Captain John Partee, Brunersburg

Captain John Partee was a well known, early pioneer in Noble Township.  He was active in his church, his grange, and in community affairs, including military service.  Early newspapers published about fair time each year listed his name as a winner for his potato and apple entries.  
His extensive obituary appeared in the Defiance County Express on April 1, 1886:

"IN MEMORIAM.

Capt. John Partee, son of John and Nancy Partee, was born near Adelphi, Ross county, Ohio, May 15, 1812, and died at his residence near Brunersburg, March 19th, 1886, aged 73 years, 10 months and 4 days.   

He was the youngest child and last survivor of a family of ten children.  The older were George, Elizabeth, James, Joseph, Enoch, Deborah, Lewis, Lawrence, and Hannah.  His brothers, James, Joseph and Enoch, came to what is now Brunersburg 1817 to 1822.  

His father was a teamster in the war of 1812, and his brothers, James and Joseph, were privates in Capt. Duncan McArthur's (afterward Governor of Ohio) company and were stationed at the ill fated field of River Raisin at the time of Hull's surrender of Detroit.  At the age of 19 years, he came from Ross county with the rest of his father's family and settled on the farm in Noble township where he resided till his death, a period of nearly 62 years.  This was 1824, and government lands being cheap, different members of the family bought several fractions lying along the Tiffin river, from Brunersburg to the present site of Evansport.

Among the other early settlers were John Perkins (who came in 1816), William Travis, John Wissler, Brice Hilton, Enos Partee, William Doty, Obadiah Webb, William Buck, and John Lawrence.  His uncle, Enoch Williams, was also in the war and his discharge written at Lower Sandusky in 1814 is in possession of J. P. Partee of Defiance.  Among other interesting papers handed down from early times is a summons from Sheriff Preston to John Partee, Sr. to attend court in Defiance as a juror and dated 1826 also a deposition filed by him in 1804.

In their route from Ross county, they came by way of Sidney and Wapakoneta, thence down the river to old Fort Defiance which was still partially preserved as was old Fort Winchester which was not far from the present site of the Russell House.  At that time there were but two houses on the Tiffin river near Defiance.  These were occupied by John Perkins and Joseph Partee.  After stopping all night at Joseph's, they cut their way to what is now the old homestead, then a unbroken wilderness, inhabited by wild beasts and Indians.  The latter were generally friendly disposed toward the new comers, and they made the acquaintance of some noted chiefs, among them Occonoxee, a Pottawatomie, and an old man named Shane who stated he was born under the large apple tree near the bank of the river across from Defiance.

Large numbers of bullets were found on the banks of the Maumee, and sometimes brass kettles were found hidden in hollow trees, no doubt left there by the Indians. 

The subject of our sketch was in early life a great hunter and trapper, and even if memoranda were at hand, it would require a volume to give a full account of his life, of his privations in the early development of the country, his hardships in subduing the wilderness, and his struggles in company with the early pioneers.

He loved to range the woods where Nature had erected her throne, and in the last years of his life, when age had enfeebled his once athletic frame, he was as skilled with the rifle as most young men of his day.  

Of the history of his ancestors, but little is known with certainty.  Those on his mother's side were from Holland and on his father's, natives of France.  No family record was made and the date and place of birth of his parents were unknown, nor was the ages of most of his brothers and sisters correctly known.

About 1841, he was appointed Captain of a company of Ohio militia and rose to the rank of Major, and again in 1861, he was elected capain of a company of Home Guards.

Nancy Brown Partee

  Oct. 10th, 1839, he was married to Miss Nancy Brown who survives him.  To them were born 7 children, 5 of whom are living.  Alvaro, the eldest was killed in the war of the rebellion, and Reuben B. died in infancy.  

