Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society

Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 1)

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Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 1)

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[corresponds to front cover of Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society]

BERLIN TOWNSHIP PROGRAM

of the

DELAWARE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

As Presented April 25, 1949 in Berlin High

School

[illustration of school]

This brochure is to record the reports given and the exhibits

displayed at this meeting. It has been necessary to make

some omissions and amend some procedures. It is hoped,

however, that the brochure will serve as a pleasant reminder

of the occasion. The brochure has been compiled by Mrs.

Anna Smith Pabst, in memory of her grandmother, Anna

Eliza Jane Nash Hall, who, in Mrs. Pabst's words, "first

taught me to appreciate our ancestors, those sturdy pioneers

whose courage and fortitude transformed an Indian inhabited,

forested area into good farming tracts, - this humble effort

is dedicated to her, the donor of the land for the 'little red

schoolhouse,' and to our childhood memories."
Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 2)

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Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 2)

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[corresponds to inside of front cover of Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society]

The following items were on display, loaned by person or

persons named.

Record book of Dunham, the tanner

Pencil Sketch of Cheshire Blockhouse by Mildred Schanck.

Candle mold, tin chandlesticks, copper bed warmer, powder

horns, a 1776 dirk with silver and mother of pearl handles,

History of U.S.A. by Frederick Butler, publ. 1825 - Glenn Lackey.

Grape design ironstone china covered vegetable dish; D. M.

Cowgill's 1812 sword - Howard and Ben Cowgill.

Capt. A. Freshwater's Civil War sword - Ethel Patton.

1803 handmade nails by Nathan Sherwood, used in Cheshire

Blockhouse; silver teapot bought by Mr. Geary for daughter

Nellie in 1868 - Edith Nettleton Main.

Samuel Nash ledger, post office commission of Wm. Henry

Nash, 1863 - Lois and Pauline Nash.

Paul Revere Lantern, pressed glass footed salt, Demarest's

Monthly Illustrated, 1869; Slough oxen yoke; Wayland's linen

primer, hand blown sherry glass - Mr. & Mrs. Wayland Ryant.

Record book of Capt. Silas Emerson, 1852-1863; Ella and

Ed's picture - Mrs. Cottrill.

"1840 Berlin Barter Book"; Richard E. Plunkett's Civil War

Sword - Mr. and Mrs. Earl Plunkett.

Bockoven Leather Bound Album - Mrs. George Pugh

Handbound Leather Daily Readings of Clark Scott; Prayer

Book of Harry Janes; School and group pictures - Mrs. Lurie

Scott.

Parchment deeds signed by Andrew Jackson, James Monroe,

one 1830 deed - Ralph Gooding.

Wm. H. McWilliams Bible and powder horn carried through

Civil War; Account book of Sarah Ann Hotchkiss, d. 1870;

diary of Flora Ann Hotchkiss - Mr. and Mrs. W. I. Griffith.

Keys of Libbey Prison, (Arza Thrall) - Mrs. Leroy Gill

Family Bible Record; pictures of Berlin Twp. Family; T. J.

Scott's home in Constantia; Henry E. Scott's Civil War and

Dewey Scott's Spanish-American War records; store pictures

of Winifred Scott; relic list of Winifred Sarkisian; old silver;

- Asa and T. J. Scott family.

Daguerreotypes of Joel and George Cleveland - Annabelle

Cleveland Smythe.

Daguerreotypes of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Wilcox, Mr. and Mrs.

Charles Wilcox; early group pictures - Mrs. W. W. James.

Pictures of Lydie and Edgar Gregory; Freshwater, schools,

etc. - Mrs. Hazel Stanforth.

D. S. Janes home south of Cheshire picture, 1875 - Roy Scott.

Picture of Mr. and Mrs. David Lackey - Mrs. Plunkett.

Edson Williams School picture - Mrs. Guy Gooding.

Nash family Bible - Samuel Nash's store ledgers of Tanktown.

original sale bill, 1860; antique buttons; Sheffield and coin

silver; hand forged shears; bullet mould; ivory handled, rose

silk, spangled fan; pictures; McGuffey readers - for the Samuel

Nash family - Anna Smith Pabst.

Original Grange Charter, 1874; Post office commission, 1896;

Currier & Ives picture; typed copies of records; plats of

Tanktown; Constantia; and maps; for the Charles Webster

Smith's - Anna Smith Pabst.

Pictures of Mary Carhart Hall Scott; G. A. Hall home - Mr.

and Mrs. Ray Hall.

School pictures of his sister when teaching at Curve Road

and West Berlin Schools - William Sweeney.
Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 3)

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Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 3)

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[corresponds to unlabeled page 3 of Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society]

ABOUT THE SETTLERS

The Cowgill Family History - as given by Ben R. Cowgill

A widow named Ellen Stackhouse Cowgill came with her five

children from Settle, Yorkshire, England, on the ship "Wel-

come." They landed at Philadelphia in 1682. The first white

family to settle in Berlin Township was that of George Cow-

gill who came from Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1805.

They arrived at their destination in the north east corner of

the township, east of Alum Creek on August 15th, with no

mark of the woodsman's axe or trace from Berkshire's Cor-

ners. At Berkshire, they found a Mr. Root, surveyor in the

employ of Colonel Bxybee, who could pilot them to their home

site, where Mrs. Walt Potter now resides.

