Early Schools in Defiance, Ohio - Part 1

From the Defiance Democrat - January 10, 1895
(Parts are summarized in blue.)

"OUR EARLY SCHOOLS

Interesting Paper Read by Henry B. Harris.

Interesting History Concerning Our Schools Read at the Dedication Exercises at the Third Ward School Building 

on New Year's Day.

Henry B. Harris has kindly furnished the NEWS with the manuscript of his address on our early schools delivered at the dedicatory exercises at the Third ward school building Tuesday.  The article contains much valuable history that will be of interest to everyone." 

The first part of the address discussed the establishment of the New England Colonies and their establishment of a common school system.  Then the Continental Congress of 1785 regulated the survey of land and provided for a place for a school in the townships.  After the treaty with the Indians in Northwest Ohio in 1817, Ohio passed an act which, among other things, formed the county of Williams and established a land office at Piqua in 1820.  At that point permanent settlers began to come to the area.

"The town of Defiance was laid out in November, 1822, though there had been an Indian trading post here before that time. In 1825, the village consisted of a small store, a tavern and five or six families.  But even before that, in 1824, the first schoolhouse was built in Defiance..."

The settlers went about a mile above the town and cut and hewed the logs, sending them down the river to a point about where the canal meets the Maumee. There the logs were loaded and driven by a yoke of oxen driven by Brice Hilton, then a young lad.  Brice was directed by his father, Joshua Hilton.

"The schoolhouse was a boxed log building about 21 x 28 (?) feet in size.  It stood on the fractioned lot on the northwest corner of Perry and First streets, facing west.  This school house had one door and several small windows, at first without window frames or glass.  It had a plank door and a clapboard roof held in place by poles.  Oiled paper served the place of window glass.

An immense fire place about twelve feet long supporting a stick and mud chimney was the heating apparatus and gave the pupils an opportunity to burn on one side and freeze on the other.  One row of desks was around against the walls, the seats were made of slabs with four stakes in auger holes for legs.  There were no nails or iron used in the construction of the building, even the hinges being of wood and the floor pinned down and the desks pinned up in a primitive, but substantial manner.  The lumber was sawed at Brunersburg at Joseph Perkins' saw mill, then the only mill within forty miles of Defiance.

This is the one room log school house at Lincoln's New Salem Village near Springfield, Illinois, and a good example of the first frontier schools.  (www.angelfire.com)

At the time there were no wagon roads and not a wagon in Williams county.  The first wagon being brought by Wm. Travis in 1825 as far as St. Mary's, when the road seemed impassible and the wagon was taken to pieces, loaded on a boat and floated down the river, while the oxen and horses were loaded with part of the supplies and driven over land, or rather, through the swamp.  In those days, all supplies were brought into the settlement by pirogues, packed on the back of horses, or dragged along the Indians' trails through the forests and swamps on travoix.

The first teacher in this section was Wm. Seamans, who taught two or more terms.  There were about 35 or 40 pupils.  The teacher received $2.00 per term for each pupil which was paid by the parents.  The second teacher, William Edmondson, who taught three or four terms, is reputed to have been a five scholar and an excellent teacher. Afterwards, Wm. A. Brown and others taught there.

In 1826 or 1827, the rival village of Brunersburg wanted a school.  So they built a log school house on the west side of Bean creek on the Speaker Bottoms, about midway between the Dey and Brunersburg bridges and employed Brice Hilton as teacher, who had so improved under the instruction of Seamans and Edmondson that from employment as a drive of oxen in the building of the school house, he had come to be the master at a rival school.

From the time of the formation of Williams county to 1824, the people had to go to Perrysburg, Wood county, to attend court.  From 1824 to 1829, court was held at Defiance in some private building, generally in a room over Mr. Levell's store, in the frame building lately owned by Mr. Myers, the painter, just west of the fort ground.

In 1826 and 1829, the first court house in Defiance was built just north of the Presbyterian church on Wayne street.  William Preston had the contract for building this house, but the brick were made and laid by Wm. Seamens and Robert Wason, who were both brick makers and masons.  Their brick yard was where Washington street now is between Third and Fifth streets, that they were master masons is evidenced by the fact that the house still stands with sound and solid walls.  

After this, Mr. Seamens was justice of the peace and studied and practiced law.  When I was a little boy and had just come into the possession of my first slate, Mr. Seamens, then a guest at my father's house, congratulated me on my acquisition and said that he had chopped five cords of wood for the first slate he ever owned.  He neatly scratched the letters of the alphabet and the figures around the edge of the slate and said he hoped I would learn to make them as good as the copy before I broke the slate.  So that Mr. Seamens was one of my first teachers, and my figures resemble his to this day.  His son, of the same name, a Defiance boy, inherited his father's physical and mental stature and is now a professor of chemistry in the Ohio Wesleyan University, and a teacher and author of international reputation."

