The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1874-07-03

The following l. from the manuscript
Of the History of Hancock county, that
is soon TO be published by II. H. HAIR
DEsTY, Esq. in his Combination Atlas
of the county. The extracts are selected
from the Introductory Of the History
| Other portions Of the work will be pub
Iished at different times during the SUN
mer, in order to allow our citizens to de
terInine its character:
: "a little less than sixty years ago, the
! Maumee Valley was the verge of civiliza
ton in the Northwest; a few sparselE
settled clearings and some small towns
were scattered here and there on the
north and west, and some along the
margin of Lake Erie, and in the neigh
Dorhood of the Forts established by ihe
Government, but to reach these vas
to pass over grounds of the hostile Indi-
ans, which was done peacefully only by
their consent.
Who can recount the hardships thrO'
which the early settlers of the Northwest
passed. The slow march into the wilder.
ness, the labor of telling the forests
with the unerring rifle near, and the
watching to prevent attacks from the
skulking savage, who contested every
inch of the way with a stubborn persis-
tence; the small clearing from which
was raised the bread for wife and chill
dren: the black dismal swamp, III whose
bosom lurked disease and death; the long
winter nights of watching, amid the howl
ing of wild beasts; the fearful marching
and the terrible conflicts, in which no
quarter was shown: the burning cabins
with the corpses of loved ones lying tom
ahawked before their ewes. These are
but faint pictures of the trials and suf-
ferings of the early settlers of the North
west. and of which thDse who have since
entered the theatre of life have but
little conception. Years have passed
years of toll and struggle, and now We
stand in the light of grand civilization
the reward of patient industry, and Of
honest effort. Nowhere in Ohio is there
presented a more beautiful spectacle
than the valley of the Maumee The |
Indian has passed away; forests felled, |
swamps drained, and farms improved. |
Towns, cities and villages, beautiful in |
architecture, and filled with happy |
homes, have arisen, and science and i'll |
dustry make men useful and happy, on |
all sides, while the most perfect and I'M |
proved means of communication tighten |
the labor and stimulate the energies of |
the people. All this has grown within |
the lifetime of many of our citizens, |
who have watched the advancement, |
step by step.
The history of Hancock county is SO |
intimately connected with that of the |
entire Maumee Valley, of which it forms |
a part, that in order to prepare a com |
pIete and comprehensive account of the |
early settlement and development of the |
one, | have found it necessary to speak |
in general terms of the other.
/ should, indeed, be unmindful of my |
duty if, in the preparation of this work, |
failed to recognize and record the ser
vices of those who first laid the founda-
ton of the county's progress and pros
perity. They were among the first peo-
pie of the county, whether we judge them
by their character, their education, or
acts. 1t was their province to
"Hew the stone nd lay the architrave,'
that the succeeding generations might
enjoy the fruits of their toll, with none of
their sufferingS. The pioneers of Hancock
county were brave, intelligent, cOnsci-
entious men, who were imbued with the
same determined spirit as he whose name
was first inscribed on the Declaration of
independence, and, like him, inspired all
those around them. These were the men
who founded the county-founded it on
freedom, religion and education; and
who will live in future generations, when
marble monuments will have crumbled
into dust, and the beautiful structures
which their industry has wrought will be
in ruins