This pioneer family brought with them salt, flour, powder

and lead enough to last three or four years. There were 4

males in the family old enough to use a gun against the

Indians. They moved from Pennsylvania in two wagons drawn

by horses. After they crossed the Ohio River, they bought

two cows to bring to their new home. They also had four

guns and three dogs, two celebrated Buckinghams and one

cur. Upon arrival, they immediately set to work and built a

comfortable cabin and shelter for their horses and cows.

They cleared the land around the buildings. This work was

ingeneously done - there was a deep precipice north of the

buildings. The trees were felled and cut in lengths so that

one team of horses could haul them to the edge of the bank

of the deep ravine. Then they were rolled into the run below.

They cleared 3 acres of land in time to sow wheat with the

seed they brought. This new soil produced a fine crop at

harvest time in 1806. They cleared some 10 or 12 acres by

spring of 1807.

The Lewis Pioneers - prepared by Emma Lewis Ryant and

read by John Ryant.

Hannah Lewis Caswell was a child of three when her parents

came to Berlin Twp. from Connecticut. The first generation,

John Lewis came from Sandwich, England in 1635 on the ship

Hercules. Captain John of the fourth generation had three

children who came to Ohio, John Lewis, Alanson Lewis and

Sarah Lewis, wife of Nathan Sherwood. David of the fifth

generation came to Ohio with his five sons and two daughters

in 1805. He died in Berlin Twp. in 1831 at the age of 75 years.

Of the sixth generation, Hannah, daughter of David Lewis, Sr.,

was born October 20, 1802. She married Wilbur Caswell in
Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 4)

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Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 4)

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[corresponds to unlabeled page 4 of Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society]

1817. Mr. Caswell was a teacher and Aunt Hannah and Miss

Lotia Dickerman were among his pupils. Aunt Hannah's

brothers and sisters were, Patty, Rosetta, David, Jr., Sylves-

ter, Betsey, Isaac, Chester, Joseph, Sylvia, John, Hannah and

Warren. All lived in Berlin Twp. but Rosetta.

David, Jr., born 1778, married Almira Caulkins in Connecticut

in 1802 and they came to Ohio in 1805. He died in 1860. Almira,

born 1782, died 1878 on the farm where she had lived over 73

years. Betsey, born 1782, died 1875. She came to Ohio with

her father. She filled her underbed with the dry leaves of the

forest and when relating it to me, she said: "I was never

happier in my life." She married John Johnson in 1809, the

first marriage in Berlin.

Joseph, my father, was born June 10, 1778 in Waterbury,

Connecticut. He married Sarah Sherwood in 1813. He was a

soldier in the War of 1812 and built the first mill for grinding

wheat and corn in the township. When they first went to

housekeeping in 1813 near the mill, their nearest neighbor was

three miles away.

Judge Joseph Constant gave David Lewis, Sr., a deed for 80

acres of land on condition that he would settle on it. With a

few household goods, rifles, ammunition, flint and tinder box

packed in one wagon, with three women and little Hannah,

David, Sr., his sons and Alanson his nephew, they started

west in August. On reaching the Blue Ridge it was necessary

to lighten the load. The men and women carried guns and

bundles all the way over the mountains. Crossing the Ohio,

they came through Zanesville and Granville, then through the

forest with only a pocket compass to guide them. Upon reach-

ing Berkshire, they left the women and wagons and the men

went on to Alum Creek and surveyed their site with the com-

pass and a bed cord. They built their cabin and moved into it

the next day. It had no floor, doors or windows. The next

spring they made troughts to hold the sap and made over 200

pounds of maple sugar in one iron pot and one frying pan.

Venison and turkey was abundant. There was a lack of salt,

leather and cooking utensils. The markets were at Zanesville

and Chillicothe. The Indians added terror, so a blockhouse

was built near where Mr. Saunders now resides. The roof

was made from shingles split from the trunks of trees and

nailed on with wrought nails made by Nathan Sherwood (my

grandfather) in his blacksmith shop. Aunt Hannah can re-

member sleeping at the blockhouse. It was used after the

war as a church and school. I attended my first school there.

The post office was at Berkshire. I have several old letters

written from 1812 to 1825 on which the postage was 25? and

one that needed 50?.
Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 5)

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Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 5)

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[corresponds to unlabeled page 5 of Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society]

The Dickerman Family - as given by Lurie Janes Scott

The Dickerman family came from Connecticut in 1815. Henry

Ward Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe were in the Dick-

erman line a few generations before. The Dickermans set-

tled on the farm south of Cheshire where the South Berlin

Presbyterian Church now stands. Uncle Benoni Dickerman

had a station on the Underground Railroad at the time of the

Civil War and helped many people to reach Canada.

The Janes family came from Vermont two or three years

after the Dickermans came and settled a mile south of them.

