Summerville
Early hub with a post office by 1830; families living around Summit Hill and Redbank Creek tended farms and attended nearby churches.
Names & Variants
Try Clover Twp. with Summerville, Bracktown, Nicktown, Redbank Creek, or Little Sandy so the clerk’s shorthand doesn’t hide your ancestors’ location.
Research Timeline
- 1804–1849 — Clover stands as a rural township on early county maps and assessment rolls.
- 1850 — Beaver Township forms to the south; western farms eventually shift to Beaver labels.
- Post-1850 — Families near Summerville or Redbank Creek might show under Perry, Pinecreek, or Beaver depending on the record date.
Strategy: if a source pre-dates 1850 and names a stream, road, or nearby village instead of Clover, use the 1878 atlas to see which successor township inherited the land.
Township History
Clover Township once surrounded Summerville and creeks like Broadford and Redbank. County histories note the area for its rifle companies, timber tracts, and modest farms clustered along the major roads that connected Jefferson County villages.
As the county matured, Clover’s western and southern neighborhoods were reassigned to Beaver and Perry, which means older deeds and assessments list Clover while later documents name Beaver or other townships. Use those boundary shifts to interpret any sudden change in how your ancestor’s place of residence is described.
Villages & Neighborhoods
Clover never produced large towns, but its neighborhoods (Summerville, Nicktown, Bracktown, and nearby hill farms) appear repeatedly in deed, church, school, and militia records. These names help you anchor census entries that lack a township label.
Nicktown & Bracktown
Roadside settlements where militia muster rolls and early school reports mention families such as Harris, Reynolds, and Spirit.
Early Settlers & Families
- Summerville families — active in timber, road orders, and militia musters.
- Redbank Creek settlers — early land patents along Redbank and Little Sandy later transfer to Beaver.
- Militia and township officers — Clover’s supervisors often appear alongside the same names in nearby townships.
Cemeteries
Look for burials recorded under Clover Township neighborhoods and successor townships such as Beaver, Perry, or Pinecreek.
Churches & Schools
Churches
Congregations in Summerville and nearby crossroads drew Clover residents. Later membership rolls reference neighboring townships as the township names changed.
Schools
Rural schools in Clover served the same families later listed under Beaver, Perry, or Pinecreek; look for teacher contracts, board minutes, and payment lists in county archives.
Post Offices & Postal Places
Summerville’s post office (dating to 1830) and nearby postmasters recorded Clover addresses before other townships adopted those names.
Localities & Historic Places
This snapshot will show hamlets and place references pulled from county histories and the Jefferson County data files.
Research Links
Maps & Land
Use county atlases and land records to plot early Clover farms, then see how those parcels later fall into Beaver, Perry, or Pinecreek.
Cemeteries
Cement search terms with the names of Summerville-area burial grounds, then cross-reference the county cemetery directory.
Courthouse & County Records
Check the Jefferson County courthouse for road petitions, school-board minutes, and tax lists that mention Clover Township names and justices.