Henry County Genealogical Society Newsletter
Volume 5, Number 5, September-October 1991
MEETINGS
September 16, 1991, Monday, 7:00 pm
Our September program will feature Jennifer Stouber, a 4-H club member from Henry County. Jennifer will share how she became interested in genealogy plus tips on organizing her material.
October 21, 1991, Monday, 7:00 pm
Lucille Van Scoyoc, one of our Society members, will present a slide program on the history of Deshler.
JUST A NOTE(S)
This issue concludes our series of township articles taken from the work of Lewis Cass Aldrich. If you missed an issue, send for a back copy of that particular newsletter. Volumes 1-4 are available for $3.00 each plus postage.
Next month will begin a series on the towns and villages in Henry County.
On page 49 [of the hardcopy version] you will find a ballot for election of officers. If you are unable to attend our October meeting, please send your ballot to our Deshler address.
Thanks for the many queries that were sent to us. Helping others is one of the benefits of membership!
QUERIES
MAY, HILDEBRAND, HENRY, MOORE
Researching in Henry Co. Anthony May came through this area and m. Sarah Hildebrand dau. of Casper Henry and Mary (Moore) Hildrebrand. Around 1890 they had a son Henry May. Are there any relatives still in Henry Co.?
–Mary L. Eaton, Port Clinton, OH 43452
WENZINGER, YAGER, OEDY, NEIDIG, KONZEN
Looking for info on Edward Wenzinger family. Edward was son of John & Veronica/Vernice (Yager) Wenzinger. Edward b. 2 Jan 1855 died 19 Apr 1909, Hamler, OH. He m. Mary Oedy 27 Nov 1883. Mary dau. of Michael, Sr. & Maria V. (Neidig) Oedy. They had one adopted dau. Lily b. 1893/94. Lily’s married name was Konzen. After Edward’s death Mary, Lily, & Mr. Konzen moved to California. After this move I can find no further info. Any info on them would be appreciated.
–Diana Meyer, Ottawa, OH 45875
CROMWELL, CREAGER
I am researching the following names: Cromwell: Robert Hayes, Henry Franklin, William Angeline, Veona. Creager: Veona, Gideon, Christina, Mary.
–Debra Holmes Vobbe, Lima, OH 45805-1835
PRICE, NEWTON
Seeking info on Isaac J. Price and wife Susan Maria Newton. Article in Delta Atlas said Isaac was well known pioneer. Referred to him as “Dr.” Both buried at Swanton Cem., Fulton Co., OH
–Mrs. Kay Miller, Republic, OH 44867
PRICE, TILLEY
Looking for info on Esther E. Price. Believe m. Frances A. Tilley 30 Mar 1892.
–Mrs. Kay Miller, Republic, OH 44867
BULLER, GEESON/GEESIN
Looking for info regarding Arthur Severe Buller, wife Margaret, living in Henry Co., OH from ca. 1880 until their deaths in 1905 and 1887 respectively. Any other marriages for Arthur Severe Buller. Also infor regarding Charles Frederick Geeson/Geesin and/or his wife, Hannah Hazen Geeson, living in Deshler, Henry Co., OH from about 1880 until their deaths in 1921 and 1917 respectively.
–Miss June Buller, Chicago, IL 60614
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, 1888
(abstracted from History of Henry and Fulton Counties, Ohio, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich)
This is the last township in alphabetical order, and possesses more intrinsic historic interest than any other of the townships of Henry county. It was the hunting ground of the last of the Ottawas, from which three chiefs and a small band of followers were reluctant to retreat from the advancing feet of Caucasian civilization. These three chiefs were Oxinoxica, Wauseon, and Myo, the latter ranking third in the Indian degree of power. He was a small, but exceedingly wise, or more properly, cunning Indian. He died on the Maumee and his skull was for a number of years preserved by Dr. L. L. Patrick, one of the pioneer physicians who had the courage to combat with the malaria and bilious fever of the Maumee, and who was an uncle of George Patrick, now residing in Liberty township and well known as one of the most prosperous agriculturists of the Maumee valley, also an uncle of the first wife of O. E. Barnes who is well known to the citizens of Henry county as sheriff and clerk, for many years.
