Third Generation  

7. Philip Jacob BOSSERT (Heinrich², Philip Johannes¹) was born on 26 Sep 1763 in Hamilton Twp, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania.

General Notes: From a series of emails associated with Buzzard Cousins, all emails incl ud ed here are from Freyia@aol.com <mailto:Freyia@aol.com>, who wrote:

Hello all,
I have been reading the information collected lately by this grou p. I am d escended from Daniel who was Jonathan's brother, he also left Oh io. He re is a brief quote from a book published in Johnson county, Missou ri, whe re he migrated to from Ohio after the civil war, I also have be en in Bouss ardville, have pictures and searched church records for docume ntation, alw ays many missing links..


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moved with parents and siblings to pleasant unity , Westmorela nd co ., PA , in 1787.. he was born in Hamilton Twp., Northhampton( Now Mo nro e) PA...
Union Church Records to Westmoreland Co., Pa. ( probably with fath er in 17 90) then Crawford Co., PA with brother Henry abt. 1798/9 and so on after 18 13 he moved to Wayne Co., Ohio ( now Holmes Co.)

GIVN Philip Jacob
SURN Buzzard
Philip Jacob Buzzard, as was a frequent German custom, he was known by his
second name,
Jacob. Sometime before 1788 Jacob married Margaret (surname unknown). They
lived in
Northampton County in 1788 but were in Unity Township, Westmoreland Coun ty ,
Pennsylvania
by 1790, likely moving west at the same time as his parents.
By 1800 Jacob and Margaret had continued their movement west, going to C ra wford
County,
Pennsylvania. In 1809 he bought land with a Philip Strow (Straw) on French
Creek in Crawford
County. Jacob bought the land in Crawford County from William Griffi th a nd Joh
B. Wallace.
The land had been purchased by Griffith and Wallace from the Holland Land
Company.

NOTE:
The Holland Land Company in 1792 was a group of Dutch bankers who jo in ed in the
rush for lands in the western part of the U. S. They paid cash for t he 5 m illion acres
or more they purchased in central and western New York and northern Penn sy lvania. Their main office was in Philadelphia. In 1813 Jacob again mov ed w est, this time to Wayne County, Ohio.

On 8 September 1824 he purchased 80 acres from the U. S. governme nt at t he Wooster
land office.

Census records indicate that Jacob and Margaret had at least two daught er s, as
well as seven sons. The birth dates of the daughters are not known. O ne da ughter must have been Mary, wife of Henry Borts as this couple sign ed a de ed in 1826 as heirs of Jacob Buzzard.
Mary may have been born about 1804 and another daughter, Margaret, w as bo rn ca. 1810.
A county history biography of one of Jacob's grandson, Bigelow (son of D an iel)
said that Daniel could speak little English until after he was 12 yea rs o ld about the time the family moved to
western Pennsylvania. Perhaps as the family moved west, they were less i nf luenced by the German settlements of eastern Pennsylvania and more Amer ica nized.
Jacob's estate sale was held on 2 July 1823. On 23 March 1826 three of J ac ob's
children along with his widow signed a deed selling their intere st in a pi ece of property. For some unknown reason the deed was not recor ded with t he county until 1891. The three children who signed the deed we re: Jonath an and his wife Sarah; George and his wife Eleanor; and Henry B orts and h is wife Mary, along with the widow Margaret. Margaret's death d ate is n ot known though she was still alive in 1827.

-------------------------------------------------------
Rev. War - Capt. David Good Co. - lst Bat'l roll dated Hamilt on Tw p. 13 - June 1782.
Philip Jacob Buzzard, as was a frequent German custom, he was kn ow by th is second name. Jacob. Sometime before 1788 Jacob married Margare t. They l ived in Northampton County, in 1788 but were in Unity Twp. Westm oreland Co unty, Pa., by 1790 likely moving west at the same time as h is parent s. By 1800 Jacob and Margaret had continued their movement west ., goi ng to Crawford Co., PA. In 1809 he bought land with a Philip Str ow (Stra w) on French Creek in Crawford County. Jacob bought the land in C rawford C ounty from William Griffith and Jon B. Wallace. The land had be en purchas ed by Griffith and Wallace from the Holland Land Company.


Note:

*The only changes made were punctuation corrections and the size of t he fo nt.
According to Vonda Bryson's research:

Philip married Living

The child from this marriage was:

+ 26 M    i. Daniel BUZZARD ¹ was born on 19 Jul 1790 in Unity Twp, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania and died on 16 Aug 1865 at age 75.

Philip next married Living

Children from this marriage were:

+ 27 M    i. Jonathan B. BUZZARD was born on 31 Jul 1788 in Hamilton Twp, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania and died after 1871 in Seneca, MO after age 82.

   28 M    ii. Daniel BUZZARD ¹ was born on 19 Jul 1790 in Unity Twp, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania and died on 16 Aug 1865 at age 75.

