John Perrin, Junior's sons in Fairfield and Franklin County, Ohio

This section is long and convoluted, so here is an outline to aid in navigation. You can click on any section and subsection title to go to the area of interest.

The section traces the families of three of the sons of John Perrin, Jr., namely William, Joseph and John, as each of them moved to central Ohio. I will also try to dissect out two other Perrins from this time and place who I believe were grandsons of Edward Perrin. The information I have about all these families is sadly incomplete. Franklin County records before 1830 were largely destroyed by an 1877 courthouse fire. There is no census information for the region before 1830 as well. But I have learned enough from what remains to trace each family back to Bedford County and distinguish them from some of Edward Perrin's grandchildren. I should also take this opportunity to discuss a little about the families which migrated west with William and Joseph, namely the Spurgeons and Powells, respctively.

Background

Franklin County overview

Overview of Franklin County and adjacent Fairfield County, Ohio
dashed red line indicates the western border of Violet Township before 1852

Franklin County was formed after Ohio attained statehood in 1803. Much of the county's land was granted much earlier than then, either by the state of Virginia (west of the Scioto River) or by the new Federal government to Revolutionary War veterans or Canadian expatriates. An exception to this policy occurred in the south east quarter of the county and adjacent Fairfield County; this land first became available for settlement in 1798.

The first town in Franklin (then Ross) County was Franklinton in 1798, founded by Lucas Sullivant. The area was low land west of and within a curve of the Scioto River, so it was prone to flooding. Therefore in 1814 the higher land east of the Scioto was chosen for the purpose of the new state capital. The 1815 map below, by virtue of showing planned lots in Columbus, conveys an exaggerated size of that new city, but it correctly predicted that Columbus would someday drawf Franklinton.

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Franklinton, detail from the proposed plat of Columbus, November 1813

Franklinton, detail from the proposed plat of Columbus, November 1813, © Columbus Public Library

The county court house moved from Franklinton to Columbus in 1824. By then a bridge crossed the Scioto at Broad Street, becamong part of the National Road in 1826. I don't believe much growth had taken place in the town by 1856, the date of the next map shown below. As this plat map included outlines of dwellings on their respective lots, one can appreciate that many lots in Sullivant's plan do not have dwellings. A quarter of the original town plan had become Sullivants estate and the state fairgrounds. The first railroad through Franklinton was built in 1851; by 1900 the northern third of the original town was railroad track. Between industrial growth and repeated floods the region has struggled even to today.

Detail of Franklinton from 1856 Columbus Plat map

Detail of Franklinton from 1856 Columbus Plat map

The 1856 plat map shows the original lot numbers for Franklinton, which begin around the original center of town (Franklin and Washington Streets) and spiral outward. The Franklinton Cemetery, started in 1798, was north of Water Street on the west side of town.

William Perrin (son of John, Jr.) and the Spurgeons

William, son of John Perrin, Jr. had probably left Pennsylvania by 1800 as he did not appear in the 1800 census there. I believe he went west along with the Samuel Spurgeon family around 1800. As there is more detail known about their migration, I will present them first. For much of this discussion I am indebted to Tom Neel, who shared his Spurgeon research from the last twenty years with me.

Spurgeons in Maryland and Pennsylvania

The Spurgeon family has been the subject of serious research, such as Dr. Gary Dickey's Spurgeon Family History. Please look at and take advantage of this specific work, as unlike my writing, his reads well. I will not repeat his description of James Spurgeon, born in Stepney in 1698, died in Southampton Township, at the amazing age of 92. The analysis Dickey gives of this man and his children seems sound.

Much of the adult life of James Spurgeon, as well as brother William, overlapped with John Perrin, Sr. James and William are mentioned several times in 1730s frontier Maryland . They both signed the 1734 petition from the Marsh Creek area. William from then resided in Virginia, wuith James staying in Maryland, residing near the mouth of the Antietam Creek, as is shown on the 1737 map, and James signed the 1739 petition to form Frederick County, signing just below John Perins. Several sons of James served in either Joseph or Moses Chapline's militia in the Indian war, some probably in the company whose ensign was John Perrin, Sr.

Dickey shows that in 1761 James was taxed in Town Creek Hundred, Frederick County . In 1763 James Spurgeon patented land through Maryland that actually was located in present Southampton Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania ; its location on Town Creek near Black Valley Gap is shown elsewhere. (Here we have a clear example of an early settler to the region who fully believed he was still within Maryland; the same may have been true for John Perrin, Jr. when he settled in the region as well.)

James Spurgeon and three of his sons were listed in the Colerain Township tax lists from 1776 . At that point the relationship between John Perrin, Jr. and the Suprgeon family seems clear. John Perrin with James and (James' son) William Spurgeon were commissioned to survey a road in Bedford County in 1782. In 1784 John Perrin witnessed James Spargin's will in Southampton township. The will mentioned his sons Samuel, Ezekiel and John . The inventory of the estate, conducted in 1790, was also done by Perrin and Iams. The 1790 census for Colerain Township lists Zicael and Samuel Spurgeon; in 1800 there also is an Elias, married but under 25 years of age. At that point both Ezekiel and Samuel were over 45 years old. By extrapolating from the Indian War service from 1757 and 1758, I can conclude that Ezekiel was the youngest, born in 1742, and Samuel older but the next youngest son of James.

In Maryland, a son John Spurgeon may have lived briefly in Allegany County, Maryland. The survey for Carr's Vineyard, dated 1766, begins:

Beginning at two bounded white Oaks Standing on the West side of a Small hill on the East side of a Road that leads from John Spurgeons to flint Stone Creek about four hundred yards above the main Spring and Running thence

John Spurgeon did not patent any land in this part of Allegany County, and was not assessed for any property in 1783. Later deeds show that Jesse Spurgeon bought and sold land in Fifteen Mile Creek between 1796 and 1800 . In the 1800 census there is only a single Spurgeon, also named Elias, recorded in Murley's Branch. In any case there are no Spurgeons in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, nor adjacent Maryland, in the 1810 census.

