake Erie lying east of the west line of the Western Reserve. These were Cunningham, the Bass or Put-in-Bay Islands. After a long and bitter contest the matter was compromised in such a way that this island remained a part of the Western Reserve, but was not to be considered a part of the fire-lands. The earliest official record of what is known as Kelley’s Island, was when township No. 5 was drawn, in the division among themselves, of the Connec- ticut Land Company’s purchase, which covered the whole of the reserve, and was divided by lot among them. When a township of lesser value was drawn something else was thrown in, and thus when township No. 5 was drawn Cun- ningham’s Island, thought to be of little value, was added and divided among the thirteen owners. Of all the history prior to this time there are relics and traces of Indian life that form conclusive evidence that different tribes lived here for a time, and were then driven off and banished. Near the residence of Mr. Addison Kelley have been found arrow-heads, broken pipes, implements and other articles of rude workmanship, that point to a time when a large village existed on the spot. On the Huntington farm are still to be found remains of a circular ■earth work, which must have enclosed seven acres of land. It would be diffi- cult to find a locality so full of prehistoric interest as this of Kelley’s Island, and the present owners are cordial in their efforts to assist all in the work of search of forgotten history. The writer well remembers the cordial welcome extended on a hot summer’s day, and the bits of history gleaned from Mr. Kelley, as he showed relic after relic that had been found on his land. Per- haps no object of interest however, equals the “ Inscription Rock,” on the south shore of the island in Lake Erie, just east of the steamboat landing. It is of great value and perhaps greater interest than anything of the kind in the country. The following description of this wonderful rock is from the pen o^ Mr. Kelley: “The rock is thirty- two feet in length, twenty-one in breadth, and eleven feet above the water. It is part of the same stratification as the island from which it has been separated by lake action. The top presents a smooth, polished surface, like all the limestone of this section when the soil is removed, suggesting the idea of glacial action. Upon this surface the inscrip- tions are cut, the figures and devices are deeply graven in the rock.” Its symbols are readily interpreted. Human figures, smoking groups and scenes of daily life, portray negotiations, tribe councils and turmoils that tell a story of by-gone times, of changes in Indian history, and tragic scenes of thrill- ing interest. The occupation of this section of country by the Eries, the com- ing of the Wyandots, the final triumph of the Iroquois, are all there. The rock has been visited by thousands and is already becoming worn. There are several other rocks that tell of the rude skill of these natives ; many of them covered with saucer-like depressions, worn there by the process of manufacturing stone hatchets or flesh knives, of which great numbers have Kelley’s Island. 475 - been found. In the year 1851 drawings of the inscriptions of the large rock were made by Colonel Eastman, United States Army, who was detailed by the government to examine them. Copies of them were sent to Shimgvank, a learned Indian, who was well versed in pictography, by whom they were de- ciphered and translated, but the translation is too long to give in this article. This interpreter, after careful investigation of the subject, decided that they related to affairs of which he knew nothing, but that belonged to the time af- ter the whites had become acquainted with the Indians of Lake Erie. One of the strongest proofs of this was a symbol of a hat which appeared three times, but that they had not yet seen fire-arms he thought conclusive from the fact that there were no representations of any to be seen. When it is remembered that the general opinion is that the Iroquois first received guns from the Dutch at Albany, in 1614, and that the Lake Indians did not receive them from the French until some years later, it is easily seen that the date of these inscrip- tions cannot be earlier than 1625. From this time until the present century the history of this island is a blank. In 1808 a Frenchman, by the name of Cunningham, settled upon the isl- and, and for a quarter of a century after it was known by his name. He traded with the Indians, buying from them maple sugar, skins, etc., and giving them in exchange blankets, trinkets, and probably whisky. He built a rude cabin and here he lived until 1812. The fate of this man is uncertain, but it is gen- erally supposed that he left because of the opening of the war, and was killed in the skirmishes with the Indians and British. During the war General Har- rison kept a guard stationed at the west point of the island, for the purpose of watching the movements of the enemy on the lake. The guards’ camp occu- pied a clearing made by a Frenchman, whose name was Bebo, in 1810. He had come with a man named Poschile, and each made a clearing. That of Bebo was a little to the north of Carpenter’s maple grove. Poschile’s was near the present site of Kelley’s upper wharf Both of these men died some years since, but a few years ago the stakes were still standing that marked his boun- daries. The battle of Lake Erie was a notable event of history, and the prepara- tions for it were made in the little harbor on the south side of Kelley’s Island. Here Perry lay with his fleet, and here he received on board the thirty-six Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky volunteers from Harrison’s army ; and here he was visited by General Harrison and his aids, Cass and hlcArthur, to talk over and plan the coming battles, which were destined to result so gloriously to our country, and close the war. From 1812 to 1818 it is not known that there were any white settlers on Kelley’s Island. During the latter year a man named Killam, with his famil}^ and one or two men, came here and built a cabin and remained until 1820. It was at this time that the first steamboat was built on the lake, and called 476 History of Erie County. Walk-on-the- Water. A sail-boat also made short trips between Sandusky and the island to meet the steamboat, which could not go to Sandusky every trip, and received her passengers from Venice and Sandusky in this way. Walk-on-tlie-Water was wrecked October 19, 1820. During these two years Killam was employed to supply the fuel for the boat, and this had to be cut and boated out to the steamboat. It was red cedar, which was very abundant in this locality. After the wrecking of the JVa//e-oa-t/ie- Water, this business was stopped, and Killam left the island in 1820. From that time until 1826 there were no permanent residents here. About this time a couple of men employed by Killam to get out wood, continued their work from time to time, and one of them is connected with the history of the island from the Point which bears his name. Barnum’s Point is on the east end of the island, and carries with it the memory of these times, when these two men became ene- mies, and Barnum killed Grunmet, who was standing to shoot him. It was decided that the act was done in self-defense, and Barnum moved away from this section of the country. In 1826 Elisha Ellis and Peter Shook obtained contracts for two pieces of land, and Ellis proceeded to build a house on his into which his wife and him- self moved. Shook went away and never returned to the island, and in 1828 Henry Ellithorpe went there to begin stock raising. During the winter of 1828-9 the only inhabitants of this township were Mr. and Mrs. Ellis, Mr. Ellithorpe and Frank Saunders, who worked for Ellis. In December, 1830, Henry Elli- thorpe was married in Sandusky to Elizabeth Neal, and took her home on the ice, taking along six head of cattle. He built a house of cedar on the bank of the lake, and here was born October 6, 1832, the first white child, a son, and named George Ellithorpe. Of 2,888 acres of land, comprising this island, only six acres were cleared in 1833, when Datus Kelley and his brother Irad visited it with a view to pur- chasing land and going into the cedar business. Before this, however. Cap- tain Ransom, of Sandusky, and Burr Higgins had had an interview with the agents of the principal owners of Cunningham’s Island, but this resulted in a disappointment and the purchase was not effected. The first purchase of lands was effected on the 20th day of August, 1833, and consisted of a con- tract made by the attorney of John A. and Mary Rockwell, and Alfred E. Perkins, for 1,444-f^ acres, or almost one half the total area of the island; for this they paid $2,167.35, oi" dollar and a half an acre. Other purchases followed, and in the autumn of that year a double log-house was built for a boarding-house. During the following winter the present wood-dock was commenced, and by the next spring was sufficiently finished to afford a land- ing to steamboats, and the business of wooding was begun. Up to the year 1837 this had been a part of the township of Danbury, and Kelley’s Island. 477 was included in Huron county. That year, however, a change was made, and Erie county was created and Kelley’s Island was set off as a part of it. The Legislature in 1840 enacted a law that “ all that tract known as Cunningham’s Island, situated on the south side of Lake Erie, be constituted a township, to be known as Kelley’s Island.” On the 6th of March, 1840, was passed an act creating the county of Ottawa, which should include within its boundaries the new island townships of Kelley’s Island and Van Rensselaer. The first election for organization as a township was in April, 1840. There were fifteen votes polled, and in May an election was held for county officers. As the population increased and its business was entirely with Sandusky, its connection with Ottawa county became very irksome, and a determination was formed to effect a separation and be reinstated in Erie county. In Feb- ruary, 1845, Legislature passed a law to that effect, so that in the short space of seven years Kelley’s Island formed a part of two townships and four counties, and of the four children of Mr. Addison Kelley, born in the same house, no two were natives of the same township or county. When Messrs. Irad and Datus Kelley had purchased the island, they found several squatters with a little improvement here and there. These they pro- ceeded to buy off, and generally did so with little trouble. There was one man, however, not so readily dispossessed — he claimed to have purchased his tract and refused to give it up without being forced to do so by the law. The result, though expensive, and costing, it is said, as much as the purchase of the island, was beneficial in many ways, for it proved that the Kelleys titles could not be set aside. After Mr. Kelley built the docks, he turned his attention to the matter of education and built a school-house. This was done entirely at his own and his brother’s expense. It was the first frame building ever erected on the island, and has since been used as a cooper and blacksmith-shop. It is the first building north of the present residence of George Kelley. Mr. Kelley was a natural reformer. He believed that no place could grow, or community prosper, without a basis of substantial qualities ; and these were, in his estimation, education, frugality, and temperance. Having provided a school-house he next proceeded to offer a reward or bonus to his men (in ad- dition to their regular pay) for dispensing with intoxicants. There are men still living who date all their success to the encouragement afforded them at that time by the precepts and example of Mr. Kelley. At this time Mr. Kelley had not moved here, but spent half of every year here. In 1836 Mr. D. Kelley resolved to make his permanent residence on the island, and moved his family into a small log-house situated where Mr. George Kelley’s house now stands. In 1838 he built a frame house, where he continued to reside until he built the old part of what is now known as the 61 478 History of Erie County. Island House. At this time there were twelve families on the island, which, with the men who boarded in them, constituted the entire population of Kel- ley’s Island fifty years ago. Quarrying stone, getting out cedar posts, chopping steamboat wood, etc., was the business carried on at that time. All the money made heretofore had been made by stone or cedar, but after 1836 steamboat wood formed the largest item of trade. There could be no farming carried on until the land was cleared, hence it became necessary to offer such inducements that the steamboats would stop for wood. This effected two things — clearing the land and opening communication with the ports on the lake. Not only was Mr. Kelley the pioneer of education and civilization on the island, but his son, Mr. Addison Kelley, who is still living, furnished the model for the first boat that was built here. It was not like other boats, but was intended to weather the storms of all seasons. It was launched early in 1839 and named Number One. She proved herself worthy her title when she outlived the worst gale ever known here, in which the schooner Helen Mar was lost with all on board. This boat was so constructed as to right herself in all positions. Her keel was an oak plank, seventeen inches in depth and four inches thick, with an iron shoe on the bottom of it that weighed nearly a ton. The growth of Kelley’s Island has been almost phenomenal. No sooner had the Kelleys become its owners than they commenced a series of improve- ments, and proceeded to put their lands in market at fair prices. The earliest purchasers directly from D. and J. Kelley, were Addison Kelley, John Titus, James Hamilton, Julius Kelley, Horace Kelley, J. E. Woodford, G. C. Hunting- ton, Patrick Martin, Bernard McGettigan, S. S. Dwelle and James Estes, most of whom are still occupying portions of the land they purchased. Instead of one there are five good school buildings. A stone building with lot donated and ibuilt by Datus and Sara Kelley, is open to public services of all profitable kinds. There are four churches; each of these support their own minister, and have regular services. And more prominent than any of these buildings is the Isl- and House, a fine summer hotel built in 1874, and destroyed by fire in 1877, and subsequently rebuilt, and is one of the attractive features of a visit to Kel- ley’s Island. It was originally the property of Addison Kelley, who sold it to Messrs. Colby, Hickox and Matson of Mansfield. It has since changed hands, and in 1874 was elegantly fitted up by its new proprietor, Jacob Rush. It is 224 feet by 40, three stories high, with grounds elegantly laid out, and all the accessories of a delightful summer resort. There has been a phenomenal health fulnesson this island ever since its first settlement. Doctors and lawyers have found but little to do there, and for many years Mrs. D. Kelley was the main reliance in all cases of sickness. Al- though the population has increased rapidly, and Kelley’s Island is now in per- fect cultivation carrying on several branches of trade, and attracting large num- Kelley’s Island. 479 bers of visitors yearly, it has never lost its individuality as the home of the Kel- leys. With the exception of Julius Kelley, the entire family of Datus Kelley, his sons, their wives and families ; his daughters, their husbands and children have been residents of the island. In 1847 George Kelley, eldest son of I. Kel ley, moved on with his family. The history of Kelle}'’s Island could not be written without a special men- tion of the different steamboats that have helped in her march toward civiliza- tion. Since 1839 the main reliance had Number one, which after a few years of hard and faithful service was pronounced unseaworthy, and plans were formed to build a successor. The possibility of using steam was discussed, but no one thought it could be done. While the decision was not yet made, the matter was decided in a most unexpected manner in 1846. In the spring of that year Mr. Addison Kelley had occasion to go Venice on Number one. The vessel was in a poor condition, and the weather stormy. He concluded it was not safe to return until the storm abated, and in the evening strolled into the office of H. N. Fish, and while discussing the limited means of communication between the Island and the outer world, Mr. Fish suggested that a small steam- boat might be built, by which they could go and come as they chose. Mr. Kelley saw the advantage of this, but stated that they were not able to do this; whereupon Mr. Fish promised them a liberal sum as a loan, to be paid for in transportation, and also promised the business of carrying the wheat from Fre- mont, if they would build a boat of sufficient capacity. On Mr. Kelley’s re- turn home he laid the matter before Mr. D. Kelley, who must be the principal stockholder. He took hold of the matter at once, and in less than one week from the time of its first suggestion, the steamboat known as the Islander, was under process of construction. She was a decided success, and did her work well for years, but was at length superseded by the Island Queen in 1853. She was commanded by Captain Orr, and sold in 1866. When she was built she was thought to be too large for the service, but eventually proved to small. She was finally captured by the rebels and sunk in 1864. She was recovered in a few days, comparatively uninjured, and two years later. her owners and some others formed a company and purchased the steamer Evening Star. The Star was a new boat of three hundred and forty tons, with a beautiful model low- pressure beam-engine, and cost $45,000, with an additional $1,000 for fitting her up. Her speed was fine, and her carrying capacity unequalled at that time, often carrying on an excursion twelve hundred passengers. Her captains were successively Captain Magle, Kirby and Brown. She was sold in 1 872 with the Reindeer, and since that time the islanders have owned no steamboats. In glancing over the statistics of 1863, it is amusing to note the entries, showing the still primitive condition of Kelley’s Island; 480 History of Erie County. Domestic imports nothing whatever except building materials and family supplies. Foreign imports, none. Exports, coastwise. Red cedar, 714 cords $4,291 Limestone, 390 cords 780 Steamboat wood, 3,248cords 4,102 Corn, wheat and pork 2,000 $i 1,083 Steamboats and Vessels. One steamboat, 80 tons $5,000 One sail-boat 150 Number of men employed on same 7 Population, 1849 180 “ 1863 600 Not only did Mr. D. Kelley build the first school-house, give the first im- petus toward thrift, temperance and success on the island, but he started grape- growing, which has since become such an important industry here and else- where. In the year 1846 the value of grapes sold by D. Kelley did not exceed five dollars. In 1861 the value of the grape crop was $51,080 from one hun- dred and twenty-eight acres. This does not give a fair average per acre, as many of the vines were bearing for the first time. When it is remembered that the first vine was set out in 1842 by Mr. D. Kelley, who had brought cuttings from his old home in Rockport, the advance is marked and more than satisfac- tory. In 1844 the first Catawbas were planted from cuttings obtained from Judge Ely of Elyria. Mr Carpenter bought a farm on the west end of the Isl- and, and commenced setting out vines until in two or three years he had more vines than any of the older settlers. There was no thought at this time of making them into wine, for the thought had been advanced and believed that no wine could be made from these grapes that would keep. The demand for grapes steadily increased, and in 1855 it was much easier to sell them at ten cents a pound than it had been nine years before at five. As late as 1854 there was comparatively a small amount of land put in grapes, and this was done by old settlers. The first move in the direction of increasing the number of producers was made in this year, when some in- telligent Germans, who had come from the wine districts of the old world, found employment on the Island. They began to see the possibilities of the future, and desired to buy land for grape culture. Five acres were bought of Mr. Addison Kelley for fifty dollars an acre, and when he was remonstrated with on the exorbitant price at which he valued his land, he replied that he should sell the next higher, and would only sell five acres to the same individ- ual. Within a few days he sold five acres for sixty dollars an acre, and from that to seventy-five, one hundred and one hundred and twenty-five was quickly reached. The grape- fever became more wide-spread, and as yet there were Margaretta Township. 481 no checks to the progress of the interest, for rot, late frosts and other evils were unknown for eighteen years. In 1862, after a successful beginning, the rot ap- peared for the first time. At this date, 1888, of the original Kelleys there are still living many of their direct descendants on the Island that bears their name, but the surround- ings are very unlike those that were known to their ancestors. The entire Isl- and is now in the most perfect cultivation, and as the boat stops at the landing, and the visitors are met by the hospitable inhabitants, gay in boating attire, and waiting with private carriages to drive to their homes, amid luxuriant vineyards and beautiful homes, one can scarcely believe that all this beauty has been the work of half a century — and where elegant homes now abound, the wigwam of the savage formerly stood. Among all the islands of Lake Erie none is more beautiful than Kelley’s Island. CHAPTER XXVI. HISTORY OF MARGARETTA TOWNSHIP. B ounded on the north by Sandusky bay, on the east by Sandusky city, Perkins and Oxford townships, on the south by Groton, and on the west by Sandusky county and the bay; range twenty-four; township six. It was formerly known as Patterson, because many years ago, before cities and vil- lages dotted the northern part of Ohio, while Indians still roamed over its broad acres and this part of Erie county was known only as a large tract of rolling land covered with oak openings, and irrigated by streams and marshes, there came to the region a man by the name of Hugh Patterson, a British In- dian trader, whose name has been since connected with the history of the township. He was not an honorable man and his influence over the Indians was exceedingly pernicious, as he tried to influence them to join the British against the United States, but he had an unlimited amount of confidence in himself, he talked loudly of buying the whole township, and of course had a certain amount of influence. There seems however, to have been among the Indians some who refused allegiance to him, and in an account given by a missionary at that time. Rev. Joseph Badger, who labored among the Wyandot Indians from 1805 to 1810, the following incident is given: “On the 28th of July, 1805, the head chief, Crane, sent for us to write for him. After we had taken supper one of the women made a candle of beeswax, and I seated myself on the floor beside a bench and wrote as directed by the old chief, through an interpreter. His 482 History of Erie County. address was to the governor at Detroit, and requested that Hugh Patterson, Williams, and one other man should be removed from among them without delay, as they were contriving mischief and troubling the Indians.” The township however continued to bear his name until in 1812, at a meet- ing of the settlers of the fire-lands in Huron, they resolved unanimously that it was wrong for a township to bear the name of so infamous a man, and the choice of a name was referred to Major Frederick Falley who now held a contract to purchase this township. As he had a mother, sister and several nieces whose name was Margaret, he concluded to imortalize them by calling his newly acquired property Margaretta, and from henceforth the name of Patterson sank into oblivion, and the township was duly organized in 1815 by the commissioners of Huron county. Major Falley, Nathan Cummings and Bildad Adams. At this time it was connected with Danbury north of the bay, but two years later Danbury had a separate organization. The first election was held the same year. The township contains two vil- lages, Venice on the south side of Sandusky bay, and Castalia, both flourish- ing and widely known. The latter attracts to its club houses many of Amer- ica's largest capitalists, and the name Castalia is as familiar in sporting circles as the Adirondacks or Rangely Fakes. It scarcely seems possible that where this village now stands, formerly an Indian village occupied the ground, but the evidences and proofs of this fact are too numerous and conclusive to admit of doubt. At the time of Hull’s surrender, history tells of a general stampede that took place in this neighbor- hood, when men left their property and fields already planted and fled. The forts and mounds found here indicate that at some past time Indians made this a general headquarters. The missionary to the VVyandots, Rev. Badger, was- mainly instrumental in keeping these savages from taking sides against us in the War of 1812. The fort near Venice was discovered by Major Falley over- grown with underbrush and timber, but showing a double entrenchment. It has since been completely obliterated by cultivation, and now no trace of it can be found. At the time of the stampede a man named Andrews was putting in a hun- dred acres of wheat east of the burying ground, when the panic occurred, and after the troubles subsided he and some of the others came back and harvested their crops with guns on their backs. In 1813 there were but three houses in Cold Creek (now called Castalia), and these were owned and located as fol lows: Mr. Snow’s on the banks of the creek at its source, Mr. Butler’s on the opposite bank, twelve or fifteen rods east, and Mr. Putnam’s half a mile down the creek on the prairie. On the 2d of June, 1813, an Indian massacre created a frightful consterna- tion in the little settlement. During the preceding month a party of Indians- numbering sixteen, under Pontiac, landed at Pickerel Creek, on a war excur- Margaretta Township. 483 sion, and reconoitered slyly until the right occasion offered itself, then, when the men were engaged in the fields at a good distance from the house, and the women and children (twelve in number) were gathered together in the house of Mrs. Snow, who was sick at the time, they made the attack at midday. It was a frightful affair. The Indians rushed into the room, and while one seized Mrs. Putnam by the hair, a second caught hold of Mrs. Butler and a third dragged Mrs. Snow from the bed, and out of the house. When they asked these women if they would go with them they answered in the affirma- tive, and were driven away. The children at play were also seized, and two little boys two years old were killed and scalped. A few rods farther on and they found Julia Butler, a girl of four years, who was also murdered. Mrs. Snow, unable to keep up with the others, was horribly butchered. They then plundered the houses and premises, broke all the crockery and making a pack load of their booty, forced Harry Graves to carry it to the canoes. It was almost sun- down before the men at work knew aught that had taken place. They started at once for Pike Creek, and in the morning were joined by others and followed the trail until the dead bodies of those murdered were found, but no traces of the Indians could be discovered, and they were obliged to return and bury their dead. These were the first interments in the town- ship. The Indians took their captives to Detroit and gave them into the hands of the British agent. Ironsides, having suffered no violence or injury, except in being forced to walk faster than they were able. They remained in De- troit until the following fall when they were all returned in safety. During this time their friends heard of them, but could not communicate with them, as Detroit was in the hands of the British. Six years after this sad affair, the In- dians again attacked a couple of men who were out on a trapping expedition for muskrats. They had lain down in a temporary hut after collecting a few skins, and were murdered by three straggling Ottawas, two of whom were captured and hung in 1818. The physical features of this township are rather monotonous as are those of all prairie regions, but this monotony is varied here by streams and springs and two caves. The western half is rolling and thinly timbered, with a com- bination of clay, limestone and sandy soil. The northeast portion was at one time heavily timbered, and had a rich muck soil with clay sub-soil that made it very productive. The second section was heavily timbered, except in the south, which was oak openings, with a gradual descent to the north. The third section is mostly prairie, and used to be called a marsh, until a channel was made for Cold Creek, and by building a railroad, which has drained it and made good farming lands of it. The timber on the timber-lands was mostly oak of different kinds, with a sprinkling of elm and ash, butternut, chestnut and maple. The soil is generally fertile and very productive, but 484 History of Erie County. occasional ridges of limestone cropping out make it in some places difficult to cultivate. The soil varies with different localities, sometimes sandy with a pre- ponderance of clay. The township has an immense quantity of stone of a superior quality, suitable for building or paving purposes. It is well nigh in- exhaustible and will supply the demand for centuries. In the early days of Ohio wild annimals abounded here, and those now living tell wonderful stories of hunting and trapping on the very spot where handsome residences now stand. Wild turkeys predominated, and were caught by the Indians in a fashion peculiarly their own, which was afterward adopted by the settlers. This was done by driving them into pens. The more honorable preferred to kill them with a rifle. Wolves had their head- quarters at Cold Creek, and were numerous. Deer abounded and were hunted by the pioneers, who considered this their principal diversion. To-day there are no wild animals to be found in the township except a few squirrels and rabbits. A narrow slip of land belonging to this township runs along Sandusky bay, which is marshy and wet on the western portion, and dry or timbered on the east. When the lake is high it is overflowed with water on the marshy side, and at other times produces a coarse kind of grass. Cold Creek is the most important stream in the township, but beside this there is in the southwest corner a small stream known as Pike Creek, which runs in a northeasterly course into Perkins township and empties into San- dusky Bay. This drains a large area, and in former days had a force that run a couple of saw-mills. There are also two other small streams strongly im- pregnated with mineral substances, but the one stream of importance is Cold Creek that rises near the center of the township and finds its way to Sandusky Bay. It is scarcely over four miles long, and when it took its natural channel flowed over level land that became the paradise for musk-rats, otter, and mink. It now glories in an artificial channel or mill race, and has a power sufficient to run several mills. Where this stream rises it seems to boil up from a great depth in crevices of the limestone rock. Not over half a mile from this was at one time a narrow stream that had its rise in another spring. By artificial aids this was greatly enlarged, and it excavated for itself a large basin nearly fifty feet in diameter. Any one standing on its shore could see large trees lying on the bottom, but none could guess how they came there. This was called Lit- tle Cold Creek. That the two streams had a secret connection underground no one doubted, who watched the increase of the one when the other increased ; and therefore it was thought wise to connect the two. After much expense and trouble this was done, but the result was far from satisfactory, as the waters ran in an opposite direction to that desired. Cold Creek has a fall of fifty-seven feet. The waters of these springs is so strongly impregnated by mineral sub- Margaretta Township. 485 •stances that whenever it drips on any substance it covers it with a coating which becomes hard and assumes the most fanciful forms. It was deemed wise to convert this water power into practical use, and the first mill was built near the head of Cold Creek in 1810 by D. P. Snow, to be used to grind corn. This was built of logs, and the stones were brought from the quarries or rocks near by, and Lewis Ensign, a citizen of Groton, did the work on them. This mill ground from ten to fifteen bushels of grain in twenty-four hours. It was only used two years, and in 1819 there was a mill built three quarters of a mile from the head of the stream, by Joshua Pettingill, which had a screw- wheel and ground the most of the grinding for the entire fire lands for many years. In 1 81 1 Major Falley raised the frame of a saw-mill where the Venice mill-race is now found, but the war of 1812 coming on, the mill was left unfinished, and in 1815 it was purchased by Eli Hunt who put a saw-mill in operation, with a run of stone in one corner and an apparatus for bolting. This was the first saw-mill in the western part of the fire-lands, and from it the first lumber was procured. At the same time that Major Falley began his mill, a tannerv was started near the head of the Venice Mills. Two years later, in 1813, he removed to "the tannery built by Major Falley, at the head of Cold Creek, and this industry became one of the most important to the early settlers, who were thus supplied with an article of importance. Three years later Daniel Mack built a saw-mill near the mill that had been owned by Snow, and in the corner was a run of stone for grinding. In 1824 be built a good grist-mill with two run of stone, and this subsequently’passed into the hands of a German named Weber in 1827. Mr. Mack had long years of litigation over certain mill-rights, with Pettingill and others, because of damages done them by flowing the back water upon them. This was only ended in 1832 by transfer of the entire property, and five hundred and ten acres of land to Burr Higgins. This gave him entire control of the water- power, and he at once began to improve his mill for custom work. This was the coldest year ever known in this latitude, and every stream was frozen except Cold Creek. Southern Michigan as well as Northern Ohio were depen- dent for grinding on this single stream. In 1835 Higgins sold his entire in- terest to Davidson, Hadley & Co. The first flouring-mill in Venice was commenced in 1832 and finished in 1833, with three run of French burrs for merchants, and three run for custom work. The completion of this mill established the first permament cash mar- ket for wheat on the fire-lands. The second mill, one and a half miles west of south of Venice, was begun in 1839, but not finished until 1841. It had eight run of stone, and cost fifty thousand dollars. This was built of timber and was destroyed by fire in 1848. 