Crawford County, Ohio - Chapter 16: Liberty Township, 1912

The Central Location of Liberty Township - Drainage and Topography - First Settlers - Mills - The Blowers Family - Other Early Settlers - Interesting Anecdotes - Fertility of the Soil - Timber - Medicinal Springs - Justices - Organization of the Township and^ First Elections - Early Treatment of the Poor - Binding Out Children - Deckertown Laid Out - Puckertown or Brandywine Station - A Manuscript Newspaper - Teel Town - Annapolis or Sulphur Springs - Schools and Churches - Industries - Postmasters.

"Who planted this old apple-tree?" The children of that distant day Thus to some aged man shall say; And, gazing on its mossy stem, The gray-haired man shall answer them :

Liberty is the central township of Crawford county, the geographical center of the county and township being almost coincident. It is geographically defined in the Government survey as township 2 of range 17 east. In 1835 the county commissioners attached the fractional sections on the east to Sandusky township, but after remaining as a part of Sandusky township for several years, they were again, and this time permanently, attached to Liberty township, the dimensions of which are six miles from north to south and nearly five and one-half miles east and west. Liberty is bounded on the north by Chatfield and Cranberry townships ; on the east by Sandusky and a small portion of Cranberry; on the south by Whetstone, and on the west by Holmes. It was erected by the Marion county commissioners on Nov. 27, 1825, and called Liberty, after the Goddess of Liberty.

The township is drained by the Sandusky river, which enters near the southeastern corner and meanders in a westerly and southwesterly direction toward the southwest corner, where it enters Bucyrus township; Brokensword creek, which rises in Liberty and flows through the northern portion; Bull Run, a small stream which aids in forming the Brokensword and drains the eastern and central lands; and Brandywine creek, which flows through the western portion, finally entering Holmes tovimship; besides several small creeks. The drainage has also been largely helped by numerous ditches, which have been cut from time to time for many years past to carry off the surplus water, whereby most of the swamps and wet lands, which originally covered much of the township,' have been reclaimed and made suitable for cultivation.

The eastern boundary line of Liberty township forms a part of the boundary line of the New Purchase, the immense tract of land acquired in 181 7 by the United . States Government from the Indians. Among the numerous home seekers who set out at that time for the territory thus newly acquired, many visited Liberty township, attracted by its great natural advantages, and of these a large number remained. In a few years most of the Government land in the township had been entered by actual settlers. In January, 1820, the township was destitute of white inhabitants, but ten years later there was a white population of 655. The first settlers came mostly from New England and the Western Reserve, they being followed in the early thirties by the Pennsylvania Dutch and emigrants from Germany.

The former entered land along the Sandusky river bottom, while the Germans settled mostly in the central and northern portions of the township.

In 1840 the United States census showed a population of 1,469; in 1850, 1,782; i860, 1,788; the highest population reached, and since that time it has gradually decreased in population, due to the fact that many of the smaller land holder* had sold out and moved to the far West.

In pioneer days Liberty township was almost entirely covered by the forest and was, of course, destitute of roads, the trails or paths between the settlements being indicated by blazed trees. There were no Indian villages, but game was abundant, as were also the wolves, who disturbed the silence of the night with their discordant howls. Occasionally a black bear made his appearance, though if he lingered long he was likely to become a target for the rifle of the pioneer or that of some solitary Indian hunter. With the pioneer settler meat was easier to procure than bread, as deer and wild turkeys were plentiful and the streams were full of fish and in many places frequented by waterfowl. Flour ^was another question, however, owing to the lack of mills. For some time hand-mills were used which bruised the corn into coarse meal, but wheat flour was a comparative rarity. Gradually horse-mills began to make their appearance, and as soon as one of these was constructed it was frequented by the settlers from miles around, who often had to wait some time for their turn, the journey, to and from home often taking two or three days and the grist being carried on the back of a horse. The early mills at Mansfield and on the Mohican were patronized by those of the settlers who cared to make the long journey through the pathless woods. Isaac Rice built a mill on his farm at an early day, which enjoyed a large custom. The first mill was built by Daniel McMichael, and was a great accommodation to the settlers. Mr. McMichael was a native of Ireland who came to America with his parents at the close of the 1 8th century, when he was about 16 years old, they settling in Westmoreland county. Pa. He married a Scotch "lassie" by whom he had five sons- and two daughters, and in 18 19 the family came to Crawford county, spending the winter on the banks of the Whetstone. In the spring of 1820 they settled in what is now the northern part of Bucyrus corporation. After remaining a short time there, however, he removed into Liberty township, about one mile up the Sandusky river, where he entered land and built his mill, it being the first mill erected in what was then Crawford county, and was erected in the summer of 1820. Up to that time the settlers in the neighborhood had been compelled to go to the mills in Huron or Richland counties, a trip through the forests taking two and three days. About 1823 Mr. McMichael, finding the water power on the Sandusky insufficient to keep his mill going twelve months in the year, rented the property to Nehemiah Squires and removed to Bucyrus, where he died in 1825. To him belongs the honor of having been the first white settler in Liberty township, and when he entered his land it was one of the sites where already were the coming signs of civilization, for on this land Johnny Appleseed had planted one of his apple orchards. From probably 1800 to 181 5 this wandering character had planted his little orchards at various points along the Sandusky and the larger streams, and his fruit-bearing trees were found later by the earlier pioneers.

The second settler in Liberty was Ralph Bacon, who arrived with his wife and nine children in the fall of 1820. He was a Massachusetts man and previous to his advent here had resided for some time in that part of northeastern Ohio that is now Lake county. They arrived at Bucyrus in November in Avagons drawn by oxen, and stopped the first night at the home of Mishael Beadle on what is now West Mansfield street. They then moved into a vacant shanty in the northeastern part of Bucyrus, an old log cabin some hunter or squatter had abandoned, on what is now Plymouth street, remaining there until Mr. Bacon had constructed a round log cabin upon his land in Liberty township, the cabin being completed in about two weeks. His land comprised 80 acres in the east half of the southeast quarter of Section 33, about three miles east of Bucyrus, south of the Sandusky river, which farm subsenuently came into the possession of his son Martin. He also purchased from the Government 160 acres in

Whetstone township, where many years later he erected a better house, which he occupied until his death on June 14, 1850. He had thirteen children. Dexter, the tenth child, born May 6, 1822, was the first white male child born in Liberty. In September, 1822, Sarah Bacon married Philander Odell and they were the first couple married in the township. All Mr. Bacon's children attained maturity, and most of them married and reared large families.

