Flacks and Osterholts Feud in Seneca County

A generations-old family feud in northwest Ohio reached its unfortunate climax in August of 1893. Newspaper stories were published throughout the United States describing the gruesome details from the scene of a brawl just north of the village of Bascom as three men reportedly clung to life and several others remained on the lam.

From the time of his arrival in Seneca County about 1830, George Flack had earned the reputation as the roughest, toughest man in the county, and perhaps all of northwest Ohio. George grew up in Fayette County, Pennsylvania and ran away from home at a young age to work on the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal, connecting Lake Erie at Cleveland with the Ohio River at Chillicothe. For seven years, he lived and worked alongside some of the rowdiest humans in modern civilization. When he reconnected with his family in Ohio, he brought with him his rowdy ways. Few would dare cross him, yet there was always a huge target on his back, primarily of his own making.

Many of the early families who settled in northwest Ohio were descendants of German immigrants who had originally settled in southeast Pennsylvania or western Maryland. George Flack's father, John Lucas Flack, was born in 1778 on the Monocacy Creek near Emmitsburg, Frederick County, Maryland. John was the son of another John Lucas Flack, born about 1740 near Heidelberg in Germany. That part of Europe was being ravaged by various wars and conflicts during that era, which was one of the motives for the large number of Germans to start anew in America. Pursuit of religious freedom was another factor, and many Amish, Mennonite, and German Reform churches were spawned in Pennsylvania Dutch country. The elder John Lucas Flack and his wife, Barbara Duffer, operated a saw mill and were also engaged in farming in Frederick County. They were parents to at least two daughters and four sons. The three youngest sons would later relocate to the Tiffin, Ohio area.

The younger John Lucas Flack married Barbara Snyder in 1800, and they were my 5th great-grandparents. They relocated further west to the Connellsville, Pennsylvania area southeast of Pittsburgh, where all six of their children were born: Lydia (1800), John Lucas (1802), Barbara (1805), George (1809), Jacob (1813), and Lewis Snyder (1815). In 1826, much of the Flack family joined the German-American migration westward and settled in Seneca County, Ohio. The journey likely took about six weeks, traveling by horse and wagon. They would have traveled on the pike connecting Baltimore with Cumberland, Maryland, and then along the National Road through the Allegheny Mountains to Wheeling, where travelers could cross the Ohio River on a flatboat ferry.

Barbara (Snyder) Flack, my 5th great-grandmother

The National Road had opened in 1818 and provided a stone-paved route all the way to the Ohio River, and a bit beyond by that point in time. Along the road, there were inns and taverns about every mile, the travel plazas of their time, where one could get a meal, purchase supplies, or get repairs from a blacksmith. It should be noted that not all of these taverns were reputable or considered appropriate for families. As such, most pioneer families chose to camp with their wagon at designated places along the route, and the night time horizon was dotted with the flickering glow of campfires on distant hillsides. The road was more crowded than one would think, with curious travelers, teamsters hauling cargo in large Conestoga wagons, and herds of sheep and other livestock. But it’s the pioneer families moving westward, with household supplies and children in tow, that we most commonly associate with the National Road.

Bridge over Casselman River, original National Road near Grantsville, Maryland

Once across the river, the stretch of the National Road to Zanesville, which was a section of the existing Zane’s Trace, had just begun construction, so travelers sometimes took dangerous side roads for detour. From this juncture on north and westward to Seneca County, the travel would have been more difficult and time consuming, and for those seeing the area for the first time, they must have wondered why they ever left the comforts back east. The wife of John Souder, a fellow pioneer of early Seneca County, stated it best at about this point during their voyage when she said to her husband, “Any man that will bring his wife and child to a country as this ought to be shot.”

The area in Seneca County to the north and west of Tiffin was remote, forested, and swampy, and this is where John Lucas and Barbara Flack had purchased a land patent from the federal government for their homestead. The family built a log cabin and began the process of clearing the land and digging trenches for drainage purposes, with contributions from every capable family member. They were many miles from any other settlers, and for long stretches of time, they were among just their own family. One can hardly imagine the great sense of solitude these early pioneers must have felt. John Souder, who settled in Tiffin, wrote:

George Puffenberger lived in a cabin some distance west, and John Flack in (now) Liberty (Township), lived the farthest west of any man I could hear of. I was in the company with others in view of a new road and we stopped at Flack’s. It seemed very lonesome to live so entirely alone in the forest as Flack did. (Source: History of Seneca County, from the Close of the Revolutionary War to July 1880, William Lang)

John Lucas Flack purchased several land patents during those early years, and his holdings grew to 575 acres, nearly a full square mile. He submitted the petition to have Liberty Township carved from the Fort Seneca Township in 1832. The population of this area was only about a dozen in 1830, but it grew to more than one thousand by 1840. The Flack homestead was located between Bettsville, established 1838 in Liberty Township, and Bascom, established 1837 in Hopewell Township. Flack lands were located in Liberty, Hopewell, and Louden Townships. When John Lucas died in 1839, the land was divvied up between his heirs.

George decided to join up with his family and made his way to Seneca County about 1830. He had earned enough money working on the canal that he was able to purchase 96 acres in the southwest corner of Liberty Township and the northwest corner of Hopewell Township, just south of his father’s farm. He married Dorothea Maria Karshner in 1835, and they were my 4th great-grandparents. Dorothy reigned him in a bit, and they raised seven children on their homestead. The oldest was Jefferson Flack (1836-1913), followed by Wilson (1838-1923), Anna Elizabeth (1841-1936), Caroline (1844-1871), Louis Phillip (1846-1908), Francis (1849-1935), and George Dixon Flack, Jr. (1852-1860). Jefferson Flack married Harriet Lott, daughter of Reuben and Margaret (Michaels) Lott, in 1857, and they were my 3rd great-grandparents. Reuben was the son of Jeremiah Lott, a patriot of the American Revolution, and a link at the end of this article connects to his incredible accounts of the war.

Northwest Seneca County map 1891 highlighting Flack lands

The bad blood between the Flacks and the Osterholts traces back to the 1850s. Peter Osterholt (1811-1895), a German immigrant of Bavarian descent, stabbed George Flack, nearly killing him. Osterholt was able to avoid prison time by successfully using an insanity defense. George's descendants were never satisfied that justice had been served, and hard feelings persisted through the decades, even after George passed away in 1877. Hostilities escalated from time to time between the sons and grandsons.

