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Bronson Township, Huron County, Ohio
PictureTownship #3 in Range 22
Early Beginnings

The township was named after Isaac Bronson, one of the original property owners.On 18 Feb 1817, at a meeting of the commissioners of Huron County, the townships of Bronson and Norwalk were set off from the township of Huron. On 4 Mar 1822 the County commissioners ordered that Fairfield and Bronson be organized with township privileges, and that this new creation be named Bronson. The election of township officers was held at the house of Ezra Herrick on 1 Apr 1822. In the spring of 1823, Fairfield was detached from Bronson and organized as a separate township.

Early Settlers
​The first habitation was the log cabin of the squatter John Welch, built in the summer of 1815. The first family to settle in Bronson was Benjamin Newcomb and family who came from Lebanon, Connecticut, and who moved in during the winter of 1815-1816.

​
Some other early settlers, and the dates of their arrival in Bronson, were:
Martin Kellog 1816
Aaron Fay 1816
Eliphaz Bigelow 1816
Simon Amnurman 1816
David Clark 1816
Reuben Pixley 1817
Nathan Sutliff 1817
William W. Beckwith 1817
Major Eben Guthrie 1817
Jabez Deming 1817
Jonas Leonard 1817
David Cole 1817
Abijah Rundell 1817
Nathan Tanner 1817
Peter Seifert 1817
Robert S. Southgate c.1817
​
Thomas Hagaman 1818
Amos Deming 1818
Daniel W. Warren 1818
Nathan Keith c.1819
Ezra Herrick 1819
Henry Terry 1819
David Conger 1819
Prince Haskell c.1821
Edward L. Cole 1821
Lemon Cole 1821
Daniel Brightman 1823
Bethuel Cole 1823
Jonathon Hull 1823
Aro Danforth 1824
Joel Blick 1824
Some First Events
  • The first white child born in Bronson was Timothy T. Newcomb, son of Benjamin and Stata Newcomb, on 6 Jul 1816.
  • The first couple to be married was Lott Herrick and Lola Sutliff, on 16 Oct 1818.
  • The first death was that of Benjamin Newcomb, who was killed by the kick of a horse, 4 Jul 1816.
  • The first school was kept by Lola Sutliff, in the log barn of Martin Kellogg, in the summer of 1818. Her students were:
Eleanor Ammerman
Jane Ammerman
​John Ammerman
Lucy Ammerman
​Tina Ammerman
​Lucy Kellogg

Maudane Kellogg
​Polly Kellogg
​Rebecca Kellogg

​John Welch
Peggy Welch
  • The teacher received seventy-five cents a week; the wages paid by the parents in proportion to the number of children sent.
  • The first log house school was built in the fall of 1819 on the north part of Nathan Sutliff's farm. Martin Kellogg taught school there the next winter, and was the first male teacher in the township. He had about twenty students and was paid fifteen dollars per month.
  • The first post office was established in the center of the township c.1829. John Lyon was the first postmaster.
  • No grist mills were ever built in Bronson. In the early days of the township, the settlers obtained their grinding usually at the grist mill of David Mack, at Macksville in Peru Township , or sometimes at Carkhuff's mill in Greenfield Township. 
Early Population Indicators
  • In the 1827 Census of Bronson Township, there were 68 white males over the age of 21 listed as living there.
  • 1840 U.S. Census - 1,291
  • 1880 U. S. Census - 1,092

Cemetery Locations in Bronson Township
Picture
The numbers of the cemeteries below, correspond
​with the circled numbers on the map above.
  1. ​Brightman Cemetery (NW corner Section 4)
  2. Cole Farm Cemetery (NE 1/4 Section 3)
  3. East Bronson or Olena Cemetery (E 1/2 Section 1)
  4. Hester Cemetery (NW 1/4 Section 4)
  5. Hester Cemetery Burial Records (NW 1/4 Section 4)
  6. Hull Farm Cemetery (SW 1/4 Section 1)
  7. St. Alphonsus Cemetery (NW 1/4 Section 3)
  8. St. Alphonsus Cemetery (NW 1/4 Section 3)
  9. Missy Burial (Section 4)

Information compiled by Ken Shute.
Maps by Bob Kerner.
Transcribed from the old Huron County OHGenWeb site
© 2005-2014
​All Rights Reserved.
Picture

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