Merideth MCGHEE

Other Events:

• Census: 30 Aug 1860, , Allamakee, Iowa, USA; pg 302 (376), d/f #2270/2220
• Military: 23 Oct 1862, , , Iowa, USA; Co A, 27th Infantry, USA
• Census: 1885, , Guthrie, Iowa, USA; pg 17 (238), d/f #109/115
• Census: 1895, , Guthrie, Iowa, USA; pg 2 (213), d/f #11/11
• Census: 19 Jun 1900, Bagley, Guthrie, Iowa, USA; ED 56, pg 7A
• Census: 1905, Des Moines, Polk, Iowa, USA; I80-I83
• Census: 18 Apr 1910, Des Moines, Polk, Iowa, USA; ED 169, pg 4A
• Obituary: 26 Jun 1914, Postville, Allamakee, Iowa, USA; Postville Review

Notes:

Census:
Post Township
Marideth McGee M 23 Ohio
Mary A McGee F 20 Ohio

Military:
til 7 Aug 1865

Census:
Dodge Township
Meredith Mcghee M 47 Ohio
Mary A Mcghee F 46 Ohio
John Mcghee M 18 Allamakee
David Mcghee M 16 Allamakee
Charles Mcghee M 14 Allamakee
Curtis Mcghee M 12 Guthrie
Enos E Mcghee M 1 Guthrie
They live near James Dee.

Census:
Dodge Township
Merithe Mcghee M 57 Ohio
Mary E Mcghee F 56 Ohio
Curtis Mcghee M 22 Allamakee
Virgil Mcghee M 15 Guthrie
Burtt Mcghee M 12 Guthrie
Charles Mcghee M 24 Allamakee
Abba Mcghee F 16 Guthrie

Census:
Dodge Township
Merritt Mcghee Head M 63 Feb 1837 Ohio m. 39 yrs.
Mary A Mcghee Wife F 63 Apr 1837 Ohio 10/10 children
Curtis E Mcghee Son M 27 Nov 1872 Iowa
Virgil M Mcghee Son M 21 Mar 1879 Iowa
Bert E Mcghee Son M 16 Sep 1883 Iowa
Elizabeth Clayton Servant F 17 Aug 1882 Iowa
Meredith is a capitialist. [sic]

Census:
Ward 7, 1638 Maple Street
Meredith McGhee M 67 Ohio
Mary McGhee F 66 Ohio
Virgil McGhee M 25 Iowa
Curtis E McGhee M 32 Iowa
Meredith is retired. He served in Co A 27th Regt Iowa Inf, enlisted 9 Aug 1862 and discharged 14 Aug 1865. Curtis is a teamster and Virgil is a laborer. Curtis is indexed as Custer.

Census:
Ward 7, 1638 Maple Street
Meredith Mcghee Head M 73 Ohio m. 51 yrs.
Mary A Mcghee Wife F 72 Ohio 10/10 children

Obituary:

Meredith McGhee was born in Hancock County, Ohio, February 5, 1838 and died at his home in Des Moines, Iowa, June 10, 1914, aged 76 years, 8 months and 2 days.
He was united in marriage to Mary Ann Ervin at Hardin, Iowa, December 15, 1859. To this union were born ten children, nine sons and one daughter, all of whom are living. He is also survived by his wife, who has been his faithful companion for fifty five years, three sisters, three brothers, twenty six grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Mr. McGhee came to Iowa when but a boy of fifteen years of age and has resided here ever since, living in Allamakee County fifteen years, and then becoming a resident of Guthrie county, living northwest of Yale for a number of years. Retiring from farm work eleven years ago he and his wife moved to Des Moines where they were living at the time of his death. In August 1862 he responded to his country's call and joined Co. A, 27th Iowa Infantry, and served throughout the war receiving an honorable discharge at the close thereof.
A brief service was held at his Des Moines home, after which the remains were brought to Yale and funeral services held in the church. Interment in the cemetery at Dodge Center, Iowa, Guthrie Co.

