Allen County, Ohio - Chapter 4: Dawn of Civilization in the County, 1906

Chapter 4: Dawn of Civilization in the County

Name and Formation of Allen County - First Settlers - First White Child Born in Allen County, on Hog Creek and in Lima - Address' of T. E. Cunningham, Esq., Before the Pioneer Association - Good Offices of Quilna - Organization and Naming of Lima - Removal of the Shaivnees - Early County Officers and Judges - "Auglaize City" - Fort Amanda - Saivmill and Navy Yard - Pht - Heroes of the Forest - "Johnny Applcsecd" - Elida Pioneer Association - Roadivays - Political History - Roster of County Officials, Common Pleas Judges, Members of the General Assembly and Congressmen.

Every great war has left its mark in some way upon the earth's surface. It may be a scar, deep, long and broad-; it may be the lasting hatred of two nations, each for the other; it may be the dawn of better things. In the case of Allen County, however, the War of 1812 left its mark by the contribution of a name, ALLEN County.

One of the brave men, a colonel, in the War of 1812, whose name was Allen, gave his name to this county, which was formed April 1, 1820, from Indian Territory. A number of other counties were formed at the same time.

In the first years of its organization, Allen County was attached to Mercer County for judicial purposes, and in that way much of the early general history is the same as that of Mercer County. The history of the organization of the various counties of Ohio will be of general interest here.

By the Ordinance of 1787, Ohio sprang into existence, and, when the Territory was organized, Washington County was established with its western limits resting on the Scioto River and its northern on Lake Erie. In 179° Hamilton County was organized. In 1796 Wayne County was set off and within the two following years five more counties were established. In 1800 Fairfield and Trumbull were established. In 1803 the counties of Gallia, Scioto, Franklin, Columbiana, Butler, Warren, Greene and Montgomery were added. In 1805

Athens was formed from Washington County. In 1804 Muskingum was established; in 1805 Highland and Champaign; in 1807 Ashtabula, Portage, Cuyahoga and Miami ; in 1808, Stark, Preble, Knox, Licking, Delaware and Tuscarawas; in 1809 Darke and Huron; in 1810 Pickaway, Madison, Clinton, Fayette and Guernsey; in 1811 Coshocton; in 1812 Medina; in 1813 Monroe and Richland; in 1814 Hocking and Harrison; in 1815 Pike; in 1816 Jackson and Lawrence; in 1817 Clark, Logan, Perry and Brown; in 1818 Morgan; in 1819 Shelby and Meigs; in 1820 Allen, Crawford, Marion, Mercer, Hardin, Hancock. Henry, Williams, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Union, Van Wert and Wood. The last named counties, including Allen, were set off from Indian Territory, and were not organized for years after their establishment, and in the case of Allen County not for 14 years after the treaty of Maumee Rapids, which was made September 29, 1817.

The organic act of 1820 provided that the lands ceded by the Indians in the treaty of Maumee Rapids should be divided into 14 counties, viz.: Townships 1, 2 and 3 south, in ranges 1, 2, 3 and 4 to form Van Wert County; all of ranges 1. 2, 3 and 4, south of townships 1, 2 and 3 south to form Mercer County; all of townships 1 and 2 south and 1 and 2 north in ranges 5, 6, 7 and 8 to form Putnam County; and, lastly, all of the second townships to the

This act further provided that Allen County be attached to Shelby County for judicial purposes. Subsequently Allen was attached to Mercer until the organization in 1831. In 1829 Christopher Wood, of Allen County, was nominated by the Legislature, with Justin Hamilton, of Mercer County, and Adam Barber, of Putnam County, a board of commissioners to locate the seat of justice for each of the counties which they represented. This was accomplished and the organization of the county followed in 1831.

The soil of Allen County is of great fertility, forming at one time a part of the great Black Swamp. The area of the county is 440 square miles. The county has 13 townships, viz. : Amanda, Auglaize, Bath, German, Jackson, Marion, Monroe, Ottawa, Perry, Richland, Shawnee, Spencer and Sugar Creek. The county has many Germans to-day, nearly all of them springing from the sturdy old German pioneers of the log-cabin days. These hardy and industrious people have helped to make Allen County what it is to-day.

The growth in population presents an interesting question: In 1830 there were only 578 residents; in 1850 there were 12,116; in i860, there were 19,185; in 1880, 31,314. Of this number in 1880, there were 4 Chinese and only 4 Indians. But there were 25,625 native-born Ohio inhabitants. In 1900, the population was 45,000, and is now (1906) about 50,000. Tbe first occupancy by white men of any part of what is now Allen County was on the site of Fort Amanda.

We are always interested in first events. The world has ever paid tribute to those men who first accomplished some particular thing. For this reason the inventor, the discoverer, and the explorer will ever appeal to us. Sir Francis Drake, Christopher Columbus, Mungo Park, Stanley, Cook and Lieutenant Peary will continue to challenge the admiration of all readers. The man who first reaches the North Pole will win an enduring monument.

name and his blood were French, Francis Deuchocjuette, and the former, if not the latter, may be found upon the map of Auglaize County. Deuchoquette, who was an Indian interpreter, was present at the burning of Colonel Crawford in Wyandotte County, and is said to have used his most persuasive powers with Simon Girty and others, to prevent that terrible tragedy. In later years 'many of the old settlers remembered Deuchoquette for his kindness and aid to them in times of great distress. About 1817, a number of other hardy pioneers came to live in the wilderness, among them being' Andrew Russell, Peter Diltz and William Van Ausdall.