Spurgeons in Fairfield County, Ohio

The first mention of the Spurgeons in Fairfield County comes from the biographical history of the county :

...while the following year, 1799, several settlements were made in the county, mostly in what is now Greenfield Township -- one at the forks of Hockhocking, another at Yankeetown, Rushcreek, Raccoon and Indian Creeks, Pleasant Run, Fetters Run, Tobeytown, and Muddy Prairie. We learn from General Sanderson's pamphlet, in this year too, Levi Moore, Abraham Bright, Major Bright Ishmael Due, and Jesse Spurgeon migrated from Allegany County Md., partly overland with horses and part coming down the Ohio from Pittsburg, and in canoes from the mouth of the Hocking to Rushcreek. These settlements and each a score or more families, were thrifty in their simplicity, and helpful to one another in both the peaceful and troubled times known to all the early settlers.

Jesse's move to Ohio is confirmed by the deeds noted above; while Jesse was recorded in 1799 as a resident of Allegany County, Maryland, the later October, 1800 record stated he was from Ross County, Northwest Territory . Jesse and his brother Elijah, along with Bright and Due, were associated with an early Methodist class . They both signed a petition sent to Congress in 1801 . And both brothers became preachers, as described by a unique letter saved in a genealogy of the Spurgeons of Essex, England :

Dear Sir,

I thought I would sit down and address you a letter telling you that there are a family of Spurgeons in this part of God's earth, and they are some of them, or were (as they have gone to their reward), ministers. My grandfather, Elijah Spurgeon, was a Methodist minister, and his brother, Jesse Spurgeon, was a Methodist minister. Our branch of the Spurgeon family are all Methodists, except one of my brothers, William Spurgeon, who was a Baptist. I believe that is your Church. In looking over my father's diary I find this item: 'My great grandfather James Spurgeon come from England about the years 1704 to 10, and was from near London.' My father had three brothers, Jesse Spurgeon, Nimrod, and Asa. My father's name was Moses R. Spurgeon. There were eight of us in my father's house; three died in infancy, two in manhood's prime, and four are left -- my brother, James Spurgeon; my sister, Mrs. Anne Lawson; brother, Rufus Spurgeon; and myself, Eliza Spurgeon Hoys. Would be glad if you will write and say that you received my letter. If you write me address

  Eliza S. Hoys

While Jesse stayed in the eastern portion of the county, patenting land in Hocking Township near Lancaster in 1806 , brother Elijah moved to Bloom Township, where he is listed on marriage records as a justice of the peace beginning in 1808 . He may have lived on land patented by Samuel Spurgeon in 1806 . Samuel is most likely one of James Spurgeon's sons, who had sold his Bedford County, Pennsylvania property in 1802 .

A final Spurgeon, Elias, first is first mentioned in Ohio in 1803 . He patented land with Levi Moore in Bloom Township in 1804 , then settling a little further north in 1812, in Violet Township (founded from Bloom in 1816) .

It seems clear that Jesse, Elijah and Elias were all sons of Samuel. Elijah Spurgeon (March 10, 1774 - September 04, 1858) was buried in Greenlawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio, where the record states he was the son of Samuel . It is likely then that Elias was Samuel's son as well, as Jesse's will includes him along with Samuel, Jr. and Elijah Spurgeon .

Historical Record

William Perrin patented land in Ohio in 1805 . This land was originally in Bloom Township, later Violet Township, Fairfield County. Section 7, along with 4 other township sections, became part of Madison Township, Franklin County, between 1850 and 1855. The location of this land, along with the Spurgeon tracts, is shown on the map at the beginning of this section.

William first married his neighbor Rachel Patterson in 1809 ; it was officiated by George Tong. She died in 1836, age 60, according to her grave stone .

Martha Perrin stone

Martha Perrin stone, Vandermark Cemetery

By the 1840 census William had remarried. Martha, wife of William, died in 1845, age 49. She is buried several miles west in Madison Township in the Hendren Graveyard .

Martha's gravestone

Gravestone of Martha Perrin

William and his first wife were buried in Vandermark Cemetery, also located in Section number 7, Madison Township. In 1902 the Madison Township history stated that William's grave stone read "Died 1855, 76 years" . Since William said in the 1850 census that he was 73 years old, and his will was proved in 1854, I wonder if the stone actually read "1853".

I have not identified for certain any children for William. As will become clear shortly, any children living with his household in the 1820 and 1830 censuses may in fact have been Joseph Perrin's children. Still, as many as three sons and one daughter in these and the 1840 census could be William's. In the 1850 census William Perrin stated he was born in Pennsylvania, age 73. Next door in 1860 was George Perrin, his wife Barbara, and three young children. Also with them was Ruth Sorden, 60 years old and born in Kentucky; I believe she would be the mother-in-law. His will did not mention any children, only land in Perrysburg, Wood County, which he gave to Amelia Perrin, wife of Jonathan . William Perrin had patented 40 acres of land in Perrysburg, Wood County in 1837.

William Perrin the Younger

In the 1850 census William Perrin's household included a William Perrin age 34, his wife Mary Ann age 26 and children. This William was not William's son, as an 1897 biographical history from Wood County explained :

Mr. Perrin, who during life was on of the most prominent farmers of Center township, was born in Madison township, Franklin Co., Ohio, January 1, 1816. His father, Joseph Perrin, was born and reared in Pennsylvania, where he wedded Mary Fletcher, and from there in 1812, rode to Franklin county, Ohio, on horseback. They were the parents of the following children: Barbara, Jacob, Jonathan, John, Susan, Mary and William, all of whom have passed away, except Susan, and the father and mother bodied in Franklin county; the former was drowned.