Merideth married Mary Ann ERWIN on 15 Dec 1859 in , Allamakee, Iowa, USA. Mary was born on 29 Apr 1839 in , , Ohio, USA; died on 12 Nov 1924; was buried on 13 Nov 1924 in Bagley, Guthrie, Iowa, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. William MCGHEE was born on 17 Nov 1860 in , Allamakee, Iowa, USA; died on 1 May 1954 in Akron, Washington, Colorado, USA; was buried on 4 May 1954 in Burdett, Washington, Colorado, USA.
2. Franklin MCGHEE was born in Jan 1862 in , , Iowa, USA; died in 1948 in , , Colorado, USA; was buried in 1948 in Sterling, Logan, Colorado, USA.
3. Milton Henry MCGHEE was born on 21 Apr 1864 in , Allamakee, Iowa, USA; died on 27 Feb 1936 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA; was buried on 29 Feb 1936 in Stickney, Cook, Illinois, USA.
4. John MCGHEE was born in 1866 in , Allamakee, Iowa, USA; died before 1955.
5. David MCGHEE was born in 1868 in , Allamakee, Iowa, USA; died before 1955.
6. Charles MCGHEE was born on 31 Oct 1870 in , Allamakee, Iowa, USA; died on 16 Jan 1945 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA; was buried on 19 Jan 1945 in Elmhurst, DuPage, Illinois, USA.
7. Curtis Elsworth MCGHEE was born on 20 Nov 1872 in , Guthrie, Iowa, USA; died on 1 Mar 1941 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA; was buried on 3 Mar 1941 in Stickney, Cook, Illinois, USA.
8. Mary Elizabeth MCGHEE was born on 5 Jul 1875 in , Guthrie, Iowa, USA; died on 8 Sep 1959 in Otis, Washington, Colorado, USA; was buried on 14 Sep 1959 in Waseca, Waseca, Minnesota, USA.
9. Virgil Meredith MCGHEE was born on 21 Mar 1879 in , Guthrie, Iowa, USA; died on 14 Jun 1963 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA; was buried on 17 Jun 1963 in Forest Park, Cook, Illinois, USA.
10. Bert Earl MCGHEE was born on 26 Sep 1883 in , Guthrie, Iowa, USA; died on 1 Dec 1957 in , Los Angeles, California, USA; was buried on 4 Dec 1957 in Des Moines, Polk, Iowa, USA.

Other Events:

• Property: 1 Jun 1829, , Hancock, Ohio, USA; "the east half of the northwest quarter of Section 9"
• Residence: 6 Dec 1830, , Hancock, Ohio, USA
• Census: 5 Sep 1850, , Hancock, Ohio, USA; pg 782 (391B), d/f #38/38
• Residence: 1853, Hardin, Allamakee, Iowa, USA
• Census: 30 Aug 1860, , Allamakee, Iowa, USA; pg 302 (376), d/f #2269/2219
• Census: 28 Jun 1870, , Allamakee, Iowa, USA; pg 30 (308B), d/f #228/232
• Census: 2 Jun 1880, , Allamakee, Iowa, USA; ED 15, pg 2 (428B)
• Census: 1885, , Guthrie, Iowa, USA; pg 30, d/f #173/186

Notes:

Residence:
Liberty Township

Census:
Liberty Township
John McGhee 39 M Farmer 1800 O
Eliza McGhee 36 F O
Robert McGhee 17 F O
Sarah McGhee 15 F O
Nelson 13 F O
Meredith 11 M O
William 9 M O
Elizabeth 7 M O
Mary Ann 5 F O

Census:
Post Township, Hardin PO
John McGee M 49 Ohio
Elizabeth McGee F 45 Ohio
Elizabeth McGee F 18 Ohio
Mary H McGee F 15 Ohio
Lucius McGee M 10 Ohio
Nancy McGee F 7 Ohio
Robert McGee M 28 Ohio

Census:
Post Township, Postville and Hardin POs
John Mcgee M 59 Ohio
Eliza Mcgee F 56 Ohio
Lucius Mcgee M 19 Ohio
Nancy Mcgee F 19 Ohio
James Dee M 26 Ohio
Ruth Mcgee F 20 Illinois
George Topliff M 6 Iowa
Ruth is Lucius's wife. George is John's grandson. James is about to marry Nancy.

Census:
Post Township
John Mcghee Self M 70 Ohio
Elizabeth Mcghee Wife F 66 Ohio
George Topliff G-son M 16 Iowa
John has a swelled knee.

