Williams County, Ohio - Chapter 3: The Formative Period, 1905

in the counties of Williams, Henry, Paulding and Putnam, shall assemble within their respective townships, at the usual place of holding elections, and shall proceed to elect their several county and town-

At that time there were but four official positions in the county, the incumbents of which were required to run the gauntlet of popular approval and have their merits passed upon at the ballot box. These four elective position s were auditor, coroner, sheriff and board of .commissioners. The first election to fill these positions was held "on the first Monday of April," as ordered, and the balloting resulted as follows: For auditor, Timothy S. Smith received 37 votes, and H.

Jerome, 26 votes; for coroner, Arthur Burras 6 votes, John Oliver 40 votes,, and Thomas Warren 17 votes; for sheriff, James Shirley 14 votes, and William Preston, 48 votes; for commissioners, Jesse Hilton 58 votes, Cyrus Hunter 37 votes, Charles Gunn 31 votes, Montgomery Evans 28 votes, Benjamin Leavell 26 votes, William Hunter 4 votes, and John Oliver 1 vote. So it will be seen that the men who first donned the official garments at the behest of vox populi in Williams county, were : auditor, Timothy S. Smith ; coroner, John Oliver; sheriff, William Preston; commissioners, Jesse Hilton, Cyrus Hunter and Charles Gunn. The first constitution of the State, which was then in force, provided for the election of only two - sheriff and coroner - but gave to the Legislature power to create other positions and prescribe the mode of filling them. All of the county offices, excepting the four named, were at that time appointive, and the first incumbent of each will be mentioned at the proper place in the course of this narrative ; but as a matter of interest at this time, and for the purpose of showing the number of places provided for those who desired office, we will give the list, which in addition to the foregoing was as follows : Assessor, Clerk of Courts, Keeper of Standard Measure, Prosecuting Attorney, Recorder, Surveyor, Collector and Treasurer. The first session of the commissioners of the newly organized county convened at Defiance on the 7th day of June, 1824, "which was the first Monday, agreeably to law," as the ancient record of the proceedings puts it. This record is well preserved in the county auditor's office at Bryan. The gentlemen who composed this first board of commissioners, as stated heretofore, were Charles G.unn, Jesse Hilton and Cyrus Hunter, and the first county auditor, who acted as clerk for the board and recorded the proceedings, was Timothy S. Smith. The first official act of the board was recorded as follows :

"A petition being presented, it was hereby ordered by the Board of Commissioners that a township be set off in the county of Henry, now attached to the county of Williams, by the name of Richland township, to include the west half of Henry county aforesaid. An election is ordered by said Board, to be held at Camp No. 3, at the house of Foreman Evans, on Friday, the 18th day of June next, agreeably to law, for township officers."

They next set off a township in the Williams county territory and gave it the name of Delaware (now Defiance county) ; following which, they proceeded to appoint William Preston - who also held the office of sheriff - collector of taxes for the county. This gentleman appeared, gave bond, with John Oliver and Moses Rice as sureties, after which he took the oath of office. Thereupon, Moses Rice was appointed County Treasurer and was sworn in - first giving bond, with Cyrus Hunter and Charles Gunn as sureties.

Moses Rice, who was thus given the distinction of being the first custodian of the county funds, was in a peculiar situation in regard to the question of his citizenship. Born in the colony of Virginia, September 1, 1780 - at a time when the "Old Dominion" was claimed by King George, although in open rebellion - he was taken to Canada before the question of sovereignty was settled. There he grew to manhood, enlisted in the military service and rose to the rank of lieutenant in the British or Canadian army. In 1817 he migrated to the United States and settled in Henry county,- Ohio (which became attached to Williams for judicial purposes), and in 1824 was honored by his associates in the manner and form as stated above. Whether political opponents charged him with being an alien or envious mortals sought to oust him from his lucrative (?) job, we do not know, but he held the office for exactly one year, and on October 31, 1825, went into court and renounced forever all allegiance to princes, potentates, etc., more especially King George the Fourth.

In addition to the transaction of other business, which is of minor importance in a historical sense, the commissioners, at this first session, took up the question of providing for a county jail - a matter that was destined, however, to remain undecided until the establishment of a permanent seat of justice by the proper legal authority. Specifications were drawn for a bastile, which it was thought would meet the modest requirements of that early day, and the contract was let.

For some reason not given in the record, this contract was "disanulled,, at a special meeting held on October 5, and a new sale was ordered, but on October 26, the commissioners met again and instructed the auditor to discontinue all proceedings in regard to the jail until further orders, and nothing more was done concerning it until the June session of 1825.

Several roads were petitioned for at the first meeting of the Commissioners, and, the services of a surveyor being important, John Perkins was appointed and filled that position for years. Thomas Philbrick was appointed Keeper of the Standard Measure.

The October election resulted in a slight change in the personnel of the Board of Commissioners - Captain Benjamin Leavell succeeding Jesse Hilton as one of the members. Captain Leavell, prior to his removal to Williams county was a resident of Piqua, Ohio. In company with Horatio G. Phillips, of Dayton, he made his first trip to this section of the state, and in November, 1822, laid out the town of Defiance. This was eighteen months before Williams county was organized, but so favorably impressed was Captain Leavell with its future prospects that he decided to make it his home. He became the owner of considerable real estate in Defiance and vicinity and was a leading spirit in county affairs until 1835, when he disposed of his interests and moved away.

The December session of the Commissioners was held at the dwelling of Captain Leavell, on Monday, December 6, 1824. The first act was to cast lots for the long and shorter official terms, and this resulted in the Captain winning the three year term, Mr. Gunn the two and Mr. Hunter the one year term. The other business transacted at this session related only to the establishment of county roads - in fact, projects for new roads chiefly engrossed the time of the sessions held during many years following.

