Allen County Early Settlers

Allen County Permanent Settlers of the Pioneer Period

Taken from:  History of Allen County, Ohio: Containing a history of the county, its townships, towns, etc.  Chicago:  Warner, Beers & Co., 1885.

The first permanent settlers in the county were Andrew RUSSELL, Peter DILTZ and William VAN AUSDALL, all of whom were old residents of Montgomery Co., Ohio.

Matthew ALLISON, a Pennsylvanian, settled in Bath Twp., late in 1827, and purchased a tract of public lands on section 2 in 1834.

Alexander ALLISON, a native of Pennsylvania, settled in Bath Twp., in 1827. In 1830 he purchased Government lands on section 3, and made the county his home until his death in 1871.

Charles BAKER settled in Lima in 1832, and erected the first frame building in the village.

John BASHORE settled in Lima in 1831, and may be named as the first tavern-keeper of Lima.

Samuel BAXTER settled in Amanda Twp., in 1828 with his sons, Curtiss & Smith BAXTER. The latter came with him when only four years of age, and the former when six years old. His death took place August 10, 1830, while Mrs. BAXTER lived until August 26, 1854.

John BARBER, a Pennsylvanian, settled with his wife in Bath Twp. In 1833. Mrs. BARBER died in August, 1882, and John BARBER November 4, 1884.
 
D.B. BEARDSLEY, one of the old settlers of Hancock County, was also a pioneer of Allen. For years he has served as Justice of the Peace of Hancock Co., and has written a book of historical reminiscences on that division of the state.
 
William BELCHER purchased a quarter of Section 28, Marion Twp., in 1826.
 
Gen, William BLACKBURN, Receiver of the Land Office, was transferred to Lima in 1834, whence he moved to Allentown, where he died.
 
Samuel BOWERS, father of Robert BOWERS, settled at Lima late in 1834.
 
Isaac BOWYER and his wife Elizabeth purchased a farm on Section 18 in 1830, and a year later became members of the first Methodist Church of Elida.
 
Daniel BOYER, a Pennsylvanian, settled at Lima in 1836. In 1837 he was married to Miss HUGHES, a sister of Judge HUGHES, who died here in April 1851. He died October 26, 1884, aged seventy- three years.
 
Griffith BREESE settled in Section 10, Shawnee Twp., in 1832. This was the site of Shawnee village, as then evidenced by seven cabins and eighty apple trees. This pioneer died in 1848. His widow died in 1852, while his son William D. BREESE, who came with him in 1832, is still a resident of the county.
 
William BRYAN settled in German Twp., in 1830 with his wife Elizabeth. Both of them were among the first members of the Methodist Society organized there the following year.
 
Harvey BUCKMISTER, one of the old traders of the HOLLISTER Fur Company, a pioneer of Hardin Co., must be credited with being an old resident of Allen Co.
 
John CHAPMAN, or “Johnny Appleseed”, a Swedenborgian, was in Jefferson Co., Ohio, as early as 1801. He planted sixteen bushels of apple seed on the BUTLER farm on the Walhhonding River. On entering a house he would lie down on the floor and ask the people “Will you have some fresh news from Heaven?” He was born in Boston in 1775. In April 1828, he leased a farm from William B HEDGES below Shanesville. His death took place near Fort Wayne in 1845, aged seventy-two years.
 
This CHAPMAN was a composition of eccentricities. S.C. McCULLOUGH, in his reminiscences, states that he visited a nursery on the SUNDERLAND farm in Amanda Twp., soon after he commenced to clear his own farm in 1835. He was told that the trees were planted by John CHAPMAN some years before, and further, that the old man had been along the Ottawa and Auglaize Rivers seeking out alluvial lands to set out orchards, before white men had effected a settlement in Allen County. It is probable that “Johnny” carried out his benevolent work here even prior to the building of Ft Amanda. That he was here about 1812 – 1813 is manifested in the number, variety and age of the trees, which sprung from the seeds planted by him along Wayne’s trace.
 
James M CANDLER and his parents settled near Lafayette in 1829; moved to Liberty Twp, Hardin County, in 1832, where his father died in 1835.
 
Solomon CARR, who with his family settled in Marion Twp, in 1826, is now represented by his son, Abner CARR, one of the few survivors of pioneer days.
 
Henry CARTER, a native of Delaware, with Edward COX and Thomas KANE, settled in Richland Twp, in 1834.
 