Census:
Richland Township
John Mcghee M 75 Ohio
Elizabeth Mcghee F 72 Ohio
George Topliff M 21 Allamakee

John married Elizabeth MCKINNIS on 2 Mar 1831 in , Hancock, Ohio, USA. Elizabeth (daughter of Judge Robert MCKINNIS and Elizabeth CRINER) was born on 31 Oct 1814 in , Ross, Ohio, USA; died on 8 Feb 1893 in Bagley, Guthrie, Iowa, USA; was buried on 9 Feb 1893 in Bagley, Guthrie, Iowa, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Name: Eliza McKinnis

John married Sarah Elizabeth GALBREATH on 1 Jan 1805 in , Ross, Ohio, USA. Sarah was born about 1790 in , , Pennsylvania, USA; died before 1841. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Name: Betsy Galbreath

Notes:

I have only one real reference for Sarah's age, from the 1830 census, she is either 15-20 or 30-40. Since she supposedly has a 20ish year old son, I've chosen the older bracket and estimated her birth to be 1790.
- A class of the Methodist Episcopal denomination was organized at the house of Johnson Bonham as early as 1831. Among the earliest members were Johnson Bonham and wife, Amos Bonham, Mrs. Meredith Parrish, Mrs. Addison Hampton, Nathan Frakes and wife, Mrs. William Fountain and Barna Beardsley and wife. The class was organized by Revs. Thomas Thompson and Elnathan C. Gavit. In 1851 this society built a frame church across the line in Findlay Township, which is still used by the Methodists of the neighborhood. [Putnam Co, OH]

Other Events:

• Occupation: 1797; farmer
• Military: 1812, , , Ohio, USA; teamster
• Property: 20 Dec 1821, , Hancock, Ohio, USA
• Occupation: 1 Jul 1823, , Hancock, Ohio, USA; justice of the peace
• Occupation: 5 Apr 1824, , Hancock, Ohio, USA; overseer of the poor
• Occupation: Mar 1828-1835, , Hancock, Ohio, USA; associate judge
• Census: 5 Sep 1850, , Hancock, Ohio, USA; ppg 390B-391A
• Census: 11 Jul 1860, , Defiance, Ohio, USA; pg 82 (317B), d/f #599/592
• Book Article: 1886, , Hancock, Illinois, USA; History Of Hancock County

Notes:

McKinnis-Litzenberg Farmstead (Ohio Historical Marker #32-19)
This early Hancock County farmstead was originally established in the 1850s by Robert and Betsy McKinnis who moved here in the 1820s from southern Ohio. The vernacular Greek Revival architectural style of the farmhouse is typical for northwest Ohio during this period. Owing to its remote location, the pinframe constructed English three-bay barn, reconstructed in the 1990s, and clapboard-sided farmhouse served many of the needs for the family and livestock. This farmstead was donated to the Hancock Park District in 1985 for historic preservation and educational purposes.
Historic Preservation Guild of Hancock County
Hancock Park District and
The Ohio Historical Society
1995 32-19

Property:
Liberty Township

Occupation:
"The tally sheet on record at Bowling Green shows that thirteen votes were cast at the election, and that Robert McKinnis and Wilson Vance were elected justices of the new township [Findlay]." [History Of Hancock County]

Census:
Liberty Township
Charles McKinnis 52 M Farmer 4000 PA
Mary McKinnis 49 F Vir?
Robert McKinnis 25 M Farmer O
Thomas McKinnis 22 M Farmer Ohio
Elizabeth McKinnis 18 F Ohio
John McKinnis 16 M Ohio
Philip McKinnis 13 M Ohio
Mary Ann McKinnis 8 F Ohio
Elizabeth McKinnis 19 F Ohio
Robert McKinnis 73 M Farmer PA

Census:
Richland Township, Milldale PO
Samuel Kepler M 67 Pennsylvania
Rachel Kepler F 56 Pennsylvania
Josiah Kepler M 26 Ohio
Sarah Kepler F 18 Ohio
Lucy M Kepler F 16 Ohio
Robert McKinnis M 83 Pennsylvania
Amanda Ward F 20 Ohio
Benjamin F Winery M 22 Ohio
Henry Berlin M 22 Germany