A great-grandson of George Flack penned the following about George:

George was born in 1809 in Pennsylvania. He left his father's home in the year of 1823 at the age of fourteen. He left home on account of a severe whipping administered by his father for disobedience. He and his brother Jacob had been ordered to cut and fall a poplar tree parallel to the draw, and not across it, so that the tree would not break when it fell. But, George, being headstrong and peeved because he was obliged to cut the tree, cut it across the draw and of course it broke.

George lived at a time when strength and endurance were in the ascendency. All men, it seems, aspired to physical strength and courage and gloried in personal combat. George was never bested in a fistic combat. He measured 47 inches around the chest and, with ease, could lift a 400 pound barrel of salt by the chimes and, over the end gate, place it in a wagon box. His strength of fingers was so great that it was utterly impossible to break his hold once it was fastened.

 While working on the canal, he was with a rough crowd and learned to drink whiskey out of a teapot. After he married and settled down he would still become intoxicated three or four times a year. At those times he would do things that he would be very much ashamed of and would deliberately stay away from town as long as he could. When he would finally go to town he would again come under the influence of the liquor. On winding up one of those periods he stopped on his way from Tiffin to Bascom and there engaged in a game of cards. Presently there entered two strangers who asked the proprietor to be directed to see this man, Flack. It seemed that they were desirous of having some sort of prize fight. George heard them and said nothing, but finished the game. Then, pushing the table over, he introduced himself to the strangers, whereupon in short order he whipped them both at the same time. He then bought them a drink and proceeded homeward.

When he came to Ohio, his father had contracted to dig a mill race on the Sandusky River for a Mr. Umstead. George helped his father, as did some others. However, on the very first day, they had to discover who was the best man. So at noon he and the "bully" went at it hammer and tongs. For an hour and a half, they fought with varying success. His opponent was older and mighty good. He mighty near got the best of George when at the crucial moment his father said in German, "George, remember the name." That gave him new courage and he soon finished the fellow. After that he was called upon any number of times to defend his title and he always came away with flying colors. 

He was a man that read a great deal. Governor Charles Foster, for whom the nearby town of Fostoria was named, said of him, "he was the best-read and posted man in Seneca County, Ohio." This was considered quite a compliment.

The author of that biographical sketch, James Robert Flack (1914-2008), was a son of James Alpheus Flack (1873-1945), a principal character in the Flack-Osterholt feud. James' father Louis Phillip Flack (1846-1908) became entangled in some type of skirmish with one of Peter Osterholt's younger sons Fred Osterholt around lunchtime on Saturday August 19, 1893. One newspaper reported the day's events as follows:

The affray, in which Peter Osterholt, aged 83 years, and his sons, Perry, Fred, Frank and James, on one side, Charles Flack, a justice of the peace of Hopewell township, his uncle, Louis Flack, and two sons, James and Lloyd, were the principal combatants, occurred at the home of Peter Osterholt, in Bascom, and was the result of a family feud which started way back in the 50's, when Peter Osterholt stabbed and nearly killed George Flack, the father of Louis Flack. The feud had been handed down from generation to generation and numerous rows have occurred between the two families. 

At noon Saturday Fred Osterholt who became incensed at Louis Flack about a trivial matter, struck Flack and knocked him down. Flack's two boys, James and Lloyd, determined to punish young Osterholt for assaulting their father and jumping into a wagon drove hurriedly toward the Osterholt home. The young man saw them coming and sought shelter in the house, locking the doors behind him. Louis Flack and Squire Flack accompanied the young men, claiming all the while that they were going along to act as peacemakers, but they were soon mixed up in the scrimmage.

Louis Phillip Flack, circa 1907

The Flack boys burst into the Osterholt residence, breaking open five doors in order to reach Fred Osterholt, whom they followed into an upstairs chamber and beat almost to death with a club. Perry Osterholt was struck in the head with a large stone thrown by Lloyd Flack and will die. Old man Osterholt and two married sons living near by, James and Frank Osterholt, who came to their rescue, were also horribly beaten and cut up. The two Flack boys were also badly carved with a razor in the hands of Fred Osterholt.

Every resident of the hamlet and many neighboring farmers, fully 300 persons, surrounded the house during the riot. When the affray ended the interior of the Osterholt home presented an appearance more like that of a slaughter house. James and Lloyd Flack, mounted on swift horses and plentifully supplied with money, decamped as soon as the bloody work was ended, and a detachment of citizens headed by Tiffin police are hot on their trail. Justice Flack has disappeared. Louis Flack was arrested and held to await the result of the wounds inflicted on the Osterholt boys. The most intense excitement prevails in the village.

Another article described the events even more dramatically, and the names of the Osterholt boys are switched:

A family row at Basom, a town near Tiffin, resulted in the fatal injury of one man, while two others are frightfully wounded. James and Lloyd Flack went to the house of Perry Osterholt, forced their way to his bedroom and beat him into insensibility with a picket torn from a fence. His father, 83 years of age, was knocked down and brutally kicked. Fred Osterholt, who came to the assistance of his father and brother, was struck in the temple with a bowlder. His skull was fractured. Lewis Flack, father of James and Lloyd, and their cousin Charles Flack, a justice of the peace, also became engaged in the fight.

Three hundred villagers gathered about the house and the Flacks would have been lynched had they not made their escape. A search has been made for them without avail, as they have been secreted by their relatives, among whom are some of the most influential men of Seneca county. Perry Osterholt will die. His brother Fred, it is feared, cannot recover and on account of their father's extreme age, his injuries may also prove fatal.

In the days following the horrible event, old man Osterholt overcame his injuries and made his way to Tiffin to file murder charges against the Flacks. Fortunately, none of the Osterholts' injuries proved to be fatal. Perry Osterholt took the worst of it and was feared to have suffered permanent brain damage after being struck in the temple by a rock. He lived a short life, passing away 11 years later at age 31, but whether or not his head injury contributed to his early departure is unknown to this researcher. Louis Flack was first to surrender, followed by his sons Lloyd and James. The cousin Charles Flack, son of Wilson Flack, spent a couple weeks in hiding before making his surrender.