About 1840, his parents removed to near Pulaski, Ohio, where his mother soon after died, his father then returned and died at the residence of his son in 1846, aged about 81 years.  At the time of his death, 

Father Partee had been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for a period of more than a third of a century, having united with that branch in 1852, during which time had held many important official positions in the church, and while in him, it could sometimes be seen that it was human to err, yet those who knew him best always recognized in him the ever obliging neighbor, the honest and upright citizen, a true and affectionate husband, and the kind and indulgent father.

For two years last past, he had been a patient sufferer, partly from a slight attack of paralysis, and in part from injuries received by the kick of a horse.  The cause of his death was dropsy of the heart, consequent from his injuries received last July, at which time he was seriously injured internally by being run over by a drunken and reckless driver.  

During his last suffering, he was patient and resigned, and conscious almost to his last moments, and rejoicing in the Christian's hope and promise that beyond the dark cloud of suffering, there was a happier worldabove.

Appropriate services were held Sunday, March 21st at Rural Chapel, conducted by Rev. S. W. Scott, after which the remains were quietly interred in the family lot in the Webb Run cemetery on the pleasant banks of the river over whose surface he loved to glide more than three score years ago, and the music of whose rushing waters shall be his requiem as from a deserted bedside there runs back tender memories to a grave of buried love." 

Defiance County Express - April 1, 1886

 

Joseph Brown - G.A.R., Bishop Post

Joseph Brown was probably one of the oldest men in the enlistment line on October 12, 1861.  He gave his age as 44, but a birthdate in 1810 would have made him 51, if that birthdate is valid.

He enlisted in Company B, 68th Ohio Volunteer Infantry which organized in Napoleon at Camp Latty and was led by Sidney Sprague, Captain.  Joseph was appointed as a corporal and on May 13, 1864, was promoted to Sergeant.

This unit went first from Napoleon to Columbus and then on to Tennessee where it traveled by steamer to Pittsburgh Landing.  The regiment suffered greatly from illness and in the spring of 1862, one thousand men were reduced to 250 who were capable of duty at one point.

During the Battle of Shiloh they stayed in the rear, guarding the railroad and at Corinth, they dug entrenchments and built roads and bridges.  In the spring of 1863, they moved to Louisiana and helped dig the Lake Providence canal for Union ships to use and then joined in the Battle of Vicksburg.  The unit was used to escort six hundred Confederate soldiers to Vicksburg.  Again disease struck and 1/3 of the 68th found themselves hospitalized.

In March of 1864, those men who reenlisted were granted a furlough home, returning in May.  After that, it was fighting all the way through Atlanta with Sherman and then into the Carolinas.
"The regiment's members set foot in every seceded state except for Florida and Texas.  These Ohioans also marched over 7000 miles and traveled by train or steamboat over 6000 miles." (68th Regiment O.V.I. Ohio Civil War Central, 2017. wwww.ohiocivilwarcentral.com)

Joseph Brown mustered out with his unit on July 10, 1865.

When Joseph enlisted, he left his wife Esther (nee Baird) at home with three children: Robert, Esther, and John.  By 1870, the family was settled in Brown Township, Paulding County.  Joseph was 58 and Esther, 50, and with them wre their two sons, Robert, 21, and John, 20 and Mary E. Rickner, 12, at home and going to school - (no relationship noted).  Joseph farmed land worth $2500 at the time.  He remained there in 1880.

He was reported on the Veterans Census in 1890 with the enumerator commenting that Joseph was "in bad shape and old."  To think of what Joseph lived through in late middle age is astounding.  He died on October 24, 1898.

The Daily Crescent reported that same day:
"Obituary.  Joseph Brown died this morning at 11 o'clock at his home in Defiance township three miles south of the city.  Mr. Brown was 88 years old and was the oldest soldier in the Grand Army of the Republic.  The arrangements for the funeral will be made at the meeting of the G.A.R. this evening."

The funeral occurred at his home and he was buried at Taylor Cemetery.

Strangely, a Spanish American War star is on the grave.  He died in 1898, making service in that war improbable at the age of 88!

