Madison Township

Madison Township

At the June session, 1840, of the County Commissioners, it was "Ordered that sections No. 1, 2, 11, 12, 13, 14, 23, 24, 25, 26, 35 and 36 in township 2 south, range 10 east,, and sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 17, 18, 19, 20, 29, 30, 31 and 32 in township 2 south, range 11 east, be set off and constituted as a new township, called Madison." Those sections in range 10 were a portion of Van Buren township, and those in range II were a part of Delaware township.

This township was named in honor of James Madison, fourth President of the United States. It lies on the south side of the county, and is bounded on the north by Eagle and Jackson townships, on the east by Delaware, on the south by Hardin County, and on the west by Van Buren township.

On the lirst day of June, 1829, Abel Tanner made entry of the west half of the north-west quarter of section 23, and on the same day William Y. Woodruff entered the north-east quarter of section 2. These were the first entries of lands in the township.

Squire Carlin on the 9th day of July, 1829, entered the west half of the south-west quarter of section 11. John Longwith, of Pickaway County, entered the east half of the north-east quarter of section 5, on the 5th of May,

1830, and in September of the same year, Chaney Rickets the east half of the south-west quarter of section 2. In November, 1832, the north-east quarter of the south-east quarter of section 5, was entered by Alexander Grant, of i^Vanklin County.

In October, 1884, Robert Hurd and Robert Shaw, both of Portage County, made entries of lands in section 7, and Henry Imhoff, of Stark County, entered the west half of the north-west quarter of section 6. Other entries speedily followed, and settlements were made in many portions of the township.

The timber in this part of the county is maple - sugar and soft - beech, hickory, ash. The different varieties of oak was abundant in all parts of the township. Black walnut, blue ash, and red elm is found along the streams. On the wet lands are black ash and sycamore. This part of the county was very heavily timbered.

The soil for the most part consists of a compact yellow -clay subsoil, covered with a vegetable mould. Along the streams may be found small areas of alluvial lands, which are very fertile. The soil on the wet lands consists of a deep black loam, which is very productive when properly drained. Generally speaking the lands of this township -can be considered as only moderately fertile.

Although the township is well watered, there are but few streams of water, and they are not of much importance as water courses. Eagle Creek, which is formed by the junction of what is called the east and west branches, which unite about eighty rods north-east of the south-west corner of section 14, and thence take their course as one creek- Flat Branch is so called on account of the small amount of fall it has. It drains the south-eastern part of the town- ship, and is a tributary of the East Branch. Buck Ruii! is in the north-eastern part, and empties into Eagle Creek near the north line of the township. The West Branch of Eagle Creek rises in the Hog Creel: Marsh in Hardin County, and the East Branch rises near the Hardin County line.

"The weight of authority," writes Dorillas Martz of this township, " is that Simeon Ransbottom was the first to settle in this township, though Abel Tanner and Abner Hill came the same year." Tanner came in February, 1825, from near Kenton, Ohio, where he had resided for three years previous. He and his wife were ,both natives of Rhode Island. He located on the banks of the West Branch of Eagle Creek, near the camping ground of Gen. Hull, as he passed through in 1813. Mr. Tanner died in 1833, aged forty-two years, and his wife died three years later.

Simeon Ransbottom settled on the west bank of Eagle Creek, two miles below Tanner. He was a native of Virginia. His wife was born in Ireland. Mr. Ransbottom died in 1851, his wife having died many years previously.

The family of Abner Hill consisted of himself, wife, and step-daughter. He resided in the township for several years. He committed a burglary by breaking into Carlin's Mill at Findley, for which exploit he was sent to the Ohio- Penitentiary, and was the first representative to that institution from this township, if not from the county.

Settlements were very soon after made by Jacob Helms, Benjamin Sparr, Andrew Rickets, John Diller, N. B. Martz, J. W. Williams and others, and farms were opened up all over the township.

in section 11, on lands which he had hought of a Mr. Moreland, who claimed to have purchased the lands of Simeon Ransbottom. Mr. Martz adds that his impression is that Ransbottom was the first settler within the present limits of Madison township, and that John Tullis came with him perhaps. Mr. Martz says that from the appearance of the buildings, clearings, and fruit trees when he first visited the Diller's and other places, he is led to believe that the first settlement had taken place at least ten years before that yisit.

The first church building erected in the township was by the Methodist Episcopals at Arlington, in 1858. It must not be supposed that religious worship was unknown prior to this time, or that no minister had visited this region. Here as elsewhere the school houses and private houses were used as places of worship. There are now four church buildings in the township ; two Methodist Episcopal, one Protestant Methodist, and one Disciples.

The first school house built in the township was on the land now occupied as the German Lutheran Cemetery, at the west line of the township. It was of the usual style, of logs, with clapboard roof There are now eight school buildings, all comfortable and commodious. The enrollment of youth is two hundred and twenty-three males, and one hundred and ninety-five females, making a total of four hundred and eighteen.

The first hotel, or tavern as such places were then called, was kept by John Diller, and was located on the west bank -of Eagle Creek, at the place now known as Waterloo. This tavern was called The Cross Keys.

munity. Education and religion command the respect and attention of all. The first settlers are principally from the eastern part of the State and from Pennsylvania. There are, however, quite a number of Germans, and their descendents.

John W. Williams, one of the early settlers, and proprietor of the village of Williamstown, died but a few years ago, at a ripe old age, and was perhaps at the time of his death the oldest person in the township. Mr. Williams was Post Master for many years, and was ten times elected Justice of the Peace. He commanded the confidence and respect of his neighbors, and had many friends.

Christian Welty, a resident here, was one of those substantial men, who early sought a home in the west. He was a man of good judgment, sound mind and strict integrity.

Andrew Rickets, after a long and useful life, died but a few years since, leaving his family a goodly heritage, accumulated by industry and frugality. His widow, a very estimable lady, and a fair specimen of the goodly dames of the early years of the township, now resides in Findley, respected by all who know her,

Mr. Rickets, besides holding several township offices, was for two terms, a Commissioner of the county, and filled the office with both ability and fidelity.

Robert Hurd, who came to this township in 1839, was born at East Haddam, Conn., March 16th, 1785, and emigrated to Portage County, Ohio, in 1820, and settled in Twinsbnrg township, as agent for the brothers, Aaron and Moses Willcox - twins - from whom the township derived its name. Mr. Hurd made extensive entries of lands in and about the site of the present town of Arlington, in 1834, and his sons, William B. and Lorenzo, and son-in-law, Joseph Fitch, at once settled on part of these lands, then all a wilderness. Mr. Hurd laid out the town of Arlington, and was active in the formation of the township of Madison^ from parts of Delaware and Amanda townships. For a number of years Mr. Hurd held the office of Justice of the- Peace. He frequently appeared in Justice's Courts as att attorney, conducting his cases with much ability. Mr. Plurd! died at Arlington in 1861.

Napoleon B. Martz

Was the son of Michael Martz, and was born in Rockingham County, Va., in November, 1809, and came to Hancock County in 1834, and settled on the farm now owned hj his son, Dorillas. He was married in November, 1830, to- Hannah Nicholls, who still accompanies him in the journey of life. Mr. Martz was a resident of the county forty-one years, when he got the western fever, and went to Douglas County, 111., where he now resides.

Mr. Martz' grand-parents were from Bavaria, hence his German extraction. He is a man of good morals, although not a church member. He has a fair English education^ and good strong common sense. His opinions were the result of careful thought, and his advice was sought by his neighbors. Honest, intelligent, sociable and accommodating, he easily won, and always held the esteem of his neighbors.