At the June session, 1825, William Seemans was "appointed treasurer in and for the county of Williams/' succeeding him of the foreign allegiance, and Samuel Vance was appointed collector of the county tax for that year. The treasurer-elect immediately gave bond and' took the oath of office June 7, 1825 ; but as Vance had been appointed county assessor at the March term of the court of Common Pleas, and had accordingly made the assessment, we presume that he did not care to meet the property owners a second time in a different though coordinate official capacity. At any rate, "a sale was ordered by the commissioners for the collction of the county tax/' and John Blair was the lucky (or lowest) bidder. The job was taken at 6 per cent, and "said Blair came forward on the 20th day of July and gave bond as law directs."

Samuel Vance, who was honored by being the first man selected to make an assessment of the property in Williams county, came from a family of more than local renown, his brother - Joseph Vance - serving many years in Congress, and as Governor of Ohio from 1836 to 1838. Samuel Vance was a pioneer in the Maumee Valley, of a Scotch-Irish strain of blood, and was a native of Pennsylvania. After

Moses Rice was allowed three dollars as his percentage for acting as treasurer the preceding year, and the listers of the several townships were allowed from $12 to $1.8734 for their services in listing and appraising the land.

The town of Defiance had been made the temporary seat of justice for Williams county when the latter was organized, but the question of a permanent site agitated the public mind considerably during the years of 1824-25. Owing to this uncertainty no public buildings were erected - court being held in a warehouse - and the construction of a county jail, as mentioned before, was postponed indefinitely. During the session of the State legislature, which convened on the first Monday of December, 1824, a resolution was passed appointing Joseph C. Hawkins of Preble county, Forest Meeker of Delaware county, and Robert Morrison of Miami county, "commissioners to locate and establish the permanent seat of justice for the county of Williams." I11 pursuance of this resolution, two of the commissioners named - J. C. Hawkins and Robert Morrison - entered upon the work assigned them. A number of localities presented their claims for consideration ; but after an examination of the different sites, Messrs. Hawkins and Morrison, on October 20, 1825, rendered their decision and selected the town of Defiance as the seat of justice, with the condition that the proprietors - H. G. Phillips and Benjamin Leavell - comply with certain agreements.

Messrs. Phillips and Leavell agreed, in consideration of the county seat being permanently established at Defiance, to deed to the commissioners of the county forty town lots, which was one equal third part of all the lots on the plat of said town, and to erect for the county a good substantial jail, of certain dimensions, on the public square. They further agreed to allow the county to use the upper loft of their warehouse for a court room until a better place could be secured.

At the June session of the Board of County Commissioners, while the question of the location of the seat of justice was pending, it was ordered that a jail for the county of Williams be erected "as soon as the permanent seat of justice shall be established," the dimensions of the building "to be twenty-six by eighteen feet, nine feet between floors, with a partition of the same dimensions as the walls, and two grate windows, eighteen by ten inches, with five iron bars to each window," etc. There appears to have been no disagreement between the county's legislative body and Messrs. Phillips and Leavell on this matter, and at a special meeting, held on July 21, 1826, the Commissioners ordered "that the jail be and is hereby received from Benjamin Leavell & Co., and is completed according to contract in the town of Defiance."

Timothy S. Smith was paid, by order of the County Commissioners at their June session in 1825, the sum of $29 for his services as auditor of the county and clerk to the board. The emoluments of office in those davs were not very attractive in Williams county. Mr. Smith resigned his position a couple of months later, and on August 22, Thomas Philbrick was appointed to serve as' auditor until the next election. Benjamin Leavell resigned the office of commissioner, also, arid the Court of Common Pleas appointed Isaiah Hughes to fill the vacancy. A spirited contest followed, at the ensuing October election, for the offices of auditor and county commissioner. Isaac Hull, Jr., a relative of Governor Hull - of Detroit surrender fame - George Lantz and William Seemans were the candidates for auditor; and the balloting- resulted in Hull receiving 28 votes, Lantz, 26, and Seemans, 20. For commissioners, there were three candidates and two vacancies to be filled - Cyrus Hunter being a candidate to succeed himself. Isaiah Hughes received 62 votes, Cyrus Hunter 60, and Montgomery Evans 31 ; Hughes and Hunter, of course, being elected.

Samuel Philbrick, who had been appointed to succeed Timothy S. Smith as auditor, was unable for some reason to assume the duties of the office, and the record shows that "the Board met and proceeded to appoint George Lantz county auditor pro tern. - in lieu of Thomas Philbrick, in case of his inability - who immediately took the oath of office and gave bond." This session, held October 15, 1825, was a short one, and the account of the business transacted is given as follows: "Commissioners convened and proceeded to settle with Samuel Vance, Esq., county assessor, and ordered that said Vance be allowed for thirteen days' services, and that he receive an order on the county treasury for twenty-six dollars." The next meeting was held on Monday, December 5, 1825. It was ordered that "Clark Philbrick be allowed for his services in making a half bushel measure and brand for the county, the sum of two dollars." The owners of the town of Defiance having donated forty town lots to the county, the Commissioners ordered them offered for sale at public auction on the first Monday in February, 1826. At the meeting of the Board in March "it was ordered that Sheriff Preston be allowed his account of $3.20 for taking charge, discharging prisoners and advertising an election."

