Hancock County OhArchives History - Books .....Chapter XXI, Part III 1886
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Ann Anderson ann.g.anderson@gmail.com July 19, 2005, 6:14 pm
Book Title: The History Of Hancock County
CHAPTER, XXI. 
ORANGE TOWNSHIP.

FORMATION, CHOOSING A NAME, AND FIRST ELECTION OF TOWNSHIP OFFICERS —AREA,
BOUNDARIES, AND POPULATION BY DECADES—TOPOGRAPHY AND SOIL—STREAMS—PIONEERS—FIRST
BIRTH, DEATH, AND MARRIAGE IN THE TOWNSHIP—RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES — EARLY
SCHOOLS—JUSTICES — HASSAN AND CORDELIA POSTOFFICES—AN EMBRYO VILLAGE—RAILROAD
FACILITIES.

ON the 4th of March, 1834, Township 2 south, Range 9, was, for judicial
purposes, attached to Van Buren Township, and so remained until December 5,
1836, when it was set off as a new political subdivision, and named Orange. Some
contention arose over the naming of the township, Henry L. Dally, its first
settler, being ambitious to have it named after himself. This, however, was
opposed by a majority of its pioneers, and the question was finally settled by
William Bryan suggesting "Orange" as an appropriate name, which was at once
accepted. The act of erection ordered an election for township officers to be
held on the third Tuesday of December. 1836, at which time John McKinley and
William Morrison were elected justices, Henry L. Dally, clerk, and David
Thompson, William Agin and Edward S. Crawford, trustees.

   Orange has always been a full congressional township, with a territorial area
of thirty-six square miles, or 23,040 acres. It lies in the southwest corner of
the county, and is bounded on the south and west, respectively, by Hardin and
Allen Counties, on the north by Union Township, and on the east by Van Buren
Township. In 1840 it contained a population of 314; 1850, 704; 1800, 987; 1870,
1,107, and 1880, 1,451, showing a steady growth from its organization up to the
present.

   The surface of Orange is a great deal more rolling than the territory north
and east of it, though along the northwest portion of the township there is a
narrow strip of low, flat land, known as "Cranberry Marsh," most of which,
however, lies in Union. A small piece of this marsh was wet prairie, but the
greater portion was originally thickly covered with willows, and nearly
impassable. Here wild game found a pretty safe retreat, though the indomitable
hunter soon tracked them to their lairs. All the balance of the township bore up
the usual kinds of forest trees natural to northwestern Ohio, and the first
settlers had no easy task in clearing up its lands. The soil is a variation of
loam, clay and sand, and in places is a combination of all three, for while the
higher lands are usually clay, the valleys and more level tracts are a sandy
loam. This, however, does not apply to the marsh lands, where the soil is a
composition of decayed vegetation and silt. These lands have been so ditched and
drained that it may be said they are now all under cultivation, and among the
richest in the county.

   This portion of the county is naturally well drained and fairly watered.
Riley Creek rises in Van Buren Township, and flows across Orange in a northwest
direction, entering the township on the southeast quarter of Section 24, and
leaving it on the northwest quarter of Section 18; thence passing northwestward
through the northeast corner of Allen County into Putnam, strikes the Blanchard
River about two miles southeast of Ottawa. In passing through Orange, Riley
Creek receives two small runs from the south, which drain the southern portion
of the township. The marsh outlet begins in Union Township, and runs across the
northwest corner of Orange into Riley Creek. The west fork of Ottawa Creek comes
in from Van Buren Township in Section 13, thence winds northward and unites with
the east fork about one-half mile east of Cannonsburg, in Union Township. Along
these creeks are numerous springs which supply water for stock during the dryest
seasons.

   Pioneers.—Orange was the last portion of Hancock County to receive the
impress of the sturdy pioneer. May 1, 1834, Henry L. Dally entered the southeast
quarter of Section 19, and, returning to Tuscarawas County, packed his household
effects in a two-horse wagon, and with his wife, Margaret, and eight
children—four sons and four daughters—traveled northwestward till they arrived
at the site of their future home in the forest of Orange Township. A small
log-cabin was erected, as soon as possible, and this rude habitation stood in
the midst of a wilderness, the nearest neighbor being about three miles distant.
Other settlers, however, soon followed, and in a few years Mr. Dally had plenty
of kind neighbors, and the smoke from their cabin homes was to him no doubt a
welcome sight. Upon the organization of the township he wanted it named "Dally,"
contending that as he was its first settler they should pay him that honor. In
this he was doomed to disappointment, but at the first election was chosen clerk
of the new subdivision. Mr. Dally was a very worthy citizen, and after residing
here till 1845, sold his farm and moved into Putnam County, whence he afterward
removed to Iowa.