This town was laid out in 1834, and named in honor of John W. Williams, the proprietor. It is located on part of the north-west quarter of the north-west quarter of section 31, and the north-east quarter of section 36. In originally contained forty-eight lots, and as remarked by a resident, "it commenced small, and has held its own exceedingly well." At the time the town was laid out, there was no family within three miles of it,

Mr. Williams opeued a store and tavern in the place, and travel commenced along the range line, now the Bellefontaine State road. In about 1837, Christain Welty also opened a store, and a Dr. Smith located here for a short time, being the first in the township. He was succeeded by Dr. A. F. Burson, now of Mt. Blanchard, famous for his success in treating the " Milk Sickness," then prevalent in this part of the county.

The village is about fourteen miles directly south of Findley, and about three miles from the Hardin County line. The business of the town consists of one steam saw, shingle and lath mill, by William Ileacock ; a wagon and carriage shop, by Joseph Phillipi ; a shoe shop, by William Knight ; a blacksmith shop, by William Vanscoich ; two grocery stores, one by J. B. DeHaven, and one by Cramer & Crabill, and one physician. Population 128.

A Post Office was established here in 1835, and Christian Welty was first Post Master. The office was called " Eagle," but in 1866 it was changed to Williamstown. The Post Masters have been Christian Welty, J. W. Williams, B. D. Evans, John DeHaven, and again Dr. B. D. Evans, the present incumbent.

West Union

This place was laid out by Andrew Sheller, in January, J 835, in the south-east corner of section 36, in lands now owned by A. Woods, and comprised forty-eight lots. It has no other history.

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; 4,977 words in this source stream.

Madison Township

AT a session held in March, 1840, a petition signed by Jacob Eosenberg, then sheriff of Hancock County, and others, was presented to the board of commissioners asking for the erection of a new township from parts of Eagle, Jackson, Van Buren and Delaware Townships, to be named Madison; but a remonstrance signed by Benjamin Sparr, John W. Williams, Sylvester Bell and many other citizens of that section of the county was filed against the proposed measure, and the prayer of the petitioners was denied. On the 1st of June, 1840, another petition was presented to the board signed by John W. Williams, Robert Hurd and others, praying that a township named Madison be formed from territory then embraced in Delaware and Van Bui-en, which was accordingly done, twelve sections being taken from each township in the erection of the new subdivision. The west half of Madison is in Township 2 south, Range 10, and the east half in Township 2 south, Range 11, the Bellefontaine road being the dividing line between the two ranges.

Madison Township was named in honor of James Madison, fourth President of the United States. It lies in the southern range of subdivisions, with Hardin County on the south. Van Buren Township on the west. Eagle and Jackson on the north, and Delaware on the east. It embraces twenty-four sections, or an area of 15,360 acres. In 1850 it contained 667 inhabitants; 1860, 844; 1870, 967, and 1880, 1,232.

The surface is generally level in the north part of the township, but slightly elevated, and rolling in the southern part, with a gradual descent from south to north, the natural drainage being all in that direction. The East Branch of Eagle Creek, rising in Hog Creek Marsh, strikes the south line of the township on Section 31, and taking a northwest course unites with the West Branch, near the southwest corner of Section 14. The West Branch flows in from Van Buren Township across the northwest quarter of Section 23, and, after uniting with the East Branch, the combined stream meanders northward along the west line of the township, passes into Eagle Township, near the northeast corner of Section 2, and thence northward to the Blanchard at Findlay. The southeast corner of the township is drained by Flat Branch, a sluggish tributary of the East Branch of Eagle Creek, into which it empties on the northeast quarter of Section 23. Buck Run heads in the east center of the township, and winding northwestward through Arlington strikes Eagle Creek near the line between Sections 1 and 2. The head of Lye Creek is located in the northeast corner of the township, whence it passes into Jackson. Thus it will be seen that Madison Township is well watered, and favored with good natural di-ainage.

This portion of the county was originally very heavily timbered, every species indigenous to the soil being found here in great abundance. But most of the more valuable kinds have disappeared, though much good timber yet remains. A rich vegetable loam, with a yellow and black clay subsoil, predominates, but in the bottoms along the streams the lands are usually composed of alluvial deposits. The upper strata on the flat or wet lands have been formed from the accumulations of decayed vegetation, and is a rich, black, sandy loam. Judicious drainage and tiling have rendered these wet lands very valuable.

Milk- sickness, or "trembles," was very prevalent in this part of the county during the earlier years of its settlement, and was much dreaded by the pioneers. Good medical authorities say that the disease came from the cattle eating a poisonous plant, which grew in moist places, such as white snakeroot and three-leafed poisonous iwj; while many intelligent farmers contend that the water contained the poisonous substance. Many deaths occiu-red from this disease before the physicians then practicing knew sufficient about it to overcome its deadly effects. Milk-sickness has not altoo-ether disappeared from Hancock County, though it is now very rarely seen.

Pioneers. - The fii'st settler of Madison Township was Simeon Eansbottom, a native of Virginia. He left home when but twelve years old, because of his father's severity, and in 1812 joined Hull's army. He served throughout the war of 1812, and at its close settled in Logan County, Ohio, where he married Rebecca Tullis, a native of L-eland, who bore him seven children, two of whom are living in Allen County, and one in Dunkirk, Hardin County, the latter, Amelia, being the widow of Henry Helms, of Madison Township. In the fall of 1825 Mr. Ransbottom and family left Logan County, and "squatted" on the bank of Eagle Creek, in Section 23, subsequently removing to the north half of the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 11. He afterward sold this to John Diller, and in 1836 bought the farm of Jacob Bolenbaugh on Section 14, where he resided till his death, October 5, 1851. Mr. Ransbottom was twice married, his second wife being Mrs. William J. Greer, nee Miss Rosannah Elder, who bore him six children, only two now living, one of whom, Jasper, resides in Dunkirk, and the other, Mrs. Catherine Elms, in Findlay. His widow survived him many years, and became the wife of Joseph Helms. Mr. Ransbottom was one of the seventy-four electors who voted at the first county election in April, 1828; and was also prominent in the organization of one of the first Methodist Protestant Churches in the southern part of the county.

Abel Tanner was the second settler of the township, locating in the noi-thwest quarter of Section 23, on Eagle Creek, close to the cabin of Simeon Ransbottom, in February, 1826. Mr. William Tanner, of Dunkirk, a son of Abel, says: "My parents, Abel and Polly (Kinion) Tanner, were natives of Rhode Island, and with their family immigrated to Darby Plains, Madison Co., Ohio, in 1820. In 1823 we left Darby Plains, and traveling northwestward finally halted on 'Lynn Ridge,' about three miles southwest of Fort McArthur, in Hardin County. Here we built a cabin and began the work of opening a farm, but after remaining on Lynn Ridge till

February, 1826, we left our improvement and settled on Eagle Creek in the northwest quarter of Section 23, Madison Township, Hancock Co., Ohio. We were ' squatters, ' and Simeon Eansbottom had ' squatted ' on the same quarter the previous fall, and the Ransbottoms were living there when we arrived. My father afterward entered this land, and Ransbottom settled farther down the creek on Section 11. I was born in 1819, and therefore was in my seventh year when we left Lynn Ridge and took up our abode on Eagle Creek; but I remember the time and circumstances of that settlement as vividly as if it occurred only a year ago. William McCloud and family were then living in one of the block-houses at Fort McArthur, and his sons, William and Robert, often visited our cabin before and after our removal to Hancock County." Two or three years after the Tanners left Lynn Ridge, John Canaan took possession of their vacated improvement, which is now in Lynn Township, Hardin County. Mr. Tanner voted at the first county election in April. 1828, and in February, 1838, died upon his farm in this township, his widow dying the following year. Of his children, Mrs. Emeline Tullis, widow of John Tullis, resides in Forest, and William in Dunkirk, Hardin County, and IVIi's. Adam Steinman in Van Buren Township, immediately west of the old homestead. The first Methodist Episcopal class in the township was organized at his house,, and the first schoolhouse in this locality was built and opened on his farm. Mr. Tanner brought the first stock of dry goods to Findlay, which he took to the house of John P. Hamilton, who then lived up the Blanchard from the village, and got him to sell the goods to the settlers. There was but a very small assortment, yet heartily welcomed by the few families then residing in Hancock County.

