Brief Histories Townships of
Eastern Delaware County

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Greeting from Delaware, Ohio - Picture Postcards of Delaware County, Ohio
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Berkshire Township

   
Colonel Moses Byxbe of Berkshire County, MA, purchased 8,000 acres in this township and led his first group of settlers here in 1804. After erecting cabins, he returned east and persuaded others to follow to his lands. 

By 1806, the original Berkshire township was founded but it included parts of Brown, Kingston, Berlin, Orange, Genoa, Trenton and Sharon Townships. The others formed separate townships until the present Berkshire was left around 1821. It included Berkshire Corners, Sunbury and Galena villages. 

Early settlers included Azariah Root, Edward Potter, Mr. Curtis, John Kilborn, Ralph Slack, Adonijah Rice, Maj. Elen Vining, Gideon and William Oosterhaus, Ichabod Plumb and Dr. Reuben Lamb. Most came from Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

                                                From "History of Delaware County and Ohio, 1880" 
Map 1807   Map 1830   Map 1866


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1866 Map of Berkshire Corners


Berkshire 100 Years Ago


Town of Rome
1836
Berkshire Township Book #2, BigWalnutMemory.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       
Genoa Township    
      Genoa Township was sectioned from Harlem Township in 1816 and given its name by Elisha Bennett after Genoa, Italy. Jeremiah Curtis of Hartford, Connecticut, was the first settler in 1804. 

         He was followed by John Williams, Joseph Latshaw, Hezekiah Roberts, David Weeks,William Cox, Marcus Curtis, Elisha Newell, Alexander Smith, Fulrad Seebring, Ary Hendricks, Thomas Harris, Henry Bennett, Byxbe Rogers, Jacob Clauson, Jonas Carter, Johnson Pelton, Sylvester Hough, Hines Mitchum, Comfort Penney, John Hartburn, Abraham Wells, Eleazer and George Copeland and Josepf
Linnabauf. Most came from Pennsylvania but some were from New York.

          The township's early settlers were farmers and keepers of sheep. Mills were built along the "Big Belly", later known as the Big Walnut Creek. Maxwell Corners was the only resemblance of a town and it consisted of a post office. 


                                                             From "History of Delaware County and Ohio, 1880" 
Also see other stories on Genoa Township  including:
      
Genoa Township One of a Kind by Lenny Lepola - The Sunbury News 8-16-2007

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Harlem Township    
The township was formed from Sunbury Township in 1810 and was named by Dutch settlers from Harlem, New York, who brought the name from Harlem in the Netherlands. Benijah Cook bought 4000 acres for 42 cents per acre at a sheriff's sale in Franklinton. 

Others who followed were Stephen Thompson, Rev. Daniel Bennett, Elijah and John Adams, William Fancher, N.B. Waters, John Budd, Benjamin Farishild, George Fix, Conrad Wickizer, Thomas and Eleazer Mann, Abijah and Gorden Mann, Daniel Hunt, Elam Blain, John Hanover, Jonathan Bateson and Nathan Paul. The settlers were from New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. 

Centerville (Center Village) was laid out in 1848 by Edward Hartrain and Ben Roberts. By 1880 it contained about 150 residents. Amos Washburn and James Budd laid out Harlem in 1849. This smaller town had only 50 residents in 1880.
 

                                                From "History of Delaware County and Ohio, 1880" 

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Kingston Township    

Kingston became a township in 1813. John Phipps and George Hess from Bucks County, Pennsylvania were the first settlers.  Kingston is probably named after Kingston Township in Pennsylvania. 

Other early settlers included Abraham and James Anway, Peter and John Van Sickle, Richard and Charles Hodgden, Benjamin Benedict, Solomon Steward, James Stark, Dr. Daniel and John Rosecrans, Joseph Patrick, Daniel Taylor, John Brown, John White, John Hall, Gilbert Potter, William and James Gaston, Thomas and James Carey, Thomas Wigton, Joseph Lott, Moses Decker, Hiram Cuykendall, E. Kilpatrick, John Haselett, William and Samuel Finley, Henry Sheets, George and Richard Waldron, William and Jonas Waldron and Daniel Terrill. They came from Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia, as well as Pennsylvania. 

In 1827 the Presbyterians raised money to build a frame church to replace the log one built in 1822. This became known as Old Blue Church and was the center of the township activities for many years. 

There are no towns in the township. 

                                                From "History of Delaware County and Ohio, 1880" 

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Porter Township    
Formed sometime between 1826 and 1827, this township received its name from the Honorable Robert Porter of Philadelphia, who was awarded acreage by President John Adams for military services.