This township was originally named Myo, in honor of the chief so called “Little Chief” — but possessed of more judgment and distinction than the two who ranked him in authority.
At the time of the organization of the township there were but eleven voters and their names may be recorded among the pioneers. These were Edward Murphy, Noah Holloway, James O’Niel, Michael Connelly, Sr., the father of Michael and James Connelly, who still reside on the old homestead, Edward Scribner, whose descendants still reside in the county, William Anglemeyer, some of whose descendants still reside in the township, John Lamphier, now a well-to-do and prosperous farmer residing in Liberty township, on the west line of Washington, David Edwards, whose sole surviving representative, Martha, is now married to Robert Showman and now lives upon the old homestead, David J. Cory, who was one of the first associate judges of Henry county and who died childless at Findlay at a ripe old age, having a large fortune, and was universally respected.
The first voting place was in an unhewed log school-house, known as Murphy’s school-house, situated near where the fine brick residence of Michael Connelly, Jr., now stands. Abraham Snyder, now of Damascus township, was at that time (1839) then a hunter in what was then the wilds of northwestern Ohio.
The last known of Myo as a township on the duplicate of the county was in 1847. Then there were 7,975 acres of land valued at $23,016.45, paying a total tax of $518.85, and an additional tax of $112.23 for school-houses.
At this time John Biggins, still living; Dennis Bresnahan, dead; Peter Connelly, living; August Groff, dead; John Grumling, living; Ephraim Hyter, living; Daniel Moore, dead (sons living on homestead); and Nelson Polson, had moved and settled in the township.
Between the making of the duplicates of 1847 and that of 1848 the Maumee river was made the southern boundary of the township, and section six, and parts of one, two, three, four, five, seven and eight of Damascus attached, and the name was changed to Washington.
We then find on the duplicate of 1848 the additional names of Charles Bucklin, David Mohler, William Anglemeyer, James Durbin, Thomas W. Durbin (present recorder), David Edwards, Edward O’Hearn, John Lamphier, John H. Poison, A. Smith, Michael White, all of whom are still living, or leave descendants.
This township was the last of the hunting grounds of the Indians in Henry county, and in fact, in northwestern Ohio; a reservation for the last of the Ottowas having been retained in the possession of that tribe for many years after the whites had obtained a majority of population. The reservation set aside for the Ottowas extended into Henry county at the northeast corner, and was situated as follows: Commencing a little north of the half section line of twenty-four east, running southwest with the west line of the northeast one-fourth of section thirty-four, thence in a southeastern course to the Maumee River in the north half of the southeast one-fourth of section two, in the government surveyed township, five north of range eight, east. This is still one of the best sporting fields in the county. Game, however, is limited to the smaller class — pheasants, quail, rabbits and squirrel. The time, however, has certainly come to hang up the rifle and the trap, and the rapidly disappearing forest also suggests putting aside the ax and the saw, and picking up the shovel and the hoe, and learn that, “He who by the plow would thrive, Himself must either hold or drive.”
The topography of this township differs materially from all others in the county. The southeastern part consists of what is known as “openings,” i.e., quick-sand swamps — very wet, where nothing but swamp grasses, shaking asps, and bull-rushes grow, and of sand knolls covered with “scrub oak.” A few years ago this part of the township was not considered worth the widow’s mite, but by thorough ditching, and at considerable expense, has been converted into productive and valuable farms. The balance of the township was more like the other parts of the county — very heavily timbered. But the timber has gone, and it is too late to say, “woodman, spare that tree.”
What sad havoc was wrought in the early days when the “clearings” were being made, and when trees had no positive value and no market. It is only in later days that the value of forest or timber lands has been appreciated. Think! The forest lands of the United States, excluding Alaska, embrace 500,000,000 acres, or twenty-eight per cent of the entire area. The farmers own about thirty-eight per cent of the forest area, or 185,000,000 acres.