Abner Hill and his wife and step-daughter were the next family who came to Madison Township. They located on Section 23, close to the west line of the township, in the winter of 1826-27, and there resided until the spring of 1835, when Hill broke into Carlin's store at Findlay, for which deed he was arrested, tried, and, on April 14, 1835, sentenced to the penitentiary for three years. It is claimed that he was the first person sent to the penitentiary from Hancock County. His family removed from the county and never returned.

John Tullis, a brother-in-law of Simeon Ransbottom, came from Bellefontaine, Logan Co., Ohio, in 1827, and for some time lived with Mr. Ransbottom. Belief ontaine was laid out on a part of his father' s land in 1820. In April, 1828, he took part in the first county election. He began a clearing on the south half of the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 11, and upon his marriage with Miss Emeline, daughter of Abel Tanner, settled permanently upon his land. In the spring of 1835 he sold this foi'ty-acre property to John Smith and removed to Van Bui-en Township. Mr. Tullis and family finally went to Missouri, where he died in 1871. His family returned to Ohio and settled in Dunkirk, and his widow is now living in Forest. One of his daiTghters, Mrs. Harriet Holmes, is a resident of Arlington. His brother, Griffin Tullis, came to the township two or three years after him, but remained only a brief period.

Thomas Ransbottom and John Diller located on Eagle Creek in 1828. The former settled near his brother Simeon, and after some foiir or five years' residence he removed to Allen County, Ohio. Diller and his wife, Catherine, were natives of Pennsylvania, but came here from New York, and purchased the improvement of Simeon Ransbottom on the west bank of

Eagle Creek in Section 11. He opened the first tavern in this part of the county, the buildings being two small log-cabins bearing the title of "The Cross Keys. " This point afterward became locally known as " Waterloo, " on account of the moral slaughter caused by a low grog-shop which stood' here for many years. In May, 1833, Mr. Diller entered the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 10, Van Buren Township, adjoining his previous purchase on the west. About this time his wife died, leaving three small boys, who, with their father, went to live with Simeon Rans bottom. On the 2Uth of May, 1833, he sold out to William Moreland, and removed from the county a few years afterward.

In 1829 Aaron Kinion, Nathaniel Hill and James West all settled on Section 23. Kinion was a brother of Mrs. Abel Tanner, and with his family came from Rhode Island to Eagle Creek, afterward removing to Champaign County, Ohio. Hill, who was a widower, preceded his father-in-law James West, to this township. Both died on the east half of the northeast quarter of Section 23, entered by West in 1831.

The years 1830 and 1831 brought in John Longwith, Jacob Helms Jacob Bolenbaugh, William Moreland, Jr., and Nathan Lewis. Mr. Longwith entered the east half of the northeast quarter of Section 5 May 5 1830, and the following August settled upon it. He was born in Virginia' whence he removed to Pickaway County, Ohio, there married Sarah Cherry' and at the time mentioned took up his abode in the northeast corner of what is now Madison Township. Here his wife died several years ago, and in October, 1884, he, too, passed away. Their daughter, Harriet, now lives upon the home farm.

Jacob and Elizabeth Helms, natives of Pennsylvania, located on the northeast quarter, of Section 2, in the fall of 1830. Their sons were John Samuel, Jacob, Joseph, Henry and David, all of whom are well remembered mthis locality. Mr. Helms accumulated sufficient property to give each son a nice farm. Both he and his wife died and were buried on the old homestead, where Levi, the son of Henry, now resides.

Jacob Bolenbaugh came in the spring of 1830, and in 1833 was elected justice of Van Buren Township, which then embraced the west half of Mad ison. He settled on Eagle Creek, on the east half of the northwest quarter of Section 14, but June 30, 183G, he sold his farm to Simeon Ransbottom He had, however, removed to Union County the previous year. It is related that Bolenbaugh' s reason for leaving was because of his dislike for the large number of Germans who werfe then entering land around him If this story is correct, it was very fortunate for the township to get rid of such a man so easily.

William Moreland, Jr., removed from Findlay to this township in the spring of 1831, and in June of that year was elected the first justice of Van Buren township. In 1833 he purchased the improvement of John Diller, but m 1834 or 1835 moved back into Findlay Township, in the chapter on which township a more extended notice of the family will be found.

Nathan Lewis was one of those pioneers who lived by huntino- He squatted on Section 23, and is not believed to have ever owned any land m this locality.

Daniel and Elizabeth Rodabaugh, with their sons John, Abraham Sinron Daniel, Jacob and Jonas, and three daughters, came from Columbiana County, Ohio, in April, 1832, and settled on Section 25, where Simon now lives. The parents and all of the children, except the two youngest, were born in Pennsylvania. Daniel and. his wife died on the old homestead, and Abraham, Simon and Jonas, of this township, are the only survivors of the family.

Abraham Myers, wife and three step-sons, John, Jacob and Isaac Bushong, also John Musser, came with the Rodabaughs. Myers settled on the southwest quarter of Section 80, and Jacob and Isaac Bushong lived with him. John Bushong and his wife, Anna, settled and died on Section 36, where their son, Simon, now li\es. Isaac, who resides on Section 32, is the only one of the old stock living. The Bushongs were born in Virginia. Musser, a native of Pennsylvania, settled on the northwest quarter of Section 25, now owned by Simon Rodabaugh, His son, Jacob, resides southwest of the old farm.

Christian and Catherine Welty came fi-om Perry County, Ohio, in 1833 or 1834, and for three weeks the family camped in the woods, while the rude log-cabin was being prepared for their occupancy. Mr. Welly's land was in Section 3G, adjoining AVilliamstown on the west and south. In 183G he was elected justice of the peace of Van Buren Township, to which subdivision he then belonged, and re-elected to the same office. Upon the establishment of a postoffice at Williamstown in 1835, Mr. Welty was appointed postmaster, and afterward opened a store in the village. He was a preacher in the Disciples Church, and both he and his wife died on the home place, where one of his sons yet resides.

