Lyman Langdon's Tavern to Alva Laverge's Pony Farm - Part 2

Continuing from the Crescent-News, January 25, 1960:

"(LaVergne) also raised colts and sold them from $150 to $200 each.  'Finally the price went so high,' Alva stated, 'that a good merit pony would sell for about $550 to $600.'

Since Mr. LaVergne's wife, the former Ona Haver, born in 1872, died April 23, 1958, he has lived at the River Rest Convalescent Home and has turned responsibilities over to his sons.  However, he is still interested in the place and is proud for having owned it.

Alva was born April 23, 1874, a son of a French-Canadian father, Joseph LaVergne, and a Pennsylvania German mother, Mary Snider.  His ancestry has given him the adventurous spirit of the French, plus the steady working characteristics of his mother's people.

Lyman Langdon has related much of his story in his own words in the History of Defiance County, 1883...  

(This can be read for free online at Internet Archive or a copy is in all the Defiance Public Libraries.)

'When he died in 1900,' Alva Lavergne said, 'he left his estate to six very beautiful daughters.'

In the Defiance Crescent- News, an extensive article about Alva Lavergne's pony farm, once the Lyman Langdon farm, appeared on May 13, 1950...

Susan C.an all white pony,had just been born on the farm  Susan was the third all white pony born on the Lavergne pony farm.

Every Sunday, people flocked to the farm, sometimes in the hundreds for free pony rides.  Alva said, "If I were younger, I would have a thousand ponies."  At that time, Alva was 76, and his wife was 77; they had lived at the 'Langdon Tavern" for the last 35 years.

He also noted that the tavern would be 100 years old that summer.

Alva loved to harness six ponies to a wagon and walk in parades.  He has been all over the area, wearing his high silk hat and showing off his ponies.

Alva was also known throughout the area as an auctioneer, his highest pay being $2,000 in commissions.  "His saddest sale was a 1918 auction near Mulligan's Bluff on State Route 18, where a widow was disposing of her chattels after the death of her husband and five children from influenza."

Alva also sold Fords for R. C. Albertus for eighteen years.

"He was born four miles west of his present home.  He worked in the oil fields in Wood county for eight years, then went to Chicago for two years as conductor on an interurban line. 

On Christmas Eve, 1894,he married Iona Haver after meeting her that year in Sherwood. "And I made no mistake," said Alva.  "As for Oney, you'll have to ask her if it's been a waste of time."  The LaVergnes have two sons who operate beauty colleges - Paul in Ft. Wayne and Basil in Toledo.

"Iona is the daughter of Mose and Mary Haver who ran a hotel in Sherwood; Alva is the son of Joseph and Mary LaVergne of Delaware Tp.  Alva's father beame a foreman in the oak shipping business in 1861.   Alva has a twin sister, Mrs. Alice Sisco, who lives on a farm in Delaware tp.  His brother, Lee, retired ten years ago as a B & O engineer and now lives in Garrett.  His sister, Mae, who died in 1914, was the wife of Dan M. Kintner of Defiance.  Sister Florence died in a typhoid epidemic in 1888; brother William was killed in a mine accident in Boulder, Colo. in 1912."

Defiance Crescent-News, August 8, 1958

All articles may be found on Newspaper Archives, available free at any Defiance Public Library with your library card.

Lyman Langdon's Tavern to Alva Laverge's Pony Farm - Part 1

 In 2020, we published a post on early pioneer, Lyman Langdon and his doings in the county, along with an account of his fiftieth wedding anniversary with wife, Fanny Sanford.  But little was noted of the famous Langdon Tavern, which has since been moved from its home at the intersection of Buckskin Road and State Route 15 and renovated.

From the Crescent-News, January 25, 1960, p. 5:

"Once this house was a famous tavern.  Called the Lyman Langdon Tavern, it was known in Indiana and Northwest Ohio as a respectable place where one might secure lodging and food  It was named for its proprietor.  Lyman Langdon was known for miles around the country for his friendly hospitality.  He had previously kept a hotel in Defiance."