Harry Janes (my grandfather) married the oldest Dickerman

daughter, Elizabeth Alma. My father, Daniel Janes, was born

in 1837 in a cabin and lived all of his life on that farm. He

died in 1907. In 1840, his father built the large frame house

which still stands there. The siding of the house is black

walnut. The rooms are all finished with black walnut. The

house had black walnut shingles. After I can remember there

was a new roof of black walnut shingles put on. These trees

grew on that farm. I was born in that house and lived there

until I was 23 years old when I married Lyman Scott and

went to live on the Peachblow Road. . . . . The original

name was spelled Janes. I can well remember when the

family began to put the "Y" in the name. When the Janes

family came to Ohio, the grandmother, Anna Hawkins Janes,

came with the family. She was the widow of the Revolution-

ary soldier, Lieut. Elijah Janes, whose records enable me

to belong to the Daughters of the American Revolution. She

lived to be 100 years old and 8 months and is buried in the

old Blockhouse Cemetery.

The grandmother of Elijah, Hannah Janes, was captured by

the Indians May 13, 1704. Two of her children were killed

and she and her infant were carried away. The baby was

dashed against the doorpost to free the captive mother of the

burden that would impede travel. The Indians decided to scalp

her to avoid being overtaken by white avengers. She was then

knocked on the head and scalped and left for dead. She was

found later by whites sitting up and stroking the blood on her

forehead. With much care, she recovered and lived to be over

80 and had descendents more numerous than any of the other

of the three Janes lines. . . .I have lived in Berlin Twp. 84

years. As far as I know there is only one other person who

has lived in Berlin as long as I have - that is Charlie Hall

who has lived here 3 or 4 months longer. . . My mother was

Sarah Adams who was born in Berkshire Twp. Her father

was Reverend Bartholomew Adams, a Freewill Baptist, who

preached over 100 years ago in what is now the Berlin Town

House. It was built in 1824 for a Baptist Church.
Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 6)

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Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 6)

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[corresponds to unlabeled page 6 of Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society]

The May Family - as given by Mrs. Leroy Gill

Obidah R. May was born in Delaware, Ohio, in 1820. I believe

his father's given name was Walter. He was of a family of

three boys and two girls. (One brother lives in Delaware, but

the others have moved west.) Obidah married Mary Vining

who was born in the same house as President Hayes on East

William Street, May 5, 1828. They had five children, Bernice,

Olive, Elim (who was my father) James and Willie. Bernice

married David Winship and moved to Illinois. They had six

children, all living now in Illinois. Elim married Josephine

E. Thrall, daughter of Arza and Mary Chandler Thrall. To

this union came two children who live in Columbus, Ohio, and

myself, Ethel, whose home is on Route 36. Olive, James and

Willie died while quite young. . . . Grandfather May lived in

the vicinity of Alum Creek where he had purchased land from

Harlock Dunham in 1848. Dunham was a blacksmith and my

father used the same shop which was torn down last year

(1948) to make way for the new road. In 1860, religious meet-

ings were held at the home of my grandfather until a building

was built on land given by him and Nathaniel Roloson. This

church was known as the North Berlin U.B. Church. . . . .

Grandfather May served in the Civil War under Captain Fresh-

water, Company 26, 145th Reg. Also, Grandfather Thrall

served in the war, but we do not have his company and regi-

ment. Both are buried in the Cheshire Cemetery, as are my

parents.

The Ridgeway Family - as given by Bessie Ryant Perfect

Isaac Ridgeway, Jr., was a soldier in the War of 1812. He

married Martha Stevens and settled on a farm in Putnam Co.

New York. He died leaving his widow and three children,

George, Cornelia and Eliza Jane. Five years later, a Mr.

Adams of Delaware County married the widow and brought

the entire family to Ohio in 1836. The snow was five feet

deep on the level. The first day they crossed the Hudson

River at Newburg and continued several days without mishap.

Just as they were crossing a small lake, Cornelia would not

ride on the sled, but walked across. She was nearly across,

when her brother frightened her and she fell. She got her

clothese all wet, but they continued a quarter of a mile, with

her clothese frozen stiff. They stopped at a tavern, and next

day, Cornelias was as lively as ever. They bought candy

and gingerbread at a grocery. They went to Wooster by

wagon and then continued to Sunbury. They finally arrived

at Saunder's Corners in Berlin Twp. the end of the sixth

day of March, having been on the road for 32 days. Their

first meal was potatoes dug from the garden. The winter

had been so mild that the potatoes had not frozen.
Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 7)

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Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 7)

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[corresponds to unlabeled page 7 of Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society]

The Ryant Family - as fiven by Mrs. Otis Perfect

Perhaps no other family has lived on the same farm and

tilled the same soil for a longer period than the Ryant family.

To tell of their lives over a 150 year span in some five min-

utes will take some rapid talking and omitting of details.

In 1790, the first person living in Berlin Twp. by the name of

Ryant was my grandfather, John Ryant. He was an only child,

born on November 25, 1796. His parents died in his infancy

and he was reared and brought to Ohio by the Nettletons when

they migrated from New Haven, Connecticut. He served in

the war of 1812, and then in 1827, the records of Delaware Co.