At the meeting of the Commissioners, on June 5, 1826, Isaac Hull, Jr-, appears as county auditor, he having been elected to that position at the October balloting. The Board proceeded to business and ordered that William Seemans be allowed ten dollars and forty-six cents for his services as county treasurer, while for serving in the capacity of county auditor, George Lantz was allowed the munificent sum of twelve dollars. It was "also ordered that James W. Craig be and is hereby appointed standard measurer." With the write-up of this meeting also appears the minutes of the sale of town lots made on February 6, and we find that of the forty lots offered only seven were sold, viz.: Lot No. 4, to William Preston for $80; lot No. 12, to Samuel Vance, for $41 ; lot No. 58, to John Perkins, for $40; lot No. 64, to Samuel Vance, for $85; lot No. 101, to John Perkins, $71 ; lot No. 107, to John Oliver, for $36; lot No. 61, to Robert and Nathan Shirley, for $77.

arduous labors, incident to the official position of county treasurer, or perhaps in his opinion the annual stipend was not commensurate. At any rate the record of this meeting says that "It is also ordered by the Board of Commissioners that Benjamin Leavell be, and he is hereby appointed county treasurer for the county of Williams." Samuel Vance was reimbursed by being "allowed the sum of thirtyfour dollars for his services as county assessor, and William Preston was appointed county collector. As an index to the financial transactions of the county the record shows that "The Board of Commissioners compared the treasurer's and auditor's books and find that orders have been issued to the amount of one thousand one hundred twenty-five dollars and twenty-two and one-fourth cents, and orders redeemed amount to four hundred fifty-six dollars four and one-fourth cents, leaving a balance of six hundred and sixty-nine dollars and eighteen cents."

Between the close of the June session of the Board of Commissioners, in 1826, and a special session held on July 21, of the same year, Isaiah Hughes mysteriously disappeared - from the records. Neither his death nor resignation is chronicled, nor is the appointment of his successor, Nathan Shirley, whose name appears as commissioner in the record of the July meeting. By what authority Shirley became a member of the Board is not clear, as the Court of Com> mon Pleas, which alone had the appointing power, had no session, of which a record was made, between the dates mentioned. But, like the man confined in jail, he was there; and it is probably not within the province of the historian "to reason why," when he discovers anomalous records of public affairs.

On October 9, 1826, Elias Shirley was appointed by the Court of Common Pleas assessor for the county of Williams. His bond was approved on the .following day by two of the commissioners and he accordingly entered upon the duties of the office.

At the autumn election, held October 14, 1826, a sheriff, coroner and two commissioners were elected. For the office of sheriff six aspirants were voted for, William Preston receiving 64 votes, George Lantz 4, Arthur Burrows 13, William Graham 1, Pierce Taylor 1, and William Hunter 1. For coroner John Oliver received 11 votes, William Hunter 6, Robert Wasson 18, and Moses Rice 1. For commissioner Montgomery Evans received 76 votes, Nathan Shirley 81, Oliver Crane 40, Charles Gunn 1, and Samuel Vance 28 - Shirley and Evans being the winners. Cyrus Hunter resigned as commissioner immediately after election and Jesse Hilton was appointed to succeed him, so that when the commissioners met in their December session an entire new board appeared. They cast lots "to determine their times of services" - Nathan Shirley succeeding Charles Gunn and Montgomery Evans taking the place of Isaiah Hughes.

During the preceding month (November 18) the commissioners had met "and proceeded to appoint Geo. Lantz county auditor in room of Isaac Hull. Jr., resigned." At the March meeting, 1827, John Canning, who had taken the oath of allegiance but a few months before, was appointed county assessor, which position he held until the June following, when he resigned, his three months' occupancy of the office increasing his exchequer by the sum of $23.44.

Office holding in old Williams county in those days was not very remunerative, and aside from the honor and distinction which attends the holding of an official position there was not enough in it to attract the ordinary mortal. This fact, it seems, was fully realized, and at the June session of 1827, aside from the resignation mentioned above, Benjamin Leavell gave up the office of county treasurer and George Lantz resigned that of county auditor. Robert Wasson was appointed to succeed the former and James W. Craig the latter.

On September 10, 1827, the commissioners met for the purpose, as stated in the record, "of making arrangement to procure a lock for the jail of the Co. of Williams." They instructed the auditor to purchase such lock, and further ordered him to "procure the necessary irons to secure criminals in prison, as soon as convenient."

In the record of a meeting held on November 17, a new name appears as commissioner - that of Sebastian Sroufe. The name of Jesse Hilton disappears, he having probably "fell outside the breastworks" at the recent October election, while he of the undoubted lineage "marched proudly to victory." At this November meeting the board allowed the bills of Pierce Taylor, amounting to fifty-two dollars, for "finding nails" and repairing the court house. The board also did "sanction the bonds" of the new county assessor, William Preston. At the regular December meeting the board decided that an order be drawn on the treasury for $1.50 to pay for a padlock for the use of the jail. So it appears that a special meeting of the commissioners had been held in September for the sole purpose of ordering the purchase of a dollar-and-a-half padlock. Another peculiar entry in the record of this December meeting is the following: "The bord order the Auditors of Williams County to have a rit of atachment ishued against the gods and chatels, moneys, etc., belonging to William Marshal, who broke custody from the jail of Williams county, in order to make money to defray the expencis acrued by detaining the said Marshal in custody."

At the June meeting of the board of commissioners, in 1828, a new county auditor was appointed. The record does not state whether the incumbent resigned or was removed, but it is certain that he did not die, for the record of this meeting was written by him, and the following entry, which is given verbatim, concerning the selection of his successor, certainly proves that he deserved removal upon the grounds of incompetencv: "The bord appoint Foreman Evans Auduter of Williams County in the rume of James W. Craig, who is here by authorized to receive all the book and papers relative to said office that remains in the hands of Jas. W. Craig." We submit that the "rume" which Mr. Evans was called upon to fill was of decidedly small capacity.

with 1824 and ending with 1827. The orders redeemed by the county treasurer in 1824 amounted to $99.64; in 1825, $261.93)4; in 1826, $365.53^4 J in 1827, $259 .27, making the total amount redeemed $986.40 during the four years since the organization of the county. The amount of orders issued during the same time was $2,279.02)4, thus leaving a balance against the county, due and unpaid, of $1,292.62)4. It may reasonably be inferred from these facts that county orders at that time were at a heavy discount. Coming to the Williams county of 1905, shorn of its original dimensions as it has been - by the erection of Defiance and Fulton counties - it is interesting in the way of comparison, and for the purpose of showing development, to call attention to the financial status of the county at the close of the fiscal year, which ended August 31, 1904. The orders issued upon the treasury during the year amounted to $264,472.09, all of which were redeemed at par, excepting $5,900.77, which had not been presented for redemption at the close of the year. Against this seeming indebtedness, however, the treasury contained cash to the amount of $31,570.24, leaving a clear surplus of $25,669.47. Eighty years of Williams county history has worked wondrous changes, and nowhere are they more apparent to the present generation than in comparisons such as the above.