   David Thompson, a native of Virginia, was the second settler of Orange. He
was married, in 1825, to Eliza McCoy, of Columbiana County, Ohio, and the same
year located in Stark County. June 12, 1834, Mr. Thompson entered the northeast
quarter and the east half of the northwest quarter of Section 20, Orange
Township, upon which he and his family soon afterward took up their abode. He
was the father of ten children. David J., born September 11, 1836, being the
first white child born in the township. Mr. Thompson accumulated a large estate,
and was a man of considerable influence. In early life a Quaker, he subsequently
joined the Disciples Church, and died in that faith in 1854, his widow surviving
him till 1861. He was one of the organizers of the township, and also of its
first religious society. Of his ten children five are living, Isaac being one of
the leading farmers in this portion of the county.

   William Bryan, of Richland County, Ohio, was the next settler, entering the
south half of Section 6, and the north half of the northwest quarterof Section
7, June 12, 1834, upon which he located early the following autumn, soon after
the coming of Dally and Thompson. When the township was erected, it was Mr.
Bryan who suggested the name of Orange. He finally sold his farm and settled in
Bluffton, where both he and his wife died, and none of their descendants are
residents of this township.

   More than a year passed by before any further accessions were made to the
little settlement, but in the fall of 1835, William Ivers and Jonathan Ballard
both located in the northeast corner of the township. Mr. Ivers and wife,
Rachel, were natives of Pennsylvania, but came here from Muskingum County, Ohio,
and settled in the southeast quarter of Section 2. Here his wife died in
January, 1838, which was the first death of an adult in the township; and she
was the first person interred in the Cannonsburg Cemetery. He married for his
second wife Mrs. Margaret McHenry, who survived his death, which occurred April
8, 1859, at the ripe age of seventy-seven years. Mr. Ivers was a Methodist all
his life, and is remembered as an upright, honest man and a worthy citizen.
Jonathan and Eleanor Ballard came from Chautauqua County, New York, and built
their cabin in the northwest quarter of Section 1, where the latter died in
1853. Mr. Ballard reared five sons, none of whom are residents of Hancock, and
died April 10, 1872, in his eighty-second year. He was a very intelligent man,
fond of reading; in religious belief a Methodist, and a good, kind neighbor.

   In the summer of 1836, William Morrison, George McManima, James Carter,
Edward S. Crawford, George Outhwait and John Hassan, all settled in Orange. Mr.
Morrison and family came from Columbiana County, Ohio, and located in the
southwest quarter of Section 36, entered by him March 14, 1836. He was one of
the two first justices of the peace elected in the township, and was twice
re-elected to the same position. Both he and his wife, Elizabeth, died upon the
old homestead, and were buried on the farm which is now occupied by their son
James, who is the only surviving member of the family. Mr. Morrison was well
liked by his neighbors, made a fair justice, and bore the reputation of being an
upright, straightforward business man. George McManima was from Richland County,
and in September, 1834, entered the south half of the southeast quarter of
Section 17, though he did not locate in the township for nearly two years
afterward. He was then an old bachelor, but, soon after coming, married
Catherine Morrison, a sister of William Morrison, which was the first marriage
in the township. Mr. McManima finally sold out and removed to Van Wert County.
James Carter was a brother-in-law of William Morrison, and came with the latter
from Columbiana County, Ohio. He also settled on Section 36, but subsequently
sold his farm and moved to Williams County, where he and his wife died.

   Edward S. Crawford was from Wayne County, Ohio, and built his cabin in the
southeast quarter of Section 23, in June, 1836. He reared a family of four sons
and two daughters. Two of the sons survive and are residents of the township,
and the daughters are living in Hardin County. Mr. Crawford and wife resided in
Orange until their death. He was one of the organizers of the township, and was
elected one of its first trustees. George Outhwait, an Englishman with three
daughters, located on Benjamin Ralston' s land in Section 2, which he leased
from the latter ere Ralston' s settlement in the township. Mr. Outhwait
afterward moved to Findlay and died in that city.

