Full text of "Publication"

Volume III. 



The Western Reserve 



Historical Society, 







Tracts 73==84. 



Society's Building, Monumental Park, 

CLEVELAND, OHIO. 

1892. 



^ 



2/ 



^ 



^ 



F 

no. 73-SI+ 



PREFACE. 



This Society is to be congratulated that it acquires the 
entire ownership of the building appearing upon the title 
page as the index to this volume is being printed. 

Of the tracts which follow the committee will say, as is 
usually stated, that the authors ot the various papers are 
responsible for their accuracy. 

Number 75, " The History of the Society," was ordered 
printed by a vote of the members at the annual meeting. 

We regret to have to call attention to a mistake in the 

printer's office which has duplicated in number pages 264- 

282. In the index the duplicate numbers are designated 

as 264 D, etc. 

James D. Cleveland, 

Lee McBride, 

Albert L. Withington, 

Committee. 



r 



OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY. 

1S31-2. 



PRESIDENT, 
Charles C. Baldwin. 

VICE PRESIDENTS, 

William J. Gordon, William P. Fogg, John H. Sargent, 

Sam Briggs. 

ELECTIVE CURATORS, 

To May, 1892, 

Levi F. Bauder, Peter Hitchcock, Henry N. Johnson. 

To May, 1893, 
Charles C. Baldwin, Stiles H. Curtiss, Rutherford B. Hayes. 

To May, 1894, 
Amos Townsend, Douglass Perkins, Perry H. Babcock. 

PERMANENT CURATORS, 

William J. Boardman, William Bingaam, James Barnett, 

Henry C. Ranney, George A. Tisdale. 

TRUSTEES OF INVESTED FUNDS, 

William Bingham, Eurus P. Ranney, Charles C. Baldwin. 

TRUSTEES OF FUND FOR BUILDING, 

William Bingham, James J). Cleveland, Henry C. Ranney. 

SECRETARY, 

1). W. Manchester. 

TREASURER, 

John B. French. 

LIBRARIAN, 
D. W. Manchester. 



I 



Table of Contents.-Vol. III. 



TRACT. 
73. 

74. 
75. 

76. 

77. 

78. 



79. 



80. 

81. 

82. 
83. 
84. 



PAGE. 

Archaeology of Ohio. — M. C. Head 1-121 

Historical Sketch of Western Reserve Historical Society. — D. 

W. Manchester 121-162 

Discovery of Palaeolithic Implements at Newcomerstown, O. — 

W. C. Mills and Prof. G. Frederick Wright 162-177 

Ancient Earthworks of Ohio.— Prof. F. W. Putnam 177-185 

Manuscript of Solomon Spaulding and the Book of Mormon. 

—President James H. Fairchild 185-201 

Twenty-fourth Annual Meeting of the Western Reserve His- 
torical Society, June 19, 1891. 
Address of Ex-President Rutherford B. Hayes. 
Report of D. W. Manchester, Secretary. 
Address on " The New Methods in History," by C. C. 

Baldwin, President 201-217 

Case School of Applied Science. 
Biographical Sketches of the Founder and his kinsmen. 
Leonard Case, Sr., 1786-1864. 
William Case, 1818-1862. 

Leonard Case, Jr., 1820-1880.— By Hon. James D. Cleveland 256-282 
History of Man in Ohio. A Panorama.— Judge C. C. Baldwin, 

President 256-282 

The Ohio Railroad— That Famous Structure Built on Stilts.- 

C. P. Leland, Esq. Duplicate pages *264-286 

Development of Cleveland's Harbor.— John H. Sargent 286-300 

The Early History of Lorain County.— Hon. W. W. Boynton. 300-367 
Traces of Ice Age in the Flora of the Cuyahoga Valley.— 
Prof. E. W. Claypole 367-380 



♦Marked in Index by D. 



List of Illustrations. 



Knives, Nos. 1-15 page 12 

Knives, Nos. 16-26 page 13 

Axes and Spear Heads, Nos. 27-54 pages 15, 16, 18, 20 and 21 

Weapons and Implements, Nos. 51 to 95 pages 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, 32 

Grooved Hammer page 34 

Mortar and Pestle page 38 

Stone Ornaments page 41 

Carved Pipes page 50 

Ej05gies pages 62 and 64 

Barnesville Track Eocks. Plates I, II, III pages 69, 70 and 72 

Independence Slab page 75 

Fort Hill, near Berea page 82 

Island Fort,. Copley page 83 

Earthworks at Newark page 85 

Earthworks at Marietta and Circleville page 87 

Cincinnati Tablet and Keverse pages 102, 103 

Arbitrary Characters for Inscription page 107 

Grave, Greek Mound Inscription page 108 

flelic from Garrettsville page 119 

With Tract 75, commencing page 167 : 

Glaciated Area of Ohio, Plate A. 