show he bought of Florilla Lewis a U.S. land grand of 35 acres

for the sum of $150.00 being about $4.28 an acre. This was

the beginning of the Ryant farm which was owned by his des-

cendants for 120 years. He was married to Love Nettleton,

January 1, 1822. A cabin was built in the woods, 1/4 mile

south of Cheshire and nearly a mile back from what is now

the Cheshire-Westerville Road. Here seven of their ten

children were born- four sons and six daughters. Three

died while yet children. A few years later a brick kiln was built

on the land just south of the Cheshire school and bricks were

made for the beginning of the present brick structure near

the first, the first story being of the original bricks. Here

in this house, the 3 youngest children were born, Harriet,

Leonora Isadore, Florence LeDoyt. . . . Before the Civil

War, my grandfather was much interested in the escape of

runaway slaves from the south over the Underground Rail-

way which route passed directly in front of his house. Just

1/2 mile south across where the Presbyterian Church now

stands, was the home of Benoni Dickerman whose home was

the daylight shelter for the slave on his way across Ohio to

Canada. . . . For over 150 years, the Ryants have been active

in the religious, political, historical and patriotic affairs of

Berlin Twp. Levins Rices was a merchant and postmaster

in Cheshire. James Corbin was County Commissioner of

Delaware County. Florence LeDoyt served in the Civil War

from 1861 to 1865, marching with General Sherman from

Atlanta to the sea. Lenora Isadore was the instigator of the

Decoration Day services that for so many years have been a

memorial to the soldier dead lying in the Cheshire Cemetery.

. . . Some nationally known ancesters are Sarah Jane Hale,

editor of Godey's Ladies Book in 1860, the fashion magazine

of that time, whose printed editorials and direct contact with

President Lincoln brought about the national observance of

Thanksgiving. General Alluard B. Nettleton, another cousin,

was born in Berlin Twp. and was assistant treasurer of the

U.S. Eugene Dyer, grandson of James Ryant, has become

head of the department of typhus investigation in the National
Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 8)

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Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 8)

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[corresponds to unlabeled page 8 of Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society]

Health Institute at Washington. . Today, two male lineal de-

descendants bearing the name of Ryant are John Ryant who

still owns a few acres of the original farm and is known as

a breeder of fine Merinos, and Wayland Florence, grandson

of the first John, who, until 3 years ago, lived in the original

homestead and was owner and operator of the Ryant fruit farm.

The Emerson and Sackett Families - as given by Maude

Emerson Cottrill

Luke Emerson came to Berlin Twp. in 1823. He purchased

the farm on the Curve Road and built a log house which still

stands opposite the E. P. Roloson home. Luke had four sons,

one of whom was Silas, my grandfather; and Joseph, the

grandfather of the late Alfred Emerson of Delaware, Ohio.

. . . When Luke's sons were old enough to help him, they

burned the brick and built the home in which E. P. Roloson's

widow now lives (1949). Luke's wife was Mary Stacy, the

granddaughter of Colonel William Stacy, one of the founders

of Marietta and also the foreman of the first grand jury in

Ohio. Both Luke and Mary are buried in the cemetery by the

Berlin Twp. Hall. Luke's son, Silas lived in the log house. He

married Nancy Ann Faris and they had five children, Edward

F., who kept the store at Berlin for many years (having pur-

chased it from George Gregg in 1880); Wilber, my father;

Anna, who married George Sackett; Ella, the teacher. All

attended the old Curve School. . . Silas went about the country

on horseback and got up his own company of which he was the

Captain, when Lincoln called for troops. . He died in the army

in 1865. Wilber took over the warm, and I, too, was born in the

log house. Three generations came to life tehre. . . I have a

ledger which Captain Silas Emerson kept from 1850 to 1865.

Very interesting notations include: Received $1.50 a week for

board, room and washing for his brother Asa; 30? premium

from the Delaware Bank on $40.00 gold; 75? for one hog; paid

37 1/2? for one day of farm labor. Some of the names men-

tioned are Sackett, Shaw, Faris, Roloson and Maxwell . . . I

have all of the record books of the Emerson store at Berlin.

Prices show coal oil at 8 cents; coffee 10 cents; farm work h

hats for 25 cents, etc. Ed Emerson paid Emma Gregg $2.50

per week for board, room and washing.

Augstine Sackett and wife came to Berlin Twp. in 1820 and in

1830 built the home on the Curve Road. George was raised

there and his son Howard's widow lives there now. . George

was a very prominent and prosperous citizen. He served in

the state legislature and was county sheriff. . The Sacketts

came to Massachusetts in 1630. . . . This branch of Emersons

are descendents of Thomas E. of Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Among them are Ralph Waldo Emerson, Wendell Phillips,

Phillips Brooks and the mother of William Howard Taft.
Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 9)

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Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 9)

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The Philander E. Whittier Family - as given by W. P. Whittier

P. E. Whittier met and became engaged to Mary P. Tufts of

Farmington, Maine. The gold rush was on at that time and he

decided to go to California. He acquired some with moderate

success. While there he was drafted to go against the Indians.

In going to California, he went from the Isthmus of Panama by

boat, had to walk across the Isthmus (30 miles) and then on by

boat to California. He was there for 9 years. When he re-

turned there was a railroad across the Isthmus, 1863. They

were married soon after his return. Mary had put in part of

her time teaching school at $6.00 a month and boarded around

according to the number of scholars each family had. They

came to Ohio in 1866 and purchased the farm we now live on.

They paid $3200.00 for 112 1/2 acres. to Theodore and John Lewis.

On the place were two small houses and two log barns. . .

Father started a Sunday School, and occasionally preached.