In 1834 Robert Hurd entered several tracts of land in the north part of the township on Sections 1, 6 and 7. He was a native of East Haddam, Conn., born March 10, 1785. In 1820 he came out to Portage County, Ohio, as agent for Aaron and Moses Wilcox, original proprietors of Twinsburg Township, taken from Portage in the erection of Summit County in 1840. The Wilcox brothei's were twins, from which circumstance Twinsburg derived its name. Mr. Hvird was married in Killingsworth, Middlesex Co. , Conn. , in 1807, to Miss Mary Brainerd, a native of that State, who hore him fourteen childi'en, twelve of whom grew to maturity, and ten are now living. In the fall of 1834 two of the sons, William B. and Lorenzo, and a son-in-law, Joseph Fitch, located in this township, and built a cabin on the site of Arlington. Here they remained clearing up their land till April, 1839, when their brothers. Anson and Jared Hurd, joined the settlement, builfc a cal)in close to the first one erected, and the following September the father and balance of the family came out, and took possession of the second residence, where his wife died in September, 1842. In 1844 Robert laid out the village of Arlington. In 1859 he was elected justice of the peace, and died in February, 1801. Of their children, two sons reside in Findlay, and one daughter in Arlington. Dr. Anson Hurd, a leading physician of Findlay, is the best known of the family.

Adam Essinger, Martin Funk and Napoleon B. Martz all came to the township in 1834. Mr. Essinger and his wife, Catherine, emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in 1832, thence removed to Hancock County, with the families of his brother, Nicholas, Adam Gossman and Peter Pif er in the fall of 1834, locating on Section 14, Madison Township, where he soon afterward died. His widow and three children are residents of the township. Martin Funk and family were from Pennsylvania. He settled on Section 11, on the east bank of Eagle Creek, where he erected a grist-mill in 1838. He ran this mill for a number of years, and it was subsequently operated by his son, John. Mr. Funk and wife and some of the children finally went to Michigan, but he came back on a visit and died at the house of Richard Sims. Mr. Martz was born in Virginia, and came here a single man, subsequently marrying Mrs. Hannah Nichols, nee Woodruff. He served one term as justice of the peace, and resided here until 1874, when he and his wife removed to Illinois, where both are still living. Their son, Dorillas, resides upon the old homestead in Section 14.

John W. Williams was born in Maryland, April 20, 1800, and came of Revolutionary stock. The family removed to Tuscarawas County, Ohio, at an early day, where Mr. Williams remained till the fall of 1833, when, taking his wife and family in a wagon, he started West, arriving at Kenton, the newly laid out county seat of Hardin County, in the early part of October. At the first public sale Mr. Williams purchased several choice lots facing the square, then covered with the original forest, upon one of which he erected a large, two-storied, hewed-log building, and immediately opened a tavern " for the convenience of man and beast. " He also kept a small store in one corner of the bar-room, his trade being principally powder, lead and flints. The sessions of the court of common pleas were held in this tavern until the completion of the Court House. Mr. Williams had the contract for the erection of that building, which he finished in 1835. He dealt extensively in peltry, handling thousands of skins in 1834 and 1835. His son, J. W. F. Williams, of Washington, D. C, writes as follows about his father's removal to Hancock County: "It being reported and believed that the Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad would locate its line six miles east of Kenton, and the county seat be moved to a place known as 'Wheeler's,' he sold all of his property, had the town site of W^illiamstcwn surveyed, and moved there in the winter of 1835-36. " Though the move proved a bad one, Mr. Williams soon became a prominent factor in the southern part of Hancock. He opened a tavern and store, and was the second postmaster of the village, which position he filled many years. In 1846 he was elected justice of the peace, and re-elected nine times in succession, his death occurring September 23, 1873, while filling his last term. A modest headstone marks his grave in the little cemetery near the village which perpetuates his name.

During 1835 Abraham Williams, John Smith, Nicholas Price and Andrew Ricketts, with their families, settled in the township. W^illiams built his cabin in the northeast quarter of Section 11, in March, 1835. He and his wife, Mary Ann, were fi'om Pennsylvania. She died here and he afterward went to Nebraska. John Smith, a German, came here from Jefferson County, Ohio, in the spring of 1835. He purchased the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 11, of John Tullis, and lookup his residence in the Tullis cabin. He died at the home of his son, Peter, in Van Buren Township. Nicholas and Elizabeth Price, natives of Germany, settled on Section 14, near the west line of the township, in the fall of 1835. They were the parents of nine children, and both died upon the old homestead. Four of their sons reside io this county: George in Van Buren Township, Nicholas E. and Philip in Madison, and Peter in Findlay. Andi-ew and Mary Ricketts came from Fairfield County, Ohio, in November, 1835, and settled Avest of Eagle Creek, on the east half of the southwest quarter of Section 2. In 1837 he was elected justice of the peace of Van Buren Township, in which subdivision his home was then included, and served one term. In 1841 he was elected county commissioner, which position he also filled one term. Mr. Ricketts accumulated a comfortable property, and died in October, 1865. The family subsequently removed to Findlay, where his widow is now living.

The next few years brought in a large number of settlers, among the first of whom we find Alexander Grant, George Kibler, Richard Sims (now of Arlington), Solomon Watkins, William Hodge, John Spacht and others. But the brunt of the struggle was now past, and these later comers found friends ready to assist them in the work of opening homes in the forest then covering the land.

Justices. - As this township was not erected till 1840, some of its pioneers served as justices of Van Buren prior to that date, and their names will be found in the list of that township. The justices of Madison have been as follows: Solomon Watkins, Joseph Leslie, Thomas Reese, Napoleon B. Martz, John W. AVilliams, Joel Markle, L. P. Wing, Robert Hurd, David Wardwell, L. D. Wiseman, Philip P. Wilch, Peter Wilch, Ezra Longworth, J. C. Clingerman, James HufP, Thomas H. Bushong, Dorillas Martz and Ellis Clingerman. The last mentioned and James Huff are the present incumbents of the office.

Grist-mills. - The first grist-mill was built in 1838 by Martin Funk on the northeast bank of Eagle Creek in Section 11. It was operated by waterpower supplied by a race cut across the bend in the creek. This mill, like all those erected at an early day, was of great value to the pioneers. About ten years ago it ceased operations, and in the summer of 1885 was torn down and the frame removed by Peter Traucht to Arlington, where it was used in the construction of the steam grist-mill in that village, which is now in running order and the only flouring-mill in the township.

Schools. - A small log schoolhouse was built about 1833-34 on the farm of Abel Tanner in Section 23. It was taught by Charles Herron, and the few families then living in that locality sent then* childi-ento this school. It was the first attempt at education in this part of the county. The next schoolhouse was put up on the farm of John Diller, in Section 11, as early as 1838. The Ransbottoms, Funks, Watkinses, Prices, Gossmans, Pifers, Heldmans, Smiths and others attended here. In 3840 a school was taught by Miss Harriet Fitch, in a log-cabin on the site of Arlington. Miss Jane Bigelow, was the second teacher of this school. About 1841 a small roundlog schoolhouse was built in Williamstown - the first in the south part of the township. Other houses soon made their appearance, until in a few years every portion of the township had a school for the education of its youth. Madison has now eight schoolhouses, that in Arlington containing two rooms, and no child, rich or poor, need grow up without such educational advantages as the public schools afford.

Religious Societies. - A class of the Methodist Episcopal denomination was organized by Rev. Thomas Thompson, about 1830, at the house of Abel Tanner, the Tanners and Kinions being its only members. Services were held at intervals at private houses and schoolhouses, but in 1858 this denomination erected a frame building in Arlington, which is yet in use. The Methodist Protestant Church organized a society about 1833, in what is now Van Buren Township, though some of its members lived in Madison. About 1854-55 they erected Mount Mcriah Church on Section 22, Van

Biu-en Township, and also one in Arlington soon after the Methodist Episcopal denomination built theirs. The Arlington Church is the only building owned by the Methodist Protestants in this township ; while the Methodist Episcopals have another society and church at AVilliamstown. The Disciples have a church at the latter village, Arlington and Williamstown each containing two churches. Other denominations have held services in the township, yet none but those mentioned have ever had an organized society, except perhaps the German Baptists, who, as early as 1835-30, held meetings in the Kodabaugh settlement, and may have effected an organization, though they never had any house of worship in Madison.