   John Hassan, a native of Pennsylvania, came from Trumbull County, Ohio, with
his wife, Elizabeth, and seven children, in July, 1836, and took up his
residence in the southeast quarter of Section 24, entered by him the previous
May. Here he resided till his death April 11, 1877; he died in his ninetieth
year, the widow surviving him about two years, dying in 1879. Five of their
children are yet living, Robert, Mrs. James Morrison and Mrs. Adaline M. Henry,
of Orange, being the only members of the family residing in Hancock County.

   John McKinley was the next settler in Orange Township. He was born in
Westmoreland County, Penn., September 23, 1801, and in 1804 his parents, William
and Hannah McKinley, removed to Trumbull County, Ohio, where John grew to
manhood. On the 13th of March, 1823, he married Miss Mary Marshall, a native of
Trumbull County, Ohio, born in 1806. In September, 1835, he entered about 300
acres of land on Section 1, Orange Township, and in the summer of 1836 started
with his family for Hancock County, arriving at his destination in September,
and being compelled to cut out a road through the forest to the farm in the
southwest quarter of Section 1, upon which he built his cabin. He was one of the
two first justices elected in Orange Township, and was re-elected three times,
serving a continuous period of twelve years. In 1855 he was elected county
commissioner, and re-elected to the same office. Mr. McKinley was the father of
ten children, all of whom were the fruits of his first marriage. His first wife,
Mary, died in 1850, and his second wife, Rebecca, in 1878. Only two of his
children are residents of Hancock, viz.: Hon. William M. McKinley, of Orange,
and Mrs. Elizabeth Vermillion, of Van Buren Township. The Plainfield Society of
the Seceder Church was organized at John McKinley's cabin, in October, 1836, and
he adhered to the Presbyterian faith until his death; he died March 20, 1882, in
his eighty-first year. His father, William, an Irishman, came with his wife,
Hannah, to the township at a much later date, and both died here in 1861 and
1859 respectively. The mother was in her eighty-first year, and the father more
than one hundred years old, at the time of their decease. John McKinley was a
fitting representative of those hardy, industrious, honest pioneers to whom
Hancock County owes so much for its past success and present prosperity.

   Shortly after Mr. McKinley's settlement John B. Robinson, William Agin, John
Henry and Willard Boutwell came into the township, all locating here in the fall
of 1836. Mr. Robinson was a native of Pennsylvania, but came to Hancock County
from Trumbull County, Ohio. He was by trade a hatter, and worked a short time at
his business for the pioneers of Orange. His cabin stood on Section 23, and
after the death of his wife he removed with his family to Nebraska. William Agin
still resides upon the farm in Section 25. which he settled nearly fifty years
ago. He was born in Pennsylvania May 2. 1806, but came here from Trumbull
County, Ohio, and is now in his eightieth year. Mr. Agin has been thrice
married. His first wife was a Miss Phoebe Burnet, who bore him one daughter, and
died in Trumbull County. He then married Fanny Stinson, of Trumbull County, who
was the mother of two children at the time of their removal to Hancock. Four
were born here, and all grew to maturity. His second wife also died, and he then
married Mrs. Mary Crawford, nee Montgomery, who has borne him six children, all
of whom are living. Mr. Agin is the oldest living pioneer of Orange Township,
and has always possessed the good will and confidence of his neighbors. John
Henry and family located on Section 26, the sons being John, William, Isaac,
James, Thomas and David. The father, together with John and William, died in the
township, and the mother in Findlay. Willard and Mary Boutwell were from New
York, and settled in the southwest quarter of Section 1. The family and
household effects were carried in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen. In 1837 the
Boutwells got tired of pioneer life, and removed to Seneca County, but in a few
years returned, and again took possession of their cabin in this township. The
parents are dead, and of their four sons and one daughter, Edwin (who resides on
Section 14, Orange Township), is the only one living in Hancock County.

   Other settlers of this period were Ohio Dally and Alfred Thompson, both of
whom came late in 1836, or early the following year. Mr. Dally was a native of
Ohio, and his wife, Eliza, a Pennsylvanian. They were married in Wayne County,
in 1832, thence removed to Knox County, and from there to Hancock. Mr. Dally was
a pump-maker by trade, and the father of eleven children, eight of whom are
living, but Aaron R., who resides on Section 32, this township, is the only one
living in Hancock County. The father died here, and the widow resides with her
son, Aaron R. Mr. Dally was a typical pioneer, a large-framed, muscular man of
extraordinary strength and vitality, but a quiet, peaceable neighbor and a good
citizen. Alfred Thompson located on Section 29, but after a few years sold his
farm and left the county.