1 8 1 7, the first white child, a girl, known as the "Daughter of Allen County.'' This girl became, in after years, Mrs. Charles C. Marshall, of Delphos. She lived until 1871. Absalom Brown was the first white citizen of Lima, and his daughter, Maria Mitchell Brown, was the first white child born in Lima.

The growth of Lima and, in fact, all parts of the county, has been constant and substantial. In Chapter V is shown a view of Lima in 1846, taken from a point on the Wapakoneta road south of the town. The picture shows quite plainly the Court House of 1842, part of the village, the famous "Swinonia" of Count Coffinberry and the covered bridge over this stream. Many versions are given as to the origin of the name "Hog Creek," the one generally credited being as follows: In 1786 a British Indian agent by the name of McKee was, during the incursions of General Logan in that year, obliged to flee with all his property. He took along his swine, and had them driven to the stream; here they remained, running wild in the woods. The Indians discovered them and named the stream "Koshko Scpc," or Hog River.

At this point it will be proper to introduce the splendid narrative of T. E. Cunningham, Esq., of Lima. Mr. Cunningham gives his facts as they were gleaned from those who made the history, and "a good part of which he himself was", as Livy expresses it in regard to the true historian.

Leaves From The Early History Of Allen County

Fifty years ago the territory which now constitutes the county of Allen was an almost unbroken wilderness ; I say almost, for on the banks of the Auglaize River, in the neighborhood of where once stood the village of Hartford, a settlement was commenced by the whites about the year 1817. To the young these 50 years appear a long time ; but there are men and women about me, who can look back over a period longer than that, and realize how swiftly the years have flown, freighted as they were with sorrows, hopes, keen disappointments and truest joys. Births and deaths alternated with the days ; and memory is crowded with shadowy forms who lived and died in the long ago.

Allen County is a portion of that division of the State, commonly known as Northwestern Ohio. This section was the last opened for settlement by the whites. The Shawnee Indian Reservation embraced a large part of the county, and the migration of the Indians did not occur until the month of August, 1832, although they ceded their lands to the general government some time before. The whites, however, had begun to come in before the cession took place, and the white man and the red for years occupied the country together, and illustrated the savage and civilized modes of life.

A family named Russell were the first whites who settled within the bounds of the county. On the Auglaize, in 1817, they opened the first farm, and there the first white child was born. That child, who afterwards became the wife of Charles C. Marshall, of Delphos, was familiarly called by the neighbors the "Daughter of Allen County." She died during the present summer, in the 54th year of her age.

Samuel McClure, now living at the age of 78 years, settled on Hog Creek, five miles northeast of where Lima now stands, in the month of November, 1825 - 46 years ago. He has ever since remained on the farm upon which he then built a cabin. The nearest white neighbors of whom he knew were two families named Leper and Kidd, living one mile below, where Roundhead now is - about 20 miles to the nearest known neighbor. On that farm, in the year 1826. was born Moses McClure, the first white child born on the waters of Hog Creek. Mr. McClure's first neighbor was Joseph Ward. He helped cut the road when McClure came, and afterwards brought his family, and put them into McClure's cabin, while he built one for himself on the tract where he afterwards erected what was known as Ward's mill. The next family was that of Joseph Walton; they came in March, 1826.

Shawneetown, an Indian village, was situated eight miles below the McClure settlement, at the mouth of Little Hog Creek. A portion of the village was on the old Ezekiel Hover farm, and a portion upon the Breese farm. Mr. McClure and his little neighborhood soon became acquainted, and upon good terms with their red neighbors. He says Pht, the war chief, had he been civilized, would have been a man of mark in any community. Ouilna was the great business man of the tribe hereabouts.

Soon after the McClure settlement was commenced, they heard from the Indians at Shawneetown that the United States government had erected a mill at Wapakoneta. The settlers had no road to the mill, but Quilna assisted them to open one. He surveyed the line of their road without compass, designating it by his own knowledge of the different points, and the Indian method of reaching them.

There are many of the children of the early settlers to whom the name of Quilna is a household word. To his business qualities were added great kindness of heart, and a thorough regard for the white people. No sacrifice of his personal ease was too much, if by any effort he could benefit his new neighbors. I think this community has been ungrateful. Some enduring memorial of him should have long ago been made. How much better and more appropriate it would have been, to have given his name to the new township recently erected in our county, out of territory over which his tired feet have so often trodden in the bestowal of kindness and benefactions upon the white strangers, who had come to displace his tribe, and efface the little hillocks which marked the places where his forefathers slept. Why cannot we have Ottawa changed to Quilna yet? [It certainly should be done. - Ed.]

In the month of June, 1826, Morgan Lippincott, Joseph Wood, Benjamin Dolph, whilst out hunting, found the McClure settlement. To his great surprise, Mr. McClure learned that he had been for months living within a few miles of another white settlement, located on Sugar Creek. He learned from the hunters that there were five families, - those of Christopher Wood, Morgan Lippincott, Samuel Jacobs, Joseph Wood and Samuel Purdy. It is his belief that Christopher Wood settled on Sugar Creek as early as 1824, on what is now known as the old Miller farm.

In the spring of 1831, John Ridenour, now living at the age of 89 years, with his family. Jacob Ridenour (then a young married man) and David Ridenour (bachelor), removed from Perry County, and settled one mile south of Lima, on the lands the families of that name have occupied ever since.