Our subject was but eight months old when his father died, and he was adopted by his uncle, William Perrin, who gave him good educational advantages. On his farm William grew to manhood, aiding in its cultivation, and caring for his uncle during his declining years. For several years after the latter's death he still continued the operation of that farm. On November 14, 1839, he was united in marriage with Mary A. Brekenridge, and to them were born five daughters: Margaret J. born October 28, 1840; Eliza J., born May 16, 1847, now the wife of A. B. Ebright, of Columbus, Ohio; Susan, born July 29, 1850, now the wife of P. H. Stevenson; Theresa A., born July 31, 1853, now the widow of William Wade; and Mary A., born December 1, 1856. The mother of this family died May 29, 1858, and for his second wife Mr. Perrin chose Miss Rhoda M. Needels, who was born April 28, 1833, a daughter of James Needels, a farmer of Madison township, Franklin Co., Ohio. By this marriage there were six children, namely: William, born September 3, 1860, and died in 1861; Sarah W., born October 13, 1863, now the wife of John Ralston, by whom she has a son, LeRoy, born in 1892; Frank F., born February 8, 1865, a farmer of New Mexico; Azro S., born September 15, 1868, and married Le Elda Tuller, by whom he has one child, Ray T.; Jonathan A., an oil operator, born February 13, 1871, and married to Mary English; and Minnie R., born April 21, 1874.

In 1866, Mr. Perrin disposed of his property in Franklin county, and removed with his family to Center township, Wood county, where he purchased 320 acres of partially improved land, which he ditched, tiled and fenced, making it one of the most valuable tracts in the township...

So we see that William, [Jr.] is a misnomer; he was the nephew of William, not his son. His first marriage, to the Mary Ann as seen in the 1850 census above, was recorded in Franklin County as between William M. Perrins and Mary Ann Breckenridge in 1839 . William and Mary Ann were mentioned together in a number of deeds between 1839 and 1857  in Madison and Jackson Township; William had purchased land from William Breckinridge in the latter township in 1844 . The 1840 census shows William Parrin in Jackson Township, with a wife and no children.

In the Vandamere Cemetery there is also a stone for Mary Ann:

Mary ANn Perrin stone

Mary Ann Perrin grave stone, Vandermark Graveyard, Madison Township
© Jodie Robinson 2011

The Madison Township history stated that Mary Ann died 1848, age 34 years . I read the date of death from the above photograph as 1858; this agrees with the 1850 census and the biographical history above. The second marriage for William to Rhoda Needles in August, 1859  is also recorded by Franklin County. William was not recorded in Franklin County after the 1860 census.

Commentary

The evidence that William Perrin of Madison Township, Franklin County is from Southampton Township, Bedford County is fairly compelling. It is strengthened by other remarks made later about Joseph Perrin's children. The Spurgeon's migration, with the appearance of their neighbor William Perrin in Ohio at the same time, by itself makes me comfortable with assigning William to John Perrin's family.

The information from Ms. Nycum back in Bedford County stated that William, son of John Perrin, Jr., married Rhoda Needles, and that she was his second wife . However, Rhoda Needles was the second wife of William Perrin's nephew William. The fact that Ms. Nycum had this information at all implies a historical connection with the Perrins in Ohio until at least around 1860; that I will confirm below. But first I would like to set the stage for Joseph's migration west.

Joseph Perrin (son of John, Jr.) and the Powells

The above biographical history given by William Perrin the younger stated that his father Joseph Perrin moved to Ohio in 1812. Since Joseph signed a warrant application in Bedford County in April, 1814 , I do not believe he had moved by then. It seems more likely his family moved along with Archibald Powell. Records from the Powell family support 1815 as the year for such a move. Here I will provide some information about the Powells; a more formal genealogy for the family;can be found in a different section.

Powells in Pennsylvania and Ohio

The migration of the family of Archibald Powell to Ohio from Bedford County, Pennsylvania is well described in several later biographical histories. First, there is his son Joseph B. Powell:

Joseph Powell was born and married to a daughter of Archibald McCoy, in the State of Maryland, removing thence to Bedford county, Pennsylvania, in 1794, where he remained until his death. The children born to this couple were: Mary, born August 3, 1781; George, born February 19, 1783; Archibald, born December 1, 1784; Joseph, born December 7, 1786; Sarah, born February 2, 1789; Elizabeth, born March 10, 1791; Thomas, born February 2, 1793; Mary (second), born November 17, 1798; Rachel, born December 27, 1799; John, born September 3, 1801; Jonathan, born March 23, 1803; William, born July 1, 1805; Robert, born September 15, 1807; Susannah, born March 5, 1809; Nancy, born November 6, 1810; and David, born January 6, 1813. ??Archibald Powell, the third child in this family, married Elizabeth Adams, in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, January 29, 1808, and in 1815, accompanied by his family, removed to Ohio, and settled in Truro township, Franklin county. The year after their arrival they built a cabin on the farm now owned by J. B. Powell. Their children were: William, born August 5, 1809; Mary, born December 5, 1810; Jacob, born June 2, 1813; George, born January 25, 1815; Malinda A., and Rachel M. (twins), born December 7, 1818; Joseph B., born March 27, 1822; Elizabeth J., born October 30, 1824; and Clarissa A., born November 19, 1828. Before her death she had one hundred and sixty-three descendants, as follows: Nine children, sixty-eight grand children, and eighty-six great-grandchildren. ??Joseph B. Powell, son of Archibald and Elizabeth Powell, was married to Lucinda T. French, August 12, 1863. She was born April 3, 1842. To them were born three children: Clement M., born June 3, 1864; William A., born September 21, 1866; and Andrew J., born May 12, 1869. Mrs. Powell died October 6, 1870, and on the twenty-fifth of January, 1876 he was again married to, Mary S. Fancher, who was born September, 26, 1852. They have one child; Gerda M., born May 7, 1878. Mr. Powell has passed his life on the home farm, with the exception of two years and three months spent in the gold mines of California, during the years 1850, 1851, and 1852. He was able to bring home a quantity of gold from the mines, but has found a more profitable and pleasant business and home on his farm, where he has since remained.