   The year 1837 brought into the township quite a number of settlers, among
whom are best remembered George Vermillion, Nathaniel Main, Benjamin Ralston,
Esdras Burns, James and John Cummans, David Grapes, John Stump, Thomas Wall,
Thomas McElroy, David C. Brannan, James Reed, and James and William Gallant. In
the spring of 1837 George and Ann B. Vermillion settled on Section 1, former a
native of Virginia, and latter of Germany. They were married in Virginia. They
removed from the "Old Dominion" to Champaign County, Ohio, and thence to this
township, where both spent the remaining years of their lives. Mr. Vermillion
died July 17, 1859, in his seventy-eighth year, his wife having passed away the
year previous. They reared two children, George and Mary. The latter became the
wife of William M. Marshall, of Orange Township, soon after the family settled
in the county, and George finally removed to Illinois. Nathaniel Main and family
came here from Delaware County. Ohio, also in the spring of 1837. He, too, was
born in Virginia, and built his cabin on Section 23, where he has ever since
resided. Benjamin Ralston was from Champaign County, Ohio, but a native of
Virginia. He was a brother of Alpheus Ralston, of Jackson Township. His home was
on Section 2, which he finally sold, then left the county. Mrs. Newton Elzay, of
Orange Township, is the only one of his children now living in Hancock.

   Esdras R. and Catherine Burns were married in Chautauqua County, N. Y., in
1825, and in 1834 settled on the Western Reserve, where they resided till
October, 1837, when the family located in the southeast quarter of Section 1,
Orange Township. Mr. Burns was born in Vermont, in 1800, while his wife was a
native of Pennsylvania. They had a family of four children when they came to
Hancock, and one was born after coming. All of these grew to maturity, and are
yet living, while John D., George L. and Mrs. William M. McKinley are residents
of this township. Mrs. Burns died August 22r 1875, aged seventy-nine, and Mr.
Barns December 3, 1883, in his eighty-fourth year. They were a very worthy
couple, and are kindly spoken of by those who knew them best.

   James and John Cummans and David Grapes all came from Columbiana County,
Ohio, in 1837. The last mentioned lived originally in Beaver County, Penn., but
married Elizabeth Cummans ere settling here, and located on Section 35. He,
however, sold out at an early day, and returned to Columbiana County. The
Cummans brothers were born in Virginia, and removed with their mother to
Columbiana County, where both married, and whence they came to Hancock. James
settled on Section 34, and John on Section 35. The former yet lives upon the old
homestead, though the infirmities of old age are pressing heavily upon him, as
he is now in his eighty-second year. His wife, Sarah, bore him fifteen children.
John died upon the farm, where his widow, Polly, now resides.

   John Stump entered the northwest quarter of Section 18, in August, 1834, but
did not settle upon his land till three years afterward. Some time after
locating here, he built a small grist-mill or corn-cracker on Riley Creek, which
proved a great convenience to the early settlers as it was the first and only
grist-mill erected in the township. After many years' residence here, he sold
his farm and went to Indiana. Thomas Wall was an Irishman, who settled on
Section 1, in the fall of 1837. He subsequently removed into Findlay Township,
thence to Michigan. Thomas McElroy, a brother-in-law of William Morrison,
settled on the adjoining farm on Section 36, in 1837. He came here from Carroll
County, Ohio. Several years ago Mr. McElroy sold his farm, and removed to Ada,
where he and his wife died. David C. Brannan and James Reed were from eastern
Ohio, and came here in 1837. The former settled on Section 24 and the latter on
Section 25, and both died upon their respective farms. Reed's Corners still
perpetuates the name of its pioneer settler. James and William Gallant also
settled in the township, in 1837; and in 1838 and 3839 James T. McConnell, David
McKinley and many others built their cabins here. But Orange was by this time
pretty thickly dotted with clearings, and these later comers did not have to
endure the privations and hardships of the real pioneers, who settled in the
unbroken forest once covering the township.

   Religious Societies.—The Rev. Newmire, a Disciples preacher from Tuscarawas
County, organized the first society in Orange Township, at the cabin of Henry L.
Dally, in the fall of 1835. Mr. Dally, wife and four children, and David
Thompson and wife, of Orange Township; and Joseph Coughanour, James Smith and
John Luke, with their wives, of Putnam County, were the original members of this
society. Several others joined in a few years, but the meetings were always held
at private houses, as this society never erected a building. The Disciples have
now a place of worship in the southwest corner of Section 26, but it was built
by a later organization.