62 486 History of Erie County. Four years after another mill of brick and stone with six run of stone was- erected on the same site. The capacity of the two mills was sufficient to make seventy-five thousand barrels of flour during the season of navigation. The old mill at Venice, with Cold Creek and five hundred acres of land, had been purchased by Russell H. Heywood, of Buffalo, N. Y., in 1831, the year before the cold winter. At that time, 1833, one thousand barrels of flour were made before harvest. The first hundred barrels of flour in the merchant work was packed in new barrels painted with China vermillion, taken on a scow and shipped to Buffalo, and thence by canal to New York, where it arrived as clean as when it left the miill. It was considered a great curiosity, and crowds of people visited the dock to see the first shipment of flour from Ohio, and some were so enthusiastic as to predict that Ohio might sometime furnish sev- eral thousand barrels a year. This flour was bought by one hundred persons at prices quite in advance of the best Genesee flour. That year was a mem- orable one, because of the early harvest and the drought that extended over the new country, forcing people to carry their grist a hundred miles. An instance is related of two men from Hancock county, who left home Monday morning and reached Venice the following Sunday, just in time to attend reli- gious service in the mill. Mr. Heywood noticed the dusty travellers who took part in the services, and after they were over, entered into conversation with, the strangers, and discovered that they were in urgent need of flour. They had left behind them sick families utterly destitute, and had journeyed all the week to find a mill that could grind. They had fifteen bushels apiece of wheat. Mr. Heywood was in a quandary. He appealed to the clergyman with “What shall I .do ?” He replied, “ Grind it as soon as possible,” which he did, and the men went home rejoicing. It is a singular fact that until after 1840, much of the flour made in Ohio, was sent West. In 1836 five hundred barrels, at eight dollars a barrel, was sent to Chicago and sold for twenty dollars a barrel by Oliver Newbury. It was all the flour Chicago had that winter, and the people were grateful that he had not asked fifty instead of twenty dollars. Until the completion of the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad to Tiffin, the wheat was brought in large wagons, and often over such wretched roads and at such great distances as to bring but little profit to the owners. In one case a man came one hundred and fifty miles with a four-horse team, and twelve bushels of wheat. When he sold his wheat he took his nine dollars and went to the store, talking to himself thus ; “ My wheat was worthless at home ” ; then turning to the boy m the store he asked how much the sheeting was worth, and being told nine- pence, said to himself, “ Yes, my wheat was worth something at home. I could have bought a yard of cloth like that for a bushel.” Russell Heywood operated these mills forty-eight years. In 1848-1849 a cotton factory was built at Castalia. In 1864 John Hoyt bought the mill Margaretta Township. 487 property and organized a stock company for the manufacture of paper, under the name of the Castalia Paper Company, with Mr. Hoyt as manager and chief stockholder. He moved the old cotton factory down to the flouring mill, and "built some additions, and in about a year had in operation a first-class paper mill. It had a capacity of a ton a day, and was run day and night until it was burned in 1874. The following year, 1875, the water power was bought for eight thousand dollars, by some of the leading men in Margaretta, viz. : C. Caswell, J. B. Witter, J. G. Snowden, E. D. White, S. H. Rogers, Philip Erbe, T. C. Adams and J. D. Chamberlain. They incorporated the Castalia Milling Company, and proceeded to build a first-class flouring-mill. The building was a sub- stantial frame, built on the foundation of the old stone mill, three stories high, beside basement and attic. This mill had a capacity of one hundred and twenty-five barrels of flour per day. They kept it running night and day, and could not fill their orders even then. An elevator was also built, capable of storing twenty thousand bushels of wheat, with all modern appliances for con- venience in handling grain. This mill is now moved from its foundation to a site eighty rods west, where its present owner, T. C. Adams, proposes to run it by steam. The stream is now converted into a trout stream belonging to the clubs. The mill at Venice, owned by Dwelle & Williams, was burned to the ' ground in 1888, and the water privileges were then sold. Distilleries began to appear as other manufacturing establishments multi- plied, and in 1823, Dr. B. L. Carpenter, at the head of Cold Creek, erected a small distillery. His brother, S. C. Carpenter, assisted him. It afterwards was owned by Chapman & Andrews, of Bellevue, and from them passed into the hands of Japan Johnson. It was abandoned in 1830. There had been another distillery built at Venice in 1824, by one William Mason, of Milan. It was in operation eight years. After a few years it was again started by David Barber. It is now abandoned. A township history presents many and varied features of interest, but as years pass those that formerly seemed all important sink into comparative ob- livion to give place to others abreast of the times. Then comes the time when old legends are revived, and bits of personal history are sought, and the very place, hitherto regarded as commonplace, is looked upon as historical, and becomes in a way sacred. It is always wise to give some space to first things and events. Here we discover that the first religious denomination in Margaretta was a Methodist class in Muscash, in the southeast corner. (The name Muscash is said to be of Indian derivation, and arose from the fact that the tribes brought their skins here for barter, and not being able to speak Eng- lish, and wanting money instead of produce, insisted on “ Muscash,” or must ■cash.) 488 History of Erie County. The first tree was cut down by Docartus Snow, in i8io, who was given a hundred acres of land because he had put up a grist-mill. He was the father of the first baby born in the township, Robert Snow. The first marriage was that of Charles Butler and Clarissa Parker. The first deaths were those murdered by the Indians in 1813. The first house was built by D. Snow, of logs, in 1810, at the head of Cold Creek. The first mail from Sandusky City to Lower Sandusky, was carried on horseback, and estab- lished in 1825. It was taken once a week. The first postmaster of Marga- retta was Sam. B. Carpenter. In 1810 Cleveland was the nearest post-office. The first store in Margaretta was started by Major Fred. Falley, for trading with the Indians. He afterwards went into the service of the government tO’ furnish army supplies. Saloons have had a thriving business in this township, and the history of their success can be read on the tombstones of their grave- yard. The first change was made by cutting a silver dollar into ten, shilling pieces. Skins and iurs were made commodities of exchange. Grain would not buy goods at any price, and the problem of clothing a family was the most per- plexing one that came to the early settler. None but nabobs had a whole suit of clothes made of cloth. Deer skins were used for men and boys. Ladies then could spin and weave, and were proud of their work. In 1821 Captain Andrus Parker put up twenty barrels of pork and shipped it to Montreal, for which he never received a single cent. The first market for cash was known only at the opening of the Erie canal,, and this brought a little money to the settlement. The first school-house was built of logs, at the junction of the Venice and Cold Creek roads, in 1818, by Captain A. Parker, and some neighbors. This had the first teacher, Thomas McCullough, who received fifteen dollars a month for his services, and had that first winter twenty-five scholars. After that Rev. Alvin Coe, who had been teaching Indian children in Greenfield, moved his school to Venice, and taught all the children in the vicinity. Some of the best district schools that have ever been taught in the township were taught in those days, and the early teachers deserve a most honorable mention in history. A few of them were A. W. O’Brien, of Maine ; Jonathan Fuller> James F. Wilson and John W. Falley. The first physician settled in this place was Dr, Hartshorn, in 1817. There are churches in this township, but history fails to record who preached the ; first sermon. In 1819 a Presbyterian Church was organized in Margaretta and Groton, by Rev. John Seward. Its members moved away and the organ- ization died. In 1823 a Baptist Church was started, having its members in Oxford, Groton and Margaretta. This was the only church that sustained regular services in the township for several years. Deacon R. Falley was- the most prominent member, and owing to his efforts it was kept alive through Margaretta Township. 489 those early' years. In 1835 a Congregational Church was organized by Rev. Hiram Smith, from Westfield, Mass., who secured the love and respect of his parish and remained with them until 1865. The members of the Baptist Church having become scattered, and Deacon Fahey’s health failing, the members of the Baptist Church still remaining were identified with the new enterprise and became members of the Congregational Church. Two years after the present Congregational Church was built, in 1850, the Methodists built a frame church at Castalia, which flourished for a time, but since i860 has had no regular services. It has since been sold for other purposes. Castalia Universalist Church was organized by Rev. George R. Brown, October 12 1862. Five years later the society built a neat building on land donated by William Graves, at a cost of four thousand two hundred dollars. Mr. Brown was pastor at this time until he died. The Church of our Redeemer, at Venice, was organized by an election of wardens and vestrymen, in June, 1866. In July of the same year Rev. Charles Ogden was invited to take charge of the parish, and on the 17th of July, in the same year, the ground was broken for the present attractive stone edifice. The corner stone was laid by Rev. Charles Ogden, August 21, 1866. The parish was incorporated on the 13th day of October, and admitted in the union with the diocese of Ohio. It was consecrated June 3, 1867, by the Right Reverend Bishop Mcllvaine. The church was erected by Russell H. Heywood, as a memorial to the departed members of his own family. Its cost, including the iron fence that encloses it, was $12,000, and it was deeded to the wardens and vestry on the day of its consecration, in connection with a glebe of fifteen acres. This church has been open on all Sundays since its erection, either by clergyman or lay readers, until 1878. It has had the fol- lowing clergymen for its pastors, viz. : Rev. Charles Ogden, from 1866 until July, 1867; Rev. George S. Chase, from September, 1867, until November, 1868; Rev. George Bosley, from October, 1874, until 1876. It is now under the charge of Grace Church, Sandusky. About the year 1832 a temperance society was organized; since that time several others have arisen, until now the majority of the people of the township are friends of temperance. Margaretta Grange, No. 488, P. of H., was organized January 30, 1873, with twenty-seven charter members. This institution is still flourishing, with the following officers : J. B. Witter, M. ; G. Ray, O. ; F. Nelson Prentice, L. ; J. C. Rogers, S. ; W. H. Neill, A. S. ; Mrs. H. Meyraugh, C. ; O. Ransom, treasurer ; J. Atwater, secretary ; D. Witter, G. K. Sporting Clubs . — A visit to the trout streams of Castalia is one of the great attractions of visitors to all neighboring towns. On a summer’s day the road between Sandusky and Castalia is alive with equipages on their way to the headwaters of Cold Creek to see the club houses and enjoy the beautiful views. 490 History of Erie County. The roads are fine, the air clear, and six miles seem as nought. The little village of Castalia comes in sight, with ornate school building and rustic church and simple homes. The bubbling springs from beneath form a pond of no mean size, and like a miniature lake lie the headwaters of the stream that originally flowed across a bit of prairie, but was diverted into an artificial channel or mill-race, when the first mill was built. In the year 1870 John Hoyt, proprietor of the Castalia Paper Mills (since burned), conceived the idea of trying a few thousand eggs of the brook trout, and proceeded to make troughs for hatching them. A severe thunder storm killed the trout, and in his second attempt he was equally unsuccessful, for the brood of spawn is said to have been killed by the keeper, who poisoned them. The third were turned loose in the pond, and multiplied, and the venture was at last a success. In May, 1878, a statute was passed by the State of Ohio to corporate a company, which should be known as the Cold Creek Trout Club, for the purpose of fishing, hunting and pleasuring ; of propagating fish, and pro- tecting game on lands leased from the Castalia Milling Company. The capital stock of said company should be $1,275, 1^° be divided into eighty-five shares of fifteen dollars a share. When the club was organized there were seventy- four members. The incorporators were J. Atwater, B. F. Ferris, R. F. Fow- ler, B. H. Rogers and D. S. Worthington. This company leased the prop- erty for twenty years for fifty dollars per year, having use and right to the headwaters, and including branches and tail race for two miles. In 1883 they built a house, and in 1887 bought the property with buildings and forty acres of land for $20,000. The shares are now valued at $300 each, and whenever a member dies or becomes dissociated with the club, his stock is bought up and the membership thus decreased. At the present time there are seventy-one members. In 1887 the name was changed to that of the Cold Creek Sporting Club. They also dug a new race at a cost of two or three thousand dollars, and the coming season will see still greater improvements in grounds artistically arranged and added conveniences for members. The old mill has been moved away, and the whole place has become an ideal sporting man’s paradise. The club-house is on the lower bank of the stream, connected by a bridge with the keeper's house on the opposite shore. The latter con- tains a public dining-room and extra sleeping apartments, while in a building- in the rear of the club-house is a cottage devoted to ladies and children, con- taining many sleeping-rooms. To stand on the bridge and look down into the crystal waters beneath, where the emerald shimmer of the water- cresses, as the sunbeams play over them, make brilliant background for the speckled beauties to dart and play against, then turning look down the arch of cottonwood and sycamores that line the stream, spanned every few rods by foot-bridges; or, turning to look up to the mill-dam with the hatchery, where are sleeping forty thousand baby trout to be thrown into the stream by and by. All this is a Margaretta Township. 491 dream of beauty one never forgets, having once enjoyed it, and every year will make it more beautiful and more valuable. The stream is stocked from this club, assisted by the neighboring club farther down toward the bay. The lar- gest trout ever caught here weighed three pounds and five ounces, and was caught by a Cleveland member, Mr. Yale, in 1887. The Castalia Sporting Club was organized September 18, 1878, and leased the use of the waters for twenty years for three hundred dollars a year. There were five incorporators, viz.: Kelly Bolton, F. H. Mason, Lee McBride, Fay- ette Brown, and H. L. Terrill. Mr. Mason is editor of Cleveland Leader and consul to Geneva; Mr. McBride is, and ever has been, secretary and treasurer; Mr. Brown has been president from the first. The club is limited to twenty- five members. In 1882 they built a club-house which cost them nearly two thousand dollars, and March 10, 1888, they bought of Messrs. Dwelle and Williams the right to the lower waters of the stream, extending four miles to the bay, and embracing on either side of the stream thirteen rods. For this they paid $24,000. August Miller has charge of the house and property. As the fish of the stream are in reality as much here as above, this club assists in stocking the upper waters with young, and in return will profit equally by the fifty thousand fish just donated by the government, known as rainbow trout. There is still another club four miles west at Rockwell’s Mills, whose history is not so accessible as the two more prominent ones. Among the recent improvements of Margaretta township, the most conspicuous is that of the residence of her well-known citizen, Mr. Calvin Caswell, who lives a couple of miles from Castalia. He has been called the largest wheat raiser in the county, and for many years has been an active member of the Erie County Agricultural Society. His farm stretches its broad acres in perfect cultivation and during the last year he has remodeled his spacious home, until it has be- come a palatial residence. With towers and immense piazzas, it seems more like a Saratoga hotel than a private residence. He has six hundred acres of land, and the finest apple and peach orchards in the county. Major Falley deserves more than a passing mention, for his name has been linked with the history of this township from its earliest settlement, and through his influence and activity Venice was laid out into town lots in 1816. He had accompanied his father to North Cambridge when but eleven years of age, as fifer, and was in the battle of Bunker Hill. After General Washington assumed command of the army, the boy returned home, and his father was employed by the government in the manufacture of firearms. In the adventures of pioneer life. Major Falley found agreeable vent to the bold spirit within, and died at the age of sixty-four in Margaretta in 1828. There are two villages in the township — Venice and Castalia. Venice was laid out in 1816 by Major Falley, and improvements went rapidly forward. Two large warehouses, two public houses, stores, shops and dwellings were 492 History of Erie County. rapidly erected, until several hundred inhabitants had collected here. In i8i8 the summer was very sickly and the town ceased to grow, and the growth since has been merely the natural increase of the first settlers. Castalia was laid out in 1836, at the head of Cold Creek, by Davidson, Hadley & Co., and for twenty years had a slow, growth, after which it has retrograded until now it has but a sniall business, and in 1887 a fire destroyed several buildings and cast a gloom over its inhabitants. It has a railway station on the Lake Erie and Western Railroad, also the C. S. and C. R. R. With its railway advantages, its attractions for sporting men, and its quiet health, it should once more put on signs of new life. CHAPTER XXVII. HISTORY OF MILAN TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE. L ying in the southern part of Erie, adjoining Huron county, and crossed diagonally from southwest to northeast by the Huron River, Milan town- ship is one of the most thoroughly drained and richest agricultural sections in Northern Ohio. The eastern and southern portions are sandy in a greater or less degree, and the northern part is a rich black prairie loam. The timber was never as heavy as that in Huron county, but excellent ship timber has been obtained from the woodlands in the vicinity of and far below Milan vil- lage. Even the prairie section is interspersed with groves of small oak trees. Chestnut, hickory, walnut, butternut, elm, sycamore, sassafras, various varieties of oak, and scattering maples comprise the native forest trees, but they are now mainly the second growth of timber. The Huron river occupies a valley nearly a hundred feet below the genera! level, and from eighty rods to a mile in width. The bottom lands lying along this river are very rich, but subject to sudden, and during wet seasons, frequent inundations, that prove very damaging to the young corn and other cereals. This sort of damage has been much more common of late from the fact that the uplands are now so thoroughly drained by artificial means as to conduct the water to the river faster than it can be carried off. The valley of the Hu- ron River is quite picturesque, both above and below Milan village. The banks n above are quite generally precipitous on one side or the other of the river. The shale rock crops out from many of these banks, while the river below in places flows over a solid bed of the same formation. Occasional spheres of sulphite of iron are found imbedded in the river banks, or the banks and beds of creeks flowing into the river. Milan Township. 493 Drippings of sulphur, and also of alum, are found in banks of small streams connected with the Huron River, but none are within the limits of Milan township or Erie county. Below Milan village, about three-fourths of a mile, and on the opposite side of the valley directly at the foot of the North Milan Hill, is a natural gas spring that has been known for many years to send forth an unremitting flow of gas, though the pressure is very light, partly owing, no doubt, to the nature of the underlying rock, which is shale and full of seams and cracks. The gas when lighted sends up a flame from one to three feet in height, depending on the amount of surface covered by the vessel used in concentrat- ing it. Small boys have occasional larks by the light of this natural illumi- nant gathered in a keg with tight sides, no bottom, and a small hole in the top for a jet. To the southeast of Milan, and close to the Huron county line, on the Butman farm is a cold spring of considerable size, at one time believed to possess medicinal properties, which it no doubt does in an equal degree with many others that have built and supported magnificent sanatariums, while Milan has neglected the natural advantages of which she has so many. This township is crossed from east to west by the “ Nickel Plate Railroad,” which divides it in nearly equal parts, and passes over the Huron River on a high trestle at Fries’s Landing, near the lower locks of the old canal. A branch of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad, running from Norwalk to Huron, parallel to the Huron River (and almost as crooked at one time) crosses the township in a northerly direction. The township is crossed by the Sandusky- Milan road running from the village in a northwesterly direction, by two Huron roads, one paralleling the river on the western side, by the Monroeville-Huron road, the Monroeville- Milan road, and by the Cleveland road from Milan eastward. There is also a road running across from Spear’s Corners through Fries’s Landing to Berlin, and numerous others of minor importance in other parts of the township The township is five miles square, and consequently contains sixteen thou- sand acres, all of which lies within the limits of the original P'ireland grant. The appended table will show the amounts lost in Norwalk, Conn., by the original grantees. The values are given in the currency units of the time, and in reducing them to present currency values it will be necessary to take into consideration the then great purchasing power of money. The township was divided for the purpose of distribution into four sections, and all valued at 8.?. od. The claimants or their heirs and assignees received grants of territory in direct ratio to the portion that their losses were of the entire loss ; so while they were not given the full value of their claims in pounds, shillings, and pence, they were doubtless quite as well off as they would have been had the township been appraised at a figure high enough to 63 494 History of Erie County. satisfy the sum of their claims. Guy Richards, et. al., received by purchase inheritance, etc., one-fourth of the whole grant, or at least £1,^44 ys. Sam- uel H ughes, William Mansfield, the heirs of J. Forbes, and the distributing committee received another one-fourth; E. Avery, jr., ^’/ «/., J. Kinsman, J. Short, R. Gallup, B. Trumbull, and Jno. S. Miller, one-fourth, and the re- mainder was taken by S. Harris’s heirs, Jno. S. Miller, Seth Sear’s heirs, the committee and Robert Latham. LOSSES OF ORIGINAL GRANTEES. Aliev, Wm 9 4 Allyn, Philip 9 15 Avery, Rufus 132 18 Barnes, Jno 84 6 Beebe, W 9 9 Beebe,] 236 2 Bird, S 42 2 Bonticon, T., jr 13 8 Brown, S 19 2 Cheels, J 75 u Church, R 52 ii Cunningham, C 125 9 Forbes, J 173 13 Gallup, R II 6 •Gardiner, D 1 1 o Gardinier, T 22 2 Greenough, William 27 14 ■Griswold, M 10 o Hancock, A 140 3 Harris, R 63 o Harris, S 177 7 llempsted, N 7 i Hills, E 16 II Holt, A 18 II Hoy, E I 17 Holtzworth, E 46 8 Hughes, A 37 12 Hutts, J I 5 Johnson, J 13 9 LOSS, d. £■ 5 . d. 4 Ledyard, A 142 7 10 5 i Luddington, E 408 6 7 4 Lyman, D 368 7 8 7 i Mansfield, N .... 3 10 6 8 Mansfield, W .... 47 17 9 6 McEver, J 600 0 0 5 McWilliston, Rev 0 Miles, A 5 8 0 0 Miller, J .... 5,071 17 7 f 6 Minor, E 348 17 4 10 Morrison, A I 0 0 3 Neal, 0 9 ' 14 6 I Oaks, M 19 6 4 6 Pardee, L 3 15 0 0 Painter, E 14 0 0 0 Prentice, A 566 I 6 6 Saltonstall, G 1.440 0 0 0 Saltonstall, R 1,800 0 0 6 Sears, S 13 19 7 0 Shreman, A 29 15 0 5 Short, J 276 14 0 10 Skinner, B 180 0 0 6 Smith, N 9 12 0 2 Stanton, T 0 8 9 0 Stewart, J '3 18 6 0 Tilley,] 1. 533 10 3 5 Whitney, J 158 t6 3 0 Woodward, ]., jr 740 19 1 1 York, H . . 4 4 10 There are numerous pleasant drives in this vicinity, and one may, with an easy carriage and good horse, view as many beautiful little nooks in the vales opening into Huron River valley as perhaps could be found almost anywhere in the West. There is a double charm in the frequent transition from culti- vated fields, flowering orchards, and cosy farmsteads to the wooded slopes that appear so frequently between Milan and Monroeville. A little winding stream that shall be nameless (from force of circumstances), comes down to the river about half way between the towns in a lovely little valley whose curves and Milan Township. 495 f turns, precipitous banks, mossy knolls, and green slopes, mixed in intricate ( combinations of form, would afford a fine subject for the artist’s brush. Indeed it is not uncommon for Eastern men to sketch during summer in these shady vales. Three fine iron bridges span the Huron River in the township — one above, 1 one below, and one directly opposite Milan. The lower two bridges were I built by Erie county, and the upper one by Huron and Erie together. The earliest authenticated occupation of Milan was by the Moravian In- j dians, but there are many earthworks and graves in this vicinity that were so old as to have large trees growing upon them when the first white settlers “ came here in the earliest years of the present century. As early as the year I 1787 Zeisberger, a Moravian missionary, took refuge from hostile Indians with !i his tribe near Fries’s Landing. He built a town there and called it New Sa- I lem, but remained only about six years, when he was compelled to remove fur- : ther south, where he died a few years later. In 1804 Rev. C. F. Dencke, a f Moravian missionary from Canada, established the Indian village of Paynoth- I ing or Pequotting, on the ground where Milan now stands. They remained I here until about 1810, when on account of white immigration they removed to E Canada, never again to return to the banks of the old Huron, on whose bor- 1 ders their huts once stretched in a broken line to a point some three or four f miles below Milan. E. Merry came to Milan in 1811, being but two years later than Jared f Ward, and but one year later than David Abbott, both of whom had settled I at Fries’s Landing, then, and for many years afterward, known as Abbott’s E Crossing and Ward’s Landing. Indeed, these names have stuck through all I these years of development, and though followed by the name county seat I ''* (owing to court being held near there when Huron and Erie counties were one), and by the name of Avery, these old names are not uncommon at the present time among the old settlers of this township. The first officers of Milan (Avery), as far as can be ascertained from data at hand, were elected near Abbott’s, the election being held at the house of J. B. I Flemmond, while Milan was a part of Huron township, before their separation, I which was accomplished in 1820. There was probably no great amount of formality in this election. Jabez Wright and David Abbott were chosen jus- tices ; F. W. Fowler, constable, and Almon Ruggles, recorder. Fort Avery was the seat of Huron county when it embraced all the Fire- lands. The commissioners appointed by the Legislature to fix the county-seat were Solomon Griswold, E. Quimby and S. Clark, neither of whom were resi- dents of the county. The location was made in 181 1, but through some sort of influence a change was made soon after the first term of court was held here. Historians claim that the change was made on account of the trouble experi- enced in securing good drinking water; but this is only an argument in sup- 496 History of Erie County. port of the theory that our forefathers were better judges of the quality of old rye than of water, for the purest and best wells of water from which the writer has ever enjoyed a drink, are in the immediate vicinity on either side of the river. Mixter’s, Hathaway’s, Ristiner’s, Rev. Geo. Bartlett’s, A. Paul’s, Page’s. Ruggle’s, Morgan’s, Sand’s and Fries’s wells contain the very purest water in almost inexhaustible quantities. The first court was held at this point in 1815, when old Huron county was barely organized, and the seat of justice was removed to Norwalk in 1818. There are excellent reasons for thinking it probable that this removal was part of a plan for the aggrandizement and financial success of three of the early pro- prietors of the town of Norwalk. An agreement strengthening this view of the case has already been published, though probably not for the purpose which it has so well accomplished. Fort Avery, on a hill east of the old canal, and not over a mile from the Abbott home, was a military post during the War of 1812. Not a few legends have been told, and one story at least has been written concerning the exciting times that here followed Hull’s surrender of Michigan. Of course the fort lying so near the lake was exposed to attacks from marauding Indians; English pioneers from the surrounding section were sheltered here at different times from the murderous savages. This fort or block house was at all times guarded by United States soldiers in greater or less force during the second war for independence, but its accommodations were quite insufficient at times for those seeking the shelter of its walls. A guard named Seymour, was shot here by Indians, and his comrade taken prisoner while they were out felling a bee-tree to break up the monotony of camp life, and vary in a slight degree the sameness of camp diet. The first military company on the Western Reserve was probably organized here. The elder E. Merry who afterward became founder of (Beatty) Milan, oc- cupied this block-house with his family and others during the war. Their house warmings and New Year’s da}^ festivities were the delight of the young and old of neighboring families ; Jared Ward, Thomas Jeffry, Hosmer Merry and others participating with zeal. These people all kept their boats, for though emigration in those days was comparatively tedious, the advantages of travel by water were very great. Time, indeed, was of little account as compared with immunity from savage attack, land fevers, and the weariness occasioned by passing in any accessible vehicle. Railroads were of course unknown here, as in other parts of the world, and good wagon roads were almost unheard of. The Abbotts owned at one time eighteen hundred acres of land near Fort Avery, and were widely known and respected. The venturesome and sell- reliant spirit of those times is very clearly set forth in a little story repeated among the Fireland sketches, with the sanction of witnesses who are regarded as entirely reliable. It seems that the Abbotts and Wards each had cows in Milan Township. 497 considerable numbers, and it was a custom of the young people to bring their large butter tubs to the river for cleansing or other purposes. On one occa- sion Miss Lucy Abbott actually climbed into one of these butter tubs and pad- died it across the river, which is about fifteen feet deep, with her hands. This exploit was not more daring than the ride of a pioneer young lady across the same stream on the back of an ox, and was probably only one of many such frolics suggested by the vigorous health and buoyant spirits of the bright, buxom backwoods maidens of this time and section. Mr. Ward, it is said, had a dug- out. or log canoe, fifty feet long. His kind and honored son, Elam Ward, who in those days helped propel it, still tells the story of his rugged experiences to neighbors in East Milan, where he now resides. This point on the river is of peculiar interest from the fact that it is the nat- ural head of navigation, is the place first settled in the township, and the scene of the first and latest operations in ship-building, which will be discussed at the proper time in this article. The village of Beatty (Milan) was laid out in 1814, by E. Merry, father of E. Merry, jr., residing in Milan until the time of his death in 1888, and of Elizabeth, who resided with her brother. In 1816 Mr. Merry with J. C. Smith I and Isaac Tupper began erecting a saw and grist-mill near town; the former, who was a large land owner and a man of considerable enterprise, bought out his partners before the mill was completed, and finishing it alone, operated it for some time to the satisfaction of residents for miles around. In iSipMr. F.W. Fowler, to whom we are indebted for many facts mentioned in this sketch, re- moved to Milan village from Abbotts, and in 1820 he opened a public house which accommodated boarders up to 1842. In 1823-1827 the mouth of Huron River was improved by subscription and governmental aid. In 1827-1828 B. N. Abbott built the schooner Mary Abbott, at the home of the family on the river. In 1829 he made a prosperous voyage to New York City via Huron River, Fake Erie, the Erie Canal and the Hudson River, j disposing of a load of Ohio produce, and purchasing a cargo of goods needed in \ the West, he returned in safety to his home. H. N. Jenkins built the schooner i'l Louisa Jenkins, across the river at about the same time, but he confined his \ navigating expeditions to the river and Lake Erie. i A charter was granted the Milan Canal Company, which in 1828 proposed ] to dig a canal some three or four miles long, so that the village might be j reached by such sailing craft as had been navigating the river up to Ward’s I Landing and Abbotts. E. Merry, Ralph Lockwood, George Lockwood, T. j Baker and J. Wright were named in the charter as commissioners to open i books for subscriptions to the stock. The subscribers assembled at the home i of F. W. Fowler on August 27, 1831, and elected the following directors: E. i Merry, E. Andrews, George Eockwood, D. Hamilton and F. W. Fowler. ! Work was begun on the canal in 1832, and completed, after numerous delays 498 History of Erie County. and discouragements, in 1839. This artificial water way was considered of vast importance at that time, as indeed it was from the fact that there were no rail- roads, and it afforded an outlet for immense quantities of grain. It cost Milan a great deal, however, in later years, when it made her citizens too independent to even allow the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad the right of way through the town, and that great commercial thoroughfare passed four miles to the south through the then comparatively unimportant village of Norwalk. The organization of the old canal company is still continued for the pur- pose of holding the charter privileges for the W. and L. E. R. R. Co.’s right of way, but it is many years since the old canal bed would float even a row boat, except in times of freshet, when the river overflows its banks. The first vessel to arrive at Milan by the canal was quite a curiosity to the people, and its captain as great a hero as the proudest heart could wish. Captain Moran was the bold navigator, and his schooner, the Keivanne, of one hundred and fifty tons, arriving on the 4th of July, 1839, was met by a procession of five hundred people with music and banners, and her captain was presented with an American flag by Miss Maria Butman, acting for the patriotic ladies of Milan. With the opening of the canal Milan at once became almost as well off in commercial interests as if she had been a lake port, indeed in the matters of se- curing the grain of the interior, and lumber for ship building, there was an evi- dent advantage in lying some eight or nine miles from the lake. A scheme to connect Milan with Columbus, by a railroad from the head of the canal through Norwalk and other villages, was inaugurated at about the time the old Mad River Railroad was built, but for some unaccountable reason the project fell through. Soon after the canal was finished the enterprising citizens of Milan began active steps in the direction of permanent improvements and substantial busi- ness projects. Warehouses were erected along the upper canal basin, and the buyers of grain were rewarded with a trade that covered a section reaching in a southerly direction for over a hundred miles. Great covered wagons, drawn by four or more horses, came in trains to town, and Milan held the greater part of their trade, though at times considerable numbers of the farmers passed on down the river to Huron, in anticipation of a higher price for their grain. The canal gave quite an impetus to ship building as well as commerce. The fine white oak timber in the vicinity was utilized for this purpose by nu- merous builders, at their yards on either side of the basin, below the hill on which the village stands. J. P. Gay was among the first prominent builders, constructing a number of government sailing boats previous to the civil war. E. Merr}^ was at one time connected with this firm under the title of Merry & Gay, but they were unfortunate in their contracts and the business was sus- pended. Henry Kelley, for many years a prominent and public-spirited citi- zen of Milan, owned a ship-yard at the foot of the ridge on which the resi- Milan Township. 