Freedom Township

Grandfather Albert and his siblings were the third generation of Ellings in the United States. Their father had come over as a child with his parents to settle in Freedom Township, Henry County, Ohio. Before we go further back in family history, I thought these excerpts from the History of Henry and Fulton Counties would give a good description of what the township was like when our ancestors came here in 1859.

 


















"Chapter XX - History of Freedom Township

Everywhere we turn we are bewildered by the fire of 1847. Even the record of the civil organization of the townships cannot be found. It is known, however, that Freedom was one of the first of the five townships organized in the territory now composing Henry County; that it, and Napoleon township, in 1840, included nearly, if not all of the said territory north of the Maumee River, together with all of Fulton county, which was organized in 1850. At that time, with all of its territory, it had a population of only one hundred and five... In 1850 it contained four hundred and sixty souls, and the taxable value of the property amounted to $27,602. In 1860 the population...was four hundred and fifty and the valuation $71, 697...

The topography is that in common with the balance of the county, level and the soil exceedingly good and fertile. The township is devoid of waterways, with the exception of three small creeks, the largest being Napoleon Creek and Oberhaus Creek. These traverse the whole width of the township.

The early settlers of this section were few; not more than a score lived in the township prior to 1860..

From 1860 up to the present time there has been an influx of Germans to this county, and especially to Freedom township. To this frugal people may be given a great deal of the credit of converting a wilderness into a garden, for the reason that they were not choice as to the kind of land Uncle Sam gave them, and whether a swamp or ridge, it was the same to them, and they went to work. Now Freedom township is a model of well-kept farms; now there are six school-houses, a couple of churches and scores of brick dwellings." pp. 227-228

This book was published in 1888, Lewis Cass, ed.

Here's the BEST part - the entire text of this book is online at http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofhenryfu00aldr

You can flip through the book and read as you please!