(This is part of a series on Civil War veterans of Defiance County who were part of the G.A.R., Bishop Post, that headquartered in the city.  Formed in 1879, the post was named after a local man, Captain William Bishop, Company D, 100th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Army who died as a result of wounds received in battle.  The veterans' photos are part of a composite photo of members that has survived.  If you have other information or corrections to add to the soldiers' stories, please add to the comments!)

 

Pleasant Point School - Washington Township 1897 - 1908

The Pleasant Point School was the District #9 school in Washington Township, located at the northeast corner of Blosser Road and U.S. Route 127.

Pleasant Point School, circa 1897    No identifications.

 

A poor copy, it might look better on the newspaper itself.

Pleasant Point School, c. 1900, Perry Struble - Teacher

Pleasant Point School, c 1902

Front Row, L to R: __, __, __, Dolly Breno, __, __, Lottie Goller, __, __, Bessie Spahr
Middle Row, L to R: Lloyd Shong, Floyd Shong, __, Wynter Goller, __, __, Chalmer Spahr, Florence Kintner, Earl Shong
Back Row, L to R: Teacher - Grace Haines, Howard Goller, Ammon Weber, Olan Shong, __, __, Hazel Spitler, Delta Mock, Celia Kuszmaul

Pleasant Point School, c. 1908

Bottow Row, extreme left - Walter Stotler
Middle Row of standing students, 1st and 3rd from left - Floyd and Lloyd Shong

W. P. A. Cemetery Survey - Indian Mound on Camel's Back Hill

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 more information on burial mounds in Defiance County, check HERE.

Indian Mound on Camel's Back Hill

1. Name of cemetery:

Indian Mound on Camel's Back Hill.  So called the Indian Mound on Camel's Back Hill because Camel's Back gets its name from the shape of the bluff which extends out into the Auglaize River and Powell's Creek.  On top of this bluff is an old Indian lookout station and supposedly an old Indian burial ground.

(See History of the Maumee River Basin by Dr. C. E. Slocum, 1905, p. 57.) Similar but not the same mound pictured.

2. Location, how reached:

At the mouth of Powell's Creek where it empties into the Auglaize River on the old Adam Wilhelm farm in Section #34, Defiance Township, one mile south of the corporation limits of Defiance, Ohio.

At this spot was fifty years ago located the old Wilhelm Cement Mill, and at that time, several residences were built and lived in at this spot.  At that time, a road fording the river ran through here, but today the only access to the place is by taking route 111 south out of Defiance to the forks of the road two miles south of the city, taking the left fork and crossing the English bridge and again turning left at the first crossroad.  This will lead into a lane and into a Mr. Marsh's barnyard.  The rest of the way must be traveled on foot back down the river toward the north for a distance of a mile and a half to the mouth of the creek.  This high bluff at this spot is the Camel's Back Hill and supposedly an old Indian mound.

3. Name and address of caretaker:

None.  For information, write Abram Smith, Defiance, Ohio, of the Defiance County Park Board.

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

This out of the way spot is known only by old timers and persons especially interested in old Indian lore.  Not only did the Indians at one time have a look-out on top of this hill, but it is a disputed mound.  Diggings into the ground have uncovered Indian and white man's bones and Indian relics.  The hill is built up like so many of the prehistoric Indian Mounds, but nothing has been found directly to prove it was built up, or happened to be natural location; anyway, it was used as a burial ground, whether natural or built.

(See History of the Maumee River Basin, By C. E. Slocum, page 57.)

The hill is about forty feet high and the sides steep, a direct dropoff to the Auglaize River bed.  On the north or Powell's Creek side, it is not so abrupt, but can be climbed.  It is this point that gives it its name Camel Back, being a winding hump.