499 dence of J. C. Lockwood now stands. Captain Kelley has since erected a fine brick business block in Milan, and improved several farms in the vicinity, be- sides beautifying his house and grounds in the village. For many years he has acted as a member of the council, and was at one time an honored com- missioner of Erie county. His respected wife, Betsey Kelley, died in Milan in 1888. A son, Frank H. Kelley, is at present a resident of the village, owning and managing a farm about a mile east of town. J. C. Lockwood, one of the oldest and most highly respected citizens of Milan, was at one time connected with the ship-building interests here, and was for many years in the general mercantile trade. The latter business was afterward transferred to his nephews, Frank C. Smith and R. M. Lockwood, who now conduct it very successfully at the old corner, directly at the top of the hill where the Sandusky road enters the village. The Milan Banking Company represents J. C. Lockwood and Lucius Stod- dard, the latter for years a confidential clerk, and afterward a partner with Mr. Lockwood. Mr. Stoddard is cashier of the bank, and Mr. Lockwood its presi- dent. The latter gentleman is still a very large real estate and ship owner. Mr. Stoddard possesses considerable capital. Among the first and last ship- builders is Valentine Fries, a self-made man, who came to Milan about the year 1849, and began the grocery business in a small way. Careful attention to the details of his business, and steady, hard work, together with the strict- est integrity, gave Mr. Fries the necessary means to enlarge his business, and to invest a limited amount of money in vessel property. The time was op- portune, and he soon saw his means increasing rapidly. Taking the hint promptly he increased his marine investments. In the seventies and eighties he built at Fries’s Landing (formerly called Wards and Abbotts), several of the largest and finest sailing vessels on the lakes, including the Marion Page, the Golden Age, etc. He also built the steam barge Charles Foster, all of which, with other valuable vessels, he still owns. Mr. Fries was very active, as trustee of the township, in bringing about the graveling of the flats north of Milan, an improvement that has been a very great benefit to farmers on that side of the town from the fact that the roads prior to this improvement were next to impassable every spring and fall, for several weeks. Never a suave man, but always outspoken and vigorous, the subject of this sketch has strong personal friends, and such enemies as he may have made must grant the respect that such a character always commands. Mr. Fries owns numerous farms, one of which, the old William Blake place, in North Milan, he was fitting up for a home when the loss of his wife led to a change of plan, and he has since lived at the now deserted ship-yard, and at a farm lying a mile or two east of Abbott’s Bridge. Milan township and village have always been noted for the intelligence of the people, and the strength of their religious organizations, as well as for the 500 History of Erie County. general and early interest taken in popular education. The Presbyterian Church of the present was organized at Spear’s Corners, in i8i8, under the name of the First Congregational Church of Huron, Rev. W. Williams and Alvin Coe, of Connecticut, presiding. The first members of the church were William Spears and wife, Gilbert Sexton and wife, Mrs. Eleanor Adams and her sons, William and Philo. Meetings were held alternately at the residences of S. Adams and Mr. Spears, for some time. The settlement in this section of the township was quite flourishing in an early day, but increasing population and business at Milan led to the removal of the church to that town. In 1824 H. Buckingham and J. Demund were elected deacons of the church, which was changed in 1825 to a Presbyterian organization, and William Spears, J. Demund and D. Everett elected ruling elders. There were but thirty-seven members at this time, but in 1829 the Rev. E. Judson inaugurated a revival that led to a great many accessions. The church was incorporated in 1828, and a substantial church edifice was completed in 1837, by contributions of work and material. In an early day services were conducted by the following named gentlemen : Revs. A. Coe, C. Pitkin, J. Seward, A. H. Betts, William Sanford and J. Treat. The second regular pastor was Rev. T. L. Shipman (Rev. L. B. Sullivan having officiated in the Spears neighborhood). The suc- cession that followed Rev. Shipman was Revs. J. S. Demund, W. M. Adams, E. Judson, N. Barrett, J. M. Hayes, A. Hartpence, J. H. Walter and the able young pastor. Rev. W. L. Swan, recently called to Warren, O. The longest I ministry was that of Rev. Walter, who began his work in 1855, and con- tinued in the service nearly thirty years, when he removed to a charge in the suburbs of Cincinnati. He was an able and beloved pastor, and left many ' warm friends behind when he departed for his new field of labor. The place j of worship was burned in the spring of 1888, and worship then begun in the ( beautiful little chapel erected in 1887, by J. C. Lockwood. 1 The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1830, and the church S building was erected in 1845. It has always been fortunate in the pastors as- !| signed, and has had a membership that, though never large, has always been li drawn from a very intellectual portion of the community. The church build- [ ing stands at the west side of the town on Church street. It is a modest little j structure, but very tastefully painted within and quite well calculated to ac- t commodate the usual number in attendance. It was remodeled to some extent (| and greatly improved through the efforts of Mrs. J. C. Lockwood, in 1888. ; This church began work in the Jeffrey neighborhood long before the establish- ment of a regular society at Milan, indeed it is probable that they were at work there before Milan was of any account as a town. Revs. Gurley, Mun- ger, McIntyre and Tillotson were among the first to minister to this denomi- nation in Milan township. Among the later pastors are the Reverends Jewett, Gallimore and Wuestenberg, the present popular occupant of the pulpit. Milan Township. 501 The St. Luke’s Episcopal Society was organized here in 1846, and a church was erected in 1847, but twenty years later the building was destroyed by fire, and the present edifice was afterward erected on the same lot on Main street. The society of late years has not enjoyed the privilege of regular services from year to year, though at diffierent times considerable regularity has been maintained, and it is hoped that they have now established permanent ser- vices. A handsome and commodious Roman Catholic Church was built on Main street, further south, in 1866, and a very strong society has gathered from the village and adjoining farms. Among the pillars of the church are A. Fisher, J. H. Kellar, C. Stein, H. Halpin and others. Rev. Goecke is the present priest. Most of the reverend fathers of this congregation have been very highly esteemed by the citizens generally, as well as by their own people. This concludes the list of churches in the village, but a German Reform Lu- theran Church is located at Union Corners, in the northwestern part of the township. This church has a very large congregation, representing some of the best people of the prairie region described in the first lines of this article. The pulpit is usually supplied from Norwalk. The Friends, or Quakers, have a tasty little church at Homer Page’s Cor- ners, above Fries’s Landing, which accommodates quite a number of the people in that vicinity. This church was erected largely through the efforts of Peter and Dorexa Hathaway, Peter Hathaway, jr, Mr. and Mrs. T. B. Eddy, John Everingham, the Rosekelleys, V. Fries. Homer Page and wife, John Bal- cam, the Rickards, A. Paul, A. Ruggles, Benjamin Wilcox, Calvin Gwin, C. Parker, Mrs. George .Eddy, Mr. and Mrs W. H. Eddy, Mrs. Carleton Bailey and many others whose names are not accessible at this time, but to whom the church and community will ever owe a debt of gratitude for their timely aid. Mrs. Alida Romick, the eloquent evangelist from southeastern Ohio, preached the dedication sermon, and has rendered the church much subse- quent service. Revs. George Bartlett, Charles Sweet and William Nicholson, all able, earnest Christian ministers, have from time to time given their valuable services to this congregation. Rev. Bartlett is at present conducting the ser- vices ; he was married in 1888 to Miss Mary Ann Rosekelley of Huron, who is an estimable lady and a strong assistant in the work ; Rev. Nicholson is labor- ing for a little flock in Sandusky, and Rev. Sweet is located in New York. Unlike those of many other denominations the Friends’ ministers find theirsup- port mainly from business enterprises, and instead of set sermons on the Sab- bath deliver extemporaneous addresses suggested by readings from the Bible. As before remarked popular education received early and substantial atten- tion. A private school was supported in the Abbott neighborhood at a very early day; Miss Gilbert from Newburg was the teacher, but like many a later 64 502 History of Erie County. follower of that noble profession, she left the work to brighten the home of a prominent professional man, Dr. Goodwin. In 1817 a school-house was built at Spear’s Corners, and Marshall Miller wielded the birch there with eminent success for some time. At Milan village, two years later. Miss Susie Williams opened the first school taught there, in a new barn owned by Squire Merry. The second school-house in the township was erected on the Eagle Tavern corner (East Church street and the public square), where the rebuilded town hall now stands. In 1824 the old yellow school-house was built on West Church street, after- wards removed to Center street, and finally, with the other small school build- ings, converted into the Cooper business block at the top of the hill. When the present school system was inaugurated in 1849, Milan wa,s prompt to avail herself of its privileges, not however without considerable de- bate and attendant excitement. The members of the first school board, and Allen Bartow, who still resides in North Milan, were strong advocates of the cause of general education. The latter, a young mechanic at the time, made his maiden speech defending it in reply to a then moneyed citizen, since some- what unfortunate in business. The merchant has, however, for years, been an ardent friend of education and free educational institutions. The old brick school building on South Center street was erected the year after the enabling law was passed, and was one of the most substantial and convenient public school buildings of its time to be found in the State. The present fine and beautiful structure was built in 1884, at a cost of over twenty thousand dollars. It is of brick, trimmed in sandstone, is in the form of a cross, and has all the modern conveniences. It is well lighted, and the architecture is very fine. The lot extending across from Center street to Main is well graded, and forms quite an ample play- ground for the number of pupils, usually attending. The teaching corps in 1888 was J. R. Sherman, superinten- dent and high school principal; Miss Annie Bassett, A and B grammar school teacher ; Miss Hattie Markham, A and B primary; Miss Retta Traub, C and D primary. The schools are in a flourishing condition. The first school board, elected in 1849, was composed of the following named men, prominent at the time in local affairs, and in several instances becoming ciuite widely known in business enterprises at other points in the State; Daniel Hamilton, J. H. Kenned}/-, George Barney, Hiram McMillan, S. F". Taylor and Harry Chase. The first superintendent employed was C. F. Royce. Huron Institute . — This institution of learning is located near the south end of Seminary street, adjoining the cemetery, and was incorporated in 1832. The first principal was Rev. E. Barber, and his first class of six pupils was conducted in the office of Squire J. Smith. By means of some four thousand dollars, half of which was subscribed by Milan citizens, the present brick structure was erect- Milan Township. 503 •ed before the close of the year 1832, and the class increased very rapidly until at the close of that year there was an enrollment of forty-six gentlemen and forty-four ladies. Henry Ballentine, who afterward became a missionary to India, was assistant principal at first, but he was soon succeeded by B. Judson, who was assisted in the work by Mrs. E. A. Hubbard and Mrs. C. Stuart. Mr. S. C. Hickok succeeded Principal Barber in 1835. Mr. Hickok was fol- lowed in 1 843 by H.W.Williams, and he in 1848 by Rev. L. Bliss. In 1850T. S. Bradley became principal, and between this and 1858 N. Barrows, D. Sayles and J. McKee were respectively at the head of the institution. Rev. AsaBrainard and Prof. Samuel F. Newman leased the building and estab- lished the Western Reserve Normal School in 1850. This school was a decided success, and a very great benefit to the people of the village, as its reputation became so good under the joint management of these gentlemen, and the subse- quent management of Mr. Newman alone, that students, and even residents, were brought to Milan from great distances to secure the benefits of the cul- ture which it offered at a merely nominal cost. To the energetic and scholarly efforts of Prof Newman, the writer most cheerfully credits what little subse- quent success has crowned his efforts in the profession, and no doubt very many others whose success in life has been eminently more marked, would as cheerfully add their testimony had they the opportunity so to do. Miss Delia Palmer, in 1871, took charge of the Normal, and was very suc- cessfully assisted in her efforts by Prof Charles Williams, a gentleman of fine social qualities and of scholarly attainments, since deceased, as is also his asso- ciate in the work, the beloved and successful lady already named. Miss Pal- mer conducted the school alone after the first year or so, until it was leased for a year or two by Prof Lawrence, and afterward came under the management ■of Prof B. B. Hall, the present principal. It is no flattery to say that Mr. Hall is a school man of the broadest experience, having been engaged for years in both public and private school work, he has a thorough knowledge of the needs of teachers in their profession. To prepare them for this work is the principal business of the school, although it has also an excellent business course, and furnishes facilities for literary and scientific culture of no mean order. This institution has varied in attendance from fifty to nearly two hundred. Its palmiest days, up to the present time, were between 1865 and 1875, but the attendance has never been worthy of the management nor of the gener- ous spirit of the Presbyterian society which erected it, has ever kept it in repair, leased it at a nominal rental, and assumed a deep interest in the char- acter of the school, as well as of those by whom it has been conducted from time to time. Alma tnater, if my pen Seems to speak as flatterer’s tongue, Bear with him who views again Dear, familiar scenes, when young. 504 History of Erie County. Reader, if a cynic’s smile Seek to circle o’er your face, Think of youth, return once more To some old familiar place ; Then condemn me, if you will. I’ll praise my alma mater still. And honor, with a childish pride. Those who recited at my side. Grand Army of the Republic . — Cranston Post No. 73. This Post was organ- ized in 1881, with the following named officers and charter members: H. N. Shipman, C. ; John P. Mowry, S. V. C. ; M. K. Lee, J. V. C. ; J. C. Fitch, adjutant; P. A. Gordon, surgeon; C. H. Wilson, chaplain; John A. McLain, Q. M. ; T. J. Oleary, O. D.; W. H. Bemis, O. C. ; Silas Brown, S. M. ; J. Eggleston,, O. M. S. ; A. Foreman, J. C. Bartow, William Eastman, William P. Poole, and J. Harble. A Woman’s Relief Corps was organized in the spring of 1888, with the following ladies as charter members : Mrs. Emma Elliot, Mrs. Lucinda Calla- nan, Mrs. Mary Gordon, Mrs. Emma Shupe, Mrs. Kate Luff, Mrs. Louisa Eg- gleston, Mrs. Fidelia McLain, Mrs. Rebecca Schaeffer, Mrs. Elizabeth Bassett, Mrs. Louisa Burch, Mrs. Julia Roscoe, Mrs. Helen Roscoe, Mrs. Sarah Oakley,. Mrs. Sarah Marsh, Mrs. Alice Roscoe, Mrs. Mary Brown, Miss Eliza Schaeffer, Miss Annie Bassett, and Miss Lizzie Bassett. Secret Societies . — Free Masonry was introduced into Milan in 1853, Erie Lodge, F. and A. M., being established in that year, with the following char- ter members: S. F. Taylor, John Smith, D. Mills, R. S. Nash, John McIntyre, Charles Bradley, Lyman P'ay, John Honsinger, and John Stevens. Milan Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, was chartered in 1872, with the fol- lowing members: Dr. E. L. Perry, John W. Sisty, Castleton Roscoe, Darwin Fay, William Lewis, J. F. Webster, P. P. Parker, A. Youman, S. Hollister, George A. Kline, and J. S. Felton. These lodges are at present in a very thriving condition, and include in their membership many of the older and most honored citizens of the village and surrounding country. Odd Fellowship was inaugurated here at an early day. Probably no man in the vicinity was more active in this fraternity in those days, and for years afterward, than Mr. Mann. Thomas C McEwen, now a resident of Sandusky, installed Milan Lodge No. 105, in the spring of 1848, and the lodge flourished for many years, but meetings were subsequently discontinued. The cause as- signed for the failure of the lodge is the enlistment of a large number of its members in the United States service during the civil war. The present society is styled Marks Lodge, No. 717, being named in honor of Rev. Marks, so long an Episcopalian minister at Huron, O., and an Odd Fellow of high standing. This lodge was installed in the fall of 1882, by Grand Master J. Burket, of Findlay, O. The charter members were F. H. Weaver, S. G. Saunders, P. J. Slocum, J. Eggleston, R. Croft, H. L. Wilson, and D. J. i Milan Township. 505 Wilcoxson. The lodge now meets regularly on Monday nights at its pleasant and spacious hall over the Milan Bank. There is at present a lodge member- ship of about thirty, which is not bad, considering the size of the town, and the recency of its organization. Business Biterests . — Among the earliest business establishments, none were of more value to the town than Mr. Merry’s mill. People came for miles to secure its services, and in many cases the rush was so great that parties were compelled to remain several days awaiting their “ turn at the wheel,” as it were. This fact, with the great influx of prospectors, and the great number of farmers from the South (sometimes as high as five or six hundred in a sin- gle day), led to the erection of numerous hotels, the first of which was that of Mr. Fowler, already mentioned. The old Eagle Tavern was built in 1824, on the present town hall lot, and was a very commodious structure for its time. It was burned in the seventies. The Knowlton Block, adjoining the present bank building, was at one time used as a hotel, and numerous other buildings served their time in the same capacity. On the brow of the North Milan hill stands a large hotel building, erected in 1835 by Plazen Horner, and for many years patronized extensively by the people driving to Huron from the south, as well as by local parties. A fine dancing hall, erected to accommodate a demand of the times, was patronized for years, but burned to the ground soon after the close of the civil war. The Horner Hotel had a very lively rival in that of Mr. Ansel Page at Bailey’s Corners, where John Everingham and family and Widow Bailey now reside. George Supner also came in for a share of the patronage during the stirring times between 1835 and 1850. Messrs. Horner and Page raised very large families, and their descendants may be found among the active business men and cultured ladies of several States besides Ohio. The old distillery, built in 1819 by Mason & Mears, created a market for grain and hogs that continued until it was burned some years ago. J. M. Choate erected a carding-mill in 1821, and started the business which is at present the carding and woolen-mill of J. Brown, enjoying so wide a reputation for substantial goods. About the same time N. Standart opened a general store, and Ralph and George Lockwood opened a store very soon after. The latter business afterward became the well-known house of F., G. and R. Lockwood, now Ralph Lockwood, No. 2 Lockwood Block. Lrank Lockwood, formerly of this firm, and very active in securing the W. and L. E. R. R., is considered one of the best accountants in Ohio. R. Lockwood,, sr., was the first postmaster of Milan, called at the time Merry’s Mills, in honor of the proprietor. Squire Merry. H. Lockwood began the hat manufacturing business here in 1824, and conducted it with varying su.ccess for some time. The first Lockwood Block was a frame building and was built in 1827, 5o6 History of Erie County. but burned some years later, and the present brick block was erected in its place. Looking to-day at the quiet, peaceful old village, with its abundance of time for recreation and rest, with its beautiful drives, picturesque park, and general air of comfort and freedom from care concerning the world of business, it seems difficult to realize that in a single day thirty to forty thousand bushels of grain have been loaded at its wharf ; that the old canal in a single year paid over a hundred thousand dollars in tolls; and that there was an export trade of $825,000 in one year (1844), and an import trade of but two hundred thou- sand dollars less. Prior to the War of 1812 there were about one hundred and ninety people in Milan township. F. W. Fowler gives the names of heads of families at that time as follows: Hosmer Merry, R. Pixley, G. Harvey, in section one; David Abbott, D. Barrett, J. Ward, E. Pollock, J. Leach, N. Glines, A. Mason, and A. Collins, in section two; T. Jeffry, Josiah Smith, William Smith, P. Tillot- son, George Colvin, D. Kinney, E. Kinney, S. Kinney, and D. Smith, in sec- tion three; section four containing the families of C. Parker, W. Perry,}. Payne, W, Hubbard, J. Guthrie, William Howard, A. Wilson, and John El- dridge. The war, as stated, annoyed the early settlers, and when Hull’s paroled troops were returning home, a great panic was created here and throughout the Firelands by the report of red-coats in force on the lake shore. Many families came into this section from 1830 to 1850, whose descendants form the stauirch farmers and business men of the present time. The popula- tion of the township and corporate village was 2,239 '''* 1880. The corpora- tion limits, which were established in 1833, have never been extended, though an effort was made a few years ago to extend the lines to include Avery Station on the “Nickel Plate Railroad.” The town has contained, from 1850 to the present time, about twelve or thirteen hundred people, but the corporation contained only a few more than eight hundred in 1880. School facilities are furnished to many outside the corporation, as the special district limits extend much further in some directions. Among the present active business houses of Milan are A. Streck’s meat market, the Lockwood stores already mentioned, A. P. Mowry & Son’s hard- ware, which was established many years ago, but is still abreast of the times in all respects, M. Harter’s old and well established drug trade, the old reliable merchant tailoring establishment of Henry Kurtz, Star Flour Mills, for a con- siderable time operated by William Winslow and L. Roscoe, and Samuel Fish & Son, who succeeded to the old Turner Tile Factory in East Milan, and have per- fected the machinery and reduced the manufacture of drain-tile and plant-pots to a science, making the smoothest and most durable quality of each. Their business has justified the erection of substantial factory buildings, as well as of tasty and comfortable homes on their pleasant lots above the picturesque Milan Township. 507 Village Creek Valley. Among professional men are Dr. A. B. Storch, well established here, but about settling in Florida ; E. L. Perry, dentist, (a descendant of Commodore O. H. Perry,) has been a remarkably successful practitioner here for a great many years, receiving patronage from surround- ing towns, and even from Sandusky and Toledo; Dr. P. A. Gordon, formerly a United States surgeon, a man who has traveled extensively and enjoyed the thorough culture and varied experiences that produce broad views as well as professional skill ; Dr. W. J. Esch, another allopathist, is an energetic young man, of broad views, fine education, and had an extensive practice, which he left recently to take charge of his deceased father’s practice in Cleveland ; Dr. Simmons, the homeopathist, has a very large practice among the patrons of this “school”; W. B. Starbird, a rising young attorney, has a very large law, practice in Erie and other Northern Ohio counties; Attorney H. N. Shipman, an old resident, is a man of some ability. Among the more recent establish- ments may be found A. H. Case’s model drug store; Minor Curtis & Son, machine headquarters for several States in certain engines and threshers ; William Eastman’s fine grocery; O. Bassett & Son’s “Common Sense Grocery,” with Louis Cline’s Park Hotel, erected in 1880, but burned in 1888, and Bert Dixon’s new clothing store. The Stoakes’s automatic pen factory, and the A. J. Mowry & Co.’s spoke factory, with the comparatively new but improving ax-helve factory of Milo McCrillis, no doubt have each a trade extending over as wide a territory as that of many a larger establishment in our manufacturing cities. A. J. Mowry is entitled to great credit for the energy manifested in keeping up manufacturing interests here, and of J. W. Stoakes we shall have occasion to speak later on. B. Ashley’s jewelry and repair store was for many years (nearly half a century) a landmark on the south side of the square. Mr. Ashley has long been a pillar of the Presbyterian Church, like Dr. Stuart, A. P. Mowry, L. Stowe, C. Gwin, P. Comstock, Mrs. J. D. Smith, Mrs. Prank Lockwood, J. C. Lockwood, Mrs. E. Andrews, Dr. Galpin, Harriet Gordon, John Sisty, Judge Taylor, Squire Fay, Dr. Storch, H. Horner, Squire Emmons, A. S. Case, W. Winslow, and others working in the interests of the church without expecta- tion of earthly reward. Mr. J. C. Lockwood has recently erected a lovely little brick chapel for the Sunday-school at a cost exceeding three thousand dollars. F. H. Weaver has a jewelry establishment in the new S. A. Lockwood block, on the west side of the Public Square. It is quite new and up to the times in its management and appointments. Olson’s carriage shop and Coop- er’s general repair and exchange establishment are also institutions of value to the business interests of the village. Among the old families whose names have not come into our article as yet, we mention ’from a somewhat faulty memory, the families of Kneeland Townsend, Carlos Colton, Joseph Hongh, Charles Edridge, Judson Perrin, William Daniels, D. Dimon, William Dimon, 5o8 History of Erie County. William Raynor, Dr. Renner, Squire Emmons, Captain Dean, Henry Pen- field, H. Stoddard, William Mackey, H. McMillen, Captain Hicks, Captain Coulter, Squire Burt, O. Ruggles, the Roots, Hawleys, Lowrys, Roscoes, Fays, Minards, Richards, Gibbs, Roberts, Schaeffers, Williams and Daleys. There are others whose names are equally prominent in the development of the town and township. Milan has furnished a goodly number of men whose active brains and untiring energy have made them famous in a greater or less degree. T. A. Edison, the celebrated electrician, must lead the list. This remarkable inventor was born in Milan in 1847 i his sister, Mrs. H. Page, living at Page’s Corners, down the Huron River, remembers well when she carried him in her arms a sickly child. A beautiful and costly memorial to his mother, in the shape of a window in the Presbyterian Church, was erected by Mr. Edison, but was destroyed with the church in the fire of 1888. Zenus King, the famous inventor of the iron suspension bridge, which bears his name, was at one time a resident of Milan. J. W. Stoakes, the inventor of the Stoakes’s automatic shading pen, which produces a broad line of several dif- ferent tints at a single stroke, and has attracted very wide attention, is an old Milan boy, recently returned to his native village, where he has established a factory and is doing an extensive and increasing business in making and ship- ping these pens. Dr. P. A. Gordon, only son of Robert Gordon, was a surgeon in the United States army during the Rebellion, and has since had as large a practice as he could attend to in and around Milan. Recently the doctor, who was always of an inventive turn of mind, has completed, among other things, a nut lock, of a very simple and durable nature, that is finding great favor among manu- facturers as its merits become known. Newspapers. — Among the earliest newspapers of Erie county was the Milan Free Press, which was conducted for some time by W. Jenkins, and the Tribune, established in 1848 by Clark Waggoner, who was afterward connected promi- nently with the Toledo Commercial. Other papers have flourished from time to time, notably the Milan Bugle, recently sold by its editor, S. D. Brady, to the Milan Adiiertiser, which is at present edited by a prominent young at- torney, W. B. Starbird, and has been published by Messrs. Pratt, Balsley, and Gibbs, in succession since 1868, when it was established by Mr. Pratt and others Milan village, since its incorporation in 1833, has been presided over by the following named mayors: John Smith, Richard Burt, John Smith, S. F. Taylor, T. R. Hopkins, E. B. Atherton, J. J. Penfield, L. Galpin, A. Page, George Dimon, V. Fries, Darwin Fay, W. E. Lockwood, Dr. E. L. Perry, J„ W. Stoakes, Dr. E. L. Perry, and the present incumbent, J. W. Stoakes. Though Milan, as a town, has missed its possibilities of growth and devel- opment, it is still a lovely place of residence, and its people appreciate the Oxford Township. 509 attractions which it offers in the way of educational facilities and social re- lations. A disastrous fire in 1888 swept the south side of the public square and East Church street, destroying the Presbyterian church, the town hall, Cline’s Hotel, and two business blocks. The work of rebuilding is rapidly progress- ing. The town hall and business blocks are nearly completed, and Louis Cline is erecting a fine brick hotel in place of his Park House, so justly popu- lar with traveling men before the fire. Will Blair, his genial son-in-law, will still continue as clerk. Provision is being made against the recurrence ©f a destructive conflagration by the introduction of a system of water works. Let us hope that there may never be an occasion for testing their power amid such terrifying scenes as accompanied the last disastrous fire. OWNSHIP number five, in range twenty-three, is bounded on the north by Perkins, on the south by Ridgefield, east by Milan, and west by Groton. Its general aspect is not unlike those adjoining, being level, and diver- sified with three streams of water, the largest of which is the Huron River. This flows through the southeast corner of the township from the west, and passes through the corner of it on its way to Lake Erie. Pipe Creek and Crab Apple Creek are the only streams, beside the Huron River, in this town- ship, and the latter empties into it. The township was first colonized in the month of February, 1810, by six families from Conneaut, Erie county. Pa. These early settlers were Jonathan Sprague, an old man who had served in the army of the Revolution as lieutenant. He built a cabin on the east bank of Pipe Creek, a quarter of a mile from Bloomingville. His son’s family and three families of Dunhams settled between him and the present Bloom- ingville, and Linas Ensign settled a mile southwest of Bloomingville, on the farm occupied by John Paxton. In the month of July of the same year Thomas James and James P'orsyth moved into the township. During that fall three others (named Nathan, Standish, and Wood) came, and were followed the next year by Thomas Hamilton, Dr. Hastings, John Dillingham, and Samuel McGill. The survey of the township was made by Jabez Wright and Almon Rug- gles, assisted by Benjamin Drake as chain bearer, in 1810, and throughout the year there were large accessions to the township, but the following year this was checked by war with Great Britain and the cowardly surrender of the CHAPTER XXVIII. HISTORY OF OXFORD TOWNSHIP. 65 History of Erie County. 