The rest is owned by railroad corporations, mine owners, charcoal burners, tanners, lumbermen and speculators. The farmers are the most desirable class of owners, and they begin to learn the value of their wood, and devote time and thought to its preservation. Now they begin to cherish their woodlands, and add millions, yearly, of trees for shelter and beautification, and for subsequent profit to those who will come after them. The farmers’ area of forest is increasing in all the Western States, and groves are plentiful as in the days of the Druids in England, or of the classic deities of Greece and Italy, and are put to much better purpose. One thing is to be noted, that trees flourish on lands that will not return a remunerative crop. The conifers will thrive under apparently most inhospitable conditions. Forest trees return to the soil the nutriment they take from it, thus maintaining its productive power and encouraging their own growth. The routes of transportation now render access to market easy, by land or water, and these facilities, with the extension of railroads, grow better every year. The railroads need many hundreds of ties for each mile (60,000,000 a year in all, at an average of two ties to a tree), and these ties must be renewed every seven or ten years. One acre of land may contain and perfect from four to six hundred trees. In a few years these trees will produce a rich harvest of ties, and the surplus wood will give an immense supply of fuel and fencing. The farmer, with a big wood lot, may well ask, “What shall the harvest be?” and then look out for a rich profit. As matters go, the thirty eight per cent owned by the farmers now will soon be seventy-five per cent of the tree area, and forestry is commanding the attention of our most thoughtful and considerate men.
The duplicate of 1887 indicates the material wealth of the township, and shows 18,178 acres of land, valued in 1880 at $219,175, and chattel property valued at $130,854, listed for taxation, and a tax of $8,190.72 paid. The educational interests have not been overlooked, and the township is divided into ten districts, with good, well-provided buildings in each. The spiritual welfare of the people is attended to in three churches; one, a Protestant Methodist, at Texas, and two at Colton — a Church of God, and one Methodist Episcopal.
The population in 1860 was 894; in 1870, 1,141, and in 1880 amounted to 1,249. A proportionate increase has been maintained since that time.
The township is situated in the same tier of townships with Freedom, Ridgeville and Liberty, and like these townships has contributed its twelve northern sections to the formation of Fulton county. It is in the eighth range, and is one of the oldest in the county, having had a settlement long before Napoleon was thought of as a county seat, and contained a hamlet of good size before the woodman’s ax had begun gnawing at the pillars of God’s first temples in any other part of the county. It had an important trading post before the surveyor’s chain was stretched and the streets of the present county seat were marked, although it was not platted until many years later. Texas was, and is, the principal village of the township, and is one of the oldest in the county. It is situated on the north bank of the Maumee river on the north side of the Miami and Erie Canal. The outlet lock of the twenty-four mile level of the canal is at this place. A public ferry connects the banks, the expense being paid by the county.
In 1865 Captain George Carver conceived the idea of boring for oil, and a company was formed in February, 1866, under the name of the Henry & Lucas Co. Oil and Mining Company. After a futile attempt to strike oil, the land was sold to Captain J. W. Geering, who, thinking that there was an opportunity to start a sanitarium, built a large hotel on the grounds, and thoroughly equipped it with all modern conveniences. But alas! for human fancies! his dreams were doomed to be blasted, and now the hotel is a huge residence.
The next and only remaining hamlet in the county is called Colton, and lies at the center of section twenty-one on the line of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad. At present it is a thriving hamlet.
The population of the township, like that of all the other townships of the county is small. The southeastern part is settled mostly by Irish or their descendants, who came here during the construction of the canal, and locally is known as “Ireland.” The north is mostly German or of German extraction. A good sprinkling of the Yankee is also found here. The whole population is honest, industrious, thrifty and enterprising, except in the villages where a little energy, capital and modern attachments would certainly do good.
SAMUEL E. EDWARDS “THE OHIO HUNTER”
During a recent cemetery recording session at Hoy (Shunk) Cemetery the gravestone of Samuel E. Edwards , 1810 – 1895, “The Ohio Hunter”, and Rachel Edwards, 1830 – 1918, was one of those recorded.