Noted events in his life were:

• Alt. Birth: Alt. Birth, 19 Jul 1790. Unity Twp., Westmoreland PA.

• Alt. Death: Alt. Death, 16 Aug 1865. Richland Co Ohio

• Alt. Birth: Jul 1790.¹ , , Westmoreland, PA

• Alt. Death: 16 Aug 1865.¹ , Richland Co., Ohio

Daniel married Nancy DRAKE ¹ on 23 Feb 1815. Nancy was born in 1792 in PA ¹ and died on 16 Aug 1865 at age 73.¹

Noted events in their marriage were:

• Alt. Marriage: 23 Feb 1815.

Marriage Notes: ,Wayne Co., OHio

General Notes: Drake / Buzzard
Submitted by Freyia@aol.com

Searching for information on Nancy drakes parents, parents...also any a nd all information on"[Daniel Buzzard] was twice married, his first wife b eing a Miss Nancy Drake, by whom he had fifteen children, all but fi ve of whom lived to manhood and womanhood." P. 266, Portrait and Biograph ical Record of Johnson and Pettis Counties, Missouri (Containing Portrai ts and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of t he Counties Together with Biographies and Portraits of all the Presiden ts of the United States) Chicago: Chapman Publishing Co. 1895.

The marriage of Daniel Buzzard and Nancy Drake is easily documented. Nan cy Drake and Daniel Buzzard were married in Wayne County, Ohio, on Februa ry 23, 1815, by J. Cord, Deacon, M.E. Church (Volume 1, Page 7, Wayne Coun ty, Ohio Marriages). (On the same index page, the marriage of David Dra ke (brother of our Nancy) to Rachel Sill, on June 13, 1815 by Jesse Morga n, J. P. is noted.)

As will be seen in the ensuing discussion, Daniel Buzzard lived for some t ime in the Washington Township of Wayne, then Holmes, County, Ohio. Th is was an area inhabited by a host of the Drake family, including the Revo lutionary veteran brothers, Thomas and David, their sister-wives, Sarah a nd Margaret Hinkle, and their descendents.

Several questions arise about our Nancy Drake, which we attempt to answ er here.

1. Who were the parents of our Nancy Drake?
2. What do we know of the siblings and parents of Nancy Drake?
3. What was her life like before she married Daniel Buzzard?
4. What do we know of her life after she married Daniel Buzzard?
5. What do we know of her death and burial?


1. Who were the parents of our Nancy Drake?

When we study the Drake family, we learn that the brothers Thomas and Dav id both had several children, and each of them had a daughter named Nanc y. So, in our area we find two ladies named Nancy Drake: one of them mar ried Daniel Buzzard and was the mother of Daniel Buzzard's children; the o ther married a Thomas O'Dell and also lived for a long time in the gener al area. Both of their births can be documented. To complicate things fu rther, they were double first cousins, with their fathers being brothers a nd their mothers being sisters.

We believe that we know the answer to the parentage of our Nancy Drake, b ut we cannot point to definitive proof, only circumstantial evidence. Per haps, on a more thorough examination of the deed records and estate and gu ardian records of Holmes Count, we can find a conclusive document.

Our Nancy Drake, we have concluded with some considerable degree of confid ence, was born about 1794 in Baltimore, Maryland (LDS Film No. 442775, Pa ge 0094, Ref# 06147; also LDS Film No. 458460). Her parents, Thomas Dra ke and Sarah Hinkle Drake were married in about 1785 in Frederick Count y, Maryland. (LDS 180114-052899105234) or perhaps in Allegany County, Mar yland (LDS Film #458460). Our Nancy and the Nancy Drake who married Thom as Odell apparently migrated with their respective parents from Allegany C ounty, Maryland to Wayne/Holmes County, Ohio, and took their respective sp ouses at about the same time.

The other Nancy Drake, Nancy Drake Odell, was born, we have conclude d, on 15 July 1795 in Allegany County, Maryland. (LDS Film No. 442775, Pa ge 12, Ref#06074). Her parents were David Drake and Margaret Hinkle Drak e, who had been married in Allegany County, Maryland around 1792. (Not e: Allegany County, Maryland is often misspelled as Allegheny.) (LDS Fi lm # 458460). This Nancy married Thomas Odell on December 24, 1815 in Ho lmes County, Ohio. (Wayne County Marriage Records).