Fi7Za(/e^s'. - Williamstown was laid out by John W. Williams April 23, 1834, on the northeast corner of Section 36 and the northwest corner of Section 31, thirteen miles directly south of Findlay, and originally contained forty-eight lots. The Bellefontaine road had been surveyed and partly opened, but there was only a rude wagon track through this township when Williamstown was surveyed. In 1835 Mr. Williams erected a loo- building, and late that year removed from Kenton and opened a tavern in the forest then covering the site of his village. The same year a postoffice named " Eagle " was established here, and Christian Welty appointed postmaster, who also opened a store about 1837. Mr. Welty' s successors in the postoffice have been as follows: John W. Williams, Dr. B. D. Evans, John B. De Haven and Dr. B. D. Evans. In 1866 the name of the office was changed to Williamstown. The first resident physician was Dr. Smith, but Dr. John F. Perky, who came afterward, is much better remembered, as he practiced here many years ere his removal to Findlay. The village has never had much prosperity and wears a general appearance of decay. Dunkirk on the south and Arlington on the north are fast sapping whatever business life it now contains. Its population in 1880 was 128, and its pres ent business interests embrace one general grocery store, one drvig store, a steam saw, shingle and lath-mill, a wagon shop, two blacksmith shops, a shoe shop and three physicians. The Methodist Episcopal and Disciples denominations have each a church in the village, and a school is also located here.

West Union was laid out by Andrew Sheller in the southeast corner of Section 36, December 25, 1834. but no buildings were ever erected on the site.

Arlington lies nine miles south of Findlay, on the Bellefontaine State road, and was laid out by Robert Hurd, in November, 1844, in the southeast corner of Section 1 and the southwest corner of Section 6, lying on each side of the State road. Several additions have since been made to the original town. In 1846 Dr. Belizur Beach erected a brick hotel, and the following year the store-room now occupied by Richard Sims. He opened the hotel himself, but rented the other building to Truman Parker and Lorenzo P. Wing, who, under the firm name of Parker & Wing, opened a general store. After about a year Dr. Beach and Joel Markle bought out Parker & Wing, and carried on the business till 1855, and were then succeeded by Thomas Stark, a son-in-law of Robert Hurd. Lovell Parker - opened a'blacksmith shop in 1846, and Edwin B. Vail was the first brick-mason of the village. Drs. Beach and W. K. Drake were the earliest resident physicians. In 1846 Martins Town postoffice was removed from the house of Hathaway R. AVarner, north of the village in Jackson Township, to Arliug-

The census of 1880 gave Arlington a population of 180, but its citizens now claim between 300 and 400 inhabitants. Its business interests are represented by one general dry goods and grocery store, two general grocery stores, one drug store, a good hardware store, a grist-mill and elevator, a steam saw and planing-mill, two steam saw-mills, a boot and shoe store and harness shop, two wagon shops, two blacksmith shops, a pump factory, a lath-mill, an undertaker's shop, two tileyards, one brickyard, a good hotel and livery stable and three saloons. Drs. L. S. LafPerty, C. F. King and J. L. Asire are the resident physicians of the town. The Methodist Episcopals and Methodist Protestants have each a chui'ch here; while a graded school of two rooms furnishes good educational facilities. On the I'ith of October, 1882, Welker Post, No. 266, G. A. E. . was organized with thirty charter members, and has now about the same membership. The Cleveland, Delphos & St. Louis Narrow Guage Kailroad was completed to Ai-lingt-on in the fall of 1882, and the first through train came over the road fi-om Delphos to Mt. Blanchard January 1, 1883. Much more was expected of this enterprise than it has been able to accomplish, and it will never be of any great iitility to this section until it is changed to a standard guage. This is now talked of, and the citizens of Arlington have strong hopes that it will yet be accomplished.

Source changes here: from History of Hancock County Ohio, by Various, published 1886; 4,990 words in this source stream.

Madison Township

BAYT a session held in March, 1840, a petition signed by Jacob Rosenberg, then sheriff of Hancock County, and others, was presented to the board of commissioners asking for the erection of a new township from parts of Eagle, Jackson, Van Buren and Delaware Townships, to be named Madison; but a remonstrance signed by Benjamin Sparr, John W. Williams, Sylvester Bell and many other citizens of that section of the county was filed' against the proposed measure, and the prayer of the petitioners was denied. On the Ist of June, 1840, another petition was presented to the board signed by John W. Williams, Robert Hurd and others, praying that a township named Madison be formed from territory then embraced in Delaware and Van Buren, which was accordingly done, twelve sections being taken from each township in the erection of the new subdivision. The west half of Madison is in Township 2 south, Range 10, and the east half in Township 2 south, Range 11, the Bellefontaine road being the dividing line between the two ranges.

Madison Township was named in honor of James Madison, fourth President of the United States. It lies in the southern range of subdivisions, with Hardin County on the south, Van Buren Township on the west, Eagle and Jackson on the north, and Delaware on the east. It embraces twenty-four sections, or an area of 15,360 acres. In 1850 it contained 667 inhabitants, 1860, 844; 1870, 967, and 1880, 1,282.

The surface is generally level in the north part of the township, but slightly elevated, and rolling in the southern part, with a gradual descent from south to north, the natural drainage being all in that direction. The East Branch of Eagle Creek, rising in Hog Creek Marsh, strikes the south line of the township on Section 31, and taking a northwest course unites with the West Branch, near the southwest corner of Section 14. The West Branch flows in from Van Buren Township across the northwest quarter of Section 23, and, after uniting with the East Branch, the combined stream meanders northward along the west line of the township, passes into Hagle Township, near the northeast corner of Section 2, and thence northward to the Blanchard at Findlay. The southeast corner of the township is drained by Flat Branch, a sluggish tributary of the East Branch of Eagle Creek, into which it empties on the northeast quarter of Section 23. Buck Run heads in the east center of the township, and winding northwestward through Arlington strikes Eagle Creek near the line between Sections 1 and 2. The head of Lye Creek is located in the northeast corner of the township, whence it passes into Jackson. . Thus it will be seen that Madison Township is well watered, and favored with good natural drainage.

This portion of the county was originally very heavily timbered, every species indigenous to the soil being found here in great abundance. But most of the more valuable kinds have disappeared, though much good timber yet remains. A rich vegetable loam, with a yellow and black clay subsoil, predominates, but in the bottoms along the streams the lands are usually composed of alluvial deposits. The upper strata on the flat or wet lands have been formed from the accumulations of decayed vegetation, and is a rich, black, sandy loam. Judicious drainage and tiling have rendered these wet lands very valuable. ' ;

Milk-sickness, or ''trembles,'' was very prevalent in this part of the county during the earlier years of its settlement, and was much dreaded by the pioneers. Good medical authorities say that the disease came from the cattle eating a poisonous plant, which grew in moist places, such as white snakeroot and three-leafed poisonous ivy; while many intelligent farmers contend that the water contained the poisonous substance. Many deaths occurred from this disease before the physicians then practicing knew sufficient about it to overcome its deadly effects. Muilk-sickness has not altogether disappeared from Hancock County, though it is now very rarely seen.