From the History of Defiance County, 1883:

"About 1827 or 1828, Payne C. Parker built at the corner of Front and Clinton Sts., where the furniture store of Hoffman and Geiger now stands for a store and a hotel, in which he carried on business for several years.  Then he rented it to Blackman and Stoddard in 1834 an 1835.  John W. Moore kept it one year.  Lyman Langdon next occupied it in 1836...and ran it for five or six years, and under his administration, it took the name of 'Exchange.' "

From the Crescent-News, 1960, continued:

"This building was destroyed by fire in 1852.  The Exchange had become very popular as a hotel and tavern.  Here had room an boarded engineers, who planned the construction of the Miami and Erie Canal, judges holding court in the vicinity, and Fort Wayne merchants enroute east to secure goods.

While in Defiance, Langdon was elected a trustee of the township and served on the council in 1838.  He was also appointed county judge in the place of Bishop Adams, who had moved to Henry County  Lyman Langdon who had previously owned a farm near Farmer, sold his business to Samuel Rohn and C. I. Trude.  He then bought the farm and the site of his new tavern in 1849 from Addison Goodyear, and moved to the farm.

Noble Township  1890 plat map

In 1849, he formed a partnership in merchandising with Brice Hilton at Brunersburg, and after purchasing an acre of ground on the Ralston place, 'built a house and moved in.'  Later he sold the house to Ralston and his share of the store to Hilton and moved back to his farm, where he built the large home combined with a tavern.

The Lyman Langdon Tavern, built in 1852 at the base of the forks of two popular highways, the Buckskin Road and the Bellefontaine Pike, offered a haven to travelers by foot, horseback, or by stage coach.  Here stopped the mail stage, carrying news, the homeseeker, the peddler, and the business man - either for refreshments or lodging.

1870 quarter, made of  90% silver and can be quite

valuable today.

According to Alva LaVergne, Mr. Langdon charged but 25 cents a night for a bed, the same for a meal, and 35 cents for a man's horse and its two feedings.  It is said that soldiers home on furlough from the Civil War were entertained with dances in the large ballroom on the third floor.  Mr. LaVernge said the house had 23 rooms.  After Mr. Langdon's death in 1900, the place was not used as a hotel, but Alva stated after he purchased it that he sometimes kept roomers.

In 1917, after thinking for many years, 'I'd like to own a place like that,' Mr. Lavergne purchased the 220 acres of the Langdon farm for $25,000.  

'I had always loved the place,' he said, 'even when I was a child  It was then one of the best buildings in the county  Soon after he bought the place he built a large barn and decided to become an auctioneer.  He studied at the Jones School of Auctioneering, Chicago.  After completing the course he tried sales in Northwest Ohio and Northeast Indiana, and became well-known."

He and his younger son, Paul, who was at home at that time, decided to start a pony ranch.  They bought about 40 ponies and trained them to be ridden.  Then on Sundays, they invited children from the surrounding country to ride free of charge. This they continued for about eight years...

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2

Sherwood - Delaware Students - Eleventh Grade

 

A Photo Taken in Hicksville - Blythes, Fishers, and Monroes

We have received a photo of a Blythe family gathering held in Hicksville, Ohio. The sender of the photo can identify some folks, but not all. Would anyone know names of the others, and if so, please answer in the comments?

Back row, starting at the far right and moving left:

Leona (Blythe) Fisher

Bertha Eugelia (Griner) Blythe

Twins - Anita Carol Fisher and Alton Carl Fisher

Erwin Deloy Monroe 

and in front of him - Beryl Eugelia (Blythe) Monroe

Front row, far right - Hanford Deloy Monroe

Any help would be deeply appreciated by our sender, Caroll L. Monroe

The Sherwood Story

Sherwood, 1881

 

Quoted from The Chronicle, Sherwood, Ohio, newspaper, 15 April, 1948 

"(In the winter of 1906, a special edition of The Chronicle was printed by publisher-editor, C. E. Dickey.  This edition, containing much historical background of the town and community, was in magazine form on slick paper and only a few of the copies remain.  One, the property of Mrs. J. V. Knisely, has been loaned to the present editors, and from it, has been taken the material for this and subsequent articles.)