Charles Flack's surrender

A few months later, all four Flacks along with Fred Osterholt plead guilty to assault and battery. Each was fined $10 plus court costs. With this sentence, the long-standing feud apparently came to an end, as no record of further hostilities has been found.

Five plead guilty

In an ironic twist, one of the brothers at the Osterholt compound who joined in the fighting was actually married to a Flack girl. Frank Osterholt's wife Jane "Jennie" Flack was a daughter of Jefferson and Harriett (Lott) Flack and a sister of my great great-grandmother Nettie Flack. Nettie had married Homer Chapman in 1892, and their farm was a few miles away in Liberty Township. Follow the link at the end of this article for the story about the Chapman farm and the Chapman family of Seneca County.

Jefferson Flack farmhouse in Louden Township, circa 1910 (colorized)
Front: Edna, John, and Earl (children of Homer and Nettie Chapman), Harry Chapman (Homer's brother);
Back: Nettie (Flack) Chapman, Harriet (Lott) Flack, Jefferson Flack, Homer Chapman

Left: Mary Ellen "Ella" (Flack) Kime (1872-1958), sister of Nettie (Flack) Chapman
Right: my great grandmother Edna "Mertie" (Chapman) Hanson (1894-1980), daughter of Nettie

A small, secluded cemetery, nestled between two crop fields in the middle of the southwest quarter of section 29 in Liberty Township, serves as the final resting place for many of the early Flack pioneers. It's known as the Null Cemetery, and it is accessible via a grass lane on the north side of County Road 592 a quarter mile east of its intersection with State Route 635. Some of the notable interments there are John Lucas Flack (1776-1839) and his sons Jacob Flack (1813-1867) and Lewis Snyder Flack (1815-1866). George Flack's grave is a half-mile to the south in the St. Andrew Cemetery.

Lane to Null Cemetery, Liberty Township

Gravesite of John Lucas Flack, my 5th great-grandfather

Notwithstanding the occasional brawl with their neighbors, and the angry lynch mob in Bascom, the Flacks were generally respected as leaders within the community.

 

The Flack family has been fortunate in having men and women who excelled in many fields of endeavor. We, as a family, have had members who were pioneers and were responsible for clearing the land and draining swamps; converting the wilderness into good farm land. They were builders of bridges and roads to make it possible to get the necessary materials and farm products to markets; they were carpenters, blacksmiths, wagon-makers and people of industry, who were far ahead of their time. We have had schoolteachers, professors and lawyers who have excelled in their profession. It can be seen that the Flack family's roots run deep in the sub-soil of the development of the country. We as a family, have every right to be proud of our heritage. 

-James R. Flack, Sr. 3rd great-grandson of John Lucas Flack, Sr.

Links:

More about the Jeremiah Lott lineage here: Jeremiah Lott, Hero of the Revolution

Homer and Nettie Chapman family and the history of the Chapman farm here: Chapman Farm in Liberty Township

Rozell and Voorhies Pioneers of Wolf Creek

In the years leading up to the establishment of Bettsville, Charles Rozell lived in a primitive cabin he had built next to the West Branch of Wolf Creek a few miles west of its confluence with the Sandusky River in northwest Ohio. The New Jersey native arrived in March of 1831, having purchased a plot of 80 acres in Jackson Township, Sandusky County, near the Seneca County line, on which he planned to establish his homestead. The township had been organized just two years earlier and was named in honor of Andrew Jackson, President of the United States at that time. The area was largely uninhabited when Rozell arrived. After exhausting nearly all of his savings on this piece of land and a pair of oxen, the 27 year-old tapped into his pioneer spirit during that spring and summer, clearing enough trees and brush in order to erect his cabin, establish a vegetable garden, and cultivate a small cornfield.

Computer generated depiction

At the end of the summer, satisfied that the wild lot had been adequately tamed, Charles sent for his wife Catherine and their two young daughters, Susan and Martha. They were escorted to Ohio by his brother Isaac, following the Hudson River to Albany and then cruising in comfort along the recently completed Erie Canal all the way to Buffalo. They sailed across Lake Erie, probably to the Sandusky Bay, for their rendezvous with Charles and a day or two of overland travel. Upon arrival at their cabin, it's safe to assume Catherine was both relieved and unimpressed.

But Charles and Catherine worked diligently to provide for themselves and their family. The nearest settlement with a grist mill and provisions was Lower Sandusky about nine miles away. Roads were little more than paths, and to make matters worse, much of northwest Ohio to west of the Sandusky River was mosquito-plagued marshland, the Great Black Swamp. Most potential settlers opted out because of the poor drainage and the flat and boggy terrain left behind by the receding glaciers of the last ice age. For this reason, the northwest counties were the last in Ohio to be settled, and only by the hardiest of pioneers.

Location of Rozell purchase in the Great Black Swamp

The family was thrifty and adapted to life without the conveniences they enjoyed back east. Their hard  work and diligence would pay off. In the decades to follow, their holdings would gradually increase to 174 acres of cleared land along with another 80 acres of woodland. Roads were built and ditches were dug to dry out the marsh and muck. As a result, the once uninviting wasteland was transformed into some of the most fertile farmland anywhere.

In 1849, the year Lower Sandusky was renamed Fremont, a group of prominent Sandusky County citizens organized the Lower Sandusky Plank Road Company. Their mission entailed construction of a road beginning at Fremont's Front Street, following the Sandusky River southward for five miles and then cutting southwest through Bettsville to Fostoria, modern day State Route 12. At the southwest bend, a branch would continue southward through Fort Seneca to Tiffin, modern day State Route 53. Charles Rozell was contracted to build several miles of the road, consisting of eight foot planks laid side by side on the west lane and a graded dirt road for use by teams on the east lane. After about a decade, the planks had deteriorated. Tolls collected were less than what was needed to replace the road, so the planks were removed and burned. In the 1870s, the use of crushed gravel from local quarries became prevalent in road construction.

Plank Road, computer generated depiction

In 1858, Charles and Catharine erected a beautiful and expensive home on their property alongside the plank road and furnished it neatly and tastefully. Both daughters married and remained nearby, Susan Ann, wife of John Fabian on the next farm over, and Martha, wife of Lucien Hull, a couple miles away in Seneca County. Catharine Rozell died in 1864 in her 60th year. Charles remarried to Rachel Jane Reed (nee Bay), and they had a daughter, Jennie Rachel Rozell, born in 1865.

