Henry Hanford (1784–1866) was a farmer and the first Euro-American settler of Lewistown,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Hanford was born in

Norwalk, Connecticut , image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg , mapsize = 230px , map_caption = Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County and ...

. He emigrated with his brother Thaddeus, who had preceded him to the then new country, to

Hamilton County, Ohio Hamilton County is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 830,639, making it the third-most populous county in Ohio. The county seat and largest city is Cincinnati. The county i ...

in 1806. He settled at Columbia Township, on the

Ohio river The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

and was engaged in running a provision boat from Columbia to

Natchez Natchez may refer to: Places * Natchez, Alabama, United States * Natchez, Indiana, United States * Natchez, Louisiana, United States * Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States * Grand Village of the Natchez, a site o ...

. In 1810 Henry Hanford married Harriet Chamberlin, a native of New York. Two years later the young family moved to Champaign County, now Clark County. In January 1834 Henry Hanford purchased of

public land In all modern states, a portion of land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land, state land, or Crown land (Australia, and Canada). The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countrie ...

(according to the provisions of the

Land Act of 1820 The Land Act of 1820 (ch. 51, ), enacted April 24, 1820, is the United States federal law that ended the ability to purchase the United States' public domain lands on a credit or installment system over four years, as previously established. The n ...

) in

Logan County, Ohio Logan County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,150. The county seat is Bellefontaine. The county is named for Benjamin Logan, who fought Native Americans ...

, utilizing the land office at Piqua. Later he acquired more land, using the

Wapakoneta Wapakoneta may refer to: ;Places *Wapakoneta, Ohio *The Lima- Van Wert-Wapakoneta, Ohio Combined Statistical Area ;Ships *, United States Navy ships ;Other *The Treaty of Wapakoneta *The Wapakoneta City School District The Wapakoneta City Schoo ...

land office, until he owned in Logan County. He opened a general store and became the first postmaster of Lewistown. Henry and Harriet Hanford had "seven children, all of whom grew to years of maturity".Timothy Edward Howard: ''A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana'', vol. 1, 1907, p. 544. () Henry Hanford died on December 31, 1866, and was buried at Lewistown Cemetery, Ohio.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanford, Henry American pioneers Founding settlers of Norwalk, Connecticut People from Logan County, Ohio 1784 births 1866 deaths

Further reading

References

External links