Blanchard Township (part 1 of 2)

Blanchard Township

The act of the Commissioners organizing this township^ was passed in 1833, in these words: "That original surveyed township num])er one north, range nine east, shall be known and organized by the name of Blanchard."

In March, 1834, the Commissioners " Ordered that township two north, raDge nine (Pleasant Tp.) be attached to Blanchard township," but a year later this township was detached from Blanchard and organized into a separate township.

Blanchard is on the west border of the county, bounded north by Pleasant township, east by Liberty, south by Union, and west by Putnam county line. It derives its name from the river of the same name, which passes through it from east to west, dividing it into two almost equal parts.

The first entries of land made in the township were the north half of north-west quarter of north-east quarter of section thirteen, by David Stinson, and the north-east quarter of north-east quarter of same section, by John Veal, both entries being made on the 12th day of August, 1822. On the 19th day of the same month and year, W. A. Johnson entered the south-east quarter of the north-west quarter of section fifteen. On September, 1825, John Hunter took.

up the south half of south-west quarter of section fifteen, James McClish entered the east half of north-east quarter of section twenty. In 1827, Orlando Moffitt entered west part of south-east fractional quarter of section seventeen, and John Dukes the east half of the north-west quarter of section fifteen, and Henry Epley the east part of the south-east quarter of section eighteen. These entries were followed by others, and a settlement of the township followed close on the entries.

The first settlers in this township were John Hunter and John Chandler, both of Fairfield County, who came here in 1826, and located on the south side of the river, on the farm now owned by Alfred Davis, and known as the old Geo. Shaw farm. The first settlers of this part of the county were in the main from the interior and eastern counties of the State, with a few families from Pennsylvania and New York. These two first families were not long without neighbors, for in 1828, Richard, John and Lewis Dukes, of Franklin County, and Thomas Grove, of Pickaway County, settled on the opposite side of the river, and opened up extensive fiirms, and erected comfortable buildings. Thomas Groves still lives and occupies the old farm, and in his declining years, is surrounded by broad acres of the richest agricultural lands in the whole county.

Richard Dukes, who but recently deceased, occupied the old homestead, to within a few years of his death, when he removed to Findley, and so situated himself as to enjoy the society of his friends, and obtain the rest from toil, which he so much needed. His last years were peaceful and quiet, in the enjoyment of home and its comforts.

liand. Id a few years, by his indnstry and frugality, he was able, at the low wages even then paid, to accumulate enough money to enter a tract of eighty acres of land. This he improved, and was enabled as the country improved, to add many acres of valuable lands to it, until he has become one of the wealthiest men in the township. Mr. Dukes has been twice married, but was never blessed with children. He (united with the Methodist Church in early life, and has ever since been a consistent member, ever living up to his profession.

Mr. Dukes is of an unassuming nature, never seeking notoriety, and never urging his opinions on others. His industry, tact and economy are proverbial, and his opinions on business matters are clear and forcible. His life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits, in which he been unusually successful.

David M. Baldwin was one of the earliest settlers of the south part of the township, having come from Fairfield and settled on lands adjoining the town of Benton. All was a wilderness when he came, and he lived long enough to see one of the finest neighborhoods in the county. Mr. B. was a genial, whole-souled man, ever ready to accommodate to the extent of his ability, and ever ready to resent an insult. For years he kept a tavern, where the weary traveller always found a well laden table. His large family are living near their old home, which is occupied by his aged widow.

John Dukes remained in this township until he became well advanced in years, and had witnessed the many -changes w^hich occurred, when he disposed of his property and removed to Wood County, where after a residence of several years, he too was gathered to his fathers.

Thomas Moffitt. who with his brothers, William and John^ had made their residence here about the time the Dukes' came, after making for himself a home and its comforts, was attacked with the "Western Fever," sold his farm and emigrated to Iowa, or the " Black Hawk Country," as it was called, where he still lives. John and William Moffitt, and McClish, still reside in the township, and are amongst its most substantial men.

Michael Fishel, one of the early residents, only a few years ago sold his farm on the south side of the river, and now resides in the village of McComb. Alfred Davis, another frontiersman, and one of the solid men of the county, owns and occupies a magnificent tract of land on both sides of the river, and takes life calmly. George Shaw, one of the early commissioners of the county, owned a splendid farm here, on which he spent the greater part of his life, and here died and was buried. About the same time came Jeremiah Code, David Millham, Sol Foglesong and the Epleys.

These early settlers all chose the independent and honorable occupation of farmers, and well was their choice made, for no richer agi-icultural lands are to be found in the State,, than those which they occupy and cultivate.

The Dukes' brothers were early and consistent members of the Methodist Church, and friends to, and workers in the Sabbath Schools. The first church building in the county was put up in this immediate neighborhood, and they contributed largely, not only to its erection, but also to sustaining the ministers sent among them. This old log church.

still stands on the farm owned by Eli Dukes. Since its day, however, a frame building was erected a little further west, which was used by the same society for a number of years, when about two years ago, it in its turn, made room for a more comfortable and pretentious brick building - indeed one of the finest church edifices in the county. There are now two Methodist Episcopal, two United Brethren, and one Evangelical Church in the township, all good substantial buildings.

The first school house was a log cabin affair, and stood near where the present residence of 'ihomas Groves stands, and was built in 1830. The first school was taught by John C. Wickham. There are now ten school buildings in the township, and the enumeration of youth is three hundred and eighty-four.

The first marriage was that of John Dukes and Hannah Houchings, the Rev. Thomas Thompson officiating. Two little children of George Shaw were the first deaths.

The soil of this township varies with the locality. Along the river it is a rich sandy loam, mixed with vegetable deposits, made by the overflow of the river. On the south ridge it is a fertile, sftndy soil, and between the ridge and the river bottoms, the land is flat and rather wet, but covered by a rich, deep soil of vegetable loam, mixed in places with sand or clay. On the north side of the river, after getting back fi-om the bottoms, the soil is almost invariably clay; good wheat and grazing lands, whilst for the production of corn, the bottom lands are not excelled anywhere.

Oak, ash, hickory, sugar, beech, walnut and poplar, are the principal timbers. Of the latter kind, there were immense amounts, and of the finest quality, but such has been the demand for it, that it has almost entirely disappeared-

This township is well watered by the Blanchard River and Ottowa Creek. The river passes through the township, and furnishes water the whole year around, and also the best of drainage. It is subject to occasional overflows, but does no material damage.

Ottowa Creek rises in section thirty-six, in Uniou township, runs in a northerly direction, enters Blanchard township in section thirty-six, runs north, thence west, thence in a north-easterly direction, and empties into the Blanchard River in section fourteen. Its distance in the to wu ship is about four miles. It is quite a considerable stream, and there have been quite a number of saw-mills along its course, at different times. It furnishes the means of drainage for almost the entire south part of the township.

Shortly after the settlement made on the north side of the river, l)y the Dukes and others, the Powells, Foglesong, John L. and Richard Carson, Engle, Baldwin, Fishel, Hughes, the Downings, Knepper, and some other families settled in and near the present town of Benton. Solomon Foglesong, and his brother-in-law, Knepper, came there perhaps as early as 1830, and settled on the banks of the "Tawa," as it is generally called. Foglesong, almost the only survivor of the first residents, still lives on the old homestead, but the weight of years is heavy on him, and he may soon be called to follow his early companions. Daniel, William and John Powell still reside in the neighborhood of their first settlement. All have good farms, comfortable homes, and a competency of this world's goods. Jacob, another of the Powell brothers, died a few years ago, from the effects of a cancer, and after years of gi-eat suffering.

acquired a good farm by bis industry and economy, but within a few years bas found a wide reputation as the founder of the Powell Association, and the successful manager of two re-unions of the family, as well as the author of a memorial history of the Powell family, still liyes in the quiet enjoyment of bis farm, in the south part of the township.

Jacob Engle, the kind, generous, large-hearted Dutchman, as he was called, cleared up and occupied a splendid farm adjoining the present site of Benton, where be liyed for yeais amongst bis many friends, until about 1860, when he was called away to meet his reward. Honest, generous to a fault, be was a good neighbor, and a social, genial companion. He left a wife and large family of children, who haye since all emigrated to the West, the widow and most of the children being residents of Iowa.

Owen Hughes was one of those honest, up right, cheerful men, that one would expect to find in a new settlement. He lived to a good old age, and died as be had long liyed, a consistent member of the church, and a christian man. Most of his children are residents of the county. Mr. Hughes was twice married, but both wiyes died before he did.

All of my older readers, perhaps, will call to mind Dick Carson, at the bare mention of bis name. He was one of the champion fighters of the county. Not that be was quarrelsome, or sought to proyoke a fight, but he was one of these powerfully built, muscular men, courageous, sensitive to an insult, and whilst not ill-tempered, especially when sober, he was quick to resent an indignity, or an imputation of his courage or veracity. He was just such a man as every township or county wanted to defend its hon- or, as it was then the fashion, at a general training, or a country horse race. Dick was just the man for that, as many an unlucky braggart found to his utter discomfiture. But the reader must not suppose from this that Mr. Carson was a rough, a bruiser, or bully. On the contrary he was a good neighbor, a firm friend, and a peaceable citizen. His brother, John L., was at one time Surveyor of the county. The two Carsons and their families emigrated to the west many years ago.