   The Plainfield Society of the Seceder Church was organized by Rev. Samuel
Wilson, of Greene County, in October, 1836, at the cabin of John McKinley. The
organizing members were John McKinley and wife, John Hassan and wife, and John
B. Robinson and wife. Soon afterward Benjamin Marshall and wife, and Mrs.
Foreman and two daughters, of Union Township; John McClelland and wife, of Eagle
Township; and William M. Marshall and wife, and David McKinley, of Orange
Township, united with the society. James H. Wilson and wife, of Findlay, were
also connected with this church and met with them for worship. The Seceders
built a church in Cannonsburg, but sold it to the Methodists before it was
finished or occupied. In 1851 the Associate Reformed Presbyterians erected the
present small frame church in the same village. In 1858 these societies were
united under the name of United Presbyterians, and they have since worshiped
together.

   About 1845 the Riley Creek Baptist Society was organized, Timothy Main,
Nathaniel Main and Sabeers Main, and their wives then constituting the church.
In 1852 or 1853 the society, which had obtained quite a large membership,
erected a frame building in the northeast corner of Section 23, and this was the
first house of worship built in Orange Township. It is yet standing, and was
used till the erection of the present brick edifice in 1871 immediately north of
the old structure.

   The United Brethren, Evangelical Association and Reformed are later
organizations. The United Brethren have two churches in the township, one on
Section 14 and another on Section 4. The Evangelical Association have two
societies, and each society has its place of worship. One of their churches
stands on Section 10 and one on Section 30; while the Reformed Church is on
Section 35. All of these have respectable congregations and a fair membership.

   Early Schools.—The first schoolhouse in Orange was a small log building
erected on Section 1, in 1837 or 1838, and a school opened by Elizabeth
Matthews. The McKinleys, Ivers, Burnses, Walls and Ballards attended this
pioneer school. The second teacher was Fanny C. Burns, who afterward became the
wife of Robert Hassan. Another log schoolhouse was soon put up on the northeast
corner of Section 35. It, too, was taught by Miss Burns in 1840, and her pupils
were the Morrisons, Carters, Agins, McEl-roys, Cummanses, Crawf ords, Henrys and
Grapeses. The third log schoolhouse was built in the fall of 1840 on Section 20.
A school was taught here in the winter of 1840-41, by John E. Creighton, and the
Dallys, Thompsons, Stumps, Brandiges, Fishers and Battles were the pupils in
attendance. These teachers received from 50 cents to $1 per week, and boarded
around with the patrons of the school. From year to year other and better
school-houses made their appearance, and educational facilities improved in
every way. Orange Township now contains nine school buildings, provided with
good teachers, and every child in the township may here obtain a fair common
school education.

   Justices.—The following is a complete list of the justices of Orange Township
since its organization: John McKinley, William Morrison, James Reed, William M.
Marshall, James Cummans, John A. Ewing. Jonathan Dunlap, Nathaniel Main, James
L. Henry, Isaac Thompson, William M. McKinley, M. C. Palmer, Joseph Henry,
Bateman Zoll and George Spangler.

   Hassan and Cordelia Postoffices.—A postoffice named Hassan was established in
Orange in 1858, with James Morrison as postmaster. His successors have been
Robert Hassan, James Reed, Robert Hassan, Thomas Watt, Peter C. Bender, Emanuel
Binkley, Peter C. Bender, Mrs. Peter C. Bender and William Mathewson. Cordelia
postoffice was established in the township March 9, 1883, with William M.
McKinley as postmaster, who has since held the office.

   September 14, 1883, William M. McKinley, William M. Marshall, John Crates and
John Julerat laid out a town of thirty-three lots on the Cleveland, Delphos &
St. Louis Narrow Gauge Railroad, lying in Sections 1 and 2. A station and a
small store wherein the postoffice is kept make up the hamlet, which, as far as
appearance goes, yet remains in an embryo condition. This road was completed
through Orange in the fall of 1882, but so far has been of little benefit to
this portion of the county. It is also very doubtful that it ever will be unless
changed to a standard gauge, though its advent was hailed with considerable
enthusiasm by the people living in the townships through which it passed.


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