Auer Umberfield, who came with the Bacons, in 1820, driving one of their ox-teams, was the third settler in Liberty to purchase land and erect a cabin. Land was then worth only $1.25 per acre and as Mr. Umberfield brought with him $100 in gold he was enabled to purchase 80 acres. He later married a daughter of James Scott, of Whetstone township. In 1835 he sold out to Samuel Plants and went farther west. Samuel Plants was the father of Josiah Plants, who later was judge of the court and a prominent citizen of Bucyrus. The land afterwards came into possession of Mrs. Diana Blowers.

Thomas McClure settled upon 160 acres just south of the Sandusky river, and built a cabin, but in 1833 sold out to Michael Nigh and removed to Richland county. He was one of the first county commissioners and one of those who located the county seat at Bucyrus. John Maxfield, a Vermont Yankee, also settled in Liberty in 1821, purchasing 160 acres of land, eighty of which lay between Umberfield's and McClure's and the other eighty just east of Umberfield's. By mistake he built his cabin a little north of his northern boundary line, and came near losing it; for the mistake of the location of the cabin was discoverel "by a peddler, who hurriedly went to Delaware and entered the eightv acres on which it stood. Mr. Maxfield had been made suspicious, however, by the peddler's actions, and discovered his error in time, so, with the assistance of his neighbors, in a few hours they moved the cabin onto his own land, to the subsequent discomfiture of the enterprising peddler, who expected to get a cabin for nothing. Maxfield sold out about twenty years later and removed to Illinois. About the year 1833 he built the first brick house in Liberty township, which house was occupied by Bacon. The brick in those days was by no means of the quality that would be demanded at the present day. It was usually made by pouring water on the ground and then having the clay trampled into the proper consistency by the hoofs of cattle. Naturally mud and other undesirable matter entered largely into its composition. This was exemplified in a house built by Michael Nigh soon after Maxfield's was finished, which fell to pieces soon after the brick was moistened by a heavy rain. Maxfield's, however, seems to have bc^n made of better material, as it lasted many years and, perhaps, may be still standing. Nigh afterward left these parts for Missouri and came to his end by being drowned in the Missouri river.

In April, 1821, Henry Couts moved into Liberty from Bucyrus township with his family, consisting of his wife, three sons and three daughters. He entered land about a mile south of Sulphur Springs, which farm afterwards came into possession of Pharaoh Bell. William Huff was the only resident in the neighborhood at the time. Couts' father. Christian, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war.

Perhaps the most valuable accession to Liberty township in its earlier history was John O. Blowers, who first visited it in 1821, purchasing 160 acres of land half a mile east of Ralph Bacon's place, and who took up his permanent abode here in the following year, 1822. He was a man of fine intellectual, moral and Christian character, having an abundant fund of sound, practical wisdom, backed by moral firmness. He became a potent force for good in the township, repressing and overaweing evildoers and leading in every movement for the moral and material advancement of the community. He promoted and assisted in the construction of the first schoolhouse and in his cabin the first religious services were held. A devout member of the Methodist persuasion, his home was the resting-place of all the pioneer circuit riders and itinerant ministers of that church who visited the neighborhood, but he also gave a hearty welcome to those of other sects, it being sufficient for him that his guest was engaged in Christian work. A good cause was sure not only of his moral support but also of more substantial assistance. Mr. Blowers was born in Vermont in 1782 and was married in 1810 to Sylvinia Chadsey. Previous to 1812 he had purchased land near Kingston, Canada, with the intention of making a temporary home in that country. On the breaking out of the war between the United States and England, the Canadian authorities tried to press him into the English service, but he refused to bear arms against his country and finally, to escape further persecution, abandoned his accumulated possessions and returned to his native land, settling in Wayne county, Ohio, from where he and his family subsequently removed to Crawford county, as already narrated. He had a son born February 23, 1823, James C, who died the same day, and this infant was the first person buried in the township, a burial site being selected on the farm which became the Blowers grave yard. The second death occurred in the family of John and Joana Maxfield, July 8, 1823, it being of their son, James M., aged two years, eleven months and twenty days. Mr. Blowers was the father of sixteen children, eleven sons and five daughters, of whom only five sons and one daughter grew to maturity. Mr. Blowers died September 29 1844, in his sixty-second year, having lived in the township nearly twenty-three years, and was buried in the grave yard which takes his name.

In November, 1822, William Blowers arrived in Liberty .township from Salem, Washington county, N. Y., and settled on his brother's farm. He was accompanied by two of his sisters, with their husbands, Calvin and Nehemiah Squires, the latter of whom was the father of Dr. J. B. Squires of Sulphur Springs.

During th^ War of 181 2 Robert Foster, with his wife Peggy and four children, left Ireland for the United States and on their arrival settled in Richland county. Several years later, 1822, came to Crawford county, where in due time the family was increased by several additions. They were vigorous and aggressive, taking such active part in the political struggles at the time of the rebellion as to be referred to generally as "the fighting Fosters." Most of this family subsequently removed farther west. One of the daughters, Sarah, born May 22, 1822, was the first female child born in Liberty township. She became the wife of Robert Andrews. Another daughter, Mary Ann, married Rev. George Reid and was the mother of Hon. William M. Reid, of Bucyrus. This marriage license is the first one on the record in the Probate Judge's office. It bears date of October 17,

1 83 1, and the marriage took place on October 18, Rev. Samuel P. Shaw performing the ceremony. Prior to this date all marriage records were destroyed - by the fire which burned the county jail.

In* November, 1823, Samuel Smalley arrived from Vermont, with his wife, who was a sister of William Blowers. They had journeyed for over 600 miles in a wagon. Soon after, Smalley settled on a farm east of Bucyrus, and about 1830 he purchased of Nicholas Singely what later became the Crura farm.