Book Article:
History Of Hancock County
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. 1886
Chapter I, pg 198-199
In the history of Liberty Township, the Indian village that once stood on the north bank of the Blanchard, in Section 7, is spoken of. It is generally believed that the Wyandots had a settlement here up to the treaty of 1818, when all these lands having been ceded to the Government, this band removed to their reservation at the Big Spring. Further down the river, in Putnam County, the Ottawas had. up to the time of their removal to the West, two villages, one on the site of Ottawa, and another two miles above that point. These towns were known as Upper and Lower 'Tawa, the latter being on the site of Ottawa, and the former between that and Gilboa. The Wyandot village in Liberty Township was surrounded by a clearing of some twelve acres, whereon the Indians had a graveyard, and a plum orchard. It has been claimed that an earth fortification once ran along the brow of the hill overlooking the river. Careful examination of what is said to be the remains of this defensive work leads the writer to believe the cut back of the elevation was made by the washings of the surface drainage into the river. There is nothing here to sustain the theory of an artificial earthwork, and no reasonable grounds upon which to base such a conclusion. The site of this village was deserted prior to the coming of any white settlers to its vicinity, and was subsequently owned by Robert McKinnis.
Chapter II, pg 208
In the spring of 1822 Robert McKinnis and sons, Charles, Philip, James and John, all well remembered pioneers, settled on the Blanchard about six miles northwest of Findlay, in what is now Liberty Township. His son-in-law, Jacob Poe, came the following December, and John Gardner and Joseph White in 1823. Thomas and Ebenezer Wilson, John Gardner, Jr., and Robert McCullough settled in Liberty in 1826; William Wade, Joshua Jones and John Travis in 1827; John Fishel and sons, John, Michael and Daniel, Jeremiah Pressor and Addison Hampton in 1828, and Alfred Hampton and Johnson Bonham in 1829.
pg 216
The first marriage in Hancock County was contracted September 2, 1824, Samuel Kepler and Rachel McKinnis being the happy couple. Mr. Kepler settled on the Maumee in 1822, and ere his death in the fall of 1872, gave the following account of his marriage to Miss McKinnis, while on a visit to her father's home, in what is now Liberty Township: "I sent for my license by mail, to Robert Forsyth, clerk of the court of Wood County. Not knowing me he refused to grant it, so that my future father-in-law had to go to Perrysburg to procure it. We were married in Mr. McKinnis' house by Wilson Vance, Esq., being the first couple married in Hancock County. After making a canoe, which took five or six days, my wife packed her little outfit of household goods into it, and we literally 'paddled our own canoe' to where I now live."
Chapter III, pg 227-230
On the 28th of May, 1823, the same board ordered "that so much of the town of Waynesfield as is included in the unorganized county of Hancock be set off and organized, and the same is hereby organized into a township by the name of Findlay, and that the election for township officers be held on the 1st of July, A. D. 1823, at the house of Wilson Vance, in the said township." The tally sheet on record at Bowling Green shows that thirteen votes were cast at the election, and that Robert McKinnis and Wilson Vance were elected justices of the new township. Job Chamberlin, Sr., William Moreland and Benjamin Chandler were the judges of election, and Wilson Vance and Matthew Reighly, clerks. The second election took place April 5, 1824, when eighteen votes were cast. Job Chamberlin, Sr., William Moreland and Jacob Poe were the judges, and Matthew Reighly and Wilson Vance, clerks of election. Job Chamberlin, Sr., Wilson Vance and Jacob Poe were chosen trustees; Matthew Eeighly, clerk; Job Chamberlin, Sr., treasurer: Wilson Vance, lister; Philip McKinnis, constable; John Hunter and John Gardner, fence viewers, and Robert McKinnis and William Moreland, overseers of the poor. All of these men were pioneers of Hancock County, and are fully mentioned in the history of the respective townships to which their homes subsequently belonged. It is unnecessary to follow up in like manner the elections held in Findlay Township in 1825, 1826 and 1827, for, though many new names appear among the electors of those years, nearly all will be found in the lists of voters who took part in. the April and October elections of 1828, the names of whom are given in this chapter.
Findlay Township then embraced the whole county, and in compliance with the third section of this act an election was held on the 7th of April, 1828, the polling place being at the old log schoolhouse in the village of Findlay, now the site of the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Railroad depot. The poll book on record in the Clerk's office shows that seventy-four electors voted at that election, the following list of whom, together with the present names of the townships wherein their homes were then located, will fairly illustrate the sparsely settled condition of the county fifty-eight years ago:
James McKinnis, Liberty. Robert McKinnis, Liberty. Charles McKinnis, Liberty. Philip McKinnis, Liberty.
Commissioners. - Job Chamberlin, 31; Charles McKinnis, 35; Godfrey Wolford, 74; John P. Hamilton, 41; and John Long, 39. Godfrey Wolford, John Long and John P. Hamilton were elected.
These officials served until the succeeding general election, held October 14, 1828. The county then contained three townships, viz.: Findlay, Amanda and Welfare, the name of the last mentioned being subsequently changed to Delaware. The voters of Findlay Township at that election were as follows:
John C. Wickham, Wilson Vance, Squire Carlin, Bleuford Hamilton, David Foster, Asher Wickham, John Jones, Job Chamberlin, Edwin S. Jones, Thomas Chester, John Boyd, John Simpson. James McKinnis, Charles McKinnis, Reuben Hale, William Moreland, Jr., Joseph Johnson, John Travis, Ebenezer Wilson, Minor T. Wickham, Jacob Poe, Joseph A. Sargent, George W. Simpson, John P. Hamilton, James B. Moore, Robert McCullough, Joseph DeWitt, Matthew Reighly, William Wade, Joshua Jones, William Moreland, William DeWitt, Simeon Ransbottom, Joshua Hedges, John Hunter, Robert McKinnis, William Taylor, Thomas Slight, John Tullis. James Peltier.
...At that election John Long, John P. Hamilton and Charles McKinnis were elected commissioners, their opponents being William J. Greer, Mordecai Hammond and Godfrey Wolford. Squire Carlin and John C. Wickham were the candidates for sheriff, and the latter was elected. Matthew Reighly was again a candidate for auditor, but was defeated by William Hackney. Edwin S. Jones was elected treasurer over Joshua Hedges. Thomas Slight beat Reuben W. Hamlin for coroner; and Edwin S. Jones was defeated by Don Alonzo Hamlin for the assessorship. There was no great strife for the offices in those days, as the remuneration was so very small that few cared to spend their time in such a poor paying business. Yet some one had to discharge the duties of the respective positions, and it is highly creditable to the pioneers that good men were usually chosen
Chapter VI, pg 265-270
Prior to the organization of Hancock County, all of its judicial business, excepting that transacted by its justices of the peace, was done at the county seat of Wood County, to which Hancock was attached until March 1, 1828, Hon. Ebenezer Lane was then the president judge of this circuit, and the same Legislature that passed the act organizing this county also elected Abraham Huff, Robert McKinnis and Ebenezer Wilson, associate judges of said county. The first meeting of the court of common pleas of Hancock County was held, March 14, 1828, in the old log schoolhouse erected the previous year, near the site of the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Railroad depot. The three associates were present and composed the court, its only business being the appointment of Wilson Vance as clerk pro tem, of said court.
The first regular term of court was opened in the same building, which was used until the erection of the first Court House, June 3, 1828, Hons. Abraham Huff, Robert McKinnis and Ebenezer Wilson on the bench; Don. Alonzo Hamlin, sheriff; Wilson Vance, clerk; and Anthony Casad, of Bellefontaine, prosecuting attorney. The session lasted only a part of one day. Elijah T. Davis was appointed administrator of the estate of Thomas Wilson, deceased, with Joshua Hedges and Squire Carlin as securities in the sum of $400. Joshua Hedges, Jacob Poe and Charles McKinnis were appointed appraisers of said estate. Mr. Wilson was a pioneer of Liberty Township, and a brother of Judge Wilson, then upon the bench. The citizens of the newly erected townships of Amanda and Welfare (now Delaware), were ordered to elect a justice of the peace for their respective townships. The court then appointed Wilson Vance recorder of Hancock County for the term of seven years, after which it adjourned.
The second term began November 19, 1828, the same judges and officers forming the personnel of the court as in the previous sessions. The following grand jury was impaneled: Joseph DeWitt, John P. Hamilton, Jacob Poe, Asa Lake, Charles McKinnis, Reuben Hale, Mordecai Hammond, William Wade, John Boyd, Henry George, William Moreland, James McKinnis, William Taylor, Edwin S. Jones and John C. Wickham. The court appointed William Taylor foreman of the panel. A venire for a petit jury was also returned by the sheriff at this session, but only eight of the panel answered to their names, viz.: John Beard, Joseph Johnson, John Huff, William Moreland, Jr., John Tullis, John J. Hendricks, Thomas Thompson and James Peltier; and it appearing that there was no business for a petit jury at this term the jurors present were discharged from further attendance. Rachel Wilson, widow of Thomas Wilson, was appointed guardian of her two children. Rebecca and Jane, with Charles McKinnis and Jacob Poe as sureties in the sum of $800. The grand jury finding no business to transact was dismissed by the court. A license to "vend merchandise" at his residence in Findlay until April 1, 1829, was granted to William Taylor upon the payment of $2.25. The same gentleman was appointed surveyor of Hancock County, and William Hackney, William Taylor and Mordecai Hammond examiners of common schools. As an illustration of the remuneration county officers then received for their services, the following items from the minutes of this term of court will suffice: "Ordered by the court that there be allowed to the sheriff of this county for extra services the sum of $15, to be paid one-half at each term of this court. Ordered by the court that there be allowed to Don Alonzo Hamlin the sum of $10 for his extra services as sheriff of this county for the present year. Ordered by the court that there be allowed to the clerk of this court the sum of $10 each year, to be paid one-half at each term of this court." This closed the business of the second regular session.
