Denmark, Ohio

Benjamin Cornell, John Cornell and George Long came in 1838, and Judge Parker, as mentioned above, came two years earlier. The latter moved into the township from Defiance, where he had sold goods for a number of years previous. He first came up the river to trade with the Indians, but bought a large tract of land, built a house and then removed his family. He laid out at about that time the village of Denmark. It had its public square, storeroom, ashery and school house, and by 1840 was quite a village, being the first one in the township. George Long lived for many years on his farm three miles northwest of Edgerton. He did a mercantile business in part of his dwelling house as early as 1850, and for some years thereafter. He owned and cleared up a large farm on the Bellefontaine road and later removed to Edgerton, where he died in 1880. A Mr. Blair was also an early resident and resided at Blair's Corners, southwest of Edgerton, where he died in 1839 or 1840. He was one of the earliest settlers in that part of the township. John Skelton came into the township from Stark county in 1839 and settled In the northwestern part of the township. He died a number of years ago.

Passage source: The County of Williams : a History of Williams County, Ohio, from the Earliest Days, with Special Chapters on Various Subjects, Including Each of the Different Townships ; Also a Biographical Department, published 1905.

The record of the first election in St. Joseph township has been lost or not properly kept, but it is known that it was held at John Fee's, April 4, 1832; after that, for a time, elections were held in Denmark. At least one election was held at what was called the Parker place. Afterward they held elections in the school house on the hill, a little more than a mile north of Edgerton. Soon after Edgerton was started, they began to hold elections there, and it was the only voting place until the township was divided into precincts a few years ago. One of the first justices o£ the peace.and in fact one of the first officers elected in the township, was a Mr. Preston, but offices were not sought then as they are now. A Mr. Tanner and Alexander Kearnes were assessors for years. An office, now abolished, and which it was difficult to get anyone to fill, was that of fence viewer.

Passage source: The County of Williams : a History of Williams County, Ohio, from the Earliest Days, with Special Chapters on Various Subjects, Including Each of the Different Townships ; Also a Biographical Department, published 1905.

The Presbyterians, later on, occasionally held services in the barn of Henry Cassler. on the farm now owned by Michael and John Guinn, three miles north of Edgerton. Rev. Cather. of the Lutheran church, preached in the township at various places for a number of years after 1840. He preached at Denmark, in the house of John W. Bowersox, and at various other places. He was something of a wag, and his daughters, of which he had several, were named Coon, Whale and Bear. By these names, especially Coon, they were known for years. He had quite a large family, but they were strangely unfortunate and the larger number of them died when comparatively in the prime of life. The German Methodists were at one time represented by two ministers, named Baker and Deemer. They held services awhile in what was called the Weitz neighborhood, in the northwest portion of the township. It is said that Baker, who was very popular, abandoned the ministry and fell from the profession altogether.

Passage source: The County of Williams : a History of Williams County, Ohio, from the Earliest Days, with Special Chapters on Various Subjects, Including Each of the Different Townships ; Also a Biographical Department, published 1905.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on St. Joseph Township - it names this place 2 more 2 times.