St. Joseph Township

St. Joseph Township

St. Joseph's River drains the territory and flows in a southwesterly direction, entering the township near its northeast corner and dividing it nearly into equal parts. The valley or bottom lands adjacent to the river are especially fertile, highly improved and very valuable. Some other parts are not so rich for agricultural purposes. The St. Joseph's River (from which the township derives its name), with its tributaries, affords the drainage of the surrounding country.

The surface of the township is generally rolling, but no elevations of very great magnitude appear. The principal varieties of timber which abounded in exhaustless supply and excellent quality were hickory, walnut, butternut, ash, poplar, sugar-maple, oak of all kinds, cherry and sycamore.

With the advent of the first white settlers, the woods abounded in game of all kinds known to the country. Deer and wild turkeys, exceedingly plentiful, afforded the principal meat supply of the early settlers. Every man and boy and some of the female population were expert hunters, and many are the tales told of hair-breadth escapes from, and single-handed contests with bruin, the arch enemy of the young domestic animals about the settlers' cabins. Wolves, panthers and wildcats also made night hideous and nocturnal travel precarious with their prowling, stealthy and deceptive methods of attack.

The first settlement of St. Joseph township antedates its organization by several years. The township organization was effected on the second day of December, 1832, from territory previously attached to Carryall township. The house of John Fee was designated as the voting place and was so continued for a number of years.

Samuel Holton is entitled to the honor of being the first settler, he having emigrated to the St. Joseph valley in the autumn of 1827. He settled on Fish Creek, one mile north of Edgerton, on what is now known as the Burkhart farm. It is claimed by some that one John Zediker, who came from Pennsylvania, was in the township as early as 1821-22, but this is merely supposition, and the honor of being the first pioneer of the township is generally accorded to Samuel Holton. It might be added here that he also contests with James Guthrie (who is mentioned in connection with Springfield township) the honor of being the first permanent settler in the county. The reader can decide for himself in the conflict of opinion. Mr. Holton purchased land in the vicinity mentioned, on Fish Creek, and there built his cabin and established a home. Other families arrived soon afterwards and became near neighbors of Mr. Holton, but it must be remembered that "near neighbors" in those days mieht be separated by several miles. For some time after this little settlement was located in the wilderness on Fish Creek, Mr. Holton brought all his family supplies from Defiance, and it required four days to make the journey.

10; the widow Craig on section 11; George Aucker and Robert Mc- Cullough on section 15 ; Solomon Lewis, father of William Lewis, once sheriff of Williams county, on section 33 ; Samuel Holton on section 21 ; and a Mr. Haskins on section 27. Turner Jolly was a young man having no abiding place and a Mr. Talbot was in the township then for a short time, but did not remain.

David Aucker and family were among the early settlers. He was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, in 1805, and at the age of eighteen he came West ; visited several counties in Southern Ohio, farmed on shares in Pickaway county till 1834, and then came to St. Joseph township, Williams county, erected a round log cabin, and two years later brought his family, and thus became one of the first permanent settlers of the township. Money was scarce, the market for his produce - Defiance - was twenty-five miles distant, and the food for the family was procured from the game of the forest and the products of the field ; the clothing was spun at home from flax and wool. However, he succeeded in building up a comfortable home of 200 acres with very fair improvements. He was a Democrat and a man of extended influence. He was present at the organization of the township, and was then elected trustee, and for a number of years thereafter re-elected. He took his farewell of earth in 1876.

Daniel Farnham came in 1835. He was born in Windham county, Connecticut, in 1811. He was taken by his parents to Delaware county, N. Y., when but three years old, and there he remained until twenty-four, lumbering on the Susquehanna river, hauling logs in the winter and studying at night to augment the education he had received at a six months' term of school. In 1835, he wandered West and finally located in St. Joseph township. He worked at jobs for four months, and for four months clerked for Payne C. Parker, who was at that time trading quite extensively with the Indians. In 1836, Mr. Farnham returned to Delaware county, N. Y., and in the fall brought back to Williams county, hisi mother and sister. The following spring he began in the forest to clear up a farm, building a pioneer cabin and cultivating the ground until 1840, when he removed to Edgerton and engaged in the mercantile business, which occupied his attention the remainder of his life. He was justice of the peace for twelve years. His early experiences were interesting and varied, game in the beginning being the chief means of the family's subsistence. His trips to the mill for his first employer were made by ox teams, the distance

