One Township's Yesterdays Chapter XXIX  

ZECHIEL

No history of the representative families of Union Township would be complete without the inclusion of the ZECHIELs. At every turn of the road, they are to be found, and several in between, - - ZECHIELs in name or relationship.

Three ZECHIEL brothers all came from the same county in Ohio and all of them at about the same time. Two sisters came also. This family, [is] headed by

William and Elizabeth the oldest of the three ZECHIEL brothers
Jacob and Fredericka was next,
John and Rosina was the youngest
Elizabeth, wife of GEORGE MORLOCK

was born in Ohio and spent her girlhood on the farm there. She was married in that State to GEORGE MORLOCK and came to Marshall County in 1854.
Angeline, wife of Henry Cromley

came to Union Township from Marion County, Ohio, in the 'fifties when much of the land of this county and township was still wilderness and waste.

HENRY ZECHIEL of Culver is of the opinion that they came together to buy laud here, prior to 1856, returned to their homes in Ohio, and later came on with their wives and children to settle permanently. Probably the three separate families of the brothers did not move here to establish homes all at the same time, but no doubt they came within a year or a little over a year of one another. It was in '54 or '55, Mr. ZECHIEL thinks, or perhaps even earlier, that they migrated. All settled in the same neighborhood, now known as the Zion community.

Our ZECHIELs married into the STAHL family. Jacob Henry married the oldest STAHL girl, William G. the next one, L. C. the third girl, and Daniel the fourth. The STAHLs settled in the same neighborhood, that of the Kaley school and Zion Church. A history of the STAHL family tells of the association of various families in that settlement with, the STAHL pioneers, Jacob F. and Christiana. The historian says, "And especially do we mention 'Uncle' JOHN AND ROSINA ZECHIEL."

In regard to the families of the three brothers, the ZECHIEL pioneers, the following information has been obtained:

William's wife was ELIZABETH KAUFFMAN. They had eleven children:

Jacob H.

First of the children of WILLIAM and ELIZABETH (KAUFFMAN) ZECHIEL was Jacob Henry, who was born in Marion County, Ohio, December 22, 1845.

He was married to REGINA BARBARA STAHL at the Kaley schoolhouse on October 10, 1869, by the Rev. JESSE SCHLOSSER. The wedding took place on a Sunday afternoon at the close of the church service.

Jacob Henry was a carpenter. It has been said, "Perhaps more barns have been put up by him and his helpers in the old ZECHIEL and STAHL neighborhood than by any other man." It was he, in co-partnership with his neighbor, CHARLES H. STAHL, who built the Zion Reformed Church building in 1872.

The children of Jacob Henry and Regina:
Mary Christiana, wife of the Rev. Daniel E. ZECHIEL
Clara Elizabeth
who was born in the old log house on what has been of late years the Arthur WILLIAM ZECHIEL place, and who died in infancy, in 1870;
Minnie Sophia (born December 15, 1872),

wife of WILLIAM R. CROSSLAND
Arthur William (born Julie 28, 1875)

whose wife was LILLIE MAY KRIEGER
Louisa Adaline (born July 19,1877)

wife of AUSTIN MONROE ROMIG
Elsie Elenora (born October 3, 1879)

wife of CHARLES A. ASPER
Edward Emanuel (born March 26, 1882)

whose wife was ETHEL CLAIRE SMITH
Chester Leonard, the lawyer (born April 4, 1884)

who married MYRTLE A. MEDBOURN.
Wesley
Katherine
Julia
Mary
ANGELINE (EASTERDAY)
SARAH (MURRAY)
Israel
three others who died in early days

Jacob's wife was FREDERICKA WOLFORD.

JACOB ZECHIEL, second of the pioneering brothers who came to Union Township, migrated with his wife, FREDERICKA (WOLFORD), and family from Marion County, Ohio, to Indiana about the year 1856. Those were truly pioneer days.

Their children were also eleven in number, and more, (they had big families in those days and a baker's dozen was the rule rather than the exception):

William

Their oldest son William had much to do in helping his father clear up the farm, which became the home of the family for more than half a century, or for around 65 years. There was a great deal of timber and much swamp land in the early times where they had settled.

William's full name was WILLIAM GOTTLIEB ZECHIEL. He was born in Marion County, Ohio, February 28, 1850, and was married, November 1, 1877, at Zion, to SOPHIA MARGERETHA STAHL, daughter of Jacob F. and CHRISTIANA STAHL. They had one son and two daughters:

Sylvester Amandus (born January 3, 1879),

who married MARTHA VIOLA ROMIG;
Augusta Sophia (born February 10, 1884)

who married CLAUDE R. NEWMAN
Elva Ruth (born April 23, 1894)

the wife OF ARTHUR F. HATTEN.
George
Fred
CHRISTINA (KALEY)
Daniel

Another son of JACOB and FREDERICKA ZECHIEL is the Rev. DANIEL E. ZECHIEL, who was born near Marmont, August 28, 1860.
Sam
Charles
ELIZABETH (SCATES)
MATILDA (MC CURTIN), the youngest of the family living
the rest who died young.


John, the third brother, married ROSINA BEHNER. Representatives of this branch of the family now reside in Culver. They had six children:

Mary Ann, who remained single
Louis C.

The oldest son of JOHN and ROSINA (BEHNER) ZECHIEL was Louis Christian.

It has been said, "Louis was a farmer's son and at the same time the son of a blacksmith, the two occupations finding expression in the one father." Louis became a school teacher and taught the Washington School, east of Lake Maxinkuckee.

He was the scholar of the family, and to this day spends much of his time in reading, of which he is very fond.

He resides with his daughter, Mrs. GRACE WADE, in Culver.

LOUIS CHRISTIAN ZECHIEL's wife (and the coincidence of the given names, you will notice is striking) was Louisa Christiana, third daughter of JACOB F. and CHRISTIANA STAHL. They were the parents of seven children:
Charles Herbert
BERTHA PAULINE (ROMIG)
Herman Jerome
GRACE AGNES (WADE)
Otto Jacob, the minister
Virgil Homer
Carl James, who died at the age of eight months.

KATHERINE (MAXEY)
Henry
John
Albert


A couple of decades after the ZECHIELs settled in the township found members of the family in possession of acreage of wide extent in the southwestern and western sections of the township. In the southwestern area, we find outlined on an old map the following lands:
• Those of W. (WILLIAM) ZECHIEL, 160 acres, southwest of Lake Maxinkuckee and on the boundary of the county. The old travelled road crossed this land diagonally. The Cromley Cemetery was at the side of this road, which is no longer in use as a public highway.
• In the name of A. (ARTHUR) ZECHIEL 40 acres, east of Zion Church and northeast of the old Kaley school.
• In the name of J. (Jacob) ZECHIEL, parcels of 120 and 40 acres, east of the foregoing.
• Southeast of this and north of W.'s 160 acres, parcels of 40 and 20, the property of J. H. ZECHIEL.
• L. C. ZECHIEL had an 80 and a 40 southeast of the old Albright Church.
• J. (JOHN) ZECHIEL had lands (54 and 53 acres) adjoining, to the west, the HAWK farm on Lost Lake. West of Lake Maxinkuckee, around the old "Lost Lake"
• and below the present airport, WILLIAM G. ZECHIEL owned plots of nearly 60 acres and 40 acres.
• On the east side of old Manatau Lake were small plots:
  
J. ZECHIEL, 20 and 52.41 acres,
and A. ZECHIEL, 20 acres.

• West of Marmont was John ZECHIEL's 140 acre farm.
There have been various changes, of course, in the areas and ownership of these lands since the 'seventies.