The State of Ohio conveyed to the people of Allen County a quarter section of land upon which to erect a county town. The title was vested in the commissioners of the county, in trust, for the purpose expressed. It was not a gift, however, as many suppose. Two hundred dollars was paid for it out of the county treasury, while Thomas K. Jacobs was treasurer. In the summer of 1831 the town was surveyed by W. L. Henderson, of Findlay, the same gentleman who was recently prominent in the survey and location of the Fremont & Indiana Railroad. Patrick G. Goode, at that time a distinguished citizen of the State, who afterwards became a member of Congress, president judge of the judicial district and a Methodist minister, had the honor of naming it. He borrowed the name from the capital of Chile, South America, and to his last day would not forgive the public for their resolute abandonment of the Spanish pronunciation of the name. It was pronounced Lema, where he obtained the name - but our people insisted upon the long "i" ; and Lima it has been to this day, and will continue to be when the walls of a city shall stand upon its foundations, and when the name of the good man who stood its sponsor shall have been forgotten.

In the month of August, 1831, a public sale of lots took place, and during the following fall and winter came John P. Mitchell, Absalom Brown, John F. Cole, Dr. William Cunningham, Abraham Bowers, John Brewster, David Tracy, John Mark and John Bashore, with their families, except Brewster, who was a bachelor. John F. Cole, who is now almost alone amongst the new generation of men who have come around him, settled a mile below town, on a portion of what is now the Faurot farm. Enos Terry, a noble gentleman, a brother-in-law of Mr. Cole's, settled upon an adjoining tract still nearer town.

The children of those men and women, who made this venture in the wilderness - some of them in the dead of winter - can form no idea of the toils endured, the anxiety suffered, and the struggles which accompanied the frontier life of their fathers and mothers. Nor can we, at this day, with our crowding upon each other in the race of life, contemplate without wonder the sympathy they felt for each other, and the constant mutual aid extended. 1 have heard my own mother tell how John P. Mitchell once walked nine miles to a horse-mill and brought home a bushel of cornmeal on his back, and divided it out amongst half a dozen families. This proves the goodness of human nature, and I believe the sons and daughters of these persons would do the like if they were surrounded with the same circumstances. I have heard John F. Cole describe his travels through the woods with his ox team, making but five or six miles a day, and at night turning out his oxen to find their own supper, while he, covered with mud, and frequently with no dry thread of clothing, crept into his wagon and slept the night away.

They had no railroads then, you know. I can recollect back to the time when the country about Urbana was called "the settlement," whence supplies were drawn, and it required several strong yoke of oxen and many days of travel, to make the trip to and from "the settlement."

In the month of August, 1832, the Shawnees took up their line of march for the far West - away so far, it was thought, that many generations would come and go before they would again be disturbed. But one generation had not passed, before the advancing tide of civilization swept against and over them, till, tired of the struggle, the majority of what remains of this once powerful and warlike tribe have quietly yielded to the surrounding influences, and are learning and practicing the arts of civilized life.

Dr. William McHenry, one of the committee of this Pioneer Association, came to Lima in the spring of 1834. There were then living in the village: John P. Mitchell, Col. James Cunningham, Dr. William Cunningham, Gen. John Ward, Dr. Samuel Black, Daniel D. Tompkins, Charles Baker, James A. Anderson, David Tracy, Hudson Watt, Miles Cowan, Crain Valentine, John Bashore, John Mark, Abraham Aldridge, Alexander Beatty, William Scott, Thurston Mosier, David Reese, Daniel Musser, Sr., Martin Musser, Daniel Musser, Jr., Elisha Jolly. Abraham S. Nichols, Rev. George Sheldon, Elder William Chaffee, John Jackson, Hamilton Davison, Amos Clutter, Robert Terry, F. H. Binklev and Abraham Bowers, Sr. Rev. John Alexander and Rev.

James Finley were ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church upon the circuit at that time. Rev. Mr. Sheldon preached to the Presbyterians, and Elder Chaffee to the Baptists. Within Dr. McHenry's recollection of the persons named, who were, with one or two exceptions, heads of families then, there remain in this vicinity but Mrs. Bowers, Daniel Musser, Jr., Mrs. Musser (then Mrs. Mitchell), Hudson Watt and Mrs. Watt, Elisha Jolly and Mrs. Jolly, Mrs. Ward, Mrs. Patrick (then Mrs. Tracy), and Mrs. Bashore. John F. Cole and Mrs. Cole are still living now, and for many years residents of the town, but at that time they were upon their farm below town.

Tompkins is in Oregon ; Baker is in Marion; Watt, Jolly and McHenry remain in Lima ; Valentine is in Michigan. The whereabouts, if alive, of Mosier, Reese, Nichols, Cowan and Clutter, is unknown ; Sheldon is in Indiana, and Davison is at Defiance. The remainder of the names on the list will be found cut in marble - t(In Memoriam."

The first white citizen of Lima was Absolom Brown, whose daughter, Marion Mitchell Brown, named after the present Mrs. Musser, was the first white child born in the town. The second was Katherine Bashore, now Mrs. John P. Adams. The first marriage in the town was that of James Saxon and Miss Jones, a sisterin-law of John Mark. They were married by Rev. Mr. Pryor, a missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

As late as the fall of 1834, Daniel Musser killed two deer on the present plat of Lima ; one about where King's warehouse stands, and the other about where the West Union School house is.

I am indebted to John Cunningham for the result of the census of Lima, actual count completed yesterday, September 21, 1871. The total number of families is 1,013; the number of souls, 4,979 ; an increase of between three and four hundred since the census was taken in 1870.

The first Court of Common Pleas for Allen County was held in a log cabin, the residence of James S. Daniels, near the crossing of Hog Creek at the east end of Market street, in May, 1833. Hon. George B. Holt, of Dayton, was the president judge, and Christopher Wood, James Crozier and William Watt were associates. John Ward was clerk, and Henry Lippincott, sheriff ; Patrick G. Goode, of Montgomery County, was special prosecuting attorney, appointed by the court.