The Downings were of the first settlers, and were a hardy, industrious family, and all became quite well off in course of time. George, David and William were carried off in 1849 by the California Gold Fever, but after a few years toil in that El Dorado, they all returned to Blanchard township, applied themselves to agricultural pursuits, and by industry and economy made gi-eat additions to their western earnings.

In after years William moved to Kansas, where he still resides, and has had the honor of representing his county in the State Legislature. He was followed to his new home by his father, old Johnny Downing, as he was familiarly, but respectfully called, and his brother Isaac and family. The old gentleman and Isaac have both died since. George resided in this township until about ten years ago, when he went to Iowa, where he now resides. David still lives in the township, and is not only one of its wealthiest, but one of its most respected citizens. He has a model farm, with one of the finest dwelling houses, not only in the township, but in the county, and commodious and convenient outbuildings. His pecuniary circumstances enable him to devote much time to the breeding and introduction of fine cattle in the county. He has some of the best herds in this part of the State. Pie deals largely in stock cattle, being quite an extensive feeder. He has been a member of the Board of Managers of the Hancock County Agricultural Society for a number of years, and has devoted much time in making the Society one of the best in the State, and his efforts, and those of his associates, have not been unsuccessful. Mr. Downing has, as he deserves, the confidence of the entire commnuity.

His sons and daughters, of which there are several, are all married, and I believe without an exception, all reside in this and adjoining townships.

This locality, on account of the abundance of fish and game, was one of the resorts of the Indians on their hunting expeditions. And indeed hunting and fishing were not -only among the amusements of the whites, but they were works of necessity with them, in order to support themselves. The fish-net and the rifle was a part of the furniture of every well regulated log cabin, and by the skillful use of these, the tables of the pioneer were spread with fish, johnny cake and venison, to which the neighboi and stranger alike were always welcome.

In 1848 a Post Office was established in this township called Oak Ridge, It was first located at the house of William Downing, on the Findley and Defiance State road, north side of the river, and Mr. Downing was the first Post Master. It was an office of no importance, only as it gave to the community in which it was located, mail facilities, and this accommodation has been such as to warrant the continuance of the office to the present time. Mr. Downing has been succeeded by the following persons as Post Masters, viz.: Robert Marshall, Mr. Morris, Mrs. Wm. Downing,

Benton

This town situated on the ridge running east and west through the county, and nine miles west of Findley, was laid out in November, 1835, by William Mires, on the east half of the north-west quarter of section thirty-five, and originally composed but thirty-six lots. In 1855, William Powell made an addition of five lots, and in 1867 he made a further addition of eleven lots, and in ] 868 he made a. third addition of ten lots.

The town was named in honor of the sturdy old Missouri Senator, Thomas H. Benton. The location is a beautiful and healthy one, and is surrounded by a rich and productive agricultural country. The immediate vicinity of the town was settled at a very early day by the Powells - William, Jacob, John and Daniel, - David M. Baldwin, Jacob Engle, Solomon Foglesong, Knepper, Michael Fishel, Owen Hughes and other like enterprising frontiersmen.

The business of the town has never been large, and confined principally to supplying the surrounding country with some of the most necessary articles of trade. Not having as yet any railroad facilities, the town has made but little real advancement.

A Post Office was established here in about 1840, called Benton Ridge, and D. M. Baldwin, William Miller, Philip Ballard, Isaac Sperow, M. Merchant, T. J. Saunders, J. G. Saunders, J. H. Saunders, and H. W. Hughes have held the office of Post Master.

The Methodist denomination have a fine brick church building, a good congregation, and a flourishing Sabbath School. The Evangelical Association have a frame church building, and an interesting Sabbath School in connection with their congregation.

The business of the town is conducted by two dry goods stores, fu'O groceries, one drug store, one saloon, one wagon shop, one blacksmith shop, one plow factory, one cabinet shop, one hotel. There are two physicians located here. A flouring mill and a saw mill are also in operation. The population of the village in 1880 was one hundred and eighty-nine.

Louis Vii Le

This town was laid out in 1851, by William H. Powell, Daniel Millham and Michael Shearer. The two last named have been dead for many years. The town plat was in the north-west corner of the east half of the north-west quarter of section fourteen, and the north-east corner of the west half of the north-east quarter of section fourteen in township one north, range nine east, and covered forty lots, but I think they were not all sold. The principal streets were Defiance (Main), running east and west, and East, Lima and West streets, ruuning north and south.

The town, however, after a sickly existence of a few years, was finally vacated, and remanded to the several original owners. In its palmiest days, it could boabt of a country dry goods store, a school house, and three dwellings. For a year or more John Boylan, an old resident of the township, kept a country store, where the staple articles of the market were on sale in small quantities, but the trade not being profitable, he abandoned the business. Such is the history of the birth, life, and decay of this town of great expectations, and it does not now exist even in name, and scarcely in the memory of the neighborhood. How many hopes were blasted, and how many expectations came to naught in the early decay of this prospective city?

Justices Of The Peace

The Commissioners of the county, at their session of March 7, J 831, after defining the boundaries and extent of Amanda Township. " Ordered that the original survey of township one north, in range twelve east, except sections thirty-four and thirty-five, shall hereafter be known and organized by the name of Big Lick."

At the session of the Commissioners held June 3. 1833, Robert L. Strother and John Rose, Commissioners, being present, the following order was passed: "Ordered that Big Lick Township shall include the whole of the original surveyed township No. one north, in range twelve." Since the passage of that order, the township been has known as an original township of thirty-six sections.

In September, 1821, Henry McWhorter made entry of the west half of the south-east quarter of section thirtyfour. This was the first entry of land in the township. In May, 1825, the east half of the south-east quarter of section twenty-seven was entered by John G. iVlspach, and September 5, of the same year, Eliza Huflf entered the east half of the north-west quarter of section thirty-four. In December, 1828, John Shoemaker made entry of the east half of the south-east quarter of section seventeen. These entries were followed in 1829 by those of John Huff, of the west half of the south-east quarter of section seventeen, of the west half of the north-east quarter of section twenty- 0 ne by John Long. In 1830, Henry Hinebaugh, of Fairfield County, entered the north-east quarter of section one, and in the same year, Uriah Egbert took up the west half of the north-west quarter of section nineteen, and about the same time an entry of the west half of the north-west quarter was made by Philip Essex.

William Hackett, of Stark County, William Roller, of Richland, Elijah Brayton, of Crawford, Mary Graham, of Madison, John Graham, William Wiseley and others made entries of land, and became residents of the township.

This township is on the east line of the county, and is bounded on the north by Washington township, on the east by Seneca County, on the south by Wyandotte County and Amanda township, and on the west by Marion township.

The lirst settler in the township was Samuel Sargent, who made an improvement on the limestone ridge, in the southeastern part of the township, sometime in 1826. The second person who made a permanent settlement was John Long, who located near the centre of the township the following year. In February, 1829, John vShoemaker settled about three-fourths of a mile west from Mr. Long's. Mr. Shoemaker still lives to recount the hardships and incidents of frontier life. Sargent came from Ross county, and Long and Shoemaker from Fairfield County, this State.

The first township election was held in 1831. at the residence of John Long. The electors present were John Shoemaker, Robert Long, Levi Poulson and Cornelius Poulson. AVhilst these men were holdijig an election and organizing the township, the good Mrs. Long prepared them a dinner of the best in her larder.

Amongst the early settlers here, were the Thomas's the Moore's, the Rollers, the Graham's, the Poulsou's, Wiseley and others, some of whom are still living in the township.

The general surface of the land is level, although some parts are undulating. The prevailing soil is clay loam. In the south-eastern part of the township is a sand ridge, and is underlaid with limestone. In that portion of the township is also a marsh or prairie, some fifteen hundred acres in extent, which is entirely a vegetable soil, and largely unreclaimed, except for grazing purposes. It will no doubt all be brought under cultivation in the near future, by the help of drainage. That so much of it has been reclaimed, is largely due to the enterprise and well directed exertious of Judge Cory, of Findley, who owns most of the entire tract.

The timber embraces numerous varieties, among which are white, red and burr oak, blue, black and white ash, beech, elm, hard and soft maple, sycamore, black and whitewalnut, hickory, basswood and buckeye. A ridge of white oak traverses the township, of such excellence, that shipment of logs have been extensively made to foreign countries.

No streams of water traverse the township of sufficient size to furnishj water power. The only stream that maintains a current during the entire year, is the outlet to the marsh or prairie. This sluggish stream takes its size in Seneca County, runs in a westerly direction, and empties into the Blanchard River near Mr. Allen Wiseley's, in Marion Township. There a number of smaller streams, which however, are^ouly water courses in wet weather.

Numerous Sulphur Springs on the farm of Robert Long, near the center of the township, comprise what used to be a famous deer lick, called "Big Lick," from which the town- ship derives its name. Large numbers of deer were killed here by the present owner, and by others, Mr. Long, on one occasion, had secured his seat in a tree convenient to the lick, when a colored man, who had been assisting in -driving some cattle from some point farther w^est, was on his return trip from the east, and night overtaking him, he -concluded to camp near the springs. Mr. Long not knowing who he was, and supposing him to be a rival at watching for deer, concluded to frighten him away. Whereupon he made such an unearthly noise, that the poor fellow took to his heels and never stopped until he brought up in the Blanchard River, near Allen Wiseley's. He had so overheated himself as to cause his death soon afterwards. Mr. Long's efforts to have a little fun, turned out quite seriously.