The migration from Maryland to Ohio was apparently done en mass and includ ed additional families besides the Drake family, including, at least, t he Hendrickson family, the Chapman family, the Risor family, the Sigafo os family, the Scholes family, the Buzzard family, the Parsons famil y, . Many members of the Drake family and other related families are buri ed in Drake's Cemetery, Holmes County, Ohio. Some members of and the Hen drickson family and the Odell family later migrated on to Iowa. A relatio nship between the Hendrickson family and the Drake family is reported by v irtue of Charlotte Hinkle and William Hendrickson having a son, William He ndrickson, who married a Mary Ann Drake (b. 1782 in Maryland), daught er of a David Drake. Both William Hendrickson and Mary Ann Drake are buri ed in Holmes County, Ohio, presumably in Drake's Cemetery. In fact, the 1 940 readings of Drake's Valley Cemetery, show a William Hendrickson, Di ed August 31, 1854, Aged 70y ? 19d; and a Mary Ann, wife of William Hendri ckson, Died Jan 8, 1863, Aged (obliterated). (To complete the whole inter mingling thing, a third Drake brother, William Drake, is reported to ha ve married a third Hinkle, perhaps a third Hinkle sister, Elizabeth Hinkl e. This William Drake apparently died in Maryland and was not a part of t he migration to Ohio.

As a further note to guide future investigation, the above suggests that D avid Drake had a daughter named Mary Ann Drake who was born in 1782 in Mar yland. This report fits well with the brothers David and Thomas being rev olutionary war veterans, and begins to fill what is largely a ten year g ap between the end of the revolutionary war, and the beginning of child be aring by the brothers. It implies strongly that the listing below of t he siblings of the two Nancy Drakes may be incomplete.

So, how were we able to pin down which of the Nancy Drakes was marri ed to Daniel Buzzard? We do this by circumstantial evidence of living pat terns, and then we close the case by process of elimination whereby Nan cy Drake Odell is shown to have been the daughter of David and Margaret Dr ake, leaving our Nancy as the daughter of Thomas and Sarah Drake.

First the living patterns. The original Washington Township Land Entri es reveal much about the family patterns. Early Land Records of Wayne Cou nty, Ohio, Compiled and Arranged by Richard G. Smith 1988, Published by T he Wayne County Genealogical Society.

Section 4 of the Washington Township was entered as follows:
Nw160: Dan Buzzard 1817 May 3
Sw160 Thos Drake 1812 Feb 27

Section 9 of the Washington Township was entered as follows:
Sw160 Thos Odell 1817 Sep 27
Se160 David Drake Jr 1814 Mar 11
Ne160 Griffith Johnston 1817 Sep

Section 8 of the Washington Township was entered as follows:
N80Se David Drake 1833/1835
Ne160 David Drake 1812 Feb 27

When this picture is pieced together visually on a map you can easily s ee that Dan Buzzard and Thomas Drake entered adjoining properties; and Tho mas O'Dell, David Drake, Jr. and David Drake entered adjoining propertie s. Thus, by proximity of Daniel and his wife Nancy to Thomas Drake, one c an guess that Thomas and Sarah were our Nancy's parents. And this is bols tered by the proximity of Thos. Odell and his Nancy to David Drake and Dav id Drake, Jr., further suggesting that Nancy Drake Odell was the daught er of David and Margaret Drake.

An examination of certain deed records, however, strongly supports this vi ew of the parentage of Nancy Drake Odell. The deeds in question are recor ded in Deed Book 2, page 47 of the Holmes County records. We have not com pleted a thorough review of the Holmes County deed records and what we ha ve are poor copies of microfilms of some deeds. We hope to review the se in more detail on our next excursion to Holmes County.

The first of the deeds is a quitclaim deed dated March 25th, 1826, a nd it recites, in part that the deed is from

"Griffith Johnston and Harriet his wife, Thomas Odell and Nancy wife, Nath an Drake and Miranda his wife, and George Drake and Rachel his wife, of t he county of Holmes and State of Ohio, of the first part, and David Drak e, Thomas Drake and Sarah Drake, children of David Drake, deceased, of t he county aforesaid, of the second part…"

A related quitclaim deed of unknown date is recorded at the same time. I ts heading says that it is a deed from "Sarah Drake to David Drake, Jr. a nd Thomas Drake" and part of the recitation of this deed states:

"Sarah Drake, child of David Drake,…[in consideration of monies paid to] G riffith Johnston, guardian of ? Drake and Sarah Drake, children of the sa id David Drake… and David Drake, Jr. and Thomas Drake, children of the sa id David Drake…"

While the poor copies of these deeds in our possession make a complete rea ding impossible, it seems clear that these deeds were a part of settling o ut the estate of David Drake (a son of the original settler David Drake ). The first deed then between the siblings of the deceased younger Dav id and the three children of the deceased David, and the second deed was a mong the three children of the deceased David. An examination of the ha rd copies of these deeds and the records of the probate court of Holmes Co unty should fix these relationships beyond doubt. Below, we refer to the se two deeds as the "David Drake Children Deeds."