Judge Holt was in 1838 succeeded by Judge W. L. Helfenstein; he in turn, in 1839, by Emory D. Potter. Judge Potter went to Congress in 1842, and was succeeded on the bench by Myron H. Tilden, and he was succeeded in 1845 by Patrick G. Goode, who remained upon the bench until he was superseded under the new constitution in February, 1852, by Benjamin F. Metcalf. In 1857, Judge Metcalf was succeeded by William Lawrence, of Logan County, but in 1859 he again returned to the bench, in a newly formed district, and remained in office until his death, which occurred in 1865. Among the very able men who have flourished in this section of Ohio, it is safe to say Judge Metcalf had no superior in intellectual qualities, and few equals. He was succeeded by O. W. Rose, of Van Wert, who remained upon the bench but a few months, when James Mackenzie, our townsman, was elected in the fall of 1865, and immediately assumed the duties of the office, where if the sincere wishes of the public can avail, and a kind Providence will spare him, he will remain for many years to come. Shortly after his retirement, Judge Rose's health gave way and he soon after died. He was a gentleman of singularly gentle manners, and his was a spirit as pure as ever inhabited our human form.

Suffer me here to digress from my narrative of the judiciary, to pay a passing tribute to the memory of one who came into our midst about a quarter of a century ago. He was known to most all of you. I allude to Mathias PI. Nichols. To a brilliant imagination was added untiring industry, and in his early manhood he gave as much promise of distinction as any who has ever come amongst us. He was a brilliant and successful lawyer, and went to Congress at the age of 27. He served six years in a most exciting epoch, but he survived his congressional career only about three years.

The associate judges of our old court, in addition to the ones already named, were Charles Levering, Joseph Hover, John Jamieson, John Elliott, George B. Shriner, Charles H. Adgate and John P. Fay. * * * The

Probate Court, created by the constitution of 1851, has been presided over by William S. Rose, Michael Leatherman, Thomas M. Robb, Charles M. Hughes and Luther M. Meily, present incumbent.

Under the Constitution of 1851, Allen County became entitled to a separate representation in the General Assembly. Lester Bliss was the first, and was followed by Charles Crites, Charles Post, Charles C. Marshall, Thomas K. Jacobs, John Monroe, Dr. R. E. Jones and William Armstrong. Michael Leatherman and Gen. William Blackburn represented districts under the old constitution. Col. James Cunningham and Charles C. Marshall each served one term in the Senate.

In addition to Lima, thrifty towns have sprung up in various parts of the county. Section Ten (now Delphos) promised at one time to be the commercial center of the counties of Allen, Putnam and Van Wert; Spencerville (once known as Spencer), then Acadia, Lafayette, Westminster, Bluffton (once known as Shannon), Beaver Dam, Cairo, Allentown, Elida, Gomer, West Newton, Rockport, Maysville, Hartford and Amherst, like the cities of the plain, are known only in history. There is one paper city, which was to have been in Allen County, which deserves more than a passing notice. Judge Helfenstein projected one on some lands of his in the western part of the county. He got up a splendid map. by which he provided for stately avenues and magnificent squares, which put to blush the smaller pretensions of most of the Ohio cities.

But its avenues continue to be shaded by the primeval forest trees; while spring time and summer alone prove it inhabited, by the singing frogs and humming mosquitoes. But you can yet find, among the eastern creditors of Judge Helfenstein, ample proof that "Auglaize City" did once exist ; for the corner lots took up many of the Judge's floating notes.

In the winter of 1834-35, the United States Land Office was removed from Wapakoneta to Lima; and with it came, as receiver, Gen. William Blackburn. I have seen a great many men of fine presence, but I do not recollect of ever having met a finer specimen of physical power and manly beauty, than Blackburn was when I first saw him. He was then in the full flush of middle life - was considerably more than six feet in height, and weighed over 300 pounds. He was a military enthusiast, and the militia musters of those early days gave his enthusiasm full vent. He was, I believe, the first major general commanding the 12th Division Ohio Militia. Gen. John Ward was a brigadier, commanding one of his brigades. At Ward's death, he was succeeded by Gen. William Armstrong, who remained in command until the whole militia system became obsolete. In the early days of this county, general muster day was second only to the Fourth of July, in the calendar of the great days. After the "troops" were dismissed, it was the "common law" that all grievances and personal controversies arising during the year, and which had been postponed to general muster, were to be settled. Rings would be formed, the combatants stepped in, and the result was generally that both parties were terribly whipped.

Looking back over half a century, behold what has been accomplished! The immense forests our fathers and mothers found have melted away and now in their stead are ripening fields of corn. The cabins they built are replaced with comfortable farm mansions. The corduroy roads, over which they plodded their way back to the older settlements, have been replaced by railroads; and the iron horse, in harness, pulls annually to the great markets a surplus of products, greater in value by far, than the grand duplicate of 1833. We have much, very much, for which to thank our Heavenly Father; we have much, very much to be proud of in our history; but the proudest of all, we should be, of our brave ancestry, who amidst poverty, and sickness and privations, laid broad and deep the foundations of our present prosperity.