To be continued... 

Defiance County Pioneers - Brice Hilton

From the Defiance Express, March 13, 1899

"BRICE HILTON

He is Visited by a Number of his Friends.

This afternoon two bus loads of gentlemen drove to Brunersburg and paid their respects to the venerable Brice Hilton, who was celebrating his 91st birthday.  
The visitors took a handsome chair along as a gift to their friend.  Mr. Hilton was rejoiced to see his friends, and gave them a hearty welcome.  After a general passing of compliments, L. E. Beardsley, who accompanied the party, took two negatives of the old gentleman.  There are only two other pictures of Mr. Hilton extant.  One was taken when he was 50, and the other when he was 70 years old.

After this had been done, the visitors and Mrs. Lyman Hilton and daughter Hazel gathered in the front yard, and Mr. Beardsley took a snap shot of all of them.  Mr. Hilton is at the home of his son, Lyman, and the company received a gracious welcome from his and his wife and Filmore Hilton.

The party was made up of the following gentlemen, who came to Defiance in the years noted: Rev. B. W. Slagle, 1862; Adam Wilhelm, 1839; E. P. Hooker, 1859; K. V. Haymaker, 1856; L. E. Beardsley, 1865; Dr. C. E. Slocum, 1871; Charles B. Squire, 1858; Rev. A. E. Smith, 1895; L. E. Myers, 1852; L. G. Richardson, 1848; H. B. Harris, 1853; Edward Squire, 1858; E. E. Carter, 1856; W. A. Kehnast, 1861; John W. Slough, 1847; George Bechel, 1860; J. P. Buffington, 1853.  The press was represented by Charles Sampson, N. R. Webster, John Ury, and W. H. McClintock.

Mr. Hilton looks quite feeble, but he stated to the Daily Express man as he bid him good bye: 'When I am dead and gone, don't say that Brice Hilton died of old age.'"

In just a few months, Brice Hilton passed away, and one of Beardsley's photos appeared in the obituary.

"A PATRIARCH 

PASSES TO HIS REWARD

BRICE HILTON, THE OLDEST PIONEER OF DEFIANCE COUNTY

DEATH OF A GRAND OLD MAN

Amid the Scenes of an Eventful

and Well Spent Life, He Lays

Down to His Final Rest.

The venerable Brice Hilton, of Brunersburg, who previous to the time of his death, was considered the oldest resident of this section, passed away from earth, Monday morning at about 7 o'clock.

Mr. Hilton has been sinking for several weeks and the end had been anticipated for some time.  Since the date of his 91st birthday last March 13, at which time several of his acquaintances of this city drove out and made him a call, he has been failing in health.

On the above occasion, a photograph of the excellent old gentleman was made by artist, L. E. Beardsley, of this city, from which the cut which accompanies this article was made.  He was conscious and conversed intelligently with members of his family right up to the last.  He passed a very good night the last night.

The funeral was held Wednesday afternoon, July 19th, from the residence of Lyman Hilton, services being conducted by Rev. E. L. Rexford, a Universalist minister who is pastor of a church in Columbus.  He was a friend of Mr. Hilton during his lifetime and was also President of a College at Athens which Lyman Hilton attended for awhile.

While Brice Hilton was not a member of a church, he leaned to the Universalist creed.  At one time, he built a church at Brunersburg and supported religious services there of the Universalist denomination.

The news of the death of this old landmark will be received with regret by a wide circle of friends, not only in Defiance county, but in surrounding territory.  He was an excellent citizen and goes to his reward revered by all who knew him personally or were familiar with his wonderful traits of character.

He has been a giant physically and mentally, and the story of his life is full of toil and hardships, as well as deeds of charity and benevolence.  His closing years, however, were ones of peace and comfort and he passed away attended by every mark of affection that loving hands could minister.

Upon the death of his wife in 1897, he took up his residence with his son Lyman and wife, and they have put forth every effort and pains to attend to his ever want since then.

He was born at Stark, Somerset county, Maine, March 13, 1808.  He came into the Maumee Valley in the spring of 1821 and was married to Sophia Umbenhaur, at Brunersburg, Dec. 4, 1836.  Mrs. Hilton died Sept. 27, 1897.  There were born to this worthy couple twelve children.  Of this number, the following are living: Walter, Ezra, Filmore, Lyman L. and John C. Hilton.

Brice Hilton was the son of Joshua and Hepzibah Hilton.  They were married Oct. 10, 1805.  The father died in Defiance in August 15, 1835, and the mother August 15, 1850.