These early settlers were greatly annoyed by gangs of Indian hunters and trappers, who made the neighborhood their rendezvous. Especially was this the case with Mr- Shoemaker, who, more progressive than his neighbors, had secured a grind-stone. The Indians charged upon that grind-stone with their dull tomahawks and knives, until it w^as literally worn out. They also had a way of trading venison for pork and potatoes with Mrs. John Moore, in whic h she invariable came out second best. Knowing that the w ife w^as afraid of them, they would make their visits in the abssence of the husband, hence she, in order to get rid of them, would send them to the patch to help themselves. It being the first crop, and not a very large one, Mr. Moore soon discovered that the entire crop had disappeared. Vermin were also destructive upon the corn. The settlers could only protect themselves by the use of the rifle, and if one chanced to be poor shot, he employed some one by the day.

The surroundings and discomforts of the early settlers here, and the scarcity of even the commonest necessities of life, may be shown in the pioneer life of Mr. John ^loore, now an old and much respected citizen of the township, and by the way, one of its most prosperous farmers. Mr. Moore at that time owned one hundred and sixty acres of land, and was perhaps as well fixed as any of his neighbors. He was however, compelled to manufacture all his own furniture.

His first child (A. J. Moore, a resident of this township), was rocked in a sugar trough, made by " Big River," a AVyandotte Chief, and which had been used before the arrival of Mr. Moore in the country, as a sap trough by the Indians. Mr. Moore's first bedstead was made by himself, of ironwood poles. The cords were of bass-wood bark, w^ell interlaced together. No straw was to be had with which to fill the ticks, i\Ir. Moore thereupon gathered forest leaves sufficient to make a mattress.

Mr. Moore was elected first Supervisor of roads in the township, and had for a district, the north half of the township, eighteen square miles. He superintended the opening of the New Haven road, from the east township line, westward to near the center of the township.

In those days, stock of every description was allowed to run at large in the forest, as all the inclosed land had to be cultivated in order to produce food for man and beast. The damage done to crops by stock running at large, made trouble amongst the people, and a board of fence viewers became necessary. This board were to determine, when called upon, whether or not the enclosure was a sufficient or legal fence.

Accordingly, William Roller, who Avas noted for his avordupoise, William Moore, who was noted for his diminutiveness, and Richard Bayless, noted for his activity, were chosen as the Board of Fence Viewers. It was then agreed, that any fence which would bear Mr. Roller, and through which Mr. Moore could not creep, nor Mr. Bayless jump over, should be declared a lawful fence.

The first school house in the township was built in 1836 - exclusively by voluntary labor - upon the farm now owned by the heirs of James Graham. It was located in the forest a full half mile from any public highway. There were but two sub-districts in the township, at the time. Sometime subsequent to the above date, there was another school house built, about two miles west of the first - on the lands now owned by the heirs of Moses McAnnelly. A. fair interest is now taken in the cause of education by the citizens of this township. There are now 413 youth in this township of school age, for the accommodation of whom there are ten school houses.

The first church erected in the township was a hewed log structure, thirty-six feet square, and located on the present site of Enon Valley Church, on the Findley and Tiffin road. It was built in 1844 by the citizens in the neighborhood, mainly, however, by the combined efibrts of the Presbyteriahs, Covenanters and Seceders. The first site selected for the building, was upon Robert Leonard's farm, some two miles south-east from the one subsequently built upon. Rev. R. II, Hollyday, still of Findley, superintended the building of the church.

There are now eight churches in this township. Two owned by the Evangelical denomination, two by the United Brethren, two Methodist Episcopal, one Presbyterian and

The township has heen so developed in its resources, as to be one of the richest in the county, In 1880 over 75,000 bushels of wheat was raised; corn, oats and grass are also produced in large quantities.

The Findley and Carey Branch of the Cleveland, Sandusky and Cincinnati Rail Road is the only road of that kind which touches the township, and that runs but a short distance in it.

John Moore

Mr. Moore was amongst the first settlers in this township, and came here with his young wife, when all was new, and when energy, industry and good health were the requisites to success. These qualities were combined in Mr. Moore and his brave wife. His strong arm soon opened up a farm, and his house was the stopping place of the stranger emigrant, and at his table was ever found welcome hospitality.

Mr. Moore endured all the hardships of frontier life, and now in his old age, surrounded by his children and grand children, he, in the midst of plenty, the fruits of his own toil, is enjoying life peacefully and quietly. He is one of the largest land owners, as well as one of the wealthiest men in the township. He has always followed the independent life of a farmer, and I believe his children are all engaged in the same business.

Mr. Moore has always been a friend of public schools. His own opportunities for obtaining an education when young has always made him seriously feel his loss, hence

Was one of the prominent men of the county, as well as of this township, coming here at an early day, and being a man of more than ordinary intelligence, he took the lead in the new settlements. He represented this county in both branches of the Ohio Legislature, and was regarded as an honest, upright man. He too was an agriculturalist, and made for himself and family, a pleasant and valuable home. Mr. McAunelly has been dead a number of years.

John Shoemaker

Came from Fairfield County to this township, in February, 1829, having the year previous entered lands in section seventeen. There were but a very few families in the township at that time, among whom were Samuel Sargeant, on the limestone ridge, and John Long in the immediate neighborhood of Mr. S.'s settlement. Mr. Shoemaker was present and assisted at the organization of the township in 183L

He is still a resident of the township, and is of the very few who came here at that early day. The cultivation of the soil has always been his occupation. Honest, industrious and hospitable he has always commanded the respect of the community. His sterling good sense has always made his advice valuable. He is reaping the fruits of his long years of toil and privation, happy in the consciousness of the unvaried rectitude of his life.

William Roller

One of the Associate Judges of the Common Pleas Court of the county, was also a resident of this township. As a Judge, his good common sense, and honesty of action, gave him his very flattering reputation. Honest in his convictions, sympathetic in his feelings, he could hardly err in his decisions, as he was a man of average intelligence and fair common school education. He never abandoned the occupation of a farmer, but succeeded in amassing a competency, and leaving a considerable inheritance to his children. He was respected by his neighbors, and was always a friend to those in need. Unostentatious in his private lifie, and courteous in public, he could not but have hosts of friends.

Freedom

Uriah E. Drake laid out forty-eight lots on the east half of the south-west quarter of section nineteen, on the 26th day of October, 1836, and called them the town of Freedom. So far as I can learn, the above is a complete history of the place.

West Independence

George Wyant, Peter Wyant and Henry M. Grose were the proprietors of this town. It is located on the east part of the east half of the north-east quarter of section two, and at present has a population of one hundred and thirty-four. The Evangelical Association have a church building, and there is a good, comfortable school house m the village. The business of the place consists of one hotel, one grocery and provision store, one saw mill, two slioe shops, one physician and one blacksmith and v/agon shop.

A post office was esttablished herein 1856, with Frederick Reamer as Post Master. Mr. Reamer was succeeded by J. L. Kenower, Jacob Ruth, John Peters, and Wm. Blinu, the present incumbent.

Table showing the number and value of live stock, and the number of bushels and acreage of grain in this township, as returned by the Township Assessor, in 1881 :

Source changes here: from History of Hancock County, Ohio : Containing a History of the County, Its Townships, Towns ... Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men, Biographies, History of the Northwest Territory, History of Ohio, Statistical and Miscellaneous Matter, Etc, by Brown, Robert C, published 1886; 6,081 words in this source stream.

Blanchard Township

THIS subdivision was named Blanchard at the suggestion of Richard Dukes, one of its pioneers, in honor of the stream which crosses it from east to west. Col. John Johnston, for about half a century an Indian agent, says, in Howe's " Historical Collections," the Shawnees called this stream <S/iapo-qua-te sepe, or " Tailor's River," while by the Wyandots it was called Queghtu-iva, or " claws in the water. " According to Col. Johnston, a Frenchman, named Blanchard, a tailor by trade, married a Shawnee squaw and lived upon the river, before the occupation of the country by the whites, and the real meaning of its Shawnee name is "one who sewed garments. " When the whites took possession of Ohio the sui'veyors named the stream Blanchard' s Fork of the Auglaize, in memory of this Frenchman, and so it has since remained. Thus Blanchard Township has an historic name, one that goes back into the fading traditions of the past.

It was erected March 7, 1831, fi'om territory previously included in Liberty Township, and has always embraced the full Congressional Township 1 north. Range 9, or 23,040 acres. March 4, 1834, Township 2 north. Range 9, was attached to Blanchard for judicial purposes, but March 2, 1835, it was erected into a new township named Pleasant, leaving Blanchard as originally formed. It lies in the western range of townships, with Pleasant Township on the north. Liberty on the east, Union on the south and Putnam County on the west. In 1840 Blanchard had a population of 629; 1850, 1,051; 1860, 1,161; 1870, 1,304, and 1880, 1,286.