Joseph B. Powell and Lucinda T. (French) Powell, 1880

Then, from Iowa, is the history  and obituary  of Joseph's older brother George Washington Powell:

POWELL, GEO. W., farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 31; P.O. Clay's Grove; son of Archibald Powell, who was born in Loudoun Co., Va., December, 1784, and soon after reaching his 21st year, he removed to Bedford Co., Penn., where he married Miss Elizabeth Adams, who was born in Bedford Co., Penn., June 23, 1792; they afterward settled in Franklin Co., Ohio, where they died and left a family of six children-four sons and two daughters; George was the fourth; born in Bedford Co., Penn., Jan. 25, 1815, and at the age of 23, he married Nancy, daughter of Elihu and Mary McCracken, of that county, Ohio, from that State of Delaware; she was born in Franklin Co., Ohio, March 22, 1818;

Death and Funeral of George W Powell of La Crew - His last words

Mt Hamill, Lee County Iowa, May 7. ?It is with regret that we chronicle the death of a well beloved and worthy citizen, Mr. George W Powell, of La Crew, who died May 5, 1883 at half past one o'clock without a gasp or struggle, as quietly as if falling asleep. The deceased was born January 25th, 1815 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. At the age of about nine months his parents moved to Franklin County, Ohio where he lived until 1865. At this time he moved to the place where he resided at the time of his death. He was married to Nancy McCracken, September 17th, 1837 who survives him.

Reportedly both a George Powell and Charles Chaney came to Truro Township, Franklin County, Ohio as early as 1805 . These two may also have been from Bedford County, given that Archibald Powell had an older brother George. I do not know any more of the early history of these two Powells in Ohio; the land grants are not easy to follow in Truro Township, as pretty much all the land was sold to refugees from the Revolutionary War before 1800, and the Powell settlement therefore would have involved buying land from the original tract holder. So any deed records involving the Powell family before 1825 were destroyed by the 1877 courthouse fire in Franklin County. But in any case the Powells occupied the southern half of section 25 of Truro Township in the 1883 maps; this land included the area now known as the town of Brice. The cemetery at the Methodist Church is named the Powell Cemetery, and it includes the gravestone of Archibald Powell, died 1868 at the age of 83 .

Historical Record

We knew in the 1810 Southampton Township, Bedford County census that Joseph Perrin was married and had four sons, as well as a daughter who was also in the 1800 census. He was said to have married Mary Fletcher . Joseph patented land in Bedford County in 1814  and had physically signed the warrant in April, 1814, indicating he was in Pennsylvania at that time.

Joseph and his family had moved to Ohio by January, 1816, according to son William's biography. The first and only government entry concerning Joseph Perrin in Fairfield County involved his death in 1817, with his wife Mary Ann declared executrix of the estate . This document was witnessed by William Perrin and George Tong, Justice of the Peace. Mary Ann Perrin is listed in the 1820 census in Violet Township, Fairfield County, next door to William Perrin. She was less than 45 years old, and there were two male children. On the basis of the biography of Joseph's son William, I must assume that her daughters and younger sons were living with others, including but not limited to William.

Mary Ann Perrin died in 1823, then living in Truro Township, Franklin County, and also intestate. Son Jonathan Perrin was administrator; one of the appraisers was George Powell .

Children

Subsequent deed records in Truro Township show that there were nine children , corresponding to the siblings listed above for son William in his biography. They had inherited "about seventy acres of land in the North End of the East half of Section number twenty-six" in Truro Township which had been mortgaged to their mother. This land was probably adjacent to the Powell land in section 25 of Truro Township. Fortunately for us seven of the children subsequently sold their share of the land to John McCracken, who had married Elizabeth Perrin:

Elizabeth

Elizabeth married John McCracken in 1827 . His biographical history stated that she was born in Pennsylvania in 1799, and died in 1837, leaving three children .

Jacob

Jacob M. Perrin deeded Truro Township land to John McCracken on June 23, 1836, when he stated he lived in Franklin County ; no other information is available concerning him. However, in the 1850 census, Monroe County, Alabama, there is a carpenter named Jacob W. Perrin, born 1804 in Pennsylvania.

Jonathan

Jonathan must have been 18 years of age to have been the administrator of his mother's estate in 1823. He sold his share of her land to John McCracken on January 22, 1836, when he stated he lived in Wood County . His obituary tells us his history quite nicely

Mr. Perrin was born in Pennsylvania, but most of his boyhood years were spent in Franklin county, this State. When a young man he went to Fremont, where he remained a short time, and in 1828 located in Perrysburg, where he followed the occupation of contractor and builder. Most of the better class of old frame residenes in the village were constructed by him. In 1830, he married Mis Amelia Wilkinson, who survives him.

Jonathan married Amelia Wilkinson April 29, 1830 in Wood County . Amelia was the daughter of one of the true pioneers of the lower Maumee River, her later biography had this to say about her husband:

The subject of this sketch was married Aril 28, 1830, to Jonathan Perrin, who was born in Bedford, Penn in 1804. He was a house-builder and contractor in Perrysburg, and a leading citizen of that place. He died May 18, 1876.

And an additional obituary clinches all of these relationships, by saying :

Capt. Jonathan Perrin who name heads this notice, came on to the Maumee some time previous to the year 1830, where he has ever since resided and shared in the hardships and trials, incident to the life of the early settler of the Maumee and Black Swamp.

Deceased was a brother of Wm. Perrin, east of this place...

Jonathan patented 320 acres of land in Perrysburg Township, Wood County in 1837 . His birth from the census would have been 1804-6.

John

By reason of the ordering of Joseph Perrin's children's names in later deeds, John's date of birth should be between 1804 and 1807. Only John did not sell a share of land to John McCracken, by deed or marriage. I will discuss below a John Perrin who lived in Franklinton, but some key information regarding him (e.g., his date of birth in the census) is wrong for this John to be part of Joseph Perrin's family. Similarly this John's demographics do not fit well with the John, son of John Perrin, III mentioned below.

