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As a member of the 2nd Ohio Volunteer Cavalry that fought at the Battle of Sailor’s Creek in Virginia on April 6, 1865, the last major battle of the Civil War, Private William Richardson was personally recommended by General Phillip Sheridan to receive the Medal of Honor for bravery. Private Richardson was the only survivor of an eight man recon group sent to investigate the strength and position of the Confederate troops. His information was invaluable toward the defeat of the enemy forces that day. Private Richardson is buried with his comrades by the Civil War Soldiers Monument.
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Joseph Watt and son James H. started a small foundry in 1862 making plow points, window sash weights, and heating stoves. Later, brothers Stewart, Ross, and John W. joined and the name became J.H. Watt and Brothers. Securing a patent for a self-oiling mine car wheel, the business expanded to this 27-acre site. In 1891, Ohio gubernatorial candidate, and later U.S. president, William McKinley, dedicated the buildings. By 1901, over 135 were employed by Watt Mining Car Wheel Company producing mine and rail cars for U.S. and foreign markets. The Watt Car and Wheel Company was sold in 1966 to German interests and closed in 1996, ending an era of employment for generations of local people.
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Field Musician Richard W. Thompson. Tunes played on fife and drum regulated a soldier’s life in camp and his actions on the battlefield. Heard over the roar of battle and through the haze of smoke, fifes and drums – field music – communicated orders to massed troops quickly. Richard Willoughby Thompson (c. 1742-1837), buried in Fancher Cemetery, was a field musician during the American Revolution and the War of 1812. According to his grandson Henry’s recollections from the 1920s, Thompson was born in Dublin, Ireland, and enlisted in the British army, where his service culminated in his capture while picking blackberries. He switched allegiances, joined the colonials, and was sent to Virginia. Thompson was appointed the Fife Major of the 5th Virginia Regiment and remained a Fife Major as Virginia units organized during the war. (Continued on other side)
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The village of Perrysburg was founded in 1816 and Wood County in 1820. In 1822 the town established a village cemetery and located it on the southwest corner of West Indiana at Cherry Streets. By 1848 it was full and a new one was created on West Boundary and Indiana Avenue. The first burial was that of William Cassady in 1849. The cholera epidemic of 1854 that caused over one hundred deaths, overloaded the small cemetery workforce. Potters Field was designed in 1868 on the NW corner of Block Two. In 1877 Perrysburg Township bought adjacent land in sections K and L and joined forces to create Fort Meigs Union Cemetery. There are nine underground vaults in the side of the terrace by the old Ewing Creek stream bed adjacent to the 1912 mausoleum.
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Wilberforce University, founded at Tawawa Springs in 1856 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, is the first private historically black college or university in America. The inspirations for Wilberforce were an unwavering faith in God, an acknowledgement of the contribution of the British abolitionist and Member of Parliament William Wilberforce, the leadership of AME Bishop Daniel Payne, and the belief in the potential of all women and men to learn and prosper. Wilberforce embraces the love of learning and the use of education as a tool of personal and community empowerment. Wilberforce seeks to cultivate and meet the historic hunger for freedom and liberty of all people. Today, Wilberforce is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church and educates diverse students from across the nation and around the world. Wilberforce continues to serve as a beacon for learning and research.
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The Canfield Christian Church began as a Baptist congregation in 1822 and church met for worship in William Dean’s home. The Mahoning Baptist Association Meeting of 1826 was held in David Hayes barn. In 1827, Walter Scott was asked by the Association to be the first paid traveling evangelist in the Mahoning Valley area of Ohio. Scott accepted the offer and moved his family to a house next to the Canfield Church. By June of 1829, the Canfield Church voted to lay aside the Baptist name for the name Disciples of Christ. They believed all creeds were unnecessary and took the Bible alone as their sole rule of faith and practice. In 1847, a new church was built. Charter members of the church include James and Sarah Caldwell, Ann Winfield, Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Caldwell and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Flick, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Clark, Mr. and Mrs. John Flick, and Mr. and Mrs. Simmon Sackett and daughter. (Continued on other side)
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There are 48 known members of the Postle family buried in the cemetery. Their stories are interwoven with the history of Prairie Township, Franklin County, and Ohio. In 1810, Shadrach and Anna Stacia Postle were among the first settlers of Prairie Township. Their son Job was a veteran of the War of 1812 and later owned the Checker Inn, a popular stopping place on the National Road. In the 1860s, Smith Postle and his son, William Sylvester Postle, were some of the first manufacturers of clay drainage tile in Ohio. Their products improved drainage in farm fields and fostered the growth of the tile industry in the state. Gabriel Postle was the first Postle buried in the cemetery in 1829. Twelve graves are of children under the age of six, which testifies to the hardships endured by the area’s early residents. Other graves include those of John Whitehurst, a freed slave who lived with the family of the Job Postle and John Tracy, a veteran of the Civil War. In 1870, Nancy Postle was the last person buried in the cemetery.
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William Ellsworth “Dummy” Hoy was born in Houcktown on May 23, 1862. Although spinal meningitis as a toddler left him deaf and mute, Hoy became one of the great 19th century professional baseball players. He played centerfield for such teams as the Chicago White Stockings, Louisville Colonels, and Cincinnati Reds. In his 1888 Washington Senators season he led the league with 82 stolen bases and is one of the all-time leaders in that art. The defensive star’s record includes: 3,959 outfield putouts; 73 double plays; 2,054 hits; 40 home runs; 597 stolen bases; and, 210 strike-outs. Hoy is a member of the American Athletic Association for the Deaf Hall of Fame, as well as those of the Cincinnati Reds, Ohio Baseball, and Ohio School for the Deaf. He died in Cincinnati at the age of 99.
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