The year 1823 was marked by the advent of a considerable number of settlers, among whom were James McCurdy, Asa Cobb, Simeon Parcher, Ichabod Smith, Calvin Stone, Garrett Dorland, with his sons, James, Isaac and Luke; Matthias Markley, Thomas Smith, Benjamin Manwell, Jacob Gurwell, Joseph Chandler, John Chandler, Charles Doney and Edward Hartford. In 1824 came John G. Stough, Horatio Markley, Noble McKinstry, John Kroft and others. These settlers mostly purchased Government lands, which were exempt from taxation for five years. The following persons also, as shown by the tax duplicate of the county for 1830, entered lands previous to April, 1825 : John Anderson, John Bear, John Clingan, John H. Fry, William Huff, Daniel Ketchum, Philip Klinger, Richard King, Daniel Kimball, William Little, Richard Spicer, Daniel Shelharrimer, John Slifer, Asa Wetherby, Anthoriy Walker and Mary Wood.

Other early arrivals, whose names and the facts concerning them have been derived from various sources, were the following: John Essig and wife came to Liberty township in

1832, taking up 160 acres on the Sandusky river. J. H. Fry came in 1824 and settled on 160 acres west of Sulphur Springs. In January, 1827, he married Catherine, daughter of Thomas Williamson. Rachel Helm's parents came to Liberty in 182=;. Jacob D. Heller, with his wife and nine children, came to Liberty in 1836, with a two horse team and entered seventy-seven acres. Andrew Hess came in 1831. In April, 1833, he married Mary Henry, who came to Crawford with her parents in 1830. Abraham Grogg came in 1836 and settled on what is now the farm of J. H. Moderwell. He also bought at the same time 120 acres in Chatfield township. John Hise, with his wife and three children, settled in Jackson township in 1824. His son, William H. Hise, born in 1818, learned the shoemaker's trade and opened a shop at Gallon, which was probably the first in that place. Later he opened a shop in Bucyrus, where he remained three years; then went to Sulphur Springs, then to Whetstone township and finally took up a farm in Liberty, and was Justice of the Peace for thirty years.

John Williams came in 1832, with Solomon Shaffstall and family. In 1833 he worked for his brother, building a mill in Holmes township. He built a log cabin on his place, using nails which cost ten cents a pound, which he paid for with maple sugar that he and his wife made.

Jacob and Mary Waters came to Liberty with six children in 1830 and settled on a farm on the Sandusky river, which had been entered several years previously by Philip Trout. Their son Isaac often spoke of the old log schoolhouse, in which sometimes the wood fire made so much smoke that teacher and scholars were obliged to take the benches out of doors and finish the exercises in the open air.

Martin Wolf came to Crawford county in 1834. His father, Henry Wolf, was a Revolutionary soldier. Martin was a sort of jackof -all-trades, but was very poor and had five children. He bought sixty-three acres but could not pay the full purchase price, so gave his note of $25 for the balance, due in four months. He was a hard worker and in one week, while splitting rails in the day time, made five pairs of shoes in the evenings. In this way he paid for his land.

Michael Treftz came to Liberty township in 1832 ; after he entered the land he left his family at Bloomingville in a barn, there being no other accommodations, and he came on foot to prepare their new home for them. In the meantime his daughter Magdalena and her sister walked from Bloomingville to Sandusky, where they secured work at eighteen cents per week. They afterward worked in Columbus, walking the entire distance several times through the forest, carrying their clothing and food, and stopping at farm houses over night, and occasionally at the taverns where the price was six cents for a bed. The money they earned was used in helping to develop the family farm. Magdalena Treftz later married Jacob Green, one of the earlier settlers in Liberty township.

Michael and Susanna Sponseller, with seven children, came to Crawford in 1832, and bought 80 acres in section 20 of his brotherin-law, Jacob Mollenkoff, who came here in 1828, paying him $400, or $5 an acre.

Isaac Williams came to Crawford in 1828, and first bought 160 acres in Holmes township. Going back to Stark county, he returned in 1829 with his family, in a two horse team and wagon and driving a few cattle. Leaving his family at Spring Mills, he came on here and purchased 80 acres in Liberty, after which he went back to bring his family. In the vicinity of Gabon he found the ground so soft that he had to hire an additional team to get the wagon through.

Gottleib and Magdalen (Brosey) Shieber came to Sandusky City by boat with a party from Germany in 1832. They then walked overland to Crawford county in search of Fred Feichtner, and found him in Liberty township, on the Brokensword. Liking this section, they walked back, hired teams, and returned to Crawford the same year, settling in Liberty township.

In the spring of 1829 they came to Crawford county, with their three children - Catherine, John A. and John G. - and settled in the woods in Liberty township, where he bought 80 acres, paying for it with what money he had and two watches. They stayed at a neighbor's until their cabin could be erected. They had many hardships to contend with. Their cattle strayed; one night John A. got tired of hunting for them and went to sleep in a hollow tree, where he stayed all night, returning in the morning. Many other times he stayed all night in some Indian camp. He became quite friendly with the Indians, visited their camps, and in his younger days they sometimes brought him home when he had lost his way. He was married, in 1848, to Melissa Kohlman and moved to a farrn of no acres, which he purchased with money earned by chopping wood. To this he afterward added more land until he had a tract of 740 acres all together, besides 176 in the neighborhood. He brought his farm into a high state of cultivation and it was known as the "model farm" and for many years visitors were taken out from Bucyrus to see the Klink farm, as it had a state reputation for the neatness with which it was kept.

Adam Link, a soldier of the Revolution, resided in Liberty township, near Sulphur Springs. The Washington "Constitution," of August, 1859, thus wrote of this veteran: "Adam Link entered the regular service in 1777. His father had settled in Washington county, Pa., near the Virginia line, on the extreme borders of civilization. Here Adam was brought up, surrounded by frontier dangers in the vicinity of unfriendly Indians. On the commencement of hostilities the Indians made a descent on the settlements, captured his father, murdered and scalped him, burnt the house and barn and destroyed a large field of corn, 100 hogs, 40 sheep, all the cattle and horses and 300 bushels of wheat. From this period, the family, instead of being well-to-do and prosperous, suffered great privations and dangers during the remainder of the war. At the time of his enlistment, 1777, under Capt. Mason, he was so well known that the remark was made 'He is a good marksman and will now have an opportunity to try his skill.' At different periods he served in garrisons at

Wheeling, Moore, Dement's and Shepherd's forts and acted as an Indian spy, as well as scouting along the frontier. He was at Wheeling garrison when Capt. Mason was shot through the hips.