This is one of the best watered portions of Hancock County. The Blanchard River enters the township in the northeast corner of Section 13, and winding in a southwest course across the township strikes the Putnam County^line near the northwest corner of the southwest quarter of Section 19. It is here a very crooked stream, and in its marked sinuosity much resembles a huge snake. Though often becoming very low diu-ing dry weather, it sometimes leaps its banks and spreads over the adjacent lands. There is always sufficient water in its bed, even in the driest season, for stock purposes. Several small runs di-ain the north part of Blanchard into the river, while the main branch of Pickens Run heads on Section 3, whence it takes a northwest course into Pleasant. From the south the Blanchard is fed bytwo or three tributaries, Ottawa Creek being the most important. The headwaters of this stream are located in Van Buren Township, and consist of two main forks, which unite on Section 36, Union Township; thence passing in a general northerly direction through Union and the southeastern portion of this township discharges its waters into the Blanchard in the southwest corner of Section 14. These streams and runs have been of great utility to the inhabitants of Blanchard, furnishing good drainage facilities and an abundant water supply. In early days fish were very plentiful in the Blanchard and Ottawa Creek.

When the first settlers built their cabins along the Blanchard a heavy forest covered the land. But the clearing up process, as a matter of stern necessity, went on so ruthlessly that very little of the most valuable woods, such as walnut and poplar, now remain. What was not cut down and burned, or converted into rails and lumber, has nearly all been sold long ago to dealers and manufacturers. But the fertility of the lands has largely repaid their owners for the mistake made in the destruction of the valuable timber which grew thereon, as those gigantic trees were evidences of the strength of the virgin soil. Along each side of the Blanchard we find a deep sandy vegetable loam that cannot be excelled in the production of corn. South of the river, except on Ottawa Creek, where the lands are somewhat diversified, the country is generally very level and requires considerable ditching, but the soil is also a vegetable loam with here and there a mixture of clay and sand, which properly drained is very rich and productive. Upon reaching the rolling uplands north of the Blanchard a strong clay soil predominates, though mixed in places with sandy deposits, the soil on the flatter lands being locally termed a muck. A sand ridge crosses the southeast corner of the township, along which the lands are highly prized. Benton lies upon this ridge. West of Benton to the county line the country is exceedingly level, and much of it was originally very wet. Prudent ditching and tiling, however, soon render these lands among the most valuable in the county.

There is perhaps no enterprise in the township that has done so much toward its prosi^erity as the tile factoiy established some twelve or fifteen years ago by Lewis Dukes, Sr. , on his farm in Section 10. He subsequently sold the ground and buildings, and this factory has ever since supplied the whole sm-rounding country with draining tile. The greater portion of the flat lands has been brought under a high state of cultivation by a plentiful use of the tile made in this factory, and thus the wealth of the township has been annually increased and multiplied. No portion of Hancock County can compare in improvements with the Dukes, Davis and Moffitt settlement, and we very much doubt that it is excelled by any country neighborhood in Ohio. The productiveness of the lands here is largely due to the judicious use of tiles, and this factory has therefore been of inestimable value to the farmers of Blanchard Township.

Pioneers. - The first settlers of Blanchard came principally from the older counties of Ohio, though most of the heads of families were natives of other States or countries. In the spring of 1823 John Hunter and Benjamin Chandler came from Fairfield County, Ohio, and built their cabins in the southwest quarter of Section 15. Hunter's stood on the south bank of the Blancliard, and Chandler's immediately north of the former and on the same side of the river. They were brothers-in-law and about 60 acres of land were here entered by Hunter in September, 1825. At the first election held in Findlay Township, July 1, 1823, Chandler was one of the judges of election: and at the second election, April 5, 1824, Hunter was elected one of the two fence viewers of Findlay Township. On the first tax levy, taken bv Wilson Vance in 1824, Hunter is assessed with one horse and eight head of cattle. In April, 1831, they sold out to George Shaw and Selden Blodget, and removed to Michigan. They were the first settlers to locate in this township, but left the county at such an early day that few remember them only by tradition, though their names are frequently met with m the early records. - a .- ia

George Shaw was the next settler of Blanchard, locating in Section lb, south of the river, in the spring of 1827. The following autumn he returned to Stark County, Ohio, and brought out his wife, Dorcas, and eight children He could not then enter or buy the site of his settlement, as that section was school land, but he lived there till April, 1831, whe_n te purchased John Hunter's improvement of about 42 acres m Section lo. When the school lands were sold, in 1837, he bought 200 acres on Section 1^, and thus became the owner of his first settlement. Two of his children died, one in 1828 and the other in 1829, which were the first deaths m the township. Mr. Shaw voted at the first county election in April, 1828. In 1839 he was elected commissioner, and re-elected to the same office. He died February 1, 1861, in his seventy-eighth year, his widow surviving him till Au<^ust 16, 1875, and dying at McComb, in the eighty-fourth year of her age* Mrs. William Shafer, of this township, is the only one of their four surviving childi-en residing in the county. , ^o^^ -rr

Lewis Dukes, Sr.,came to the township in the fall of 1827. He was born in Franklin County, Ohio, in 1811, and his parents, John and Mary Dukes were natives of Virginia. His father died when Lewis was quite small, and the widow married William Powell, who, with his wife and two children, Asa and William H. , and also Dillard R. Dukes, accompanied Lewis from Franklin County, Ohio, to the Blanchard. Mr. Powell returned on business to Franklin County the same fall, and there died. In the spring of 1828 the widow and her two younger children went back to Frankhn County, and remained there several years before again coming to Hancock; but Lewis Dukes has been a resident of the county since first settling here, more than fifty-eight years ago, and is to-day the oldest settler m the township In a few years he had saved enough from his daily labor to enter his first piece of land, and from time to time added thereto until he became one of the largest land owners in the township. In 1838 he married Miss Laura W. Bean, who died in 1874. His second wife was Mrs. Harriet Alward dauc^hter of James Caton, a pioneer of Liberty Township, who now watches over his household. Early in life he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is still a consistent adherent of that faith. In his younger days he was noted for his vigorous, forcible character, economical habits and untiring industry, which enabled him to amass a respectable fortune from agricultural pursuits. Quiet and unassuming in his every-day life, he is passing his declining years on a finely improved farm, surrounded by the many comforts that wealth enables its possessors to enjoy.

Both were natives of Virginia, and elder brothers of Lewis, Sr. Eichard was married in Franklin County, Ohio, to Mary Blue, who had borne him one son, Lewis, ere the family settled north of the Blanchard in Section 15, where thirteen childi-en were afterward born, nine of whom grew to maturity. Mrs. Dukes died on the old homestead. Mr. Dukes was subsequently married twice, but no children were born to these two unions. He died in Findlay in 1876, whither he removed from the old farm, April 1, 1873. Lewis, Jr., and Eli, of Blanchard Township, and W. E., of McComb, are the only members of his family living in this county. Lewis, Jr. , is regarded as the most successful farmer that Hancock County has ever possessed. He was an infant when his parents came to the Blanchard, and, excepting his uncle Lewis, is the oldest resident of the township. John Dukes was a single man when he came here, but the same fall he was married to Hannah Howchings, by Eev. Thomas Thompson, this being the first marriage in the settlement. She died April 15, 1829, which was the first death of a grown person in this part of the county. He was afterward thrice married, his second wife, Jane, dying in 1841, and his third wife, Mary, in 1862. After clearing up a farm in Section 15, north of the river, and spending the greater part of his life in this township, he sold his property, and in his old age removed, with his fourth wife, to Wood County, where he passed the few remaining years of his earthly existence, leaving no descendants to perpetuate his name and memory.

Thomas and Adaline Groves also settled north of the Blanchard in the fall of 1828. Mr. Groves was a native of Eockingham County, Va., whence he removed to Pickaway County, Ohio, where he married Adaline Choate, a native of Vermont, who was the mother of two children when her husband came from Pickaway County and took up his abode on Section 14, Blanchard Township. Ten children were born after coming, making a family of six sons and six daughters, eight of whom siu'vive, three sons living in Hancock County. Mrs. Groves died upon the old homestead December 21, 1875, in her seventy-fifth year, and here too her venerable husband passed away July 31, 1881, in the eighty-fourth year of his age.

In the fall of 1828 Jeremiah Colclo, with his mother and son, William M. , came from the central part of the State and settled north of the Blanchard, on Section 17. After building a cabin and commencing an improvement, Mr. Colclo went back for his wife and balance of his family, whom he brought out in the spring of 1829. He entered a large tract of land, and was a very hard-working, industrious man. The parents died on the home farm; William M. went to Indiana, and the other children also died or removed from the county. The family are kindly remembered in the neighborhood where they settled and lived.

In the spring of 1829 George Epley and Joseph Bowen, brothers-inlaw, came from Eoss County, Ohio, and located on land in Section 18, entered by Henry Epley in 1827. They were sent out by the latter to make an improvement on his land, and prepare for his coming. Both resided here for many years, Epley dying in the township, but we were unable to learn whether Bowen died here or removed fi'om the county.

