Aboit (now spelled Aboite) is situated in the western part of Allen County and comprises Township 30 north of Range 11 east. These boundaries were established by the Board of County Commissioners at the May session in 1836, and in March of 1843. It was ordered "that so much of Aboit Township as lies south of Little River, be attached to the township of Pleasant." Aboit is bounded on the north by Lake Township, east by Wayne Township, south by Pleasant Township, west by Whitley County, and contains 34.55 square miles.
A list of "firsts" for the township
- The first hewed-log house was begun by George Bullard in the spring of 1836. He fell ill during its construction, and the work stopped, but he completed it immediately after his recovery. It was plastered inside, and was subsequently weather-boarded, making it a very substantial house.
- The first brick house was erected by Jesse Vermilyea in 1839. The material for its construction was manufactured by him from the clay on his farm.
- The first orchard was set out by George Bullard in 1837.
- In the same year (1837) the first school was taught in a cabin on the farm of George Bullard. It was a subscription school. Mr. Bullard donated a stove and boarded the teacher.
- The first religious meeting was held at the house of Richard Andrew in 1834, by Rev. James Holman. Mr. Andrew's house was the regular place of meeting until a short time prior to his death, when the meetings were moved to a log schoolhouse.
- Jesse Vermilyea kept a small stock of merchandise (the first in the township) with which he carried on a limited trade with the Indians. He did not, however, open a store.
- In 1848 Lot S. Bayless erected the first saw-mill in the township. It was built on the Aboit River, and received its power from that stream. Five years later William Hamilton erected a saw-mill on the same stream.
- The first white child born in the township was the son of Jesse Vermilyea; he was born in the spring of 1833, and died in the fall of the same year.
- Martin Kelley and Miss Mary Andrew were married at the home of the bride's parents in December 1834. This was the first wedding in the township, and was celebrated by Rev. James Holman.
- The first cemetery was donated by Enoch Turner in 1834.
- Aboit Post Office was established in 1839 at the house of Jesse Vermilyea who was appointed Postmaster and held the position for a number of years. At one time it was abolished, but subsequently re-established.
- The first election was held at the house of Richard Andrews in 1836. Richard Andrews and Samuel Dunlap were elected Justices of the Peace.
- In 1849 Levi Moore donated a lot from his farm upon which to erect a church- stipulating that it should be a union church, and open to all denominations.
First Settlers
On the 24th day of September 1833 Enoch Turner, Richard Andrew, William E. Gouty and Richard Clark, with their families (making a total of about thirty souls), came to the township to inaugurate the work of the pioneers. All were natives of Maryland, and settled near each other, thus forming a neighborhood which in later years came to be known among those who came after them as "the Maryland Settlement."
Jesse Vermilyea settled in the township in the same year. Vermilyea was a prominent man in the township, and took an active part in its development and improvement. He was of a kind, social disposition, and gained friends who clung to him during life.
Lot S. Bayless and Benjamin Rogers were the next settlers; they came early in 1834, and both cleared large farms.
William Hamilton, a native of New York, came in the spring of 1835, and purchased a tract of land to which he moved his family in the ensuing fall. He remained in the township until death.
George Bullard, a native of St. Lawrence County, N. Y., came in November 1835. He brought his family overland in a wagon, but sent his household goods by other parties to Perrysburg, Ohio, whence they were conveyed in pirogues to their destination. He purchased 240 acres on Section 13 which he cleared almost without assistance. He planted a small field of corn in the spring of 1836.
Raburn Beeson, a native of Greene County, Ohio, came to Allen County with his parents in March, 1826, and worked on the farm of his father, Richard Beeson, in Wayne Township, until 1839. In that year he purchased a tract of land in Aboit Township. This he cleared and improved.