When the board again met in December, 1828, the first duty that devolved upon them was the appointment of a new county auditor, and Granville Edmiston was the recipient of their favor. It was then ordered "that Thos. F. Hill receive an order from the County Auditor on the Treasurer for seven dollars, for a lock for the jail, and that the county auditor have the said lock repaired and placed on the jail door." Another October election had recently been held, and the name of Payne C. Parker appears as commissioner, succeeding Sebastian Sroufe.

As the county's business grew in importance the commissioners met more frequently in special sessions, but the business they transacted was usually in regard to opening roads, allowing orders on the treasury, etc. - acts that* contain very little if any historical interest. But as the record of their proceedings is about the only thing extant that throws light upon the county's affairs in its days* of infancy, an occasional reference to or extract from this record will come properly within the scope of this chapter. At a special meeting on April 27, 1829, it was ordered by the board that "a table and desk be made for the use of the court house, and that'Wm. Meeker be allowed sixteen dollars for making the same in a workmanlike manner by the first Monday in June." The table was to be eight feet long and four feet wide, and the desk three feet and a half long, two feet high and eighteen inches deep. Both were to be madeof black walnut.

The financial straits in which the county found itself at that time seems to have given the commissioners considerable annoyance ; but probably the holders of orders, outstanding and unredeemed, did the greater part of the floor-walking. At the June session, in 1829, an effort was made to appease the desires of the county's creditors, and they were given permission to "consolidate these orders into one, providing they would pay the expense of making the change and agree not to demand payment until sufficient funds were in the treasury to pay the total amount." Whether the creditors decided that "in union there is strength," or concluded to continue their efforts to collect what was due them, individually, does not appear.

The reader has been given some idea, in the foregoing pages, concerning the compensation allowed the county officials while acting in such capacity. The salaries paid w*re not very tempting, it is true, but probably they were sufficient, when the little time and attention demanded is taken into consideration. It seems, however, that in that early day there were men who looked upon a public office as a private snap, and the guardians of the treasury - the commissioners - were soon called upon to bring certain officials to time and ask them to disgorge various sums belonging to the county, and which they were accused of having in their possession, unlawfully. In 1829, at the June session of the board, the auditor was instructed tp make a demand of Cyrus Hunter and Charles Gunn "for money over-paid for services as commissioners to the county of Williams," and in case of their refusal to hand over the money the auditor was authorized to commence suit against them. It is probable that this incident resulted from an error, either clerical or of judgment, and that the gentlemen promptly reimbursed the treasury with the amounts charged against them, for no further mention is made of it in the succeeding pages of the record.

But in their examinations of the financial affairs of the county at this time the commissioners discovered what seemed to them to be willful malfeasance on the part of the county auditor, Granville Edmiston, who had been filling that position for over a year. At the October election Montgomery Evans was succeeded in the office of county commissioner by Pierce Evans, and at its December meeting the board started the investigation of Mr. Edmiston's official conduct. Upon the third day of the session the gentleman resigned his position as auditor - probably by request - and William Seemans was appointed in his stead. The board then ordered the new county auditor to furnish the county treasurer with a list of the orders recorded by Edmiston and instructed the treasurer not to receive any orders drawn on him and signed by said Edmiston unless they appeared on such list. The auditor was then instructed to advertise in Maumee, Perrysburg, Piqua, Columbus, Chillicothe and Defiance, notifying the public that there were spurious orders in circulation, issued by Granville Edmiston, ex-county auditor, and asking that such orders be presented, "as soon as practicable to the county treasurer for endorsement, that the fraud may be discovered to its full extent." The board further ordered that a precipe be filed for a writ against Edmiston and his bondsmen to recover the amount charged against them. Action was accordingly commenced against Edmiston and his bondsmen, which resulted in a judgment against the defendants and the reimbursement to the county of the amount of the fraudulent orders.

As counsel and attorney for the commissioners in this matter, the board employed Thomas W. Powell, then a young member of the bar at Perrysburg - at that time the county seat of Wood county. Mr. Powell served as prosecuting attorney of Wood county, in which capacity he won distinction. In 1830 he removed from Perrysburg to Delaware, and later represented that constituency in the state legislature. He became one of the leading lawyers of the state, and his son, Thomas E. Powell, was the Democratic candidate for Governor of Ohio in 1887.

The region north of the Maumee, in those early years, had an exceedingly small white population, and consequently small influence with the boards of commissioners ; and it was not until late in 1830 that cognizance was taken of it, either in organizing townships or opening county roads. But at the December session, in 1830, in response to a petition presented to the board, a new township was organized bounded as follows: "To take off one range off of the west boundary of Crane township, and to include said ranges north of Maumee river to the Michigan line and south to the south boundary of Paulding county; which said township shall be called Carryall township." The commissioners doubtless intended the name to be suggestive, for their act carried jurisdiction over all of what is now Northwest, Florence and St. Joseph townships, in Williams county, Milford and Hicksville in Defiance, and the west tier of townships in Paulding.