Pioneers. - The first settler of Madison Township was Simeon Ransbottom, a native of Virginia. He left home when but twelve years old, because of his father's severity, and in 1812 joined Hull's army. He served throughout the war of 1812, and at its close settled in Logan County, Ohio, where he married Rebecca Tullis, a native of Ireland, who bore him seven children, two of whom are living in Allen County, and one in Dunkirk, Hardin County, the latter, Amelia, being the widow of Henry Helms, of Madison Township. In the fall of 1825 Mr. Ransbottom and family left Logan County, and ''squatted'' on the bank of Eagle Creek, in Section 23, subsequently removing to the north half of the west half of the southwest quarter of Section ll. He afterward sold this to John Diller, and in 1836 bought the farm of Jacob Bolenbaugh on Section 14, where he resided till his death, October 5, 1851. Mr. Ransbottom was twice married, his second wife being Mrs. William J. Greer, nee Miss Rosannah Elder, who bore him six children, only two now living, one of whom, Jasper, resides in Dunkirk, and the other, Mrs. Catherine Elms, in Findlay. His widow survived him many years, and became the wife of Joseph Helms. Mr. Ransbottom was one of the seventy-four electors who voted at the first county election in April, 1828; and was also prominent in the organization of one of the first Methodist Protestant Churches in the southern part of the county.

Abel Tanner was the second settler of the township, locating in the northwest quarter of Section 28, on Eagle Creek, close to the cabin of Simeon Ransbottom, in February, 1826. Mr. William Tanner, of Dunkirk, ason of Abel, says: ''My parents, Abel and Polly (Kinion) Tanner, were natives of Rhode Island, and with their family immigrated to Darby Plains, Madison Co., Ohio, in 1820. In 1823 we left Darby Plains, and traveling northwestward finally halted on 'Lynn Ridge,' about three miles southwest of Fort McArthur, in Hardin County. Here we built a cabin and began the work of opening a farm, but after remaining on Lynn Ridge till

February, 1826, we left our improvement and settled on Eagle Creek in the. northwest quarter of Section 23, Madison Township, Hancock Co., Ohio. We were 'squatters,' and Simeon Ransbottom had 'squatted' on the same quarter the previous fall, and the Ransbottoms were living there when we arrived. My father afterward entered this land, and Ransbottom settled farther down the creek on Section 11. Iwas born in 1819, and therefore was in my seventh year when we left Lynn Ridge and took up our abode on Eagle Creek; but I remember the time and circumstances of that settlement as vividly as if it occurred only a year ago. William McCloud and family were then living in one of the block-houses at Fort McArthur, and his sons, William and Robert, often visited our cabin before and after our removal to Hancock County.'' Two or three years after the Tanners left Lynn Ridge, John Canaan took possession of their vacated improvement, which isnow in Lynn Township, Hardin-County. Mr. Tanner voted at the first county election in April. 1828, and in February, 1833, died upon his farm in this township, his widow dying the following year. Of his children, Mrs. Emeline Tullis, widow of John Tullis, resides in Forest, and William in Dunkirk, Hardin County, and Mrs. Adam Steinman in Van Buren Township, immediately west of the old homestead. The first Methodist Episcopal class in the township was organized at his house, and the first schoolhouse in this locality was built and opened on his farm. Mr. Tanner brought the first stock of dry goods to Findlay, which he took to the house of John P, Hamilton, who then lived up the Blanchard from the village, and got him to sell the goods to the settlers. There was but a very small assortment, yet heartily welcomed by the few families then residing in Hancock County.

Abner Hill and his wife and step-daughter were the next family who came to Madison Township. They located on Section 23, close to the west line of the township, in the winter of 1826-27, and there resided until the spring of 1835, when Hill broke into Carlin's store at Findlay, for which deed he was arrested, tried, and, on April 14, 1835, sentenced to the penitentiary for three years. It is claimed that he was the first person sent to the penitentiary from Hancock County. His family removed from the county and never returned.

John Tullis, a brother-in-law of Simeon Ransbottom, came from Bellefontaine, Logan Co., Ohio, in 1827, and for some time lived with Mr. Ransbottom. Bellefontaine was laid out on a part of his father's land in 1820. In April, 1828, he took part in the first county election. He began a clearing on the south half of the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 11, and upon his marriage with Miss Emeline, daughter of Abel Tanner, settled permanently upon his land. In the spring of 1835 he sold this forty-acre property to John Smith and removed to Van Buren Township. Mr. Tullis and family finally went to Missouri, where he died in 1871. His family returned to Ohio and settled in Dunkirk, and his widow is now living in Forest. One of his daughters, Mrs. Harriet Holmes, is a resident of Arlington. His brother, Griffin Tullis, came to the township two or three years after him, but remained only a brief period.

Thomas Ransbottom and John Diller located on Eagle Creek in 1828. The former settled near his brother Simeon, and after some four or five years' residence he removed to Allen County, Ohio. Diller and his wife, Catherine, were natives of Pennsylvania, but came here from New York, and purchased the improvement of Simeon Ransbottom on the west bank of

Eagle Creek in Section 11. He opened the first tavern in this part of the county, the buildings being two small log-cabins bearing the title of "The Cross Keys." This point afterward became locally known as "Waterloo," on account of the moral slaughter caused by a low grog-shop which stood here for many years. In May, 1833, Mr. Diller entered the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 10, Van Buren Township, adjoining his previous purchase on the west. About this time his wife died, leaving three small boys, who, with their father, went to live with Simeon Ransbottom. On the 29th of May, 1833, he sold out to William Moreland, and removed from the county a few years afterward.

In 1829 Aaron Kinion, Nathaniel Hill and James West all settled on Section 23. Kinion was a brother of Mrs. Abel Tanner, and with his family came from Rhode Island to Eagle Creek, afterward removing to Champaign County, Ohio. Hill, who was a widower, preceded his father-in-law, James West, to this township. Both died on the east half of the northeast quarter of Section 23, entered by Westin 1831.

The years 1830 and 1831 brought in John Longwith, Jacob Helms, Jacob Bolenbaugh, William Moreland, Jr., and Nathan Lewis. Mr. uongwith entered the east half of the northeast quarter of Section 5d, May 5, 1830, and the following August settled upon it. He was born in Virginia, whence he removed to Pickaway County, Ohio, there married Sarah Cherry, and at the time mentioned took up his abode in the northeast corner of what is now Madison Township. Here his wife died several years ago, and in October, 1884, he, too, passed away. Their daughter, Harriet, now lives upon the home farm.

Jacob and Elizabeth Helms, natives of Pennsylvania, located on the northeast quarter of Section 2, in the fall of 1830. Their sons were John, Samuel, Jacob, Joseph, Henry and David, all of whom are well remembered in this locality. Mr. Helms accumulated sufficient property to give each son a nice farm. Both he and his wife died and were buried on the old homestead, where Levi, the son of Henry, now resides.

Jacob Bolenbaugh came in the spring of 1830, and in 1833 was elected justice of Van Buren Township, which then embraced the west half of Madison. He settled on Eagle Creek, on the east half of the northwest quarter of Section 14, but June 30, 1836, he sold his farm to Simeon Ransbottom. He had, however, removed to Union County the previous year. It is related that Bolenbaugh's reason for leaving was because of his dislike for the large number of Germans who were then entering land around him. If this story is correct, it was very fortunate for the township to get rid of such a man so easily.