Fort Amanda

The appointment of Gen. W. H. Harrison was made September 17, 1812, and he, without delay, entered upon the duties of commanderin-chief of the Northwestern Army. He directed that troops be massed at Wooster, Urbana, St. Marys and Defiance and made the southern line of the Black Swamp, from Upper Sandusky to St. Marys, the base or left line of his proposed operations. In the report of military affairs, following his appointment, we find the first mention of posts on the Auglaize. Here also reference is made to the Ohio cavalry under Colonel Finley, the Kentucky cavalry under Col. R. M. Johnson, and the infantry under Colonels Poague, Barbee and Jennings, the former of whom erected Fort Amanda and the latter Fort Jennings. From General Harrison's letter of February 11, 1813, it is inferred that the forces under the officers just mentioned had been called in, prior to September 30, 1812, to join the main battalion of Ohio militia, and a company of regular troops from Fort Winchester. It is, therefore, conceded that Colonel Poague, with his command, built a fort on the west bank of the Auglaize in September, 1812. The pickets were about eleven feet high, forming a guard for four block-houses. The second story of each house projected three or our feet over the pickets. The block-house located in the southeast corner was the largest, and was used for officers' quarters. In the center of the quadrangle was the storehouse. A national cemetery was established here in 1812-14, which has been continued by the settlers. Seventyfive mounds mark the burial places of as many soldiers of the War of 1812.

The records of the garrison of this post fell into the hands of the British and were destroyed by the vandals. Fort Auglaize, east of Wapakoneta, was built by the French in 174S, was in existence in 1812-15, and was used by troops and travelers passing north.

Fort Amanda was used as the first postoffice in Allen County, and also as the first religious meeting-house. It was named after Colonel Poague's wife - "Amanda."

While General Harrison was encamped at Wapakoneta, William Oliver, who had a trading post at Fort Wayne, came to him and asked him to notify the Fort Wayne garrison of Hull's surrender. Harrison stated that he had no one to send. Oliver offered to go should anyone volunteer to accompany him. Logan, the Indian scout, offered his services. Both set out on the dreary journey of 100 miles and arrived at Fort Wayne in safety. This party passed through the wilderness of Allen, but no mention is made of Fort Amanda.

According to a statement made in Green Clay's letter, dated "Camp Meigs, June 20, 1813," to General Harrison, a large consignment of flour in barrels was received from Fort Amanda through Ensign Gray. It is said, with some degree of authenticity, that one of the scows built here in 1813 was subsequently used by Commodore Perry in buoying his large ships over the shallows at Put-in-Bay.

Sawmill And Navy Yard

"During the winter of 1812-13 ^ie garrison of Fort Amanda was constituted a ship-building company. A number of men were told off to select trees, another company to cut them down, a third company to saw them into boards and posts, and a fourth company to convert the manufactured lumber into flat-boats. This work was accomplished by a company of Ohio militia and a few regular troops from Fort Winchester, who replaced Colonel Poague's command. The boats constructed at this point were in use for years, and are said to have eclipsed in construction and strength any or all of the boats turned out of Fort Defiance

Navy Yard at the same time. Years prior to this, however, the genius of 'Mad Anthony' Wayne saw in the neighborhood a point of some military importance. In the history of the war of 1794-1812, the fight of the Ottawas on the Auglaize and the destruction of their untenanted village, August 8, 1793, are of record. It appears that when Fort Recovery was recaptured by the Union troops, General Wayne ordered the construction of several military roads, one of which was laid out between the present village of St. Marys, the home of the Girty desperadoes, and a point on the Auglaize where stood the Ottawa village, near the spot where Fort Amanda was built. This formed a portion of the road known as 'Wayne's Trace.'

"Among the first white men who lived at the fort was Francis Deuchoquette, a Frenchman of excellent mold, who was venerated by the Indians and loved by the settlers of later years. In 1817 Andrew Russell, Peter Diltz and William Van Ausdall came as the vanguard of settlement and then followed that band of pioneers whose names will be forever identified with the settlement and progress of this division of Ohio."

It is a sad sight to witness the death of a man who is the last of his race - especially is this true of a leader. Of all the Indians of this county, Pht is most widely known and honored. He was the last Shawnee chief in Ohio. He built the Shawnee Council House in 1831, a cut of which, and also of his cabin, is seen elsewhere in this work. He was a remarkable man, and in any age, or in any land he would have been a leader. Around his cabin, which stood near the Council House, gathered the warriors in their prime, and plotted against their foes - but they are all gone. After a long illness, the old chief died in 1832, and he was buried by his wife and daughter in his garden. The rude coffin was made of puncheons. All his trinkets and valuables were buried with him. His name will not perish from the earth - it should not.

Heroes Of The Forest

Christopher Wood, a Kentuckian, a scout in the American service from 1790 to 1794, and a soldier of the War of 1812, may be said to be a pioneer of 1824, since in that year he accompanied his sons, Joseph and Albert G., and his son-in-law, Benjamin Dolph, into the wilds of this county. In 1826 John G. Wood entered a parcel of land in Bath township. In 1829 Christopher Wood was appointed a commissioner to locate the seat of justice for Allen County; an associate judge of Common Pleas in 1831 ; director of the town of Lima for the sale of lots the same year, and subsequently was appointed to many positions of trust. He was born in 1769, and died at Lima in 1856. Joseph Wood and other members of that family were all among the pioneers. William G. Wood was the first county auditor.

Theodore E. Cunningham, whose personal recollections appear in this chapter, was one of the senior old residents, and one of the oldest lawyers of the county. In 18 66 he was a delegate to the Johnson Constitutional Convention. In 1873-74 he was a member of the Ohio Constitutional Convention, and for years took a leading part in everything relating to the progress of this division of the State. He came with his father, Dr. William Cunningham, to Lima, in 1832.

Samuel McClure, a soldier of the War of 1812, and a participant in the defeat of the British at the battle of the Thames, in upper Canada in 1813, came to this county in 1825, and erected his cabin on the west side of Hog Creek on section 28, Bath township. He was accompanied hither by his brothers Thomas and Moses, together with Joseph Ward and Aaron Loomis. In 1826. he brought his wife and family to reside here. Mrs. McClure died September 21, 1844. Her husband's death took place December 29, 1875.

