The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1905-07-14
History Of Pike Township.
BY JACOB SMITH.

milk, as a substitute for the staff of
life Such shifts were then not un-
common"
But II is not necessary for us to
pursue this line of information further
in order to describe the life of the
early settlers. II was wilderness and
the sacrifice and hardships which they
were called upon to endure were such
that we should be very willing to pay
our tribute of respect and love to their
memory. There are comparatively few
people however, who see and realize
anything beyond the limit of their
present surroundings, and the circle of
their own age, and when seeing peace
and plenty on all sides, fail to think
and consider, that the pioneer when he
penetrated the wilderness to make for
himself a home, had to encounter peril,
hardships and suffering in a thousand
different forms and by so doing has
prepared and made the way smooth
for us to follow after.
CHAPTER 8.
BY an act of the state legislature
passed February 13, 1908, Stark county
was organized into a separate and dis
tinct county act to be in force from
and after the first day of January 1909.
The first election for county officers
was held on the 10th day of March
1909, and the first board of county
commissioners for the transaction of
business, were the following named per-
sons: John Bower, James Latimer
and John Nichols. Their first meeting
was held at the residence of James
Campbell, and William Reynolds acted
as clerk. The first act done by the
commissioners was to divide the county
into election districts. Other business
that was done, was the levying of a
tax to meet the current expenses nee
essary for the opening of roads, erect
ion of public buildings and other i'm
provements.
Originally Pike and Bethlehem
formed one township and was organ
lied as such in the year 1915. Previous
to their organization into a township,
they formed part of Canton township.
They were separated from Canton on
the 9Th day of March 1916, and an
election was ordered to be held on the
first day of April following at the
house of Henry Bordner. According to
the old clerk book of the township
(Which is still in eXistence) at this
election the following persons were
chosen to fill the different offices:
Pitney Guest and Baltzer Koontz, JUS
tice of the peace; Abraham Sheplar,
Clerk; Benjamin Price, Jacob Keyser
and Nicholas Stump, Supervisors; John
Sherman and Henry Bordner, overseers
of the poor; Cornelius Henline, treas
urer; Richard Carter, lister of prop
erty; George Young and Henry Miller,
fence viewers. The dates of the COM
missions granted by the governor of
the state to the justice of the peace
were: Baltzer Koontz's July 22nd,
1915, Pitney Guests July 9th, 1915.
In December 1915, Pike and Bethlehem
were separated, and each became an
Independent township. Pike has re-
mained from that day to the present
"iNhOuN Nh'i 6CoSl
The first election in Pike after be-
coming an independent township, was
held on the 26th day of April, 1917,
when the following officers were elect
I'd: Trustees Amos Janney, John
Bechte and Jacob Keyser; treasurer,
Adam Jackman; overseer of the poor,
Michael Welker and David Evans;
fence viewers, Phillip Fetters and Peter
Miller; assessor Daniel Bechtel; ap-
praisor of property, Martin Henline;
supervisors, William Rider and Daniel
Farber; clerk, Cornelius Hickey. At
this early date the township was not
divided into road districts, and each
supervisor was to work that portion of
the road assigned them by the trustees,
they making the division as nearly
equal as possible for each of the sup
ervisors. The justices of the peace that
were elected when Pike and Bethlehem
were together, acted for the township
when separated Pitney Guest in Pike,
and Baltzer Koontz in Bethlehem.
The laws of Ohio at the date of which
we write, necessitated the election of
officers to attend to business which
has since been made a part or the
township trustees duties. AS examples
of the kind of labor or business required
of the overseers of the poor, and fence
viewers, we give the following: The
overseers of the poor were required to
investigate in every persons financial
circumstances who came into town
ship, and if it was ascertained or be-
lieved that they were without sufficient
means to afford them competent live
lihood, and might become a charge
upon the township, they we're to warn
them before they had gained a legal
residence, to leave the township; the
notice to be legal must be a written
one, and delivered by the constable.
The following are copies of such warn
ings as we find them upon the old
township records.