Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/865

 MONROE TOWNSHIP.

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��gart and other enterprising men of Monroe Township, many valuable ajicl I'-.sfing public improvements have been made in the t-':p within the last five years, more especially in roauj and schoolhouses.

SWITZER, JOSIAH, farmer; P. 0. Lucas. Was born on the north bank of the Rocky Fork, in Mifflin Township, on the 21st day of July, 1825 ; his father was of German and his mother of Scotch-Irish descent ; his father's name was Frederick Switzer and his mother's maiden name Issabella Steel. His mother was born in Franklin Co., Penn., on the 19th day of March, 1800; she emigrated to Richland Co., Ohio, in 1815, and set- tled on the north bank of the Rocky Fork, in Mifflin Township, on the farm now owned by Catharine Ross, where she resided for about two years ; from there she removed to Monroe Township, on the farm now owned by the Widow Glenn, where she resided a short time, when she removed to the farm now owned by her son, Hiram Switzer ; she continued to reside on this farm till the day of her death, which event took place on the 5th day of July, 1862 ; she was the mother of four sons — William, born Jan. 12, 1821 ; Josiah, born as hereinbefore stated ; Andrew Jackson, Jan. 29, 1830, and Hiram, July 12, 1834. She was a woman of more than ordinary intelligence, being passionately fond of reading and possessed of a very retentive memory ; she was better informed on many subjects of inter- est and importance than most women ; she was an ultra Democrat of the "Old Hickory" per- suasion, and few men of her township were a match for her in argument. Josiah, her second son and the subject of this biography, remained with his mother and was subject to her instructions and con- trol until he attained his majority. As soon as he was old enough to work, his mother found employment for him ; from the time he was 15 till the date of his mar- riage, he was obliged to labor very hard ; his work consisted principally in grubbing, chopping and mak- ing rails through the day, while many nights were spent in coon hunting and in fishing ; his facilities for obtaining an education were quite limited ; however, by close application to his studies during the limited time allotted to him for that purpose, he has been able to acquire a pretty thorough knowledge of the common English branches. ^Ir. Switzer was united by marriage to Miss Margaret Swigart, eldest daughter of Michael and Nancy Swigart, on the 21st day of January, 1847 ; his wife's parents were early settlers of Monroe Town- ship and were much respected by their acquaintances ; by this marriage Mr. Switzer had six sons, of whom only two are now living — George J., his eldest son, was born Oct. 31, 1847 ; Michael T., his second son, Dec. 9, 1850. Mr. Switzer farmed on shares for differ- ent persons from the time of his marriage till about 1862, when he purchased the farm he now owns, being the east half of the southeast quarter of Sec. 21, in Monroe Township. His first wife died Jan. 6, 1857, and was buried at the Hersh (now called the Mt. Olive) Cemetery, but was subsequently taken up and removed to the Pleasant Valley Cemetery. Mr. Switzer married, for his second wife Miss Mary M. Cromer, youngest daughter of Daniel Cromer ; they were married April 19, 1857 ; by this marriage, Mr. Switzer had ten children, tour sons and six daughters, all living but one. He is em-

��phatically a self-made man. He was initiated into the mysteries of Odd Fellowship and became a mem- ber of Monroe Lodge, No. 224, located at Lucas, Ohio, about twenty-six years ago, and has been an active member of the lodge and a zealous member of the order ever since; he has attained to the highest position in the lodge. He is also one of the charter members of the Burns Encampment, located at Lu- cas, Ohio; has been an active member thereof ever since it was instituted, and has been the recipient of the highest honors the encampment can con- fer. He has also had the honor of serving in the capacity of District Deputy Grand Master for one term. Mr. Switzer has repeatedly been elected to fill some of the most important offices of his township, in which capacities he gave entire satisfaction. He united with the Lutheran Church at Pleasant Valley about two years ago, during which time he has been an act- ive and zealous member, ilonroe Lodge and the vil- lage of Lucas are to some considerable extent indebted to Mr. Switzer and a few more of like energy for the beautiful hall and schoolhouse they now possess. He has, for many years, taken a deep interest in township affairs, and more especially in the cause of education ; he was, for many years, School Director of his district under the old law, and was present at the first meeting of the Board of Education under the new law, and helped to organize the same ; he presided at the meet- ings of said board the last five years, during the last two years of which time, four elegant and commodious brick schoolhouses have been erected in the township. Mr. Switzer' s farm is a very productive one, well adapted to the raising of all kinds of grain ; his dwell- ing is a large and commodious brick building, and he has a good frame bank barn ; his farm is well watered and well timbered, and he has a thriving young orch- ard thereon.

SNYDER, DANIEL, pioneer farmer; P. 0. Mans- field; familiarly known as the "old pioneer;" was born in Washington Co., Penn., March 8, 1808; his father's name was Peter Snyder; his mother's maiden name was Drusilla Metcalf ; his father was of German and his mother of Scotch English descent ; his parents came to Richland Co. in the fall of 1815 ; his father bought the northeast quarter of Sec. 6, in Mifflin Town- ship, on which he settled with his family, consisting of his wife and four children, three sons and one daughter ; their farm was a dense forest, with the exception of a few acres that the timber had been chopped off; there was a small cabin thereon, built in the primitive style of those early days ; it was destitute of floor and without doors, windows or chimney ; an Indian trail ran near the cabin of the Snyders ; the children, among whom was Daniel, would run and hide when they saw an Indian approaching, having, no doubt, frequently heard thrilling stories of their cruelty to the whites ; if they happened to notice the trepidation of the children, one of their number would almost invariably say : "We no hurt ; we no hurt.' The Snyders were not in the least discouraged by the gloomy prospect before them ; both father and sons went to work in earnest to prepare their ground for cultivation ; from morning till night the sound of their axes was heard, and the mighty monarchs of the forest soon gave way before their

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