A quote from "History of Sandusky County, Ohio," 1882:

Mr. Charles Rozell was always active in his business, strictly fair and honorable in all of his dealings, and treated every man justly. He was kind to the poor and unfortunate, and ever ready to assist the deserving. Though not a professing Christian, his moral character was above reproach, and his reputation for sincerity of friendship and integrity was unsullied. By attending diligently to his business, he became the possessor of a good property, and departed from earth honored and esteemed. He was a Republican, a strong Union man during the war, and assisted the soldiers and their widows by every means at his command. He died at his home in Jackson, November 27, 1870, at the age of sixty-seven.

Charles Rozell and his second wife Rachel Jane (Bay) Reed

While the Rozells were among the very first of European descent to settle along Wolf Creek, others soon arrived. In 1834, John Betts acquired from Jacob Garn 68 and a half acres bordered by the south bank of Wolf Creek, a mile or two upstream in Liberty Township, Seneca County. Four years later, 21 lots were plotted from the Betts acquisition to establish the original village of Bettsville. A few additions expanded the size of the community in the decades that followed. The population totaled just 23 in 1840 and 40 in 1847. But the plank road brought additional traffic through the village. Then in 1873, the Tiffin, Toledo, and Eastern Railroad was completed, and a depot was built at the west end of town. The population swelled to 515 by 1880, and Bettsville was incorporated in 1882. After a fire in old Bettsville, the business district was rebuilt further west, closer to the railroad.

"This town (is) built on three streets and has mostly fine buildings, frame and brick. We have two dry goods stores, one grocery, and not much drunkenness in that, one saw mill, three fine churches,. . . a school house two doctors, a Justice of the Peace, and I am glad to say that this year none of the inhabitants of Bettsville have been prosecuted on account of debts. We have two blacksmith shops and a harness shop, one shoe shop, two wagon and carriage shops, two cabinet makers, a plasterer, brick layer, and an ashery." -Tiffin Advertiser, August 20, 1860

In 1834, more Rozell pioneers arrived from New Jersey, including Charles' sister Jane and her husband Elijah Coert Voorhies, my 4th great-grandparents. They arrived with their four young children, Ann, Eliza, John, and William. Charles and Catharine shared their cabin with the Voorhies family through that winter, and one can only imagine what a scene that was.

By the following spring, the Voorhieses moved into their own crudely constructed cabin on an adjacent 80-acre lot that Elijah and Jane had purchased. When they first occupied the structure, it did not yet have a floor, doors, or windows. But they got to work, cleared some land, and planted five acres of wheat that summer, yielding about 200 bushels. In July of 1836, a son, Andrew Voorhies, was born, my 3rd great-grandfather, followed by George (died in infancy), Amanda, Oliver, and Enos Ezra.

The Voorhies homestead was very near a trail used by the local Indians traveling along the Sandusky River, although few remained by then, and those they encountered were generally docile. Family lore holds that they would sometimes awaken in the morning to find that Indians, having not adopted our tradition of knocking first, had made entry overnight and slept by their fireplace. The most prevalent tribes along the Sandusky Valley were the Seneca and the Wyandot. A 40,000-acre reservation existed nearby along eight miles of the eastern bank of the Sandusky River until about 1832, at which time the various tribal peoples were pressured by the United States Government to remove to Indian Territory, now northeast Oklahoma.

Historical Marker at Green Springs, Ohio

Just as the construction of the plank road was ramping up in 1849, Ann Voorhies, the oldest child of Elijah and Jane, married Amos Mull. The Mull family had land holdings downstream a bit, just into Ballville Township where the East Branch of Wolf Creek meets the West Branch. The Mulls operated a sawmill on the East Branch, and like most sawmills in the area, much of their resources were shifted to the processing of lumber for the road. Access to the mill was limited due to its proximity to the two creeks, so the Mulls petitioned the Sandusky County Commissioner and were granted $75 to construct a bridge across the creek. With their own materials, labor, and ingenuity, the Mulls completed a covered bridge in 1851, and it remained active for more than a century. With the opening of a new bridge in 1962, The Mull Covered Bridge was retired and has since undergone multiple renovations to preserve it as an historic landmark. Amos and Ann Mull raised six children and relocated to Nebraska later in life. My grandfather Joe Jeanette enjoyed taking his grandchildren on an occasional drive around the area, and the covered bridge was one of our favorite site seeing destinations.

The Mull Covered Bridge is maintained by the Sandusky County Parks System

Many of the descendants of Elijah and Jane Voorhies were prominent in their vicinity and became leaders in public affairs. They held large tracts of land in both Liberty Township in Seneca County and Jackson Township in Sandusky County. In and around Bettsville, the Voorhies name was well recognized for a number of generations. Oliver Voorhies (1843-1925) eventually acquired his father’s original homestead, just southeast of what is now State Route 12. He lived there until retiring to a house in Bettsville at Union and State Streets, at which time his son George acquired the farm. Enos Voorhies (1846-1917) purchased a farm from Dr. Rufus Norton in 1893 on the Liberty Township side of the Seneca/Sandusky County line. This land was passed down through the generations, and during my years in Bettsville, it was the Harold Klopp farm; Klopp was married to a granddaughter of Enos Voorhies. The farm butts up to the south shore of Wolf Creek, and these banks provided some favorite fishing spots for myself and many of my childhood friends. Some of the other Voorhies siblings settled around the village of Burgoon on the Sandusky County side of Wolf Creek.

Bettsville merchants ca.1940 with Vaughn Voorhies, right, grandson of Oliver

Andrew Voorhies became a successful farmer on the Sandusky County side of the homestead. He married Mary Magdelena Mowry on March 12, 1857 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Fremont. A son, Franklin Voorhies, was born in 1858, but Mary, at just 20 years of age, passed away on February 9, 1859. In 1860, Andrew remarried to Elizabeth Jackson, and they were my 3rd great-grandparents. They had three daughters, Clara, Florence, and Mina. Andrew and his family lived in a fine farmhouse on property backing up to Wolf Creek. The children grew up but stayed local, at least for the duration of Andrew’s time. His wife Elizabeth passed away in 1879, and then he married for a third time to Fanny Harley in 1880. Andrew retired to Fremont where he passed away on March 23, 1896.