The unique title prompted some research on the story of this man.
Samuel E. Edwards was known as “The Ohio Hunter” and was the author of two books, “The Ohio Hunter” and “The Western Pioneer”. Both books told of his experiences hunting in the wilds of Northwestern Ohio during the early 1800’s.
He was also remembered for many years as a favorite Pioneer Day speaker who related his early experiences in Henry County.
From Volume II, The History of Northwest Ohio by Nevin Winters, and Henry County, Ohio, published by the Henry County Historical Society, 1976:
Samuel E. Edwards was born in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, March 22, 1810. His mother was Irish German and his father was Welsh. He inherited the art of the Irish, the sagacity of the German and the eloquence of the Welsh, and in early youth he also developed, perhaps by inheritance, an instinct for the marvelous and a love of nature’s wonders and mysteries. He grew up strong, vigorous, alert of mind and senses, and possessed not only physical strength but a marvelous endurance. As a boy he sat absorbed listening to the many tales of ghosts and witchcraft which were so frequently told by the firesides of the homes, and as he became better acquainted with the woods there developed a skepticism as to these early teachings, and when he found how strong a hold such superstitions had upon the Indians and the ignorant white settlers, he seized every opportunity to dispel the fog of ignorance, and in fact he devoted many of the years of his life to the enlightenment of intelligence and morals among the people with whom he came most frequently in contact.
In 1812 when he was two years of age his father moved to Washington County, Ohio, and three years later the mother was left a widow with seven dependent children. Soon afterwards she moved to Cincinnati, and when Samuel was twelve years of age the family went to Piqua County, where they located in a community of Pennsylvania Dutch people. At that time the City of Piqua had only one house on its site. There Samuel Edwards grew to manhood, and he employed much of his time in working on a farm. In Piqua County on September 22, 1832, he married Mary Altman, who was of Pennsylvania Dutch stock.
The year after his marriage Samuel Edwards and his young wife and infant son George moved into the dense forest of Hancock County, Ohio. He afterwards went up into the Northwest Ohio district, until cold weather and the impenetrable swamps made further progress impossible, and he then returned to Piqua County, a distance of 125 miles, arriving after enduring hunger and the most severe hardships. He soon afterwards returned to Hancock County, where he and his little family eked out a bare subsistence largely from wild meat and wild honey, and they thus bridged over the time of scarcity until they could establish a home and raise their own bread. In those early days they hauled their grain and flour through the swamps from Logan and Champaign counties, about a hundred miles away.
Samuel Edwards had many rare and interesting experiences in the Maumee River basin. There he came in contact with the Indians and soon learned that they were more dangerous when excited by drink, than any of the wild beasts of the forest. He had narrow escapes, and for years he lived a life of risk and hardship.
In 1838 he made the first of his hunting excursions, which thereafter continued for a number of years until the hunting grounds of Northwest Ohio were entirely eliminated by the advance of settlement and general development. In the first winter he killed thirty-eight deer, including one large buck which he had wounded and with which he had a dangerous struggle before he was able to cut its throat. From 1838 forward Samuel Edwards was the greatest hunter of wild game, especially deer and bear, in Northwest Ohio. It has been said that when he raised his old “kill all” gun something usually fell dead. He mingled freely with the Indians found still in that section of Ohio, and often made friends with them and seldom had any difficulties. One time he was walking from Maumee to Bucyrus in Crawford County and got lost in the woods. He sought shelter for the night in the hut of an Indian couple whose daughter took a special fancy to the fearless woodsman and hunter, and when he set out the next day she provided him with a generous store of meat and directed him to the proper course. During the winter of 1846-47 Edwards hunted in the big woods of Putnam and Paulding counties, and his work there netted him about $70, a considerable sum for that time, and with it he was able to pay his debts and owe no man anything. At that time he had a family of nine children. He owned some fine hunting dogs of which he was especially proud. His favorite dog was Madge, who had been his main support in many a fight with crippled bears, and without her aid he could never have dispatched the beast.
