The site of Wapakoneta was platted in January, 1833 by John Jackson, Surveyor of Allen Co., for J.B. Gardner, Peter Aughenbaugh, J.K. Wilds, and Joseph Barnett. At the first election held in April, 1833, at the home of Jeremiah Ayres, the highest number of ballots cast for any candidate was 27. A special election was held in June of the same year to select two justices of the peace, with the highest number of ballots cast for Beal Spurier with 31, James Spray tied with John Corder at 25. In April, 1834, the second annual election was held , with the most votes cast for a candidate being 37. All elections were held at the home of Jeremiah Ayres for many years with the exception of one, which was at the District No. 1 schoolhouse. In 1847 the whole vote cast was 159, and in 1849 the total rose to 195. Based upon the numbers of votes cast, estimates of population in Duchoquet Twp. are 500 in 1843, and 1100 in 1853. The town of Wapakoneta was chartered on the date of 02 March, 1849.

In 1834 a school house was erected at the instigation of R. J. Skinner, F. B. Van Horne, and James Elliott. The brick proved to be too soft, and the building became unsafe by about 1845. The concentrated courses of study were in the English Reader, grammar, and arithmetic. This was a subscription school and the teachers were "boarded around" among the families of the community. In 1840 Dominicus Flaitz organized a German school which continued until 1848. In 1845 the old French trading house came into service as a school building. The old Methodist Church served as a school and court house from 1847-1850. In 1856 another brick building was constructed for school purposes on the site of the Union School. In 1874 bonds were issued in the amount of $28,000 for the construction of a new building. The Catholic parishoners established an independent school in 1853.

Immediately upon settlement of the town, the Methodists formed a class and in 1834 erected their first church building. Other early churches included St. Paul's German Lutheran Church which erected a building in 1848. The English Evangelical Lutheran was established by constitution on 25 December, 1857. The Presbyterian Church was formed by a committee on 23 September, 1854. St. Johns Evangelical Lutherans split from the St. Paul's German Lutheran Church in the 1860s. Prof Horstman, of Glandorf, Germany, a Catholic Priest as well as a physician, embarked for America in 1831 and settled at Glandorf, Putnam County. He traversed several counties and came to Minster in 1832, where wide-spread members of the Catholic Church built the first log Catholic Church in Auglaize Co. In 1839 a frame Catholic church was built on the corner of Pearl and Blackhoof in Wapakoneta. In 1858 a new brick building was dedicated to St. Joseph.

The following list is of the first settlers in Duchoquet Township. Other lists will soon be online listing first settlers for each township. For the time being, we will limit the inclusion of settlers up until about the year 1850. Once we have finished this task, we may extend the time-span. If your ancestor doesn't appear here, check the county and other township lists. If you have information about the settlement of your ancestor, please submit it for inclusion on these lists. Your submission must include reference to a source document (i.e. deed, Bible record, legal document).

Key to Source Abbreviations:

ATL80 = 1880 Atlas of Auglaize County, compiled by H.G. Howland, published 1880 by Robert Sutton

