Pioneers of Northwest Ohio - GEORGE & NARCISSUS CHAPMAN, HULDAH E. WINN

From the obituary of Hulda E. Winn, 1908, we can discover more about her line of the family who were very early settlers in Milford Township, Defiance County, arriving in 1838.

Hulda Chapman Winn, shown above with her sisters, was also known as "Grandma Winn" in her later years.

Her obituary -

"OBITUARY - WINN

Hulda E. Winn, known among her multitude of friends, as Grandma Winn, was born at Whitby, Canada, May 25, 1831. Hence at the time of her dissolution, which occurred January 20, 1908. She was of the age of 76 years 8 months and 5 days.

Her parents, the late George W. and Narcissus Chapman, early settlers of Milford Township, this county, were of New England stock, but a short time previous to the birth of this daughter, they migrated to Canada.

Their stay in Canada, however, was of short duration; and while Huldah E. was still a small child, she came with her parents to this country.

About 58 years ago, at the home of her parents, she was united in marriage to Elisha Winn, who departed this life, May 31, 1900. There are left, surviving this father and mother, four sons, viz. George E, John W. , Lyman E. and Will D. Grandma Winn also left surviving her two sisters, eighteen grandchildren, and a great number of more distant relatives.

Mother Winn was reared in the faith of the United Brethren in Christ and all through her long life, clung firmly to its teachings. Throughout her span of life, covering more than three score years and ten, her belief and faith in Christ grew greater and stronger until it became a conviction and when the angel of death hovered above her couch, it was met with outstretched hands, for Grandma Winn saw in the approaching dissolution nought but the beginning of another, a happier and an everlasting life.

Her funeral service was conducted from the U.B. church by her pastor, Rev. J. F. Miller, Tuesday afternoon at 2 o'clock." (Pioneers of Northwest Ohio)

Her burial took place in Forest Home Cemetery. Hicksville.

Further investigation found her parents, Rev. George Washington Chapman, born in Massachusetts on September 29, 1803. He married Narcissus Hopkins, known as "Nan," born in 1802. They began their farming adventure in Milford Twp. before Defiance County was officially formed.

This obituary leads to the Defiance County History of 1883 where George W. Chapman's story is told, beginning on page 332:

"George W. Chapman, the subject of this sketch, was born in Gill, Mass., on the 29th day of September, 1803, at which place he resided till the year 1921, when he removed to St. Lawrence County, N.Y.  On the 31st day of December, 1822, he married Miss Narcissus Hopkins of the above-named county. Here Mr. and  Mrs. Chapman began a life which proved to be one of toil and hardship, yet withal a most interesting and useful one.

Mr. Chapman was a skilled carpenter, found no lack for work, but in the hope of finding a more desirable location, he moved with his family to Canada in the year 1828 or 1829. There he resided till the fall of 1837, when yielding to the ambition of their young nature, they resolved to emigrate to the West and choose them a home from the forest lands of Western Ohio. 

... Such household furniture as could be conveniently carried was loaded on a wagon, and Mr. Chapman with his wife and several small children* with a single team of horses and heavy loaded wagon set upon a trip that at this day would seem impossible to accomplish."

*The three children born in Canada were Lyman, Huldah and George W. Jr.

Whitby is north of Toronto, making it about a 350 mile trip or more on our good roads.

"They proceeded directly to Geauga County in this State where they stopped for a short time to rest up their horses and decide upon a place to locate. Leaving his family, Mr. Chapman proceeded upon horseback to Milford Township, where he entered 240 acres of land, a part of which was the farm upon which he now resides.  

He immediately returned to Geauga, and having purchased a yoke of oxen and another wagon, he again set out with his family for the chosen home where he arrived the 1st of February 1838.

The trip from Canada to Milford Township was one of hardship and fatigue, having been made during the fall and winter months through a new and unimproved country, a great part of the road being through dense wood, with nothing but blazed trees to indicate where the road was...

The Chapman land in Milford Twp on the 1860 plat map.
 E. L. Chapman may be George's son, Ervin.