Barbara

There is a deed, dated July 1, 1839, from

Hezekiah Barkman and Barbary his wife (late Barbary Perrin, daughter and heir at law of Mary Ann Perrin), of the county of Bedford and state of Pennsylvania

which gave William Perrin of Franklin County her share of the Truro Township property . In the 1850 census, Hezekiah and Barbara lived in Southampton Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, in the same neighborhood as Philip Redinger, and John and Eli Perrin; she gave her birth year as 1807. The fact that Barbara could move back to Bedford County strengthens the notion that Perrin and Powell relatives stayed in touch between Ohio and Pennsylvania in the mid-nineteenth century. I believe Barbara would be the source of Ms. Nycum's information about William Perrin's marriage.

Daniel

Daniel deeded his Truro Township land to John McCracken on November 9, 1831 . He is probably the Daniel Perrin who moved to Osceola, Missouri in 1835; a later biography states that he moved there from Ohio, and in the 1860 census he stated he was born in Pennsylvania, 1811.

Susan

Susan, as Susannah of Fairfield County. deeded her Truro Township land to John McCracken on March 20, 1834. Subsequently she married Thomas Cherry (who I reckon was her second cousin once removed, on the basis of the Cherry genealogy which has been given to me ) in Franklin County, 1836 . Her obituary (from Kahoka, Clark County, Missouri, February 4, 1902) stated her birth as 1813 in Fayette County, Pennsylvania .

Mary

Mary M. Perrin of Wood County deeded her Truro Township land to John McCracken on Nov 16, 1835 . Mary Langell, sister of John and William Perrin, died in Wood County in January, 1888 .

William

William's history has already been presented above, so I will only add some other historical data. William Perrin of Franklin County deeded his Truro Township land to John McCracken in 1837 . Later, in 1839, William and wife Mary A. deeded another portion of the Truro Township land to McCracken; this was probably the portion deeded to him by Barbara Perrin earlier .

John and Elizabeth McCracken sold this 75 acres to Jacob Powell in 1841 .

Comment

Both William and the Joseph Perrin family moved to Ohio in conjunction with others from Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Joseph seemed well established there in 1814, having just surveyed land near his family. The fact that he would leave one year later may be related to his father's death, which I reckon was in late 1814. The support given to Joseph's family by brother William, and most likely by the Powells, may be analogous to the relationship between John Perrin and the Chenoweths below.

There are other relationships between these families to mention. It is of interest to see that the McCracken family had settled in Violet Township, Fairfield, as of the 1820 census. Finally, in 1851 Thomas Cherry, John McCracken, George W. Powell (who had married Nancy McCracken) and his brother Jacob Powell moved west together to Lee County, Iowa.

John Perrin, III (son of John, Jr.) in Franklin County, Ohio

Documentation directly showing that the John Perrin of Franklin County was the son of John Perrin, Jr. in Bedford County does not exist. However there is a body of consistent evidence for his family moving to Ohio between 1800 and 1810.

Historical Record

When we left John in Allegany County, Maryland in 1800, he had married Mary Newsom; the census said they had two sons and one daughter and that John and Mary were born between 1755 and 1775. There was no further mention of this family in Maryland.

The first Ohio report that I would attribute to John (III) was from Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1806. John Perrin appeared on the tax rolls in Pleasant Township . Also present on that tax list was Francis Twig, who the experts say was probably the son of Robert Twigg, Jr. of Murley Branch , as well as a Moses and Aaron Powell. Pleasant Township at that time included present day Walnut Township as well.

Subsequently a John Perrin claimed land in western Franklin County in 1810 . The entry (which is more like a form letter) signed by John stated that

I do certify that I claim 100 acres of 2d Rate Land lying in Franklin County Part of       acres Entered for   Holman Minis   being No. of Entry   1425   Virginia military Land Grant under my had this 20th day of August 1810

The Virginia Military lands in Franklin County were to the west of the Scioto River. There the townships were divided in a traditional Virginia model, and it is only because of some serious research that land locations are known at all. Tract 1425 was one thousand acres in size, given to Captain Holman Minnis in 1798 in the Scioto watershed, Franklin and Prairie Townships; its location is drawn on the first map in this section. Poly Perrin, later in the 1826 tax assessment, was in district two of Franklin Township. As its southern boundary of that district was the road to Springfield, I suspect their one hundred acres was as marked on the map above. John Perrin probably paid taxes on this land in 1814 .

John Perrin died in Franklin County in 1816, with his wife (who is named either Polly or Mary in the probate records) administrating his estate, valued at $900 . She bought land in Brown Township in 1820 , selling 50 acres of it in 1829 and perhaps the rest (deed not available ) in 1832 . She was listed in the tax assessment in Franklin Township, Franklin County, in 1826 . Her death probably occurred in 1833 and she was buried in Franklinton Cemetery. While very few stones remain in the cemetery now, it was well described in a newspaper article in 1886 :

A writer in the Sunday Herald of May 2, 1886 described a tract of about three acres [in Franklinton], at that time very indifferently enclosed and in a distressing state of neglect. Cattle were roaming among the graves... Of the tombs and epitaphs which attracted the attention of the Herald writer he gave the following account:

...Next we come to one that is suggestive: Polly Sandusky, died 1825. As the name of Sandusky was strictly an Indian name who was she? Can anyone tell? Next south, and immediately joining, is Polly Perrin, born october 20, 1760; died October 18, 1833, aged 72 years, eleven months and 2 days. Then John Perrin (probably the husband of Polly) born March 19, 1762; died October 8, 1816.

Here is a literal copy of the inscription on a tombstone: :"In memory of William, son of Jonathan B. perrin and Amanda, his wife, was born Sept. 9, 1821 and died Sept. 10, 1833"...

infant William Perrin gravestone

Remains of William Perrin gravestone, Franklinton Cemetery
© Gary Royer 2008

The Franklinton Cemetery is labelled on the 1856 map of Franklinton above. These grave stones suggest a family unit. The small discrepancy in dates for John Perrin (his probate records were dated February, 1816) suggest to me his stone was a later addition. Indeed, the death of both his daughter and his mother in a single month might have motivated Jonathan B. Perrin to comission all four stones at the same time. But before discussing him and John and Polly's other possible children, let me describe the Chenoweths, as there are a number of connections between them and John Perrin's family.