Typical section of Glacial Terrace, Plate B. 

Implement found at Newcomerstown, and one from Amiens, France, 
Plate C. 

Edge view of the same, Plate D. 



INDKX. 



(By error in the printing office pages 264-282 are duplicated and the last are designated as 264 
D, etc.) 

Abbey, Henry G 235, 236, 250 

Abbot, W. H 28, 44, 117 

Alpine, Rosewort 374 

Amherst, History of, 351. Original owners. Equalized by part of Black 
River. Difficulty in organization, 352. First officers in 1830. First 
saw and grist mill in 1811. Josiah Harris' public spirit, 353. Sur- 
veys of Eliphalet Redington 353 

Andrews, Prof. E. B 144 

Animal bones 60 

Annual Report of Secretary of Western Reserve Historical Society for 
1891. Growing public interest, 203. Additions to Library and 
museum, 203-4-5. Books and documents, 205. Lectures, 205-6. 

Requests for Information, 206-7. Influence and rank 207-8 

Archaeological Exhibit at Philadelphia, 7. At New Orleans 8 

Artie Butterfly 377 

Ark^Arkites" 230 

Arrow Points * 10 

Ashtabula Historical Society 146 

Atkins, Q. F., Diary of, 141. Statement of 143 

Austin, E 143 

Avon, History of, 338. Pierpont, Edwards, Proprietor. Islands an- 
nexed for equalization. First settlers. Changes in boundary and 

name 3o9 

Axes, Battle, 25-33. Lake Co., find of 28 

Babcock,P. H - 215 

Backus, Franklin T 229 

Baldwin, C. C, 8, 39, 52, 125, 126, 127, 130, 132, 134, 149, 156, 158, 159, 202, 215 

Baldwin, D.C 1^2 

Banner Stones 

Barker, Phineas, Field Notes of 1^^ 



n INDEX. 

Barnett, Gen. James 215 

Barr, Judge John 126, 140, 144 

Bath Street, 291-292. Case of, testimony and witnesses, 144. Ordinances 

and deeds Relating to 145 

Bander, Levi F 8, 52, 215 

Beads 42 

Beardsley, D. H., Statement of 144 

Beatty, Rev. Charles, Journal of 274-276 

Bingham, William 134,215 

Bird-shaped Ornaments 42 

Bissel, J. P., Field Notes of 139 

Black River, History of, 330. Moravian attempts at settlement. Division 
of. Azariah Beebe. Nathan Perry. John S. Reid, 331. Succes- 
sive annexations and divisions of, 331. Two post-offices in 132 

Blair, John, Statement of 145 

Boardman, William J 134, 158, 215 

Bone implements, Willoughby finds of 51-2 

Book of Mormon, 105. Theory of origin 187 

Botany and Geology, Mutually explanatory 377-8 

Bottles 55 

Boulders of Ohio, home of 261-2 

Boynton, Judge W. W 301 

Brighton, History of, 348. Abner Loveman, Jr., and Joseph Kingsbury. 
Transfers of ownership. Organized 1823. School house and church 

built. Good order 349 

Briggs, Sam 215 

Brownhelm, History of, 333. Told by Pres. Fairchild. Original owners. 
Names of first settlers. Included a part of Henrietta. " A preten- 
tious school house. Scarcity of money. Part of Black River. Final 

organization, 1819 334 

Burke, Gains, Letter of 144 

Camden, History of, 362. First owners. Township carved out of. 

Brighton and Henrietta. Organization, school and officers 363 

*' Canahogue," 271 

Canfield , Public Square 145 

Carlisle, History of, 350. Owners, Kelley's Island, annexed. Settlers from 

Middletown, Conn. Brookses and Johnsons. An ox-team journey. 

Organized with Elyria. Separated in 1822. Compromise name 351 

Carter Lorenzo, Indictment of I43 

Case, Leonard, Sr., 219. Ancestors and grandfather Leonard Eckstein, 

220-223. Early life and hardships, 224. Legal ability, public spirit 

and integrity, 225-6. Unpublished History of The Reserve, 233. 

Services to the city and State 225-228 

Case, Leonard, Jr., 129, 130, 135, 158, 219. Deposition in Bath street Case, 

144. Biographical, Sketches of ,[,233. College life and admission to 



INDEX. 