"The old man many years ago applied to a pension agency at Tiffin to secure the pension to which he was entitled. The agent demanded an exorbitant fee, which Link refused to pay, whereupon the agent misrepresented matters at Washington so that the pension to which^he was so justly entitled was withheld from him for twelve years. Some eight years ago the Hon. F. W. Green took the matter in hand and since that time he has received his pension regularly."

August 13, 1859, eight names were recorded which comprised all the Revolutionary soldiers on the pension rolls in Ohio. Among them appeared the name of Adam Link, Crawford county, aged 99 years.

Adam Link was born Nov. 14, 1761, and died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Horatio Markley, in Liberty township, Aug. 15, 1864, aged 103 years, and was buried in the Union cemetery one mile northeast of Sulphur Springs.

R. W. Musgrave, born at Cayuga, N. Y., in 181 1, came to Jeromeville, Ashland county, and in 1829 to Bucyrus, O., where he was apprenticed to Henry St. John in his store until 183 1. He went to Massillon in 1832 as a partner of Mr. St. John; was married to a Miss Gillespie and in 1841 settled in Annapolis, Liberty township. In 1845 the legislature elected him one of the associate judges of Crawford county, which position he held until the new constitution was adopted. In 185 1 he became secretary of the State Board of Agriculture and was president and secretary for six years.

August 28, 1856, Thomas Brown, editor of the Ohio Farmer, wrote of him as follows, and the account shows the wealth of the forests of half a century ago : "R. W. Musgrave, Esq., lives at Sulphur Springs in Crawford county, Ohio. He is now and has for several years been a very efficient member of the State Board of Aericulture, and for some time its president. His farm consists of 700 acres of as good land as there is in the rich county of Crawford and two-thirds of it are under culti- vation. As evidence of the quality of the soil, we might mention that the timber land is covered with the largest growth of black walnut, sugar tree, ash, white oak, beech, etc. We have never seen such huge walnuts. Hundreds of them are from three to four feet in diameter, and their trunks clear of limbs from fifty to sixty feet from the ground. The surface of the country is not level, but sufficiently rolling to drain well. The soil is generally a deep black loam, that never bakes, but tills as kindly as best bottom land. The most promising field of corn we have seen this summer we saw on the Judge's farm. He has close by his house a sulphur spring, whose chemical and medicinal qualities, we should judge from the taste and smell, are similar to the springs of Delaware and the White Sulphur Spring of Virginia. The volume of water is quite large. It would average a stream of from two to three inches in diameter. There are other springs in the immediate vicinity and several others in the county. The waters are generally cathartic and diuretic and diaphoretic in their effects. There is also a chalybeate spring near Bucyrus."

From 1820 to 1825, Liberty township was a part of Sandusky. W'estell Ridgely and Joseph Young were commissioned justices of the peace for Sandusky township April 15, 1 82 1, and when their terms expired an election was held May 15, 1824, the successful candidates being Mathias Markley and Ichabod Smith, but they were both commissioned justices of the peace of Sandusky township May 31, 1824, and sworn in as such by Zalmon Rowse, justice of the peace of Bucyrus township. In 1824 Crawford county was temporarily attached to Marion county and justices of the peace had been appointed for only four townships. The commissioners of Marion county, at the March session in the year above mentioned (182=;) passed the following order: "That surveyed township No. 2, in range 17 south of the base line in the district of Delaware be, and the same is hereby organized into a new township, by the name of Liberty." For some reason Smith received another commission dated June 18. 182^, as justice of the peace for Liberty, but Markley still continued to hold his office by virtue of the former election. Markley was twice re-elected, but after serving for over eight years resigned and removed to Illinois. Ichabod Smith was reelected in 1827, but resigned before his term expired to take a contract for building a part of the Columbus and Sandusky Pike.

It is probable that Liberty township was fully organized and township officers chosen at the spring election in 1826, but the names of the officers are not known, as, if any records were kept, they have been lost or destroyed. It is thought that John Kroft was the first clerk. John G. Stough was chosen one of the three trustees elected in the spring of 1828, James McCurdy being another. The first elections were held in private houses near the center of the township, until the Center schoolhouse was erected. Gen. Jackson polled a heavy vote for president in November, 1828, the polling place being at the cabin of James McMannes. On July i, 1831, the township trustees, Isaac Rise, Elias Chambers and Robert Foster, took an enumeration of the householders of the township, and at the same time appointing John G. Stough as treasurer. As Thomas Smith had been previously elected to this latter position, but had failed to take the oath of office, Stough declined to serve, and the trustees then served a notice on Smith, who appeared and consented to act. In those days many citizens preferred to pay a fine rather than serve in any public office.

Liberty township was divided into road districts by the trustees on March 5, 1832. On April 2d of that year the first election on record took place and was held at the house of

Leven Conley, near the center. The persons chosen to fill the different offices were as follows: Trustees, Isaac Rise, Robert Foster and Jacob Mollenkopf; constables, Isaac Slater and Frederick Beard; clerk, John Kroft; treasurer, John G. Stough; overseers of the poor, Robert Foster and Isaac Markley; fence viewers, Samuel Cover, Hanry Charlton and Frederick Williams.

The duties pertaining to the office of overseer of the poor were sometimes of a disagreeable nature and the office was not coveted by any of the citizens, but was filled only from a sense of public duty. It was the business of such officials not only to inquire into cases of destitution and render assistance to deserving unfortunates, but also to warn away by legal notice any idle, roving or otherwise worthless characters that might come into the township and threaten to become a public charge. One of these notices issued in 1832, read as follows:

Whereas, information hath been given to us, Mathias Markley and Robert Foster, Overseers of the Poor for said township, that Thomas Alsoph has come within the limits of the township to be sick, who will be likely to become a township charge; you are hereby commanded forthwith to warn said Thomas Alsoph to depart the said township and of this writ make legal service, and duly return it, according to laws given under our hands this 1 2th day of March, A. D., 1852.