He and mother were Freewill Baptists. To this marriage

five children were born; Mary Emma, Willia Francis,

Winifred Parker, Julia Alice and Sarah Ellen. The girls all

taught school at $20.00 to $30.00 a month. Alice changed to

nursing and died in the service in Los Angeles, Calif., in

1945. Frank owned and ran the Sunbury News for several

years and was also mayor of Sunbury. He was county sur-

veyer for two terms and died January 31, 1941 in Columbus.

Fred stayed and worked on the home place for board and

$15.00 a month. He married Edith H. Ferson, December

25, 1899, then bought out the other heirs and has managed

the home for 51 years all told. Two daughters were born

to this union; Mary Louise and Doris Edith. At the time

day labor was $1.00 a day for ten hours' work. Twenty years

later the girls both taught school for $125.00 a month. W. P.

Whittier was manager of the Delaware Co. Telephone Co.

from 1905 to 1914. The Berlin Centralized school petition

was started by Ed Irwin and W. P. Whittier. . . When our

folks came from Maine in 1866 and located here, the place

was called Jacktown. There had been 11 houses and a potash-

ery. Dr. Clapp had the post office; Lewis kept tavern;

Preacher Thompson had one of the Underground Stations. He

said his wife's poke bonnet and green skirt had been worn as

a disguise by many a negro on his way north. The wooden

bridge across Alum Creek by the Seymour Jaynes place was

built about 1874 on the lot line between Wesley Stuart and the

Waterfields. The road from the west came diagonally across

the bottom land to the ford just south of the bridge. The main

road went north through the farms of John Valentine, Hubert

Jaynes and Leonard Hitchcock (who had a saw mill run by

water power) then forded the river and went north on the east

bank of Alum Creek to the lot lines of Benoni Dickerman and

Joseph Irwin, thence east to the Presbyterian Church.
Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 10)

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Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 10)

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[page 10]

[corresponds to unlabeled page 10 of Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society]

The William Manter Family - as given by Mr. Sealy Manter.

William Manter was born in 1818 and came from Connecticut

to Ohio. He settled back of the schoolhouse on the Peach-

blow Road. He married Susan Stanton and they had three

sons and two daughters. One child died in infancy, one son

died in the Civil War - his name was Frank. The others were

Sealy, William, Frances and Selia. He later bought the farm

that is now owned by Will Scott. Later, he moved to a farm

south of Galena where he died in 1895. . . When he came to

Ohio, it was all timber in this part of the country, the road

was blazed on the trees. William had four brothers, but we

do not know their names or where they lived.

The Dunham Family - as given by James Dunham

The Dunham genealogy may be traced back to Rychert Dunham,

born 1294, a Spanish adventurer in England. The tenth gen-

eration is represented by Deacon John Dunham, born 1588 in

Scrooby. He came to Plymouth on the Mayflower. The origi-

nal 1807 Dunham lands were in Berkshire Twp. The sixteenth

generation under Jeremiah Dunham, a son of Harlock born

1814, died 1843. He married Amanda Blodgett and they lived

in Berlin Twp. After his death, she married John Peacock,

a weaver from Boston, Massachusetts. . . . Oscar Dunham,

the son of Jeremiah, was born 1842 and died 1913. He is

buried in the Cheshire Cemetery. He married Mary May.

They had four children: Alverdo, Albert, Inez (married Philip

Shade) and Matoka (married William Foster). The eighteenth

generation was Alverdo Dunham, born October 3, in Berlin

Twp. He married Alice Dunham. Alverdo ('Do') Dunham's

children are Audrey, Inez, James, Earl and Neil.

The Lackey Family - as given by Ethel Lackey Plunkett

The first Ohio settlers of the Lackey family were Alexander

and Martha Hart Lackey, who came from Carlisle, Penna.

in 1830. They came in covered wagons and settled on a farm

on East Broad Street in Columbus where the Memorial Hall

now stands. After their three sons were married, each

moved to Berlin Twp. As each son left home, the father gave

him a wagon and a team of horses. . . David Hart Lackey came

to Berlin Twp. in 1850. He bought forty-seven and one-half

acres from Ranson Adams in 1850. This land was on the Curve

Road west of the railroad and east of the Sweeney homestead.

Edgar, the second brother bought 80 acres in 1851 in Berkshire

Twp. He also bought 59 acres in Berlin Twp. and sold his to

Thomas Jefferson Lackey, May 3, 1853. Thomas Jefferson

was the grandfather of Ernest and Ethel. The 59 acres was

located on the Gregory Road. He later obtained some land
Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 11)

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Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 11)

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[corresponds to unlabeled page 11 of Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society]

from Chauncey Smith. This country was a real wilderness

then. Thomas lived with his parents in Franklin Co. until

1857, when he and his wife, Catherine Schanck Lackey and

their two sons (William Lewis, 2 1/2 years old and Edson Bird-

sell, 6 months) made the tiresome trip in big wagons. David

and Edith were born in Berlin Twp. At the age of four,

Edson died and he is buried in the Cheshire Blockhouse Ceme-

tery. William Lewis and David lived on adjoining farms. .

Thomas was the first in the community to own a two horse

mowing machine, a grain reaper and a left hand walking

plow. He died in January 1905. His home was a plain,

modest, Christian one where his neighbors and friends were

always welcome. He shared all church and community res-

ponsibilities. After his death, 8 acres of his farm were sold

to the Berlin Board of Education as the site for the present

centralized school building.