The year 1830 brought into the township Thomas Moffitt, Mordecai, Enoch and Eli Haddox, Henry Epley and William Downing, all of whom settled permanently at that time. Thomas Moffitt and family came from Eoss County, Ohio, in the spring of the year, and located in Section 17, north of the Blanchard. In 1831 he was elected justice of the peace, being the first citizen of Blanchard Township who filled that office. He was again elected in 1841, and re-elected in 1814 After residing here till about 1850 he sold out to his brothers, William and John, and went to Iowa. The Haddox brothers were natives of Virginia, and first settled in Franklin County, Ohio, whence they removed to Section 17, this township. Their mother, Hannah, came with them and died in 1835. Mordecai and Margaret Haddox reared a family of five children. Mrs. Haddox was a native of Germany, and died in 1855, Mr. Haddox surviving her till 1879. John, their eldest son, resides in Section 18, on a part of the old farm. Enoch and his wife, Anna M., also died here, the latter in 1856 and the former in 1863. Eli was a single man, and after his marriage moved into Putnam County. Henry Epley was from Ross County, Ohio, and in 1827 entered the east half of the southeast quarter of Section 18, upon which his brother, George, settled in 1829, and he in 1830. Henry resided on the Blanchard till his death in 1846, his widow, Elizabeth, surviving him thirty years and dying in 1876. William Downing was born in Maryland in 1797, his parents removing to Pike County, Ohio, where he grew to manhood. He there enlisted and served in the war of 1812, being then but a boy of sixteen. In 1830, with his wife, Elizabeth, he came to this township, and built his cabin in the southwest quarter of Section 12, where his wife died in 1851. He was again married, and in 1863 was laid beside his first wife in the Dukes Cemetery. The old homestead is still occupied by his widow.

Selden Blodget came from the Tymochtee as early as 1827, and voted at the first county election in April, 1828. In April, 1831, he bought of John Hunter about twenty acres of land in Section 15, Blanchard Township, upon which he located with his family of two sons and one daughter. In July, 1832, he gave a power of attorney to Squire Carlin and Charles McKinnis to dispose of his land, and removed to Michigan. His first wife died on the Tymochtee, and he married Mrs. Lydia Davis, of Franklin County, but they separated ere his removal to Hancock. After he went to Michigan, his wife, with the children of her first marriage, settled on the Blanchard, where she resided till her death in 1877.

Solomon Foglesong, William and John Mires, and Richard and John L. Carson all settled in the southeast corner of the township in 1831. Mr. Foglesong entered the southwest quarter of Section 36, April 23, 1831, and with his wife, Catherine, at once settled upon it, erecting his cabin on the east bank of Ottawa Creek. Here he resided for more than half a century. His wife died February 20, 1872, and he survived her till January 9, 1883, leaving no descendants to perpetuate his name. William and John Mires located on the east half of the northwest quarter of Section 35 in the summer of 1831. In November, 1835, William laid out the village of Benton, and in June, 1836, they sold their land to David M. Baldwin, afterward purchasing land southwest of Benton in Union Township, but after some years they again disposed of their property, and went West. The Carsons came from Franklin County, Ohio, in the fall of 1831, and also located on Section 35. In 1834 John L. was elected county commissioner and justice of the peace in 1836. Dick Carson was known as the champion fighter of the township. He was a large muscular man, and, though for the times rather peaceably inclined, was ever ready to resent an insult or accept a challenge to a ' 'rough-and-tumble" encounter. An old settler in speaking of him to the writer said, "Dick, when a little full, would fight at the drop of a hat, and never found his match in this county." Fighting was not then frowned upon as it is to-day, in fact such pleasures ( ?) were rather encouraged, and thus became a part of the festivities at nearly every public gathering. Many years ago the Carsons removed with their families to the West.

John Downing came here in the spring of 1832, from Pike County, Ohio, cleared a small patch on Section 13, south of the river, and put in a crop. The following autumn he brought out his family, consisting of his wife and eight children; the sons being David, George, William, Isaac and John. One son, Timothy, was born on the Blanchard after settlement. In 1849 George and William went to California, and in 1850 David followed them, but after a few years spent in the gold regions, all returned to this ' county. About twenty-five years ago William removed to Kansas, whither he was soon afterward followed by his father and brothers, Isaac and Timothy. George subsequently went to Iowa, and David, now a resident of Findlay, is the only one of John Downing' s children living in Hancock County.

David Millham and Nimrod Smith both located on Section 14, in 1832. The former was an Englishman, who in the spring of 1832 came from one of the older settled counties of Ohio, made a small clearing, put in a crop and built a cabin north of the Blanchard. The following autumn he brought his family. His house soon became known as the most filthy in the whole settlement, and none of the neighbors cared to visit the Millhams. In 1851 he assisted in laying out Lewisville, and subsequently moved with his family to Indiana. Nimrod and Polly Smith settled south of the river, but in 1835 sold his land to John Spreaker, and moved to a farm near the home of Thomas Moffitt, where he accidentally shot himself some years after.

John C. Wickham and family came from Ross County, Ohio, to Findlay, in 1827, and he taught the second school in that town. He was clerk of the first county election held in April, 1828 (at which he and his son Minor T. voted), and also the second postmaster of Findlay. In October, 1828, he was elected sheriff of Hancock County and served one term. In 1832 his son William removed h'Qm Findlay to Section 13, Blanchard Township, and in 1833 the parents and son. Minor T., also settled on the same section. Mr. Wickham taught the second school in the township and, in 1835, was elected as its second justice of the peace. He died soon afterward while on a business trip to Wayne County, Ohio, but some of his decendants yet reside in the county.

In October, 1829, Philip Powell, a native of Pennsylvania, and a previous settler of Fairfield County, Ohio, came to Hancock County, and entered two quarters of land on Ottawa Creek, lying in Section 35, Blanchard Township, and Section 2, Union. The following year, with his sons, William and Jacob, he again visited this county and began an improvement on his land, immediately east of the site of Benton. For the succeeding three years the Powells continued to visit and clear up their lands preparatory to settling permanently thereon, and in 1830-31-32 and 33 the father entered 560 acres more in this township in Sections 25, 26, and 35. In 1834 William, with his young wife, took up his residence in Section 35, where he has ever since resided. Jacob afterward married, and settled in Section 25, where he died April 20, 1870. John and Daniel did not settle here for several years after William and Jacob, and both still reside upon their farms southeast of Benton, Daniel's home being across the line in Union Township. All of the sons were born and reared in Fairfield County, Ohio, and the parents resided there till death.

Michael Fishel, John Knepper and Owen Hughes all settled near the site of Benton in 1883-34 and 35. The Fishel family located in Liberty Township in March, 1828, whence Michael removed in 1833, to the southeast quarter of Section 34, Blanchard Township. In 1876 he took up his residence in McComb, where he is now living. John Knepper was a brotherin-law of Solomon Foglesong, and, August 16, 1831, entered the east half of the northwest quarter and the west half of the northeast quarter of Section 36, upon which he settled three years after. He spent the balance of his life on this farm. Two sons and one daughter of Mr. Knepper are residents of Blanchard. Owen Hughes and wife, Elizabeth, and family, came here from Fairfield County, Ohio, and located on the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 35, which he entered in 1831 and settled upon in 1834 or 1835. Mr. Hughes was twice married and reared quite a large family, most of whom are residents of Hancock. His first wife died in 1856, and his second, whose name was also Elizabeth, in 1868. Mr. Hughes died upon his farm, where he had lived nearly half a century, January 1 1, 1879, in his eighty-fourth year.

In 1834 Mrs. Lydia Davis nee Dukes (sister of Lewis Dukes, Sr.), with her sons John, Alfred, James and Newton, settled on the Blanchard. Her first husband's name was Ishmael Davis, who died in Franklin County, Ohio, and the widow afterward married Selden Blodget, but they soon parted, and Blodget came to this county in 1827, where he resided till 1832, leaving before the coming of the Davis family. Alfred has been the most prosperous of any of the sons, and is to-day one of the largest land owners and wealthiest farmers in Hancock County. Newton is also a resident of the township, and the mother died here January 16, 1877, in the eightyeighth year of her age.

Samuel Edwards settled north of the river in the Moffitt neighborhood, in January, 1834. He was a native of Pennsylvania, but was married in Pickaway County, Ohio, whence he removed to Hancock County. Edwards was known far and wide as the most expert hunter in northwestern Ohio, and in 1850 sold out and moved to Henry County, where game was more plentiful. In 1880 he published in book form the history of his life. He claimed that Robert Bonner of the New York Ledger offered him .$1,000 for his sketch, but Edwards regarded the amount as too small, believing he had a fortune within his grasp. Like many other authors poor Sam's high hopes were destined to be blasted. His little book "fell flat" upon the reading public, had a very limited sale, and his expected "mountain of gold" dwindled away to nothingness. Edwards sold a few copies of his book to his old neighbors on the Blanchard, who took it "for the sake of auld lang syne."

Two other settlers of 1834 were Seymour Hastings and John Mathews. The former located in Section 14, south of the Blanchard; in June, 1836, he sold his farm to William Smeltzer, and moved to Section 19, where he resided till death. Mathews came from Pike County, Ohio, and settled north of the river. It is said that he never owned any land here, and died in the township.

brothers, with their mother, Sarah, located south of the Blanchard on a part of their brother Thomas' land, who had preceded them several years. Charles married a sister of Alfred Davis and died in Union Township. William and John also married here, bought out Thomas and became quite wealthy. The former died Jtme 30, 1884, but John is still one of the active farmers of Blanchard. Three of William's sons reside in the township. Joel Pendleton settled in Section 23, but after living here nearly four years sold out and moved into Findlay Township, were he is yet living. Mr. Pendleton was surveyor of Hancock County for nearly thirty-five years, and is a very intelligent man. John Spreaker was a Pennsylvanian, who bought the farm of Nimrod Smith in Section 14, south of the river. After living here about twenty years he went to Illinois. Thomas Downing was a brother of William, who came in 1830. He, too, removed to Illinois.