There was, perhaps, little call for this notice, as Alsoph was an Englishman, at times childish in his mind, and his wealthy relatives had gotten rid of him by shipping him to America about 1824, sending money quarterly for his support. His home was generally Holmes township, and his money usually gone in a spree within a week after its reception, except that some of his unscrupulous keepers frequently kept the entire remittance. He had periods of sobriety, in which he took an active hand in politics, being very impartial as to what principles he advocated, his main desire being to make speeches, and he was a fairly fluent talker. In i860 John Hopley, another Englishman, became the attorney to whom the remittances were forwarded, and he found Alsoph almost uricared for, his constitution and mind both weakened by his years of excesses. By 'degrees he was straightened up and returned to his family in England.

This old law was sometimes used as a practical joke, and the warning notice was served on some responsible person, who was in no danger of ever becoming a public charge. Sometimes this led to trouble, but they were generally ignored. The Liberty township records are full of these warnings. John B. Morrison- received two of these notices ordering him to leave, one in 1833, followed by the second in 1836. He did not go, as in April, 1837, the Common Pleas Court at Bucyrus appointed him one of the school examiners for Liberty township, a position for which the Court selected none but the best men.

Another law allowed poor or shiftless parents to bind out their children to others for a term of years, or until they became of age, and there are records of a number of cases of this kind in Liberty township. One Moses Coberly thus bound out three of his children within the space of thirty days. The first of these - and the first of which there is any record in the township - is between Moses Coberly, who binds his son Robert to Cornelius Borland for a term of seven years, during which time Borland is to "teach the young man arithmetic to the rule of three and keep him in wearing apparel." At the end of the seven years Robert is to receive from Borland "one horse, saddle and bridle worth $75, also one suit of broadcloth clothes and one suit of home made or common wearing apparel." This agreement is dated Becember 31, 1834. In 1843 the trustees bound Lucy Wilhelgriner, an orphan, to Frederick and Elizabeth Williams for a term of five years and four months. This young lady was to be taught "the art, mystery and occupation of common labor" and they were to train her in "habits of obedience, industry and morality." Buring her term of service she was to be allowed "meat, drink and wearing apparel both for summer and winter," and at the end of the time she was to receive "two suits of common wearing apparel and a new Bible." Miss Wilhelgriner, it seems, had to be satisfied with common or ordinary apparel after all her years of service, in this respect being less fortunate than the young man Robert, above mentioned, who got at least one suit of broadcloth to wear on state occasions. As for Robert, if he were bound out today, instead of a horse he would demand an automobile.

On Dec. 31, 1837, there was filed in the Recorder's office at Bucyrus the plat of a proposed town to be called Deckertown, on the southwest part of section 25, Liberty township. It was about three-quarters of a mile west of Luke's tavern which stood on the southwest corner of the road known as the "Old River Road," the Sandusky being just across the road from the tavern, the north and south road which passed Luke's tavern being the boundary line between Liberty and Sandusky townships. At that time the old river road was very much traveled, being the route from Bucyrus to West Liberty, the latter village being a very important business center. The town was laid out on both sides of the road, thirteen lots on each side, and in the town limits the road was called Main street. There was one north and south street named Mill, so called from the fact that it led to the Decker saw mill which was about a quarter of a mile north of the town on the bank of the Sandusky. Deckertown was also a victim of the great panic of 1837, and the project was abandoned before any lots were sold. It derived its name from the projector and proprietor, James Decker, on whose land it was situated and who owned the saw mill.

About three-quarters of a mile east of the station of Brandywine on the Columbus and Sandusky Division of the Pennsylvania Railway, and about four and a half miles northeast of Bucyrus in Liberty township many years ago five or six families located at and near to the crossing of two county roads at that point. At a very early day Samuel Parcher had a saw mill near the southwest corner of the crossing. He sold it to Jonas Heckert, who after several years sold it to the

Hildebrands, who still operate it. Solomon Benson had a saw mill a few rods from the crossing that ran successfully for many years. Charles Keplinger had a brickyard a few rods west of the crossing, he also had a cider press. Scott Shell had a blacksimth shop on the northwest corner. Later it was run by Louis Ritenhauer for several years. Four or five dwelling houses were erected for those employed in the dii¥erent industries, and the corners was a fairly busy center, and had the appearance of a thriving little village. In 1888 William E. Keplinger opened a store on the northwest corner. A postoffice was established and was called Brandywine, after the little stream that passed the town. William E. Keplinger was appointed postmaster March 2, 1888, and had the office in his store. When the railroad was completed and opened for business in 1893, a station called Brandywine was opened' for the convenience of the people in that section, and it was not long before the store and postoffice were removed half a mile west to the station. The place had been known as Puckertown for more than sixty years. David Shealey, one of the pioneers of that section, gives the origin of the name. He says that in the early days it was customary to have literary exercises at the school house, and among other features at each meeting was a newspaper giving the news of the neighborhood, and humorous hits at the follies and foibles of the members and friends. Of course it was in manuscript, different ones of the brighter pupils taking a turn as editor and publisher. It was necessary to have a name for the paper and some one now forgotten gave it the name of the Puckertown News, and this gave the name to the locality. Keplinger. continued as postmaster until the appointment of the present incumbent, C. E. Hildebrand, on March 28, 1910.

Three miles north of Brandywine in the northwestern section of Liberty township, there was a station on the Columbus and Sandusky Short Line at which the trains stopped on signal. Here a store was started and a petition presented for a post office, and on Sept. 18, 1894, a post office was established called Ridgeton and George B. Quaintance was appointed postmaster. He held the office until it was discontinued on Feb. 14, 1906, the

Along in 1867 and 1868 the citizens of Sulphur Springs were actively interested in a proposed railroad from Toledo to Crestline, via Tiffin, Melmore, Lykins and Sulphur Springs. The citizens of the latter village and Liberty township were very anxious to have the railroad built and subscribed $35,000, or rather they guaranteed to take that amount of the stock of the company. The preliminary surveys were made, the line passing through the northeastern part of Sulphur Springs.

George W. Teel, one of the leading promoters of the railroad had a plot of town lots laid out on his farm, about half a mile east of Sulphur Springs, at the point where the depot was to be located, and seven or eight dwelling houses were erected and occupied. It never attained any standing as a commercial or industrial point, as no stores or shops were ever located there, but otherwise it had the appearance of a country village. By common consent of the people in the neighborhood it was called Teel Town, and today is generally spoken of by that name. It might he added the ideas of the Sulphur Springs promoters were very expansive, and the sanguine ones believed that if the road was secured it would eventually lead to the removal of the county seat to Crawford county on account of the central location of Sulphur Springs. The Crestline people failed to give the financial aid to the proposed road that was necessary and it was abandoned. But later New Washington parties got Mansfield and Toledo people interested and built the Mansfield and Coldwater road, now known as the Toledo Division of the Pennsylvania system. Sulphur Springs and Teel Town were completely ignored and New Washington was placed on the railroad map and the village of Tiro came into existence.