Daniel Musser, a Pennsylvanian, came with his parents and the family of William Weller, to Lima, in 1S33, having resided for a short time before this in Marion township. He was one of the early tavern-keepers, and also the first tannery in 1833-34. His

John F. Cole, accompanied by his family, came to Allen County in 1831 and located near Lima, November 7th of that year. A few months later he was present at the burial of Chief Pht, and after that time he continued to witness the removal by death of many if not all the early settlers. He died in 1882. His son, also John F. Cole, is an old resident of Lima. (See "Recollections of E. T. Cole," in Chapter VI.)

Mrs. Nancy- Cole, widow of the late John F. Cole, settled with her husband in Bath township in 1831, moved to Lima subsequently and died here October 24, 1880.

John Chapman, or "Johnny Appleseed." a Swedenborgian, was in Jefferson County, Ohio, as early as 1801. He planted 16 bushels of apple seed on the Butler farm on the Walhonding River. On entering a house he would lie down on the floor and ask the people : "Will you have some fresh news from Heaven?" He was born in Boston in 1775. In April, 1828, he leased a farm from William B. Hedges below Shanesville. His death took place near Fort Wayne in 1845, aged 72 years. This Chapman was a composition of eccentricities. S. C. McCullough, in his reminiscenses, states that he visited a nursery on the Sunderland farm in Amanda township, soon after he commenced to clear his own farm in 1835. He was told that the trees were planted by John Chapman some years before; and further, that the old man had been along the Ottawa and Auglaize rivers, seeking out alluvial lands to set out orchards, before white men had effected a settlement in Allen County. It is probable that "Johnny" carried out his benevolent work here even prior to the building of Fort Amanda in September, 1812. That he was here about 1812 or 1813 is manifested in the number, variety and age of the trees which sprung from the seeds planted by him along "Wayne's Trace." "He who plants a tree, plants a hope."

The Elida Pioneer Association

Was organized at Elida in the summer of 1895 and the first annual pioneer meeting was held on Thursday, August xi, of that year. The annual gatherings are held in the natural grove of Elias Crites, one half-mile east of the village of Elida, on the second Thursday in August of each year. The meetings have grown in interest and importance till not only Northwestern Ohio but visitors from other States as well look forward to these annual gatherings and reunions.

The object of the organization is to give the people, both young and old, an opportunity of assembling once each year to spend the day in renewing acquaintances and to learn the lessons which the lives of the sturdy forefathers teach. Veneration for the brave fathers and mothers to whom our country owes so much, whose struggles displaced the forest and wigwam for the schoolhouse, the church and the emblems of thrift, contentment and culture that decorate our land, cannot fail to have a salutary effect upon the youthful mind. In these days of "graft" and "grab" it is indeed a wholesome diversion to wait a little while in the grove - God's first temple - and listen to words that encourage to better action. Herein lies the power that calls such vast assemblies of people to the yearly meetings of the society.

M. J. Sanford was the organizer of the association and for five years served as secretary. Among its present officers are many who have served from the first. For the year 1896 the officers were : Dr. R. E. Jones, president ; Dr. W. H. Harper, Henry Boose, William Bice. W. L. Bowdle, John Mell, vice-presidents; M. J. Sanford, secretary; Joseph Brower, Dr. S. A. Hitchcock, Eli McBride, Arthur Poling, James H. Johnson, E. S. Crites, George Kesler, John Enslen, Sr., and J. D. Crites, executive committee.

The Romans were the greatest road builders in history. The Roman roads have been noted in all ages, and in all countries. Perhaps the most celebrated road in all history is the Appian Way, built by Appius Claudius, the Censor, in 313 B. C., leading south from Rome, "straight as the eagle's flight." Parts of this road are in just as good condition as when constructed 2,218 years ago. They knew how to construct a road that would stand the test of time. That is the great question now before the people of Allen County, and this demand for better roads is national. In this county the movement has centered around an organization called the "Allen County Good Roads Association," of which D. J. Cable is president, and McDougal Emmett, secretary. Mr. Cable is also vice-president of the State association for the same purpose.

The plan of construction is now under consideration by this association, and by many it is urged that there should be two roads, side by side, leading across the county, one a dirt road for summer use, the other a high-grade macadamized road, both well drained and sufficiently elevated. In this connection it might be of interest to note the manner of construction of the celebrated Roman road referred to above - the Appian Way.

Much time and expense was put upon the foundation. The ground was thoroughly drained, then all soil was removed from the substructure, then various layers of fine stone cemented by lime were put down. Lastly came the pavement, consisting of large, hard, hexagonal blocks of stone, of basaltic lava, or marble, and so perfectly joined that it is yet impossible for one to discover the joints. These blocks are yet so perfect as to defy inspection, and when the long years of usage arc taken into consideration the workmanship seems marvelous. The same is true of the old Roman

The great question now giving trouble in this matter is one of finance. The county commissioners are putting down most excellent roads on the main lines leading to Lima. A fine crushed stone is used ; this is placed upon an elevated bed of earth and heavier crushed stone, then the whole mass is soaked with water and rolled by an immense road-roller. The tendency is to make a cement road very smooth, and fairly durable. But the great trouble is in the insufficient foundation. The Appian Way has long since shown the great importance of a thorough foundation. This is now the leading thought with the Allen County Good Roads Association, and good results will surely follow.