510 traitor Hull at Detroit, leaving the scattered settlements of Northwestern Ohio exposed to the depredations of the Indians. The panic among the settlers became so great that many of them fled to older settlements for safety. The greater part of those who fled went to Mansfield, conveying their household goods aud families on horseback and in wagons. VVe cannot picture the dis- comforts of that time with fear, sickness and suffering on every side. Fever and ague was almost as bad as the Indians, and the women and children suf- fered greatly by exposure during their journey. Those who remained behind proceeded at once to build a block-house for their protection in Bloomingville, and later a second one was built near it, and both enclosed with pickets as a better method of general protection. After this, until the close of the wap there were few additions to the settlement in Oxford. In an account written by F. D. Drake, whose father was prominently identified with the new country, is found a graphic description of those early days, from which the following extracts are taken ; “ On the 1 6th of April, 1815, my father and his family, consisting ol mother and four boys, left Erie, Pa., for our future home in Oxford township, where we arrived the 4th of May, having performed the journey of one hundred and sixty miles in nineteen days. My father had provided himself with a span of fine horses, a light wagon covered with linen stretched over hoops. All heav)^ articles were left to be forwarded by water to the mouth of the Huron. The road was so bad that, with the addition of a yoke of oxen which my father pur- chased in Cleveland to hitch ahead of the horses in bad places, we were unable to travel more than six or eight or ten miles a day.” He proceeds to describe the process of making new roads, cutting under- brush, laying a corduroy through marshy places, and at length tells of his ar- rival at their journey’s end : “ We stayed at Jabez Wright’s, who lived at that time on the west side of Huron River, about a mile from its mouth. He was surveyor and land agent. He was afterwards an associate judge of Huron county. His house was crowded that night with settlers on business connected with a sale of lands. Among the number was Major Joseph Strong, the first permanent settler of Eyme township. The major and my father had been neighbors in New York State, and as every vestige of a road had disappeared, he volunteered to guide us to his house. We started early next morning, the major ahead on horse- back as advanced picket, the team following; and the three boys, driving the oxen, bringing up the rear.” He then continues to give us the details of that eventful journey, of his impressions of the broad prairies, covered with tall grass of the brightest green, and their first trials as pioneers. There was little or no money in circulation in those days. A man might raise large amounts of grain, and own large numbers of cattle, and still not be able to raise money to pay his taxes. To Oxford Township. 511 borrow a dollar or even fifty cents was almost an impossibility, and whoever had it was looked upon as a rich man. In 1817 a man named Charles Lind- say moved from Dayton to near the head of Cold Creek, and having been con- nected with a wild cat bank in Dayton, he suggested to some of the most in- fluential men that they might start a bank at Bloomingville. It was just what they wanted, and a public meeting was called, and attended by most of the men of the township. It was resolved at once that a bank be established, and Abner Young should be president, and Charles Lindsay, cashier. The necessary amount was subscribed, and Lindsay was employed to go to Cincinnati to get the bills struck off, and attend the Legislature and get a charter. While he was gone, some of the others erected a banking house, which is still standing. Lindsay promised everything necessary to do a bogus banking business, except a charter. The Legislature was not doing that kind of business, and the thing was no go. A sale was therefore made, and Major Faley bought the banking house, and Shirley and Youngs bought the balance of assets, consisting of notes, plates, etc. Early troubles came to the settlers in many forms, and perhaps none was more distressing than the milk sickness that affected the cattle. It came sim- ultaneously with the attempt to have a bank, and the cause of it to this day remains a mystery. There are still places in our country where this is common, and the United States has offered a generbus reward of many thousand dollars to whoever discovers the secret cause of its prevalence. In Oxford township they believed it was the result of the animals drinking from springs of mineral water, but this was disproved by the fact that a flock of sheep belonging to Thomas James, of Bloomingville, were pastured in a field where there was no stream, and yet a number of the flock were affected by it Its effects on ani- mals was known-as “ trembles,” and it was quite customary to see a fat calf, after sucking, walk a short distance, then begin to tremble, and in a little while fall down and die. The superstitious believed in witchcraft. Many people died from this poison, and their remains are buried at the forks of the roads a short distance east of Bloomingville, with no monument to tell the story of their lives in the new country to which they had come full of hope. The first mill was always the most important step in the history of progress of a township, for upon the mills all families depended for food. In 1817 there was a mill in Venice, and in 1820 one at Milan, and one near the head of Cold Creek. A man named Powers had built one on the Huron River in Green- field township. This was built in the woods, and the lower part of the house holding the machinery was not enclosed. Mr. Drake gives us a graphic de- scription of this mill as he remembered it, when he took a grist there in his boyhood. He says ; ” The floor of the second story was five or six feet from the ground. About half way from the front door -was a platform six feet high, on which the stones were placed. The presiding genius of this establishment 512 History of Erie County. was a very cross, lame man. Millers were then autocrats, and no appeal could be made from their decision, and one of their rules was that the person, who brought a grist should bring it in and take it out. The state of the roads made it necessary to stay one night at the mill, and the night I stayed, ten or twelve others were there also. The clicking of the hopper, the sound of the water, the noise of people talking, and the singing of mosquitoes, precluded the possibility of sleep.” Bloomingville is situated in the northwestern part of the township, on the line of an Indian trail, near Pipe Creek. The ground is high and dry, and had been a favorite place as a camping- ground with the Indians before a white man’s foot had touched it. The village was started in i8ii, and laid out in 1817 by Abiathar Shirley and Abner Young, and its future was then very promising. It has ceased to grow much, and still remains a pleasant village, the centre of interest to the township. It was here that the first post-office was established in 1810, with Aaron Bigsby as postmaster. The first store was opened the year following by Nathan Wood. The first hotel was started in 1812 by Abiathar Shirley. Election precincts were almost boundless in this township, owing to the sparsely settled country. What is now embraced in the townships of Oxford, Groton, Perkins, and a part of Margaretta, was then one precinct, and all elec- tions were held at Wheatsborough, since called Bloomingville. It was not until 1826 that Groton effected a separate organization. Churches do not abound in Oxford township. There was no regular church organization until within the last twenty years, but there were religious meetings held long previous, and Father Gurley, an earnest Methodist, who settled early in the township, did much toward keeping alive an interest in re- ligious things. Somewhere near 1869 a Lutheran Church was formed near Prout’s Station, and this has since grown to be a strong church and is in a very flourishing condition under the care of Rev. Enzling, of Sandusky. He goes to Prout’s Station every second Sabbath, and is heartily in earnest in his work. Schools were attended to when money was still a minus quantity, for these pioneers came from a land of books and knowledge, and whatever else must be sacrificed, their children must be educated. Ohio owes much of its pros- perity to this principle, and a traveler passing through its various townships is always impressed by the spacious and substantial school buildings that are seen in every township. In Oxford, the first school- house was built in 1810, while forests were still untouched and savages at home upon the soil. It stood half way between Pipe Creek and Bloomingville, and a term of school was kept in it during the winter of 1811 by Joseph Alby. There are now fine brick buildings throughout the township, and children never stop to contrast their surroundings with those of their ancestors. Oxford Township. 513 Oxford township seemingly furnishes light material for the historian, but with her history have been interwoven the lives of some of Ohio’s most prom- inent persons. Notably among these names is that of Eleutheros Cooke, father •of the well-known Jay and Pitt Cooke, of national reputation as bankers. Judge Caldwell’s name is also interwoven with this township by incidents in his early life, so that, although Oxford has no large city or town, or even vil- lage, honor comes to it through the individuals that have belonged within her borders. In an oration delivered before the pioneers at their celebration in 1857, Hon. Eleutheros Cooke reviewed the causes of our country’s growth and development, and then proceeded to speak of the changes wrought by fifty years in the Eirelands. He went back to the year 1790, when Moravian mis- sionaries made a settlement on the Huron River, and then traced the rise and growth of prosperity, of institutions and military organizations that he had known. He pictured in graphic language the sufferings of the forefathers, and the wild alarm that was felt when Hull surrendered in 1812. He gives an in- cident of law in his own career, which cannot fail to interest the reader of primitive customs. We quote his own words : “ Until after my settlement among them, the ordinary log-cabin, as well for the dwelling of the rich and poor as for the church, school-room and court- house, constituted the proudest architectural monuments of pioneer taste and extravagance. I well remember that the richest and most highly self-prized laurels I ever won at the bar were plucked at a little seven by nine temple of justice built of logs, at the old country seat, three miles below Milan. If my honorable friend. Judge Lane, were here to-day, he would at once call to mind a suit in which he and I were pitied against earh other, and which we brought to an amicable settlement by a little cyphering on a huge log, breast high, which lay near the doorway.” Then he spoke of the lack of markets for their produce, and the beginning of the Erie Canal. He describes the raising of the first shovelful of earth just forty years before, near Rome, N. Y., when the enterprise was begun, and all the glorious prosperity that followed its completion, only to be excelled by the advent of steam and rapid transit, thus showing the march of empire and trans- formations wrought by fifty years. He also speaks of an account he had re- cently seen of the coming of Mr. Nathaniel Deane to Cleveland in 1798, when it took ninety-two days for himself and family to make the journey from Chatham, Conn., and then Mr. Cooke contrasts this with the statement that his son had just left Sandusky for Philadelphia, and the next morning, before breakfast, he had heard of his safe arrival. This was in 1857, when steam and electricity were recognized factors in all progress. 514 History of Erie County. CHAPTER XXIX. HISTORY OF VERMILLION TOWNSHIP. T ownship number six, range twenty. Of the nine townships that form Erie county, this is the most northeasterly and has the largest amount of land bordering on Lake Erie. It was named from the river that passes to its outlet in the lake through the township. Vermillion township is bounded on the north by Lake Erie, on the east by Brounhelm township, Loraine county, south by Berlin and P'lorence, and west by Berlin. The natural appearances are distinctly outlined, the northern por- tion being level, and the southern alternating in ridges and lowlands. There are but few marshes, and these have been reclaimed and cultivated. The soil is variable, having in different localities different qualities — gravel, clay, sandy, and marl. Iron ore has been found in paying quantities, and numerous stone quarries abound. Streams are not large, and but three in number. The largest is the Ver- million, rising in Ashland county, running north through Huron and Loraine counties, and emptying into Lake Erie, near the eastern boundary of the town- ship. The Indians gave it a name suggested by the paint they found on its banks, and the smallest stream of the three, known as Sugar Creek, received its name from the same source, because at its mouth was a mound resembling a sugar-loaf, as well as the fact that the Indians made sugar from the sugar orchards along the stream. The other stream. La Chapelle, rises in Huron county, and passes through Florence, Wakeman, and Vermillion. Natural trees that formerly abounded, but are now nearly gone, were mostly dif- ferent varieties of oak, whitewood, black walnut, maple and hickory. Wild animals, until within a few years, were found here in great abundance. Wolves, deer, wild-cats and bears were all at home here, and the wolves be- came very troublesome to the early settlers by continual depredations on their sheep and swine. Ancient mounds and fortifications have been discovered that prove this at some time in the distant past to have been a great centre of Indian forces. Two of these fortifications are on the banks of the Vermillion, in the south part of the township, on the farm owned by John Summers, while in different parts of the township are other and smaller ones. Who built them is not known. History gives us no knowledge on this subject, but we do know that the In- dians found here by the first white settlers were principally those that belonged to the Sandusky, Tawa, and Chippewa tribes. The first settlement of Vermillion found a wide sand beach extending from the mouth of the river west the whole length of the township, from four to Vermillion Township. 515 fifteen rods in width, and in some places heavily timbered with basswood and other trees. After the building of Black Rock dam for a feeder to the Erie Canal, in 1826, the lake arose two feet or more, and the beach began to dis- appear until now the wear upon the farms has become so great as to seriously alarm the owners, who see yearly several acres of their best land swallowed up by Lake Erie. When Horatio Perry built his brick house in 1821, he placed it “away out back in the lot,” twenty miles from the road. In the year 1860 this house was washed into the lake. Before this, a stone house, owned by Captain Austin, shared a similar fate, notwithstanding the attempts to barricade against the action of the waves, which have been of little avail. The land upon which the first school-house was built, and upon which another house was also built, has been carried away, with the road and two rows ol the orchard south of the road. Several other buildings have been moved to escape a similar fate, and the question still arises in the minds of the owners of land, how far will this waste proceed ? It has been suggested that a law be framed compelling those owning land on the lake front to fortify their fronts againt the action of the lake. Unless all unite in this work the result would be fruitless, as the water would demolish the fortifications by a flank move- ment. The first record of a township meeting is in the hands of Judge Ruggles, and was held at his residence on the 6th day of April, 1818. Almon Ruggles was elected clerk ; Peter Cuddeback and James Prentiss, judges of election; Francis Keyes, John Beardsley and Rufus Judson, trustees; Jeremiah Van Benschoter and Horatio Perry, overseers of the poor ; Peter Cuddeback and Francis Keyes, fence viewers; Peter Cuddeback, lister and appraiser, and Stephen Meeker, appraiser ; Peter Cuddeback, treasurer ; George Sherarts, Francis Keyes, William Van Benschoter and James Prentiss, supervisors. Diseases of various kinds visited the new settlement, but the worst visita- tion took the form of bloody murrain, and ravaged the Firelands for many years. It affected neat stock only, and occasionally an animal would recover, but no remedies helped it. Some thought the animal drank blood-suckers from the brook, but the question was never satisfactorily settled. Year after year this disease swept off cattle, until men were sometimes obliged to sell a portion of their land to buy a yoke of oxen, or supply the places of the cows that had died. Those years were a continual record of disappointments and failures, but the men were plucky and had New England perseverance, and in the end were victorious. One man tells of buying a cow that had nine heifer calves, not one of which lived to grow up. Sheep were equally uncertain, and between dogs, wolves, and murrain, there seemed little or no hope of accumu- lating property. The wolves that troubled the settlers were the large grey variety, that can make night hideous by its howls. It is impossible to give an idea of the noise these creatures made at night, but in the old records we read of romances by burning logs, where these animals figured quite prominently. 5i6 History of Erie County. It cost more effort to love a girl in those times than at the present, when a young man can spend the evening with his adored idol, and hie him home in safety without long stretches of woods to pass through, surrounded by howl- ing wolves. A story is told of Stephen Smith, a bachelor, rather under the ordinary size, who, in i8i8, wished to go to Squire Barnum’s, in Florence, from Judge Meeker’s residence on the lake shore. The distance was five or six miles, and in order to be sure and be back early enough in the morning to go to work, he procured a horse and started early in the evening. There was only a bridle path through the woods, which, in the darkness, he lost and soon found himself surrounded by a pack of wolves, barking furiously. His horse took fright and ran, and he took refuge in a tree, where he found a branch on which he seated himself, holding on to the trunk with his arms. The wolves surrounded the tree, snapping and growling and howling, until daylight came and gave him release. What was his chagrin, on attempting to stretch his legs downward, to find he had not ascended at all, but was sitting on a pro- jection near the ground. A true bear story is told of Vermillion, which is worth repeating as a sam- ple of pioneer life. It occurred in the spring of 1819 or 1820, where Deacon John Beardsley’s boys were cutting small brush on the south side of the marsh. As the boys were going to their work they heard a strange noise, and two of them refused to go on, but Clement, the youngest, insisted on searching out the cause of the noise and found an old bear and three cubs lying under a large tree or log. Some one was sent for help, and as the two or three hunt- ers in the neighborhood were not at home, Mr. Washborn, from Connecticut, who had never hunted, with his son Wheeler, a lad of fourteen, and a large dog of his, together with some fifteen or twenty women and children, gathered for the conflict. Mr, Washborn, armed with an ax, stood ready to pitch in after the boy should shoot. The dog joined in the fray, and was soon in the bear’s huge arms. Finally a hunter came up with another dog, which was set on the track, and was also disabled. The old bear was never found. The cubs were all tamed. Home life among these pioneers was primitive in the extreme. Conven- iences for cooking were so scarce that at first they pounded corn, wet it to a batter, and baked it on a chip before the fire. Bear meat, raccoon, turkey and hog were cooked to match, and no suppers ever tasted better than these simple re^Dasts, because those that partook of them were hungry children, hunters and workmen. Then there came the era of bake-ovens, with coals on top and coals beneath ; and then the better oven or reflector, which enabled them to bake, roast or broil; and this in time gave place to the brick oven that preceded the modern stove, and all these changes in sixty years. Dress in those early days was not the subject of as much thought as in these latter times. Men wore pants made of deer- skin and home-made flan- Vermillion Township. 517 nels, with a coon-skin cap, and sometimes a fulled-cloth suit for dress occa- sions. When deer-skin pantaloons were cast aside to make way for those ot cloth, a large patch of buckskin was still worn over the knee and seat. Prices were considered fabulous, when a man must pay $4.50 for com.mon satinet for a pair of pants, for a coat $6.00, and common cotton shirts $2.00 each, and everything else in proportion. As most men had families to support they ■could not afford these luxuries, and instead of putting their money in dress, used it to clear their farms or erect buildings. Ladies (and that they were ladies who can doubt that has read their lives or known their descendants) wore common tow dresses for every day, and on grand occasions indulged in plaid flannels or calico. They found the secret of appearing prettily dressed, even in these materials ; and by a ruffle and some simple ornament, won as much admiration as their children do in satins and laces. Children enjoyed life with fewer restrictions than the children of the present, for they had little or no clothing to interfere with their freedom. They were taught to be useful when young, and were happy because employed. Their mothers were brave and patient, enduring hardships and sufferings, such as we can scarcely im- agine. From early records we find that the ta.xes laid on the inhabitants of Vermillion in 1818 amounted to $23.20, and was borne by forty-five men, the largest tax paid by any one man being $1.70, by Stephen Meeker. Five cents represents one head of cattle and twenty cents a horse. The first literary society was formed in the winter of 1820-21. It began in a debating school that was held in the deserted log-cabin on the shore, owned by Rufus Judson. There was a hickory bark fire, some old benches and one or two old chairs. The crowd consisted of Captain Josiah S. Pelton, president; Charles P. Judson and Jonah Bartow, jr., on the affirmative, and Burton Parsons and Benjamin Summers, opposition. The question to be dis- cussed was, “ Which are most useful to mankind, horses or cattle ? ” The elo- quence and erudition that was displayed on this occason can be better im- agined than described, and after all other subjects had been discussed, from the fall of man to the millenium, it was decided that the cattle won the day. The first events were not such as nations immortalize, but were of vital in- terest to the little community. They are summed up in births, marriages, deaths, and organization of different societies. The first house in the township was erected in 1808, by William Hoddy. It was of logs and stood on the lake shore, near the mouth of the river. The first frame house was built by Peter Cuddeback in 1818. The first stone house was built by Captain Austin. John Ruggles was first postmaster, and the mails were carried on foot. The first orchard was planted in 1812, by Peter Cuddeback. The first public house was opened by William Austin, near the mouth of the river. The first store was located in the village, and C. P. Jud- son put in the first stock of goods. 66 518 History of Erie County. The first church was organized in the township in l8i8. There had been a meeting held in i8lo by Rev. Joseph Badger, one of the earliest missionaries in Northeastern Ohio, and identified for twenty-five years with the churches The first meeting-house was built near the center of the township in 1828, and on the 22d day of May, the same year, the first pastor, Rev. Harvey Lyon, was installed. This was a Congregational Church, and was followed by the formation of a Methodist Episcopal class in the fall of 1831. The members were John Myers and wife, and Miss Zuba Jackson ; and later, Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Julia Summers. John Myers was the leader of the class. Rev. Henry O. Sheldon and Edward Thompson were the first ministers. There have since been added four German churches, and in 1887 a new Congregational church was built and dedicated. The increase of the German population has tended toward the material growth and prosperity of the town- ship. The churches and Sunday-schools depend largely on the descendants of the early settlers, and to a large proportion of the inhabitants for their sup- port. It is a noticeable fact that those who just settled in these new countries were men of sterling character, unflinching integrity, and fathers of large families. There are few families at the present time numbering ten and twelve children, and with the loss in numbers there seems to be also a decrease in those plucky characteristics which enabled their parents to endure privation and hardship for the sake of securing a home. Surely, civilization has not been an improvement in genuine quality, and the luxurious tastes of the pres- ent generation compare unfavorably with the plain but generous habits of their ancestors. Beside the five churches in the village there are four in the town- ship. The first school-house was built on the lake shore in the spring of 1814. In all these townships of the Fire-lands, almost immediately upon the settle- ment of the pioneers, school-houses were erected and educational matters at- tended to. Miss Susan Williams taught a term of school, the first in the town- ship, and among her scholars were J. J. Cuddeback, Joseph Brooks, and Jacob Sherarts. The village school district was made a special district at the March meeting of the Board of Education in 1851. It was reorganized in 1873, when it was decided to build. Work was begun as soon as practicable and the building finished in 1874. It was a fine brick structure, with modern furniture, and grounds beautifully laid out. It cost eighteen thousand dollars. It is a graded school of three grades, and employs four teachers. The town hall is a fine brick building, erected in 1883, at a cost of $21,000. The citizens justly regard this with pride, and there seems ample ground for their belief in a more flourishing future than their neighbors. If location is the basis of this hope, there is no reason why it cannot be realized. In 1868 the charter of the Ely Lodge, No. 424, Free and Accepted Masons, was issued. The building in which they met was burned in 1870, and with Vermillion Township. 519 it the charter, records, jewels, and furniture. The same year a new charter was obtained and had a membership of eight names. Koenig Lodge No. 543, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was instituted November 25, 1872, with fifteen members. Several temperance societies have been organized in this township, but have never been able to keep alive any length of time. Why this is so, re- mains to be determined by those who come later, but the culture of grapes and manufacture of wine has doubtless much to do with it. The first saw-mill was erected by Job Smith, on La Chapelle Creek, in 1819. In 1830 Messrs. Ford, Sandford & Tracy formed an iron company, and there seemed no reason why this should not be of the most enduring and flourshing industries in the country. It continued a quarter of a century, but of late years there has been no iron interests carried on here. This was suc- ceeded by the Vermillion furnace, owned by Philo Tilden. Fifty thousand dollars were invested in the business, and sixty men were afforded a livelihood by it until in 1865, when this, too, was abandoned. Two cheese factories have been started in this township, and one still exists at Well’s Corners, three and a half miles from Vermillion, and owned by Chris- topher Bauman. It began in 1877, and has a patronage of one hundred cows. Edson & Nichols is the only firm engaged in the fish trade. They do a business amounting to $12,000 or $15,000 per annum in fresh, salt, and frozen fish. There was a time when shipping stone was a large industry, but that day has gone by and it is now entirely abandoned. A planing-mill is in operation at the present time, owned by J. C. Gilchrist. During the last decade there has been little evidence of new life in the township, and few buildings have been added to those already built. No business enterprises have been started except those mentioned, and the Ver- million of 1888 is to all intents and purposes very similar to that of 1877. The outlying population of the township is a flourishing farming community, that have added acre to acre, and put all in a most excellent state of cultiva- tion, until the entire township is like a garden or agricultural paradise. Incidents in the lives of the pioneers were abundant and interesting, and no history would be complete without them. For these and many other facts we are indebted to those who have gone before in arranging and sifting out the wheat from the chaff and saving us a record upon which we can rely. One of the earliest settlers was Captain Austin, who located half a mile west of the mouth of the river. He was in many ways a remarkable man, and his life reads with all the interest of a romance. Not only was he a bold naviga- tor, but he was skilled in the more practical science of building boats, and one of the first boats ever launched by him from these shores was during the war of 1812. His rule aboard was to have everything in its place, and any devia- 520 History of Erie County. tion from this rule found a certain punishment. This arbitrary rule over his inferiors made him slightly despotic in his home, but no man was more genial and social than he. He made nineteen consecutive voyages to the banks of Newfoundland, thence to Spain, and home again to New London, Conn. From this place he came to Ohio. His word was never doubted; he would tolerate no flatteries, and once, when a man tried to secure a favor from him by flattering him that he was clever, he replied, ''Clever! CLEVER! so is the devil, when you please him,” and the man lost his favor. His belief in pre- monitions was remarkable, and he affirmed that he had never met any unusual danger without being warned in time of its approach. His warnings always came in the shape of a raving white horse and usually in a dream. When he was returning to this continent once, and everything was favorable, he went to take an after-dinner nap when the white horse came, with mouth wide open, in great fury at him. He bounded from his bunk, sprang on deck and shouted, “About ship, in an instant!” The order was obeyed, and as the ship bore round, the fog lifted and the breakers of Labrador were seen eighty rods ahead. “Ten minutes more in our course, and we should never have been heard of,” were his words. Another story is told of his peculiarity in this respect. It was late in the autumn of 1814, one of the most delightful Indian Summer days that have ever been seen, and with several merchants as passengers, he was on his way from Sandusky to Detroit. On his way to the islands the old white horse paid him another visit, and at noon he tied up in Put-in-Bay. It was a lovely day, with a fine breeze, and the passengers were impatient to go on. But the captain was immovable as a rock, and they could not help them- selves. In the early evening a furious gale and snowstorm came up, and in the morning the wind was blowing a hurricane, and the snow lay a foot deep on the deck of the vessel. The next day, under a fair sky, he landed his grateful passengers in Detroit. This brave but singular man boasted that he had held Commodore Perry on his knees when a babe. Peter Cuddeback came of good Dutch stock in the Mohawk Valley, and brought the Holland thrift to the new settlement, where he and his wife set- tled on the west side of the river. Although they had a large family, their hospitality was unbounded, and he was honored by the confidence of his neighbors, who bestowed upon him several offices. IBs house was the place where all the town meetings were held, and he was cobbler, carpenter, and general dependence on all lines; and every night, after working all the even- ing, he made the round of his farm to see that all was in order, and at mid- night retired. One of the most prominent men of that time was Hon. Almon Ruggles, surveyor of the Fire-lands. He was the first recorder in Huron county, in 1809, and was appointed by the Legislature associate judge of Huron county in 1815. In 1816 he was elected State senator, and re-elected in 1818. He Perkins Township. 521 was honored by all who knew him, was a genial man among his neighbors, and an excellent conversationalist. He never lost his simple tastes, and had a rare faculty of adapting himself to his companions. He built a mill on Ver- million River, near Florence, in 1809. This was destroyed and swept away by a freshet. In 181 1 — 12 he built a mill, long known as Ruggles’s mill, on the Chapelle Creek, which was a great benefit to the settlers for miles around. His family was composed of four sorts of children, yet no neighbor could tell which belonged to his first wife or his second. All were equally well educated, all came to maturity, and what is still more strange, the two branches inter- married. Vermillion village is situated at the mouth of Vermillion River, and was incorporated by a special act of the Legislature in 1837, the first record of an election bears date April 6, 1839. It was many years before any steps were taken to improve the harbor at the mouth of the Vermillion River. The early settlers were occupied in mak- ing life endurable, and had not the government taken action on the subject in 1841, and sent Major Boms to dredge the channel and build a pier, doubtless many years would have passed before anything had been done. Several years later a lighthouse was constructed, and further dredging performed, giving fourteen feet of water in the channel. After the harbor was improved, ship building was extensively prosecuted. Alva Brady, of Cleveland, constructed many sail and steam crafts, and was the largest builder in the place. The first boat of any kind was named Friendship, and was of thirty tons capacity. This was in 1815. ERKINS is bounded on the north by Sandusky, on the east by Huron township, on the south by Oxford township, and on the west by Marga- retta township. The township is generally level, but in some parts undulating and marked by several elevated ridges, which consist mostly of yellow sand. The principal one of these extends across the township in a southwesterly direction, ending at Bloomingville. The soil is very fertile and of great variety. The sandy ridges are adapted to all kinds of crops. South of the ridges are the prairies, composed of black alluvial earth, on which is grown mostly grain. In sections two and three, limestone soil abounds, and in some particular localities good clay for brick and tile is found. The ridge mentioned divides the prairie from the timber land. Part of sections one and four is prairie. CHAPTER XXX. HISTORY OF PERKINS TOWNSHIP. 