Judge Parker came in 1836, John Bratton in 1837, and John W. Bowersox in 1838. Mr. Bowersox was a native of Frederick county, Maryland, and was born January 10, 1808. He was reared a shoemaker and farmer until eighteen years of age, when he went out to work for two years as a journeyman shoemaker. Returning home, he remained there a year and then moved to near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he opened a shop. In 1831, he moved to Stark county, Ohio, located in North Industry, and there followed his trade for seven years; then he moved to St. Joseph township and located on section 5, and, in the fall of 1838, erected a round log cabin. Mr. Bowersox filled the position of township trustee for several terms. When he came to the township the forest was full of game and many were the deer and wild turkeys that fell at the crack of his rifle, and his sport was enlivened on one occasion by the slaughter of a bear, and on another by the death of a wildcat.

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

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

and wife, about 1831 or 1832. The first marriage in the township was a social event of considerable importance and was attended by families from considerable distances. The contracting parties were Samuel Holton and his brother John, of the male persuasion, and two daughters of the widow Fee, representing the gentler sex. Later, in 1836, William Bender married another daughter of the widow Fee, and this was also a wedding of considerable consequence. The people gathered in large numbers, coming down the St. Joseph river from Denmark in boats. Daniel Farnham, who had lately moved into the township, was one of the invited guests. The first school house erected in the township was located at Denmark, and the first teacher was Rev. Elijah Stoddard. John Cornell was also one of the first teachers in the township. The first sermon delivered in the township is accredited to Rev. Elijah Stoddard, a local preacher, though another authority, perhaps equally reliable, gives this honor to Revs. Coleman and Warner.

The Methodists were the leaders in religious efforts in St. Joseph township, the first meetings being held in the settlers' cabins and were conducted principally by the ministers above named. After continuing the services in the houses of the members for several years, schoolhouses were used, and later houses for worship were erected. Revs. Coleman and Warner were both ministers of the M. E. church and traveled frequently through the township during those early times. Rev. Warner traveled a circuit extending into the township many years afterward, and Rev. Coleman traveled a part of the same circuit again in 1869 and 1870. The Methodist Episcopal church has maintained organizations in the township from the earliest time to the present; appointments have changed somewhat and some have been abandoned, but the voice of the itinerant minister has always been heard in the townshio. In the days of Thompson, Allbright, Lindsay and others, they would hold services on week days, and then it was that ministers were traveling the circuit in reality. Farmers and their hired help, their wives and children, would leave the fields, and in the garb of toil go to the schoolhouses, for the time being houses of the Lord.

The United Brethren were also early occupants of the field and held religious services at various places in the township ; among others, the log barn of John W. Bowersox. The church of the United Brethren was represented by Revs. Hulburt and Jonathan Thomas, commonly known as "Father" Thomas. Rev. Hulburt was an eccentric character, something of the Peter Cartwright style. One of "Father" Thomas's appointments, over sixty-five years ago, was at what was called Blair's Corners, southwest of Edgerton, where he preached in a little old log schoolhouse. He was a man of natural talent, fearless in defense of what he conceived to be right and terrible in denunciation of the wrong.

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

About the first organization of a Congregational church in the township was at the school house, three miles north of Edgerton. This was as early as 1856. Rev. Worts, then of Ligonier, Indiana, was the first minister, and there was quite a flourishing organization there. It was abandoned in a few years and the congregation was re-organized at Edgerton. Mr. Worts was present at the time of the hanging of the noted horse-thief, McDougal, by the regulators of La Grange and Noble counties, Indiana, and it is said that he held some religious services with the doomed man. In his sermons of that time he made frequent reference to the terrible scene and its lessons.