Allen has many good roads, but the heavy hauling by oil men has very much injured them in some parts. The old "Findlay Road," the "Allentown Road," the "Spencerville Road," the "Elida and Delphos Road," the "Waupuck Road," the "Westminster Road," the "St. Johns Road," the "Bellefontaine Road," and the "Shawnee Road" are household words in Allen County.

As the question of finance becomes settled, money will be more available, and the various roads of the county will be greatly improved. Each township and village corporation sets aside from 1.5 mills to 3 mills for road purposes for the toivnship, while there is a county road fund, in addition, of 2.1 mills. Good roads enhance the value of land and all other property. In fact the value of real property anywhere is commensurate with transportation facilities. Edmund Burke claimed : "There be three things that make a nation great and prosperous - a fertile soil, busy work-shops and easy communication from place to place." Allen County has all three of these requisites.

Nothing can prove this statement more conclusively than the fact that in 1834 the assessed valuation of all property in the county was $69,461, while to-day it is $26,252,045.

Every citizen is deeply interested in making and executing the laws. While the law-making power is largely vested in the State, yet much of this power is delegated to the county authorities, and no part of this history will be read with more interest than the part relating to the political growth, development and conditions of the county. From the organization of the county, in 1831, until 1855, the politics of the county was divided between Whig and Democrat. With' John C. Fremont in 1856, the Republican party was born, and from that time on the dominant political parties in the county are known as Democratic and Republican. During these years many difficult questions have been advocated, some of them very mildly, others with zeal and even ferocity. In 1833 the abolition question caused a ripple of disunion to make itself apparent. Two years later the cry of "Abolition and Liberty" raised a storm of feeling, but the echo soon died away. The Liberty party, as it was called, went down in its contest with Clay and Polk in 1844, and thereupon the American or "Know Nothing" party was organized.

The Mexican War gave added impetus to political life, making the presidential contests more animated, and drawing the ties of party closer. In 1856 the Whigs as a party passed out of existence, and in their place was formed the Republican party of to-day. In 1864 Lincoln was elected over George B. McClellan, and shortly thereafter the great life of Lincoln was ended by the assassin's bullet, and Vice- President Johnson assumed the reins of government.

In 1876 the long and unfortunate contest between the supporters of Samuel J. Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes caused intense excitement, and for a time unsettled the affairs of the nation. The contest, however, was decided by means of the Electoral Commission. All of these questions have entered into the political conditions of Allen County, and the results may be seen in the following pages, in which are given the officers, from the earliest times

Probate Judges. - (Under the Constitution of 1802, the associate judges of the Court of Common Pleas in each county had jurisdiction in matters of probate, according to Section 5, Article 3, of the State Constitution, which is as follows : "The Court of Common Pleas in each county shall have jurisdiction in all matters of probate and testamentary matters, granting administration, the appointment of guardians, and such other cases as shall be prescribed by law"). Christopher Wood, James Crozier and William Watt (associate judges of Common Pleas), 1831; Charles Levering, Joseph Hover and John Jamieson (associate judges), 1837; John Elliott and George B. Shriner (associate judges), 1841 ; Charles W. Adgate and John P. Fay (associate judges), 1845. (By the Constitution of 1851, a Probate Court was established in each county, according to Section 7, Article 4 : "There shall be established in each county a Probate Court, which shall be a court of record, open at all times, and holden by one judge, elected by the voters of the county, who shall hold his office for the term of three years and shall receive such compensation, payable out of the county treasury, or by fees, or both, as shall be provided by law.") William S. Rose, 1851; Michael Leatherman (appointed vice William S. Rose, resigned), 1852; Michael Leatherman, 1854; Thomas M. Robb, 1857; Charles

Board of County Commissioners. - So far as has been possible the personnel of the board is shown at the end of the year after the fall elections and the first person named is in most cases the commissioner elected that year. In the late years of this list, since the term of office began in September following the election, it has been difficult to show how the board is constituted at the end of the year, for really four names should be shown, including both the outgoing and the incoming commissioners.

Relics Of Fort Amanda And Pioneer Days Property Of Dr. George Hall, Lima

EXPLAN ATION. - No. 1, Section of Block House. Fort Amanda, showing port-hole; No. 2. Copper Kettles from Indian grave, Fort Amanda; No. 3, Shackles used on criminals in Allen County Jail. 1832: No. I. Phi's Pistol, found in Council House after his death ; No. 5, Indian Tomahawk, used as pipe of peace: No. t>. Indian Squaw Axe: No. 7. Indian Flint Arrow-Head ; No. 8. Indian Scalp, taken by an early settler ; No. H. Antlers of Deer, killed by Daniel Snyder. 1 S 10. on the site of the present (1906) High School Building; No. 10. Petrilied Leaf. Coal Age, found near Fort Amanda; No 11. Flax Hackle of pioneer days; No. 12, Indian Saddle Bird; No- 13, Indian Bow. Quiver and Arrow used by the Shawnees. 1830; No. 14. Indian War Club; No. 16, Cane made from wood taken from the Allen County Jail. 1832; No. 16. Indian Hunting Knife with sheath: No. 17, Poisoned Indian Arrow; No. 18, Indian War Axe.

County Infirmary Directors. - Before the election of 1858 Curtis Baxter, Shelby Taylor and David Bryte served as directors by appointment. The records of some years are Avanting :

Common Pleas Judges

In the "Ohio Hundred Year Book," published in 1901 by the authority of the 74th General Assembly of Ohio, it says that James Crazier, William Watt and Christopher Wood were elected associate judges of the Common Pleas for Allen County in 1831, and that George B. Holt was their president judge. From the oldest records we find that George B. Holt, of Montgomery County, held the first court of Common Pleas for Allen County in James S. Daniels' cabin at the east end of Market street in May, 1833, and that he was assisted by Associate Judges Watt, Crazier and Wood. Judge Holt was followed by William L. Helfenstein,of Montgomery County, elected in 1836; Emory D. Potter, of Lucas County, elected in 1839; Myron H. Tilden, of Luca's County, elected in 1844; and Patrick G. Goode, of Shelby County, elected in 1845.