...The next session began April 24, 1829, and lasted two days. The same judges and officers of the preceding terms were present except the sheriff; John C. Wickham having been chosen to succeed Don Alonzo Hamlin, at the previous October election. The following grand jurors were impaneled at this term: Robert Long, Amos Beard, Thomas Cole, John Shoemaker, Reuben "W. Hamlin, Samuel Sager, William J. Greer, Robert Elder, John Hunter, Isaac Johnson, Nathan Frakes, Reuben Hale, Jacob Foster, William Moreland, Jr., and Nathan Williams. William J. Greer was appointed foreman. The only indictment found at this term was against Thomas Slight, charging him with petit larceny. William Taylor was granted a license for one year to keep a tavern at his house in Findlay, for which he was charged $5. The court appointed Anthony Casad, prosecutor for one year, and agreed to pay him the sum of $40 for his services. What would our present prosecuting attorneys think of such a salary? On the second day of the session, the following petit jury was impaneled: Van B. Hancock, Joshua Hedges, John Elder, Selden Blodget, Sampson Dildine, James McKinnis, William De Witt, Josiah Elder, Thomas F. Johnston, Asa M. Lake, Asa Lake and Matthew Reighly. Thomas Slight was tried by this jury, and found guilty of petit larceny as charged in the indictment. His counsel made a motion for a new trial, which was granted by the court. Bleuford Hamilton and Eli Powell were the principal prosecuting witnesses. In April, 1830, the case against. Mr. Slight was dismissed by the court at the request of the prosecuting attorney, who claimed there was not sufficient evidence to sustain the charge. This closed the business of the term, and "the court adjourned without day."
On the 7th of November, 1829, the fourth regular term of the common pleas was held at Findlay, with the same judges and officers as the previous term. The grand jurors of this session were William Moreland, Jr., George Flenner, Squire Carlin, Asa Lake, Jacob Foster, John Bashore, John Hunter, Edwin S. Jones, John Boyd, Don Alonzo Hamlin, Asher Wickham, Joshua Powell, Isaac Johnson, Joseph A. Sargent and Bass Rawson. This jury returned bills of indictment against Charles, Philip and James McKinnis for assault and battery, after which it was discharged. Letters of administration were granted to Sarah Beard and John J. Hancock on the estate of John Beard, deceased, of Amanda Township, John P. Hamilton and Thomas F. Johnston being sureties in the sum of $300. Andrew Robb, David Egbert and Thomas Cole were appointed appraisers of said property. The assault and battery cases of Charles and Philip McKinnis were continued till the next term of court; but that against their brother James was at once tried before the following jury: Andrew Eobb, Warren Hancock, Peter George, Minor T. Wickham, Simeon Ransbottom, John Long, John J. Hendricks, Mordecai Hammond, Van E. Hancock, William De Witt, Job Chamberlin and Thomas Slight. The jury failed to agree, and the case was then, continued. The case in debt of Henry McWhorter vs. Samuel Sargent and Abraham Huff; the larceny suit of the State of Ohio vs. Thomas Slight; and the petition to sell land of William Taylor, administrator of the estate of John Patterson, deceased, vs. Eliza Patterson and heirs, were all continued until the succeeding term of court.
The next term was opened April 30, 1830, with Hon. Ebenezer Lane, president judge, and Robert McKinnis and Ebenezer Wilson, associate judges, on the bench. This was the first session of court held in Hancock County at which the president judge was present. The following grand jury was impaneled: Adam Woodruff, Joseph Johnson, Alfred Hampton, George Shaw, Joseph A. Sargent, Mordecai Hammond, Charles McKinnis, Simeon Ransbottom, Sampson Dildine, John George Flenner, Edwin S. Jones, Peter George, William J. Greer, Jacob Baker and John J. Hendricks. Mordecai Hammond was appointed foreman of the jury, and Amos Beard, Nathan Williams, James Gibson, Reuben W. Hamlin and Peter Shaw, who had been summoned with the other jurors, were designated as talesmen. The pending petition to sell land of William Taylor, administrator of John Patterson, was granted at this term. The will of John Wolford, deceased, of Delaware Township, was admitted to probate, and Absalom W. Wolford, who was named in said will as executor thereof, recognized as such by the court. Letters of administration were granted to Elizabeth Miller and William McCloud, on the estate of Isaac Miller, deceased, whose cabin stood near the site of Van Buren. John P. Hamilton and Nathan Frakes were sureties for the administrators in the sum of $600; and William Taylor, Squire Carlin and Jacob Foster appraisers of said estate.
The two damage suits of John P. Hamilton against Charles and Philip McKinnis, for assault and battery (which trouble resulted from the erection of Old Town Township, and is fully spoken of in the chapter on Liberty Township) were tried at this session. That of Charles came before the following jury: Jacob Elder, Don Alonzo Hamlin, Robert L. Strother, Joseph Egbert, Joshua Powell, Nathan Williams, William J. Greer, John J. Hendricks, Mordecai Hammond, Peter George, Thomas Thompson and William Moreland, who found the defendant guilty, and assessed the damages at $75 and plaintiff's costs of suit. The trial of his brother Philip came next, the following citizens composing the jury: Jacob Baker, Alfred Hampton, Thomas Slight, Absalom W. Wolford, Willis Ward, James Gibson, John Shoemaker. Matthew Reighly, H. B. Strother, Aquilla Gilbert, Joseph Johnson and Reuben W. Hamlin. He, too. was found guilty as charged, and the damages fixed at $30 and costs. When these suits were decided the indictment of the State still remained against the McKinnis brothers. Both pleaded guilty of assault and battery, asked for "the mercy of the court," and were each fined $1 and cost of prosecution. Thus ended one of the most prominent pioneer events in the annals of the courts of Hancock County, the circumstances connected therewith being yet vividly remembered by many surviving early settlers.