Illustration of Andrew Voorhies farm

Andrew Voorhies (1836-1896)

Andrew's daughter Clara Voorhies married Richard Chapman in 1881 (originally spelled Chaplin), and they were my 2nd great-grandparents. Clara passed down a family Bible to her granddaughter Winnie (Chapman) Jeanette, daughter of Harry Raymond Chapman and his wife Edna Mertie Chapman, my great-grandparents. Clara received the Bible as a Christmas gift in 1875, and it remains in our family today, along with its trove of old photographs and clippings. A link at the end of this article takes the reader to my story about the Clara Voorhies Bible.

Richard and Clara (Voorhies) Chapman, ca.1920

Harry Chapman died during the Spanish Flu outbreak in 1918 when my grandmother Winnie was just seven months old and her sister Eleanor was age three years. Edna and the girls stayed on the farm of her parents, Homer and Nettie (Flack) Chapman. Homer's father was Edwin Chapman, a veteran of the Civil War who had inherited the farm from his foster parents. Follow the link at the end of this article for stories of Edwin Chapman's life and the history of the Chapman farm.

Edna remarried to Pete Hanson in 1921, and they moved into Bettsville. They had a son, Paul "Corky" Hanson, but the marriage ended in divorce. Edna was proprietor of the Home Restaurant in Bettsville during the 1930s and 1940s, serving up lunch to the locals and a offering a hangout after high school basketball games. She was the only living great-grandparent I remember, and I have fond memories of my time with her.

Voorhies Reunion ca. 1914
Meadowbrook Park, Bascom, Ohio

Harry and Edna Chapman
Voorhies Reunion ca. 1914

Seated: Edna (Chapman) Hanson and her aunt, Ella (Flack) Kime
Standing: Eleanor (Chapman) Addis, Paul Hanson, Winnie (Chapman) Jeanette

Joe and Winnie (Chapman) Jeanette, married 1937

Home Restaurant ca. 1940

Richard Chaplin/Chapman and his brother Lewis Chaplin were orphaned at a young age. Their father Richard Chaplin had immigrated from England and married Elizabeth Hoover of Old Fort in 1853. The boys were raised by family after both parents had died as of 1862. Lewis Chaplin served a long career in the U.S. Army with an extensive list of achievements. A link to my article about the Chaplin/Chapman branch can be found at the end of this article.

1836 marked the arrival of Charles Rozell's parents to the frontier, John and Jane (Quigley) Rozell, my 5th great-grandparents, and the younger Rozell siblings. The Quigleys and Rozells were natives of the Trenton, New Jersey area. Jane's father was Isaac Quigley, a native of Northern Ireland and a patriot in the American Revolution. John and Jane purchased 80 acres from John Rosenberger a couple miles south of Charles Rozell, near what would eventually become Maple Grove, and established their home there. Back in New Jersey, Isaac was the only sibling of Charles who never moved to Ohio; Isaac's descendants adopted the Rossell spelling of the surname. The older siblings, Charles, Jane (Voorhies), Elizabeth (Shawl), and Emy (Andrews) all remained in the Bettsville area for the remainder of their lives. David went to Angola, Indiana, and the younger siblings, John Jr., Theodocia (Peake), and Enoch all relocated to Danby Township in Ionia County, Michigan in their early adulthood.

Enoch Rozell, the youngest, was last to leave after signing onto an agreement to stay and care for his parents until their demise in exchange for the deed to their property for one dollar. His mother, Jane Rozell, died in 1848, and a burial plot was established at the south end of their land near Maple Grove, still called Linden in those days. Then in 1850, John Rozell and Enoch sold the burial ground to Liberty Township for $10 for the establishment of a cemetery where many of the early settlers have since been laid to rest, including John Rozell in 1856. The cemetery is situated across Weaver Road from what was the Levi Crissa farm and came to be known as Crissa Cemetery, sometimes spelled "Creasy."

Crissa Cemetery est. 1850

Many of those mentioned in this article are among the nearly 200 interments in the Crissa Cemetery, and on a personal note, I can't imagine a worse spot for one's eternal resting place. John and Jane's land was situated on what was known as "the ridge" to the locals, a large swath of partially exposed limestone extending across some of the northeast sections of the township. A small stone quarry operated by Holran Stone Company opened nearby in 1903. H.P. Eells acquired the quarry and then mined and processed dolomite under the names Dolomite Production Company, Basic Refractories, and then Basic, Inc. For the next half century, dynamite explosions rocked the community regularly, not unlike life on an active fault line. I experienced this phenomenon personally during my youth through the 1970's, with the periodic shaking of the Bettsville School. I never quite got used to the unannounced nature of the process. The western edge of the quarry gradually infringed upon the cemetery plot, ultimately leaving nothing more than a peninsula protruding out over the abyss. The quarrying operation, on a positive note, lured many newcomers to the region and provided jobs for hundreds of local residents until Basic's demise in the 1980s. Both of my grandfathers retired from Basic, Inc. after combining for 97 years of service.

Crissa Cemetery surrounded by the quarry

When John and Jane Rozell left for Ohio in 1836, their daughter Emy was employed as a maid in Philadelphia, and she did not initially make the move with them. She was living in the home of her employers, John and Margaret (Abercrombie) Andrews. The Andrewses were a family of significant social standing within the community with Mr. Andrews being an associate of the National Bank in Philadelphia. While in the Andrews home, nineteen year-old Emy became involved romantically with their son James, who was about nine years older than she. The couple were married in April of 1837, causing somewhat of a stir within aristocratic circles. It was suggested that the couple consider a relocation to join up with the Rozells out in Ohio, and later that year, they did indeed make the move.