A somewhat consistent report by Phyllis Boyd Gauss, 7114 Romford Ct., S an Diego, CA 92120 reports that the children of Thomas Drake and Sarah Hi nkle were: "David m. Rachel Sills; Eliphalet m. Mary Dodds; Catheri ne m. Daniel Buzzard; Eleanor m. Thomas Shearer; Margaret m. Mr. Bryan; Je sse m. Rachel Critchfield; Levi m. Catherine Henry." We will address th is report in the following section.

2. What do we know of the siblings and parents of Nancy Drake?

So, although the evidence is circumstantial, and at times not completely c onsistent, we can say with considerable confidence, that Nancy Drake Buzza rd, the wife of Daniel Buzzard and the mother of his children, was the dau ghter of Thomas Drake and Sarah Hinkle Drake, and was born in 1794 Baltimo re, Maryland.

More is written elsewhere about the parents and their lineage.

We believe that the children of Thomas Drake and Sarah Hinkle were as sho wn below, combining our LDS research and the above report of Phyllis Gaus s. Thomas Drake and Sarah Hinkle Drake are both buried in Drake's Vall ey Cemetery, according to the 1940 readings: "Thomas Drake, died Jan 1 9, 1844 Aged 83y 2m & 3d; Sarah, wife of Thomas Drake, died April 13, 184 8, Aged 85 yrs 2m 3d." Thomas Drake had Land Entries in Washington Townsh ip on 27 February 1812 and 16 September 1815.

1. David Drake, b. 28 Oct 1790 (LDS Film#442774, p. 0092, ref#06441; film# 458460). David married Rachel Sills on 18 June 1815 (Wayne County records ). This interest excerpt from History of the Methodist Churches of Nashvi lle and Western Holmes County, Rev. Joshua Crawford, from issues of the Na shville Journal, April 7, 1904 and following, shed additional light on Dav id: "I am quite sure there was another class perhaps older than [Nathan D rake's which dates back before 1822] of which David Drake, son of Thoma s, sr., was the leader. From this time on to 1832 this was a strong socie ty, and during this time and for years later held a great Camp Meeting eve ry year. To these gatherings people came from every direction for thir ty miles or more in big lumber wagons bringing provisions with them to la st ten days. Log tents were built and also a few canvas . . . . So me of the most famous preachers of the West delivered their stirring sermo ns on this camp ground." In addition to its obvious importance, this pass age also establishes this David's life well past the earlier deeds that re ferenced David, son of David and Margaret Hinkle. David Drake died on Sep tember 15, 1846, aged 55y 10m & 17d, according to the 1940 reading of Drak e's Valley Cemetery; and from the same record, Rachel, wife of David Drak e, was born March 27, 1799 and died Oct. 23, 1877, aged 78 y 7m 26d. On o ur next trip to Holmes County, we should review the Nashville Journal, whi ch was a weekly paper published in 1904-05 by Thomas Johnson.

The following is written about one of David's sons:

MAJ. J.L. Drake was born in Holmes County, Ohio, November 1, 1817; the s on of David and Rachel (Sills) Drake, who were natives respectively of Mar yland and Virginia, and the parents of eight children. David Drake was twi ce married, by his first wife having two children. He came from Maryla nd to Holmes County, Ohio, in 1814, and died there in 1846. His wife di ed in the fall of 1878. James L. Drake, when seventeen years of age learn ed the tailor's trade. This he discontinued at the end of three year s, on account of ill-health, and, engaged in farming; also clerked for a t ime. In 1849, he and twelve other, including three brothers, went to Calif ornia overland, being one hundred and five days on the trip. They remain ed fourteen months. For the first two months our subject mined with the re st, but soon established a trading business, and in three months cleared $ 8,000. Among other things he clerked in a wholesale store in Sacramento, r eceiving $500 and board per month. The winter of 1850 he started home v ia Panama, and on his arrival in New Orleans was taken down with the small -pox. After his recovery, he returned to his family, and purchased the o ld homestead in Holmes County, Ohio. Mr. Drake has been a Democrat, but af ter the repeal of the Missouri Compromise became a Republican. For this h is neighbors made threats to lynch him. He assisted in raising the first t hree years' company in Ohio, Company H Twenty-third Regiment, of whi ch he was elected Captain. He also had two brothers and two sons in the wa r. One brother, Levi, Lieutenant Colonel of the Forty-ninth Ohio Infantr y, was killed at Stone River. [my note: he is buried in Drake's Valley Ce metery.] The other, Commodore, was a Captain in the One Hundred and Ninet y- second Regiment. One son, Levi N., was taken prisoner and starved to de ath in Andersonville. The other, Francis, was a non-commissioned offic er in the Twenty-third Regiment, and is at present a hardware mercha nt of Rome City. Capt. J.L. Drake participated in all the engagements of h is regiment until the battle of Antietam. Three of his regimental office rs became distinguished in the history of the United States, viz.: Ex-Pres ident Hayes, Major; Stanley Mathews, Lieutenant Colonel; and William Rosec rans, Colonel. Capt. Drake was severely wounded by shell in the left arm a nd side, from the effects of which he was mustered out in October, 1862, a nd brevetted Major. He was elected Colonel of a Home Guards regiment, a nd was appointed Provost Marshal of the Fourteenth Congressional Distric t, in which capacity he served until the close of the war. He was marrie d, August 7, 1839, to Susan Hayward, of Cattraugus County, N.Y. They ha ve had twelve children - Francis M., David, Sarah, Ellen, Emily, Mary, Cor a, James S., Newton, Fremont, Sherman and Jack. Four are dead, viz.: Davi d, Sarah, Newton and Sherman. The mother died April 23, 1877. Mr. Drak e, in October, 1879, married Mrs. Harriet A. (Triplett) Filson. He ca me to La Grange in September, 1866, where he has since been living retired .
Source: "1882 History LaGrange County, Indiana" by F.A.Battey & Co.., - To wn of La Grange