The first school in Liberty township was taueht in a cabin on the farm of Daniel McMichael during the winter of 1821-22. The teacher was John McClure, who in 1826 was the first surveyor of Crawford county. The attendance was not large, the school being supported by a few families only, The building was probablv a very rude afifair. with rough slabs for benches or desks, a stick and mud chimney and some oiled paper pasted over a hole in the wall for a window. Such were, in general the earliest pioneer schoolhouses; yet in them germs of knowledge were planted which afterward ripened into many a stately tree of intellect and moral force. With the growth of settlements, however, better educational facilities were provided, and thus we find as early as the fall of 1823 a schoolhouse was built in Liberty which had the advantage of glass windows, and which was known as the Maxfield schoolhouse, it being located* on the northeast corner of John Maxfield's land. Nehemiah Squire made the window sash for it out of a linn-wood puncheon that had constituted part of the chamber floor of an aristocratic log cabin the previous winter. Here school was first taught by Rev. William Blowers in the winter of 1823-24. Other early teachers here were Cary Tilbury, Samuel Magers and a Mr. Ortop. Another schoolhouse was built during the fall of 1827 just southeast of the present site occupied by the Crall United Brethren church. Sally Smith was the first teacher and the building was known as the Smith schoolhouse. The Maxfield and Smith schoolhouses were both in what is now the Second school district, and the Blowers church in the same territory was used for school purposes many years. In the Third district the Simmons schoolhouse was built before 1833; the Bell schoolhouse, in the Fourth district several years previous, and it is probable that schools were taught there as early as 1827, as there were many settlers in the neighborhood at that time. The lands of the Fifth, or Center, district were not entered until a later date, in 1825 only 240 acres of this territory having been purchased from the Government. In what is now the Sixth district a schoolhouse was erected about 1838. In the Seventh district a round log schoolhouse was erected bv the united efforts of some of the settlers during the fall of 1830. At this time no other schoolhouse had been built in the northwestern oart of Liberty or the northeastern part of Holmes : neither at the Center district or the district north of Liberty Center. The Kroft schoolhouse in the Eighth district was built before 1832. The Ninth district, being thinlv settled, was perhaps the last to organize. In the Tenth, or Sulphur Springs special district, a log building was erected for school purposes in 1837, on land donated by John Slifer. In course of time these rough log schoolhouses were replaced by finer frame buildings, and these in turn were superseded by the present brick structures. The first of these more durable edifices was constructed for the Seventh or Keplinger district in 1876, at a cost of $1,200, and this was soon followed by others.

The Methodists were the pioneers in the religious field of Liberty township, the gospel being first preached here by the itinerant ministers of that denomination. During the year 1 82 1 Methodist missionary preachers belonging to the Delaware Circuit had advanced as tar north as Bucyrus, where they were filling regular monthly appointments. The "most energetic worker in the cause of Methodism was John O. Blowers, who has been previously mentioned as having exerted a great moral and religious influence in the community. It was through him that the first class meeting was formed and preaching held at his cabin in the spring or summer of 1822. The class was composed of Mr. and -Mrs. Blowers, William Cooper and wife, of Whetstone township, and a German named Shultz. The minister on this occasion was the Rev. Mr. Bacon, a social, genial hearted man, who, it is said, generally had his pockets full of lettuce or other garden seed for the women and fishing tackle for the boys, and who was naturally a favorite among the pioneers. The class he formed at Mr. Blower's cabin was the nucleus of the first M. E. church of Liberty. Regular monthly appointments were kept up during the summer of 1822 and the next winter preaching was held on Sunday at Bucyrus and on Monday at the home of Mr. Blowers. In the fall of that year Rev. James Monroe was sent to this section of the country by the M. E. Conference, and in the spring of 1823 John O. Blowers and his brother William were licensed to preach the Gospel, having previously qualified themselves by a course of study in theology, Mr. Blowers having a fine library of religious books, which he frequently lent to some of the settlers. In the fall of 1823 this section became part of a regular circuit of the M. E. church. Among those who rode this first circuit was the Rev. James St. Clair.

Other preachers who rode this circuit about that time and for a few years subsequently were Rev. James Gilruth, Rev. Abner Goff, Rev. Russell Bigelow and Revs. Fenneland, Rennels and S. P. Shaw. After the erection of the Maxfield schoolhouse in the fall of 1823, religious services were held there and .continued until the Blowers church and schoolhouse were built about 1830. In 1840 the Methodist society had over 100 members, who were divided into two classes, one at Sulphur Springs and one in the Blowers neighborhood, besides a small class in the McDonald neighborhood in the northwestern part of the township. The M. E. church at Sulphur Springs was erected in 1848. In course of time many members of the Blowers class removed to the far west and the Sulphur Springs organization became the stronger of the two, but for many years services were held at the Blowers church in the afternoon. As previously narrated, John O. Blowers died in 1844, but William continued as a Methodist preacher for many years, until he was finally superannuated. In the nation's hour of need - in the fall of 1862 - being then 66 years old, he enlisted in the 151st N. Y. Infantry as a private and did active duty in camp and field near Washington city, being later detailed for hospital duty at Baltimore. What a splendid example of sturdy manhood and self secrifice for the youth, not only of his day, but of our own! He died January 28, 1868, and was buried in the Blowers graveyard.