The Sherwood Story

TOWNSPEOPLE BATTLED B. AND O. IN EARLY DAYS FOR SHERWOOD'S SURVIVAL

First It Was Snooksville

In 1873 , the site of Sherwood was a 'neighborhood' made up of several clearings in the big forest.  There was a school house out at the Pike ( now the junction of Route 18 and Route 127), known as the Collins School, with a larger enrollment than most of the schools of this county, owing to the district being rather thickly settled.

The Collins schoolhouse was famous in its way for its spelling bees, debates and exhibitions.  It also served as a place to hold revival meetings, funerals and so on, as the schools of those old days did.

The present Sherwood cemetery had also been started and there was a sawmill and approximately 20 residences and stores.  Previous to the plotting of the town, there had been a post office kept by Gilbert Coffin in his residence.  The post office went under the name of Snooksville, and afterward, Johnson Miller got the post office and kept it in an old log house on the Pike, and it was then called Snook's Run Post Office.

THEN IT WAS SHERWOOD

In 1874 the Baltimore and Ohio was built, and stations placed at Delaware and Mark Center. Elias Miller, William Rock and William Taylor platted out a town, but owing to some difficulties concerning the right-of-way, the B. and O. officials refused to put in a station.

Johnson Miller then got up a monster petition for a post office for the new town site.  Then a name had to be chosen. Each citizen seemed to have a good name for the new village, but it was suggested by Johnson Miller that, as the petition was being placed in the hands of Gen. Isaac N. Sherwood, then representing this district in Congress, that the town be named for him, which was done. *(At the date of the special edition in 1906, General Sherwood was still living in Toledo, where he was looked upon as a leading citizen, turfman, and politician.  It was said at the time that he had a lively interest in the town named after him.)

PEOPLE BUILT STATION

After the town was plotted, the railroad officials had to be reckoned with - and that took a lot of doing.

Mr. Dickey, in his mid-winter edition, insists that B. and O. officials 'had it in for Sherwood,' and refused to take notice of the settlement, which had a post office, but not a railroad station.  At the same time, Mark Center and Delaware Bend had stations, but not post offices.  It was very confusing.

In the meantime, E. Z. Miller, Stewart Miller and James Lacer had built a room and put in a grocery on the east side of the town's street near the railroad, and a little later, George Rock and a Mr. Harley put one on the present site of the Cooper Building.  Then came a saloon established by Peter Crookton and a grist mill, located where the Church of Christ now stands.

Meanwhile, heroic efforts were being made to get a railroad station, but the officials remained obdurate.  By a whole lot of persuasion, according to the Dickey article, The B. and O. agreed to unload the grist mill at Sherwood, the people building up a platform of railroad ties, etc. to unload upon.  After awhile, the company reluctantly decided to make the town a flag stop, if the citizens would build a depot and a freight house acceptable to the officials.  The people did so, and the resulting structures (still standing in 1905) did not cost the B. and O. a cent.  Also it should be recalled that Johnson Miller acted as agent free of charge.

                                                           Depot after 1906
PEOPLE PAID OPERATOR

Business picked up, a few more business places were started, and a telegraph office seemed desirable.  But the railroad again 'bucked' and would do nothing unless the people paid the operator themselves. The people 'dug up the coin' and for several years paid the operator's salary. Then the Miller Brothers, afterwards Miller, Rock and Co., began to buy grain, and the freight house was used for a grain house until an elevator was constructed, and the town became noted as a grain market.