2. Eliphalet Drake, b. April 5, 1791 (LDS Film#442774, p. 0093, ref#0644 2; film#458460; Nashville cemetery records). who married Mary Dodds. Fr om a typed "History of Nashville" located in the Holmes County Library: " In 1823 Thomas Drake purchased from the government two 80 acre lots for t wo dollars an acre. In 1827 he deeded on to Eliphalet Drake, his so n. In 1828 the state road was run from Millersburg to Mansfield, and at t he suggestion of his neighbors, Eliphalet drake laid out a village and cal led it Nashville. The reason for the name was that his father was a gre at admirer of Gen. Frances Nash who fell in the battle of Brandywine. T he town was plotted into 31 lots on June 30, 1828. Eliphalet Drake donat ed land for a Methodist Church and cemetery at the west end of the village ." Eliphalet is buried in this cemetery, along with his wife Mary who di ed in 1863 at the age of 67.

3. Nancy Drake Buzzard, b. 1794 (LDS Film#442775, p. 0094, ref#06147; fil m#458460), married, as we concluded above, Daniel Buzzard. Phyllis Gaus s' list of this family lists a "Catherine Drake, who married Daniel Buzzar d" in this slot. As will be seen elsewhere, Daniel Buzzard's second wi fe was named Catharine or Mary Catharine, but this second wife does not ap pear to be the mother of his children. While the LDS films referenced app arently enumerate the children of Thomas and Sarah including our Nanc y. As discussed below, the burial place of Nancy Drake is unknown for cer tain. Daniel Buzzard's brother, George Buzzard, is buried in Drake's Vall ey Cemetery.

4. Eleanor Drake Shearer, b. 17 April 1796 (LDS Film#442775, p. 0095, ref #06144; film#458460) who married Thomas Shearer according to Ms. Gauss' li st. Several Shearers are known to be buried in Drake's Valley Cemetery in cluding two children, Thomas D. and David Q., whose tombstones announce th at they are sons of Thomas and Eleanor Shearer. Also, there is a monume nt to John Shearer who was born June 15, 1755 and died April 3, 1832; pres umably this is the father of Thomas Shearer. John Shearer had a Land Ent ry in the Washington Township in 1825. Also, there is a monument to "Sar ah Shearer, Died November 20, 1851, Aged 81 yrs," presumable the wife of T homas and mother of Thomas.

5. Margaret Drake Bryan, b. about 1798 (LDS Film#442775, p. 0096, ref#061 44; film#458460) who married Mr. Bryan according to Ms. Gauss' list.

6. Jesse Drake, b. about 1800 (LDS Film#442775, p. 0097, ref#06442; film# 458460) who married Rachel Critchfield according to Ms. Gauss' list. In t he 1940 reading of Drake's Cemetery there is a stone that reads: "In memo ry of Rachel, daughter of Jesse and Rachel Drake who died January 13 A D 1 842 Aged 7 years 8 months 7 days."

7. Levi Drake, b. about 1804 (LDS Film#442774, p. 0098, ref#06476; film#4 58460) who married Catherine Henry. according to Ms. Gauss' list. A Cathi rinah Henry is shown on the 1940 reading of Drake's Cemetery as 1829 A 66 .

We believe that the children of David Drake and Margaret Hinkle were as sh own below: David Drake had Land Entries in Washington Township on 27 Febr uary 1812 and 16 September 1816, on the same dates as his brother Thoma s. Another Land Entry is recorded for David Drake on 11 March 1814, on t he same date as an Entry of David Drake, Jr. Also, two additional Land En tries are shown for David Drake in 1833 and 1835, but these could be Entri es of Thomas's son David, or even David's son David's son David.