Thomas and Elijah Chenoweth

The Chenoweth family is quite well described . According to family accounts, Thomas Chenoweth, Sr. had lived in Frederick County, Virginia, later moving to the Oldtown region in Maryland. There two sons of Thomas Chenoweth, Thomas, Jr. and Elijah, married sisters Cassandra and Rachel Foster. The Foster family probably lived in Murley Branch as of 1783 . Both Chenoweth and Foster families moved to Kentucky by 1790 and thence to Ohio. Thomas, Jr. and Elijah came to Franklin County around 1799. Their land was on the Big Darby Creek in Pleasant Township, in the extreme southwest corner of the county.

Children of John Perrin

Mary Sandusky

The marriage of Mary Perrin to Samuel Sandusky occurred in 1817 . It is reasonable that she would be the same person as the Polly Sandusky who died in 1825 and was buried in the Franklinton Cemetery with the Perrins.

Jonathan B.

As mentioned just above, Jonathan B. Perrin is tightly tied to John and Polly Perrin through the Franklinton Cemetery. His history makes tying the family together much more credible.

The first reference to Jonathan B. Perrin is Elijah Chenoweth's will in 1825 where he was a witness; he also proved the will in 1827 .

Jonathan then married Amanda Campbell, January 5, 1830 in Carthage, Campbell County, Kentucky . This marriage seems certain as Amanda Perrin's burial record in Greenlawn Cemetery, Columbus stated her father was John Campbell .

Amanda and Jonathan had moved back to Ohio by 1832, when J. B. Perrin was assessed for taxes in 1832 in Franklin Township, and in 1842 in the town of Franklinton . Jonathan B. was in the 1840 and 1850 census in Franklinton, where he reported his occupation as blacksmith.

Jonathan B. was involved with several land sales in Franklinton:

Year Grantor (Seller) Grantee (Buyer) Property Description Ref.
1844 Jos. M. Sullvant Jon. B. Perrin Lot 7, Franklinton, "it being the same lot that Perrin has been occupying for several years"
1848 Wm. H. and M. A. Howe Jon. B. Perrin Lot 94, Franklinton
1849 John Pugh Jonathan B. Perrin Lot 8, Franklinton

The locations of these lots is shown below. It would appear that Jonathan's business was on lot 7, probably leased from the Sullivants since 1830. Whether he moved to lot 94 later I cannot say. The purchase of lot 8 in 1849 was from the auditor, so I imagine he merely bought the adjacent lot because it was a good deal.

In 1850 Jonathan stated his birth was in Pennsylvania. The 1840 census stated Jonathan was born between 1790 and 1800, while the 1850 census he said he was born in 1809. He had died by 1858, according to deeds referring to his estate.

Jonathan B. interacted with members of other Perrin families. He witnessed a deed for William and Nancy Perrin in Franklinton in 1839 and provided security for a loan for Thomas Cherry, Susan Perrin's husband in 1842 . Because his life is so well documented I can consider the persons discussed below as his siblings.

Rachel Chenoweth

Rachel married Thomas Chenoweth, III, on January 27, 1825 in Franklin County . Thomas was the son of Thomas Chenoweth, Jr. and the nephew of Elijah Chenoweth. Chenoweth family records indicate Rachel was born January 18, 1806, and that she and Thomas moved to Vermillion County, Indiana in 1827. She named her first two children "Polly" and "John". . In the 1850 census in Vermillion County, Indiana, she gave her birthplace as Ohio. She is buried with her husband at Lowe/Hicks Cemetery of that county, having died in 1866 .

Ruth Chenoweth

A Ruth Perrin is said to have married Richard Thomas Chenoweth, another son of Thomas Chenoweth, Jr., but I have no further information about this couple.

John

The status of John Perrin in this family is less certain but quite consistent with the available information.

John Perrin married Sally Campbell in 1825 in Campbell County, Kentucky . The 1850 census for Vermillion County, Indiana listed a John Perrin, blacksmith, born in Pennsylvania in 1799. His wife was Sarah. Their children included

Amanda born in Kentucky, 1826
Cyrus born in Ohio, 1831
William born in Ohio, 1834
Susan born in Ohio, 1835
Lulathia born in Ohio, 1838
Martha born in Indiana, 1844

It is intriguing to see this John as a brother of Jonathan B. Both went to Campbell County, perhaps to learn the blacksmith trade, and married women named Campbell. John and Sarah named their first daughter Amanda, the name of Jonathan B. Perrin's wife. As there were no Perrin families in the census in Campbell County between 1800 and 1840, I can not reckon that the Campbell marriages were to Kentucky Perrins.

I believe that this John Perrin lived during the 1830s in Franklin Township. His household in the 1830 census was labelled Jonathan, and included a woman 60 to 70 years of age, probably Polly Perrin. He also paid taxes in 1832 as Jonathan, for 1 horse and 2 cattle . The 1840 census showed he was already in Indiana.

It is still possible that this John Perrin was the son of Joseph Perrin mentioned above. The relationship between him and the Chenoweth's as well as the apprenticeship in Kentucky for blacksmithing makes this less likely. The fact that this John was born in 1799 also does not dovetail with my estimated birth date for Joseph's son John. Still, I cannot rule out such a possibility.

Jeffrey

Jeffrey. Jeffrey Perrin died intestate in 1817 . His estate record stated he resided in Pleasant Township. If Jeffrey was part of the John Perrin family, then they had probably moved to that township after John's death. Furthermore, since Jeffrey was not a minor, he must have been born before 1800.

