In the commissioners' records for the date of April 30, 1810, we find the following:
"Ordered, that the following boundaries compose a township, to be known by the name of Union, and is bounded as follows, viz.: Beginning at the mouth of Oak run, thence east to the Franklin county line; thence north four miles; thence west to the line of Deer Creek township; thence west with said line to the Champaign county line; thence with said line the southwest corner of Champaign county and the north corner of Stokes township; thence with the north line of Stokes three miles; thence eastwardly to the southwest corner of Judge Baskervilie's survey; thence direct to the beginning."
At a meeting of the commissioners on December 7, 1812, it was ordered that "the line of Union township between Union and Pleasant, running from the mouth of Oak run to the county line, be vacated; and it shall run northeastwardly to the state road leading from London to Dyer's mill, so as to leave all the inhabitants on main Deer creek in Union, and all those on Oppossum run in Pleasant township; said line to continue with the state to the county line."
On June 2, 1829, it was "Ordered by the commissioners, that the following lines, as run by Henry Warner, be established as township lines between the townships of Union, Pleasant, Range and Stokes: Beginning at the northwest corner of Samuel Baskervil1e's survey, running south twenty-four degrees west about fifty poles; thence south twenty two degrees west to the line between the counties of Madison and Fayette, a short distance east of McIntosh's farm, for the line Stokes and Range townships. The line between Pleasant, Range and Union, running from Baskerville's said corner north seventy degrees east to Langham's road, near Samuel Kingern's; continue the same course two hundred and twenty poles; thence north twenty degrees west forty poles; thence south seventy degrees east to the Chillicothe road; thence north fifty-three degrees east to Deer creek; thence up the creek to the mouth of Oak run; thence north fifty-two degrees east to the line between the counties of Madison and Franklin."
Again, on June 6, 1836, "at a meeting of the commissioners of Madison county, on petition being presented, ordered that the line between Deer Creek township and Union township be altered to run, to wit: Begining at the northwest corner of Jefferson Melvin's farm, and southwest corner of John Adair's land, and to run westerly to strike the Lafayette road ten poles south of the Glade, between B. Bowdry's and D. J. Ross; thence the same course continued until it strikes the present line, which divides said township so as to include D. J. Ross into Union township."
On March 2, 1840, it was "Ordered by the commissioners of Madison that the line between the townships of Union and Somerford be so altered as to include Daniel Wilson and the land on which he lives into Union township."
So it is seen that the boundaries of Union township passed through several changes prior to 1841, and it is to be observed that its present boundaries are still different from the above, as Fairfield township has since been erected, and with other changes which have from time to time been made, have constituted its boundaries as they now exist. The township is now about eleven miles long from east to west, from two to six miles wide from north to south, and has the honor of containing London, the county seat of Madison county.
Because of the absence of any records of the township for the first ten years after the erection of the township, it is possible to give only the first officers that appear on the existing records, which is for the year 1821: George Chappell, William Smith and Patrick McLene, trustees; Stephen Moore, Jr., clerk; William Jones, treasurer; William Athey, assessor; Henry Warner, Edward Evans, and James Campbell, constables; Henry Coon, William Jones, Edward Evans, Thomas Brown and John Asher, Supervisors; Aquilla Toland and Simon Steers, fence viewers; John Moore and A. G. Thompson, overseers of the poor; John Simpkins and Jonathan Minshall, justices of the peace.