1. David Drake, b. before 1793. Some records indicate a much later bir th of 1805 (LDS Film#442774, Page#0015,Ref#06436; Film#458460), but the se records must refer to some other David Drake. This David Drake, Jr. en tered land in the Washington Township on 11 March 1814, with Griffith John son later bordering on the North and Thomas O'Dell bordering on the eas t. Clearly, this David Drake, Jr. was born before 1805! The above descri bed David Drake Children Deeds of 1826 vintage are between all the other c hildren of Thomas and Sarah Drake and the children of David Drake, decease d, presumably this David Drake, Jr.. If so, this David Drake, Jr. had th ree children named David Drake, Jr., Thomas and Sarah. However, those dee ds are dated 1826. Perhaps the fact that in these series of deeds the Jun ior has been dropped from the name of this David Drake and applied to h is son, suggests that the elder David Drake (brother of Thomas and husba nd of Sarah) had predeceased this David Drake, Jr. We have been unab le to locate a death record of the elder David Drake (broth of Thomas a nd husband of Sarah) or his wife, Sarah.

2. Harriet Jerusha Drake Johnston, b. 25 December 1793, Allegany Count y, Maryland (LDS Film# 452863, Reference # 22320; film#458460) who marri ed Griffith Johnston (as shown in the above reference deed) Moreove r, it is reported that this marriage took place in 1813 and that the coup le had 7 children and that Harried died on January 8, 1859, in Lowden, Ced ar County, Iowa. According to a typewritten History of Nashville in the H olmes County Library, 'the Drakes built the first Nashville community scho ol west of Nashville with Griffith Johnson as the first teacher." Griffi th Johnston had Land Entries in the Washington Township in 1817 and 1818.

3. Nancy Drake Odell, b. 15 July 1795, Allegany County, Maryland (LDS Bat ch #8483402, Source Call No. 1395859, Sheet 22; LDS Film# 442775, Page N o. 0012; Ref#06074; Film# 458460) who married Thomas O'Dell (as shown in t he above referenced deed and in Wayne County Marriage Records.) Moreove r, Thomas Odell and Nancy Odell appear in the listing of Nathan Drake's 18 21 Class Book, from the Drake's Valley Methodist Church. In the northeast ern corner of the Washington Township is a famous lake called O'Dells Lak e. According to an article in the Holmes County Traveler, Sept Oct 199 0, p. 20, "[A]s Holmes County was settled, the lake was renamed O'Dells La ke, after Rev. Thomas Odell." It is unknown whether Nancy's husband was t he Rev. Thomas Odell, or her son, or some other relative. But, accordi ng to the article cited just above, Odells Lake became one of the premi er tourist attractions in Ohio so long as the railroads were king. It w as reported in the article that among the many large groups that would me et there were General Sherman's unit which held eight reunions there, oft en having drill exercises and mock battles! Thomas O'Dell had Land Entri es in Washington Township in 1817 and 1819.

4. Nathan Drake, b. 26 May 1797 in Allegany County, Maryland, (LDS Fil m# 452774, Page # 0013, Reference # 06437; film#458460)who married Miran da (according to the above-referenced deed). Nathan Drake is buried in t he Nashville Cemetery (Methodist): d. July 18, 1882 85 yr 7-4. Miranda D rake is also buried there: d. Jan 22, 1871 71 yr 9 mo. Nathan Drake w as a Sunday School Class Leader as early as 1816 and held this position f or over 50 years. Members of his early class include Nathan and Marand a, Nancy and Thomas O'Dell, Eliphalet Drake, Sarah Buzzard (widow of Georg e?), and a Mary Drake (could this be Mary Catherine, the second wife of Da niel Buzzard?) According to a typewritten Nashville History found in t he Holmes County Library: "Mr. Nathan Drake, to whom we are indebted f or many of the facts here noted, bought his land from the government at t wo dollars per acre. He was born in Maryland in December 1796-consequent ly he will be eight years old should he live till next December. His appe arance indicated that he will reach more than four-score. He came to Oh io when quite young, has lived here on this farm for forty-nine years; f or the last ten he has lived here in town. He married Miranda Weatherb ee when about twenty-one and raised a strong hearty family of girls and bo ys. . . . He distinctly remembers the place where [Nashville] stands wh en it was covered with trees and underbrush, and says he has chased ma ny a deer from this spot. He has seen and been with the Indians in the ir camp when they would rest on a journey to Green Township and Jeromesvil le. Before Cornelius Quick built the grist mill at Lakeville, Mr. Drake a nd his neighbors had to go to mill on Owl Creek in Knox County on horse ba ck, though they sometimes went down the Mohican in canoes and would padd le upstream with their cargo and to sell their grain they had the 'delight ful' task of hauling it to Massillon." Nathan Drake had a Land Entry in W ashington Township in 1815, after he turned 18 years old.

