History of Crawford County and Ohio

The work is now closed, which for the past three months, has engaged the efforts of our historians W.H. Perrin, J.H. Battle and W.A. Goodspeed. Upon these pages they have traced the journey of the pioneer from homes of comfort and refinement to the unbroken wilds of the West; they have noticed the rearing of cabins, the felling of the forests, the privations of the early settlements, the heroic fortitude with which the pioneer surmounted these obstacles, and the patient toil that has "made the wilderness to rejoice and blossom as the rose." They have marked the coming of the schoolmaster, and that greater teacher, the minuet of the Gospel; the rise of the schoolhouse and church, and their influence in molding society.

This work we have undertaken in the belief that there is a demand that the events which relate to the early times should find a permanent record, and with what fidelity to facts and with what patience of research the task has been accomplished, we shall leave to the judgement of our patrons, in whose keeping the traditions of that day remain, and for whom the work was undertaken Our historians have availed themselves of such manuscripts and publications as exist, but the chief source of information has been the traditions which have come down from the original pioneers. These have generally been verified from other sources, but in some non-essential particulars, their dependence has been upon tradition alone, and some errors may thus have been sanctioned.

 

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The territory comprised in Ohio has always remained the same. Ohio's history differs somewhat from other States, in that it was never under Territorial government. When it was created, it was made a State, and did not pass through the stage incident to the most of other States, i.e., exist as a Territory before being advanced to the powers of a State. Such was not the case with the other States of the West; all were Territories, with Territorial forms of government, ere they became States.