A large number of settlers came to the township in 1835-36 among whom were Alpheus Edwards, Joseph Horner, David Braucht, David M. Baldwin, William Smeltzer, Phineas Mapes, Stephen Smith and James McClish. Mr. Edwards was born in Connecticut in 1808, immigrated to Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1819, there married Leah Shriner, and in March, 1835, with his wife and four children, settled on the east half of the northwest quarter of Section 32, where he has ever since resided. He reared nine children, eight of whom are living. His wife died in 1879, and per haps before this meets the reader's eye he, too, shall have passed away, as he is now quite old and feeble. Joseph Horner and family came the same time as Mr. Edwards and settled in Section 31, where he lived until his removal to Indiana a few years ago. David Braucht and family were from Stark County, Ohio. He entered a large tract of land south of the Blanchard, May 17, 1834, and, doubtless, settled in Section 13, the following year. Both he and his wife died on the old homestead, and Mrs. L. C. Groves is the only one of their children now living in the county. David M. Baldwin, of Fairfield County, Ohio, purchased the farm of John and William Mires, in Section 35, June 13, 1836, and; with his wife, Sarah, and family, at once took possession. Mr. Baldwin afterward opened a tavern, which he carried on for many years. He died on his farm near Benton, February 20, 1875, and his widow still occupies the old home, while five sons and three daughters reside in the neighborhood. William Smeltzer was a Pennsylvanian, who had lived in the county previous to his purchase, in June, 1836, of Seymour Hastings' farm^ in Section 14, where he resided until his death. Phineas Mapes located in Section 19, and here both he and his wife died. Stephen Smith settled in the southeast quarter of section 28, whence he moved into Union Township, and there spent the balance of his life.

James McClish, a native of Maryland, married Patience Bishop, of New Jersey. She bore him eleven children, ten of whom grew to maturity. He settled on the farm now owned by his son N. B. , where he died a few days after reaching his destination. While the headstone over his grave says he died October 6, 1835, the family now claim that his death occurred in 1836, and that the date on the stone is incorrect. Seven children came with the parents to this township, but N. B. is the only one now living here, the mother having died January 21, 1867, in her eighty-first year.

Of other settlers, Peter Foltz and Jacob Engle are kindly remembered. Mr. Foltz and his wife, Elizabeth, came fi'om Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1836, and settled on Ottawa Creek in Section 25, where both died, Mrs. Foltz died August 9, 1850, and he was again married, and reared a large family by his second wife. On the 11th of March, 1874, he, too, passed away and was laid beside his first wife in a little private cemetery southeast of Ben^ ton, on the west bank of Ottawa Creek. Several of his children are residents of the county. Jacob Engle was a German, who came here from Somerset County, Penn., about 1837, and settled near the site of Benton, where he died in 1859, his family afterward removing to Iowa. Others might be mentioned who came into Blanchard Township about this period, among whom were John M. Kadebaugh, Charles Frost and Samuel Rudesill; but the names of the real j)ioneers have been given, the only object in view.

Justices. - Upon the organization of the township in 1831, Thomas Moffitt was elected justice of the peace, and his successors have been John C. Wickham, John L. Carson, John M. Radebaugh, Charles Frost, Henry Cook, Eli Dunning, John Boylan, William H. Conine, Mathew E. Hopkins, Philip Ballard, W. H. Kilpatrick, George Downing, Robert Marshall, John Wortman, Ephraim Mathias, Hiram W. Hughes, Joseph Thompson, W. P. Dukes, Amos Wittemeyer, John Bergman, John C. Wickham, John Wortman, Samuel G. Robinson and Amos Wittemeyer.

Churches. - The Methodist Episcopals organized the first society in the township, at the house of John Dukes, as early as 1831. Rev. Thomas Thompson was the minister present, and Richard Dukes and wife, John Dukes and wife, Thomas Mofiitt and wife, and Mrs. William Downing, were about all that took an active interest in the organization. Several other Methodist families came to the township soon afterward, some of whom joined the class. Among these were William Wickham and wife, Mrs. William Powell, Mrs. David Millham, IVlrs. John Mathews and Mrs. James McClish. Services were first held at the houses of John Dukes, Richard Dukes and Thomas Mofiitt. About 1836 or 1837 a hewed-log building was erected on the farm of Richard Dukes, which is yet standing. With the growth of the society, this structure became too small and primitive, and a frame building was put up farther west. This served the congregation until the erection of the present brick church in 1880. In 1871 the Methodists built another chiirch at Benton, and it, too, is a brick building. The United Brethren and Evangelical denominations held meetings and organized societies quite early in this part of the county. The former has three churches in Blanchard; one in Section 36, which was the first church built in the vicinity of Benton; one in Section 32, and one in Section 18, north of the river. This denomination has perhaps the most numerous following in the township. The Evangelical Association erected its present church in 1858-59, one-half mile west of Benton, in Section 34, but in 1868 it was moved into the village and is still used by the society.

Education. - In 1832 a school was taught in one end of John Dukes' cabin by Amanda Kilpatrick. The Dukeses, Shaws, Groves and Millhams were the pupils. The next year a small log schoolhouse was built on the farm of Thomas Groves in Section 14, which was opened and taught by John C. Wickham in the winter of 1833-34. It was attended by the Shaws, Dukeses, Groves, Downings, Millhams, Wickhams, Hastings and others who then lived in the township. Frederick Ballard was the next teacher, and then came Joel Pendleton and Mr. Choate. Another early school was taught in a cabin on the farm of Enoch Haddox, and attended by the Haddoxes, Epleys and others of that vicinity. As the country settled up the little log schoolhoiise made its appearance in other sections of the township until all were siipplied. Blanchard can now boast of ten schoolhouses, wherein school is held during the full legal year.

Villages. - Benton was laid out November 5, 1835, on the east half of the northwest quarter of Section 35, by William Mires, and named in honor of Hon. Thomas Benton, the great Democratic statesman of Missouri. It originally contained thirty-six lots, but several additions have since been laid out. Benton lies about nine miles southwest of Findlay, on the same ridge which here crosses the county, and has always been a small country town with a limited local business. In 1840 a postoffice, named Benton Ridge, was established here, with David M. Baldwin as postmaster. His successors have been William Miller, Philip Ballard, Isaac Sperow, Michael Merchant, David M. Baldwin, T. J. Saunders, J. G. Saunders, J. H. Saunders, J. G. Saunders, H. W. Hughes, John C. Wickham, T. J. Saunders and R. N. Cherry. In March, 1875, the village was incorporated for special purposes, and has since had two mayors: R. S. Palmer and Amos Wittemeyer. Its present business interests consist of one diy goods and grocery store, a dry goods, grocery and hardware store, a grocery store, a druggist, a steam gristmill, a steam saw-mill, two general blacksmith shops, one of which manufactures plows, a cabinet-maker and iindertaker, a shoe shop, a saloon, a good hotel and one physician. Benton Lodge, No. 418, F. & A. M. , was instituted October 21, 1868, with twenty-one charter members. This lodge has recently been removed to Rawson. The Methodist Ej)iscopals and Evangelical Association have each a chui'ch in the village, and there is also a schoolhouse located here. In 1880 the town had a population of 179, and now claims over 200, which indicates a slight growth.

Lewisville was laid out by William H. Powell, David Millham and Michael Shearer, in April, 1851, on the north pai-t of the northeast quarter of Section 14, and the southeast quarter of Section 11. A general country store was opened, a schoolhouse built, and three or four residences erected, but that is as far as its growth ever reached. The store was carried on by John Boylan for a few years, and then abandoned, and the village site was gradually returned to the uses of agricultui'e.

Oak Ridge Postoffice was established in 1848 at the house of William Downing, with Mr. Downing as postmaster. The office has always been in the same neighborhood, and Mr. Downing' s successors have been as follows: Robert Marshall, Daniel Morris, Mrs. William Downing, Rezin Cook, David Downing, Eli Dukes, L. C. Groves and Thomas McKinnis. Oak Ridge, though of little importance, has nevertheless been a great accommodation to the people in this section of the county, and is therefore regarded with much favor.

Cemeteries. - The Dukes Cemetery north of the Blanchard is the oldest in the township, as two of George Shaw' s childi-en were interred there in 1828 and 1829, and also the wife of John Dukes in the latter year. George Shaw, Richard Dukes, Mordecai and Enoch Haddox, Henry Epley, William Downing, William Moffitt and James McClish, with their wives, also Mrs. Lydia Davis and many other pioneers are buried in this graveyard. It is located on a sand hill in Sections 15 and 16, lying partly in both, is decorated with evergreens, and contains quite a number of nice monuments. The Benton Ridge Cemetery is also a neat little ground, and was opened at an early day. It lies immediately west of that village on the Sand Ridge, and is naturally well adapted for a cemetery. Here Thomas Groves, Jacob Powell, Owen Hughes, David M. Baldwin, Jacob Engle and others of the pioneer fathers were laid to rest. The Braucht Cemetery, in Section 13, is quite an early public bui'ial place, not at present much used.

Source changes here: from History of Hancock County Ohio, by Various, published 1886; 6,032 words in this source stream.

Blanchard Township

Dukes, one of its pioneers, in honor of the stream which crosses it from east to west. Col. John Johnston, for about half a century an Indian agent, says, in Howe's " Historical Collections," the Shawnees called this stream Shapo-qua-te-sepe, or " Tailor's River," while by the Wyandots it was called Queghtu-wa, or " claws in the water." According to Col. Johnston, a Frenchman, named Blanchard, a tailor by trade, married a Shawnee squaw and lived upon the river, before the occupation of the country by the whites, and the real meaning of its Shawnee name is "one who sewed garments." When the whites took possession of Ohio the surveyors named the stream Blanchard's Fork of the Auglaize, in memory of this Frenchman, and so it has since remained. Thus Blanchard Township has an historic name, one that goes back into the fading traditions of the past.