James

Guardianship for James Perrin, minor, was awarded to John R. Parish in 1820 . The original record did not indicate a township name, or even the name of James' parents. However, the choice of John R. Parrish as James' guardian is helpful. While Parish was an attorney in Columbus, and State Representative in 1820 , his family lived on Big Darby Creek, judging from early deeds involving John's grandfather Rueben . An Ira Parrish married Rachel Chenoweth, daughter of Thomas Chenoweth, Jr., in 1814 .

The Chenoweth family reported that James Perrin was the second husband for Cassandra Chenoweth, another child of Thomas Chenoweth, Jr. James was buried in Vermillion County, Indiana with the Chenoweths; his grave stone said that he was born in 1808 .

Commentary

In summary, there is good evidence for a Perrin family which descends from the John Perrin buried in Franklinton. Two sons, Jeffrey and John, and a daughter, Polly, were likely born before 1800, agreeing with the 1800 census in Allegany County, Maryland. Rachel was born in 1806 in Ohio, arguing that this family had moved west by then.

More research regarding the Perrins in Vermillion County, Indiana is needed. Other members of this family may have resided there, such as Elizabeth R. Perrin, who married Seth James Harvey in 1835.

Joseph Perrin (son of Edward) and sons in Franklinton

Rocky Raccoon checked into his room
Only to find Gideon's bible
Rocky had come equipped with a gun
To shoot off the legs of his rival
His rival it seems had broken his dreams
By stealing the girl of his fancy.
Her name was Magil and she called herself Lil
But everyone knew her as Nancy.
Lennon and McCartney, 1968

In an earlier section I wrote about Joseph, son of Edward Perrin, who probably married Rachel Whitaker and moved west, first to Fairfield County, Ohio and then "further west". With whis section I intend to provide enough evidence to place him next in Franklin County. To do this I must rely on the information I have regarding two later Perrins in Franklinton and Prairie Township along with their descendants.

Joseph Perrin and the Hoppers

The Joseph Perrin of interest surfaced in Franklin County, Ohio around 1810 . He applied for 100 acres of "second rate land", which was granted in section 2, township 1, range 19. This land in present day Perry Township is shown on the map of Franklin County above. Joseph paid taxes on this land in 1814 .

The deed indexes in Franklin County further show that Joseph Perrin bought property in a Sheriff's sale in Brown Township (also in the western portion of the county) in 1809  and bought and sold property to Armaziah Hutchinson in 1815-6 . Unfortunately an 1877 court house fire destroyed the deeds themselves. However, later land sales by Armaziah Hutchinson were in Perry Township. No further records exist for Joseph in Franklin County.

Located nearby to Joseph would have been Alexander Hopper and his family; they had come from Virginia and settled in Ohio sometime around 1806 , probably on the Scioto at Slate Creek, in present day Perry Township three miles north of Franklinton . One grown and married son, Edward, moved first into Franklinton town and then removed to Prairie Township in 1807 . The probate records show Alexander Hooper (most likely the son of the patriarch) died by 1817, Edward by 1820 and Robert in 1814 , implying that there were two if not three brothers whose children could have been the proper age to marry Perrin boys.

William

William Perrin married Betsy Hopper in Franklin County in 1817 ; the officiator was the same person who married Polly Perrin to Samuel Sandusky that year. William paid taxes in Franklin County in Franklin Township in 1826 ; he resided in district three of the township, which was south of the road to Springfield and in its eastern portion . Thus his land was distinctly different from the John Perrin land mentioned above.

In the 1830 census, William lived in Franklinton; he and his wife stated they were between 30 and 40 years of age with two children, a son and a daughter. William Perrin was Treasurer of the second school district of Franklin Township (land north of the Newark Springfield road) in 1835 .

There are four early land records that probably involve this William Perrin:

Year Grantor (Seller) Grantee (Buyer) Property Description Ref.
1829 R Culbertson (Auditor) William Perrin E ½ lot 125, Franklinton; auditor's sale (for delinquent taxes) December 1829, finalized 1834 and recorded 1839
1833 Foster Downing William Perrin Franklin TWP. Index entry only (deed lost in fire); see the 1845 deed below.
1839 William & Nancy Perrin John Leshite E ½ lot 125 Franklinton. Witnessed by Jonathan B. Perrin
1845 William & Nancy Perrin Jas. Walcott Franklin TWP, 40 acres, "being the same property conveyed to said Perrin by said John Fortin and Simon Downing in 1833, by deed on record"
Detail of Franklinton plat map

Detail of Franklinton plat map. Properties bought or sold by Jonathan B. (pink)
John (blue) or William (green) Perrin
To see the full plat map click here

In these and later records I must propose that Elizabeth Hooper went by the name of Nancy. William and Nancy had sold all of their properties by 1845, and William Perrin was not in the 1840 Franklinton census.

The 1850 census for Union Township, Logan County shows a William Perrian, miller, born 1796 in Pennsylvania along with Nancy Perrian, born 1798 in Virginia. That this couple is the same as the William and Nancy in Franklinton can be shown from records in Clark County, Ohio. A descendant of Betsy ended up there and provided information for a historical biography: his ancestor's name was William Henry Perrin, born July 29, 1830, the "son of Mr. & Elizabeth (Hopper) Perrin". Other records show that a William Perrin married Rebecca J. Black in Logan County on March 13, 1853 . That this was William H. Perrin is made clear by the death certificate for his son William F. Periin, born in Loganville, Logan County, Ohio on June 23, 1854 and dying 90 years later in 1944.

John

The Franklin County marriage book included a union between John Perrin and Sarah Hopper in 1827 .

Land Records

There are nine deeds from Franklin or Prairie Township before 1860 that include a John Perrin, as listed below.