522 History of Erie County. stretching to the west with intervening groves of hickory and black oak. In the northern portion of the township was a dense growth of black and white walnut, maple, whitewood, black and white oak, linn, and several other kinds of trees. There are no marshes or waste land in the township, and it is con- sidered one of the most productive in the Fire-lands. The township is watered by no very large streams. Mills Creek crosses section three and empties into the bay west of Sandusky. Pipe Creek, so called from a soft stone found in its bed from which the Indians made pipes, passes through sections four, three and two, and flows into the bay east of Sandusky. Another small stream, called Plum Brook, heads on the prairie, passes near Bogart, through section two, and finds its way into the cove. A large proportion of the land is thor- oughly underdrained, and because of the high state of cultivation, being located near Sandusky, the value of the land is increased. The original owners of the township were the Indians, whose title deed was their bow and arrow, and who had occupied it, lived, hunted, and trapped upon its grounds many generations before the white settler trod its soil. Among the different tribes who inhabited the Fire-lands may be mentioned the Delawares and Ottawas, which belonged to the Algonquin family, and the Wyandots or Hurons, and the Senecas, which belonged to the Huron- Iroquois family. As late as i8i8 the township was dotted over with Indian wigwams. Near Bogart’s Corners was on unusually large encampment living on the farm now owned by A. N. Baker. At this date there still remained near the east line of the township twelve or fifteen buildings, composed of poles and bark, and in the northeast corner of section two the ruins of an old fort were seen. The walls, which were built of earth, measured about three feet in height, through which was an opening or gateway leading to a spring, the path of which had been worn to the depth of one foot. These remains have long since been leveled by the early pioneer. In different parts of the township relics of these tribes are found, consisting of the flint arrow-head, the charm, the battle-axe and scalping-knife; and in some instances skeletons have been exhumed. These were invariably hurried in a sitting posture, their faces turned westward. In 1887 some workmen, employed on the farm of Mr. A. A. Storrs, in making an excavation came upon six skeletons of Indians, some of which are well preserved. Near the south line and north of Bloom- ingville, on the farm now owned and occupied by Solomon Jarrett, there was recently unearthed an Indian grave, which had been covered by two large slabs of stone three feet long, the upper ends of which resting together and the lower ends apart. Between these there were ashes and charcoal, and on them lay a claw hammer, worn and battered. This, in all probability, had been either bought or stolen at the fort at Venice, which was occupied by the French or Indians two centuries ago. Of the descendants of the various tribes of Indians who inhabited this region, there is one living in the township, who Perkins Township. 52J is a daughter of one Muston, a chief of the Ottawa tribe. She is now the wife of Henry Bonnett, a blacksmith, of Bogart’s Corners. Her birthplace was Port Clinton, O., and her age is fifty-five years. Ogontz, the Ottawa chief, was well-known in the region of Sandusky, which was his favorite hunting and fishing resort, and the early settlers of Perkins were frequently honored by his visits when on his hunting expeditions through the township. The township derives its name from Hon. Elias Perkins, a resident of New London, Conn. Almon Ruggles made the first survey in 1808. Huron county was created in 1809, and Perkins became one of its townships. Pre- vious to the year 1810 no actual settlement had been made. It is true that one or two settlers were living within the limits, but they were transient and only remained a year or two. In the year mentioned above. Rev. John Beatty,, then a resident of Connecticut, purchased of the P'ire-lands company nearly all the land in Perkins township. After the purchase was completed, he in com- pany with Thomas James, who wished to purchase land, started immediately for the “ Great West.” They traveled through the State of Pennsylvania, where they were joined by James Forsyth, Mr. Beatty’s brother-in-law. Their line of travel carried them through Pittsburgh and Cleveland, which were only small villages. Travel at this earl}^ day was necessarily slow, as ox teams were the means of conveyance. After a long, tiresome trip, and many hair- breadth escapes, the company arrived at Perkins. Soon after their arrival Mr. James bought land of Mr. Beatty in the south part of section four, and imme- diately built a log-cabin, thus becoming the first actual settler. The next set- tlers were Christian Winters and John Freese, who arrived from Canada in 1812, and settled in the northeast corner of the township, and lived there many years. At the close of the War of 1812, Mr. Beatty, who had looked well over the township, selected Perkins as his future home. He accordingly re- moved his family to the township, accompanied by the following persons : Julius House, Jesse Taylor, Holly Akins, Roswell Hubbard, Harvey Covell, Eleazer Bell, Joseph Taylor, Plinney Johnson, Richard Christopher, William R. Beebe, and Joseph Taylor, jr. These all purchased land of Mr. Beatty, and erected log-cabins on the ridge road leading to Bloomingville, and better known as “Yankee Settlement.” Descendants of these settlers are still living on the same farms, many of whom are quite wealthy. After the colony be- came settled, a church society was organized, beginning with a class of fifteen members, which has continued to prosper for more than seventy years. Other settlers continued to arrive, and before a decade had passed, the township was well settled. The following are some of those who located: Fox, Tucker, Irvine, Rogers, Wickham, Allen. In the fall of 18 ll Rev. William Gurley and family arrived on the Fire lands, and settled in Huron county, on the edge of the prairie, in a log- cabin near the south line of Perkins township. There was a peculiar freshness and 524 History of Erie County. novelty in a frontier life, as all who have been pioneers acknowledge. At this time there was no minister of the Gospel within fifty miles. Great was the joy of the settlers of the surrounding townships when they heard that a preacher had arrived. The announcement was made that Mr. Gurley would preach in the school-house at Bloomingville on the following Sunday. The people living within ten or twelve miles assembled at the appointed time, and among them were several Indians, who came from curiosity. Mr. Gurley or- ganized a class of ten members at the close, and this was the first sermon and society on the Fire-lands. The surrender of General Hull at Detroit caused a stampede among the settlers, many of whom did not return till the close ol the war. After the war a wide field of labor opened to Mr. Gurley, which extended nearly over the county. As there was much sickness and many deaths, he was called upon to attend nearly all the funerals. He often re- marked, “What a multitude I have buried, and nearly all younger than myself” He continued his labors for twenty-five years, preaching his last sermon at the age of eighty- nine. The first marriage recorded in the township occurred iu the year 1871. The contracting parties were William Beebe to Minerva Bell, now the wife of General W. D. Lindsley, of Sandusky, and Joseph Taylor to a daughter ol David Cummings, who had previously settled in Huron township. The first birth was Sydney, son of Plinney Johnson, and the second was Anna, daugh- ter of Harvey Coveil, and late wife of Dwight Buck, of Toledo. After Mr. Beatty became settled, he had the land surveyed where Bogart now stands, and laid out in town lots, some of which were sold, but after a few years re- verted again to their original owner. In the spring of 1819 he commenced building a stone residence at Bogart, which is still one of the landmarks of the township, and was known for many years as the “half-way house.” It was occupied for many years as a tav- ern, and was well-known in all parts of the country. Teamsters, in hauling grain to Sandusky from Mansfield and vicinity, used to stop there, and as many as fortv teams have been seen in the yards in one night. The stage, in making its regular trips from Milan to Sandusky for twenty-five years, also stopped there. In 1820 Beatty built the first lime and brick kiln, and the same year he erected the first saw-mill on Pipe Creek, on section two, on the farm now occupied by the Erie County Infirmary. In 1817 he received his appointment as postmaster, this being the first in the township. He had one room in the stone house fitted as an office, and the boxes and desk still re- main as they were when he distributed the mail to the pioneers. He also kept in the same buiiding a small stock of dry goods. The first blacksmith- shop was erected by Mr. Johnson on the ground now occupied by F. Siegel. Bogart, even at this early day, aspired to become something higher than a mere cross-roads. Rev. William Gurley kept a shop in which he devoted Perkins Township. 525 himself to the silversmith business. Mr. Kellogg was the proprietor of a cooper-shop. John Brodhead was the only carpenter. A tavern was kept by Holly Akins, where J. D. Parker’s store now stands. James Gurley em- ployed himself in the cabinet business. The second post-office was established in 1861, by Addison Mixter, and called Prairieville ; but after one year it was discontinued. After this the people continued to receive their mails at Sandusky until 1882, when J. D. Parker was appointed postmaster and still holds the office. Mail is now re- ceived regularly Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday each week. A public tel- ephone also connects the office with Sandusky. Mr. Bell, father of Stewart Bell, of Sandusky, died at an early day. He was a ship carpenter, and in the year 1817 he built a small vessel near the lake. It required forty yoke of oxen and a number of men to move it to the shore, which was accomplished after much labor, and launched a short distance west of the village of Huron. Dr. Christopher, a graduate of Yale College and possessed of a fine education, was without doubt the first practicing physician in the township, his office being located at Bogart. Before the year 1818 log barns were numerous, but in this year Julius House erected a frame barn on the ridge mentioned, which is still in good repair. As the pioneers manufactured most of their wearing apparel, looms and spinning-wheels were in good demand. These were made to order by Mr. Hubbard, a wheelwright. One of these looms, which he manufactured for weaving carpets, is in the possession of Mrs. Simeon Gallo- way, who weaves upon it yearly many yards of carpets. The dwellings of the early settlers were necessarily rude, only one story high, built of logs, very often without being hewn. A few of these structures still remain as the handiwork of the pioneer, but the builder has long since passed to his reward. What a change in three-fourths of a century! From the simple cabin built of logs, often containing but one room, with the open fireplace extending the entire width of the house, with its slab door and floor, windows of greased paper, and not a nail about the whole structure, to the spacious and handsome farm house of modern times, luxuriously furnished, and with all its conveniences for heating and lighting, is a transformation which has been witnessed by few who still remain, but whose numbers are becoming fewer as the years glide away. In a small log school-house, which had been built on the farm now owned by Dennis Taylor, the first township election was held in the spring of 1818, which resulted in the election of the following officers : John Beatty, township clerk ; Eleizur Lockwood, John Freese, Julius House, trustees ; William Beebe and Roswell Hubbard, constables ; John Dillingham and Harvey Coveil, fence viewers. Soon after the arrival of John Beatty and his colony of settlers from Con- necticut in the fall of 1815, he, with others, proceeded to organize a Metho- 67 526 History of Erie County. dist society, which has before been alluded to, and which was the first in the township. Julius House was chosen class-leader, a position he occupied for fifty years. Services were held at the log school-house or dwellings until about the year 1830, when a large frame building was erected opposite where the brick church now stands. After the society was formed, no regular preach- ing was held till February, 1818, although occasional sermons were preached by John Beatty. The Ohio Conference, in the fall of 1 8 17, attached five appointments to the Cuyahoga circuit. These appointments were such a distance from the circuit that the minister in charge would not accept of them. Rev. James B. Finley, the presiding elder, sent Rev. Bronson to form a circuit and become pastor of the same the balance of the year. Perkins was his fourth appoint- ment. When the time arrived for his first quarterly meeting, the presiding elder being absent. Rev. William Gurley officiated. This was the first quar- terly meeting held on the Fire-lands. This society has prosperously continued since its organization, and at present has a large membership. The frame building spoken of was occupied until the year 1854, when a commodious two- story brick building was erected, which has recently been remodeled, painted, frescoed, refurnished, and is now in excellent condition. On the north and east sides comfortable sheds have been built for the accommodation of horses, which, being nicely painted, adds to the appearance of the premises. A pleas- ant and cozy parsonage occupies an adjoining lot for the use of the pastor. Since the formation of the society over fifty ministers have occupied the pul- pit, among whom we mention the following : Reverends Poe, O’Sheldon, Board- man, Reynolds, Bigelow, Kellam, Jewett, Mudge, Broadwell, Persons, Wagar, Hoadley, Kepler, and Kauffman. The present pastor is Rev. O Pearce, who preaches regularly every Sabbath morning and holds prayer and praise service Sunday and Thursday evenings. Sabbath-school was first organized about 1830, and is now well attended under the superintendency of Frank A. Akins. The educational interest is an important feature of the township. In the year 1816 a log school-house was built on the farm of Jesse Taylor, and the winter school was taught by Dr. Christopher. Ann Beatty, daughter of John Beatty, taught the following summer. Compensation for teaching in those early days was small compared to the present day. Fadies received from four to six dollars per month, and gentlemen ten and twelve dollars, board fur- nished, which they got by “boarding round.” Tuition was paid by each family in proportion to the number of scholars sent. In the spring of i8l8 Jerry Sheffield was employed as instructor, and there are still living in the township at the present writing five persons who were his scholars that year. Their names are as follows : Fiery Taylor, Lindsley House, Mrs. Maria Greene, Stewart Bell, and W. D. Gurley. These all came with their parents from Connecticut. The township is divided into eleven school districts. In nearly Perkins Township. 527 all of these there have lately been built fine brick or frame school buildings, with all the modern appliances for health and comfort, at a cost of from $1,500 to $2,000. The schools are in a flourishing condition, are well attended, and are gradually improving under the management of an excellent corps of teachers. In the southeastern corner of section two, the hamlet of Bogart, already spoken of, is situated. Five roads centre here, which lead respectively to Sandusky, Huron, Milan, Bloomingville, and Castalia. In the course of the year considerable business is transacted The only merchant is James D. Parker, who keeps a general store in which may be found a large assortment of goods, including dry goods, drugs, notions, groceries, and hardware. In fact, this is the only store in the township, and enjoys a large patronage. He also deals largely in eggs and handles annually many thousand dozen. The firm of Siegel & Hemminger, blacksmiths, is doing a flourishing busi- ness in their line of work, and their trade extends far over the county. Be- sides repairing and horseshoeing, in which their reputation is well established, they make a specialty of ironing wagons and buggies. Their constantly in- creasing trade compel them to employ one or two extra men. Martin Kaltenbach and William Zink are the members of an enterprising firm engaged in the manufacture of wagons and buggies, and repairing the same. Their work is considered first-class in every respect, and orders for new vehicles from this and adjoining townships are filled as rapidly as their facilities will permit. They also execute excellent painting in both plain and fancy scroll work. W. D. Gurley for many years did an extensive business in both blacksmith and wagon work here. In the northern part of the township Mr. A. Remington is doing an ex- tensive business in the manufacture of cider vinegar. His establishment is filled with the most improved machinery, and his facilities are large. Thou- sands of bushels of apples are purchased of farmers and converted into vinegar, which supplies both home and foreign markets. The manufacture and sale of brick is one of the important features of the township. The excellent clay found in section three is used for this purpose, and two brick-kilns are in operation, owned respectively by William DeWitt and Lee Chambers. Many thousands of brick are annually burnt, most of which is used in the city and surrounding townships. Sections two and three are rich in large quarries of blue limestone, the principal one of which is owned by By & Gachsteter. Hundreds of cords are annually quarried and find a ready sale. Hundreds of loads of shale stone are used upon the roads through the township. Stone from the quarry referred to was used in the erection of the Erie County Infirmary, the Soldiers’ Home, and the residence at Oakland Cemetery, besides the large bridges across Pipe Creek. 528 History of Erie County. Oakland Cemetery is a beautiful park of several acres in extent, situated in the northeastern corner of section two, on the banks of Pipe Creek. It is systematically laid out into lots, with driveways bordered with maples, ever- greens, willows, and various other trees. The grounds are under the care of a superintendent, who, with a corps of assistants, keep the enclosure in per- fect condition. A stone wall surrounds the cemetery on the north and east sides. A large stone vault and chapel has recently been finished ; also a handsome and substantial dwelling-house. Gothic or Queen Anne style, for the use of the superintendent. The place is visited annually by hundreds of people. The Erie County Infirmary farm adjoins the cemetery on the west. The main building presents an imposing appearance, is beautiful in style of archi- tecture, is built mostly of blue limestone. It was built in 1886, at a cost of about forty thousand dollars, to replace one destroyed by fire the winter of 1885-86. This building is heated by steam, and is as near fireproof as pos- sible. The grounds of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home are located in sec- tion two, south of the cemetery. The work of erecting buildings and improv- ing the grounds was commenced in 1887. These buildings, nowin the course of erection, are of stone, with brick partitions and slate roof, and of the most substantial character. The home will cost, when the present plans are carried out, about $350,000, and will accommodate six hundred inmates, besides the employees. If improvements are made to accommodate 1,400 inmates, the total cost will be about $600,000. The agricultural interests of the township are flattering. The soil is of the richest quality (well underdrained), and is adapted to raising all kinds of crops. The limestone soil produces a good yield of wheat, while on the ridges a variety of crops is raised, the principal one being potatoes, of which, during a favorable season, thousands of bushels are produced. On the prairie soil, corn and oats are mostly raised. Large quantities of apples, grapes, peaches, straw- berries and other small fruits are raised and annually shipped. The shipping of moulding sand is an important feature. This sand is found only on the sandy ridges before mentioned, and is of the finest quality. It is found just below the soil, which is usually about one foot in depth. The soil is first removed and placed at one side, after which the sand is taken out and the soil replaced, which leaves the land in good condition. The principal shippers or dealers in sand are T. B. Taylor, J. D. Parker, J. F. Greene, and Charles House. Hundreds of tons are annually shipped to all parts of the United States, and the total value of which is about $10,000 yearly. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which passes through the central part of the township, furnishes an excellent shipping point, known as Greene’s Station, about four miles from Sandusky. From here a large share of the sand is shipped, also quantities of produce. Biographical. 529 One of the first literary societies in the township, and in fact in this part of the State, was composed of a number of young men from the townships of Perkins, Huron and Milan, about the year 1819. The late Rev. L. B. Gurley was a member of this society. They usually met on one of the ridges on Sat- urday during the summer and debated many important questions. Within the past few years societies, both for social and intellectual improvement, have been formed for the winter season, but discontinued as summer approached. At present there is one in existence, known as the Chautauqua Spare Minute ■Circle. This has a good membership, and Rev. O. Pearce is president. Another society, the Ladies’ Home Mission, deserves mention. It was organized several years ago by the ladies of the township, who meet regularly at the residences the first Thursday of each month for benevolent purposes. Much charitable work has been accomplished by the society since its for- mation. In the year 1874 Perkins Grange, No. 637, Patrons of Husbandry, sprang into existence in this township. The charter was obtained in March, with thirty-three members, five of whom have since died. The growth was rapid, and by May the membership had increased to eighty- five members. From 1876 to 1881 little interest was taken in the grange, and members gradually dropped out, but since the latter date the grange has revived, new members have been added, till at the present date the grange numbers thirty-one, and new applications are received monthly. The regular session is held each month at the residence cf some member of the order. The late Colonel D. C. Richmond was an active member in effecting its organization, and of which he held the office of worthy master. Farmers are becoming convinced of the necessity of some organization for the protection and promotion of their in- terests, and without doubt the grange is the best society for the accomplish- ment of this purpose. The best members of the society are becoming en- ■roled, in the ranks, and the social feature is also an important item. CHAPTER XXXI. BIOGRAPHICAL. M cKELVEY, JOHN, was born in Plymouth, Huron county, O., February 8, 1835, being the youngest of ten children. His parents, Matthew McKelvey and Nancy Adams, were married March 27, 1818, in Greenfield township, Huron county, O. His father, Matthew McKelvey, was born in Westmoreland county. Pa., January 30, 1794. His father was William Mc- Kelvey, v/ho had lost a leg in the Revolutionary War. The family moved 530 History of Erie County. from Pennsylvania to Portage county, O., in 1804, and from there to Trum- bull county, in 1 806, and from there to Huron county, in 1815. His mother, Nancy Adams, was born in Windham county, Vt., July 30^ 1798, and with her parents moved to Greenfield township, Huron county, 0 ., in the spring of 1815. Her father, Bildad Adams, was one of the first three county commissioners of Huron county, and she taught the first school in Peru township. Soon after their marriage his parents moved to Sandusky, where his father engaged in the mercantile business. In 1825 they changed their residence to Plymouth, Huron county, where his father completed the third frame building erected in that locality. He opened the first general store, and continued to advance the growth of the village by erecting more houses. In 1830 he erected a building for that purpose, and established a seminary for young ladies. The family continued to resHe in Plymouth until the fall of 1840, when they moved to Hardin county, where a large quantity of land had been purchased, and commodious buildings for those times had been erected. But the misfortune of sickness, resulting in the deaths of the mother and three sisters, caused the return of the father and the remaining four children to Ply- mouth, in the spring of 1842, where another sister soon died, leaving only the younger three living of the family of ten children. Those three are still living at this date (1888) and reside: Martha, Mrs. E. C. Lovell, in Greenfield town- ship, Huron county, O. ; Matthew, in Tiffin, O., and John, the subject of this sketch, in Sandusky. Soon after the death of his father, which occurred March 18, 1853, in Greenfield township, Huron county, John first secured a situation in the general store of W. T. & A. K. West, in Sandusky, where he remained during the summer, but desiring to obtain a better education, he decided in the fall to teach school during the winter months, and attend school at Ober- lin College during the remaining nine months of each year, and he pursued that course for three years, until ill health compelled him to discontinue it. He thereafter settled in Sandusky, and engaged in the commission business. In 1861 he set out one of the first vineyards in the vicinity of Sandusky, and thereafter set out several more. In 1867 he became engaged in the real estate and insurance business. He discontinued the insurance branch in 1874, but has continued the real estate business to the present time, and has, during the past twenty years, made ten additions to the city of Sandusky. He became interested in the wholesale ice business in 1876, and has continued his interest therein to the present time. In 1865 he aided materially in effecting a reor- ganization of the Erie County Agricultural Society, and in securing the per- manent location of the fair grounds at Sandusky. It was principally through his efforts that the Sandusky Tool Company came into existence. He was married June 26, 1861, to Jennie R. Huntington. They have had si.x child- ren, four of whom are living: Janet H., born April 2, 1862 ; John Jay, born May 24, 1863; Alice R., born April 25, 1867 ; Ralph H., born December 7, Biographical. 531 1877. Janet, John Jay and Alice are graduates of the Sandusky High School, and Janet and John Jay are graduates of Oberlin College ; the former of the class of 1883, and the latter of the class of 1884. John Jay also graduated from Harvard College Law School, receiving the degrees of A.M. and L.L.B., in 1887. He was married to Miss Mary C. Mattocks, an Oberlin graduate of the class of 1885, of Cleveland, July 12, 1887, and is now engaged in the prac- tice of the law in New York city. Janet was married to the Rev. C. F. Swift, an Oberlin College classmate, July 27, 1886, and he is at present the pastor of the Congregational Church, Saratoga Springs, N. Y. Mrs. John McKelvey was the daughter of Apollos and Deborah Hunting- ton, and was born in Brownville, Jefferson county, N. Y., August 8, 1837. She came with her parents to Sandusky, in the spring of 1852. She is a grad- uate of the Sandusky High School of the class of 1856. S TOLL, ADAM J., was born in Bucyrus, Crawford county, O., September 25. 1844, the eldest child of John and Mary (Shealy) Stoll. John Stoll, his father, was born in the kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, June 9, 1821, and came with his parents to America in 1832. In 1838110 settled in Bucyrus, O., and lived there till his death, which occurred December 26, 1884. He was a carpenter by trade, but became an extensive dealer and manufacturer of lumber, and in the latter years of his life a large operator in real estate. He enjoyed, in the largest measure, the confidence and respect of the entire com- munity in which he lived, was successful in his business undertakings and left a handsome fortune. His father died in New York city soon after the arrival of the family in that city from Germany. His mother died in Bucyrus, in 1867. His wife survives him and is living at the old homestead in Bucyrus. Adam J. Stoll lived in Bucyrus until he was twenty-four years of age. His education was received in the public schools of his native place, and upon leaving the schools he became interested with his father in the conduct of his lumber interest. On September 22, 1868, he married Sophia Burgdorf, adopted daughter of Ferdinand Geiersdorf, of Sandusky, O. Mrs. Stoll was born in Hanover, Germany, August li, 1846. Mr. Stoll moved from Bucy- rus and became a resident of Sandusky, in 1868, where he became book-keeper in the wholesale fish establishment of Ferdinand Geiersdorf, and upon the death of the latter became general manager of the house, in which capacity he served two years, when he became a partner under the firm name of Adolph & Stoll; a limited partnership for five years. At the termination of this partnership, in 1877, Mr. Stoll withdrew from the firm and purchased the wharf and fish in- terest of L. Anthony, also the fish interest of H. E. O’Hagan & Co. From that time to the present (1888) he has done, every year, a largely increasing business, and is one of the heaviest dealers in fresh fish on the entire line of lakes. He is president of the Sandusky Steamboat and Fishing Company, 532 History of Erie County. which operate a line of steamers in connection with the Canadian fishing in- dustry. In all efforts of the government to improve and enhance the value of the fish industries of the United States, Mr. Stoll has taken a deep interest and has lent powerful aid. In 1883 he became a stockholder in the Sandusky Gas Light Company, and has been its president since 1886. He is a stockholder and director in the Second National Bank, also a stockholder in the Third National Bank. Since 1873 he has been the owner of the undivided half of the Cedar Point property, and was one of the projectors of the Cedar Point Pleasure Resort Company, and has taken a leading part in building up and bringing to its present perfection that celebrated resort. Mr. Stoll has always been a liberal contributor towards all charitable insti- tutions, not only in Sandusky, but in his native town of Bucyrus, where, hav- ing large landed interests, he is still regarded by its citizens almost as much a Bucyrus man as though he were still a resident of his native place. He is one of the trustees of the Good Samaritan Hospital of Sandusky. Mr. Stoll is a Republican in politics, and though too busy a man with his own affairs either to desire or seek public office, he has, in a number of in- stances, been chosen to fill such offices. His private residence, built in 1884-5, the corner of Wayne and Madi- son streets, is a gem of architectural beauty, and would justly be regarded an ornament of any city. Mr. and Mrs. Stoll have had three children: Emma, born July 9, 1870; Lena, born April 7, 1873 ; and Willie, born April 20, 1874, died June 25, 1888. S IMPSON, WILLIAM AYERS, was born in the town of Nottingham, Not- tingham county, N. H., February 27, 1812; the next youngest child in a family of ten children, five sons and five daughters, of John and Abigail (Guile) Simpson. The family were of Scotch-Irish descent, their ancestor emigrating to this country in a colony, following shortly after the arrival of the Mayflower, and settled in Londonderry, N. H. John Simpson, grandfather of William A., was the first one of the family who settled in Nottingham, on a farm which has been owned and occupied by some descendant nearly three hundred years. John Simpson, father of Will- iam A., was owner of this homestead farm. He was a man of sterling quali- ties, and commanded the respect of the entire community in which he lived. He died at an advanced age, October, 1832, and was buried in the family burial ground in Nottingham. His wife survived him about twenty years, reaching the extreme age of ninety years. She was a woman of decided Christian char- acter, and left the impress and influence of her long and useful life, as the dear- est legacy to her large family. All the children, five sons and five daughters, save one, lived to adult age, were married and raised families. Biographical. 533 William Simpson, uncle of William A., was the first of the family who em- igrated to Ohio, and was a soldier in the Indian War, under General Wayne. He first settled in Meigs county, raised a family there, and his descendants are still living in that portion of Ohio. William A. Simpson spent his youth at home in Nottingham, where he received his primary education, which was supple- mented by one year’s attendance at Durham Academy. At the age of seven- teen he went to Boston, where for one year he was employed as clerk in the shipping house of John K. Simpson, a cousin of his father. In 1831, in com- pany with his youngest brother, Samuel A., he went to Detroit by canal and lake, where he was employed as clerk in a store until 1834. In the fall of the latter year he moved to Sandusky. Here he engaged, in company with Horace Aplin, in the grocery trade. This partnership was terminated at the end of the year. He then engaged in the wholesale grocery and liquor busi- ness, with Leonard Johnson, under the firm name of Simpson & Johnson. This partnership lasted but a short time, when Mr. Johnson sold his interest, Mr. Simpson dropping the liquor branch of the business, and adding the dry goods, continued the business in his own name for many years, taking as a partner in the later years of his life, David Everett, under the firm name of Simpson & Everett. In the year 1859 he sold his interest in the firm, and for two years thereafter he engaged in the ship chandlery and grocery business, which business he carried on until the fall of 1861, at which time he retired from active business. Mr. Simpson was a stockholder and director in the San- dusky Gas Company from its organization ; its president for many years, and its vice-president at the time of his death. He was a stockholder and director in the Second National Bank from its organization. Mr. Simpson was a staunch Republican, but never desired or sought office. He was a member of Grace Church over forty years, and a vestryman thirty- six years. Mr. Simpson died at his residence in Sandusky December 20, 1887. We cannot more fittingly close this sketch of Mr. Simpson than to quote the following extracts from writers who knew him thoroughly and intimately. The Rev. Dr. S. A. Bronson, his former rector, in a letter to Mrs. Simpson, wrote as follows : “ Mr. Simpson was a man with as many virtues, and as few faults, as almost any one who can be found in this crooked world. As a vestry- man in my church during the sixteen years I was rector of Grace Church, San- dusky, I can safely say I found no fault in him. As a business man, he was honest and honorable ; as a Christian, and as an officer of the church, he was faithful in the discharge of all his duties; benevolent, judicious and wise. If help was needed, he was always ready to do his part. He was always a pillar in Grace Church,” and he adds, “ a thousand more words in all departments of life may be said of him.” The Rev. R. L. Howell, rector of Grace Church during the last years of Mr. Simpson’s life, in an article he published in the Standard of the Cross and 68 534 History of Erie County. the Cluirch, writes of him as follows: “William A. Simpson was one of those rare instances of the happy commingling of solid worth and simplicity of char- acter which it is positively refreshing to behold. As we watched over him dur- ing his last night, until the morning sun stole across the room, and he entered into the rest he longed for, it did not seem more difficult to fall asleep with him, after the long hours of watching than it did to brace ourselves for the stern duties of another day. Even the devoted wife, so dearly beloved, who had stood by his side for well nigh half a century, joined with us as we thanked the Father for answering our prayers, and taking him so gently to himself. Grandly did we realize the deep meaning of that frequent saying, “ O ! death, where is thy sting?” Mr. Simpson was, during a long life in Sandusky, rever- enced and loved by all who came in contact with him. His great modesty and simplicity of character endeared him to all who knew him. We have lost a most valuable citizen whose ivise counsel was never darkened by many words.” Mr. Simpson married January 5, 1841, Mary, daughter of David and Mary (Wright) Denman. Mrs. Simpson was born in Frederick, Md., January 16, 1816. Her father was an officer in the War of 1812, under General Scott, and was in the battles of Lundy’s Lane, Queenstown Hights, and Fort Erie. Her father died when she was but seven years, and her mother when only five years of age. After the death of her parents she was adopted into the family of Ma- jor J. G. Camp, who moved to Ohio from Buffalo in 1835. Mrs. Simpson has been a member of Grace Church since 1841. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson had no children. Eliza D. Bartlett, a child of an elder and only sister of Mrs. Simp- son’s was taken into the family, and lived with them until her marriage. She is now the widow of James Cook, and lives in Saginaw, Mich. Jennie E. Simp- son, who lost her parents at the time of the cholera epidemic in Sandusky, in 1849, and was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Simpson, lives at the homestead in Sandusky, with Mrs. Simpson. Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Simp- son purchased’ and deeded to Grace Church, the “Grace Church parish build- ing,” corner of Adams and Hancock streets, as a memorial gift to the church. The memory of the man who was so worthy of such a memorial, as well as that of the generous giver, must ever be kept green in the minds of those who, in all the years to come, shall have ihe good fortune to enjoy the healthy social privileges of this beautiful parish home. ADLER, EBENEZER B. The accompanying print will be recognized. in feature and expression, as a faithful likeness of one, who for nearly fifty- three years was a resident, and actively and earnestly identified with the prosperity and history of this localit)’ ; and whose decease on March 25, 1888, was the cause of well nigh universal regret throughout the county and beyond its borders. Having held many important positions of public trust, and always with the \gpl - '.^2 ■m i?-5 Biographical. 535 highest sense of duty, and with unswerving rectitude and fidelity, and having ever discharged his professional duties with an integrity unquestioned by client or opponent, and being socially, sweet-tempered, broad, and sympathetic, and just in all his relations with his fellow-men, and having retained, even up to the last few days of his life, the full possession of his faculties, when his death was announced it- was followed by such a universal expression of personal loss as is accorded to but few characters in any community. Judge Ebenezer B. Sadler was born at Grafton, Mass., on November i6, 1808, and was therefore in his eightieth year when he died. His ancestry was of an excellent old England stock, settling in Massachusetts in the earlier years of the eighteenth century. He was the last of four brothers, all of whom had borne respectable parts in the drama of life. His mother, of whom he always spoke with the highest filial love and with keen remembrance, died when he was under ten, at Geneva. N. Y. Under the untoward circumstances of his fate, at an early age he was obliged to shift for himself and buftet the world as he found it. But through his energy and self-reliance, prompted by a stead- fast ambition, he attained what was considered in those days, a good common school education, and after reaching his majority, he for several years taught school in Western New York. During this period he also devoted such hours as he could command in the law office ©f the Hon. John Dickson, of West Bloomfield, at that time a member of Congress, where he acquired the rudimen- tary knowledge of his chosen profession. In the early summer of 1835, with hopeful'visions of the then far west as the field for young men, he “staged” it to Buffalo, and there embarked for Sandusky. Soon after reaching Sandusky he was admitted to the bar, and in 1836 formed a law partnership with the late F. D. Parish, which continued, agreeably and successfully, for eleven years, till his elevation to the bench. In 1844—5 was mayor of Sandusky, and in 1847 he was appointed presi- dent judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, then embracing the counties of Erie, Huron, Sandusky, Ottawa, Lucas, Wood and Henry. He served in this capacity five years and until the adoption of the constitution of 1852 changed the judicial system of the State. The satis- faction he gave as judge is evidenced by the resolutions adopted by the bar of the several counties, testifying to the ability, impartiality, uprightness, and the urbanity which characterized him as a judicial officer. In 1852 he was the candidate of his party (Whig) for Congress. In the years 1866-67 he was State senator from this district. During the first term of President Grant’s administration he served as postmaster of Sandusky. Looking to the interest and welfare of the city he also served as a member of the council several times. This is the mere plain record of his official life. He never sought any office, but when called upon to serve the people, he dis- charged what he considered the highest duty of a citizen with rare fidelity. 540 History of Erie County. Immediately after the close of the war he was actively and prominently identified in the great railroad project of building a line of railway from Port- land, Ore., to Sacramento, Cal., and had much to do in securing the grant from the government to assist that enterprise. He was also up to the time of his death a director in several of the railroads terminating in Sandusky. But in all of his official positions, whether public or private trust, and in the con- duct of his professional business he exhibited the highest integrity, and it may be well said that he traveled through life without leaving a suspicion in any man’s mind that he has not been faithful and honest to the utmost. As an attorney and counsellor at the bar, his judgment was considered pre-eminently valuable. He was an unusually clear thinker, and an able practitioner. He was possessed of a cool, judicial temperament, and to an unusual degree, was endowed with the “ genius of common sense.” Broad, conservative and chari- table in his views, benevolent and unselfish, he was the friend of every good work, ready to sacrifice his own comfort, if need be, to the pleasure and good of others. In social life he was ever the genial, kind hearted gentleman; the general favorite with both old and young; and in Sandusky no company seemed complete without his presence. In 1843 he married Emily Webb, of West Bloomfield, N. Y. Their mar- ried life was short, she dying at Sandusky in 1849. She will be remembered by many as a singularly beautiful woman, of most excellent virtues; and ever true to her memory, he remained a widower. His only child is C. W. Sadler, who resides at Sandusky. Eor nearly forty years Judge Sadler lived in a cot- tage on Jackson street, to which was attached his law office. Me was passionately devoted to the beautiful in art and nature. During his leisure hours he cultivated with rare devotion choice fruits and flowers, and his flower garden, in season, was a recurring picture long to be held in remem- brance by his friends and the public. Finally it may be said, that though his well rounded, ever active life was a perpetual rebuke to all evil-doers, yet he lived without an enemy. “ His life was gentle, and the elements So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up .^nd say to all the world, ‘ This was a man,’ ” BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. FFLECK, WILLIAM J., Sandusky, one of the representative citizens of Sandusky, was born in Liverpool, England, December 23, 1826. He visited America in 1846, in company with his father, and in 1857 came to America, and became engaged in business on the lakes. In 1857 he retired from this seafaring life, and became engaged in farming and the cooper busi- ness in Huron. In April, 1861, he enlisted on the first call for three months men, in the 24th Ohio Vols., mustered in June 6, 1861, under Colonel Jacob Ammen, and served three years. He was promoted to orderly, then to second and then to first lieutenant, and afterwards made adjutant. He was discharged in June, 1864. He settled in Sandusky, and was clerk of the county courts for six years. In 1883 he became engaged in the wholesale ice business. He was married in August, 1867, to Isabella Duff, who was born in Scotland. They have had a family of four children, three of whom are now living: John R., born in 1868; Harriet E., and William W. Mr. Affleck erected his present residence in 1879. Alstaetter, William, Sandusky, was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, in 1834, and was a son of Lrederick and Susanna L. (Ganzert) Alstaetter. William and his brother, Louis, came to America in 1850, and settled in Allen county, O., where they became engaged in farming. The parents emigrated in 1851, and settled in Lima, Allen county, where they died. Lrederick was born in 1803, and died in 1883; his wife born in 1810, died in 1887. They had a family of eight children: Louis, William, Christian, Emma, Mary, Au- gusta, Harman and Henry. Harman and Henry enlisted. Harman was wounded in battle and died in Geoi'gia. William was married in 1861 to Bar- bara Reul, who was born in Baden, Germany. She died in 1867, leaving one child, Mina. He married his second wife, Lrederica Walter in 1868. They have one child, Hedwig. Frederica was born in Wurtemburg, Germany. Mr. Alstaetter settled in Sandusky in 1876, and became engaged in the manu- facture of grape wines, a member of the firm of Alstaetter Brothers, and in 1879 William became sole proprietor. His cellars now have a capacity of 20,000 gallons. 69 542 History of Erie County. Ambacher, Jacob, Sandusky, a manufacturer and dealer in cutlery, guns and other supplies, was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, in 1843, and was a son of Gottlieb and Frederica Ambacher. His mother died in Germany, leaving a family of six children : Louisa, Frederica, Gottlieb, jr., Sophia, Jacob and Christina. Jacob came to America in i 867, and Louisa and Gottlieb came one month after. They settled in Adrian, Mich., in 1868. January i, 1868, Jacob ■came to Sandusky, and started his present business in a small way. He now has all the improved machinery of later days, and gives employment to about five hands. He was born in 1843, married Mrs. Elizabeth (Kehl) Mey- ers. They have had one child, Lena. Mrs. Ambacher had four children by her first husband. In 1874 Jacob sent to Germany for his father and his re- maining three sisters. Anderson, James, jr., Huron p. o., was born in Surrey, England, January 25, 1836, and was a son of James and Sarah (Baden) Anderson, who came to America in 1839, and settled in Huron township, where Mr. Anderson died in 1866, aged 68 years, and his wife in 1876, aged 75. They had a family of four children, of whom James is now the only surviving one. *Mr. Anderson now owns the old homestead of 153 acres, which was purchased by his father on settlement for $8 per acre. Mr. Anderson now owns some 250 acres of fine land. He has been supervisor of the township, treasurer of the Huron board of education for four years, and a member of the board of education for the same length of time. He was married in 1863 to Miranda H. Bartlett. She was a daughter of Corbin W. and Mary Etta Bartlett. Miranda died in 1885, leaving a family of five children ; Sarah Etta, Mary A., Carrie E., James Corbin and Burton Baden. Mr. Anderson married his second wife, Mary E. Davey, daughter of John and Elizabeth Davey, of Berlin township, in 1887. Arnold, Christian H., Sandusky, was born in Nassau, Germany, in 1854, and ■emigrated to America in 1870. He came to Sandusky on a visit, and remained two months. He was a son of Philip and Elizabeth Arnold. Philip died in Ger- many, leaving a widow and nine children. Two brothers and a sister came to America, and in 1875 Christian sent for his mother and the remaining six chil- dren. The children are Philip, Christian H., Christina, Henry, Minnie and Katie (twins), Maggie, Charles and Julius. Christian H. became a farmer, and in 1881 became engaged in the mercantile business as a country merchant. In 1883 he settled in Sandusky as a general grocer, produce and provision dealer. He was married in 1882 to Jennie Kramb, of Erie county. They have had a family of two children, Millie and Roy. Arnold, D. R., Sandusky, proprietor of the Sloane House Drug Store, was born in Wayne county. Pa., in 1845. He settled in Sandusky in 1862, and became engaged in the drug business with Messrs. Adams and Fay, and in 1868 purchased the business, and sold the same in 1871, and became engaged as a traveling agent. He formed a partnership with Mr. Lee in 1882, Brief Biographical Sketches. 543 the firm being Lee & Arnold. He sold his interest in 1883, and purchased his present business, corner of Columbus avenue and Washington street. He is a son of David and Maria Arnold. David was born in Orange county, N. Y., and his wife, Maria, in Connecticut. D. R. Arnold was married in 1868 to Mary Drake, of Sandusky. They have a family of six children : Bessie, Fannie, George, Effie and D. R., jr. He formed the firm of Arnold & Hen- kelman, of which he is now a member, in 1887. Atwater, Jeremiah, Margaretta, Castalia p. o., has been one of the repre- sentative men of his town. He has been elected to nearly all the offices in the gift of his townsmen; justice, town clerk, town treasurer, trustee, real estate assessor, and member of the school board for nearly thirty five years. He was born in Ontario county, N. Y., in 1830, and has lived in Erie county since 1835 ; was a son of John and Mary (Rogers) Atwater, who were born in the State of New York, and married in Ontario county, N. Y., and settled in Sandusky county, O., in 1834, where his wife died in 1835, leaving a family of four chil- dren, one of whom died one week later, and two are now living, Henry and Jer- emiah. John, the father, died in Erie county in 1877. 'Jeremiah was raised on a farm. He engaged in carriage and wagon manufacturing in 1849, continued the same until 1864. He enlisted in Company I, 145th Regiment, in May, 1864, and was discharged the last of August, 1864. He returned to the farm in 1864, and is still engaged in farming. He was married in 1859 to Mary J. Button, who was born in Erie county. They have a family of three children: Charles H., Barden S., now a student, and Sally M. Baldruffi Jacob, Perkins, Sandusky p. o., was born in Germany in 1813, and was a son of Christian Baldruffi He was married in 1836 to Erederica Rohrbacker, and in 1846 came to America, and settled in Perkins township, Erie county, O. They had a family of four children: Catharine, Erederica, Christian and Jerome. Jerome died on the ocean and was buried at sea. Five children were born to them in America: Julia, Elizabeth, Sarah, Louisa and Jacob, jr. Erederica died March, 1882, aged 71 years. When he first settled here he worked for three years in the warehouse of the S. M. & N. R. R. In 1849 he purchased his farm of 33^ acres of timber land, for which he paid $30 per acre. This farm he cleared and improved, and in 1887 sold it for $100 per acre. He has now retired from active business life. His daughter, Louisa, married Adam E. Lehr in 1879. They have had three children: Oscar, Eva and Clara. Sarah married Charles Watzel, Elizabeth married Conrad Eck- ler, Catharine married Jacob Horning, and Frederica married George Guen- ther, and Christian was married in 1864 to Elizabeth Keller. Bardshar, Allen J., Huron p. o., one of the representative young men of his county, was born in Margaretta township in 1854, and was a son of Solomon and Amelia (Hanum) Bardshar, now residents of Sandusky. Allen J. was mar- ried October 21, 1880 to Martha V. Dale of Huron. They have two sons, J. 544 History of Erie County. Dale and Burt S. Martha was a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Aldson) Dale. Mr. Dale settled in Ohio at an early day, coming there from Pennsylvania. His wife was born in England. They were married in Huron where they died. They had a family of four children, of whom Mrs. Bardshar is now the only surviving one. Mr. Bardshar is now engaged in farming, owning a fine farm of I 50 acres. Bardwell, Seth E., Groton, Castalia p. o., one of the representative men of his township, was born in Groton, December 6, 1844. He was a son of Seth and Louisa (White) Bardwell. Louisa was born in Hampshire county, Mass., in 1808, and Seth was born in Hampshire county in 1806. They were mar- ried in Hatfield, Mass., in 1833, and settled in Groton that same year. They had a family of seven children, six of whom are now living. Mr. Bardwell learned the blacksmith trade, but after settling here became engaged in farm- ing. He died in 1863, leaving a widow and six children. Seth was a son of Remembrance Bardwell, one of the prominent men of Massachusetts, a mem- ber of the State Legislature. Louisa Bardwell had a brother Daniel, who, in company with Captain John White and sister Lucy Ann White, also came to this county. Seth E. Bardwell enlisted in Company G, 145th O. V. I., on the 100 day call, under Captain David James, and was discharged at Camp Chase. He was married in 1874 to Celesta M. Thompson, of Groton. They have had a family of three children ; Ethel, Seth Arden and Alvah Edgar. Mr. Bardwell has held several township offices. Barnes, Walter S., Oxford, North Monroeville p. o., was born in Gouver- neur, St. Lawrence count}% N. Y., in 1817, and was a son of Norman and Sy- bel (Parker) Barnes, who were born and married at Hartford county. Conn. They settled in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., where Norman died in 1839, and his widow in 1884, aged 92 years. Walter S. was married at Sacketts Har- bor, N. Y., in 1840, to Alma G. Hoyt, who was born at Gouverneur, N. Y. They have two children, Llattie A. and John II. Hattie A. married Albert J. P'isheri and John H. married Ella Fisher. They came to Oxford, Erie county, in September, 1844, when Barnes became proprietor of the Cook Hotel, located at North Monroeville. Mr. Barnes retired from the hotel business in 1847, and became engaged in farming, and in 1866 purchased his present homestead of 100 acres. Mr. Barnes was prominent in the organization and building up of the Congregational Church of Monroeville. He has filled the office of deacon since 1848, and is now one of the oldest surviving officers, and one of the most active Christian workers in the church. Bartlett, Corbin W., Huion p. o , was born in New Hampshire, July 28, 1805, and was a son of Giles and Mary (Tombs) Bartlett, who had a family of nine children, two of whom are now living, Abigail and Corbin W. Corbin W'. settled in Genesee county, N. Y., in 1821, and became engaged in farming. He was married in 1831 to Marietta Willey, who was born in Rutland county. Brief Biographical Sketches. 545 Vt. They settled in Fairport, O., in 1833, and in 1838 came to Erie county. They have had a family of nine children, eight of whom are now living: Har- riet, Mary, Almira, Miranda, George, William, Giles, Emma and Sarah. Mi- randa married James Anderson, and died, leaving a family of five children. Marietta was a daughter of Zachariah and Serepta Willey. George enlisted in 1861 in the 7th Ohio, but was discharged on account of disability. He re- enlisted the same year in the ist Ohio Cavalry, and was discharged at the close of the war. Mr. Bartlett, on settlement here, was engaged as a railroad fore- man and contractor, in which business he was engaged until 1847, when he became engaged in farming. He purchased his present homestead farm of 65 acres, in 1872. Barrett, Rachel, Huron p. o., was born in Yates county, N. Y., March 14, 1805, and was a daughter of Joseph and Zipporah (Woodhull) Lewis. Joseph died in New York State, leaving a widow and seven sons and three daughters. Joseph died while serving in the War of 1812, as a substitute. Two of his sons were also soldiers in this war. The widow, Zipporah, emigrated to New Lon- don, Huron county, about 1820. Rachel was married in 1825, to Clark A. Smith, who died in 1826. She was married the second time in 1827, to Squire Barrett. They had a family of nine children, five of whom are now living: Benjamin L., Philander J., William C., Cynthia E., and Wealthy Orinda. William C. enlisted in 1861, in the 63d Ohio Volunteers, and served to the close of the war. Mrs. Barrett is now in her 84th year, but manages her farm and financial interests. Bartzen, Peter, Huron p. o., a general blacksmith and dealer in farm im- plements, was born in Rhineland, Germany, in 1854, and was a son of Nicho- las and Margaret Bartzen. Peter learned his trade from his father, and in 1871 came to Buffalo, N. Y., and in 1873 settled in Huron, Erie county. He pur- chased his present property, and erected thereon his shop and residence. He was married in 1876 to Maggie Alenz, who was born in Erie county. They have a family of four children : Catharine, Peter, jr., Libbie and Leonard. Mr. Bartzen was in the council for two years, and is now agent for the Lansing Wagon Company. Baubach, Jacob, Sandusky, was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1809, and married his first wife, Catharine, in Germany, and came to Sandusky in 1842, where his wife died in 1854. Mr. Baubach married his second wife, Rosa Dietz, in 1855. She was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1836, and was left an orphan at an early age. She came to Sandusky in 1853. Mr. Bau- bach died in 1885, leaving a wfidow. Their only child, a son, died at the age of five years. Mr. Baubach was the first man in Sandusky to engage in the manufacture of pure grape wine. In early life he was engaged in the grocery and provision business, at Sandusky, O. Bauer, John, Sandusky, a manufacturer of grape wines, and a member of 546 History of Erie County. the firm of Adam Bauer & Son, was born in Sandusky, January 7, 1850, and was a son of Adam and Magdalena Bauer, who were born in Germany; Adam in Hesse Darmstadt. He settled in Crawford county and became engaged in farming, and at an early date came to Sandusky, where he was married. They have had a family of five children, John, Caroline, Hattie, Albert and Fred. Adam was engaged in carpentering in early life, and in 1855 became engaged in the grocery and provision business. He sold his interest in this business in 1878 and became engaged in the manufacture of grape wines, and erected his present wine cellar in 1881. The firm’s cellars now have a capacity for some ten thousand gallons. Baum, Charles, Perkins, Sandusky p. o., one of the successful farmers of Perkins township was born in Baden, Germany, in 1826, and was a son of George and Susan (Ernst) Baum who came to America and settled in Perkins county in 1834 with a family of four sons and two daughters, William, Charles, Fred and August, Sally and Catharine. John and Sophia were born in this township. Charles Baum was married in Sandusky in 1854 to Eva Margaret Frey, who was born in Baden, Germany. They have had two sons, Charles F. and George A. Mr. Baum was town treasurer for three years, and trustee for several years. He commenced farming with a farm of twenty acres, and now owns 183 acres of well cultivated land. Charles F. married Rosa Feon- ard ; George A. married Lena Taylor. Baum, John, Perkins, Sandusky p. o., was born in Perkins township in 1836 on his present farm. He was a sou of George and Sally (Ernst) Baum, who were born and married in Baden, Germany, and settled in Perkins township in 1 834, with a family of four sons and two daughters, William, Charles, Fred and August. John and Sophia were born in this township. George died in Perkins in 1867, and his wife in 1854. John now owns the old homestead which he has improved, having added a modern dwelling house and outbuildings. He was married in 1855 to Radena Witmer, who died in 1878, leaving a family of five children, two of whom are now living, Elizabeth and Emma. He mar- ried his second wife, Mary Hoffman, in 1880. She was born in Sullivan county, N. Y. They have had two children, Louisa and George. Bauman, Charles, Sandusky, was born in Baden, Germany, in 1835, came to America in 1854, and settled in Sandusky. He learned the paint- er’s trade and worked at it for several years, when he became a partner in the business firm of Holland & Bauman in 1862, and in 1870 purchased the in- terest of the former partners. He formed the company of Bauman & Tibbutt in 1871, and that of Bauman & Co. in 1872, and in 1877 sold his interest and opened his present store, dealing largely in oils, paints and wall paper and decorating materials. He was married in 1858 to Eva Bitter, who was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. They have eleven children living, Fred, Barbara, Charles H., Mary, Louisa, Cecelia, Lizzie, John, Jacob, Harry and Amanda. Brief Biographical Sketches. 547 Bear, Abraham, Sandusky, a commission merchant and curer of hams and bacon and wholesale dealer in the same, was born at Cleveland in 1844, and settled in Sandusky in 1847. He was a son of Nathan Bear. Nathan Bear settled in Sandusky in 1847, started the packing business which is now carried on by his son Abraham and Mr. Ruth. He died in 1874 leaving a widow and one son, Abraham. Beatty, George D., Oxford, Bloomingville p. o., a grandson of the pioneer settler, John Beatty and his wife Mary (Cook) Beatty, who were born in Dub- lin, Ireland. Mr. Beatty was the owner of some 40,000 acres of land. George D. Beatty was born in Perkins township in 1843, and was a son of James and Margaret (Hibbard) Beatty. James was born in 1800 in New London, Conn., and settled in Perkins township with his parents in 1815. James and his wife died of the cholera in 1852, leaving a family of one son and two daughters, George D., Margaret and Mary J., and by a previous marriage two sons and one daughter, John, Amanda and William G. James was a son of John and Mary (Cook) Beatty, who had a family of seven children : James, Leonard, John W., Anna, Mary, Susan and Jane. Susan is now the only surviving one. George married Viola T. James, who was born in Oxford, and a daughter of the pioneers, Thomas and Fanny James, who settled here in 1810. George D. and Fannie were married in 1869, and have had a family of six children : Arthur, Thomas J., Mabel, Elva J., George D., jr., and John B. Mr. Beatty was elected justice for one term, town clerk seven years. He is now engaged in general farming Beatty, Louis, Kelley’s Island p. o., was born in Russia June 3, 1821, and was a son of Andrew and Mary Beatty, who died leaving a family of five chil- dren : Anna, Louis, Caroline, Marcus and Christina. Louis Beatty was mar- ried in 1841 to Mary Schautz, who was born in Russia in 1822. They emi- grated to America in 1849, settled in Akron, O., where he worked as a farm laborer. He came to Kelley’s Island in the fall of 1854, and purchased five acres of land at $60 per acre. One and a half acres of this land he con- verted into a vineyard, and from that time on his business increased, until now he has a vineyard of thirty-two acres, and his crop of grapes in 1887 exceeded 100,000 tons. He erected his first wine cellar in i860, and now has capacity for 70,000 gallons. He now owns sixty acres on the island and 300 acres in Huron township. They have had a family of ten children, five of whom are now living: Christina, born in 1850; William, born 1856; Mary, born in 1859; Henry, born in 1862 ; and Daniel, born in 1865. Two sons, Michael and Jacob, enlisted. Jacob died from disease contracted while in the service, and Michael in 1868, aged twenty-six years. Mr. Beatty went home to Russia on a visit in 1879, and when he returned brought with him his two sisters, his younger brother and sister having came with him when he first emi- grated. 548 History of Erie County. Becker, William, Kelley’s Island p. o. , a representative man of the island, was born at Nassau, Germany, in 1833, and was a son of George and Catha- rine Becker. Mr. Becker learned the blacksmith business and came to San- dusky April 19, 1852, where he worked at his trade as a journeym.an. He came to Kelley’s Island November 20, 1852, where he also worked at his trade. He was married in 1857 to Philomelia Miller, of Sandusky. She was born in Nassau, Germany, and died September 4, 1888. They had a family of eleven children, ten of whom are now living : William F., Emma, Caroline, Lydia, Martha, George, Elizabeth, Karl, Laura and Arthur. They settled in Huron county, but returned to Kelley’s in 1859, where he purchased his home- stead farm on which he erected his present residence. He now has a farm of sixty-one acres and vineyard of thirty acres. In 1861 he became engaged in the manufacture of wine, and now has capacity for 75,000 gallons. Beecher, Joseph, Perkins, Sandusky p. o,, was born in Bergen, Genesee county, N. Y., in 1818, and was a son of Limer Beecher. He was married in 1839 to Eliza Tigart, of New York. She died in 1843, leaving two children: Martha and John. His second wife was Susan Wright, of New York. She died in 1859, leaving one son, Leroy. Mr. Beecher settled in Perkins town- ship in 1845. He has served in many of the town offices, was justice of the peace, trustee for two terms, assessor three terms. He was married the third time in 1862, to Mrs. Amarita St. John, widow of James St. John. Beecher, Malcom G., Perkins, Sandusky p. o., was born in Williamsport, Lycoming county, Penn., in March, 1828, and was a son of Lucas S. and Jane (Turk) Beecher. Jane was born in Pennsylvania in 1800, and her husband in New Haven, Conn., March 13, 1799. Jane died in 1882, and Lucas in 1883. They had a family of five children : Malcom G., John C., Mary J., now Mrs. Dr. Rankin ; Clara, now Mrs. John Fink, and Emma. They settled in San- dusky in 1828. Bemiss, Samuel, Groton, Bellevue p. o., was born in Groton, Erie count)^ April 23, 1829, and was a son of Elijah and Sophronia Bemiss. Elijah was born in Shelburne, Mass., in 1797, and settled in Cayuga county, N. Y. His father, Samuel, with his two sons, Elijah and Rodney came to Groton from New York in 1823, when he purchased the homestead farm of 200 acres, which the grandson, Samuel, now owns and occupies. Samuel, sr. , had a family of two sons and three daughters, of whom Rodney and Anna are the only surviving ones. Elijah and Sophronia had a family of five children, three of whom are now living: Eliza, Mrs. Seymour; Ruth A., Mrs. Barnard, and Samuel. Elijah was married February 13, 1823. His wife was born July 12, 1795, and died November 26, 1863 ; Elijah died October 18, 1869. Samuel Bemiss, the grandson, was married March 24, 1855, to Mary A. Nims. They have had a family of four children : Samuel E., Fannie A., Minnie A., and P red N. Mrs. Bemiss was a daughter of Samuel and Fannie (Peck) Nims, who had four chil- Brief Biographical Sketches. 549 dren : Samuel, Betsey M., Ardelia and Augusta. Mr. Bemiss was drafted, but furnished a substitute. He has been .trustee for six years, and like his father was prominently connected with the county agricultural society, being an offi- cer in the society for thirty-five years. Biehl, Jacob, Sandusky, a builder and contractor, was born in Kreis Mel- sungen, Kur Hessen, Germany, in 1824, and emigrated to America and set- tled in Pittsburg in 1848. He was married to Catharine Bier, who was born in Kur Hessen, and came over in the same vessel with Mr. Biehl. They set- tled in Sandusky. They were married in May, 1849, ^nd have had a family of seven children : Henry, Fred, John, Lewis, Jacob, Mary and Anna. Lewis and Jacob are engaged in the drug business. Jacob after settling here became engaged in the carpentering business, and in 1858 became a contract carpenter and builder, and is still engaged in that business. He was a son of Conrad and Margaret E. Biehl, who settled in Sandusky in 1849, coming here from Germany. They had a family of six sons and two daughters. Conrad was born in 1788, and died in 1854; Margaret was born in 1788, and died in i860. Two of their sons, Fred and Inglehart, served in the 123rd Regiment during the war. Bing, William, Sandusky, a carriage and wagon manufacturer, was born in Sandusky in 1852, and was a son of Ferdinand and Catharine (Graceman) Bing. She was a Hessian by birth, and her husband was born in Baden, Ger- many. They came to Sandusky in 1848, and were married in 1849. Ferdi- nand died in July, 1883, leaving a widow and six children. Ferdinand was a wagonmaker by trade, and was engaged in that business after settling here. Whlliam learned the trade, and in 1861 became engaged in the business for himself After the death of his father he purchased the entire interest, and now conducts the carriage and wagon manufactory, and smithing and repair- ing departments. He was married in 1874 to Barbara Kenne, of Sandusky. They have had six children : Fily, William jr., Charles, Ferdinand, Casper, and an infant daughter. Bogert, Jay, Sandusky, owner and proprietor of the Sandusky Livery and Sales Stable, and dealer in carts, carriages and buggies, was born in Sandusky in 1842, and was a son of David D. and Minerva Bogert. Minerva was born in Hartford, Conn., and David in New York city. They settled in Erie county in 1832, where they died. They had a family of eight children, two of whom are now living — Jay and Mrs. Ellen Chase. David D. enlisted first in the Eighth Ohio, on the 100 days call, after which he enlisted in the same regiment for three years. His son, John, who was not twelve years old, enlisted in the same regiment, and served eighteen months in the regular army and served five years as chief bugler. He died in 1882. Jay enlisted in the 123rd Ohio in 1862, and served to the close of the war. He was married in 1876 to Mary Dietrich. They have had three children: Jessie M., David D. and Charles A. 70 550 History of Erie County. Bredbeck, John F., Sandusky, a general dry goods merchant of Sandusky, was born in Danbury, Ottawa county, O., August i6, 1851, and was a son of John D. and Maria S. (Dowding) Bredbeck, who were born, he in Bremen, Germany, and his wife in London, England. They settled in Ottawa county in 1847, coming there from New York. They had a family of five sons and three daughters. John F. came to Sandusky seeking employment, and in 1868 became a clerk in a hotel, and by untiring energy and a few changes he became clerk in the store of S. E. Hubbard, and afterward with A. Zerbe. In 1874 he became engaged in the dry goods business, being a member of the firm of Wagner, Powers & Bredbeck, and in 1880 joined the firm of Harris, Schumacher & Co., and in 1886 purchased controlling interest in his present extensive dry goods business, the present firm being J. F. Bredbeck & Co. He was married November 25, 1875, to Elizabeth Schneider, of Sandusky. They have had one child — Maude. He has been a member of the board of education for two terms, and is one of the most enterprising men of Sandusky. Brehm, William, Sandusky, a dry goods merchant of Sandusky, was born in Nassau, Germany, November 22, 1815, and was a son of Martin Brehm. William learned the trade of cabinetmaking, and emigrated to New York city in 1848, where he worked at this trade until May 18, 1849, when he settled in Sandusky, O., and became engaged as a journeyman at his trade. In 1865 he became engaged in his present business. He was married in San- dusky, in 1851, to Elizabeth Rode, who was born in Remsfeld, Germany, in 1830. They have had a family of eight children: Mena, Theodore, Mary, William, Libbie, Conrad, John and Caroline. Theodore enlisted in the United States army, and served for five years. Mary is now engaged in teaching, and Theodore and Conrad are engaged in business in Chicago. Brooks, Absalom, Berlin, Vermillion p. o., one of the early settlers of Ver- million, was born in Newark, N. Y., in 1814, and was a son of Reuben and Eleanor (Benschoten) Brooks, who were married in New York, and settled in Erie county, O., in February, 1817, with a family of two sons, Absalom and William. They had a family of seven children, three of whom are now living, Absalom, Rebecca, now Mrs. Eaton ; Julia, now Mrs. Washburn. Reuben, who was born in 1790, died in Erie county in 1859. His wife died in 1844. Absalom was married in Huron county in 1839, to Abigail Utter, who was born in Geneseo, Livingston county, N. Y., in 1817. They have had a fam- ily of five children, two of whom are now living : Marion, now Mrs. Ketchum, who has two sons, Carl and Edwin ; and Eleanor, now Mrs. George Chapin, who has a family of three children, Willis, Marion and Millie. Mrs. Brooks was a daughter of Amos and Phoebe (Babcock) Utter, who were married in New York State and settled in Huron county, O., in 1818. They had a family of four children, of whom Mrs. Brooks is the only surviving one. Mr. Brooks owns a fine farm of 120 acres. Brief Biographical Sketches. 