It was erected March 7, 1831, from territory previously included in Liberty Township, and has always embraced the full Congressional Township 1 north, Range 9, or 23,040 acres. March 4, 1834, Township 2 north, Range 9, was attached to Blanchard for judicial purposes, but March 2, 1835, it was erected into a new township named Pleasant, leaving Blanchard as originally formed. It lies in the western range of townships, with Pleasant Township on the north, Liberty on the east, Union on the south and Putnam County on the west. In 1840 Blanchard had a population of 629; 1850, 1,051; 1860, 1,161; 1870, 1,304, and 1880, 1,286.

This is one of the best watered portions of Hancock County. The Blanchard River enters the township in the northeast corner of Section 13, and winding in a southwest course across the township strikes the Putnam County line near the northwest corner of the southwest quarter of Section 19. It is here a very crooked stream, and in its marked sinuosity much resembles a huge snake. Though oftun becoming very low during dry weather, it sometimes leaps its banks and spreads over the adjacent lands. There is always sufficient water in its bed, even in the driest season, for stock purposes. Several small runs drain the north part of Blanchard into the river, while the main branch of Pickens Run heads on Section 3, whence it takes a northwest course into Pleasant. From the south the Blanchard is fed by two or three tributaries, Ottawa Creek being the most important. The headwaters of this stream are located in Van Buren Township, and consist of two main forks, which unite on Section 36, Union Township; thence passing in a general northerly direction through Union and the southeastern portion of this township discharges its waters into the Blanchard in the southwest corner of Section 14. These streams and runs have been of great. utility to the inhabitants of Blanchard, furnishing good drainage facilities and an abundant water supply. In early days fish were very plentiful in the Blanchard and Ottawa Creek.

When the first settlers built their cabins along the Blanchard a heavy forest covered the land. But the clearing up process, as a matter of stern necessity, went on so ruthlessly that very little of the most valuable woods, such as walnut and poplar, now remain. What was not cut down and burned, or converted into rails and lumber, has nearly all been sold long ago to dealers and manufacturers. But the fertility of the lands has largely repaid their owners for the mistake made in the destruction of the valuable timber which grew thereon, as those gigantic trees were evidences of the strength of the virgin soil. Along each side of the Blanchard we find a deep sandy vegetable loam that cannot be excelled in the production of corn. South of the river, except on Ottawa Creek, where the lands are somewhat diversified, the country is generally very level and requires considerable ditching, but the soil is also a vegetable loam with here and there a mixture of clay and sand, which properly drained is very rich and productive. Upon reaching the rolling uplands north of the Blanchard a strong clay soil predominates, though mixed in places with sandy deposits, the soil on the flatter lands being locally termed a muck. A sand ridge crosses the southeast corner of the township, along which the lands are highly prized. Benton lies upon this ridge. West of Benton to the county line the country is exceedingly level, and much of it was originally very wet. Prudent ditching and tiling, however, soon render these lands among the most valuable in the county.

There is perhaps no enterprise in the township that has done so much toward its prosperity as the tile factory established some twelve or fifteen years ago by Lewis Dukes, Sr., on his farm in Section 10. He subsequently sold the ground and buildings, and this factory has ever since supplied the whole surrounding country with draining tile. The greater portion of the flat lands has been brought under a high state of cultivation by a plentiful use of the tile made in this factory,and thus the wealth of the township has been annually increased and multiplied. No portion of Hancock County can compare in improvements with the Dukes, Davis and Moffitt settlement, and we very much doubt that it is excelled by any country neighborhood in Ohio. The productiveness of the lands here is largely due to the judicious use of tiles, and this factory has therefore been of inestimable value to the farmers of Blanchard Township.

Pioneers. - The first settlers of Blanchard came principally from the older counties of Ohio, though most of the heads of families were natives of other States or countries. In the spring of 1823 John Hunter and Benjamin Chandler came from Fairfield County, Ohio, and built their cabins in the southwest quarter of Section 15. Hunter's stood on the south bank of the Blanchard, and Chandler's immediately north of the former aud on the same side of the river. They were brothers-in-law, and about 60 acres of land were here entered by Hunter in September, 1825. At the first election held in Findlay Township, July 1, 1823, Chandler was one of the judges of election; and at the second election, April 5, 1824, Hunter was elected one of the two fence viewers of Findlay Township. On the tirst tax levy, taken by Wilson Vance in 1824, Hunter is assessed with one horse and eight head of cattle. In April, 1831, they sold out to George Shaw and Selden Blodget, and removed to Michigan. They were the first settlers to locate in this township, but left the county at such an early day that few remember them only by tradition, though their names are frequently met with in the early records.

George Shaw was the next settler of Blanchard, locating in Section 16, south of the river, in the spring of 1827. The following autumn he returned to Stark County, Ohio, and brought out his wife, Dorcas, and eight. children. He could not then enter or buy the site of his settlement, as that section was school land, but he lived there till April, 1831, when he purchased John Hunter's improvement of about 42 acres in Section 15. When the school lands were sold, in 1837, he bought 200 acres on Section 16, and thus became the owner of his first settlement. Two of his children died, one in 1828 and the other in 1829, which were the first deaths in the township. Mr. Shaw voted at the first county election in April, 1828. In 1839 he was elected commissioner, and re-elected to the same office. He died February 1, 1861, in his seventy-eighth year, his widow surviving him till August 16, 1875, and dying at McComb, in the eighty-fourth year of her age. Mrs. William Shafer, of this township, is the only one of their four surviving children residing in the county.

Lewis Dukes, Sr.,came to the township in the fall of 1827. He was born in Franklin County, Ohio, in 1811, and his parents, John and Mary Dukes, were natives of Virginia. His father died when Lewis was quite small, and the widow married William Powell, who, with his wife and two children, Asa and William H., and also Dillard R. Dukes, accompanied Lewis from Franklin County, Ohio, to the Blanchard. Mr. Powell returned on business to Franklin County the same fall, and there died. In the spring of 1828 the widow and her two younger children went back to Franklin County, and remained there several years before again coming to Hancock; but Lewis Dukes has been a resident of the county since first settling here, more than fifty-eight years ago, and is to-day the oldest settler in the township. In a few years he had saved enough from his daily labor to enter his first piece of land, and from time to time added thereto until he became one of the largest land owners in the township. In 1838 he married Miss Laura W. Bean, who died in 1874. His second wife was Mrs. Harriet AJward, daughter of James Caton, a pioneer of Liberty Township, who now watches over his household. Early in life he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is still a consistent adherent of that faith. In his younger days he was noted for his vigorous, forcible character, economical habits and untiring industry, which enabled him to amass a respectable fortune from agricultural pursuits. Quiet and unassuming in his every-day life, he is passing his declining years on a finely improved farm, surrounded by the many comforts that wealth enables its possessors to enjoy.

Both were natives of Virginia, and elder brothers of Lewis, Sr. Richard was married in Franklin County, Ohiv, to Mary Blue, who had borne him one son, Lewis, ere the family settled north of the Blanchard in Section 15, where thirteen children were afterward born, nine of whom grew to maturity. Mrs. Dukes died on the old homestead. Mr. Dukes was subsequently married twice, but no children were born to these two unions. He died in Findlay in 1876, whither he removed from the old farm, April 1, 1878. Lewis, Jr., and Eli, of Blanchard Township, and W. R., of McComb, are the only members of his family living in this county. Lewis, Jr., is regarded as the most successful farmer that Hancock County has ever possessed. He was an infant when his parents came to the Blanchard, and, excepting his uncle Lewis, is the oldest resident of the township. John Dukes was a single man when he came: here, but the same fall he was married to Hannah Howchings, by Rev. Thomas Thompson, this being the first marriage in the settlement. She died April 15, 1829, which was the first death of a grown person in this part of the county. He was afterward thrice married, his second wife, Jane, dying in 1841, and his third wife, Mary, in 1862. After clearing up a farm in Section 15, north of the river, and spending the greater part of his life in this township, he sold his property, and in his old age removed, with his fourth wife, to Wood County, where he passed the few remaining years of his earthly existence, leaving no descendants to perpetuate his name and memory.

Thomas and Adaline Groves also settled north of the Blanchard in the fall of 1828. Mr. Groves was a native of Rockingham County, Va., whence he removed to Pickaway County, Ohio, where he married Adaline Choate, a native of Vermont, who was the mother of two children when her husband came from Pickaway County and took up his abode on Section 14, Blanchard Township. Ten children were born after coming, making a family of six sons and six daughters, eight of whom survive, three sons living in Hancock County. Mrs. Groves died upon the old homestead December 21, 1875, in her seventy-fifth year, and here too her venerable husband passed away July 31, 1881, in the eighty-fourth year of his age.

In the fall of 1828 Jeremiah Colclo, with his mother and son, William M., came from the central part of the State and settled north of the Blanchard, on Section 17. After building a cabin and. commencing an improvement, Mr. Colclo went back for his wife and balance of his family, whom he brought out in the spring of 1829. He entered a large tract of land, and was a very hard-working, industrious man. The parents died on the home farm; William M. went to Indiana, and the other children also died or removed from the county. The family are kindly remembered in the neighborhood where they settled and lived.