James Andrews, or "Doc," as he came to be known, purchased a very large tract of land from John Rosenberger and others in Liberty Township, bordering the eastern boundary of the Bettsville plot and just north of Emy's parents, John and Jane Rozell. Doc Andrews was not really a medical doctor, but he was very knowledgeable in the area of natural herbal remedies and became somewhat of a legend for that reason. But his privileged upbringing did not adequately prepare him for the labors of frontier life. This is not to say Doc was unambitious. In 1846, during the early theater of the Mexican-American War, Doc rode to Texas over land with a herd of horses to donate to the war cause, leaving Emy to tend to the farm and four young children. He delivered the team to his cousin, Colonel George W. Morgan, and enlisted in Morgan's 15th Regiment.

Doc Andrews returned to Ohio and remained on the farm until his death in 1860. The four children of Doc and Emy all married and had families, but only George spent his entire life in the area. He married Emma Shaffner in 1874 and they acquired 100 acres of farmland just south and east the original Andrews homestead, land that eventually was surrendered to the quarry. George and Emma operated the Goodyear Hotel near the railroad depot in Bettsville, and their son Charlie Andrews ran a grocery market in Bettsville for several decades until his death in 1958. My father purchased for $25 the desk from Charlie's office in the store, and this piece remains in our family. George's sister Elizabeth married David Fisher, and they lived on Emy's farm with their children before relocating across the county to Bloomville.  Additionally, after Doc's death, Emy took in two presumed orphans and raised them, as enumerated on both the 1870 and 1880 U.S. Census.

1880 Census:

Emy Andrews, age 53, head of household, widowed, keeping house

Jacob Dingledine, age 19, took to raise, works on farm

Catharine Lawrence, age 23, took from poor house, does house work

In 1871, Emy Andrews contracted a surveyor to lay out lots on the westernmost sliver of her land butting against Bettsville's eastern boundary. In total, 82 residential lots were plotted along with a five-acre grove in the middle. In 1882, the village annexed these lots, extending it's eastern boundary from the center of Sullivan Street eastward to include both sides of Monroe Street and the land between Sullivan and Monroe Streets, bordered by Union Street on the north and Seneca Street on the south. It became known as the Andrews Addition, and it was the largest single annex ever made to Bettsville.

Birds eye view of Bettsville, looking east

About 1940, my grandparents Vernon and Marietta Bramel purchased three lots #225-227 at the south end of the Andrews Addition on the northwest corner of Seneca and Monroe Streets. Vernon had arrived in town in 1927 at age 17, specifically to work at the quarry, and married Marietta Semer later that year. He and his two younger brothers had been taken to the orphanage in Maumee, Ohio after their mother died near Cincinnati in 1925. He was then farmed out to the Huffords, six miles north of Bettsville, who welcomed him into their family.

Vernon and Marietta (Semer) Bramel, married 1927

Marietta's clan, the William and Nettie (Russell) Semer family, came to Bettsville in 1917 after the conclusion of William's 15-year military career in Key West, New York City, and Pensacola. He too came for work at the quarry, his sister and brother-in-law, Joseph and Jane Dunlap having previously moved to Fort Seneca for the same reason. William Semer, a native of Van Wert County, Ohio, met Nettie Russell, a native of Key West, Florida, during his deployment to Fort Zachary Taylor in Key West. The Russells were one of the original Keys families, the so called "conch families," who migrated from the Bahamas in the 1830s after the United States acquired Florida from Spain. Many of these Bahamian families were descendants of British Loyalists who fled southern states in the aftermath of the American Revolution. William and Nettie were married on Christmas Eve, 1903. My grandmother Marietta was born at Fort Schuyler, Bronx, New York in 1910, the fifth of 11 Semer children. Grandpa Semer died tragically in 1920 from injuries sustained from a dust explosion at the Kennedy Refractories facility in Bettsville where he was the night superintendent. Follow the link at the end of this article to read about the family's time in Key West.

William Semer family, Fort Totten, Queens, New York, 1914

Vernon and Marietta had been renting for $6 per month a two story house next to the railroad tracks south of Seneca Street, where all five sons were born. That same house was relocated a quarter-mile up the street to the middle lot of their acquisition, and I'm told the total cost of the land, house, and relocation was $900. Grandpa built a kitchen addition along the north side and then added a bathroom in the back. He built a large garage/barn structure in his spare time with cinderblocks he made at Marian Flack's shop, mixing cement and pouring it into molds. The neighborhood kids in the southern half of the Andrews Addition during that generation, the Bramels, Mowerys, Fogels, and others, came to be known as the "ridge rats" due to their proximity to the stony ridge running through the township. They were a close-knit bunch who wore that badge with great pride. In 1976, Grandpa received an inheritance from a relative he probably never knew, and a link at the end of this article takes the reader to that story.

My dad with his big brothers on "the ridge," 1936

 

Aunt Sally at the back of the Bramel home on "the ridge" ca. 1945

Later, in the 1970's, my other grandparents Joe and Winnie Jeanette sold their State Street home next to the Bettsville Public Library, and downsized to a home in the northern portion of the Andrews Addition near the intersection of Monroe and Union Streets. It had a basement large enough to host several of our family Thanksgiving celebrations.

Jeanette home on Monroe Street, ca. 1975

Emy Andrews died in 1912 at the age of 95. She is buried in the Crissa Cemetery near her husband, her parents John and Jane Rozell and many of her Rozell siblings. The Rozells and their Voorhies cousins were instrumental in the early settlement of Bettsville and the surrounding area. Those of us who inherited their wanderlust and thirst for adventure are eternally grateful!

Links:

Clara Voorhies documented her family history here: Clara Voorhies Family Bible

The story of Edwin Chapman and the history of the Chapman farm: Edwin Chapman of the 72nd O.V.I.

Our Chaplin heritage and stories from Lewis Chaplin: Sgt. Lewis Chaplin, Little Bighorn and Beyond

William and Nettie Semer met in Key West, Florida: William Lampson Semer, Fort Zachary Taylor 

Vernon Bramel's surprise: Grandpa Bramel's Big Inheritance

Sources:

History of Sandusky County, Ohio, with Portaits and Biographies of Prominent Citizens and Pioneers, (Cleveland, Ohio: H. Z. Williams & Bro., 1882.)

Durrett, John E. History of Bettsville, Ohio. 1984. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http://ohiomemory.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15005coll27/id/29643.

Lake, D. J. Map of Seneca Co., Ohio. Philadelphia: Cyrus Stone, Clarence Titus, . Phila.: Printed by Thos. Wagner, 1864. Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2012592236/>.