During all this time, Mr. Dickey insists, the 'B. and O. kept the people crawling' until the C and N railroad was built in 1887.  Things changed then, for in the face of this new competition, the B. and O. was compelled to pay its own operator and provide better service for the town.

TYPHOID HIT TOWN

One of the sad occurrences of the early history of the town was the loss of seven members (about one-fourth the entire population) of the Taylor family because of typhoid fever.

The first hardware was established by Frank Bernard, the first undertaking business was founded by Jerry Bloom, and the first drug store was owned and operated by Dr. Comfort, a practicing physician.  About the same time, Dr. C. W. Kyle came to the town and set up a practice, and remained here until his death.

INCORPORATED IN 1891

In 1886, before the town was incorporated, the township voted 'dry' and the three saloons in Sherwood were put out of business.

In that same year, or shortly thereafter, the township built a three room schoolhouse, with W. W. Huff, the principal.  He tried hard, according to Mr. Dickey, 'to get the school graded and up to date, and the school developed a good reputation for the work done in it.'

The town was incorporated in 1891, with this move having the strong support of the 'wets' who wanted to allow the saloons to get started again, and also of many other citizens.

The first church built in Sherwood was the United Brethren, opposite the present U.B. structure. The initial structure burned in 1896, or thereabouts.  The Methodist Church was built in 1880, then the German Reformed Church in 1881, and the Disciple Church built in 1900.

TOWN HALL BUILT IN '97

The first mayor of the town was Z. H. Miller, and the first clerk, E. J. Potter.  W. F. Bloom was Marshall; Harry Rock, Treasurer; and C. I. Hartshorn, Emanuel Miller, J. K. Allender, John Openlander and W. E. Doud completed the Council.

In 1897, a proposition was presented to the voters of the town to issue bonds to build a town hall, and this carried by a substantial majority.

The business directory in 1906 read like this:

-General Store, The Bee Hive, Z. H. Miller and Hollis Miller

-Burger's Store (J. H. Burger, prop.) and The Blue Front, owned by C. H. Weaver

-There were two hardwares - The Sherwood Hardware Company, John Miller and C. H. Dunakin, and the Switzer Hardware, owned by C. Switzer

- C. W. Miller and B. A. Trubey operated shoe stores, while Will C. Newman

was in the drug business

-The two livery barns were operated by Heber, Miller and Lesh and E. Haver.

-The barber shops were run by W. D. Rock and B. N. Worthington.

-M. M. Haver was proprietor of the Haver Hotel, while H. I. Scott managed the Sherwood House, and both had plenty of patronage.

-The town had two lumberyards , the Neiderwur Wagon Company, building materials and planing mill, and Miller and Good, rough lumber and saw mill."

William Hockman - Civil War Soldier from Defiance County, Ohio

 

Willian Hockman

Born in Pennsylvania about 1840, William Hockman was the son of German immigrants.  The family were early settlers in Tiffin Township where they farmed.                                                           

In the Federal Census of 1860, George and Catharine Hockman lived on Tiffin Township land worth $1200.  With them were son, William, 19, and daughter, Mary, 14.

In August, 1862, the 107th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was calling for soldier to report to Cleveland for enlistment.  William Hockman joined Company K, "the German Regiment" composed of many men of German descent from Defiance County.  This was for a three year term.

For a month, the men stayed in camp, drilled, and prepared to go into the field.  They first went to Covington, Kentucky across from Cincinnati because rumors were out that Cincy was going to be attacked.  It was not, and the men boarded a train to Washington, D.C. where they built 

fortifications around the city.

In November, they marched into Virginia, but were hung up by winter weather and bad roads, so they went into winter camp.  On April 29, 1863, the regiment moved to Chancellorsville and took part in the bloody battle there.  Stonewall Jackson flanked their regiment and defeated them, with a loss of 220 men, killed, wounded or taken prisoner.  It was a devastating blow to the unit, but worse was yet to come.