William CHAFFEE, a Baptist preacher, settled at Lima about 1833. (Vide History Baptist Church). He purchased a farm on Section 1, Shawnee Twp, in 1832. He amassed a fair sum of money; lost it or wasted it, was sent to an insane asylum at Indianapolis and there died.
 
William S CHENOWETH, a Revolutionary soldier, together with James CHENOWETH, came to Bath Twp, in 1827 or 1828, and purchased land on Section 33, in 1831.
 
Josiah CLAWSON, who married a daughter of Martin HINE, in 1835, in Marion Twp, and purchased a farm on Section 28, in 1834, died February 6, 1844. Andrew CLAWSON was another old settler who resided on Section 30.
 
Benjamin CLEVENGER, the miller of Sugar Creek in 1832. William CLEVENGER located lands on Section 20, in 1829.
 
William COCHRAN settled in Marion Twp, in 1825. He was accompanied by his wife and son James COCHRAN. The latter married Miss Julia A RUSSELL, daughter of the pioneer Andrew RUSSELL, in 1829. This lady died in 1833. In 1834 he entered lands on Section 34, Marion Twp.
 
Thomas COCHRAN, a Kentuckian, settled in German Twp, in 1831. His father Simon COCHRAN, served in the Revolutionary war, and died in this township, aged ninety years. A.W. and John COCHRAN served in the war of 1812.
 
John F. COLE, accompanied by his family, came to Allen County in 1831, and located near Lima, November7, that year. A few months later he was present at the burial of Chief PHT, and after that time he continued to witness the removal by death of many if not all the early settlers. He died in 1882. His son John F COLE is an old resident of Lima.
 
Mrs. Nancy COLE, widow of the late John F. COLE, settled with her husband in Bath Twp in 1831, moved to Lima subsequently and died here October 24, 1880.
 
George Coon Sr., a Pennsylvanian, settled on Section 11, Shawnee Twp, in 1832, about the time William DENISTON and Thomas FLYNN made their settlement in that neighborhood. His death occurred in 1877.
 
John CRAWFORD settled in Bath Twp, in 1828; purchased lands on Section 4, in 1831, and resided there until his death in 1880.
 
Alexander CREPS and his wife Rebecca (MAUS) Creps came about 1832. In 1834 Alex Creps founded the village of Westminster and there died August 25, 1878.
 
Smith CREMEAN arrived in German Twp, in 1830, and settled on lands which he purchased on Section 10, in 1830. Jacob CREMEAN was also an early settler.
 
Charles CRITES, a Pennsylvanian, settled in German Twp, in 1839. Jacob CRITES arrived in 1843.
 
Joseph CROSSLEY, who settled in Lima in 1833, moved to Perry Twp, in 1834 and located his farm on Section 16. He was accompanied by his step-son Henry J. APPLE. Mr. CROSSLEY was one of WAYNE’s soldiers, and is said to have buried the first brick at Cincinnati, Chicago, Ft Wayne, Dayton, and Lima.
 
Thomas CROOKS arrived in Auglaize Twp, in 1831.
 
James CROZIER was one of the first Associate Judges.
 
Archibald CUNNINGHAM settled at Lima in 1834 with his son John CUNNINGHAM, who conducted a school in the first court house from 1834 to 1838.
 
Dr. William CUNNINGHAM, a name so closely identified with the earlier years of the county, settled at Lima in 1831. He died in September 1842. (Vide general history). In 1832 he purchased the CUNNINGHAM homestead at Lima.
 
Theodore E. CUNNINGHAM, whose personal history appears in the third part of this work, is one of the senior old residents, and even now one of the ablest lawyers of this county. In 1866 he was delegate to the JOHNSON Constitutional Convention. In 1873 –74 he was a member of the Ohio Constitutional Convention, and has for years taken a foremost part in everything relating to the progress of this division of the state. He came with his father, Dr. William CUNNINGHAM to Lima in 1832.
 
Hamilton DAVIDSON, the first resident attorney, is referred to so often in the chapters of this work that the name only is necessary here. He moved to Defiance in 1845 or 1846.
 
James and Benjamin DANIELS settled in Bath Twp, and purchased lands on Section 31, in 1828.
 
Nathan DANIELS, the first Recorder, was one of the first residents of Lima.
 
W.F. DEHART, a settler of Amanda Twp, in 1837, is a pioneer of Spencer, having settled there in 1843, the year before CANOVER, McCONNELL and TYLER platted the village of Spencerville.
 
