c. 1999, |
With few exceptions,
the original American Indians never claimed to own any land. This was the
case with the Indians who lived in the Seneca County, Liberty Township
area. They all roamed, hunted, and camped, but the land belonged to no
one of them.
About 1817, the U.S. government put them on reservations, and claimed the land officially as it's own. Soon after, the land was offered for sale to settlers, at $1.25 per acre. It was in 1827 that Jacob Garn became the first person to purchase property upon which Bettsville was founded. This was five years before Liberty Township was officially established in 1832, having previously been a part of Seneca Township. In 1834, Garn sold to John Betts 68-1/2 acres. It was a portion of this 68+ acres that John Betts, in 1838 had surveyed into 21 lots to be the location of the Village of Bettsville. The Betts, like many other early settlers in Liberty, were originally from Germany. The John Betts family had first settled around Erie, Pennsylvania and then came to Fremont in 1821 In 1847, Bettsville situated on the south side of the west branch of Wolf Creek, contained seven dwellings, two churches, one cabinet shop and one shoe shop and had a population of 40. |