William Moreland, Jr., removed from Findlay to this township in the spring of 1831, and in June of that year was elected the first justice of Van Buren township. In 1833 he purchased the improvement of John Diller, but in 1834 or 1835 moved back into Findlay Township, in the chapter on which township a more extended notice of the family will be found.

Nathan Lewis was one of those pioneers who lived by hunting. He squatted on Section 23, and is not believed to have ever owned any land in this locality.

_ Daniel and Elizabeth Rodabaugh, with their sons J ohn, Abraham, Simon, Daniel, Jacob and Jonas, and three daughters, came from Columbiana County, Ohio, in April, 1832, and settled on Section 25, where Simon now lives. The parents and all of the children, except the two youngest, were born in Pennsylvania. Daniel and his wife died on the old homestead, and Abraham, Simon and Jonas, of this township, are the only survivors of the family.

Abraham Myers, wife and three step-sons, John, Jacob and Isaac Bushong, also John Musser, came with the Rodabaughs. Myers settled on the southwest quarter of Section 30, and Jacob and Isaac Bushong lived with him. John Bushong and his wife, Anna, settled and died on Section 36, where their son, Simon, now lives. Isaac, who resides on Section 82, is the only one of the old stock living. The Bushongs were born in Virginia. Musser, a native of Pennsylvania, settled on the northwest quarter of Section 25, now owned by Simon Rodabaugh. His son, Jacob, resides southwest of the old farm.

Christian and Catherine Welty came from Perry County, Ohio, in 1833 or 1834, and for three weeks the family camped in the woods, while the rude log-cabin was being prepared for their occupancy. Mr. Welty's land was in Section 36, adjoining Williamstown on the west and south. In 1836 he was elected justice of the peace of Van Buren Township, to which subdivision he then belonged, and re-elected to the same office. Upon the establishment of a postoflice at Williamstown in 1835, Mr. Welty was appointed postmaster, and afterward opened a store in the village. He was a preacher in the Disciples Church, and both he and his wife died on the home place, where one of his sons yet resides.

In 1834 Robert Hurd entered several tracts of land in the north part of the township on Sections 1, 6 and 7. He was a native of East Haddam, Conn., born March 16, 1785. In 1820 he came out to Portage County, Ohio, as agent for Aaron and Moses Wilcox, original proprietors of Twinsburg Township, taken from Portage in the erection of Summit County in 184V0. The Wilcox brothers were twins, from which circumstance Twinsburg derived its name. Mr. Hurd was married in Killingsworth, Middlesex Co., Conn., in 1807, to Miss Mary Brainerd, a native of that State, who bore him fourteen children, twelve of whom grew to maturity, and ten are now living. In the fall of 1834 two of the sons, William B. and Lorenzo, and a son-in-law, Joseph Fitch, lotated in this township, and built a cabin on the site of Arlington. Here they remained clearing up their land till April, 1839, when their brothers, Anson and Jared Hurd, joined the settlement, built a cabin close to the first one erected, and the following September the father and balance of the family came out, .and took possession of the second residence, where his wife died in September, 1842. In 1844 Robert laid out the village of Arlington. In 1850 he was elected justice of the peace, aud died in February, 1861. Of their children, two sons reside in Findlay, and one daughter in Arlington. Dr. Anson Hurd, a leading physician of Findlay, is the best known of the family.

Adam Essinger, Martin Funk and Napoleon B. Martz all came to the township in 1834. Mr. Essinger and his wife, Catherine, emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in 1832. thence removed to Hancock County, with the families of his brother, Nicholas, Adam Gossman and Peter Pifer in the fall of 1834, locating on Section 14, Madison Township, where he soon afterward died. His widow and three children are residents of the township. Martin Funk and family were from Pennsylvania. He settled on Section my on the east bank of Eagle Creek, where he erected a grist-mill in 1838. He is mill for a number of years, and it was subsequently operated by his ee 3 ae : Mr. Funk and ihe and some of the children finally went to Michigan, but he came back ona visit and died at the house of Richard Sims. Mr. Martz was born in Virginia, and came here a single man, subsequently marrying Mrs. Hannah Nichols, nee Woodruff. He served one term as justice of the peace, and resided here until 1874, when he and his wife removed to Illinois, where both are still living. Their son, Dorillas, resides upon vere W. Williams was born in Maryland, April 20, 1800, and came of Revolutionary stock. The family removed to Tuscarawas County, Ohio, at an early day, where Mr. Williams remained till the fall of 1833, when, taking his wife and family in a wagon, he started West, arriving at Kenton, the newly laid out county seat of Hardin County, in the early part of October. At the first public sale Mr. Williams purchased several choice lots facing the square, then covered with the original forest, upon one of which he erected a large, two-storied, hewed-log building, and immediately opened a tavern " for the convenience of man and beast." He also kept-a small store in one corner of the bar-room, his trade being principally powder, lead and flints. The sessions of the court of common pleas were held in this tavern until the completion of the Court House. Mr. Williams had the contract for the erection of that building, which he finished in 1835. He dealt extensively in peltry, handling thousands of skins in 1834 and 1835. His son, J. W. F. Williams, of Washington, D. C., writes as follows abont his father's removal to Hancock County: ''It being reported and believed that the Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad would locate its line six miles east of Kenton, and the county seat be moved to a place known as 'Wheeler's,' he sold all of his property, had the town site of Williamstcwn surveyed, and moved there in the winter of 1835-36.'' Though the move proved a bad one, Mr. Williams soon became a prominent factor in the southern part of Hancock. He opened a tavern and store, and was the second postmaster of the village, which position he filled many years. In 1846 he was elected justice of the peace, and re-elected nine times in succession, his death occurring September 23, 1878, while filling his last term. A modest headstone marks his grave in the little cemetery near the village which perpetuates his name.

During 1835 Abraham Williams, John Smith, Nicholas Price and Andrew Ricketts, with their families, settled in the township. Williams built his cabin in the northeast quarter of Section 11, in March, 1835. He and his wife, Mary Ann, were from Pennsylvania. She died here and he afterward went to Nebraska. John Smith, a German, came here from Jefferson County, Ohio, in the spring of 1835. He purchased the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 11, of John Tullis, and took up his residence in the Tullis cabin. He died at the home of his son, Peter, in Van Buren Township. Nicholas and Elizabeth Price, natives of Germany, settled on Section 14, near the west line of the township, in the fall of 1835. They 'were the parents of nine children, and both died upon the old homestead. Four of their sons reside in this county: George in Van Buren Township, Nicholas E. and Philip in Madison, and Peter in Findlay. Andrew and Mary Ricketts came from Fairfield County, Ohio, in November, 1835, and settled west of Eagle Creek, on the east half of the southwest quarter of Section 2. In 1837 he was elected justice of the peace of Van Buren Township, in which subdivision his home was then included, and served one term. In 1841 he was elected county commissioner, which position he also filled one term. Mr. Ricketts accumulated a comfortable property, and died in October, 1865. The family subsequently removed to Findlay, where his widow is now living.

The next few years brought in a large number of settlers, among the first of whom we find Alexander Grant, George Kibler, Richard Sims (now of Arlington), Solomon Watkins, William Hodge, John Spacht and others. But the brunt of the struggle was now past, and these later comers found friends ready to assist them in the work of opening homes in the forest then covering the land.