Peter DILTZ arrived in January 1817, and took up residence in the small block - house on the northeast corner of the quadrangle or parade ground of Ft Amanda. On September 20, 1817, Francis DILTZ was born in this log-house, and here the family continued to reside until the beginning of the summer of 1821, when Mr., and Mrs. DILTZ and children returned to Dayton. Previous to his leaving the county, however he erected a log-cabin for the SUNDERLAND family in 1821.
 
Simon DOYLE and family came to Allen County in 1829 and purchased lands in Section 17, Bath Twp, the same year.
 
William DURHAM purchased his farm in Amanda Twp, in 1827.
 
Francis DEUCHOQUETTE, the French interpreter, whose knowledge of the Shawnees and their language was only equaled by his desire for justice, was denied employment in 1831 by the wily and unprincipled Indian Commissioner GARDNER. He set out, that year, to accompany the Shawnee delegation to Washington, but died en route and was buried amid the lamentations of that people for whom he sought justice. DEUCHOQUETTE Twp, formerly a portion of Allen County, is named after him.
 
The late C.C. MARSHALL, in a reference to this man, says:” I became acquainted in 1831 with Francis DEUCHOQUETTE, the old Frenchman who had lived a long time among the Shawnees, and it said to have interceded for the life of Dr. KNIGHT, when Col. William CRAWFORD was burned by the Delaware’s near the Tymochtee, in Wyandot County, after his capture in 1782. This venerable Frenchman died, when on his way to Washington, with a Shawnee delegation, at Cumberland, Md., in the summer of 1831.
 
John EAST, son of Abraham, a German soldier, sold to the British by his ruler in 1774-76 to fight against the Americans, settled in German Twp, in 1833 with his sons Samuel and Isaac, He died in 1862. John EAST operated a carding-machine in early days in German Twp.
 
Uriah EDGECOMB moved to Bath Twp, in 1832, and located on land which he purchased that year on Section 3. Ezra EDGECOMB also entered a tract of land in the same section.
 
Michael FLYNN, who located at Ada, in Hardin County in 1856, is an old resident of Allen County.
 
Saul FAULKNER, and old settler of Champaign County, settled on Section 21, Perry Twp, in 1832. In 1833 he purchased Government lands in Section 21.
 
Samuel FORRER, who surveyed the Shelby Canal in 1824, may be considered the pioneer of Marion Twp, as he ultimately settled here, and made Delphos his home until his death in 1874. In 1834 he purchased a tract of land on Sections 20 and 18.
 
Tolson FORD settled in Auglaize Twp, in 1830. In the history of first industries and again in the history of his township the name is often referred to.
 
The FULTON brothers, pioneer physicians of Spencer Township settled there at Hartford about 1836 as pioneers of the county.
 
Daniel GARDE, a settler of Amanda in 1824, entered a small parcel of land on Section 5, in 1828.
 
Levi GOODENOW and family settled on Section 20, Auglaize Township in 1836. He died in 1876.
 
Elisha HALL purchased a farm on Section 8, Bath Township in 1830.
 
Justin HAMILTON, who surveyed the original town of Lima in 1831, was one of the pioneers of Mercer County.
 
Jacob HARTER, one of the early settlers of Amanda Township, entered his lands on Section 4, in 1825.
 
Edward HARTSHORN made an entry of a tract of land on Section 7, Bath Township in 1829.
 
Merritt HARVEY settled in Spencer Township in 1847.
 
Dr. Samuel PRICE, Abe ARMITAGE, T.C. BARTLE, a carpenter, and William YOUNG were settlers.
 
Physicians GRAY, EMERSON and WYAT may be named among the early settlers.
 
The pioneer land-buyers of Spencer township were Jacob PETERBAUGH, L.V. VAN HORN, B.P. SOUTHWORTH, George YOUNG, Joseph BROWN, Solomon K. BROWN, J. MARKS, in 1834; Samuel PURDY, Joe OSBORNE and John CLIFTON in 1848; G.D. COLEMAN and John HOCKENBERRY in 1845.
 
Joseph HIGGS settled in Bath Township previous to 1832, and settled the first saw-mill on Sugar Creek that year.
 
Martin HIRE settled in Allen County in 1824.
 
Joseph HOVER, a Pennsylvanian arrived in 1833 and settled on Section 1, Shawnee Township. Here he resided until his death in 1844. W.U. HOVER accompanied his father and brother James A. Mr. HOVER, Sr., built the first frame house in the township.
 
Ezekiel HOVER and Emanuel HOVER, brothers of Joseph HOVER, settled in Shawnee Township in 1833. Ezekiel purchased the lands where the chief Village of the Shawnee stood, and there took up his residence in the old council house.
 
