Farmers National Bank

In 1796, as mentioned above, Benjamin Springer, with his wife and two sons, Silas and Thomas, also his son-in-law, Usual Osborn, and wife, settled on Big Darby creek. They were natives of Pennsylvania, and built their cabin on land later owned by John Taylor, close to the north line of Canaan township and just within the limits of the same. But their names are mentioned here because of their close proximity and close relations with the early pioneers of Darby township. In 179S, the Ewing brothers, James and Joshua, emigrated from Kentucky to present Darby township and settled a short distance northeast of the site of Plain City. They bought farms lying on both sides of Big Darby creek. One reason for making their purchases on both sides of the stream was that they might have ready access to the prairie grazing lands, and at the same time have tillable lands on the elevated bottoms along the creek. They supposed, as did many others, that the open prairie land would afford them pasturage for many years to come. In this, however, they were mistaken, for they were in time owned by industrious farmers and inclosed with good fences.

Passage source: History of Madison County, Ohio : Its People, Industries and Institution with Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, published 1915.

The Taylor brothers. John. Daniel and Richard, natives of New York state, emigrated to Kentucky in 1795 and settled on land they purchased near Lexington. They became discouraged and disgusted because of the constant litigations over titles, and determined to seek new lands. John Taylor, going to the man from whom he had made his purchase, made a trade with him for lands in the then territory of Ohio. By this exchange he became the owner of Ihree hundred acres of land on the banks of Big Derby, now in Union county. He moved to bis new farm in 1800, sold bis first purchase to Frederick Sager, and bought another about one mile south of Plain City, on both sides of Big Darby creek, from John Graham. Here be erected a log cabin, stable and outbuildings, and soon afterward, probably about the year 1804, be married a widow McCullough, sister of Judge Mitchell. Two children blessed this union, a daughter and a son. The daughter died in infancy, but the son, John Taylor, Jr., lived on the old homestead for many years, and is still remembered by the older residents of Darby township.

Passage source: History of Madison County, Ohio : Its People, Industries and Institution with Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, published 1915.

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 Darby Township - 15,559 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.