5. George Drake, b. about 1799, (LDS Film#442774, Page# 0014, Ref# 0643 7) who married Rachel (according to the above-referenced Deed). The re is a 1940 reading of the tombstone of George's wife in Drake's Valley C emetery: "In Memory of Rachel Drake wife of George Drake who was born Aug ust 30, 1801 and died January 23, 1829. Beloved in life Lamented in dea th In eternity doubtless blest"

3. What was her life like before she married Daniel Buzzard?

A step back into history may be helpful. Ohio became a state in 1803. Wa yne County, Ohio was finally established in 1812 (prior to that it had be en a part of Columbiana County and known as Killbuck Township). Wooste r, the county seat of Wayne County, was established as a Post Office in De cember 1812. In the 1810 census of Killbuck Township, there were on ly 46 heads of families and a total of 332 people in the county. By 18 20 there were 1941 heads of families and 11,935 persons, thus evidencing t he rapid influx of pioneers.

The southeastern corner of Wayne County was referred to as the Washingt on Township. In 1824 the southern part of Wayne County was joined with ot her lands to form a new county, Holmes County. Thus the northwestern port ion of Holmes County, known as the Washington Township, is the almost t he same as the original southwestern corner of Wayne County. Our geograp hy is more complicated by having a slender plug of Ashland County ju st to the west of this township, and, not too many miles across Ashland Co unty, one comes to Richland County. The researcher of this area wou ld do well to become familiar with the geography of the area. See general ly, Wayne County Ohio Early Censuses and Tax Lists, Compiled by C. Arth ur Phillips, Homes County Library, Millersburg, Ohio, reprinted 1980 and 1 998.

There were several waves of immigration to flow through Holmes County, Ohi o. Of course, the Indians were first, and not far away, in Richland Coun ty one can find the final resting place of The Last Mohican. German settl ers were an early wave, settling in the northern townships, including t he Washington Township. A wave of Frenchmen later settled in the northe rn part of the Salt Creek Township. And then the Amish, Swiss and Dutch w aves came. Holmes County is now predominantly Amish with only the far wes tern sections showing as outside the concentration of Amish on a 2000 tour ist map of Holmes County. At some point, in the middle of all these migra tions, the man known as Johnny Appleseed also came through Holmes County d oing his thing.

This is an excerpt from "A Brief History of the Methodist Churches in West ern Holmes Count, Expecially Those Included in the Nashville Circuit:"

One of the oldest Methodist organizations was the one in Drake's Valley wh ere a log church building was erected by the Drake families and other Meth odist families some time during the 1820's….
It is stated on good authority that the Drake Brothers, Thomas and Davi d, built cabins in the valley as early as 1810 and brought their famili es soon after, possibly before the beginning of the War of 1812. Apparent ly the Drake families must have owned a large tract of land on the easte rn slope of the valley including the land on which the Village of Nashvil le now stands, for records show that one of Thomas's sons, Eliphalet by na me, employed Samuel Robinson in the summer of 1828 to survey 31 lots in t he village of what is now Nashville, the cemetery being one of them. Appa rently, however, no Methodist church was built until about 1839 or about t he time the Great Revival of 1840 swept over Holmes County. At about th at time the log church in the valley was abandoned and a new organizati on was formed by the members in the valley and the new Methodist immigran ts living in and around Nashville.
Incidentally, the village of Nashville was named in honor of Gen. Nas h, a close friend of the Drake Bros., who was killed in the Battle of Bran dywine during the Revolutionary War. Some members of this church we re of the Drake families, the Henry Campbell family, Frank Hughes, Henry O berholtzer, Delmar Willard, Joshua Crawford. This church later became o ne of the churches on the Nashville Circuit, Bigelow and Lakeville being t he other two.

More about the brothers Thomas and David Drake can be found as notes und er their names.

4. What do we know of Nancy's life after she married Daniel Buzzard?


Daniel Buzzard, and presumably Nancy, appear in the 1820 census of Washing ton Township, Wayne County. Wayne County Ohio Early Censuses and Tax List s, ibid., p. 32. (George, Jacob and Jonathan Buzzard also appear; as d o, David, David (2), Eliphalet, Nathan and Thomas Drake.) A separate summ ary of the 1820 census, which is available in the raw on microfilm at t he Wayne County library, shows that the Daniel Buzzard family had males ag ed 25+ and 5; females aged 20 and 5; but age categories were loosely group ed in this census.) In terms of family order, the families enumerat ed in the 1820 census of Washington Township came in this order: 41:Dav id Drake,m25+; 42:Griffith Johnston,m25+; 43:Eli Booth, m25+; 44:Thomas Dr ake,m45+; 45:David Drake,m45+; 46:Daniel Buzzard, m25+; 47:George Buzzar d, m45+. Elipalet Drake,m25+, Nathaniel Drake, m25+, and Jacob Buzzard, m 45+ appear elsewhere in the township. Thomas Drake is located on a map al ongside the eastern edge of the river in Section 4, and the elder David Dr ake is located in the southeastern corner of Section 9 on the north si de of the road from Nashville to Loudonville. From pages 62 and 63 of a s mall typewritten booklet about the 1820 Census of Wayne County, from eith er the Wayne County or the Holmes County library.