Henry HUFFER settled one and one-half miles from Elida in 1831 with his wife and family. His daughter Delilah is the wife of Henry KIRACOFE, himself an old settler.
 
James E HUESTON settled with his family, in May, 1824, in the north-eastern part of Hardin County. He died in 1834.
 
Thomas K. JACOBS, a Pennsylvanian, whose sudden death occurred November 12, 1884, came to Lima in 1838. He with Daniel BOYER and Elisha JOLLEY were the leading tailors of the county at that date. (Vide sketch of Mr. Jacobs).
 
Samuel JACOBS was one of the earliest settlers. In the history of his township the name is mentioned.
 
John JACKSON, the first surveyor and subsequently Auditor, was one of the first settlers of Lima; In 1833 he purchased a tract of land on Section 11, Bath Township.
 
Frank JAMISON and his wife Rachel settled near the present site of Elida in 1828. Mr. JAMISON died in 1872.
 
John IRELAND settled in German township in 1832, and was the first Justice of the Peace elected in that township.
 
James JENNINGS and family settled in Jackson Township in 1836.
 
Gideon and John JENNINGS entered lands on Sectio 9, Bath Township, in 1834. Joseph, Asa and David JENNINGS, it is said, settled in Bath Township about 1825.
 
Griffith JOHN, a Pennsylvanian, came to German township in 1831, and in the fall of that year located his farm on Section 7. Within the quarter century following he purchased 1,640 acres of land in German, Marion and Amanda townships, of which he was sole owner up to the period of his death in February, 1856. Jesse J. JOHN, a resident of Elida, is one of his sons. Jehu JOHN was killed at Kenesaw Mountain, June 19, 1864.
 
Abraham KESSLER settled in German township in 1838. In 1834 he purchased a tract of public lands on Section 32.
 
Abner KELSEY purchased land on Section 7 in 1825, near the WOOD farm in Bath Township.
 
George KEPHART purchased his farm on Section 4, Amanda Township in 1825.
 
William KIDD settled in Monroe Township in 1832, where he resided until his death in 1855. N.G. KIDD, his son, came to the township with his parents in 1832. In 1833 he opened the first school in the township on Section 14.
 
William KNITTLE, a Pennsylvanian settled just north of Elida in August, 1830. He was one of the men who, a year later, engaged in cutting the Lima road through from Elida.
 
Isaac KNOOP purchased lands in Amanda Township, Section 32, in 1828.
 
Henry LIPPINCOTT, who settled on Section 32, Bath Township, in 1830, was elected Sheriff in 1831.
 
Morgan LIPPINCOTT and William LIPPINCOTT were members of the pioneer family of that name.
 
Aaron LOOMIS came in 1825, and assisted in building the McCLURER cabin in Bath Township, and in 1826, settled in the county with his family.
 
Peter LORAMIE, a French trader, who settled at Pickawillany in 1799, and won for the place in later years the name of LORAMIE’s Station, was one of the few Frenchmen of that time who offered aid to the British. His friendship for them was a purely business one; but so material to their interests that Gen. CLARKE visited the post in 1782, carried off his stock and burned the buildings. LORAMIE escaped and found a home among the Shawnees, with whom he traded for years, until his death in the far west.
 
Anthony MADORE, another old resident of Shanesville, succeeded SHANE as trader, sold his store to GREAVES in 1821, and accompanied the Indians to Kansas during the first migration.
 
Horatio N. MAGUIRE, elected Recorder of Allen County in 1846, was one of the early settlers. He died before his term of service expired, but continued to make records of deeds up to the night before his decease. His widow, known as Aunt Jane, still resides in Lima. His son, an old resident of Montana Territory, now residing in the Gallatin Valley, he has held the office of Probate Judge and other public positions in the Territory.
 
John MARK was one of the first three residents of Lima. Little is known of him, as he made only a short stay here.
 
Samuel MARSHALL and his son, the late Charles C. MARSHALL, may be named among the pioneers of Spencer Township, and indeed of the county. They carried the mails via Fort Amanda in 1829, 1830 and 1831.
 
Archelaus MARTIN, a Kentuckian, came to Amanda Township first in 1829, and as a resident in 1830. In 1833 he was married to Catherine RUSSELL, daughter of the pioneer of that name.
 
William MARTIN, a native of Ireland, settled in Perry Township about 1833, and two years later purchased his farm on Section 29.
 
Dr. William McHENRY, who came to Lima in May 1834, is still in practice here.
 