In the spring of 1829 George Epley and Joseph Bowen, brothers-inlaw, came from Ross County, Ohio, and located on land in Section 18, entered by Henry Epley in 1827. They were sent out by the latter to make an unprovement on his land, and prepare for his coming. Both resided here for many years, Epley dying in the township, but we were unable to learn whether Bowen died here or removed from the county.

The year 1830 brought into the township Thomas Moffitt, Mordecai, Enoch and Eli Haddox, Henry Epley and William Downing, all of whom a permanently at that time. Thomas Moffitt and family came from north of the Blanchard. In 1831 he was elected justice of the peace, being the first citizen of Blanchard Township who filled that office. He was again elected in 1841, and re-elected in 1844. After residing here till about 1850 he sold out to his brothers, William and John, and went to Iowa. The Haddox brothers were natives of Virginia, and first settled in Franklin County, Ohio, whence they removed to Section 17, this township. Their mother, Hannah, came with them and died in 1835. Mordecai and Margaret Haddox reared a family of five children. Mrs. Haddox was a native of Germany, and died in 1855, Mr. Haddox surviving her till 1879. John, their eldest son, resides in Section 18, on a part of the old farm. Enoch and his. wife, Anna M., also died here, the latter in 1856 and the former in 1863. Eli was a single man, and after his marriage moved into Putnam County. Henry Epley was from Ross County, Ohio, and in 1827 entered the east half of the southeast quarter of Section 18, upon which his brother, George, settled in 1829, and he in 1830. Henry resided on the Blanchard till his. death in 1846, his widow, Elizabeth, surviving him thirty years and dying in 1876. William Downing was born in Maryland in 1797, his parents removing to Pike County, Ohio, where he grew to manhood. He there enlisted and served in the war of 1812, being then but a boy of sixteen. In 1830, with his wife, Elizabeth, he came to this township, and built his cabin in the southwest quarter of Section 12, where his wife died in 1851. He was again married, and in 1863 was laid beside his first wife in the Dukes Cemetery. The old homestead is still occupied by his widow.

Selden Blodget came from the Tymochtee as early as 1827, and voted at the first county election in April, 1828. In April, 1831, he bought of John Hunter about twenty acres of land in Section 15, Blanchard Township, upon which he located with his family of two sons and one daughter. In July, 1832, he gave a power of attorney to Squire Carlin and Charles McKinnis to dispose of his land, and removed to Michigan. His first wife died on the Tymochtee, and he married Mrs. Lydia Davis, of Franklin County, but they separated ere his removal to Hancock. After he went to Michigan, his wife, with the children of her first marriage, settled on the Blanchard, where she resided till her death in 1877.

Solomon Foglesong, William and John Mires, and Richard and John L. Carson all settled in the southeast corner of the township in 1831. Mr. Foglesong entered the southwest quarter of Section 36, April 23, 1831, and with his wife, Catherine, at once settled upon it, erecting his cabin on the east. bank of Ottawa Creek. Here he resided for more than half a century. His wife died February 20, 1872, and he survived her till January 9, 1883, leaving no descendants to perpetuate his name. William and John Mires located on the east half of the northwest quarter of Section 35 in the summer of 1831. In November, 1835, William laid out the village of Benton, and in June, 1836, they sold their land to David M. Baldwin, afterward purchasing land southwest of Benton in Union Township, but after some years they again disposed of their property, and went West. The Carsons came from Franklin County, Ohio, in the fall of 1831, and also located on Section 35. In 1834 John L. was elected county commissioner and justice of. the peace in 1836. Dick Carson was known as the champion fighter of the township. He was a large muscular man, and, though for the times rather peaceably inclined, was ever ready to resent an insult or accept a challenge to a ''rough-and-tumble" encounter. An old settler in speaking of him to the writer said, '' Dick, when a little full, would fight at the drop of a hat, aud never found his match in this county.'' Fighting was not then frowned upon as it is to-day, in fact such pleasures (?) were rather encouraged, and thus became a part of the festivities at nearly every public gathering. Many years ago the Carsons removed with their families to the West.

John Downing came here in the spring of 1832, from Pike County, Ohio, cleared a small patch on Section 13, south of the river, and put in a crop. The following autumn he brought out his family, consisting of his wife and eight children; the sons being David, George, William, Isaac and John. One son, Timothy, was born on the Blanchard after settlement. In 1849 George and William went to California, and in 1850 David followed them, but after a few years spent in the gold regions, all returned to this county. About twenty-five years ago William removed to Kansas, whither he was soon afterward followed by his father and brothers, Isaac and Timothy. George subsequently went to Iowa, and David, now a resident of Findlay, is the only one of John Downing's children living in Hancock County.

David Millham and Nimrod Smith both located on Section 14, in 1832. The former was an Englishman, who in the spring of 1832 came from one of the older settled counties of Ohio, made a small clearing, put in a crop and built a cabin north of the Blanchard. The following autumn he brought his family. His house soon became known as the most filthy in the whole settlement, and none of the neighbors cared to visit the Millhams. In 1851 he assisted in laying out Lewisville, and subsequently moved with his family to Indiana. Nimrod and Polly Smith settled south of the river, but in 1835 sold his land to John: Spreaker, and moved to a farm near the home of Thomas Moffitt, where he accidentally shot himself some years after.

John C. Wickham and family came from Ross County, Ohio, to Findlay, in 1827, and he taught the second school in that town. He was clerk of the first county election held in April, 1828 (at which he and his son Minor T. voted), and also the second postmaster of Findlay. In October, 1828, he was elected sheriff of Hancock County and served one term. In 1832 his son William removed from Findlay to Section 13, Blanchard Township, and in 1833 the parents and son, Minor T.,also settledon the same section. Mr. Wickham taught the second school in the township and, in 1835, was elected as its second justice of the peace. He died soon afterward while on a business trip to Wayne County, Ohio, but some of his decendants yet reside in the county.

In October, 1829, Philip Powell, a native of Pennsylvania, and a previous settler of Fairfield County, Ohio, came to Hancock County, and entered two quarters of land on Ottawa Creek, lying in Section 35, Blanchard Township, and Section 2, Union. The following year, with his sons, William and Jacob, he again visited this county and began an improvement on his land, immediately east of the site of Benton. For the succeeding three years the Powells continued to visit and clear up their lands preparatory to settling permanently thereon, and in 1830-31-32 and 33 the father entered 560 acres more in this township in Sections 25, 26, and 35. In 1834 William, with his young wife, took up his residence in Section 35, where he has ever since resided. Jacob afterward married, and settled 'in Section 25, where he died April 20, 1870. John and Daniel did not settle here for several years after William and Jacob, and both still reside upon their farms southeast of Benton, Daniel's home being across the line in Union Township. All of the sons were born and reared in Fairfield County, Ohio, and the parents resided there till death.

Michael Fishel, John Knepper and Owen Hughes all settled near the site of Benton in 1833-34 and 35. The Fishel family located in Liberty Township in March, 1828, whence Michael removed in 1833, to the southeast quarter of Section 34, Blanchard Township. In 1876 he took up his residence in McComb, where he is now living. John Knepper wasa brotherin-law of Solomon Foglesong, and, August 16, 1831, entered the east half of the northwest quarter and the west half of the northeast quarter of Section 36, upon which he settled three years after. He spent the balance of his life on this farm. Two sons and one daughter of Mr. Knepper are residents of Blanchard. Owen Hughes and wife, Elizabeth, and family, came here from Fairfield County, Ohio, and located on the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 85, which he entered in 1831 and settled upon in 1834 or 1835. Mr. Hughes was twice married and reared quite a large family, most of whom are residents of Hancock. His first wife died in 1856, and his second, whose name was also Elizabeth, in 1868. Mr. Hughes died upon his farm, where he had lived nearly half a century, January 11, 1879, in his eighty-fourth year.

In 1834 Mrs. Lydia Davis nee Dukes (sister of Lewis Dukes, Sr.), with her sons John, Alfred, James and Newton, settled on the Blanchard. Her first husband's name was Ishmael Davis, who died in Franklin County, Ohio, and the widow afterward married Selden Blodget, but they soon parted, and Blodget came to this county in 1827, where he resided till 1832, leaving before the coming of the Davis family. Alfred has been the most prosperous of any of the sons, and is to-day one of the largest land owners and wealthiest farmers in Hancock County. Newton is also a resident of the township, and the mother died here January 16, 1877, in the eightyeighth year of her age.

Samuel Edwards settled north of the river in the Moffitt neighborhood, in January, 1834. He was a native of Pennsylvania, but was married in Pickaway County, Ohio, whence he removed to Hancock County. Edwards was known far and wide as the most expert hunter in northwestern Ohio, and in 1850 sold out and moved to Henry County, where game was more plentiful. In 1880 he published in book form the history of his life. He claimed that Robert Bonner of the New York Ledger offered him $1,000 for his sketch, but E.lwards regarded the amount as too small, believing he had a fortune within his grasp. Like many other authors poor Sam's high hopes were des. tined to bo blasted. His little book "fell flat" upon the reading public, had a vory limited sale, and his expected "mountain of gold" dwindled away to nothingness. Edwards sold a few copies of his book to his old neighbors on the Blanchard, who took it "for the sake of auld lang syne."