Jeremiah Lott, Hero of the Revolution

My mom's mom's mom's mom's mom was Harriett Lott, wife of Jefferson Flack and a daughter of Reuben Laycock Lott and Margaret Michaels. The Lott family is of Dutch descent and has a long and proud history in America, with the family’s roots in Seneca County, Ohio dating back to 1832. 

Reuben and Margaret Lott ca. 1880

Like most of the other earliest pilgrims from Holland, the Lott roots in America began in present day New York City, in Flatbush, King County, Long Island. Peter Lott emigrated from the province of Drenthe in Holland in 1652, and he is the progenitor of the branches of the Lott family from Long Island and New Jersey. He and his wife Gertrude were members of the Flatbush Reformed Dutch Church in 1677, and he took the Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown in 1687. Over the century that followed, many of the Lott descendants remained in the areas in and around Flatbush, which today is a neighborhood of Brooklyn. Others branched out into the areas surrounding New York City, into northern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.

One of the more colorful characters in my family tree is Jeremiah Lott, my fifth great grandfather. If the stories passed down through the generations hold any merit, then he is a true American hero by nearly any standard.

Jeremiah was born in 1758 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He enlisted under Captain John Corryell in the local Militia of the Revolution, known as the “Associated Company for the Township of Solebury, Bucks County, Pennsylvania” on August 21, 1775. He enlisted for a second time on March 18, 1779, as a trumpeter in Captain Heard’s Company, Stephen Moylan’s Fourth Regiment Light Dragons, in service of the United States, Pennsylvania Calvary, serving until July 12, 1783. For much of his service time, he served under the command of General “Mad Anthony” Wayne.

Many tales of Jeremiah Lott’s heroics during the American Revolutionary War are detailed in the following excerpt from “Short Story of the Lott Family,” author and date unknown. But some of these stories are provided by Jeremiah's son, John Lott, who shared them second hand many decades after the incidents that inspired these tales. The stories most likely provide a fair amount of fact interwoven with some exaggeration:

Of the hardships endured by the soldiers of the Revolutionary War, history does not sufficiently relate, neither can pen describe. The experience of Jeremiah Lott was surely that of a hardy patriot. It is said that he frequently went bare-footed over the frozen snow, the blood tracks indicating where his foot had trodden. These were days which tested men’s courage, but he seemed equal to the demand, his courage and bravery being a matter of praise, the reminiscences of which linger among his descendants as a proud heritage, and if referred to with pride and admiration. It is of such blood that heroes are made, and handed down to succeeding generations as worthy of emulation. Then it was a question of duty, of principle, of patriotism and not self aggrandizement or mercenary pursuit. He frequently was exposed not only to dangers from the enemy, but from reptiles and wild beasts. It is said that he slept in a cabin one night and all through the cracks of the floor the snakes could be seen thrusting their heads into the room. He followed a superstition prevalent in those days and ate a rattlesnake heart, believing that he would thus enjoy immunity from their bites and escape their attacks. How well he succeeded, or the virtue of such precautions, history does not relate.

It is said that at one time the British and Continental armies were lying in close proximity, but enjoying a truce of temporary cessation of hostilities. Jeremiah Lott and two companions, out for a little fun, saw the British flag erected upon a pole. One of them tore down the pole, another broke off the staff and Jeremiah Lott seized the flag and fled to his own army. This act filled the associates, especially the officers with alarm. They became apprehensive least this act would plunge them into immediate engagement before they were prepared for it. It is said that under the circumstances the rules of war did not permit such conduct or escapades. The three men were court-martialed for the act, greatly to the disgust of Jeremiah Lott, who delighted in tormenting the British at every opportunity, and were reprimanded.

What the nature of the punishment was, is not known, but the incident serves to show the courage and character of the man, who seemed to know no fear and whose soul seemed to in the cause which he had espoused, and for which he was contending.

He kept his sword, and trumpet and musket constantly by his bed even after the peaceful days of Independence and Liberty had been established. It was a favorite pastime of his to bend his sword and have it rebound and stick in the rafters above. This he would do for the amusement of his neighbors and friends, who were accustomed to make his shoemaker’s shop (he was a shoemaker by trade) a favorite resort, and also while away the time by having him relate for them his many war experiences, which it seemed a splendid delight for him to do. His sword was in possession of his son Bartholomew Lott, for a number of years, who purposed cutting it up and converting it into butcher knives, but it subsequently, disappeared and no one knows how or where. The last seen of it was by John Myers, his grandson in the store of Rev. Henry Trumbower,(** married to Sophie Lott, Daughter of Bartholomew) living at that time at Glen Gardner, New Jersey.

Once a year it was customary to hold a patriotic service in the Old Straw Church of Lutheran denomination, located about three miles east of Easton, Pennsylvania, in the State of New Jersey, and about five miles west of Bloomsbury, which Jeremiah Lott regularly attended, arrayed in his full military uniform. He was especially honored upon such occasions, and as a mark of distinction, was given a seat with the Pastor upon the pulpit platform.

He always dressed in regular Continental style, with knee breeches and buckled shoes. A buckle is still in the possession of Mrs. Charlotte Cackender of Bloomsbury, the daughter of his son John L. Lott.

It happened that one time during his second enlistment, he was taken prisoner by one of the British officers. He had been in close personal relations with General Washington, as close, I suppose, as any noncommissioned officer could be, and not only served as Trumpeter, but also served as spy for his superior. It was while thus engaged that his capture was brought about.

His captors mounted with him upon his horse and directed their course towards the British camp, the officer being seated ahead. This prisoner manifested an indifferent spirit by whistling and singing, no doubt to divert attention, for at an opportune moment, he seized a knife which he had concealed in his boot leg, and stabbing the officer in the heart, killed him. He at once embraced the opportunity and fled, hotly pursued by the British, as soon as the deed which he had committed was discovered. For a number of days, some say it is related seven days and nights, he laid in ambush; his horse laid down with him upon the ground. All about him he could hear the enemy making diligent and tireless search for him. He had slain one of their prominent men and was sought for with more than ordinary zeal and desire.