Settler	Origin	Settled	Year Settled	Source / Researcher	Notes
Alspaugh, Abraham		Duchoquet	by 1847	ATL80, p. 24	Mem. of Methodist Ch.
Andrews, Geo. W.	New York	Duchoquet	by 1849	ATL80, p. 24	Funded the "Auglaize Republican" in 1849
Andrews, William P.	New York	Duchoquet	by 1849	ATL80, p. 24	Established the "Auglaize Republican" in 1849
Aughenbaugh, Peter		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	Co-founder Wapak
Ayres, Jeremiah		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	Hotel-keeper & first elections at his home
Barnett, Joseph		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	Co-founder Wapak
Barr, Martin		Duchoquet	by 1847	ATL80, p. 24	Mem. of Methodist Ch.
Burden, James		Duchoquet	by 1836	M. Patriarca	Copies of Land Grants for 260 acres
Bothe, J.C.		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	Clerk
Brannon, Robert		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 23	2nd Fence Viewer
Campbell, John		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	1st Fence Viewer & 1st Constable
Case, Samuel		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	Merchant
Coney, John W.		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	Ran for J. of P.
Corder, John		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	Tied for 1st J. of P.
Cummings,		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	Merchant
Duchoquet, Francis		Duchoquet	by 1832	ATL80, p. 26	Indian Interpreter, Catholic
Edmiston, David		Duchoquet	by 1835	M. Patriarca	Copies of Land Grants for 325 acres
Elliott, James		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	Farmer, 1st Clerk, Co-founder of 1st School, Mem. Methodist Ch.
Elliott, John, Capt.		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	Government blacksmith
Flaitz, Dominicus		Duchoquet	by 1840	ATL80, p. 24	Est. German School 1840
Gardner, J.B.		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	Co-founder Wapak
Goetz, P.		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 26	Mem. Catholic Ch.
Gray, ?		Duchoquet	by 1847	ATL80, p. 24	Mem. of Methodist Church
Harvey, Henry		Duchoquet	by 1809	ATL80, p. 24	In charge of the Quaker Mission
Harvey, Isaac		Duchoquet	by 1809	ATL80, p. 24	In charge of the Quaker Mission
Hammell, B.		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 23	2nd Supervisor
Hammel, Peter		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	French Trader, 1st Trustee, Catholic
Howell, Samuel		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	1st Supervisor & Overseer of Poor
Keller, J.		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 26	Mem. of Catholic Ch.
Kinninger, J.		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 26	Mem. of Catholic Ch.
Landkammer, M.		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 26	Mem. Catholic Ch.
Lanning, B. H.		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 23	2nd Constable
Mathers,		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	merchant
McCullough, Robert		Duchoquet	by 1847	ATL80, p. 24	Mem. of Methodist Ch.
McNamore, Bryant		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	1st Fence Viewer
Meyers, S.		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 23	2nd yr. Trustee & 2nd Supervisor
Milnor, Joseph		Duchoquet	by 1847	ATL80, p. 24	Mem. of Methodist Ch.
Montgomery, Shadrack		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	1st Trustee
Mosler, ?		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 26	Mem. Catholic Ch.
Neal, Alonzo F.		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	1st Overseer of Poor
Parlett / Parlott, Joshua		Duchoquet	by Oct 1835	Land Records; D. Parlette	Purchased Land Grant for 80 Acres
Patten, William		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	1st Trustee & Ran for 1st J. of P.
Richardson, W.		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 23	2nd Overseer of Poor
Sabin, J.		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 26	Mem. Catholic Ch.
Schmidt, D.		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 26	Mem. Catholic Ch.
Seifert, M.		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 26	Mem. Catholic Ch.
Shaw, Henry		Duchoquet	by 1832	Land Rec.; Larry Shaw	Land purch. 15 Feb 1836
Shaw, Joseph		Duchoquet	by 1832	Land Rec.; Larry Shaw	Land purch. 15 Feb 1836
Shaw, Neal		Duchoquet	by 1832	AUH, pg. 631; Larry Shaw	Land purch. 15 Feb 1836; father of William H.
Shaw, William H.		Duchoquet		ATL 1890, p. 27; Larry Shaw	1st Teacher at Cridersville; Twp. Trustee; J.P.
Skinner, R. J.		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 24	Co-founder of 1st School
Spray, James		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	Tied for 1st J. of P.
Spray, William		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	1st Supervisor & 2nd Constable
Spurier, Beal		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	1st Supervisor & 1st J.of P.
Tam, John		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	1st Treasurer
Thatcher, William		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	1st Supervisor
Thorne, Henry B.		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	hotel-keeper & 2nd Supervisor
Van_Horne, Thos. B., Col.		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	Land Office Register, Co-founder of 1st School
Von_Blaricom, Henry		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	1st Constable
Vorhis, Jacob		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 23	2nd Overseer of Poor
Weimert, ?			by 1834	ATL80, p. 26	Mem. Catholic Ch.
Werst, And.		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 26	Mem. Catholic Ch.
Wilds, J.K.		Duchoquet	by 1833	ATL80, p. 23	Co-founder Wapak
Williams, H.D.V.		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 23	2nd Clerk
Williams, Thomas		Duchoquet	by 1834	ATL80, p. 23	2nd Fence Viewer
Winget, Reuben		Duchoquet	by Oct 1835	Land Records; D. Parlette	Purchased Land Grant for 80 Acres
Woolery, Casper		Duchoquet	by 1840	Dan Woolary	1840 Census next door to John Tam; Farmer