Year Grantor (Seller) Grantee (Buyer) Property Description Ref.
1825 John Baker John Perrin N ½ lot 51 Franklinton
1830 Joseph & Margaret Breckenridge John Perrin Lot 123, Franklinton
1837 Thos J. Graham John Perrin Lot 13, Town of Alton, Prairie TWP
1844 John & Sarah Perrin Fredr. Mull Lot 171, Franklinton
1846 Jacob Grubb John Perrin Lot 145, Franklinton
1850 John Perrin Nancy H. Perrin Lot 145, Franklinton
1854 John Perrin Ephrain Bennett Lots 11 & 13, Town of Alton, Prarie TWP
1859 John & William Perrin Godfrey Romoser N ½ lot 51, Franklinton
1860 William Perrin John & N. H. Perrin parts of lots 49 & 50, Franklinton, "to John Perrin so long as he lives, and after his death then unto Nancy H. Perrin"

The first record, Perrin's purchase of the north half of lot 51, was in 1825 ; this deed book is incomplete due to the 1877 courthouse fire in Columbus. Since John with William Perrin sold this lot in 1859 I can assume that most of these deeds refer to the same person. The purchase of lot 13 in the town of Alton, Prarie Township in 1837 and its sale in 1854  is of interest. Alton, in Prarie Township, was the home of several persons named Hopper by 1840 . While John and Sarah his wife sold lot 171 in Franklinton  there was no record of its purchase. This may be the result of the previously noted courthouse fire.

Of interest to general Franklinton history is the purchase by John Perrin of lot 123 . This lot is the site of the Harrison House, one of very few nineteenth century dwellings still intact in old Franklinton. Its history states that it was purchased in 1832 by Jacob Overdier; the deed indices do not suggest that John Perrin was the seller. I must assume that Perrin sold the property to another party before then, and that deed is lost.

John Perrin appeared in the 1832 and 1842 tax assessments of Franklin Township as a person distinct from Jonathan B .

Census

John Perrin was not in the 1830 census. The Franklinton census in 1840 showed a John Paren, married and with one daughter age 10 to 15 years. John was employed in agriculture. The 1850 census included John, born in Pennsylvania around 1792 with wife Sarah, also born in Pennsylvania around 1800. The household also included a William, born 1807 in Ohio, and Nancy H., age 19. As Sarah was not included in any deeds from 1850 on, I believe she died soon after the 1850 census.

.

Nancy H.

I would like to speculate that Nancy's middle name was Hopper. She participated in her own share of land transactions in Franklinton:

Year Grantor (Seller) Grantee (Buyer) Property Description Ref.
1850 John Perrin Nancy H. Perrin Lot 145, Franklinton,. Sarah was not on this deed.
1851 Nancy H. Perrin Allison Green Lot 145, Franklinton
1851 William Perrin Nancy H. Perrin E part of lot 49, Franklinton (former Deardruff property)

Given her age in the 1850 census, I believe Nancy was the daughter of John Perrin recorded in the 1840 census. Nancy H. Perrin married Middleton Frank Pool on May 27, 1860 , and not surprising in light of the previously mentioned deed, the 1860 census shows Middleton Pool, Nancy H. Pool and John Perrins, grocer, living together next door to the Deardruffs. In that census John was 67 (born in 1793) but Nancy H. Pool was still 19, the same age she gave in the 1850 census.

William

Starting in 1848 there is a string of land records which indicate the presence of a second William Perrin in Franklinton:

Year Grantor (Seller) Grantee (Buyer) Property Description Ref.
1848 Samuel Deardruff estate William Perrin east ½ lots 49 and 50, Franklinton. Bought at public auction
1850 Nathan Cole, Sr. William Perrin Parts of lots 24 & 25, Franklinton
1851 William Perrin Nancy H. Perrin Franklinton part of lot 49 (former Deardruff property)
1851 William Perrin Harvey B. Dearduff Parts of lots 24 & 25, Franklinton
1851 Mary Wright (administr.) William Perrin Lot 23, Franklinton
1852 William Perrin Samuel Sandusky Parts of lots 49 & 50, Franklinton
1852 William Perrin Arthur OHarra Lot 23, Franklinton
1852 M. L. Sullivant William Perrin Lot 21 & 22, Sullivant's addition to Columbus
1853 A. E. Morisson & J. M. McNeil William Perrin Lot 9, Columbus
1857 Saml. Sandusky William Perrin East parts 49 & 50, Franklinton, recovered by Perrin in civil suit
1858 Auditor Pugh William Perrin Lot 51, Franklinton, sold for back taxes
1858 William Perrin Godfrey Romoser south ½ of lot 51, Franklinton
1859 John & William Perrin Godfrey Romoser north half of lot 51, Franklinton
1860 William Perrin John & N. H. Perrin parts of lots 49 & 50, Franklinton, "to John Perrin so long as he lives, and after his death then unto Nancy H. Perrin"

Unlike the first list of deeds involving William Perrin, here there is no acknowledgment of a wife named Nancy. All of the properties bought and sold cluster around Franklinton lots 49 through 51; these lots were also partially owned by John Perrin. It may or may not be a coincidence that this William Perrin sold land to Samuel Sandusky, Jr. .

The 1850 census showed a William Perrin, born 1807 in Ohio, living with John and Sarah Perrin in Franklinton. There William referred to himself as a laborer. If the given age is correct his William would have been too old to be John's son, and certainly too young to marry Elizabeth Hopper in 1817. However, his connection to John and Nancy H. Perrin is strongly brought out in the deeds listed above. I would argue that the census dates for this William are incorrect. I think he could easily be a son of John Perrin.

Comment

The John Perrin of Franklinton, born around 1792, and William, born around 1796, were too old to be children of John the son of John Perrin, Jr. As they both stated in the 1850 census that they were born in Pennsylvania, they are excellent candidates to be children of Joseph, son of Edward Perrin; indeed, Joseph was already married in the 1790 census. I am tempted to believe that the John Perrin described above is the John Perrin mentioned in the biographical history from Washington County, Pennsylvania who "traded what is known as the Robert Liggett farm for a shot-gun with which to fight Indians" as he would have been perhaps eight years old when father Joseph and mother Rebecca left Pennsylvania.

© Richard Perrin Day 2019