The first Sunday school was started in Liberty in the spring of 1824, John O. Blowers being a leading spirit in the enterprise, and possibly the first superintendent. It was held in the Maxfield schoolhouse until the Blowers M. E. church was built in 1830. It was carried on as a union school, being supported by members of other denominations, until the United Brethren started one in connection with their religious work, when school at the Blowers church was discontinued, many of the workers uniting with the new school

The United Brethren were the second denomination to send missionaries into Liberty and some of their ministers, it is said, preached in the township as early as 1827. Previous to 1830 Revs. Smith and Erit conducted services in the cabins of John Shong and Law- rence Simmons, and in the winter of 1830 a congregation was organized by Rev. John Clymer. Among the first members were, John Shong and wife; Betsey Simmons, his sister; Anselm Fuller and wife, the latter also a sister of Simmons ; Abraham Grogg and wife, Anna Grogg. Services were held for many years in the old Simmons schoolhousc. In the fall of 1848 the building known as the Crall church was erected. The edifice was enlarged in 1854 and repaired about 1870, being converted into one of the finest country churches in the county. Among the early ministers were the Revs. Benjamin Moore, 1836, Alexander Biddie, Francis Clymer, Jacob Newman, Jacob Berger, G. Spracklin and others.

Previous to 1830 German ministers of the Evangelical Lutheran church had held services in the log cabins of several early settlers, the first of whom was Rev. David Shue, who preached at the home of John Stough. In 1830 the congregation was regularly organized by Rev. John Stough, who was the first Lutheran minister who crossed the Alleghany mountains. He was then quite an elderly man, having been born in York county. Pa. in 1762, and having labored forty- years as a minister. He lived in the township for more than fifteen years, dying July, 1845 at the age of 83 years, when in the 56th year of his ministry.

About 1836 members of the Reformed and Lutheran congregations united in building a hewn log church, which stood near the present site of the Reformed church and was occupied by both sects for many years. In 1852 tlje German Lutherans purchased a lot about a mile and a half east of this Union church, on which they erected a church edifice of their own.

The English Lutheran church of Annapolis was organized about 1833 by Rev. F. J. Ruth, who was the first pastor, at the same time being pastor of the church at Bucyrus._ Rev. J. Grouse also preached frequently during the early history of this church. Among the first persons baptized were Lawrence Simmons, an adult; Elizabeth, daughter of Michael^ and Sarah Peterman, and Jacob, son of Benjamin and Louisa Sinn. Services were held in private cabins until the schoolhouse was built in the village of Annapolis, after which the schoolhouse was occupied by the congregation until the erection of their first church in 1848, at which time Rev. Mr. Ruth was still pastor of the charge. The society built another edifice in 1876 at a cost of nearly $5,000.

As has been stated, those of the settlers who were members of the Reformed church, or believed in its doctrines, united with the German Lutherans in 1836 and for some years the two sects used the same meeting-house, an agreement having been made between them that the^ building should always be open to the religious services of either denomination. Among the first ministers of the Reformed church who preached in the township were Revs. Frederick Gottleib Maschop and J. Miller, who were pastors of the congregation at Bucyrus from 1835 to about the year 1845. The Liberty congregation was organized under Rev. Wendel Wasnich about 1848. He was succeeded by Rev. Abraham Keller, who remained until his death in 1852, when Rev. Max Stern was placed in charge of the Reformed churches of Crawford county. Under his pastorate the new church was erected.

Previous to" the year 1850 an organization of German Methodists had been effected in the northwest part of Liberty township by ministers connected with the church at Bucyrus. For some years services were held in a little red schoolhouse on the Van Duzzen farm. A Mr. Plummer having donated some land for the purpose, a church edifice was erected thereon about 1854. In October, 1862 the building was almost completely destroyed by a mob, opposed to the draft, who were angered by the utterances of the pastor. Rev. Phillip B. Weber, Avho supported the Government in its action. But as this did not stop his patriotic preaching, they set fire to the building in May, 1863 and totally destroyed it. About a year later another church was erected to take the place of the old one, but situated about half a mile south of the old site.

The Zion church edifice, otherwise known as the Conley church, situated near the center of Liberty township, was built about the year 1856, as a union church, owned jointly by the Evangelical Association and the Church of God, or Winebrennarians. Services had been held for several years previously by Rev. Wil- liam Adams, of Plymouth, a Winebrennarian preacher. The first society of the Evangelical Association was organized about 1846 by Rev. D. Swartz, with David Pfleiderer as the first class leader. In 1852 the organization was perfected by the Revs. G. Haley and B. Keller.

In 1879 the United Brethren, under the leadership of Rev. Moses Spahr, organized a small congregation and built a chapel near the center of school district No. 6.

About the year 1842 a small Baptist conference was organized at Sulphur Springs, which held services at somewhat irregular intervals for several years.

The first grist-mill erected by Mr. Mc- Michael, was as already stated a great boon to the settlers, though, owing to the insufficiency of the water-power, it proved unprofitable to the several proprietors through whose hands it passed. In 1824 Calvin and Nehemiah Squier built a saw-mill on the Sandusky river, for John O. Blowers, at the northwest corner of his farm. It soon passed into the hands of Eli Odell, of Whetstone township, who, in 1825, took in Asa Wetherby as a partner. Soon after Mr. Wetherby bought out Mr. Odell and conducted the business himself until 1829, when he sold out to a Mr. Ball. In a few years Mr. Ball transferred the mill to George Fleck. In 1834 John O. Blowers repurchased the concern in order to stop Sunday milling, and sold it to his brother-in-law, Nehemiah Squier. At this time a grist-mill also formed part of the establishment, it having been built in 1830 or previously. Mr. Squier conducted the business for a number of years, after which the property passed through various hands. In 1867, J. B. Squier and W. S. Bacon, who were then the proprietors, having erected an improved steam mill at Sulphur Springs, removed the business from the banks of the Sandusky to the new building. In 1874 Mr. Bacon sold out to his partner, and later the business passed into the hands of Edgar A. and Oscar W. Squier. By 1836 there were nine or ten saw-mills in the township.

A small distillery was run for a short time about 1826 by a man named Wood on the land of Edward Hartford, just east of the Blowers Mill. But the proprietor got into

David Hawk and Jacob L. Gurwell started a tannery previous to the year 1830, just northeast of Annapolis. David Kinter also ran one for a time before 1840, west of Annapolis, but did only a small business.