"Upon arriving on his land, Mr. Chapman proceeded at once to erect a log cabin and prepare for the comfort of his family.  Chaney P. Lowery, Dinnis Foyles and Eli Coy were about the only neighbors, and each man had to depend upon himself alone to do his work...

Mr. Chapman went upon the line of road passing through the center of Milford Township and, unassisted, felled the trees, felled the logs and cleared a wagon track from his farm west to the St. Joe River, a distance of four miles.

He also worked at masonry and brick work, and, as well, that of cabinet making.

The first schoolhouse in the district was built upon Mr. Chapman's land, and the first school taught by Harriet, his eldest daughter This schoolhouse was burned down in a short time and until another one could be built, Mr. Chapman's carpenter shop was converted into a schoolhouse...

Mr. Chapman has been an active member of the United Brethren Church since 1840, having helped to organize the first society of that denomination ever organized in Milford, and for which society, he labored as local preacher for many years.

Mr.  Chapman's children consisted of four boys and five girls, viz: 

Royal, Lyman, George, Harriet, Jemme, Huldah, Roby and Mary Jane., two of whom are now dead, the others married.

Mrs. Narcissus Chapman departed this life August 27, 1870, aged sixty nine years.  Mr. Chapman then married Miss Dolly Crary, of Potsdam, St. Lawrence County N.Y. on the 5th day of February 1877, with whom he is now living on his old farm in Milford Township.

Thus it will be seen  that Mr. Chapman can truthfully be called one of the most interesting characters of pioneer life in Defiance County, having come here when our county was one vast wilderness he has lived to see it developed into a rich county; has seen nearly the whole of the first generation of its people pass away and that second grow to old age; and although he is now upward of eighty years old, yet with the exception of a crippled limb caused by an injury received while moving to this county, he is enjoying comparatively good health, and still works at the carpenter bench." (Defiance County History,1883)

Mr. Chapman is buried beside his first wife, Narcissus, in the Farmer Cemetery.

There's No Train to Clarksvlle

 

Clarksville - Milford Township

A Ghost Town of Defiance County

Also called Panama at first, Clarksville began at the intersection of the Williams-Defiance County Line Road and the Hicksville-Edgerton Road (Hwy 109) along the St. Joseph River.  All sources agreed that the town was founded by Elisha Clark and Jacob Meiden around 1836.  In those days, Williams County and Defiance County had not yet separated, so technically, the town was in Williams County until 1845 when the division happened. Clarksville was then a part of Milford Township.

From the 1866 Defiance County plat map

According to Mrs. Darla Fusselman, who was interviewed in 1976 by staff writer, Karen Geitgey for the Defiance Crescent-News, fur trappers came first to the Clarksville area as the first white men, "but the first settler, Samuel Slater, didn't arrive until 1834. Later that year, Thomas Green and six employees arrived.  Both men had sons born the next year - Luther Slater and Anthony Green, making them the first white children born in the township."

The area was also populated with Indians even earlier, who remained in the Clarksville area for many years. The banks of the St. Joseph River were their campgrounds until about 1839 when they were removed by the federal government to Kansas.

It was in 1836 that Elisha Clark bought 160 acres of land from Ohio, costing him $200.88. He sold some of the land to the Town of Clarksville and officially filed a plat in September, 1836, with 36 lots and a public square.  Samuel Slater's name was on the original plat as Justice of the Peace; Elisha Clark also served in that capacity later.

 North -South streets were numbered from 1st to 7th, and East-West streets were given the names: Jackson, Pleasant, Monroe, Water, and Cherry. 

From the Defiance County 1866 Plat Map

Jacob Weldon built the first house in the village in 1837, probably a log cabin, because the prize for first frame house went to Solomon Palmer.  A saw mill and a grist mill were built and a Lutheran Church in 1843. The first schoolroom was constructed of slabs in 1840 on Lot 10, and taught by Solista Hayes, according to Mrs. Fusselman. Later the school was replaced by Milford Township #2 (Clarksville School) located about 3/4 of a mile south at the intersection of Hicksville-Edgerton Road and Kramer Road on a 39 acre farm owned by the Green family. The first store was opened in 1839, followed by a blacksmith shop. grocery store, barber shop, saloon, and others.