The country store played its part in community life of this

period. Thomas often took produce to the Samuel Nash coun-

try store at Tanktown or West Berlin and exchanged it for the

supplied he needed. The records of the store show that

Thomas took nine pounds of butter there and got ninety cents

for it. Among the items he took in exchange for it were -

coffee at 15? per pound; saleratus at 10? and 4 yards of cotton

at 40?. . . In 1857, Thomas and Alfred Lackey joined the

Cheshire Methodist Church which had been built 9 years before.

Thomas hauled the new bell from the West Berlin Railroad

Station. He was a member of the official board and a trustee

until his death. . . A petition for a new road from Cheshire

Street through Cheshire was circulated by David Lackey,

Jacob Longnecker, Thomas Griffith, Fawn Ryant and C. J.

Slough. . . All of the first and second generation are gone

except Edith Hanna of Columbus and all but three are buried

in the Cheshire Cemetery. . . . In his humble, modest and

sincere way of living, Thomas Jefferson Lackey laid a

priceless foundation and gave a great heritage for the future

descendents of his family.

The Freshwater Family - as given by Ethel Freshwater Patton

Archibald Freshwater married Lydia Lorena Tuller, August

8, 1844. They had three sons, Arkison, Benjamin Franklin

and Julius Homer ("Duke") and an adopted daughter, Ella

Perry. He bought a tract of land a mile west of Tanktown,

built a log cabin and moved his family there in 1857. He

cleared the land, built rail fences and later the 1 1/2 story

house east of the log cabin.. . . . Arkison ran off to war and

was on Sherman's March to the Sea. He was a sergeant.

Archibold was called into the 100 days' service and made a

Captain. The two small boys were left to help with the farm-
Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 12)

Title

Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 12)

Description


[corresponds to unlabeled page 12 of Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society]

ing. Both Frank and Duke received their early education at

the West Berlin School. Later Frank entered Ohio Wesleyan

where he graduated in the classical course in 1877. He then

studied law under Carper and VanDeman and was admitted to

the bar, June 2, 1885. He opened a law office in Delaware in

1885. He taught school at West Berlin and here he married

Nell Elouise Babcock in 1889. He had two sons and two

daughters. He was a member of the firm of Freshwater,

Marriott and Wickham; was probate judge for 2 terms;

member of Hiram Lodge; K. of P. and B. P. O. E. . . After

Arkison was dismissed from the army, he married Amelia

Mathilda Breyfogle in 1866. Two of their children were born

at Stratford, Archibald Reuben and Louis Ellsworth. Harry

Rutherford, Ernest Blaine and Ida May were born at Berlin.

He lived in the log cabin on the farm and on land east of the

old farm. At the time of his death, he was living in Delaware.

After Duke's marriage to Amanda Freshwater 1884, he bought

land just across the road from the home place. Their child-

ren, Ethel Lorena, OtaMarie and Lulu Blanche were born

here. Amanda taught school at one time in Berlin, as did

her daughters, Ethel and Blanche. . Duke and Amanda moved

to Delaware in 1916. Amanda was 90 years old on March 20,

1949. They lived in Berlin Twp. about 33 years.

The Hoadleys and Caulkins Families - The early history of

Berlin Twp. would not be complete without the names of

the Hoadleys and Caulkins families. These families were

attracted by the fertility of the soil and so constituted another

wave of migration from the less fertile regions of Connecti-

cut. They settled near Constantia, in the Alum Creek area.

Some of these families are also buried in the Blockhouse

Cemetery at Cheshire.

Tanktown of Samuel Nash's day and Constantia of Asa and

T. J. Scott's day and the West Berlin Community - presented

by Anna Smith Pabst on an opaque projector with appropriate

explanations and pictures.

Tanktown 1850 - Plat Record V. 1 Delaware County, Ohio

Berlin surveyed - 81 lots

Surveyors - B. F. Loufbourrow

H. E. Eaton

1858 - Plat Record V.2

John B. Slack, Proprietor

Surveyor - Charles Neil

Atlas 1866, p. 23 - showing Samuel Nash' land and home; and

William Henry Nash's home.
Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 13)

Title

Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 13)

Description


[corresponds to unlabeled page 13 of Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society]

Constantia or Cheshire - 1848 - Plat Record v 1 Delaware

County, Ohio

Plat of Cheshire

George C. Eaton represented by

F. J. Adams

The 1880 History of Delaware County: - page 452 states

"the first purchaser of land in Berlin was Joseph Constant

of Peekskill, N.Y. He bought section 4 from the Government

paying two dollars per acre and receiving a deed signed by

John Adams."

Deed Record, Delaware County, Ohio - Book A, page 84:

...David Galbreath of New York and Thomas of New York

were given as a military grant the 4th quarter of the 4th

township of the 18th Range and on December 9, 1802, they

conveyed this land to Joseph Constant for $2000.00. The

president of the U.S. signed the deed to Galbreath and Thomas.

(see also Volume 3 p. 78 Ross Co. Transcribed Deeds)

Samuel Welding Nash and Catherine Early Nash

Samuel Welding Nash was born 1801, Westmoreland Co., Penna.

son of Richard Nash of New Castle, Delaware. Wife, Cath-

erine Early, daughter of William Early, Adams County, Ohio.

b. 1807 m. 1824.