Samuel McCLURER, a soldier of the war of 1812, and a participant in the defeat of the British at the battle of the Thames, came to this county in 1825, and erected his cabin on the west side of Hog Creek on Section 28, Bath township. He was accompanied by his brothers, Thomas and Moses, together with Joseph WARD and Aaron LOOMIS. In 1826 he brought his wife and family to reside here. Mrs. McCLURER died September 21, 1844. Her husband’s death took place December 29, 1875.
 
James McCULLOUGH, father of Samuel C. McCULLOUGH, settled with his family on Section 11, Bath Township, in June, 1835, on land which he purchased in 1836. A year later Mrs. McCULLOUGH died.  She was the daughter of Col. BLUE, referred to in military orders of 1812-13.
 
John McGILL purchased his farm on Section 34, in 1826.
 
John McKIBBEN, settled on Section 30, Bath Township, in 1834, but died in August of that year, aged thirty-three years. As recognition of the interest he showed in the building up of Lima, one of the streets in the north division of the city is named after him.
 
Jacob MILLER, accompanied by his wife and son Silas, settled on Section 16, Amanda Township, in 1826, and made the township their home until their decease.
 
Aaron M. MILLER, the first Prosecuting Attorney, is connected with the courts and bar of the county.
 
John P. MITCHELL, who located at Lima in 1831, together with being one of the first settlers, was also one of the first tavern-keepers. He entered lands in Section 31, in 1832.
 
Samuel MOORE entered a tract of land in Amanda Township on Section 32, in 1827.
 
John MURRAY, who settled in Jackson Township in 1834, died January 3, 1827.
 
Daniel MUSSER, a Pennsylvanian, came with his parents and the family of William WELLER, to Lima, in 1833, having resided for a short time before this in Marion Township. He was one of the early tavern-keepers, and also opened the first tannery in 1833-34. His death took place April 12, 1880, in his seventy-seventh year.
 
William MYERS, the first store-keeper at Allentown, opened his store there in 1835. He, with George POVENMYRE, platted that village the same year. They settled here in 1832 or 1833.
 
Daniel MYERS settled in German township in 1831, with his step-father, Peter RIDENOUR. He erected the first building, other than the old Lutheran Church, on the site of Elida Village.
 
James NICHOLAS, a Pennsylvanian, settled in Sugar Creek Township, September 13, 1833, and the same year purchased his lands on Section 28. He served as Justice of the Peace for almost half a century.
 
Aaron OSBORN entered lands on Section 28, Bath Township, in 1830, near Barzilla OSBORN’s purchase of 1829.
 
Vance PANGLE, a Virginian, who settled in Sugar Creek Township in 1834 with his wife, died September 15, 1835. In 1844 the widow and her son Elisha PANGLE, moved to Delphos.
 
John PLICKARD, a settler of 1832 died March 18, 1860. His wife, Julia Ann JAMISON, of German township, resided on Section 34, Marion Township, where Mr. PLICKARD entered lands in 1834.
 
Amelia POST located lands on Section 10, Amanda Township, in 1822.
 
Samuel PURDY and Daniel PURDY came to Sugar Creek Township previous to 1826. In 1827 the latter settled on Section 1.
 
Peter Ridenour settled in German township in 1831. His wife and step-son Daniel MYERS, accompanied him.
 
John RIDENOUR, an old settler of Perry Co., Ohio, came to Perry Township with his family in 1830. He died in 1874. Mrs. RIDENOUR died in 1879. Jacob son of John RIDENOUR came in 1830, and about this time also Samuel RIDENOUR settled here on Section 21. George RIDENOUR settled in the county about this time.
 
Edward RIGDON located a farm on Section 29, Ottawa Township, in 1829.
 
Samuel ROCKHILL, who platted the village of Rockport, settled in Monroe Township in 1835 with his son, William ROCKHILL.
 
Andrew RUSSELL and wife arrived in January, 1817, and took possession of the largest block-house at Fort Amanda, the same which was used as officer’s quarters in 1812-13. Here his daughter Susanna, afterward wife of Charles C. MARSHALL, was born July 13, 1817. Here Mrs. RUSSELL died in April, 1822, and was buried in the military cemetery by Dye SUNDERLAND, DILTZ and VAN AUSDALL. His daughter Mrs. MARSHALL died at Delphos in June 1871.
 
Anthony SHANE was the trader and storekeeper at Shanesville previous to the war of 1812. He platted the town of Shanesville in 1820, and resided there until he accompanied the Indians to Kansas in 1832.
 