Ladd's Lake nearby was named after Clarksville's doctor, Dr. Ladd, who was assisted by Dr Albert Kraeer.  Jeradet Ball, the first white man married in the township to his wife, Melinda Slater, built the Clarksville Bridge, which was then replaced in 1888.  The bridge area was the sight of many a bootlegging deal.  See the booze boat story here.

Reuben Sisco brought a tread powered threshing machine to the area in 1845, followed by a horse powered thresher in 1847.  This was a booming town, with one big problem.

The railroads did not choose Clarksville for any of their routes. Edgerton and Hicksville won out, so in a relatively short time, the town began to empty and the buildings deteriorated, and by the time the Defiance County History was written in 1883, only twenty-five inhabitants were left.  The now defunct Clarksville Cemetery was across the river from the town, so some residents are there, but others just left for a brighter future

Clarksville made it into the 1931 atlas, but the plat had mostly reverted back to farmland by then."

Sources with this and more information on Clarksville:

- Defiance County History, 1883

- Ghost Towns in Defiance County blog

- "Yes, Virginia, There Was a Clarksville" by Karen Geitgey, Defiance Crescent-News, July 9, 1976  Interview with Darla Fusselman

- "Clarksville" by Don Allison, Bryan Press, September 15, 1982.

Booze Boat

 "A BOOZE BOAT

MILFORD TOWNSHIP NOW HAS FLOATING SALOON ON ST. JOE

Jacob Larman has taken out Dow tax and has started a saloon on a bum boat anchored in the St. Joe River at the Clarksville bridge.

This is possible because this county is wet as is also Milford township.  The Williams county line and the Indiana state line are but a few hundred feet away from the boat.

The public will now watch Milford township with great curiosity, to see what, if anything, will be done in the matter.  The boat is there legally just now, and nothing short of a 'dry Milford' can root it out.

It is centrally located, having reference to several dry towns.  Among these are Edgerton, Hicksville, Newville, Butler, St. Joe, Auburn, Waterloo, etc."

Hicksville Tribune, May 27, 1909, p. 1

"FIRST JOLT

IS GIVEN BUM BOAT BY JUDGE KILLITS OF BRYAN

Property owners along the St. Joe river at Clarksville secured an injunction against the bum boat at Clarksville from Judge Killits court at Bryan last Saturday, and the same was served by a deputy sheriff of Williams county.  Judge Killits is common pleas judge and has full jurisiction.

The complaint says the boat, lights and unseemly noises made the bridge unsafe an damaged surrounding fences, etc.

The boat has been pulled up the river about a mile and has suspended business to date having dealt out wares last Saturday."

Hicksville Tribune, June 3 1909, p. 1

Bullying and the Sad Consequences - "A Tale as Old as Time"

 This is not a pretty story.  In fact, it's graphic and shocking.  And it is still a problem 130 years later. This report appeared in the Defiance Democrat on November 17, 1892, on the front page: 

"HE STUTTERED

And Schoolmates Made His Life Wretched.

He Begs to be Allowed to Stay at Home From School.

On Being Refused, He Sends a Bullet Into His Brain.

The Sad Death of a 13 Year Old Milford Township Boy

Hicksville, O. - Nov. 15, '92.

Daniel Bucher, the 13 year old son of A. M. Bucher of Milford Township, committed suicide with a rifle yesterday.  He placed the muzzle of the weapon to his head and in some manner pulled the trigger.  The bullet entered his brain.

The affair took place about 9 o'clock a.m.  The boy lingered until 3 p.m. He was unconscious until he died.  His death is a particularly sad and tragic one, owing to his extreme youth and from the circumstances which led up to it.  It is a story of a sensitive nature and senseless teasing about a physical defect which the poor child was powerless to help.

Children are cruel.  They may be angelic in some ways, but to one less fortunate than themselves, they show no mercy.  It is their nature to be positively brutal at times.  In no case that can be called to mind is this fact more clearly emphasized than in this one.

Little Danny lived with his parents in Milford Township and attended district school.  His father is an influential farmer and stands well in west end society.  He was anxious that the boy should receive as good an education as the home facilities could afford, and he would not hear of Danny missing the opportunities by staying at home.