Justices. - As this township was not erected till 1840, some of its pioneers served as justices of Van Buren prior to that date,and their names will be found in the list of that township. The justices of Madison have been as follows: Solomon Watkins, Joseph Leslie, Thomas Reese, Napoleon B. Martz, John W. Williams, Joel Markle, L. P. Wing, Robert Hurd, David Wardwell, L. D. Wiseman, Philip P. Wilch, Peter Wilch, Ezra Longworth, J. C. Clingerman, James Huff, Thomas H. Bushong, Dorillas Martz and Ellis Clingerman. The last mentioned and James Huff are the present incumbents of the office.

Grist-mills. - The first grist-mill was built in 1838 by Martin Funk on the northeast bank of Eagle Creek in Section 11. It was operated by waterpower supplied by a race cut across the bend in the creek. This mill, like all those erected at an early day, was of great value tothe pioneers. About ten years ago it ceased operations, and in the summer of 1885 was torn down and the frame removed by Peter Traucht to Arlington, where it was used in the construction of the steam grist-mill in that village, which is now in running order and the only flouring-mill in the township.

Schools. - A small log schoolhouse was built about 1833-34 on the farm of Abel Tanner in Section 23. It was taught by Charles Herron, and the few families then living in that locality sent their children to this school. It was the first attempt at education in this part of the county. The next schoolhouse was put up on the farm of John Diller, in Section 11, as early as 1838. The Ransbottoms, Funks, Watkinses, Prices, Gossmans, Pifers, Heldmans, Smiths and others attended here. In 1840 a school was taught by Miss Harriet Fitch, in a log-cabin on the site of Arlington. Miss Jane Bigelow, was the second teacher of this school. About 1841 a small roundlog schoolhouse was built in Williamstown - the first in the south part of the township. Other houses soon made their appearance, until in a few years. every portion of the township had a school for the education of its youth. Madison has now eight. schoolhouses, that in Arlington containing two rooms, and no child, rich or poor, need grow up without such educational advantages as the public schools afford. aie

Religious Societies. - A class of the Methodist Episcopal denomination was organized by Rey. Thomas Thompson, about 1830, at the house of Abel Tanner, the Tanners and Kinions being its only members. Services were held at intervals at private houses and schoolhouses, but in 1858 this denomination erected a frame building in Arlington, which is yet in use. The Methodist Protestant Church organized a society about 1838, in what is now -Van Buren Township, though some of its members lived in Madison. About 1854-55 they erected Mount Moriah Church on Section 22, Van

Buren Township, and also one in, Arlington soon after the Methodist Episcopal Airominaced built theirs. The Arlington Church is the only building owned by the Methodist Protestants in this township; while the Methodist Episcopals have another society and church at Williamstown. The Disciples have a church at the latter village, Arlington and Williamstown each containing two churches. Other denominations have held services in the township, yet none but those mentioned have ever had an organized society, except perhaps the German Baptists, who, as early as 1835-86, held meetings in the Rodabaugh settlement, and may have effected an organization, though they never had any house of worship in Madison.

Villages. - Williamstown was laid out by John W. Williams April 23, 1834, on the northeast corner of Section 36 and the northwest corner of Section 31, thirteen miles directly south of Findlay, and originally contained forty-eight lots. The Bellefontaine road had been surveyed and partly opened, but there was only a rude wagon track through this township when Williamstown was surveyed. In 1835 Mr. Williams erected a log building, and late that year removed from Kenton and opened a tavern in the forest then covering the site of his village. The same year a postoffice named '' Eagle'' was established here, and Christian Welty appointed postmaster, who also opened a store about 1837. Mr. Welty's successors in the postoffice have been as follows: John W. Williams, Dr. B. D. Evans, John B. De Haven and Dr. B. D. Evans. In 1866 the name of the office was changed to Williamstown. The first resident physician was Dr. Smith, but Dr. John F. Perky, who came afterward, is much better remembered, as he practiced here many years ere his removal to Findlay. The village has never had much prosperity and wears a general appearance of decay. Dunkirk on the south and Arlington on the north are fast sapping whatever business life it now contains. Its population in 1880 was 128, and its pres. ent business interests embrace one general grocery store, one drug store, a steam saw, shingle and lath-mill, a wagon shop, two blacksmith shops, a shoe shop and three physicians. The Methodist Episcopal and Disciples denominations have each a church in the village, and aschool is also located here.

West Union was laid out by Andrew Sheller in the southeast corner of Section 36, December 25, 1834, but no buildings were ever erected on the site.

Arlington lies nine miles south of Findlay, on the Bellefontaine State road, and was laid out by Robert Hurd, in November, 1844, in the southeast corner of Section 1 and the southwest corner of Section 6, lying on each side of the State road. Several additions have since been made to the original town. In 1846 Dr. Belizur Beach erected a brick hotel, and the following year the store-room now occupied by Richard Sims. He opened the hotel himself, but rented the other building to Truman Parker and Lorenzo P. Wing, who, under the firm name of Parker & Wing, opened a general store. After about a year Dr. Beach and Joel Markle bought out Parker & Wing, and carried on the business till 1855, and were then succeeded by Thomas Stark, a son-in-law of Robert Hurd. Lovell Parker opened a blacksmith shop in 1846, and Edwin B. Vail was the first brick-mason of the village. Drs. Beach and W. K. Drake were the earliest resident physicians. In 1846 Martins Town postoffice was removed from the house of Hathaway R. Warner, north of the village in Jackson Township, to Arling- ton, and Dr. Belizur Beach appointed postmaster of Arlington postofiice, the name being changed at the time of removal. His successors have been Lorenzo P. Wing, Edwin B. Vail, Dr. W. K. Drake, Thomas Stark, Philip Wilch, Dr. L. S. Lafferty, E. P. Lease, Dr. ©. F. King and Holmes Wheeler.

The census of 1880 gave Arlington a population of 136, but its citizens now claim between 300 and 400 inhabitants. Its business interests are represented by one general dry goods and grocery store, two general grocery stores, one drug store, a good hardware store, a grist-mill and elevator, a steam saw and planing-mill, two steam saw-mills, a boot and shoe store and harness shop, two wagon shops, two blacksmith shops, a pump factory, a lath-mill, an undertaker's shop, two tileyards, one brickyard, a good hotel and livery stable and three saloons. Drs. L. 8. Lafferty, C. F. King and J. L. Asire are the resident physicians of the town. The Methodist Episcopals and Methodist Protestants have each a church here; while a graded school of two rooms furnishes good educational facilities. On the 12th of October, 1882, Welker Post, No. 266, G. A. R., was organized with thirty charter members, and has now about the same membership. The Cleveland, Delphos & St. Louis Narrow Guage Railroad was completed to Arlington in the fall of 1882, and the first through train came over the road from Delphos to Mt. Blanchard January 1, 1883. Much more was expected of this enterprise than it has been able to accomplish, and it will never be of any great utility to this section until it is changed to a standard guage. Thisis now talked of, and the citizens of Arlington have strong hopes that it will yet be accomplished.

Source changes here: from History of Hancock County, Ohio, by Spaythe, Jacob A, published 1903; 75 words in this source stream.

Madison Township

William Y. Woodruff, June 1, 1829, entered the northeast quarter cf section two (2), containing 159.44 acres; and on the same day Abel Tanner entered the west half of the northwest quarter of section twenty-three (2^), containing 80 acres.

Marion

Elnathan Cory, November 28, 1822, entered the northeast part of the northeast quarter of section twenty one (21), containing 3.54 acres; and the north part of the northeast quarter of section twenty-two (22), containing 77.10 acres.