551 Brown, Orlando, son of Kling and Asaneth (Walker) Brown, was born in Tolland county, Conn., in 1815; settled in Margaretta, in 1817, where, with the exception of one year, he resided until his death, in 1882. He was married in 1839 to Laura Boice. They raised a family of seven children. His wife died in 1867. Brown, Otto W., Kelley’s Island, was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, in 1854, and was a son of Ernest and Caroline Brown, who came to America with a family of two children, Otto and Charles, and settled in Sandusky. They have had a family of thirteen children in all, nine of whom are now liv- ing: Otto, Albert, Ernest, jr., Lena, now Mrs. L. P. Smith; Emma, Mrs- Charles Hann ; Clara, Louis, William and Lucy. The parents now reside in Michigan. Otto W. returned to Ohio, and settled on Kelley’s Island in 1874, and became engaged in business in the Kelley’s Island wine cellar. He pur- chased his homestead of ten acres in 1878, eight acres of which he has con- verted into a vineyard. He paid $500 per acre for this land. The wine cel- lars erected on it at the time he purchased, were built by Mr. J. Rush, which Mr. Brown has had enlarged from a capacity of 60,000 to 140,000 gallons. He was married in 1878 to Anna Kastning, of Cleveland. They have had four children : Alma, Walter, Rhea and Hugo. Mr. Brown organized the Sweet Valley Wine Company in 1887, with a capital stock of $50,000, He is now manager of this company. Brown, Solomon, Margaretta, Venice p. o., a pioneer by birth, was born in Groton township in 1819, and was a son of Joseph R. and Ruth (Smith) Brown, who were married in New York State and settled in Groton in 1818. They had a family of nine children, five of whom are now living: Solomon, Daniel, Ruth, Diadema and Martha. The father, Joseph Brown, served in the War of 1812. He was born in 1790 and died in 1841. His wife, Ruth, died in 1867. Joseph purchased his farm in 1828, for which he paid $3 per acre. Solo- mon now owns a part of the old homestead, owning in all about 250 acres. He was married in 1842 to Ziltha Campbell, who was born in Groton in 1817, and have had two children, Sylvia R. and Church S. Ziltha was a daughter of Dougal and Sylvia (Herrington) Campbell. Sylvia was born in Warren county, N. Y., and Dougal in Washington county. Pa. They were married in Oxford, O., in 1815, and had a family of three children: Ziltha, Urban, and Almira, now Mrs. Sherman. Brown, William jr., Perkins, Sandusky p. o., was born in Utica, Oneida county, N. Y., in 1834, and was a son of William and Eunice (Prey) Brown. Eunice was born in Maine, and her husband in Rathsbay, England, in 1794. They were married in Maine and settled in New York State. In 1836 they settled in Norwalk, Huron county, O., and in 1838 settled in Perkins township, where they died, Eunice in 1865 and William in 1875. They left a family of four children : Mary Ann, Rachel, William, jr., and Ruth. Rachel has taught school for several terms, and Ruth is also engaged in teaching. 552 History of Erie County. Bruckner, David, Sandusky, one of the leading carriage and wagon manu- facturers of Sandusky, was born in Perkins township in 1855, and was a son of Peter Bruckner, who was born in Germany about 1813, and settled in Erie county about 1847. His wife died in 1867, leaving eleven children, ten of whom are now living. David learned the blacksmith trade, and in 1881 pur- chased his lot and erected buildings for his blacksmith shop and wagon factory. Mr. Bruckner was married October 17, 1878, to Mary Burkin, who was born in Germany, They have had a family of five children : Katie, Mary, Charles, Emma and David. Buderus, Anton, Sandusky, a merchant tailor and clothing merchant of Sandusky, was born in Nassau, Germany, in 1834, and was a son of Philip H. Buderus. The father died in 1843 the mother in 1841. They had a family of six children, four of whom came to America : Anton, Magdalene, Mary and Sophia. Anton emigrated in 1854 and settled in Sandusky, where he was engaged as a journeyman tailor until 1863, when he formed a partner- ship with his present partner, Cornelius Schnaitter, and embarked in a general clothing and merchant tailoring business on Columbus avenue. In 1873 they erected a block of two fine three-story stores, and are now occupying one of them, the other being rented. Success has attended this firm in all its under- takings. Mr. Buderus was married in 1859 to Catharine Joseph, of Baden, Germany. She died in 1864, leaving one daughter, Julia. Mr. Buderus then married his second wife, Amantha Hindi, of Hamburg, in 1865. They have had four children : Ida, Laura, Arthur and Willie. Buyer, Jacob, Sandusky, proprietor of the Sandusky File and Saw Manu- factory and Repair Factory, was born in Sandusky in 1849, and was married in 1873 to Ellen Kane, who was born in Sandusky in 1851. They have had a family of eight children — Ellen, Jacob, Robert, Thomas, Albert, Edwin, Eugene and Arthur. Mr. Buyer in early life became engaged in the tin, copper and sheet-iron business, and in 1868 started his present saw and file manufacturing business, giving employment to seven men, and to-day, with his greatly im- proved machinery, employs nine men. Jacob was a son of Nicholas and An- geline (Hoeffel) Buyer. Nicholas was born in 1812, in Bavaria, and emigrated to America and settled in Tiffin. Angeline was born in Lichtenburg, France, in 1816. They were married in Tiffin in 1840, and settled in Sandusky in 1846. They have nine children living: Louis, Cornelia, Celia, Jacob, Edward, William, George, Henry and Angeline. The mother, Angeline, died on the 4th of March, 1872, and Nicholas died December r, 1887. Carpenter, Charles, Kelley’s Island, one of the prominent pioneers of Kel- ley’s Island, was born in Norwich, New London county. Conn., in 1810, and was a son of Gardner and Mary (Huntington) Carpenter, who had a family of five sons and one daughter, but two of the children are now living, Gardner, jr., born in 1802, and Charles. One son, George, and the daughter, Mrs. Les- Brief Biographical Sketches. 553 - ter, both died leaving families. Charles’ received a liberal education, and in 1830 became engaged in the manufacture of cords and twine, but by too close application to business his health became impaired, and he went South on a trip. After his return his mill and property was destroyed by fire. He then came to Kelley’s Island on a visit, where he found employment, and here he remained. He was married in 1 844 to Caroline Kelley, a daughter of Datus and Sarah Kelley. They have had a family of four children, Lester, Alida, now Mrs. Seton ; Mary, now Mrs. Ward ; and Sara, now Mrs. Moysey. Mr. Carpenter purchased his farm of 124 acres in 1844. He purchased the farm with accom- panying farm tools and stock from Horace Kelley on credit, he having no capital at the time. He then became engaged in the lime and building stone business, having many government contracts. He retired from the stone busi- ness in 1863. He first became engaged in the grape culture in 1844, and erected the first wine cellar north of Cincinnati in 1851, and became engaged in the manufacture of pure grape wine. He retired from active business some time afterward, selling his wine cellar to the Kelley Island Wine Company. He now devotes his entire attention to his vineyard, peach orchard, and the culti- vation of a great variety of smaller fruits. The Kelley Island Wine Company was formed in 1886, and rented Mr. Carpenter’s cellars and some years later purchased the property. Carpenter, Mrs. Jane A., Huron, was born in Greenwich, Fairfield county,. Conn., in 1823, and was a daughter of Charles and Maria (Brown) Brun- dydge, who settled in New London, Huron county, in 1832, and later in Williams county, where Mrs. Brundyge died in i877,leaving a family of three children: Jane A., Phebe, now Mrs. D. Thomas; and Charles Henry. Jane A. was married in 1843 to David S. Carpenter, who was born in Westchester county, N. Y., in 1818, and with his parents settled in New London, Huron county, when he was a child. The parents had a family of eleven children, but one of whom is now living, Mrs. Eliza Hallday. Mr. David S. Carpenter purchased his homestead in Huron, Erie county, and erected his fine resi- dence thereon in 1859. He died September 16, 1877, leaving a widow. Car Skaden, William, Oxford, North Monroeville p. o., one of the repre- sentative men of his town, was born in Luzerne county. Pa., in 1826, and was a son of Anson and Sarah Car Skaden. Anson served in the War of 1812-14. William Car Skaden learned the carpenter and joiner’s trade after settling in Ohio. October 28, 1843, he came to Cook’s Corners, Oxford township, where he worked for his brother Henry, who was then engaged in the carpenter’s trade, and also in the manufacture of plows. His brother Henry died in 1856. William was married in 1848 to Celucia Jefferson. They have two sons : Delos, born in 1849, and Wilmer, born in 1868. Celucia was a daughter of Willard and Susanna (Burt) Jefferson. Susanna was born in New York in 1797, and Willard was born in Vermont in 1796, and died in 1884, leaving a widow and .554 History of Erie County. eight children. Willard served in the War of 1812. He was married and set- tled in Cattaraugus county, N. Y., and in 1835 came to Oxford township. Delos was educated at the Granville University, and is now engaged in the publishing interest at Chicago. Wilmer is now student at the Granville Uni- versity. Mr. Car Skaden purchased his present homestead of seventy acres in 1851, for which he paid $18 per acre, on which he erected his own build- ings. He is now engaged in the raising of blooded stock. He was trustee of the town during the war. Caswell, Calvin, Margaretta, Castalia p. o., one of the representative gen- tlemen of his county, was born in Steuben county, N. Y., in 1819, and was a son of Thomas and Elinor (Force) Caswell. Elinor was born in New Jersey, and her husband, Thomas, was born in Massachusetts. They were married in Steuben county. Thomas came to Margaretta in 1836, and his son, Calvin, came in 1838. Thomas, on settlement here, purchased a farm of 500 acres. Here they commenced clearing, and Calvin now owns and occupies this old homestead. Thomas and Elinor had a family of seven children : Daniel, Cal- vin, Elisha, Emily, Julia, Walter and Obert. Three are now living: Calvin, Dr. Walter, of New York city, and Obert, a lawyer of Iowa. Thomas died in 1853, and his wife in 1882, aged eighty-six years. Walter served in the army as surgeon of the loist Regiment; Obert also served during the war, and was promoted from lieutenant to captain of his company. Calvin Caswell was mar- ried in 1841 to Louisa Ellison, of Yates county, N. Y. She died in 1844, leav- ing two children — Emily and Mary H. Mr. Caswell married his second wife, Mrs. Serena Caswell, in 1855. She was born in New York, and had, by her first husband, Daniel Caswell, three children, two now living : Milton J. and Erva. Mr. Caswell has been county commissioner five years. He is now en- gaged in general farming, owning a farm of 525 acres. Clarkson, Martin C., Oxford, Bloomingville p. o., was born in Lincolnshire, England, in i8ii,was married in 1830 to Maria Smith, who was born in i8ir. In 1837 they emigrated to America and settled in Mansfield, O., where Mr. Clarkson worked at his trade, that of a blacksmith. In 1847 tliey settled in Sandusky, where he found work in the S. M. & N. R. R. shops as foreman. Here he remained for thirty-five years, when he resigned in 1882, and settled on his farm in Oxford township, but is now engaged in the general smithing business. Maria died in 1872, leaving seven children: Mary Ann, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Margaret, Lucy, George and Hattie. Mr. Clarkson married his sec- ond wife, Eliza Frankenberger, in 1874. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1814. Mr. Clarkson united with the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1833, and soon became a class- leader. In all his changes of residence he has ever been active in discharging his religious duties. Three of his daughters have been success- ful teachers. His residence now at Bloomingville, is the building erected by Messrs. Luther Cook and Judge Colwell in 1817, for banking purposes. Brief Biographical Sketches. 55 ? Cluever, Herman, Sandusky, was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1854, and was a son of John Cluever. Herman came to America and settled in San- dusky in 1870. He learned the baking and confectionery business, and in 1886 commenced the business which is now a successful enterprise. He was married in 1880 to Minnie Dahnk, who was born in Sandusky, and was a daughter of John and Minnie (Neaman) Dahnk, who were among the early set- tlers in this county. John died in 1879 leaving a widow and three children : William C., Charles and Minnie. Collins, Captain Edward Ross, Kelley’s Island, was born in Jefferson county,. N. Y., in 1826, and was a son of William and Sarah (Crawford) Collins. Cap- tain Edward worked on the farm with his father until 1841, when he entered the employ of the Messrs. E. G. Merrick & Co., Clayton, N. Y., then engaged in a large lake business. He remained with this firm for six years, and in 1847 settled in Cleveland, and became mate of the propeller Ohio, and several other vessels until 1855, when he became master of the propeller New Englmid, of the American Transportation Company, running from Buffalo to Toledo. In 1856 and 1857 he was captain of the propeller Sun, of 650 tons, and belonging to this same compan)c in 1858-59 and i860 captain of the Nile, running from Buffalo to Chicago; 1861-62-63 of the Evergreen City, belonging to the N. Y. C. R. R. Company. In 1864 captain of the steamer Arctic, and in 1865 became interested in the oil business in Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1874, when he shipped as mate of City of Sa 7 idusky, plying between Cleveland and Port Stanley, Canada ; 1877-78 captain of steamer Elickox, of the Kelley’s Island Lime Company, and in 1879-80-81 was superintendent of the quarries for the Kelley’s Island Lime Company, and in 1882-83 leased the West Bay stone quarry, which he purchased in the fall of 1883. This quarry of thirty acres he is now developing with great success, giving employment to about forty hands, working with steam power, and shipping from four to six thou- sand cords per year. Captain Collins was married in Cleveland, in 1854, to Miss Jane Thompson Clampitt. She was born in Philadelphia, Pa., and settled with her parents in Cleveland, November, 1834. She was a daughter of Smith B. Clampitt. They have had two children, Edward Erank and Sarah Jane. Conradi, Christian, Oxford, Prout p. o., was born in the province of Nas- sau, Germany, July 26, 1825, and was a son of Anthony Conradi. Christian came to America in 1852, and settled in Huron county, O., where he was mar- ried in 1857, to Christina Beilstein, who was born in Hesse Darmstadt, in 1833. They have a family of five children; Philip W., John L., Anna M., Jacob and Catharine Augusta. Mr. Conradi settled in Oxford in 1857, and purchased a farm of 51 acres. He now has a finely cultivated farm of 153 acres. Coveil, William R., Perkins, Sandusky p. o., was born in Perkins town- ship, September 22, 1818, and was a son of Harvey H. and Ora (House) Coveil, who were born and married in Glastonbury, Conn. Harvey was born in May,. 556 History of Erie County. 1791, and Ora in March, 1789. They were married December 28, 1812, and came to Perkins township in 1815, in company with eleven other families. They were seven weeks and four days in making the journey, coming by way of Albany and Buffalo. The sufferings endured the first winter beggar de- scription. Harvey and Ora had a family of eight children, three of whom are now living; William R., Maria, born in 1823 ; and George I., born in 1826. Harvey died in 1831, and his wife in 1844. William R. Coveil was married in 1842 to Jeanette Henderson, who was born in Chatham, Middlesex county, Conn,, in 1822. They have had a family of eight children: William H., Joseph I., Charles N , Mary M., Sarah A., Charlotte E., M. Abbie and Alice. Jeanette was a daughter of Joseph and Mary A. Henderson, who settled in Perkins in 1839. Their children were, Jeanette, Joseph, William, Sarah, Jer- ome, Charlotte and Henry. Cowell, Alvin T., Margaretta, Castalia p. o., was born on the farm where he now resides, March 21, 1844, and was married in 1871 to Catharine Cooper. They had two children, only one now living, Fanny Albertie, born November 5, 1872. Alvin T. is, and has been, trustee for five years. He chose farming as his occupation. He enlisted in Company I, 145th O. V. L, May 2, 1864, serving on the 100 day call, and was discharged at Camp Chase at the end of his term of service. His brother Martin enlisted in 1861, in the 72d Ohio, and was taken prisoner and held at Andersonville for nine months. Three times he made an effort to escape, but was captured each time. He was finally exchanged. He now receives a small pension as a slight compensation for in- juries received. Alvin T. was a son of Philip S. and Mrs. Anna M. (Snow) Cowell, who were married at Margaretta, October 12, 1826. They had a fam- ily of eight children, four of whom are now living ; Martin, Eleanor, Lavina and Alvin T. Philip was born in Bradford county. Pa., June 22, 1801, and died March 3, 1869. Anna M. Cowell was a daughter of S}dvester and Lucy (Webster) Osborne, who settled in Bloomingville, O., in 1819, coming from Burlington, Vt., with a family of four children, one daughter and three sons: Anna M , Salmon, Saliman and Sylvester. Anna M. was born in 1801, and married Erastus Snow in 1822. He died leaving one son, Charles R., born July 5, 1824; died in 1881. Erastus settled in Margaretta a few years pre- AdoLis to the War of 1812, with his wife and family of four children, two sons and two daughters. His wife and one child were killed by the Indians. Their remains were found and buried at Margaretta. The other three children, after a few years, went West. Mr. Snow built the first small log mill at Castalia, soon after the close of the war. He was no doubt the pioneer of the town. Philip S. Cowell was born at Towanda, Bradford county. Pa., and settled in Castalia in 18 18. Cowel, Joseph, Perkins, Sandusky p. o., was born in Lima, Livingston county, N. Y., May 2, 1803, and was a son of Joseph and Roxana Cowel, na- Brief Biographical Sketches. 557 tives of Connecticut, and settled in Livingston county, where they remained until 1815, when they came to Perkins township and purchased a farm of 120 acres, for which they paid $6 per acre. Joseph now owns 70 acres of the old homestead. Joseph Cowel was married in 1830 to Mary Hubbard, who was born in Connecticut in 1813. They have had a family of eight children, five of whom are now living: Edwin, Enoch, William, Joseph, jr., and George. Three of the sons served in the late war. Enoch enlisted in Company F, ist Ohio Artillery, in April, 1864, and was discharged on account of disability in February, 1865 ; William enlisted in 1861 in the 55th Ohio, and served for three years; John enlisted in 1862, and was discharged on account of disa- bility, in 1864, and died soon after. Ansel, the oldest son, and the only one of the boys married, died, leaving a family. Crysinger, Christian, Perkins, Sandusky p. o., was born in Baden, Germany, February 17, 1818, and was a son of Christian and Catharine (Hedwig) Cry- singer, who were married in Baden, Germany, and came to Sandusky, Erie county, in 1832, with a family of four children: Christian, jr., Catharine, Tib- bie and Laney. Three children were born in Perkins township : John, Chris- tian and Henry. Christian, who was born in 1797, died in 1872 ; Catharine died in 1852. Christian, jr. was married in 1847, to Catharine Rohrbacher, who was born in Germany, in 1822. They have had a family of eight child- ren: John, Tilda, Catharine, Margaret, Frederica, Sarah, Libbie and Anna. Catharine came to America with her mother, Mrs. Julia Rohrbacher, in 1846. Mr. Crysinger began married life comparatively poor. He worked one year at the railroad depot but soon turned his attention to farming, and purchased a farm of 25 aci'es, for which he paid $22 per acre. He has now 47 acres under cultivation, and a very comfortable dwelling. Dahnke, Charles, Sandusky, a dealer in groceries and provisions, was born in Sandusky in 1858, and was a son of John and Minnie Dahnke. John died in 1879, leaving a widow and three children: William C., Charles and Minnie. Charles became engaged in the grocery business in 1877. He was married that same year to Julia Roth, who was born in Sandusky, in 1858. They have a family of three children : Mary, Lizzie and Minnie. Dailey, Fred. W., Oxford, Milan p. o., was born in Oxford, October 4, 1851, and is a son of Erastus and Phoebe Dailey. He received a liberal edu- cation and chose farming as an occupation; was married September 24, 1884, to Fannie E., daughter of Robert and Mary Killey, of Marblehead, Ottawa county. Two children have been born to them, Robert E. and Ethel Wells. Daniel, George, Sandusky, one of the representative men of the county, was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, in 1834, and was a son of John and Eva Daniel, who came to America and settled in Sandusky in 1847. John was a stone cutter by trade. He died in 1865, leaving a widow and one son, George. Eva died in 1872. John Daniel, in company with his son, George, 71 558 History of Erie County. purchased a lot on which they erected a store, and became engaged in the general grocery and provision business. In 1855 George became sole own.er, and in 1865 sold the business. He became engaged in the manufacture ot grape wine in 1865, a business in which he is now engaged, having storage for 20,000 gallons. He is now the oldest manufacturer of wines in the county. He has held many of the city offices. He was elected mayor for six years; town treasurer in 1857 i councilman for four terms, and president of the board three years. He was elected a member of the board of equalization of prop- erty, in 1880, representing four counties, and in 1884 was appointed by Gov- ernor Hoadley, commissioner of the fishery interest, serving as treasurer of the same, and on November 28, 1887, was appointed postmaster. He was mar- ried in 1855 to Agnes Iceman, who was born in Erie county, N. Y. She died August 14, 1883, leaving ten children : George W., John N., Frank A., Ben- jamin W., Charles A., Victor Henry, Mary, Amelia, Louisa B. and Agnes M. Mr. Daniel married his second wife, Claudine Good, March 9, 1886. She was born in Switzerland. Darling, Emery B., Perkins, Sandusky p. o., was born in Salisbury, Ad- dison county, Vt., in 1827, and was a son of Pllnathan and Lucy C. (Corbett) Darling, who were born in Connecticut. They settled in Vermont, and in 1831 came to Chautauqua county, N. Y., where they remained until 1835, when they settled in Perkins township, Erie county, O., and purchased a homestead farm of 100 acres. Lucy died in 1835, leaving three children, of whom Emery B. is now the only surviving one. Elnathan married for his third wife Sarah F"aulkner. They had one daughter, Amelia, now Mrs. Con- verse. Elnathan was a blacksmith in early life, after which he became en- gaged in the hotel business, and then went into the mercantile business. He was sheriff of Rutland county for several years. After settling in Ohio he be- came engaged in farming. He was born in April, 1782, and died September 13, 1870. Emery B. now owns and occupies the old homestead. He re- sponded to the call for the 100 day soldiers, and enlisted in Company B, 145th Ohio Regiment, and was discharged in August, 1864. He served as express messenger for two years. De Lamatre, Belding, Oxford, Kimball p. o., settled in O.xford township in 1844, and purchased a farm of 937 acres, for which he paid $3 per acre. He was born in Hyde Park, N. Y., in 1819, and died in i88>. He was married to Elizabeth O’Leary, in Oxford township, in 1848, and had a family of six children, of whom five are living: Belding, jr., Carrie E., James C., Clayton W., and Grace J. Mr. De Lamatre was a large stock drover and feeder. He was engaged in taking large droves to the New York market via land, having at one time 218 oxen shod for the journey, which lasted about sixty days. Mr. De Lamatre improved his farm, built a large brick farmhouse, also barn and other buildings. He was interested at one time in grape growing on Brief Biographical Sketches. 559 Kelley’s Island. For the last few years he turned his attention to sheep rais- ing. Mrs. De Lamatre still lives on the old homestead, but spends much of her time traveling. Her daughter, Grace, who is still single, lives with her mother. Belding, jr. was married in 1873, to Annie Wilson, who died in 1877, leaving one child, Maro Mackey. He married his second wife, Emma James, in 1880. They had two children, Hallie Austin and Grace E. Belding jr. and James C. manage the farm, which contains 550 acres. Carrie E. married M. J. Love ; James C. married Mary Garlic in 1887 ; C W. De Lamatre mar- ried Martha Sargeant, in 1887, who moved with her husband to Omaha, where C. W. has a large law practice. Clayton received a college education, and was a graduate from the Cincinnati Law School ; was admitted to the bar in 1886. They have one child, Harrison C. Devlin, Samuel, Perkins, Sandusky p. o., an extensive farmer and dealer in stock was born in Delaware county, N. Y., in 1832, and was a son of Walter and Jane (Foster) Devlin, who were married in Ireland, and settled in New York with one daughter, Margaret, in 1836. They came to Perkins township, Ohio, where they died. They had a family of ten children, seven of whom are now living : Margaret, Mary Jane, Samuel, Walter, jr , Nancy, Matilda and Fannie. Mr. Devlin was married in 1872 to Nettie Hinds, who was born in Huron, and was a daughter of Edward and Theodosia Hinds. Samuel and Nettie have a family of four children, Samuel J., Belle, Walter and Rosa. Mr. Devlin now owns a farm of 300 acres. Deyo, Dr. John Palmer, Groton, Bellevue p. o., was born in New Paltz, Ul- ster county, N. Y., in 1804, and was a son of William and Elizabeth (Ketcham) Deyo, who, with their son, Hiram, came to Groton in 1831 and purchased a tract of 1,200 acres, for which they paid $1.25 per acre. They had a family of five children; Ruth, Hiram, Dr. John P., Maria and Patience. John is now the only surviving one. Hiram was married in Erie county, N. Y , and settled in Erie county, O., in 1831, where he died in 1845, leaving a widow and eight children. John P. was graduated from the Geneva College, N. Y., in the class of 1826, being a classmate of ex-Governors Seymour and Hunt of New York. He was graduated from the Hamilton Medical College of New York in 1827, and settled in North Carolina in the practice of his profession in February, 1833 ; settled in Groton, where he also practiced his profession until the death of his father in 1838, when he settled on the old homestead farm and became engaged in farming. His mother was born in 1775 and died in 1861. John P. was married in 1836 to Sarah Ann Foster, who was born in Tonawanda, Erie county, N. Y. She died September 14, 1887, leaving six sons and one daughter, Maria, Allen, Hiram, Frank, Bardeen, Delevan and Fred. Deyo, Otis P., Groton, Bellevue p. o., one of the representative men of Erie county was born in Groton township February 7, 1843, and was a son of Hiram and Rachel (Coe) Deyo. Rachel was born in New Jersey, September 560 History of Erie County. 13, 1824, and was a daughter of Matthew and Martha Coe, who died in New York State. Hiram was born in New Paltz, Ulster county, N. Y., September 22, 1802, and came to Groton in the fall of 1831, when he purchased about 1,300 acres at $1.25 per acre. He sold his father 400 acres for $3 per acre. His father and family settled in Groton in 1832, where they died. They were Willi.im and Elizabeth (Ketcham) Deyo. They had a family of two sons and three daughters, Ruth, Hiram, John P., Maria and Patience. John P. is now the only one living. Hiram died in 1 845, leaving a widowand eight children, six sons and one daughter of whom are now living: George, Denton, Eestus, Charles, Rosanna, William and Otis B. Erastus died leaving a widow and two children. Denton enlisted in Sherman’s regiment of sharpshooters in 1863. Otis B. was married December 5, 1867, to Augusta Eord, who was born in Groton in 1847. They have had a family of three children, two are now living. Royal C., born December 28, 1875 ; and Ernest P'., born in November, 1880. Augusta was a daughter of James and Mary A. (Rowcliff) Ford, who were born in England. Dilger, William, Sandusky, florist and landscape gardener of Sandusky, was born in Sandusky in 1857, and was a son of Rudolph and Mary (Ruem- meli) Dilger, who were natives of Germany, but came to this country at an early date. They died in Sandusky when William was quite young. Three of their children are now living: Amalia, William and Albert. Mr. Dilger was apprenticed to his profession. He settled in Sandusky in 1878, where he be- came engaged in his present occupation. His buildings are covered with 6,500 square feet of glass, and he has one of the largest, as well as choicest La Marque rose trees in the country. It is now fourteen years old, covering a space 22 by 44 feet, and in 1887 had over nine thousand buds and blossoms. Mr. Dil- ger was married in 1876 to Esther Leach, of Indianapolis. She was born in Pennsylvania. They have had a family of four children, Stella M., William H., Royal L. and Hazel W. Doerflinger, John W., Sandusky, was born in Sandusky in 1856, and was married in November, 1886, to Anna Schlenk, who was also born in Sandusky. They have one son, Edgar F., born March 20, 1888. John W. was a son of Charles P'. and Margaret (Maul) Doerflinger, who were born in Germany, and settled in Sandusky about 1834. They have had a family of five children, Charles, born in 1848; Christina, John W., Louisa and Frank. John W. be- came a partner in the Germania Basket Company, which was organized in 1881 by Charles Doerflinger and C. W. Koegle. John purchased his interest in 1884. They now give employment to about thirty-five hands, and produce about six hundred thousand baskets per season, which are consumed by the home peach and grape production. Dorn, John G., Sandusky, a manufacturer of grape wine and brandy, and also engaged in the wholesale ice business, was born at Cincinnati in 1861, and was a son of John Philip and Margaret Dorn, who were married in Cincin- Brief Biographical Sketches. 561 nati in 1854. She was born in Bavaria, and came to Cincinnati in 1852. Her husband was born in Bavaria, Germany. Margaret died November 12, 1885, and her husband January 31, 1886, They had a family of four children, two ■died at an early age, John C. and Catharine M. are now living. Mr. Dorn settled in Sandusky in 1866 and became engaged in the brewing business, be- ing a member of the firm of Sorgel, Dorn & Raible. He sold his interest in this business in 1870 and became engaged in the grape wine and brandy busi- ness. His son, John G., is his successor. He manufactures 125,000 gallons •of wine, and has a vineyard of sixty-five acres. Dreher, Lawrence, Margaretta, Venice p. o., an extensive and successful farmer of Margaretta, having a farm of 400 acres of the best land in the town- ship, was born in Kirchhoffen, Baden, Germany, August 10, 1834, and came to America in 1854 and settled in Sandusky, a poor young man, where he found employment chopping wood for John Homegardner, with whom he re- mained until 1855, when he, in company with three others, went to Middle Bass Island, Lake Erie, in the interest of the steamboat company, having a con- tract to chop 500 cords of wood for that company. In 1856-57 Mr. Dreher lived at Put-in-bay, there being only six families on the island at that time. Here he was engaged in chopping and clearing, and in 1858 settled in Marga- retta, where he purchased his homestead of sixty acres, for which he paid forty dollars per acre. Lie was married in 1859 to Emma Fo.x, who was born in Bavaria. They have had two children : Emma, born December 16, 1859, and Heni')^ born May 19, 1861. Emma was born in 1835, and came to Wyandotte county, Ohio, in June, 1856, and settled in Sandusky in 1857. Her parents died in Germany, and she, in company with her three brothers, settled in Wyan- dotte county in 1856. After residing here thirty years, she returned November 1st, 1886, to Germany for a three months visit. She is now engaged in taking charge of the farm, and raises large quantities of grapes besides other fruits. Drumm, Karl, Oxford, Kimball p. o., was born in St. Julian, Rhein Pfalz, Bayern Province, Germany, and was the second son of Abraham and Catha- rine Drumm, who had a family of six children, four of whom came to America : Abraham jr., Charles, Catharine and Christopher. Charles came in 1855, and settled in Huron county, O., where he and his brother, Christopher, hired a farm, and afterward they purchased his present home of one hundred acres, in Oxford township, Erie county, for which they paid three thousand dollars, after which they dissolved partnership, and Christopher then purchased a farm in Milan township. Charles has improved his land, and erected a fi.ne dwell- ing and other farm buildings. He was married in 1861 to Barbara Catharine Slessman, daughter of Martin and Mary Elizabeth Slessman, who had a family of six children, of which she was the oldest, and was born in Adams township, Seneca county, O., in 1838. They have two daughters, Henrietta and Mary Elizabeth. Elizabeth was married in 1880 to Fred Justie. They have four children ; Charles Christopher, Henry, Emma and Catharine Henrietta. 