The early settlers were squatters known as "Taways". These Dutch, Irish and English came from many states. They hunted, fished and trapped but did little to improve the land. Congress granted a section of this land to the United Brethren Society for the purpose of propagating the gospel among the heathen
 
Most of the names of the early settlers have been lost. Daniel Pint, Timothy Meeker, Timothy Murphy, Peter and Isaac Plan, Ebenezer and Christopher Lindenberger, Festus Sprague, Edward Mason, Joel Z. Mendenhall, Samuel Page, David Babcock, Andrew Hemminger, Aaron Harrison, Charles Fowler, Harvey Leach, A.G. Kenney, Samuel Dowell, Rev. Henry Davey, Williarn Iler, Mr. Gray, S.A. Ramsey, Charles Patrick, Mr. H. Blackledge and George Blainey are among the settlers who came from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Maryland and Rhode Island as well as other areas in Ohio.

The communities of East Liberty and Olive Green are in this township.

                                                From "History of Delaware County and Ohio, 1880" 

      1866 Map of East Liberty                                                 1866 Map of Olive Green  

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Trenton Township    
Sunbury Township, formed in 1808, contained the present townships of Harlem, Trenton, Porter, half of Berkshire and half of Genoa as well as Morrow County's Peru, Bennington, Lincoln and Harmony Townships. Slowly the different townships were set off with Genoa being the last to pull off from Sunbury.

Sometime between 1830 and 1835, the name was changed to distinguish the township from the Village of Sunbury in Berkshire Township. Mr. Gilbert Van Dorn suggested the name for his native state capital, Trenton, New Jersey.

Early settlers included John Culver, Michael Ely, John Williamson, John Ginn, William Ridgeway, Mr. Pensing, James and Owen Hough, Gilbert Van Dorn, Oliver Gratax, Ira Pierson, Jonathon and Lavin 0. Condit, Smith Conit, Lyman Hendricks, Mr. Roberts, William Perfect, A.C. Leak, Mordecai Thomas, Bartholomew Anderson, Pearson Spinning and George Akerson. They came from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware and Kentucky.

The three communities of North Condit, Condit Station and South Condit are the township's closest things to towns.


                                                From "History of Delaware County and Ohio, 1880" 
 

Center Inn or Van Dorn Inn      
         
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Village of Galena    
Gilbert Carpenter founded Zoar in 1809, and he conveyed the land to William Carpenter in 1813.  William continued with the plans and Zoar became a village in 1816. the original town included Walnut St., Mill Race, Middle St., The Square, State Road, Front St., a meeting house and a burial ground.

In 1834 the name was changed to Galena to avoid confusion with another Zoar, Ohio.

Early settlers including soldiers of the American Revolution buried in Galena were James Atherton,  Russell Bigelow, Ezekial Brown, Benjamin and Gilbert Carpenter, Edward Knapp, Gideon Osterhout,  James Moore, Stiles Parker and Morgan Young. 

The War of 1812 soldiers were Gilbert and Daniel Weeks, Peter Weycoff, Henry Slack, Addison Carver, Samuel Leonard, James and Moses Carpenter and John Smith. 

Other early residents were Nathan Dustin, Sr., Tom Van Fleet, Ed Sherman (who held a patent on building covered bridges), Enoch Domigan, John S. Brown, Samuel Leonard Ira Arnold, Harlowe Allen, Mr. Manter, Wlias Murray and Marcus Curtis. Most of these settlers came from Pennsylvania.


                                                From "History of Delaware County and Ohio, 1880" 

1866 Map of Galena

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Village of Sunbury    
The Village of Sunbury was laid out in Berkshire township in 1816 by Pennsylvania brothers, William and Lawrence Myers. They probably named the village for Sunbury Township in Pennsylvania where their brother was sheriff. The village was bounded on the north by North St., on the south by South St., on the east by Morning St. and on the west by Evening St. The plat has a protected village green and a burial ground. The Myers brothers and other early settlers came to Ohio from the same county as the settlers of Galena but seemed to be much younger in age. 

Other early settlers were Mr. Whitmore, Benjamin Webb, Steven Bennett, Hezekiah Rogers, B.H.Taylor, B. Chase, Rufus Atherton, Samuel Peck, Haultz Evans, Gilbert Adams, Sanford Bennett, Jedidiah Collins, Sally Searl, Mr. and Mrs. Slocum, Artemus Cutter, David Armstrong, Lyman S. Cook, Ary and Alverus Henrick, Jobez Mannesy, Rosewel Chapman, Benjamin Taylor, Norman and Joseph Patrick, Daniel Abbey, George Dennison, James Perfect, Benjamin Newberry, Francis Horr, John Kerr, Charles Osterhout, Truman Thomas, Silas Gore, James Smith, John Kempton, Harvey Johnston, Peter Packer and E.S. Foss. 
                     



          This material was compiled from "Delaware County and Ohio History of 1880" and Delaware County Courthouse records made available through a notebook kept in the Heritage Room Files of the Community Library

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