After the advance of settlement closed the hunting grounds, Samuel Edwards devoted more of his time to fishing, especially in the Maumee River, and he was equally skillful in the handling of reel, hook and line as with the rifle. He hooked some of the largest sturgeon and other fish ever caught in that river. Later he confined his hunting chiefly to coon, turkey and small game, and would traverse long distances in order to find good fishing grounds. During those years he lived on his little farm in Harrison Township of Henry County, where he spent his last days and died when about ninety years of age.
His first wire had passed away before the Civil war, leaving him a large family of children. Late in life he and his second wife embraced the Christian religion, joining the Christian Church, and he died happy in that faith. He was one of the unique characters of Northwest Ohio and well deserves this brief tribute to his memory and his accomplishments. He and all his sons except Thomas J. were republicans in politics.
THANK YOU!!!
During the summer of 1987 The Henry County Genealogical Society began the project of recording, compiling, typing, and publishing the tombstone inscriptions taken from all cemeteries in Henry County.
These recordings have been compiled in books either by a single township or a combinations of two townships according to the number and sizes of cemeteries. This is done in order to keep the books the same general size.
We have published them at six month intervals and hopefully will continue that pace until all townships and cemeteries are completed.
The recording process started during the summer of 1987 and our first book was published by December of 1988.
Up to now we have completed ten townships and have the remaining three to finish. Nine of these townships have been published in six books and are offered for sale by the Henry County Genealogical Society either by mail or at the Deshler Edwin Wood Memorial Library.
At the time we began to publish these books we were advised, by other genealogical chapters, not to publish the names of recorders in the books.
However, we feel that a big “Thank You” is long overdue to those who have worked on this project in the past and those who continue to be faithful to this undertaking. THANK YOU to Art and Lucille Sunderman, Lucille VanScoyoc, Karen Sunderman, Jane Shively, Connie and Harold Petersen, Cathy Bishop, Ivan and Evelyn Donnely, Shirley Lulfs, Stacy Gabby, Jackie Sautter, Joanne Kitchen, Clara Ellen Courtney, Carolyn Hiser, Phyllis LaRue, Mary Jane Myrice, Jane Yarnell, Ruth Kieffer, Hamilton and Geraldine Hoit, and Janell Erven.
We would also like to thank those who loaned us cemetery records to be used as cross references.
–Cemetery Committee Chairman, Phyllis LaRue
Pemberville Public Library
Pemberville, Ohio 43450
PHONE 287-4012
“German Roots and Branches” will be held October 5, 1991, from 8:30-3:30 at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Pemberville, Ohio (about 25 miles south of Toledo). The workshop will be sponsored by the Pemberville Public Library, Wood County Genealogical Society and the Sandusky County Kin-Hunters.
Among the speakers will be Steven Charter, Center for Archival Collections, Bowling Green State University; Rev. Larry Knigga, pastor of Rocky Ridge Lutheran Church, social historian and genealogist; Laura Zepernick King, CGRS, CGL, Local and Family Historian, Pemberville Public Library; and several other genealogists with practical German research experience. Topics will include beginning genealogy, using church records, immigration patterns, research in German libraries and archives, daily life of the German serf and more.
Pemberville is one of a number of “sister cities” with connections to Melle, Germany, The others are the Elmore-Woodville area, New Bremen, Jackson and Garfield Heights in Ohio; New Melle, Missouri; and Bear Branch/Bear Creek area of Indiana. Many of the surnames in these areas are the same and the people share this common origin.
Everyone interested in German genealogical research is invited to attend the workshop. The topics will be of interest to all German researchers. We are extending a special invitation to those with descendants from the Melle/Osnabruck area. It could be an opportunity for you to make connections with your “cousins.”
If you are interested in registration information, send an SASE to Laura King, Pemberville Public Library, 375 East Front St., Pemberville, Ohio, 43450. The phone number is 419-287-4012 and the FAX is 419-287-4620.