1830 - William Early bought 200 acres land, Berlin Twp. for

$200.00. Page 31, deed record V.10 Delaware Co. Deed re-

corded August 20, 1830.

1832 - Page 94, Deed Record, V.11, Delaware County,O.,states

"The said William Early for and in consideration of the love

and good will he bears to the said Samuel Nash, his son-in-

law. . hath granted the said Samuel Nash and his heirs one

hundred acres of the 200 acre tract conveyed to him by John

M. Armstrong."

1851 - First postmaster Tanktown, black walnut store and house.

1851 - First Agent on C.C. & L.L.R.

1851, 1853 & 1857 Ledgers of his store at Tanktown are in

possession of Lois and Pauline Nash and Verna Walker (Kansas)

1854, April 3rd - Samuel Nash leased to the Board of Education

of Tanktown or West Berlin, land for school purposes, if the

Board would keep it fenced on,all sides. He was paid $5.00

for this. The land reverted to the heirs of the Nash estate in

1916. (Deed Record V.37, p.54)

Picture of Samuel and Catherine Early Nash

Several pages from the ledgers were displayed on projector.

Catherine Early Nash died January 14, 1847.

1851, April 11 - Samuel Nash married Jane S. Lewis

page 247, marriage record, v.2,Delaware Co., Ohio

1860, April 16 - Samuel Nash died at Tanktown.
Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 14)

Title

Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 14)

Description


[corresponds to unlabeled page 14 of Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society]

1860, Sale Bill of Samuel Nash (owned 134 acres)

(Samuel and Catherine are buried in Blockhouse Cemetery)

Inventory of Estate of Samuel Nash - Case No. 966, Delaware

County, Ohio. Administrators - George Gregory, Henry J.

Eaton. 1860 - Ledger Accounts due Estate - $715.25.

Sale Items include: Grocery building $28.00 - buyer

Sale Items include: Price Buyer

Grocery building $28.00 Wm.Henry Nash

Carriage 30.25 H. Osborne

Warehouse 41.00 T. P. Flagg

10 shoats 40.20 D. Ridgeway

cow & calf 30.00 A. Cowgill

Total sale bill: $1164.98

A few of the names on Samuel Nash ledgers were: Gregory;

Sackett; Vining; Dickerson; Thrall; Roloson; Adams; Leonard;

Barrows; R. Griffith; Geary; Lackey; English; Asa Emerson;

Smith; Flagg; Sherman; Elliott; Dickerman; Lewis; Janes;

Griffin; Gardner; Doty; Mantor; Miller; Cunningham; Slack;

Caswell; Shade; May; Scott; Day; Shaw; McWilliams; Ball;

Hodgen; Sanders; Whitman; Osborn; Tharpe; Nash; Nafus;

Peacock; Tipton; Early; Caulkins; McNamara; Cole.

Samuel Nash's House - 1857 ledger, p.134 - Samuel wrote -

R. C. Gardner commended plastering house, May 15, 1853.

House on same foundation as one which burned and same size.

Cabin stood east of this house.

C.C.& L.R.R. Ticket - round trip Columbus - 55 cents -

Presbyterian Church of West Berlin - Organized January 16,

1876. Meetings held at first at West Berlin District No. 8

Schoolhouse. Members by letter, January 16, 1876: Henry

Osburn; Esther Osburn; Mary Osburn; Libbie Osburn; Joseph

Roloson; Margaret Roloson; Louisa Roloson; Fidelia Roloson;

Chauncey W. Smith; Henrietta Smith; Rachel A. Gregg; Samuel

D. Geary; Martha Geary; Adolphus W.McFarland; Margaret

McFarland; Clarissa McWilliams; Ignatius Brown; Elijah Slack.

Member by examination: Anna D. Brown.

Display of complete roll 1876 - 1903. Church erected 1877;

cost $1700. Picture shows building and Mr. and Mrs. Gard-

ner and daughter, Eunice. First Elders: I. Brown; E. H.

Slack; Chauncey Smith. First Trustees: H. Osburn; R. C.

Gardner; John Gregg. First Minister: Rev. Thomas Hill.

Membera: 1877 - 65; 1913 - 99; 1916 - 90; 1937 - 74.

Church Budget: 1880 - $324.00; 1922 - $1050.
Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 15)

Title

Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 15)

Description


[corresponds to unlabeled page 15 of Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society]

Relic List of Asa Scott Family - in possession of Winifred

Scott Sarkisian of New York City:

T. J. Scott's musket. Carried from Connecticut to Ohio and

back many times (usually on foot).

Home made compass. Bullet mould. Small hand-carved

powder horn. Pewter-hand wrought-flat ware candle sticks

Miniature of James Henry Dewey and his Civil War water

canteen. Four pressed glass goblets. Sherry glass.

Covered, pressed preserve glass. Milk glass plate - ribbon

edge. Quilt made at Cheshire in 1873 by Harriet Dewey

Scott. China doll with complete original wardrobe"Pinky."