The effect of the above is that we can see that in 1820, Nancy and Dani el are living in the neighborhood with assorted Drake and Buzzard relative s. At this time she appears in the census to have only three children. T he actually microfilm of the 1820 census, as copied from the film in the H olmes County library, reveals that perhaps there were 5 people in the hous ehold in 1820. (Page 138)

Daniel next married Living

   29 M    iii. Philip BUZZARD was born on 23 Aug 1792 in Unity Twp, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania.

   30 M    iv. Henry BUZZARD was born on 12 Jan 1795 in Unity Twp, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania.

+ 31 M    v. John BOSSARD was born in 1797 in Westmoreland Co, Pennsylvania.

   32 M    vi. George BUZZARD was born on 24 Apr 1799 in Westmoreland Co, Pennsylvania.

   33 F    vii. Mary BUZZARD was born about 1804 in Westmoreland Co, Pennsylvania.

   34 F    viii. Margaret BUZZARD was born about 1809.

11. Johann Malchior BOSSERT (Heinrich², Philip Johannes¹) was born on 11 Apr 1772 in Hamilton Twp, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania and died on 9 Feb 1830 at age 57.

General Notes: There is no definite record of any combat service performed by Melchi or Bo ssard in the Revolution. However, as his name appears m five must er roll s, there is no doubt that he was called out at various times to s er ve as a 30, 60 or 90 day man. The record is interesting, not on ly as a pro of of service but also as showing the many ways the name was s pelled by il literate clerks.

The record is as follows: 1778- May 14~6th Bn.-Sth Co.-7th Class-Melc hi or Buzard. 1780- 5th Bn.-8th Co.-7th Class-Melher Busard. 1781- 5th Bn. -S th Co.-7th Class-Walker Basard. 1782- 5th Bn.-8th Co.-7th Class-Melk er Buz zard. 1784- Captain Keller's Co.-Col. Kerns' Battalion-Melchior Bos sart.

In the Heads of Families, Census 1790, the name of Melchior Buzart app ea rs with twelve persons in the household, four males over 16, four mal es un der 16, and four females. In 1795 Christopher Keller (No.2) decid ed to ma ke his will. Wishing to select a proper guardian for his minor ch ildr en he could think of no one more suitable than his brother- in-la w. As you ng boys they had faced the Indian peril of 1756-57. They had fre quently be en fellow communicants; each had married the sister of the othe r. During t he Revolution they had served in the same company. The yea rs of associati on had deepened the affection they held for each othe r. It was with the se thoughts in mind that Christopher wrote at the e nd of his will: "A nd I do hereby nominate, ordain and appoint Melchior Bo ssert, guardi an of my minor children." There is no doubt but that as guar dian Melchi or did his best to look after the financial interests of the se children. F urther data concerning the family has not properly a pla ce in this histo ry and no effort has been made to trace the succeeding ge nerations. Ma ny of Melchior's children moved to New York State but the fa mily still rem ains in Monroe County. Although the name is spelled in diff erent ways at p resent there seems to be no doubt that all are descended f rom Philip Bossa rd. As we have stated his daughter, Christina, married Ch ristopher Kell er (No.2) and thus some Alsatian blood came into the Kell er family. The s on Melchior is buried in the Hamilton Church graveyard, h is stone stati ng that he died on the 9th of February, 1830, at the a ge of 85. While we k now but relatively little concerning Philip we have e nough to know th at he was an energetic, fearless, religious pioneer a nd as such no doubt l eft a definite heritage not only to his descendan ts in the Bossard but al so in the Keller family. CHAPTER IX, p. 53 - 62.


More About JOHANN MELCHOIR BOSSERT:
Military service: Revolutionary War

Johann married Living

Children from this marriage were:

   35 F    i. Eva Catherina BOSSERT was born on 27 Mar 1771 in Hamilton Twp, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania and died on 3 Apr 1837 at age 66.

   36 M    ii. Johann George BOSSERT was born on 8 Aug 1772 in Hamilton Twp, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania and died in 1857 at age 85.

   37 M    iii. Johann Philip BOSSERT was born on 28 Dec 1773 in Hamilton Twp, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania.

   38 M    iv. Christopher BOSSERT was born on 28 Dec 1773 in Hamilton Twp, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania.

   39 F    v. Elisabeth BOSSERT was born on 14 Jan 1776 in Hamilton Twp, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania.

   40 M    vi. Johann Melchior BOSSERT was born on 19 Feb 1779 in Hamilton Twp, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania.

20. Christina KELLER (Christina BOSSERT⁴, Philip Johannes¹) was born on 3 Mar 1772 in Hamilton Twp, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania and died on an unknown date.

Christina married Living