The boy did not want to go.

He stuttered and was very sensitive about it.  His schoolmates cruelly teased him about it, and mimicked him until he cried.  His teacher could not prevent it.  The poor boy was more happy at home.  At school he could not take interest in his lessons, owing to his misfortune.  

Yesterday morning, he begged to be allowed to remain at home, but his request was not granted.  His father did not realize the torture the boy was suffering at the hands of his schoolmates and he said the boy should go.  Sadly, the boy turned away.  No one of the family notices where he went particularly, as all supposed he would mind his father.  

None knew the desperate purpose forming in his mind.

All of a sudden, the family heard the report of a rifle in the bedroom.  They rushed in and an awful sight met their gaze.  Danny was lying on the floor with ta bullet hold in his temple.  By his side was the rifle.  The grief-stricken parents summoned medical aid and did all in their power to save him, but to no avail.  The unfortunate lad died at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

The lesson is a deplorable one both to school children and parents.  Merciless and senseless teasing should be stopped or the child who is being imposed upon taken out of the reach of his tormentors.  There are several other children in the family, but the parents are nearly frantic with grief."

For more current reading on the subject: https://www.stopbullying.gov/resources/facts

Standing up to Bullies

Overheating Causes Insanity in Zimmerman

Dramatic overheating can also lead to heatstroke, symptoms of which progress from confusion and irritability to hallucinations, violent behavior, and delirium. 

 



From the Defiance Weekly Express,
October 11, 1900, p. 13

OVERHEATED IN THE HARVEST

FIELD IN AUGUST

"Ed Zimmerman, the 19 year old son of John Zimmerman, of Milford township, became violently insane and was brought to this city Wednesday evening and incarcerated in the county jail.  He was overcome by the heat while working in the field last August and it is thought this is what caused his insanity.  He has seemed crazed ever since that time, but has not been violent until now.

His condition Wednesday became such that it was impossible to keep him at home without danger to the family.  He was handcuffed and bound with ropes and his father, John Zimmerman and Harley Fee, of Milford, and Dr. S. F. Welty, of Hicksville, started to drive to this city with him.  He seemed endowed with super-human strength and the three men found it impossible to hold him.  Two other men were called to their assistance and the five men found it all they could do to keep the lunatic in the carriage.

The trying trip was finally completed and young Zimmerman placed in the county jail."

Center - Defiance jail on Clinton Street

 He was kept in handcuffs all night notwithstanding which he succeeded in doing about $500 worth of damage to the building.  He amused himself by knocking out all the window lights in the room and then walking over the broken glass in his bare feet.  All the bed clothing, curtains, etc., in the room were torn to shreds, plastering was knocked off the walls and all sorts of damage done.  This together with singing and shouting was enough to keep all the people in the neighborhood awake.

It is a sad case and the worst feature is that the young man will probably never recover.  Young Zimmerman was taken to the asylum for the insane at Toledo this afternoon." 

Milford Township Boxwell Commencement, 1912 - 1914

Only a few names are on the back of the photo.  In the back row, the first two on the left were Hulda Valet and Karl Fuchs.  In the front row the first on the left was identified as Earl Weisz and number 3 as Jewell Edgar from Logan.  Please add other identifications in the comments, if you recognize someone.

W. P. A. Cemetery Survey - Tamarack Cemetery, Milford Township

The Works Progress Administration was formed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in reaction to the Great Depression as a means of employing Americans and stimulating the economy.  Established in 1935, one of the projects of the W.P.A. was to conduct Historical Records Surveys, one of which included finding information on cemeteries and the graves of veterans.  The W.P.A. was disbanded in 1943, but the historical information provided on these surveys continue to be of interest and are, thankfully, preserved.

In this series, some of the general surveys of Defiance County cemeteries will be shared, transcribed as written with a few punctuation and/or spelling changes for readability.  The surveys were probably done around 1936.

For further information on these cemeteries, check out our website HERE.

Tamarack Cemetery

1. Name of cemetery:

Tamarack Cemetery - no one knows how it acquired its name.