(Pamela Andrews Scott was the mother of all of Thomas

Jefferson Scott's children and his second wife was great

grandmother of Anna Pabst Smith.) Slides showing family

Bible record; pictures of all members of the family who had

resided in Berlin Twp. Ancestral chart of Lois McLeod

Bloomquist, a lineal descendant of Ruth Scott, daughter of

Asa Scott, prepared by C. Ross Bloomquist. Ancestral chart

of Asa Scott prepared by Mr. Bloomquist and copied by Anna

C. Pabst. Store pictures of W. A. Scott and Henry E. Scott.

Thomas Jefferson Scott's home in Constantia; Cheshire

Blockhouse which he helped to build; Civil War record of

H. E. Scott; Spanish-American War Record of Dewey Scott.

Poem composed by C. E. Smith in memory of T. J. Scott.

Ohio State Journal picture of W. A. Scott as agent for paper

for years. Old silver sugar shell and butter knife given to

Nellie Hall Smith for working for Mary Carhart Hall Scott

(second wife of T. J. Scott.)

Community Pictures on Projector:

West Berlin School - Margaret Sweeney, teacher.

Guy Gooding School - Ira Gregory, teacher.

West Berlin - Ora Schanck Williams, teacher.

District 2 - Edson Williams, teacher. Pupils: Julia Elliott

(Wilson); John Elliott; Zelpha Wilcox (James).

District 8 - George Whitman, teacher

Cheshire School - pupils: Wayland Ryant, Bertha Terrill.

School Roll of 1884-85 - Minnie Ferson, teacher; Lydia and

Edgar Gregory, Margaret Sweeney.

C. W. Smith General Merchandise Store, 1912

C. W. Smith Huckster Wagon, horses "Topsy"and"Maud."

Home of G. A. and Anna E. J. Nash Hall

Mary Carhart Hall Scott; Mrs. Charles Wilcox; Mrs. Irwin,

mother of Ed, Jafe, Herb and Jo. Jafe Irwin and wife;

Ed Irwin; Carrie Slough (Gooding); Pierce's; Libbie Smith

(Hughes); Marston Civil War Letter; Daniel James Homes;

Mr. and Mrs. David Lackey; Joel and George Cleveland;

As children - Ray Hall, Marie Griffith, Emma McWilliams

(Griffith) Homer and Hattie Smith Gregory.

Winnie Winters (Furniss); C. U. and Eunice Gardner Hall;

Emma Gregg; Aunt Fidelia Roloson; Eva Griffith (Willey)

and Fairy Hedden (Pritchard); Tom Wintermute; Mr. and

Mrs. Ezra Wintermute. Samuel Nash, a lover of beautiful

trees, as shown by the large beautiful elm he left standing

west of the old red schoolhouse which was built on land

donated by him and which was attended by three generations

of Nash descendants and is now owned by a Nash descendant.
Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 16)

Title

Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society (p. 16)

Description


[corresponds to back cover of Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society]

So-called "Barter Book" of Berlin Twp. - owned by

Earl Plunkett

First page: Isaac Carhart, Lewis Carhart - Credit $6.80

Second page: Lewis Carhart, 1840 - 13 days work 50? - $6.50

a bill of boards: 640 ft. florin maple; 450 ft. 1/2 in.

oak; 400 ft. 1 in.roof.

Third page: Elbert Evarts, Dr., 1840:

Jany 8th,Dr.to four weeks & six days board at $1.12 per wk.

Elbert Evarts commenced board with me again Jany 15.

Elbert Evarts left boarding with me March 22, 1840

Elbert Evarts commenced boarding with me again March 5,

1840.

Elbert Evarts left boarding with me March 17th, 1840.

Elbert Evarts return again March 21, 1840.

Fourth page; Stepehn Carhart, Dr. 1840:

To one horse ride .25

May 21 to 3 bushels oats .60

To one days work .50

June 25 to one ham 1.00

June 26 to one days work .62

Aug.22 to 1 pair socks .34

__________

3.25

Page 23: Henderson Hall, Dr., 1845

June 27 to 11 lbs.veal .33

July 23 to 3/4 lb.butter .07

July 4th to 27 3/4 lbs.mutton .83

Aug.11 to 6 1/2 lbs.flour .13

To use of wagon to Columbus .18

Page 24: Thomas Hoadley, Dr., 1846:

July 3 horse to pasture 1 wk. .16

To setting 2 shoes .18

To use wagon to Eden .18

Page 26: Melven Janes,Cr. 1845:

March 6th to team to draw 100 feets of boards from Dr.

Lewis saw mill. .12

To 12 lights of window sash .75

Swapt horses with Darisu Oct.15 1846

Page 27: April 7, 1847: This day reckoned and settled

all accounts with Isaac Carhart and found him due one dollar

and fifty cents to be paid in team work. M. T. Janes

Page 36: James Eaton Cr. 1841:

To surveying lands .75

To making out one deed .25

To surveying land .75

Page 38: David Plum dr. 1848:

To 5 1/2 thousand shingles $16.50

Dublin Core

Title

Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society

Subject

Berlin Township--Delaware County--Ohio
Delaware County Historical Society--Delaware County--Ohio
Settlement--Berlin Township--History--1949

Description

Program of a community presentation about Berlin Township history and its pioneers, given on April 25, 1949 in Berlin High School.

Creator

Anna Smith Pabst

Date

1949

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

Format

Brochure

Language

English

Type

Text

Identifier

22221029

Collection

Citation

Anna Smith Pabst, “Berlin Township Program of the Delaware County Historical Society,” Delaware County Memory, accessed December 11, 2024, http://www.delawarecountymemory.org/items/show/195.

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