562 History of Erie County. Dwight, Oscar, Margaretta, Castalia p. o., was born in Livingston county, N. Y., in 1838, and was a son of Roswell and Eloisa (Skidmore) Dwight. She was born in Vermont in 1812 ; Roswell was born in Hatfield, Mass., in August, 1813, and they were married in Avon, N. Y., in 1837. Dwight visited Margaretta in 1833 and returned to Livingston county. After his marriage they settled in Margaretta, in 1838, with one son. They had a family of eight children : Oscar, Eveline, Mary L., Henry, Emily, Albert, Fred and Frank. Mary L. married John Wilson, and died leaving a family ; Emily married Mr. Coughenour ; and Eveline married a Mr. Bardsher. Roswell Dwight died in July, 1887. His wife, Eloisa, was a daughter of Philo and Elizabeth (Patter- son) Skidmore. His wife died in Vermont, and Philo came to Ohio, where he resided with his daughter from 1866 to 1868, when he died, aged 84 years. Oscar enlisted in Company G., 101 st regiment, in January, 1864, served to the close of the war, when he was discharged November, 1865. Henry en- listed in Company G, loist regiment, in 1862, and was discharged with his regiment in 1865. During service he was transferred to the 51st Ohio Regi- ment. Oscar was married in 1868 to Harriet Jones, who was born in Nunda, Livingston county, N. Y., and was a daughter of Henry C. and Pelina Jones, who settled here in 1850. Eddy, Joseph, Perkins, Sandusky p. o., an early settler in Perkins town- ship, was born in Chatham, Tolland county. Conn., in September, 1815, and was a son of Roswell and Hannah (Taylor) Eddy, who settled in Perkins town- ship in 1817. They had a family of six children, four daughters and two sons. Edwin, Joseph and Caroline are now living. Joseph was married in 1841 to Caroline Akins. They had three daughters, two of whom are now living, Mary and Mattie. Caroline died in 1883. She was a daughter of John Akins, of Connecticut. Mr. Eddy now owns the farm which was purchased by his father on settlement; it comprises 162-^ acres. He is engaged in buying and selling stock. P'rank A. Akins was born in Mayfield, Cuyahoga county, O., in January, 1849, and married in October, 1876, to Mattie E. Eddy. They have one child, Cora M. Mr. Akins received his education at the public schools, and afterwards taught for several years. He settled in Perkins town- ship in 1876, where he became engaged in agricultural pursuits and the sale of farm implements. Eichenlaub, Valentine, Groton, Sand FLU p. o., a representative German farmer of his town, was born in Alsace, Germany, in 1832, and was a son of Michael and Elizabeth Eichenlaub, who had a family of ten children, three of whom died in Germany, and seven came to America. George came in 1848 and settled in Milan ; Valentine in 1851, and the parents and other five came to Seneca in 1853, where Valentine first settled. The five children were: Jacob, Elizabeth, Michael, Julia and Louis. The mother, Elizabeth, died in Seneca in 1863, and the father settled in Groton in 1865, where he died in 1881. Two sons served in the war, George and Louis. Valentine was mar- Brief Biographical Sketches. 563 ried in 1859 to Catharine Brendel, of Sandusky. She died in 1861, leaving two children. Valentine married his second wife, Barbara Juengling, in 1863. She was born in Germany in 1841. They have had a family of five children. Of the seven, six are now living: Emma, Samuel, Elizabeth, Mary, Valentine jr., and Louisa. Valentine purchased his farm in Groton of 160 acres in 1862, for which he paid forty dollars per acre. He has been trustee of the town for ten years. Elfers, Erederick, Kelley’s Island, merchant, grape grower, and postmaster of Kelley’s Island, was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1846. His father died when Frederick was about seven years old. Frederick came to America some time in July, 1861, and has lived on the island ever since. His first em- ployment was working in the vineyard, and later in the fall attended school to become familiar with the English language. In 1865, when but nineteen years old, he started in business for himself, leasing a vineyard of five and one-half acres from Addison Kelley, working the vineyard for one-half of the crop, for the term of ten years. After the ten years were up Frederick worked the vine- yard from year to year; and up to the present season (1888) he has worked said vineyard for twenty-three years, by all means the longest lease on record on the island. He was married in April, 1871, to Sophia Koster, also a native of Hanover, Germany. Their family consists of five children, Emma, Arnold, Nellie, Herbert and Helen. Arnold, now fourteen years old, is helping his father in the post-office and store when his time is not occupied by school hours. Emma is using her spare time for studying music. In 1876 Frederick became engaged in the mercantile business, when, in the spring of 1876, he started the second store on the island, an undertaking at that time looked upon by some of the wisest heads on the island as certainly destined to be a fail- ure, and predictions were made at that time, that “six months will wind that business up,” arguing from the standpoint, that a man having had no previous experience as a merchant could not succeed as such on the island without many friends and a big barrel of monej/. Frederick paid no attention to all such re- marks, but finished his store building, and then bought a stock of merchan- dise, giving notice to the public also to come and inspect his stock of goods and prices, and waited for the results, and strange to say the business prospered, and Frederick has been successful ever since. He is a firm believer in the old adage, “wherever there is a will there is a way.” On September 7, 1885, he was appointed postmaster of the island, and holds the same office still. He has served as deputy treasurer of Erie county for six years. Another fact worthy of mention for Erie county might be, that Mr. F. Elfers introduced the first system of electric lighting in Erie county, and is still the only person using electric light on the island. An arc light plant, of the Thomson-Housten sys- tem, was purchased by Mr. Elfers in April, 1885, and put in operation in June, 1885, thus making it the first in Erie county at that time. His store building 564 History of Erie County. is equipped with an engine and boiler and steam heater. Mr. Elfers carries a general stock of merchandise, dry goods, notions, boots and shoes, groceries, queensware, hardware, and, in short, everything which is usually kept in a large general store. Mr. Elfers is one of the representative and most promi- nent men of his county. Epple, Gottlieb, jr., Sandusky, was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, March 15, 1831, and was a son of Gottlieb and Margaret (Keeller) Epple. Gottlieb, jr., emigrated to America in 1851, and visited Philadelphia, and in July settled in Sandusky, where he became engaged in farming. He was married in 1856 to Louisa Wise, of Sandusky. They have one adopted son, Frederick Epple, born in 1856. Louisa was born in Prussia, and was a daughter of Emanuel and P'rederica (Fear) Wise, who settled in Sandusky in 1851. Mr. Epple be- came engaged in the lumber and saloon business in 1865, and in 1869 pur- chased a lot and erected his present store and dwelling. In 1876 he purchased his carts and street sprinkling outfit, and now runs four carts. Ernst, Conrad, Sandusky, was born in Baden, Germany, in 1830, and was a son of Joseph and Gertrude Pirnst. Conrad settled in Sandusky in 1850, and became engaged as a machinist. He retired from this business in i860, and purchased ground and became engaged in the culture of grapes and the manufacture of wine. In 1874 he erected his present wine cellar, which now has capacity for 35,000 gallons. He manufactures a fine line of grape brandies and wines. He was married in 1855 to Philophena Ohlemacher, who was born in Germany in 1838. They have nine children : Adolph, Henry, Fred, Theodore, Julia, Amelia, Tena, Louisa and Ida. Mrs. Ernst was a daughter of Henry and Catharine Ohlemacher, early settlers in Sandusky. Esch, William F., Huron, the general blacksmith, wagon and carriage fin- isher and repairer of farm implements, was born in Germany in 1861, and was a son of John and Elizabeth Esch. William F. emigrated to America in 1881. He learned the blacksmith trade at his home in Germany, and on his arrival in this country found employment at Cleveland, and in 1882 came to Huron. In 1885 he purchased and fitted up his present shop and factory, and became engaged in his present smithing business, making horseshoeing a specialty. He was married May 10, 1887, to Mary Mainzer, of Perkins township. She was a daughter of Peter Mainzer, of Perkins township. Pistes, James, jr., Kelley’s Island, was born on Kelley’s Island in August, 1845, was a son of James and Adeline (Andrews) Estes, who were born in New York State, Adeline in Genesee county in 1819, and James in 1814. They were married April 27, 1844, and settled on Kelley’s Island that same year, where Mr. Estes purchased a farm of one hundred acres, for which he paid $8 per acre, and on which he erected a first-class hewn log-cabin. He died in 1845, leaving a widow and one son, James, jr. Mrs. Estes started a vineyard of one hundred vines in 1857, which has since increased, and now Brief Biographical Sketches. 565 consists of thirty-seven acres. James, jr., is engaged in the cultivation of grapes, peaches, apples and pears, and has erected one of the finest farm resi- dences on the island. In 1886 he became one of the stockholders in the Kel- ley’s Island Wine Company. He served, during the late war, on the call for lOO-day men. He has been trustee and councilman of the township. Everschwine, Jacob, Sandusky, was born in the kingdom of Wurtemburg, German}^ in 1822, and was a son of Christian Everschwine, who with his three sons and two daughters, Jacob, Christian, jr., Fred., Rachel and Eliza- beth emigrated to America, and the father and four children settled in San- dusky in 1847, where Christian died in i860. Jacob settled in Syracuse, N. Y., in 1847, and became engaged in stonecutting and boiling salt. That same year he enlisted in the United States army, serving during the Mexican war under General Scott, and was discharged at St. Louis. He settled in Sandusky in 1851, and was married in 1853 to Barbara Smith. They have a family of six children now living: Rosa, Conrad, Frederica, Margaret, John and Henry. Mr. Everschwine is now retired. He settled on his present homestead in 1866. His wife, Barbara, was born in Wurtemburg in 1831. Faber, Henry, Perkins, Sandusky p. o., was born in Hesse Cassel, Ger- many, November 2, 1831. He came to New York in 1846, and in 1848 set- tled in Sandusky, where he remained until 1850, when he went to Detroit. March 4, 1852, he joined a company of 42 persons, and started for California by overland route via Salt Lake. They lost seven men and eight horses on their journey, and arrived in California in August, 1852. He remained here five years engaged in mining and prospecting, and returned home via the Pan- ama route. He again settled in Sandusky in 1857, where he purchased his present homestead farm of 100 acres. He was married in 1857 to Elizabeth Zund, who was born in Pennsylvania. She died January 28, 1885. They had a family of six children : Joseph, Lewis, Lena, Fred, Henry and Philomena. Mr. Faber’s father died in Germany in 1835, leaving a widow and three chil- dren, who all came to America. Falk, John A., Sandusky, a notary public, and fire, life andjaccident insur- ance agent, was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, September 21, 1825. He was educated in Gerprany, and became engaged in teaching. In 185 i he came to America, and settled in Pittsburg, Pa., where he taught until 1856, when he was called to Rochester as a teacher in German, and in 1861 went to a larger field of usefulness in Chicago, and after the large fire there he settled in San- dusky, where he taught until 1877, when he resigned his position in the Ger- man department of the Sandusky High School, and became engaged in his present business. His first wife was Wilhelmine Franziska Roessing. They had a family of five children; Theodore, Louis, Rudolph, John, Adam and Florence. All the children are now residents of Chicago. He married his sec- ond wife, Louisa C. Sandway, in Chicago in 1864. They have a family of three children now living: Edward S., Bertha and Louisa. 72 566 History of Erie County. Federer, Frederick, Sandusky, was born in Grossheppacli, Wurtemburg,. Germany, in 1821, and was a son of Frederick and Henrietta Federer, who had a family of four children, three of whom came to America: Gottleib, Frederick and Henrietta, Christian resides in Germany, Gottleib died in Chicago, Ilk, in 1887, and Henrietta resides in Philadelphia. Pa. Frederick emigrated to America in 1848, and settled in Sandusky, O., in 1849. He was married in 1847, Switzerland, to Zelaide Olempe Callame, of French descent. She was born in P'errier county, Berne, Switzerland. She died in Sandusky, O., in 1878. They had a family of six children. Three died at an early age, and three are still living. Ernest C. was born in Fremont, O., in 1850, he now lives in Detroit^ Mich., and is a professor of chemistry. Pie was married in 1878 to Emma Min- thorne ; they have one son, George. Feopold S. was born in Sandusky, O.,. in 1852, is a shoemaker by trade, and was married in 1876 to Sophia Hem- merly. They have five children: Charles, Edward, Frederick, Elsie and Philip. Arnold J. was born in Sandusky, O., in 1859. The last heard from him he was in Cincinnati, O. Mr. Federer learned the shoemaker trade, and on settlement here became engaged in that business, and is now one of the leading shoe mer- chants of the city. Feuerstein, John A., Sandusky, the custom boot and shoe manufacturer of Sandusky, was born in Baden, Germany, in 1831, and was a son of Frank and Catharine Feuerstein. John A. emigrated to America in 1851, and spent a year in Buffalo, and in 1852 settled in Cleveland, O. He was married June 12, 1854, to Mary PC Rieber, who was born in Baden, and came to Buffalo, N. Y., in 1836, and settled in Cleveland in 1854. They have had a family of three children : John C., George F. and Emma F., and one grandson, Albert G. H. Feuerstein. John A. enlisted in Company E, 107th Ohio Regiment in 1862, and was discharged at Charleston, S. C., in July, 1865. He went out under Colonel Meyers, and was wounded at the battle of Chancellorsville. Pie is a great lover of books, and has one of the finest collections in the State, showing a cultivated taste. P'isher, Edward P., Huron p. o., owner and proprietor of the Wheeling and Fake Erie House, opposite the depot, was born in York county. Pa., in 1837, and was a son of John and Mary (Everhardt) Fisher. Edward learned the ma- son’s trade in Maryland, and settled in Erie county, O., in 1858, as a journey- man plasterer. Pie enlisted in Company F, 197th Ohio Regiment, and was promoted to corporal, served during the war, and was discharged at the close, at Columbus, with his regiment. He was married in Huron in i860, to Mary P'aulkner, who was born in England. They have four children now living: Sarah, James, John R. and Edward Andrew. John Fisher died in Pennsylva- nia in 1856, leaving a widow and two sons. They had a family of ten children in all, two of whom are now living. The widow came to Huron and died here in 1857. Edward P. Fisher retired from the mason business in 1886. Brief Biographical Sketches. 567 Fischer, Michael, Sandusky, was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, in 1824, and was a son of Joseph and Mary Fischer. Michael emigrated to Sandusky in 1849, and afterward settled in Thompson, Seneca county, where he became engaged in farming. He was married in Seneca county in 1850, to Cresentia Daugelmeier, of Wurtemburg, Germany. They have had a family of three children: Charles, Theresa and Michael, jr. Mr. Fischer settled in Sandusky in 1852, and became engaged in teaming; in 1864 he purchased a plat of ground on which he erected several dwellings and stores, and became engaged in a general grocery and provision business. In 1879 he purchased his farm in Ottawa county, and in 1880 retired from his grocery business and became engaged in farming. In 1882 he lost his barn, seven horses and several cattle by fire. His son, Michael, jr., died in January, 1885. His wife, Cresentia, died August 30, 1885. Mr. Fischer returned to Sandusky, and again became en- gaged in the grocery and provision business. He married his second wife, Mary Meyer, May 3, 1886. Mr. Fischer is one of the leading men of his ward, and is now serving as alderman. His brother, George, came to Erie county In 1850. He died August 22, 1888, on his farm, three miles south of Sandusky, leaving a widow. Fleming, George W., Groton, Sand Hill p. o., was born in Groton, 1838, and was a son of the pioneer settlers, John and Nancy (Paxton) Fleming. Nancy was born in Erie county, N. Y., July 21, 1802, and John was born in Allegany county. Pa., August i, 1798. John was a son of John and Mary Fleming, who settled in Groton among the very first settlers of that section, and purchased a farm. John sr.’s wife lived to the good old age of 103 years. They had a family of five children. John, jr., and Nancy were married Sep- tember 8, 1823, and had a family of six children, three of whom are now liv- ing: John P., born August lo, 1825 ; Mary Ann, born October 19, 1830, and George W., born April 25, 1838. John, jr., died January i, 1863, and his wife, Nancy, died August 29, 1877. Mary was a daughter of John Paxton, who set- tled here about 1810. George W. was married in 1875 to Mereb C. Kershner, who was born in Springfield, O., in 1852. They have five children living: Frank A., George W., jr., Florence S., Bertha B. and Arden Ellsworth. George W. enlisted in Company C, lOist O. V. I., August 12, 1862, under Colonel Stern, and was discharged in 1863 on account of disability. He enlisted in the Home Guards, and they were ordered out on lOO-day call, and discharged at Camp Chase. He was promoted ^to first lieutenant, and now receives a pen- sion. His wife was a daughter of William and Mary Kershner. Ford, James, Groton, Belleview p. o., a retired farmer, was born in Devon- shire, England, in 1816, and was a son of Samuel and Sarah Ford, who died in England, having a family of nine children, six of whom are now living: Sam- uel, jr., and Jane reside in^England, and four came to America in 1836. They were Mary, Sarah, John and James. James Ford first settled in Huron county, 568 History of Erie County. where he became engaged in farming, in which he was engaged for eight years. In 1841 he purchased his present homestead of 53y acres, for which he paid $1,000, and in 1844 he was married to Mary A. Rowcliff, who was born in Devonshire, England, in 1821. They have had two children, Charles M. and Helen Augusta. Helen was married in 1868 to O. B. Deyo ; they have had two sons. Charles M. was married in December, 1874, to Salina McKesson; they have had one son, Bert. James Ford settled in Groton on his farm in 1844, and now owns a farm of 600 acres, a large portion of which is under cul- tivation. He has visited his native country twice, and has been an active man in the interest of his county, but is not an office seeker. Mrs. Ford was a daughter of John and Grace Rowcliff, of Devonshire, England. They emi- grated to America in 1836, with their family of six children. Mrs. Grace died and was buried at sea. John was born in 1795, and died in 1861. His chil- dren were Rev. William, Rev. John, jr., Mary A., James, George and Charles. William enlisted in the 13th Illinois Cavalry and served for three }^ears as cap- tain under Colonel Capron. Fowler, Josiah, Margaretta, Castalia, p. o., a pioneer settler of Margaretta, was born in Westfield, Mass., in 1800, and was a son of Medad and Lovisa Fowler. Josiah was brought up to farm work, having the usual school advan- tages. The parents had a family of ten children, two of whom are now living, Fouisa and Josiah. Richard Fowler visited Margaretta in 1810, intending to remain with his uncle, Frederick Falley, who had then a contract for the entire township, intending to sell it in lots. But during the War of 1812 many re- turned to the East, and among these was Richard, who settled in Painesville, O. In 1816 Richard settled in Painesville, Fake county, and in 1818 Medad purchased two farms in Margaretta, of 226 acres, for which he paid $3 per acre. His son, Harvey, settled on this farm in 1819, and Josiah visited Harvey in 1821, and in 1830 Josiah settled in Margaretta, working with his brother, Harry, as partner. Josiah was married in 1833 to Sophronia Stocking, who was born in Westfield, Mass., in 1812. Sophronia was a teacher, and came West to teach school. They have had a family of four children ; Zervia, Katie, So- phronia and a son who died when but seven weeks old. He settled on his pres- ent homestead of 1 10 acres in 1833, which was purchased in 1818. Mr. P'owler was an old line Whig, and a strong friend of the Abolition cause, and voted the Abolition ticket at the second presidential nomination. He was a man held in high esteem by his fellow-men. Fox, Allen, Perkins, Sandusky p. o., was born in Perkins, Erie county, July II, 1826, and was a son of. Roger and Polly (Weatherly) Fox, who was born and married in Hartford county. Conn., and settled in Perkins in 1821, where they purchased a farm of 100 acres, paying therefor $2 per acre. His wife, Polly W., was born January I, 1800, and died February 28, 1881. Roger was born May 20, 1797, and died February 28, 1883. They had a Brief Biographical Sketches. 569 family of nine children, four of whom are now living, Amelia, Mrs. Gallaway; Allen, Sylvester, Charles B. Allen was married May 4, 1851, to Eliza C. Bar- lett, who was born in Sharon, Schoharie county, N. Y. They had a family of ten children, Polly C., John R., Joseph A., Ida M., George B., Emma I., Syl- vester D., Mary L., Martha A. and Lucy E. Eliza C. was a daughter of John H. Barlett, who settled here in 1845. Four children were married: Polly C. Joseph A., George B. and Martha A. Fox, John M., Sandusky, was born in Prussia November 18, 1824. He learned the tailor trade and emigrated to America ’in 1849, when he settled in New Orleans where he worked at his trade until 1852, when he became en- gaged in the merchant tailoring business, and at the breaking out of the war came North and settled in Sandusky in 1861, and in 1865 purchased his present business place and is now engaged in a general mercantile business. He was married January 16, 1866, to Pauline Rheinegger, of Sandusky. She was born in Switzerland, and was a daughter of Anthony Rheinegger. They have had a family of seven children, Anna, Frank, Robert, Katie, Clara, Mattie and Fan- nie. Anna was married in July, 1887, to James Curtis. She died September 27, 1888. Fox, William N., Perkins, Sandusky p. o., was born in Perkins township in 1835, and was a son of Alvin and Frances D. (Johnson) Fox, who were mar- ried in Perkins in 1830. Frances was born in Tolland county. Conn., and her husband in Glastonbury, Conn., in 1804. They had a family of eight children, Polly L., Mary L., William N., Solomon and Julia E. Alvin died in 1869, and his wife, Frances, in 1864. Albert was master of different vessels on the lake. On his first trip he was shipwrecked near Chicago in 1821, and the crew found their way back to the East on foot. He became master in 1830, after which he visited and spent his winters in Perkins township with his uncle. Frances D. was a daughter of Pliny and Betsey (Davis) Johnson, who were married March 29, 1806, at Hebron, Tolland county, Conn. They settled in Perkins township in 1810, and had a family of six children, only one of whom is now living, Mrs. Mary Radcliff. William N. Fox was married October 6, 1869, to Sarah F> klarshall, of Perkins, where she was born in 1849. They had a family of four children, Frances M., Frank W., Emery D., Thurman C. Sarah E. was a daughter of Joseph and Lucina (Chatman) Marshall, who settled here in 1848. Lucina died in April, 1886, leaving four children, Sarah E., Hannah M., Will- iam C. and Rosa E. Frank, Conrad, Sandusky, the leading baker and confectioner of San- dusky, was born in Baden, Germany, in 1849, and was a son of Henry and Catharine Frank. Conrad was married in 1872 to Caroline Beck, and they emigrated to America in 1879, and settled in Sandusky. They have had a family of three children, Fred, William and Julius. Mr. Frank, on settlement here, purchased his residence and erected his baking shop, and is now carrying 570 History of Erie County. on a successful business. One of his sisters, Mary Frank, also settled in San- dusky. Garrett, Daniel, Huron, was born in Lebanon county, Pa., in 1812, and was a son of George and Eve Garrett. Daniel was brought up on his fath- er’s farm, but in early life became engaged in the lumber business, rafting and contracting for the same. He then became a pilot on the Susquehanna River, a calling which he followed for eighteen years. In 1849 became en- gaged in farming, and settled in Summit county, O. He was married in 1832 to Margaret Hettrick, of Union county. Pa. She was born in 1814. They had a family often children: Henry A., George F., William F., Margaret A., Daniel W., Mary E., Lydia A., Sarah J., Katie L. and Harriet F. William F. died at the age of twenty- one years; Sarah J. married John Rhinemiller, 'and died, leaving two children. Mr. Garrett purchased a grape vineyard on Kel- ley’s Island in 1862. In 1864 he purchased his present homestead farm of fifty acres, where he now resides. One of his sons, George P'. enlisted in the 3d Iowa Regiment, and served for three years, being in the commissary de- partment almost two years. Garritt, John, Huron, druggist and dealer in groceries, stationery, books, paints, oils and fancy goods, was born in Huron, Erie county, in 1849, and at an early age became engaged in the drug business with his father, George W, Garritt, and in 1865 became a partner in the business, the firm becoming John M. Garritt & Co. In 1878 Mr. Garritt became sole proprietor, and located in his present store, greatly increasing his facilities for trade. He was elected treasurer of the township in 1884, ’85, ’86, ’87, ’88. He was married in 1873 to Lettie Phelps, of Huron, a daughter of James and Mary Phelps. Mr. Gar- ritt has a family of two children : James Henry and Mira F. John M. is a son George W and Fannie (Mason) Garritt. George W. was in New York city in 181 I. He was married in 1834, in Erie county. They had a family of six children, two of whom are now living: Susan and John M. One son, Henry, enlisted in the 24th Ohio Regiment and died while in service. George W. settled in Erie county, at Milan, in 1828, with his parents, Charles and Cath- arine Garritt, who had a family of five children : George W., Adaline, Edward, Hiram and Sarah. Charles Garritt became engaged in the manufacture of rope at Huron in [828, and in 1830, on the completion of his residence, re- moved his family to Huron. George W.’s wife, Fanny, died January 19, 1887. George W., became engaged in the grocery business in 1865, and re- tired from the same in 1886. He has served as town councilman, constable and inspector and collector of port for nine years. On September 10 he was at Niagara P'alls, and saw the boat Michigan, with several animals on board, go over the falls. Charles Garritt and his family went from Buffalo to San- dusky by a sailing vessel, consuming three weeks in making the voyage. Gerold, Theodore, Sandusky, an insurance and real estate agent of San- Brief Biographical Sketches. 571 dusky, was born in Baden, Germany, in 1840, and with his mother and one sister, Francisca, emigrated to America in 1852. They were ninety- three days in making the voyage. The mother died in 1855. Theodore was left to depend on his own resources. He shipped as helper on board one of the steam- ers plying between here and Buffalo. After the last trip made by the vessel in the fall, he worked his way to Philadelphia, and in 1856 went to New York and shipped as a sailor on board of a vessel bound for Ladrador on a fishing expedition. He settled in Sandusky in 1850, where he remained for a short time, when he worked his way on foot from Sandusky to Cincinnati and en- gaged as cook on board one of the steamers running on the Mississippi, and after making several trips engaged with the Morgan line then running on the gulf At the opening of the war he enlisted in the first special battalion of Louisiana, which was called the Robert Wheat or Tiger battalion. He was discharged in 1862, and afterwards became engaged in several different occu- pations, but meeting with frequent interruptions was obliged to abandon his plans He was arrested and imprisoned in a cell with six other ex-soldiers, and while trying to make their escape were captured and heavily ironed. He finally gained his liberty on promising to again join the army. Previous to this he had sought protection from the German consul at Richmond, but after the proclamation of President Jeff Davis for all non-residents to leave or join the army, he was compelled to wander about or join the army. After going from place to place, traveling both night and day during the months of De- cember and January (1864), he finally crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains in rags and nearly starved. He was finally cared for by some Northern pickets and afterwards released and sent to Philadelphia, where he found employment, and replenished his wardrobe. He came to Sandusky in 1865 and was mar- ried November 12, 1866. to Elizabeth Miller, of Sandusky. They have had a family of ten children, eight of whom are now living. Mr. Gerold became engaged in his present business in 1869. Gideman, John A., Sandusky, one of the extensive boot and shoe dealers of Sandusky, and a member of the firm of Gideman & Homegardner, was born in Baden, Germany, in 1850, and was a son of John and Theresa Gide- man. John was born 1822, and died in 1882, leaving a widow and two child- ren, John A. and Sophia. John, sr., enlisted in Company G, 65th Ohio Regi- ment, in 1861, and served for three years. John A., in early life, became en- gaged in clerking. In 1870 he became engaged as partner in the shoe firm of William Koch & Co, and in 1878 formed the present firm of Gideman & Homegardner. He is also agent for the Dayton Teutonia Insurance Com- pany. He was married in, 1875 1° Kate Homegardner. They have had three children : Cora, Ida and Katie. Kate was a daughter of John and Mary L. Homegardner. Gilcher, W. H., Sandusky, one of the leading lumber merchants of San- 572 History of Erie County. dusky, was bom July 2, 1843, in Sandusky, and was a son of Peter Gilcher and Christian (Boos) Gilcher, who settled in Sandusky in August, 1833. Mr. Peter Gilcher was born May 24, 1812, and was one of the earliest lumbermen in the county. He established the business at the present stand in 1853. His son, W. H., became a partner in the business in May, 1865, as P. Gilcher & Son, and in 1868 R. E. Schuck was taken in as a partner, and the style of firm was changed to P. Gilcher & Co. That continued until 1878, when the style of firm was changed, on account of death of Peter Gilcher, to Gilcher & Schuck, the present firm. They are now engaged in a general lumber and shipping trade. Peter Gilcher’s death occurred in July, 1877. W. H. Gilcher was married in 1868 to Tennie Rosenbaum, who was born in Russia. They have three children : Laura IT, William A. and Bessie H. Gildenmeister, Christian. Groton, Sand Hill p. o., was born in Mecklen- burg Schwerin, March 20, 1836, and was a son of Johannes and Elizabeth Gildenmeister. He emigrated to America in 1857, and settled in Sandusky, where he worked at farming by the month, until 1861, when he hired a farm in Oxford. He purchased his present homestead of 80 acres, in 1872, for which he paid $65, which he now has under a high state of cultivation. He was married in i860 to Mrs. Elizabeth Russell, who was born in Herzogthum, Nassau. They have two children : Lewis, born in 1861. and William, born in 1865. Mrs. Gildenmeister, by her first husband, Philip Russell, had a family of three children : Charles, Philip and Nettie. Christian’s parents came to Ohio in 1863, and settled in Huron. They had two sons, Christian and John. Gill, Edward, Oxford, Bloomingville p. o., was born on the Isle of Man, in 1818, and was a son of John Gill. He learned the carpenter’s trade at Liver- pool, England, and in 1842 came to America and settled in Monroeville, Hu- ron county, as a journeyman carpenter. He soon became a contractor and builder. He was married January i, 1852, to Esther Young, of Milan. They have a family of ten children: Mary E., Sarah C., William E , Almona, John T., Elorence, Ruth E., George, Bertha, Ernest R. They settled in Oxford in 1855, and purchased their present homestead farm of 60 acres. Mr. Gill has one of the finest building-stone quarries of the county, which he has worked in connection with his farm interest with much success. He has given a col- lege education to each of his ten children. William and John are now prac- ticing physicians and surgeons ; William is a graduate from the college at Cin- cinnati, and John T. of the New York Medical Society ; Mary is a graduate from the Athens University; Florence graduated from Oberlin, and went as a missionary to Japan, in 1887, for a term of five years. She received a diploma of art from the Cooper Union; Ruth E. is now studying music at Oberlin; Sarah attended the Ohio University, but was compelled to leave before gradu- ating ; George is now a student at Chattanooga ; Ruth, a professor of music, while Bertha and Ernest are students at Oberlin College. Mrs. Gill was a Brief Biographical Sketches. 573 daughter of Lazarus Young, one of the early settlers of Milan township, com- ing from Pennsylvania. Ging, John F., Sandusky, dealer in groceries and provisions, was born in Sandusky, O., in 1859, and was a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Keller) Ging, who were born in Baden, Germany, and married in Sandusky. Charles en- listed and was discharged at Cleveland. He died October 7, 1871, leaving a widow and five children : Albert, John F., Elizabeth, Philip and Kate. Three children, Philip, Caroline and Prank, are deceased. John F. Ging was mar- ried in 1885 to Lena Faber. They have had two children, Earl and Elma. Mr. Ging, in 1872, became a clerk in the grocery business, and in 1855 be- came engaged in the grocery and provision business for himself, and is now meeting with success. Gosser, George, Sandusky, owner and proprietor of the Gosser Hotel, saloon and restaurant, opposite the Lake Shore Railroad depot, was born in Sandusky in 1828, and was a son of Martin and Mary E. (Payne) Gosser, who were born in Alsace in 1819. Martin and Mary were married in Sandusky, where Mary died in 1863, leaving a family of six children: George, Prank, Edward, Mary E., Emily and Martin J. George learned the mason trade and became a con- tractor, a business in which he was engaged for several years. In 1877 purchased his land and erected his hotel buildings at No. 307 Depot street. He has served two years in the board of aldermen. He was married in Feb- ruary. 1868, to Maggie Macke, of Sandusky, a daughter of Thomas Macke. They have had a family of six children : James E., Mary L., Hattie, Alice, Lucy and Bessie M. Greene. Jesse T., Perkins, Sandusky p. o., was born in Perkins township in 1836, and was married August 18, 1867, to Mary M. Stephens, of Erie county. They have had a family of five children, four of whom are now living: Leon- ard F., John E., Jesse S., jr., and Foster C. Mr. Greene vvas a son of John and Maria (Taylor) Greene. Maria was born in Glastonbury, Conn., March 12, 1811, and was a daughter of Jesse and Julia (House) Taylor, who settled in Hartford county. Conn., in 1815. John Greene was born in Lycoming county. Pa., October 4, 1805. They were married March 20, 1834; John died August 13, 1848. They had a family of six children, five of whom are now living: Jesse T., Frank, Esther, J. Pletcher and Dennis J. Greene, John Fletcher, Perkins, Sandusky p. o., one of the representative men of his town, was born in Perkins March i i, 1844, and was a son of John and Maria (Taylor) Greene. Maria was a daughter of Jesse and Julia (House) Taylor. She was born in Glastonbury, Hartford count)'. Conn., in 1811, and came to Erie couni-y in 1815 with her parents, and was married March 20, 1834, to John Greene, who was born in Lycoming county. Pa., in 1805, and died in Wauseon, Fulton county, August 13, 1848. They had a family \ 'V ,- '. '. ■" ', • * -V i. ■• ■ ,• .- '1 ■ i:^i •••-. ->\;- • -i' V- ri 1^^-' t ■ . * . 977.122 q^365H 552820