2. Location, how reached:

This small and old graveyard is three and three quarters miles southwest of Edgerton, Ohio and a mile east of the St. Joe River.  It is on an old gravel road and hard to find.  Going south out of Edgerton, Ohio on state route #49 to the bridge across the St. Joe River and turning east at the first cross road.  This winding road will reach the graveyard.  There is an old abandoned church across the road from the cemetery.  It is in section #12 of Milford Township and on the Paul Krill farm.

3. Name and address of caretaker: Ray Kanes, Milford Center, Ohio

Photo from www.findagrave.com

4. General description, size, appearance, denomination, fencing, etc.:

This cemetery is noted only that some of the oldest people in the district are buried here, many of their birth dates being in the 1700s.  It is fenced in with ordinary wire and has a locked gate.  There is one tree on the lot.  It is kept mowed, but hasn't any shrubbery (and) is quite out in the open.  Formerly, fifty years ago, it was affiliated with the church across the road from it.  This church is not now used. The Milford Township trustees built the fence around it.  It contains one acre of ground.

5. Name and date of first burial recorded:

Mercy Lloyd, 1855, was the first gravestone.

Mercy Lloyd - www.findagrave.com

6. Names of important persons buried there; for what noted:

The Lloyds, Mercy, wife, mentioned above and her husband, Martin, 1778 - 1874, are the only ones known. 

Mary Spangler, 1786 - 1869, is another person buried there.

Mary Spangler - www.findagrave.com

 In the memory of people now living in this community, nothing is known of either of the two names mentioned.  Paul Krill, on whose farm the graveyard is located, is an Illinois man and bought the place twenty years ago.  No relatives of the persons buried here are known.  The pride of this township alone keeps up the graveyard, unlike the Colored Cemetery in Highland township that was buried under a straw stack, Mr. Krill and his neighbors keep this old graveyard alive.

7. Markers of unusual appearance:

All the markers, twelve in number, are white slab ones and the reading, especially the script, is undiscernable.  The names and death dates were hard to make out.

8. Unusual epitaphs: Undecernable.

9. Is cemetery used for new burials?

This graveyard has not been used for forty years.

C. Cadwallader and C. Gish, Reporters

Consultant: Paul Krill, R.R. #1, Edgerton, Ohio

 

Hessecastle School, Milford Township, 1915 - 1919

1916 Rosa Valet, Teacher

The booklet below was also said to be 1916, so it may have been for a different term.

Hessecastle School, Milford Township 1908-1913

The Hessencastle School saw many spellings through the years - Hessen Castle, Hessecastle, Hesselcastle, Hessecassel.  According to some, the school was named after the Hesse state of Germany.  The school was known as District #2 and was located on Kramer Road, two miles north of Route 249.  
The school closed in the spring of 1938 and was then moved to Lake Road and used as a shed.  

Hessecastle School, 1913 - only one identified, far left in row 3, Esther Weisz

Milford Center School, 1929 - 1930

Some of the students were identified:
Front Row, L to R:  _ Warner,  _ Schooley, __?_, Juanita Riehle, _?_,  _Grandey, _?_
Middle Row, _ Stark, ___,___, ___,  _Schooley, __Grandey, __?__
Back Row, __?__, Wayne Grandey, __Thompson, Teacher- Mary Platter, Omar Stark, Erdis Seevers

Thompson School, Milford Township

The Thompson School was District #10 in Milford Township, located in Section 10 on Kramer Road, 1/4 mile east of Route 49.  

 P. H. Underhill, Supt. and Mary E. Moore, Teacher

Pupils: 
Violet Hook
Marian Hulbert, June Hulbert, Eugene Hulbert
Helen Gessner 
Robert Evans, Leina Evans
Agnes Carey
Gloria Hook
Galen Green, Richard Green, Loren Green
Nona Countryman, Clair Countryman
Ina Jean Schooley
June Klepper
Darrell Fulmer, Wyndolyn Fullmer

Crary School, Milford Township

The Crary School was District #8 in Milford Township.  Its exact location is unknown at this time. (Maybe someone knows out there?)

1911

1913

1914