The last term of the pioneer courts of which any special cognizance will be taken in this chapter, was held November 1, 1830, with Judge Lane and the three associates-Huff, McKinnis and Wilson being on the "woolsack." The grand jurors of this session were as follows: William Hackney, John Dukes, John Fishel, Philip McKinnis, William Wolford, John Rose, Richard Dukes, Minor T. Wickham, Godfrey Wolford, Jacob Foster, William L. Henderson, Alfred Purcell, James McKinnis, Selden Blodget and Joseph Johnson. This jury indicted Nathan Frakes, one of the early-time "bruisers," for assault and battery on Henry Shaw, a pioneer of Findlay, but the prosecuting witness not appearing in court when the case was called the indictment was quashed. The suit against the commissioners by Joshua Hedges and others was decided at this sitting, the proceedings of the board in the erection and organization of Old Town Township being reversed and annulled. A grocery license for one year was granted to John Bashore, upon the payment of $10. These licenses were granted annually, and always included the sale of whisky-one of the principal commodities of pioneer groceries and taverns, and without the sale of which few of their proprietors could have accumulated the handsome competencies left at their decease. William Taylor, William L. Henderson. Bass Rawson, Thomas F. Johnston and Robert L. Strother were appointed examiners of common schools for the term of two years. The court then ordered that the sheriff and clerk be allowed the sum of $10 each per annum, for extra services, to be paid half yearly, after which the session was "adjourned without day." The first three years of the journal of the court of common pleas of Hancock County have now been run through, giving the court items and lists of grand and petit jurors at each term. The only importance attached thereto is because these events belong to pioneer days- that period about which so much genuine interest centers. The principal reason for giving the names of the jurors is that they were pioneers-a part of the brave vanguard who laid the foundation of the county's present prosperity-and to perpetuate a record of the men who figured in the first judicial affairs of the county.
The associate judges of Hancock County from its organization up to the abolition of the office were as follows: Abraham Huff, March, 1828, to March, 1835; Robert McKinnis, March, 1828, to March, 1835; Ebenezer Wilson, March, 1828, to March, 1842; Robert L. Strother, March, 1835, to March, 1842; John W. Baldwin, March, 1835, resigned in July, 1835; Major Bright, appointed in August, 1835, served till March, 1836; William Roller, March, 1836, to March, 1849; John Ewing, March, 1842, to March, 1849; Michael Price, March, 1849, to March, 1851; John Cooper, March, 1849, to March, 1852; Gamaliel C. Barnd, March, 1849, to March, 1852; Levi Sampson, March, 1851, to March, 1852.
XXVIII, Part III
John C. Wickham, his wife, Barbara, son Minor T. and daughter, Lucy, came from Ross County, Ohio, in the spring of 1827, his son, William, coming out a few years afterward. Wickham built a cabin on east Main Cross Street, and in the winter of 1827-28, taught school in the old hewed-log schoolhouse, erected the former year on the northwest corner of East and Crawford Streets. In October, 1828, he was elected sheriff, and served two years; and he was also postmaster of Findlay, from July, 1829 to June, 1831, being the second postmaster of the village. In 1832 his son William located in Blanchard Township, and the next year the parents and Minor T. also removed to that subdivision. The daughter, Lucy, married James McKinnis. Mr. Wickham taught school there, and in 1835 was elected justice of the peace, but died soon after, while on a business trip to Wayne County, Ohio.
Chapter XXXII, Part III
The old log grist and saw-mill, built under the supervision of Wilson Vance, by Vance & Cory, in 1824, was the first manufacturing establishment erected in the county. These mills stood on the site of the present Carlin flouring-mill north of the river, and were a great blessing to the first settlers. As there has been some difference of opinion as to the year these mills were built, we herewith append the evidence of Mrs. Elizabeth Eberly (daughter of Benjamin J. Cox) and Job Chamberlin, the only pioneers now living who have any personal knowledge of the circumstance. "We removed," says Mrs. Eberly, "from Fort Findlay to the Maumee in 1823, and the mill had not yet been commence'd, but was built the year after we left. The race, however, was dug out while we were there, but that is as far as the work progressed prior to our removal." Mr. Chamberlin, who came in February, 1822, agrees with the statement of Mrs. Eberly, and in his "Personal Reminiscences," written in 1874, gives the following account of the building of the mill: "Father had brought flour and meal enough to supply his family one year. Hon. Joseph Vance had promised to erect a mill the next season, but it was not until about two years and a half afterward that Messrs. Vance & Cory, the original proprietors of Findlay, built a little log mill about the place where Carlin's mill now stands." These statements would make the year 1824 as the date the old mills were erected. In 1828 James McKinnis and Reuben Hale rented the mills of Vance & Cory, and ran them, about a year. Early in 1834 they were bought by John Campbell, together with fifteen acres of land. In the tax list of that year the mills are valued at ?900. Campbell tore down the old log building in the winter of 1834-35 and erected a frame mill, which he ran till the spring of 1837, when the property was purchased by S. & P. Carlin. Several years afterward the Carlins rebuilt the mills, and they have been rebuilt once more since that time, making the present mill the fourth one on that site. The saw-mill was operated up to within a few years ago.