The Reformed church also held services at the same schoolhouse for a number of years, and indeed it appears that for a while every religious denomination known to the Christian world held services there. Rev. Weaver held services for the Baptists in a log schoolhouse standing on the same site, as early as 1854. It was about the time the Air Line railroad was being built. He was holding services there one Sabbath afternoon, when something like a dozen or more of the employees on the road came to the meeting and began to disturb the minister. He remonstrated with them, but to no purpose, for, having come for a row they proposed to have one. They continued' their disorderly behavior beyond the endurance of the citizens present. The meeting stopped and the fight began - Alexander and Tobias Wright, John Gnagy, John W. and David Bowersox, John Skelton, Benjamin F. Cornell and others on the part of the preacher, and the railroad hands in their own behalf. The struggle was terrific, but finally the friends of good order and the Gospel prevailed. The railroad men were completely routed and most of them were fearfully battered. They threatened to return in great force, but never put in an appearance.

The Catholics first organized in Edgerton, where they have a good church building and parsonage. They have a resident priest and are in a flourishing condition. The Disciples were once stronger in Edgerton than they are now, but they still maintain an organization. The German Lutherans have a church building and organization in Edgerton, and while their numbers are not great they are in a growing condition. The Evangelical Association has done a good work near the central part of the township. Services were formerly held in a schoolhouse. about a mile and a quarter north of Edgerton, and the mem- bership grew rapidly. They completed an excellent church building on the site of the schoolhouse, and have among their members many of the substantial citizens of the township. The Universalists have occasionally held services in Edgerton, but have had no distinct organization at any time.

Probably the first church building erected in the township was on the Bryan road, near the east line of the township. It was built of hewed logs, and as nearly as can be ascertained was controlled by the Lutherans. It was long since torn away, and had been abandoned for many years theretofore. It stood there, almost in the woods, for many years, and had sort of a ghostly appearance, but there is no trace of it left now.

The first burying ground in the township was' located on the Parker farm, and Rev. Elijah Stoddard was one of the first persons buried there. After some years the ground was abandoned, the bodies were exhumed and removed to the cemetery at Edgerton. George Aucker was buried in the old cemetery during the 30's. Nearly all the churches provided a place for the interment of their dead ; but these were generally abandoned when the churches declined, and the cemetery at Edgerton contains the remains of many of the early pioneers.

The first tavern in St. Joseph was opened by Judge Parker at his private residence in Denmark. The first resident physicians were Drs. Barkdol and J. S. Stough, who located in the township about the same time. These have been succeeded by many others during the seventythree years that have elapsed since the organization of the township.

Edgerton was incorporated and assumed the position accorded by that legal proceeding by the election of a mayor and establishing a municipal government. It has numbered among its mayors such esteemed citizens as George Helwig, O. H. Fusselman, William F. Roop, James Marshall, John L. Terpening, Samuel Fritz and L. A. Knight, the present incumbent. John L. Terpening was a native of Cayuga county, N. Y., and was born March 7, 1835. He was brought to Lenawee county, Michigan, when but a child, and there reared on a farm until sixteen years of age, when he began an1 apprenticeship as jeweler at Hudson, that state. He afterward conducted a jewelry store there for a year or more, and in the spring of 1858 removed to Edgerton, where he established a jewelry store in the town, which he managed for a great many years. He received the appointment as postmaster of the place in 1870, and held it continuously until the change of administration in 1885. During the civil war he was employed as enrolling officer for the drafts and performed his duty impartially, fearlessly, and to the satisfaction of the people. He also served as township clerk for five years, besides officiating in the capacity of mayor.

Edgerton is located in a beautiful agricultural district and is surrounded by the most fertile and highly prolific lands. The Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Grand Army of the Republic, Women's Relief Corps, Daughters of Rebekah, and Free and Accepted Masons are the secret societies represented in the town.

The town of Edgerton, according to the census of 1900, contains a population of one thousand and forty-three. This is an increase of seventy-six during the last decade, a percentage that is small, but it represents a substantial growth. It is a busy trading point, sustained by a large scope of good farming country, and its support is assured in the character and reputation of the business men. Some of the stores would do credit to a much larger place. Considerable manufacturing is also done, and an excellent graded school in the village affords ample opportunities to the children in the acquirement of a good practical education.