Although the seat of justice had been in the town of Defiance since the organization of the county, in 1824, no steps were taken towards the building of a court house until the March session of the county commissioners, in 1831. Prior to this date a warehouse on the bank of the river had been used as a meeting place for the courts of justice. At this March session, however, "the Board ordered that there be a sale of building a court house in the town of Defiance on the 9th day of April next; to-wit, a house thirty-two feet long, twenty-two feet wide and twenty feet high from foundation to the squaw/' Upon the above date the contract was let to Payne C. Parker at $699.90, but for some reason it was not carried out, and at the June session of the same year the board ordered another sale, with the same specifications as described before, only adding "that the said building be composed of good merchantable brick and other substantial materials." At this second sale Foreman Evans was the lowest bidder and secured the contract at $987. The time set for the completion of the building was August 1, 1832, but this was afterwards extended to October 1, of the same year. Upon September 21, ten days before the time limit had expired, Mr. Evans reported his work as completed, but the commissioners upon examination were not satisfied. The proper changes and improvements being made, however, they accepted the building at their December meeting.

A year earlier than this, in December, 1831, upon application, a new township named Tiffin was erected with the following boundaries : "On the south by township 4 north in range 4 east, and extend north to the north boundary of Williams county, including range 4 east." This territory, aside from that portion which is in Defiance county, included the present townships of Springfield, Bradv and Millcreek in Williams county.

Prior to this date, not one dollar had been appropriated out of the road fund given by the state for the erection of a bridge or the improvement of a road within the present limits of Williams county. But as the tide of immigration was now flowing in this direction, a demand was naturally made for roads. Accordingly, at the December session of the commissioners, in 1831, an application was made by Foreman Evans and others, "for a county road, to be located from Defiance northward up Bean Creek, alias Tiffin river, to the north boundary of the state of Ohio." The commissioners heeded the petition and appointed a surveyor and three viewers to go over the route and examine it and report at the next session in March. John Perkins had been appointed as the surveyor, but owing to disability he was unable to perform the duty and hence delay was caused.

The petitioners filed a new bond at the March meeting and John Perkins was re-appointed as surveyor, with John Plummer, Samuel Kepler and Payne C. Parker as viewers, and they were instructed to report at the June session. At the appointed time, in June, 1832, these gentlemen reported favorably upon the project, and the record shows that their report "having been read on two several days of this session, and, their being no notice of appeal, the commissioners order the auditor to record the same according to law." This was the first public highway, approved of by the commissioners, that extended into the present limits of Williams county; but five years were destined to elapse before any financial aid was voted towards improving the road. This road entered the Williams county of to-day at Evansport and then followed the Tiffin river by the present site of Stryker and thence on to the state line. Other roads having been surveyed and located in the meantime - one entering the town of Lafayette (Pulaski), another leading from Williams Center and a third connecting Denmark with the outside world - at the March session of the board in 1837, John Stubbs was appointed a road commissioner and endowed with $275 which he was instructed to expend in this particular territory. The ice being broken, roads continued to be opened with increasing frequency, and immigration keeping steady pace, the development was started that has resulted in the splendid county we boast of to-day.

It will not be out of place here to give a few facts concerning some of the leading men who assisted in the direction of affairs at this time. Montgomery Evans, who served as county commissioner from 1826 to 1829, and again from 1831 to 1836, was a member of the Evans family, spoken of elsewhere in this work. He established himself in business, as an Indian trader, farmer, and real estate dealer, in Defiance, in 1818 or 1819, occupying as a residence during the first two years, one of the block-houses erected by General Winchester, while the latter was in command at that point. Mr. Evans was a

Pierce Evans, also county commissioner during the early years, removed from Ross county to the head of the rapids of the Maumee, and resided there during the years 1822 and 1823. He then removed to a farm near Defiance, where he spent the remainder of his life. In addition to his service as county commissioner, he was one of the three associate judges of the Court of Common Pleas for Williams county when said court was first held at Defiance. A somewhat extended sketch of Payne C. Parker will be found upon another page, but we wish at this time to call attention to this useful and versatile man. Born in the world's metropolis, in his youth he became a pioneer on the western border of civilization. He assisted in surveying the route for the first highway that opened up the present county of Williams, and then taking up his residence here, lived a useful life among the first settlers. As judge, physician, merchant, teacher or preacher, he proved his fitness for the calling, and probably no man among the early pioneers had a more extended acquaintance or was more highly esteemed.

John Stubbs, the first road commissioner in the present county limits, and one of the early, pioneers, was born in Orange county, N. Y., August 12, 1784. His father, a gentleman of Welsh descent, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and the son was captain of a company of state militia during the war of 1812. In 1832 Mr. Stubbs entered nearly 1,000 acres of land in what is now Springfield township, this county, and came with his family and settled upon it in the spring of 1833. He was a resident of Springfield township from that date to his death, January 26, 1864, filling many township offices, and in 1835 was elected commissioner of the county, which position he held during a three-year term.

Another gentleman who was prominently identified with Williams county during its formative period, and one to whose skill as a surveyor the early settlers were greatly indebted, was Miller Arrowsmith. Born in Champaign county, Ohio, March 14, 1808, he made his first visit to Williams county in June, 1833. He then bought land near Defiance and settled on it during the October following. Judge John Perkins was county surveyor, as he had been since the organization of the county, but owing to advanced age he desired to relinquish the duties and Mr. Arrowsmith was appointed in his stead. For fifteen years Miller Arrowsmith discharged the duties of the office with accuracy and fidelity, and he personally surveyed all the roads, with but few if any exceptions, that opened up the present limits of Williams county to her hardy pioneers. The General Assembly of Ohio, at its session of 1845-46, elected him a member of the State Board of Equalization, and he proved one of the most efficient members of that body. He served as Auditor of Defiance county from 1848 to 1852, and filled other positions of trust. After retiring from his official duties, he engaged in agriculture in Farmer township, Defiance county, and spent the remainder of his life there.