Other References from the history books:
Other settlers of this period were Robert McCullough, John and Michael Fishel, William Wade, Joshua Jones, John Travis and Addison and Alfred Hampton. McCullough was a native of Ireland, and a brother-in-law of Robert McKinnis. In the spring of 1826 he came from Ross County, Ohio, and "squatted" across the river from the latter. He was a large, muscular man, of great vitality and endurance, and, like the McKinnis boys, was regarded as one of the "best men" in the county. He never owned any land here, and in a few years removed to the Maumee, settling in what is now Defiance County.
Cemeteries - North of the Blanchard, on Section 7, is perhaps the oldest public cemetery in the township. Here, on a sloping hill overlooking the river, are buried many of the pioneers. Robert McKinnis and wife, Charles McKinnis and wife, Jacob Poe and wife, John Fishel, Sr., Job Chamberlin, Sr., and others of the very first settlers found their last resting place on this grass-covered hill. Another old graveyard is located on the ridge road in Section 21, where Isaac Comer, Peter Treece, Abraham Schoonover, John Povenmire and many other pioneers of Liberty Township and vicinity sleep their last sleep. [it does NOT say Worden Cemetery]

Robert married Elizabeth CRINER about 1795 in Versailles, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA. Elizabeth (daughter of Philip CRINER and Agnes FULTON) was born on 1 May 1777 in , Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA; died on 1 Jul 1845 in , Hancock, Ohio, USA; was buried on 2 Jul 1845 in , Hancock, Ohio, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Name: Betsy Criner