The ground at the river and creek bed is slate, then comes to a black loom (loam).  About two feet from the top, it turns to yellow gravel and on the top about two inches is clay.  This hill is now well wooded with second growth timber, less than forty years old.  At one time the land around here was cleared.  Since the passing of the Cement Mill forty some years ago, it has not been used.  It is poor agriculture land, the ground being stony and the hills too steep; however, the ravine bottom close by is farmed and is quite fertile ground.

In this river bottom or rather ravine bottom was located some of the old French and Indian cornfield, found by Anthony Wayne in 1794.  This spot as the crow flies is only two and a half miles from the mouth of the Auglaize River, the site of Fort Defiance.  However, it is over twice that far by water as the river makes two big bends and goes around an island before it reaches this spot.  There is nothing here at the present time to indicate any kind of burial ground.  

This ground was worked over in getting gravel  and slate for the making of cement over forty years ago.  At that time it was an every day occurence to find the bones of Indians and also of white men.  The Wilhelms at that time started a graveyard about a half mile farther up the river which was written up in Burial Ground #50, just preceding this writeup.

Several historical societies have tried to place this burial ground as an old Indian Mound.  None of them have been successful.  Dr. Slocum, in his History of the Maumee River Basin in 1905, no doubt gives the best account.  He states that it undoubtedly was an Old Indian Cemetery, but it is not certain, to what extent, nor can it be authentically placed as a Mound.  Mr. Abram Smith of the Defiance County Park Board who has been digging into and searching out some of the old Indian grounds in this district in the last twenty years, agrees with Dr. Slocum.

There are three Indian graveyards of this type in Defiance County, we are told - one here, one up the Maumee River four miles west of Fort Defiance, and another not yet located somewhere in the vicinity of Delaware Bend on the Maumee.

Another fact to be noted is the discovery of the bones of white men in this burial ground, which leads us to the fact that some forgotten battle must have taken place near here.  As it is not recorded under Gen. Anthony Wayne's scrimishes or under Gen. Winchester's trials and battles of 1812 - 1813, it leads us to believe that it happened (before) either of these two armies came into the territory, and almost proves that the French Missionaries were here and fought the Indians at this spot. This could have been Lasalle in 1669, who traveled from Lake Erie to Fort Wayne, Indiana, in that year by some water route.
(See Chronology of Defiance County, compiled by American Guide Writers, Summer 1936.)

Another fact is that Jean Jacques Blanchard, for whom the Blanchard River is named and who in the year of 1769, as a French refugee, settled in Fort Findlay, could have had a camp here, as he came from Canada by the way of the Maumee to the Auglaize and traveled up the Auglaize to the Blanchard River.  The mouth of the Blanchard River is only fifteen miles farther on south than this spot.
(Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio.)

5. Name and date of first burial recorded:
Undetermined, sometime before 1794

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

7. Markers of unusual appearance : None

8. Unusual epitaphs: None

9. Is cemetery used for new burials?
This burial ground has never been used in the memory of man. Its only record is the numerous bones that have at times been unearthed here.

C. Cadwallader and C. Gish, Reporters
Consultant - Abram Smith, Defiance, Ohio
Bibliography - The History of the Maumee River Basin by C. E. Slocum in 1905.             

Phillips School, Defiance Township

No location is given for this school - perhaps someone could help?
This teacher's souvenir is from Winter 1893 - 1894.

 This was not a good copy, so to help with the names of pupils...

Girls

Norah Coleman
Bessie Dieter
Sadie English
Libbie Ingold
Hulda Ingold
Mary Mansfield
Rosa Mansfield
Maggie Nicely
Mary Nicely
Hattie Nicely
Jessie Peterson
Mamie Shoef
Fanny Sponsler
Nettie Sitterly
Nellie Stetter
Amelia Stetter
Bessie Smithy
Perlie Wible

Boys

Leonard Block
Roy Brown
Edd Coleman
Wilbur Dickey
Barry English
Ray English
Willie Phillips
Glenn Shoef
Walter Sponsler
Johnson Sponsler
George Stetter
Ray Smithy
Rollie Wible

Reuben Martin - War of 1812 Veteran Buried in Farmer Cemetery

In the Farmer Cemetery rests Reuben Martin and his wife, Thankfull.
Reuben, born in Vermont, and Thankful, born in either Massachusetts or Rhode Island, depending on the source, came to Milford and Farmer Townships sometime before 1850.