At the December meeting of the board of commissioners, in 1833, Jesse Hilton again appeared as commissioner, having been appointed by the common pleas court to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of James W. Craig. In the demise of the latter the county lost a useful citizen and one that was devoted to her interests. A man of meager education - as is evidenced by his chirography and orthography, preserved in the county records - he performed the duties assigned him in official capacities to the best of his ability and no charge of dishonesty in office was ever made against him. It will not be out of place to state here that Mr. Craig was the purchaser of the first piece of land, the deed of which is recorded among the present Williams county transfers.

Until this time (December, 1833) no township had been erected in the present limits of Williams county. True the territory was included in other formations, but the names representing the divisions are no longer used or else are to be found in the township nomenclature of Defiance county. At the session of the board, of which we now write, however, it was ordered "that there be a new township erected and organized bv the name of St. Joseph's township." St. Joseph has therefore the distinction of being the oldest of the townships in the present limits of the county, but at the time of its organization the territory thus named included what is now Milford and Farmer townships in Defiance county, besides St. Joseph, Center, Florence and Superior, in Williams. Beaver township (name afterwards changed to Pulaski) was organized at the March session of the board, in 1834, and included the present townships of Pulaski and Jefferson and north to the state line - said line being then in dispute.

Full particulars of this boundary controversy is given elsewhere in a special chapter, but for the purpose of elucidation it may be stated here that in February, 1835, the General Assembly passed an act extending the jurisdiction of the State to the Harris (the present boundary) line, and ordering the erection of townships in the disputed territory. Accordingly, on March 30, 1835, the board of commissioners of Williams county "met in special session for the purpose of extending the northern boundaries of townships to the line called Harris Line, and for erecting a new township in said county, in pursuance of the statute in such case made and provided." The townships of St. Joseph and Beaver (now Pulaski) were extended in jurisdiction to the Harris Line, thus making the present townships of Bridgewater and Northwest a part of St. Joseph and placing Madison within the boundaries of Beaver. The new township erected was given the name of Springfield, and included, besides its present limits, the townships of Brady and Millcreek, and the strip of land afterwards given to Fulton county.

One year later, in March, 1836, the Board of Commissioners organized the township of "Bradie" (Brady), its boundary lines to include not only its present limits, but Millcreek township and the territory afterwards detached and annexed to Fulton county. By this action of the commissioners Springfield township was reduced to its present size, and hence can be said to be the oldest compact township organization in the present county of Williams. Center township was also organized at this meeting and made to include what are now the townships of Center, Superior and Bridgewater. At the same session, Washington township was erected, comprising the territory of the present township of that name in Defiance county and the township of Pulaski in addition. This left Beaver township as the official cognomen of the territory now included in Jefferson and Madison. This arrangement continued but a short time, however, for at the following June meeting of the board the territory now comprising Pulaski township was detached from Washington and reannexed to Beaver township, making the boundary lines of the latter the same as when originally erected.

At the March session, in 1837, the commissioners erected and organized the township of Florence, its boundary lines including the present townships of Florence, Superior, Bridgewater and Northwest. This reduced Center township to its present limits, and by the erection of Milford township (now in Defiance county) St. Joseph was also trimmed down to its proper congressional size.

The county at this time was of course in its formative period, and immigration was constantly increasing its population. The carving of territory and the organization of new townships serve as an index to the rapid development being made between the years 1835 and 1840. Selfish interests doubtless gave birth to conflicting demands on the part of the people, but the commissioners seem to have been equal to the task, their actions being tempered with deliberation and their authority exercised with even-handed justice. At the June session, in 1837, a township was organized and given the name of Jefferson, the described boundaries taking in practically the territory now included in Jefferson and Madison. This left Beaver township with exactly the limits of the present Pulaski, but for some reason this arrangement was unsatisfactory to those directly interested, and accordingly a special meeting of the board was called on August 7, following, to hear and pass upon the complaints. The meeting resulted in the commissioners ordering "that the south half of the south tier of sections" in Jefferson township be added to Beaver, and that the name of the latter be changed to Pulaski. At the December session of the same year, however, "the board took into consideration the petition of sundry citizens of Town 7 [Jefferson], in the county of Williams, praying that the boundary lines of said township might be so altered as to include the same territory included in the original survey of said township, and the board order that the prayer of said petitioners be granted."

No other change in township names or boundaries was made until the March session of the Board of Commissioners, in 1839, when, "Upon application made by W. H. B. Smith, and others, the board order that there be a new township erected and organized, to be known and distinguished by the name of Bridgewater." The boundaries described included the present townships of Bridgewater and

Northwest. The board also, at this session, ''upon application of Alanson Pike and others/' erected the township of Millcreek. This new division began at the eastern boundary of Bridgewater and included the present townships of Madison and Millcreek, together with a tier of sections off the west side of Gorham township, now in Fulton county. This act of the commissioners also reduced Jefferson and Brady townships to the size contemplated by the congressional survey.

At the next session of the board, in June, 1839, upon the petition of George Bible and others, Superior township was formed, with boundaries describing the township exactly as it is to-day. This also reduced Florence township to its present size. At the December session, in 1840, the township of Northwest was erected and organized, leaving Bridgewater in its present limits. Later, there was a slight misunderstanding in regard to the boundary line between Northwest and Bridgewater, but this was settled at the June session of 1842, the line being located where it is now. At the March session of 1843, Madison township was organized, comprising all of its present territory and the west tier of sections, now in Millcreek township. These sections were afterwards annexed to Millcreek, and with a few other slight changes in boundary lines, which were subsequently made, the organization of the present territory of Williams county was complete.