When finally discovered, or when they were too close to him for comfort, he turned his coat inside out. It was lined with red. He sprang upon his horse and with his red coat was enabled to deceive the enemy for quite awhile, and thus gained quite an advantage over them, enabling him to greatly facilitate this escape. When finally the deception was discovered, he was more vigorously pursued than before, and the only reason which enabled him to escape and regain his army, was due to the fact that his horse was more fleet of foot and able to jump fences and other obstructions. As he came in sight of his army again and his return was noted, it is related that the whole army sent up a shout of rejoicing, and that Washington, himself, was so overjoyed, that as a mark of honor he took him aside and treated him to whiskey, which was in those days considered an act of no little honor.

It is related that he stood under the tree upon which the celebrated British Major Andre was hung.

In the village in which he lived was a Britisher, a radical Tory who, knowing his strong patriotic propensities, took frequent occasion to test his principles by hurrahing for King George, as he passed his shoemaker’s shop. He did this once too often. The last time the old patriots’ patience seemed to be exhausted; he could endure it no longer. The Britisher cried out, “Hurrah for King George.” Jeremiah seized his sword and with the emphasized remark, “Damn him, I’ll give him King George,” he rushed out and pursued him with drawn sword determined to do him violence and give him a lasting punishment. His boys ran after him crying, “Father, what are you going to do?” They were greatly alarmed least he should do that for which he would be sorry later. He shouted back, “I’ll give him enough of King George.” The man ran for his life, which might have been sacrificed then and there, if overtaken; but being able to out-run his pursuer, he escaped, but he never repeated the offense thereafter.

After the war, Jeremiah Lott settled in Bethlehem Township, east of the town of Bloomsbury, New Jersey, just a few miles east of his birthplace in Pennsylvania. In 1785, he married Elizabeth Laycock, sometimes spelled Leacock. She was the daughter of John Leacock and Esther Eshender. To Jeremiah and Elizabeth were born nine children there: Bartholomew, Mary, Lavinia, John L., Reuben, Henry, Nancy, James, and Sarah.

Jeremiah, being a man proud of the advancements of the new nation, continued to answer the call to duty. General Wayne called upon his best men to put an end to Indian threats in the Northwest Territory, and Jeremiah Lott was quick to respond. He was among Wayne’s troops in 1794 at the Battle of Fallen Timbers near present day Maumee, Ohio, the battle that essentially ended Indian resistance in that region and opened the gate for Ohio to be granted statehood in 1803.

Jeremiah Lott returned to his home in New Jersey and lived out his days there. His wife Elizabeth succumbed to a number of health issues and died in 1820. Jeremiah moved in with his son John L. Lott until his death in 1822. Jeremiah Lott served among the proud patriots who opened the country up to westward settlement, and two of his sons did indeed move westward, Henry to Illinois, and Reuben to Ohio.

Reuben Laycock Lott was born on July 3, 1792 in Bloomsbury, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. As a young man, he moved from New Jersey to the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. He married Margaret Michaels in Northampton, Pennsylvania in 1816, and best estimates are that they were parents to fourteen children over the next quarter century.

In 1819, one year after the National Road was opened to the Ohio River at Wheeling, Reuben and Margaret Lott followed the westward migration into Ohio, settling in Fairfield County near the town of Lancaster. At the start of the nineteenth century, Fairfield County encompassed a large area of southeastern Ohio. Many early Ohio pioneers made temporary settlement in this area before moving further along the frontier.

The Lotts remained in Fairfield County until 1832, at which time they moved north and west into Seneca County. They settled in section 29 of the newly established Liberty Township, and Reuben Lott’s cabin was just the third to be built in the township. They operated a successful farm south of the town of Kansas for several decades.

Margaret Lott passed away in 1880, while Reuben lived on to the age of 90. In his final years, Reuben lived on the old farm with his son James, who was also a widower by that time. Reuben died on June 22, 1882. James Lott was named executor of Reuben’s will, under which the Lott homestead was to be sold off, with the proceeds to be split equally among the heirs who were named as follows:

Harriett, the youngest of the 14 children born to Reuben and Margaret Lott, was born May 2, 1838. She married in 1857 to Jefferson Flack, and they farmed the old Flack homestead for much of their lives. Their seven children were Amanda, John Q., Anna Elizabeth, Jane L., Jessie A., Mary Ellen, and Nettie Margaret Flack, my great-great grandmother. Nettie married Charles Homer Chapman in 1892 and they farmed the Chapman homestead in Liberty Township. For much more about Chapman ancestry, follow the link at the end of this article. 

 

Back: Nettie Flack Chapman, Harriett Lott Flack, Jefferson Flack, Homer Chapman
Front: Edna, John, and Earl Chapman (children of Homer/Nettie)
Front Right: Harrison Chapman (Homer's brother)

Jefferson Flack died in 1913 and Harriett moved to Fort Seneca to reside with her daughter Jessie and son-in-law Darrel Hoke. Harriett died in 1919, and both she and Jefferson are laid to rest in the Fairmont Cemetery in Tiffin, Ohio.

OBIT: HARRIETT LOTT FLACK-Last of 14 children
Mrs. Harriett Flack, aged 80 years, widow of the late Jefferson Flack, died at her home in Fort Seneca at noon today of infirmities incidental to her advanced years. She had long been in failing health and had been seriously ill since last Sunday morning. The deceased was born in Liberty Township near Iler, May 2, 1838, a daughter of Reuben and Margaret (nee Michaels) Lott. She was reared in that township. She had resided in Fort Seneca during the last seven years. Mrs. Flack was the youngest of fourteen children and was the last surviving member of the family.
She is survived by six daughters: Mrs. George Ash, Olney, Illinois; Mrs. Jack Lybarger and Mrs. Jennie Osterholt of Toledo, Ohio; Mrs. Jesse Kime of Bascom; Mrs. Dora (Dayrel) Hoke, Fort Seneca, Ohio; and Mrs. Homer Chapman of Maple Grove, Ohio. Funeral at St. Mary's Church Saturday morning, burial at Fairmont Cemetery.

Lott Monument at Null Cemetery
Near Rts. 592 & 635 in SW Liberty Twp.

Reuben Lott 1792-1882

Margaret Michaels Lott 1799-1880

For more about the Homer and Nettie Chapman family, follow this link: Homer and Nettie Chapman: The Kansas Years