It was during the War of the Rebellion that the sorghum industry developed in this county, John H. Fry of Liberty township, writing a number of articles on the subject, the industry being given prominence on account of the war shutting off the southern supply of molasses.* The cane planted in this county, was the Chinese sugar cane which was later introduced into France. In 1856 some of this seed was obtained by the United States from France, and distributed among the farmers. The cane grows from 8 to 18 feet in height, and requires about the same soil as Indian corn. Well ripened cane yielded about half its weight in juice, of which it took from five to ten gallons to make one gallon of syrup. A field would average from 150 to 175 gallons, per acre. There were several cane mills started in Liberty township, the mill of Andrew Dirmeyer being built in i860. After the cane is ripened about September, the leaves are stripped off, and the stalks passed beneath three steel rollers, the juice being green in color. This is placed in the boiling pans, and the green scum is taken off leaving the syrup white, which again changes until the finished product is of a golden color. The capacity of the Dirmeyer mill was 125 gallons per day, and during its running the mill turned out 80,000 gallons of molasses. Other mills were operated a short time and were discontinued. The Dirmeyer mill after many years was removed to Brandywine, and later went the way of the other mills, and today there is probably not a sorghum mill in the county.

The village of Annapolis was laid out in 1833 by John Slifer on "the southern portion of the east half of the northeast quarter of section 14." This was part of the quarter section Slifer had purchased from the government when he came to the township in 1825, from Maryland, and the village was named Annapolis after the capital of his na- tive state. Mr. Slifer held several township offices, but he was never successful in business, and in 1841 sold his land to Judge R. W. Musgrave, and went west, and the following year in a fit of despondency committed suicide. The village was laid out along the Bucyrus and Plymouth road, which went through the village in a northwestern direction and was called Paris street, the road at that time being known as the Paris road, after the town of Plymouth, which was originally called Paris. South of Paris street was South street and Sandusky street. It had four north and south streets. Walnut, Poplar, Jackson and East, the latter being the eastern limit of the new village. There were about 51 lots. At the start many referred to the place as Sliferstown, after the proprietor.

The first houses in Annapolis were built by James L. Gurwell, Jacob Peterman, John Bolinger, Peter Stuckman and Benjamin Sinn. Ex- Judge Enoch B. Merriman opened the first dry goods store in the fall of 1834. Two years later he transferred it to his nephew, G. N. Davis, who ran the business for two years, when Mr. Merriman resumed possession. Soon after he passed it to another nephew, Pomeroy A. Blanchard, who remained in Sulphur Springs for several years. Another store was started in the fall of 1836 or early in 1837 by Cornelius and James F. Dorland, but they did not continue it long and for a few months in the years 1840 and 1841 the place was without a store. Ex-Judge R. W. Musgrave then started one, which he sold in 1844 to Horace Rowse, of Bucyrus, the latter conducting business in Annapolis until the autumn of 1 85 1, his brother Stephen being a partner most of the time. Mr. Musgrave also started an ashery, and not long afterward another store, which he sold to his brother-in-law, Thomas Gillespie.

Frederick Beard and a man named Winebar were early blacksmiths in Annapolis or the vicinity. About 183Q James Gurwell and Jacob Peterman started a linseed oil mill, which soon passed into the hands of William Souder, who carried on the business for many years. A small distillerv and a pottery were also started at about the same time as the oil mill, or a few months later, but both enterprises were failures. James McKee built a sawmill in the vicinity about 1839. John Birk, a hatter, was conducting business in 1838. John L. Dawson had a cabinet shop in 1837. William Dicks was a shoemaker and his brother, James Dicks a harness-maker, about 1841. About the same time that McKee started his saw-mill, David Hawk established a tannery. John Grogg kept tavern in a log house about 1836, while shortly afterward Cornelius Dorland and Robert McKee built a hotel. Dr. Turley also put up a fine building for hotel purposes on the lot later occupied by the Sexauer Bros.' carriage manufactory. Ihis building was burned in 1847.

The first physician was Dr. Kelly, who, however, paid more attention to running a saloon than to medical practice, in which he was probably not an adept. Dr. George L. Zeigler moved to the village in 1842 and was practicing there in 1851. Later physicians were Drs. J. B. Squier, H. S. Bevington and M. M. Carrothers. Among the prominent citizens of the village was George Heiby, who came to Liberty in 1836, and served as assessor of Liberty township 24 terms, and for years ran the hotel.

A post office was established at Annapolis in 1846, with George L. Zeigler as the first postmaster. It was called Sulphur Spring on account of the large sulphur spring on the Musgrave land. On July 11, 1890, an "s" was added to the name making it Sulphur Springs, A\hich is now the generally accepted name of the place, although the original name of Annapolis is still used by many. It is supplied by a special route daily from Bucyrus, the business of the town making it important enough to be one of the few villages where the post office has not been discontinued by transferring it to a rural route. The following is the list of the postmasters :

In 1862 the Sexauer Brothers, Louis, William, Frederick and Lewis, started their carriage manufactory. They were natives of Bucyrtis, and their step-father, Mr. Kinninger, had for some time previously followed the trade of wagon maker in Annapolis. They soon established a first class reputation for the excellence of their product and in a short time had a larger trade in farm wagons than any other firm in the county. They manufactured not only heavy farm wagons, but also carriages, buggies and light spring wagons. Their work carried off first prizes at county fairs and elsewhere against strong competition.

For thirty years Jacob Rice has been engaged in the construction of telescopes and microscopes, and his instruments are so perfect that they are in use in many of our largest colleges.

A lodge of the Knights of Honor was established in Annapolis January 2, 1878, with thirteen charter members, and with John (jruiss Jr., William Heffner and William Sexauer as the first trustees. The town now has

Previous to 1837 the children residing in Annapolis attended school at the Bell schoolhouse about half a mile south of the village but in the year mentioned a schoolhouse was erected in the village on land donated by John Slifer. In 1858 G. A. Allen was superintendent. For a number of years previous to 1872 the location of the school building had been a subject of much discussion and several special districts had been formed, but on Oct. 2, 1872 the present special district was created, and directors elected as follows : C. W. Perse for one year, William Sexauer for two years and Dr. H. S. Bevington for three years. In accordance with a unanimous vote of the citizens, Dec. 14, 1872 it was decided to levy a tax of $3,000 for the purpose of building and furnishing a new schoolhouse, and the same was erected in 1873 at a cost of $3,316. A bell was also provided at an additional cost of some $700. The first enumeration taken in the new district showed 53 boys and 69 girls; total, 122. Robert McKee and Jennie Birch taught the first schools in the new building during the winter of 1873-4.