David N. SAXTON purchased a tract of land on Section 30, Bath Township, in 1830.
 
William SCOTT, who erected a saw-mill near Lima in 1834, must be considered among the pioneers.
 
Isaac SHOCKEY, a native of Maryland, settled on Section 30, Auglaize Township, in 1831, where he resided until his death in 1847.
 
James SMITH settled in Auglaize Township in 1831.
 
Elijah STANDIFORD purchased lands on Section 32, Bath Township, in 1830.
 
Francis STEPHENSON settled on Section 17, Auglaize Township, in March, 1829-30, with his wife and son Joseph, John GOODE, Mrs. Arabella GOODE and perhaps two others. He died in 1847, and the year following his wife died.
 
Samuel STEWART, who with James DANIELS and John G. WOOD formed the first County Board.
 
William STEWART and Mrs. Jane STEWART, Pennsylvanians, settled on Section 9, Amanda Township, in 1824, and erected his cabin the same year. He died in April, 1874.
 
Samuel STEWART, a brother of William, also located in the township in 1824.
 
Hezekiah STOLES, a soldier of the Revolution, settled in Bath Township about 1827 or 1828.
 
John SUMMERSETT and his wife Rachel settled in German township, in 1830. In 1833 he purchased a tract of land on Section 17, German township.
 
Peter SUNDERLAND, a soldier of the Revolution, came here in 1820; died in 1827, and was buried in the Fort Cemetery.
 
Dye SUNDERLAND, also an old resident of Montgomery Co., Ohio settled near Fort Amanda on Section 15, in 1821, with his family. He died in 1856. Four years later Mrs. SUNDERLAND died.
 
Robert TERRY entered a tract of land on Section 28, Bath Township, in 1829. William TERRY, one of the pioneer school teachers, it is thought, settled here about the same time.
 
James TURNER and his son purchased Government lands in Sugar Creek township in 1825 and 1826; Daniel PURDY, in 1827; William CLEVENGER, David SIM, John ENSLEN, John GANDER, William WARD, Hugh CRAWFORD, Michael RIDENOUR and D.J. CONRAD, in 1829; Revel ROACH, Henry HUFFER, Michael SWISHER, Peter ROTH, in 1830.
 
Samuel TIDD settled near the east line of the county in 1822, on Section 21, Roundhead.
 
William UNDERWOOD, who settled in Amanda Township in 1821, purchased his farm on Section 15, in 1822.
 
Robert UNDERWOOD came in 1831 to Auglaize Township. His name is mentioned in the history of that township, and again in the general history.
 
William VAN AUSDALL arrived at Fort Amanda in January, 1817, and made the store - house in the center of the square his temporary home. During the fall of that year he erected a log-house on Section 15, where he resided until 1821, when he moved to Michigan with his family. In 1824 he returned to Fort Amanda, where he died the same year, and was buried in the military cemetery.
 
Peter VERBRYCKE settled in German township, in March, 1835.
 
Joseph WALTER came in 1826, and settled in Bath Township.
 
Joseph WARD visited the county in 1825, and in 1826 brought his family here. He resided with the McCLURER family until his own cabin was erected.
 
John WARD, the first County Clerk, died in 1842.
 
Samuel WASHBURN purchased a tract of land in Section 21, Marion Township, in 1825.
 
James WATT purchased lands on Section 25, in 1833.
 
William WATT was one of the first Associate Judges.
 
Hudson WATT, who came to Lima in May, 1834, died here May 17, 1880.
 
Adam WHITE, the first Treasurer, located a farm on Section 26, in 1828.
 
Christopher WOOD, a Kentuckian, a scout in the American service from 1790 to 1794, and a soldier of the war of 1812-15, may be said to be a pioneer of 1824, since in that year he accompanied his sons, Joseph and Albert G., and his son-in-law, Benjamin DOLPH, into the wilds of this county. In 1826 John G. WOOD entered a parcel of land in Bath Township. In 1829 Christopher WOOD was appointed Commissioner to locate the seat of justice for Allen County; an Associate Judge of Common Pleas in 1831; Director of the town of Lima for the sale of lots the same year, and subsequently was appointed to many positions of trust. He was born in 1769, and died at Lima in 1856. (Vide History of Lima and Organic History.) Joseph WOOD and other members of that family were all among the pioneers. William G. WOOD was the first County Auditor.
 
Owning to the fact that German pioneers of Marion Township did not effect permanent settlement until after the pioneer era of the county, their names are confined to the history of that township.