The Hilton family in America sprung from three brothers, Benjamin, Ebenezer and Isaac, who sailed from England and landed near Philadelphia about the year 1600. Brice Hilton was a descendant of Benjamin and is the 7th generation down the line.

In this connection, this paper gives the story of the moving of the Hiltons from Maine to Ohio, which was recently dictated by Brice Hilton himself and related to K. V. Haymaker:

'Brice Hilton says that in 1817, his father, Joshua Hilton, moved from Maine to Ohio with his family, which then consisted of his wife, Hepzibah, and the following children:  Mary, Brice, Thomas, Ezra and John.  At that time, Joshua and his brother Edgar lived in what had been their father's old homestead at Stark Mills, Somerset county, Maine.  This old homestead was a large, double house and each brother with his family, lived in either part.

Joshua and his brother, Edgar, were owners of the grist mill and Joshua and his oldest brother, Richard, owned the saw mill.  Those mills were located on a small mill stream which emptied into the Sandy river about a mile below, which in turn emptied into the Kennebec a mile further down.  Bruce says he remembers seeing the mill dam and the mill destroyed by flood.

My mother has often told me the story, which she learned from

Hepzibah, that it was on account of the loss of those mills, and being too much discouraged on account thereof to attempt to again rebuild them, that Joshua resolved to remove to the west.  These mills had only been rebuilt a few years before, possibly within a year, prior to the time the flood swept them out.

It was in the spring of 1817 that this loss occurred, and they spent the summer in preparing for the journey to Ohio.  Brice states as another reason why his father desired to leave Maine, was that every winter he was afflicted with ulcerated sore throat, the same disease of which Joshua's father had died.  The hope of finding a milder climate, was one of the strong incentives which induced him to come to Ohio.

The trip was commenced in September.  In addition to Joshua and his wife and five children above named, they were also accompanied by Rachael Hilton, Hepzibah's siter, then a young woman of 18 or 19 years, and also by a young man named Hilton, who was a second cousin of Hepzibah and whose first name Brice cannot recall.  He states that this young man was a brother of Jesse Hilton who had come to Ohio before that time, and who then lived at Hillsboro, in Highland county, Ohio.

After their arrival, this young man, who furnished one of the three horses with which they made the trip, left Joshua and his family, to join his brother Jesse at Hillsboro, and Brice cannot now recall that he ever saw or heard of him thereafter.  Jesse Hilton, some years after, perhaps in 1824 or 1825, came to northern Ohio, and settled near Defiance, and was the first man to raise a crop of wheat in the Maumee Valley.

The trip from Maine was made in a wagon drawn by three horses.  Aside from the living freight,the load consisted of but little save the wearing apparel of the moving party.  The trip was made in a remarkably short time, and without any serious mishaps.  The final halting place was at Reading, near Cincinnati, Ohio, where they parted company with the young man who had accompanied them.

Joshua and his family lived for four years in Hamilton county and in Miami county near Piqua, on rented farms, and for one season, Joshua run a large saw mill located near the city of Cincinnati in the valley of Mill Creek.  The desirable farming lands in the locality had been mostly taken up, and were of such value that they were beyond the slender means of Joshua to purchase.  So in the spring of 1821, Joshua and his two oldest sons, Brice and Thomas, with two horses, Joshua riding one and the two boys, the other, rode from Miami county to Fort Defiance.

This point was then a frontier post, with garrison, and with but few white families located here.  Joshua looked over the public lands which were then open for entry, and selected about 130 acres just above the fort.  A family named Shirley was then here, and Joshua rented some cleared bottom land of Robert Shirley, and with the assistance of his boys, constructed a fence of longs and brush around it, plowed and planted to corn and potatoes.  They also chopped trees for rail cuts on the land which they had selected for entry.

After this was done, Joshua and Thomas mounted one of the horses and returned to Miami, leaving Brice, then 13 years old, to cultivate the crops, and split the rail cuts.  Brice tended the crops until the corn was so far along as to need no further cultivation, and in his leisure time, split rails sufficient to enclose 80 acres of the land his father had selected.  This work being completed, he bestrode the horse and rode back to Miami county to help harvest the wheat and other crops.

The distance from Piqua to Defiance is about 100 miles.  That fall, the family moved to Defiance and settled on the land which Joshua had selected, and which he filed a certificate of entry on his return to Piqua in the spring.  The federal land office for this district being then located in Piqua.

The log house which Joshua built for his family on his arrival was considered a marvel of size and pretentiousness.  It was a double log house, two stories in height, with an open passage between the wings and for a considerable time, the highest type of architecture in the Maumee Valley.  Some years later, Joshua burned brick and erected a two story brick home which is still occupied as a residence by the present owners of the farm.  The brick house referred to is ...on the Smith farm, west of the city, near the water works.' "

Defiance Democrat - July 20, 1899