After about a month of regrouping, the regiment moved to Gettysburg which they reached on the Fourth of July, 1863.  On their first day, the regiment was pushed back to Cemetery Hill with a loss of another 250 men.  On the second day, they made a charge at about 5:00 p.m. and captured the Rebel flag of the 8th Louisiana.  By that time, the fighting was near over and the 107th had a loss at Gettysburg of about 400 men out of 550, and 111 of their guns were captured.        

William Hockman spent the rest of the war going from island to island along the South Carolina coast, doing picket duty with his regiment.  They also ventured into Florida and Maryland for short periods.  Beginning as a private, William was advanced to Seventh Corporal and eventually to Second Corporal during his term of duty. He was sent back to Cleveland and discharged on July 10 1865.

The 1890 Veterans Census indicated that he had served for 2 years, 11 months and 3 days.  He did have a disability - one deaf ear.

Once home, he found a wife in Elizabeth Bishop and married her in Defiance County on April 19, 1866.  Together they settled in Tiffin Township and began a family.  The Federal Census of 1870 noted William Hockman, age 29, real estate worth $1000 and personal effects worth $300, occupation - farmer.  Elizabeth was then 25 and they had children: Sarah, 3; Caroline, 2; and Jacob, 3 months.  Later, Mary E., Jesse and Elva would join the family.

Elizabeth's sister married a Partee and a Rath, and every year a big reunion would be held, often at the home of William Hockman.  Known as the Rath-Hockman reunion, it was always reported in the paper and often speakers would enlighten the group on some of the early history of the family and the difficulty of settling here.  William's son, Jacob, was noted as "the pride of the families" as he had advanced himself to Judge Hockman.

William Hockman died on May 10, 1912 in Tiffin Township.  His obituary was cut and placed in the Marckel Scrapbook often referred to in this blog:

"William Hockman was born in Pittsburg, Pa. in 1840.  When two years of age, he came to Ohio with his parents, who settled on a farm in Tiffin township, Defiance county.  On this farm, he lived all of his life except three years which were spent fighting for the preservation of his country upon the bloody battle fields of the Civil War.  He was honorably discharged July 10, 1865, at Charleston, S. C. and returned home to his parents.

April 19, 1866, he was united in marriage to Elizabeth Bishop.  To this union, nine children came to bless their home.  Sarah E., George O, John W., and Curtis E. preceded their father to the life beyond.  Caroline J., Jacob H., Mary E., Jesse O., Elvie E., wife and thirteen grandchildren remain to mourn the loss of a kind father and husband who will be greatly missed in the home.

He was a good husband, a good father, a good neighbor, a good citizen and a good Christian.  He was a member of the Methodist church for nearly fifty years, and while health permitted, he always took an active part in church and Sunday school work.  He spent much of his leisure time in his home reading the Bible, which was as a lamp to his feet and a light to his pathway of life.  He departed this life as his home, May 10, 1912, aged 71 years and 8 months."

Buried in the old St. John's Methodist Church Cemetery, 3 miles SE of Evansport

Elizabeth lived on about another 33 years!  Her obituary appeared in the Defiance Crescent-News on February 2, 1945, pg. 4:

"DEATH TAKES WOMAN AT 97.

MRS. ELIZABETH HOCKMAN RITES SUNDAY; BURIAL IN TIFFIN TP

Mrs. Elizabeth Hockman, 97, widow of William Hockman, who resided in Defiance and Williams counties since coming from Germany when three years old, died Thursday at 3:30 p.m. at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Caroline Gansmiller, Stryker, after a long illness with senility.

She had resided with the daughter for the last 15 years.

The body will remain at the Grisier funeral home, Stryker, where services will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. with Rev. W. L. Linebrink, United Brethren pastor of Stryker, officiating.  Burial will be in St. John's Church cemetery, Tiffin Township.

Besides the daughter, she leaves a son, Jesse Hockman, Tiffin township."

             

Sherwood - Delaware Sixth Graders - 1948