But before going to subsequent events we will retrace our steps and record a few incidents that should be given a place in the narrative of the early days. Hard as it is for the compiler of history to glean his facts from ancient records - often but an imperfect mention of careless official acts - he is not the only one who suffers. As a case in point we relate the following: At the October election, 1831, William Dawson was chosen as county treasurer. He gave bond and took the oath of office on the first Monday of June, 1832. He was re-elected in 1833 and again in 1835, serving until June, 1838. When he turned the office over to his successor it was found that he was a defaulter. Action was commenced against him and his bondsmen for the amount of his defalcation, when it was discovered that there was no record of his bond having been approved as required by law, or of his having taken the oath of office at the beginning of his last term. In fact, the defense against the action in Common Pleas court was, that as his bond had not been approved and he had not taken the oath of office, he had not been county treasurer at all, and therefore the county should be defeated in its efforts to collect the- amount sued for. The Common Pleas court took the same view of the matter - ruling out parole evidence that tended to establish the fact that the bond had been approved and the oath of office taken - and rendered a verdict in favor of Dawson and his bondsmen. The Supreme Court, however, took a different view, reversing the decision and ordering a new trial, in which the county was given a judgment for $1,379.81. .

exonerated from the suspicion of criminal intent. When we associate this incident with the time in which it occurred, the year following the panic of 1837, when ruin stalked throughout the land and financial failures were everywhere, circumstances can be easily imagined out of which might grow unfortunate situations, such as the one detailed above. William Dawson was a native of Kentucky, born in 1797, and migrated to Ohio in early manhood, locating for a time in London, Madison county. He came to Williams county about 1830, settling at Defiance, where he engaged in milling for a number of years. He then turned his attention to farming, which he followed the remainder of his life. He died in 1881 at the advanced age of eighty-four years.

John Lewis, who succeeded Mr. Dawson as county treasurer, served in that capacity about nine months. Upon the examination of his books by the commissioners at their March session, 1839, a considerable shortage was discovered ; and it appearing that Lewis had "swartwouted or absconded''' (as the court records state it), Sidney S. Sprague - an early citizen and enterprising business man of Defiance - was appointed to fill the vacancy. Action was then brought in the Common Pleas Court against the bondsmen of Lewis and judgment was rendered for $613.14.

As to the name of the first man who became a permanent settler within the present limits of Williams county there are conflicting claims, each of which is taken up and given due prominene in the township histories which comprise separate chapters in this work. From them the reader can get the facts and decide the mooted question to his own satisfaction, according to the weight of evidence as it appears to him. But, speaking of the county in its entirety, it may be said that the early settlers were Americans - a large number of them coming from older portions of Ohio, while others migrated here from the more populous and less advantageous localities in states farther east. New York and Pennsylvania furnished a larger number of the latter class ; but no matter where they came from, mutual desires and interests made them all akin, and by a silent process of "benevolent assimilation" they were converted into a Williams county family. Among them there existed very little distinction in worldly circumstances and modes of life - the disparities in condition that we now observe having been developed gradually with the country and emphasized by the frowns and smiles of that giddy dame - Fortune. It was neither the indolent nor the opulent, as a general fact, who sought homes in this region ; for none but industrious men of moderate means would care to endure the preliminary privations and encounter the hazards that they knew would attend them while building homes in the almost unbroken wilderness. They came to better their condition in life; to become land-owners instead of tenants; to rid themselves of a species of land-lordism which prevailed in the Eastern states, and to emancipate themselves from a condition of semi-vassalage which threatened a doom of servitude for themselves and children.

that there were no white settlers within the present limits of Williams county. In 1830 the Federal census showed a population of 1,039, anc* in 1840, 4,464. These figures, of course, relate to the inhabitants of the county before the spoliation of its territory by the erection of Defiance and Fulton, and it is only fair to state that in 1830 the population of the territory now embraced in its limits was decidedly meager. But by 1840 there were settlers in every part of the county in sufficient numbers to perfect organizations and establish township governments ; and the rumblings of discontent, occasioned by the court house being so far away, grew louder and louder as the population increased in the northern part of the county.

The removal of the sea of justice, however, was accomplished only after a spirited contest and in the face of a bitter opposition on the part of the citizens of Defiance and those who sympathized with therm At that time the town of Bryan only existed in the imagination of sundry individuals and consequently was not a tangible entity in the struggle. The site which it now occupies was then covered with as grand a timber growth as one would care to look upon, and having no existence, not even in name, there were no loyal partisans to champion its cause during the heat of the bitter contention. But a mysterrious power had grown up at points quite distant from the Maumee river; and the "first settlements" on her banks being overshadowed, they could no longer rule by superior numerical strength. In response to a monster petition from the outlying sections of the county, the General Assembly of Ohio, which convened on the first Monday of December, 1839, appointed three commissioners by a joint resolution to review and permanently locate the seat of justice of Williams county. These commissioners were Joseph Burns of Coshocton, James Culbertson of Perry, and Joseph McCutcheon of Crawford county. They entered upon their duties in convenient season and proceeded to examine carefully and impartially the claims of the different sites offered, before coming to a final decision. Williams Center and Pulaski - at that time towns of some importance - were both strong competitors for the county seat, but the fight was the thickest in and around Defiance, where the people felt that the loss of the court house would be irreparable to them.