Reuben had served in the War of 1812 in the Vermont 30th Regiment, Captain Wright's Company, of the U.S. Regular Infantry.  The militia was served with protecting Vermont's citizens.  Any man 16 - 60 was expected to participate.

The 30th Regiment was formed in 1813 and service was supposed to be for one year.  It undoubtedly stretched out for some soldiers.
One newspaper noted that Reuben received $8.00 a month for his pension.  His pension card noted that he qualified for bounty land, an area that would need to be explored.

The exact date of the move to Ohio was not discovered, but the Martins were here by 1850 for the census in Sheffield Twp, Lorain County, Ohio.  Thankful and Reuben were already 53 years old and two children lived with them, Mercia, 19, born Vermont (1831) and Jason, 14, born Ohio (1836), which might pinpoint their move to between those years.  However, the obituary mentioned a different date.

It was the 1870 census, the Martins were found again, now in Milford Township, Defiance County.  The couple were both 73 years old and Reuben was a retired farmer.  One would expect that at least one of their children lived nearby, and so it was.  In 1879, "Mrs. Martin, aged 82 years, died at the residence of her son-in-law, Isaiah Johnson," according to the Defiance County Express of August 8.

Soon after his wife's death, Reuben became sickly and apparently, his elderly mind suffered, too.  By May, 1881, newspapers reported that John Norway was appointed his guardian, calling Reuben an imbecile, probably meaning a form of dementia in this case.  By 1880, Reuben had moved in with family: Albert Farnsworth, 50; Eliza, 46 (Reuben's daughter); Newel, 24; Warren, 20; Effie, 11; Charles, 8: Emma Thompson, 22 (Albert's daughter, Reuben's granddaughter) married; Mertie Thompson, 1 (Reuben's great-granddaughter) and Reuben Martin, father-in-law.

Reuben Martin, one of the oldest citizens near Farmer Township and one of the few War of 1812 veterans, died on July 27, 1882.  His obituary appeared in the Defiance County Express on August 3, 1882.

Residents of the Defiance County Children's Home - 1910

Frank Mains, 56, was the Superintendent at the Defiance County Children's Home on April 25, 1910 when the census was taken.  His wife, Amanda, 53, was the Matron.  They had one son, Lemuel, 8, who lived there, as well.
Lousie (probably Louise) Wendt, 21, was the teacher, and Ilo Hull, 16, was the seamstress.

Visit HERE for a photo of the Children's Home in 1915.

The children were called "Inmates" on the census, and there were 17 there on that particular day.

Beerbower, Clarence, 3
Bice, Anna, 1
Cramer, Margret, 4
Davault, Bennie, 6
Davault, Edward, 10
Davault, Elizabeth, 9
Detterer, Herma, 2
Detterer, Stella, 4
Detterer, Theodore, 7 months

Hedreck, Bertha H., 10
Hedreck, Goldie E., 7
Hedreck, Raymond, 9
Heitzwaebel, Donald, 11
Hoskins, Pauline, 9

Johnson, Roger, 6
Johnson, Stella, 8
Koons, Wilber E., 10
Lee, Anna L., 14
Lee, Berry M., 13

Moog, Gerald, 4
Schuck, Hazel H., 4
Schuck, Mary, 2
Sewell, Gertrude, 13
Tyrell, Harry, 12

Webster, Florence, 4
Webster, Mable, 2
Weeks, Clifford H., 11
Weeks, Lenora M., 11


Visit HERE for a list of the children in the Home in 1920.
Visit HERE for an oral history of life growing up in this Children's Home.