In 1851 the district was reorganized and known as District No. 3, Sub-Division No. 1, and was composed of Allen, Hardin, Shelby, Auglaize, Marion, Union and Logan counties. Benjamin F. Metcalf served from February, 1852, to February, 1857. William Lawrence, of Logan County, served from February, 1857, to October, 1864; Jacob S. Conklin, of Shelby County ( vice Lawrence), from October, 1864, to February, 1872.

In 1858 the district was again reorganized and was composed of Allen, Auglaize, Mercer, Van Wert and Putnam counties. Judge Metcalf was judge from November, 1858, till his death in March, 1865, when O. W. Rose, of Lima, took his place till November, 1865. James Mackenzie served as judge from November, 1865, to February, 1879. Edwin M. Pbelps, of Mercer County, was elected judge in 1869, under an act creating an additional judge for Sub-Division No. 1. In 1879 the district was again reorganized, adding Shelby County and dropping Putnam County, and so it remains today.

Upon the reorganization of the Third Judicial District, Sub-Division No. I, Charles M. Hughes, of Allen County, became judge and served from February, 1879, to February, 1889, when he was succeeded by John E. Richie, of Allen County, who served until February, 1899, when he in turn was succeeded by W. H. Cunningham, also of Allen County. James H. Day, of Mercer County, went upon the bench in February, 1S80, and served until he resigned in September, 1892. He was succeeded in October, 1892, by Hiram C. Glenn, of Van Wert County, who served until December of that year, when W. T. Mooney, of Mercer County, took his place. Judge Mooney resigned in February, 1901, to accept a position on the circuit bench ; his death occurred November 29, 1904. William D. Davis, of Shelby County, was appointed by the Governor as Judge Mooney's successor on the common pleas bench until the next election, in November, 1903, when Hugh T. Mathers was elected. Judge Mathers filled the unexpired term of fudge Mooney or until February 9, 1905, when, having been re-elected at tbe election of

November, 1904, he succeeded himself in office. S. A. Armstrong, of Mercer County, has served continuously on the bench since January, 1889. Three judges, therefore, on the common pleas bench at the present time are : Hon. S. A.

Armstrong, whose term expires on the second Monday in January, 1909; Hon. W. H. Cunningham, whose term will expire February 8, 1909; and Hon. Hugh T. Mathers, whose term will expire February 8, 1910.

Members Of The General Assembly

Representatives. - The following is a list of members of the State House of Representatives from Allen County, beginning with the 36th General Assembly which began its session on December 4, 1837: James Cook, R. I. Skinner, Edwin Fisher, George B. May, J. F. Hinkle, John W. Walters, James B. Steedman, G. C. Mudgett, S. S. Sprague, Isaac Spear, Michael Leatherman, P. J. Hines, Cyrenus Elliott, Samuel R. Mott, Henry Lipps, William Blackburn, Lester Bliss, Charles Cr.ites, Charles Post, Charles C. Marshall, Thomas K. Jacobs, John Monroe, Dr. R. E. Jones, William Armstrong, Isaiah Pillars, Thomas M. Robb, M. L. Baker, W. H. Mc- Cullough, George W. Hull, William E. Watkins, D. C. Cunningham, William Ruler, C. H. Adkins, John W. Manges and Howard W. Pears, the present incumbent.

Senators. - The following is a list of the members of the State Senate from the districts that included Allen County, from the date of the 32nd General Assembly which began its session on December 2, 1833. Beginning with the 50th General Assembly which began its session on January 5, 1852, the district has been known as the 32nd Senatorial District and has included the counties of Allen, Mercer, Auglaize, Van Wert, Paulding, Defiance and Williams: James Johnson, John E. Hunt, Curtis Bates, John E. Hunt, Jacob Clark, Alfred P. Edgerton, Sabirt Scott, James Cunningham, John Taylor, Ed. M. Phelps, Edward Foster,

Herewith is given a list of the Congressmen from the congressional districts, of which Allen County has been a part, the periods of service and the changes in the districts being shown.

Third Congressional District. - Joseph H. Crane, of Montgomery County, 1831-36; Patrick G. Goode, of Shelby County, 1837-42. Fifth Congressional District. - Emory D. Potter, of Lucas County, 1843-44; William Sawyer, of Mercer County, 1845-48; Emory D. Potter, of Lucas County, 1849-50; Alfred P. Edgerton, of Defiance County, 1851-52. Fourth Congressional District. - Mathias H. Nichols, of Allen County, 1853-58; William Allen, of Darke County, 1859-62. Fifth Congressional District. - Francis C. LeBlond, of Mercer County, 1863-66; William Mungen, of Hancock County, 1867-70; Charles N. Lamison, of Allen County, 1871-74; Americus V. Rice, of Putnam County, 1875-78; Benjamin Le Fevre, of Shelby County, 1879-82. Fourth Congressional District. - Benjamin Le Fevre, of Shelby County, 1883-84; Charles M. Anderson, of Darke County, 1885-86; S. S. Yoder, of Allen County, 1887-90; Fred C. Layton, of Auglaize County, 1891-96; George A. Marshall, of Auglaize County, 1897-98; Robert B. Gordon, of Auglaize County, 1899- 1902; Harvey C. Garber, of Darke County, 1903 - .