As silent mementos of this "county-seat fight," there now repose among the archives of the county, documents - yellow with age - that tell the story of the frantic efforts made by Defiance citizens to retain the cherished seat of justice. A subscription paper was circulated, headed by H. G. Phillips and liberally signed by the leading men of the town, donating to the county treasury the sum of $2,250, upon condition that the commissioners appointed by the Legislature would report in favor of the county seat continuing at Defiance. They supplemented this money talk with oratorical appeals and what they considered cold logic, all of which is interesting now in a historical sense but seemed to lack efficacy then. On May 25, 1840, a written address was delivered to "Messrs. McCutcheon, Culbertson and Bums, Commissioners," etc., and signed "People of Defiance," in which it was stated that the removal of the seat of justice from that place " would work a species of the greatest injustice, not only to the original proprietors, but to other citizens who have purchased property in Defiance under the full assurance that the seat of justice was permanently established here." They then took up the legal phase of the matter and proved (to their own satisfaction at least) that when the seat of justice was established there it was to be permanent, everlasting and unchangeable; also showing that purchasers of property there had invested their money with such understanding.

Considering the possibility of removal, the address becomes pathetic. Listen: ''And what, pray, is to be the consequence? Who are to be the sufferers? Who are thus to be turned out of house and home, or what is almost as bad, forced into protracted and expensive lawsuits to obtain their rights? Why, those who have had the folly to rely implicitly upon the plighted honor and faith of the State; those who relied upon the secure protection of that constitution which declares that the legislature shall hold contracts inviolable, and shall pass no law impairing their obligation. Those who, in an early day, penetrated the thick gloom of an almost interminable wilderness, and suffered the privations incident to the first settlement of a new country, that they might select for themselves and their children a situation possessing those advantages which are ever esteemed as important."

The reader may think that there is something strangely familiar in the line of argument used, but we assure him that, "to the best of our knowledge and belief," no extract from the document quoted has ever appeared upon a printed page before. Doubtless it recalls to his mind another similar "unpleasantness" of a later date, which will be spoken of hereafter, the* corpse of which should be buried beneath the green sward of friendship and no grinning skeleton be allowed to stand between those who are working for the upbuilding of Williams county and her varied interests. The address continues in its familiar strain: "Admitting, as we most readily do, that Defiance is further from the geographical center of the county than could be wished, yet ought those who have chosen to locate themselves at a considerable distance from this point complain? Is any injustice done them? When Defiance was made the permanent seat of justice, those portions of the county which now claim it as a right were an unbroken forest. If they labor under inconveniences, they have no one but themselves to blame. They have chosen their present locations with their eyes open. Certainly they have no right to take from us advantages which we purchased, at a pretty dear rate, to increase their own wealth or add to their convenience."

The address stated further that ultimately there would be a new county created out of the northern territory, and called attention to the probability of Defiance becoming "one of the grand emporiums of trade." But the commissioners, after viewing the several sites, unanimously agreed that a removal of the seat of justice from the town of Defiance was essentially necessary ; and therefore selected "the center of the southwest quarter of section 17, township 6 north, range 3 east, being in the township of Pulaski in said county, owned jointly by the American Land Company and John A. Bryan, on the most suitable and eligible ground in said tract of ground, to be selected by the commissioners of said county, as the most suitable place for the permanent location of said seat of justice for said county.,, A proviso was added that the American Land Company and John A. Bryan should perform the stipulation contained in a bond executed by John A. Bryan and Charles Butler, with Alfred P. Eagerton and William Trevitt as security. The conditions of this agreement were that two acres of land in the center of the town plat for a public square and two town lots to be selected by the county commissioners, were to be ceded to the county. Also Bryan, etc., were to erect temporary buildings for the use of courts and officials until the erection of permanent ones; and within four years from that date (July, 1840) they were to erect "neat and appropriate public buildings to cost or to be fairly valued at an expense to the amount of $8,500 or more."

The site of the new seat of justice having been chosen, Miller Arrowsmith, county surveyor, with his assistants repaired to the place selected and proceeded to survey and "lay out" the new town. As may be imagined, no hostelry was then in existence to welcome the visitors and care for their inner wants, but this condition of affairs being anticipated they brought with them an ample supply of tents and provisions to house and sustain them while engaged in the work. The survey was completed on July 14, 1840, and Mr. Arrowsmith, in honor of the man who donated the public square and at that time owned the surrounding land, named the embryo county seat Bryan. September 24, 1840, the plat was recorded in the county recorder's office, and the change of location for the seat of justice now being a certainty, steps were soon taken towards the removal of the official family from Defiance. Upon the last day of the December session of the county commissioners, December 10, 1840, the board considered "that the interest of the county requires the immediate erection of a county jail at the town of Bryan, the recently located seat of justice for Williams county," and ordered that the necessary steps be taken to advertise for bidsi for the erection of the same. The commissioners met again on January 12, 1841, and assigned the building of the jail to John McDowell of Center township.

The board held its last session at Defiance on February 25, 1841, and the record of the proceedings, which we give entire, tells the story of the last days of that municipality as the seat of justice of Williams county: "The Commissioners order that all the records and Journals -belonging to the County of Williams, with the statutes, desks, stoves, stationery, and all the furniture belonging to the offices of the several officers of the county, and papers relating to the business of the county which should be left on file or otherwise, with all the movable property, be removed to the town of Bryan, the county site of Williams ; and that the several county officers are requested forthwith to pack into good boxes the Records, Journals, statutes, stationery, and all things belonging to the county in the several offices, so that they may safely be conveyed to the town of Bryan, and without delay forward the same to Bryan ; and that the several officers are requested to repair to the town of Bryan, at which place offices are prepared and convenient. The Commissioners order that one stove be left in the jail for the benefit of prisoners. The board orders that the Auditor deliver copies of the above order to the clerk of the court of common pleas, sheriff, treasurer, recorder, and all the county officers interested in the same." The court of common pleas convened at Defiance on January 19, 1841, in special session, for the purpose of granting administrations; but three months later, April 19, the regular spring term was held at Bryan, and the removal of the machinery of county government was complete. This was followed a few years later by the erection of the counties of Defiance and Fulton, and the consequent reduction of Williams county to its present boundary lines.