Ill 



the bar. Voyage to Europe and loss of health, 234. Selections 
from. Literary works, 237-248. Scientific operations, 236. Bene- 
factions, 248-9. Endowment of Library Association, 250. Project 
of founding a scientific school, 252. Endowment of Case School of 

Applied Science, 252. His brave battle with disease 254 

Case, William, Biographical Sketch of, 228. Early school and school-mates, 
229. Skill and zeal as naturalist, 230. Eminent services as Mayor 

and Railroad Manager, 231. Untimely death 34 

Celts 232 

Cession of disputed State claims to the United States 306 

Chapman, Rufus 118 

Charlevoix Map 271, 317 

Chert Spades and Hoes 22 

Cincinnati Tablet 101 

Clarke, James S., Notice of 144 

Clarke, Robert 6, 101 

Claypool, Prof. E. W ; 206, 368 

Cleaveland, Moses 142 

Cleveland Leader on Twenty-Fourth Annual Meeting of Western Reserve 

Historical Society 214 

Cleveland Library Association, 125, 126, 128. Membership and account 

of, 142. Original Members, 128. Historical Section Formed 126-7 

Cleveland Harbor from 1800 to 1835, 289. River and lake frontage, 290- 

292. City rights, in 293-297 

Cleveland, History of. A Lecture, 143. History of, by Col. C. Whittlesey, 

148. Surveys 148 

Cleveland, Judge James D 132, 254 

Clinton, Col. De Witt. D 267 

Columbia Township, History of, 324. Settlers from Waterbury, Conn. 
Hoadleys and Bronsons. A wearisome foot journey. Organization 
in 1809. Part of Geauga County, 325. Jurisdiction of First Ju8tice..325 

Columbus Street Bridge 290 

Conflicting Royal Land Grants, 302-3. Disputed claims arising from 304-5 

Connecticut Land Company, 307-311. Their surveys, 311-12-13. Method 
of equalization and division, 314, 315. Of numbering surveyed 
tracts, 313. Of draft, 316. Report of committee on drafts, 142. On 
Equalization, 142. Their drafts of, 1798, 142-3. Deed to Samuel 

Huntington, 145. To Samuel P Lord 145 

Copper Implements 

Cup Stones • 

Cutter, Orlando, Statement of '• ^"^ 

Cuyahoga River, Changes in course 287, 288, 298 

Cuyler, Major, Obituary of • 

Deed of Earl of Warwick, including Western Reserve 143 

Detroit, Siege of, papers, relative to 



IV INDEX. 

Discoidal Stones 39 

Doane, D. C, Letter of • 143 

Dobbin, Capt. Daniel, Letter of 143 

Early Migration to Ohio, Character of 124 

Earthworkg of Ohio, 79. At Newark, 83-86. At Marietta, 86, 7. At Circle- 
ville, 87. At Chillicothe, 87. On site of Cincinnati, 101. In Cuya- 
hoga Co., 80. Clark Co., 80. In Lake Co., 80. In Summit Co., 

80-83. Conjectural use of 88, 89 

Eaton, History of, 349. Original owners First named Holbrook. Settlers 
from Waterbury, Conn. First familieg and first school. Separation 

from Ridgeville 350 

Edwards, John S., Letters of 145 

Eflfigies, 61. Find in Columbiana Co., 62. In Carroll Co., 62. In Coshoc- 
ton Co., 63. In Stark Co., 61. In Missouri 63 

Effigy Mounds 99 

Elyria, History of, 339. First owners, Heman Ely and Judge Lane, 340. 
First saw and grist-mill, 340. Second framed building, 341. Festus 
Cooley, miller, Joshua Henshaw, surveyor. School house, church 
and distillery, 341. Township set-off in 1819. Chosen as county 
seat, court house, 343. Gifts of Heman and Arthur Ely to the town.344 
Ensign, Sethi , 143 

Fairchild, President James H 200,333 

Fiske, John, His writings .^ '. 209, 211 

Fire Hearths 64 

Firelands, Ancient topography of, 259, 261, 263. First historic race in, 

266' A hunting ground and seat of war, 271, 273. Explorations in..l40 
French and English Traders in, 273. Early Descriptions of, 272. Military 

Expeditions in, 277. Present civilization, 280-1. Historical 

Society 54, 261 

Flint Implements, 8-10. Flint Ridge 8 

Flora of Cuyahoga Valley, 369. Of the glaciated regions, 372. Of the 

Old and New Worlds Compared 372-3-4 

Flouring Mills at Mission Ridge 36 

Fort Ancient, 5, 99. Hill 182-184 

Fort Hamilton find 33 

Fogg, W. P 153, 158, 215 

Foot, L., Field Notes of 139 

Forged Inscribed Stones 105-6-7 

Freese, Andrew 249 

Freese, John, Surveys of 143 

Field, A., Notes of 139 

Freeman, E. A., His Books, 209. Views of History, 212. Indians and 

Aryans 268 

, 215 



INDEX. V 

Galena 100 

Garfield, Gen. James A 149 

Garlick, Dr. T 134,154 

Garrettsville Specimens 118 

Gaylord, Allen, Statement of ■. 143 

Glacial Man 116, 117,262-3 

Goodman, Alfred T., 125-6, 147-8. Writings and Edited Manuscripts of... 146 
Grafton, History of, 335. Lemuel Storrs. Settlers from Berkshire Co. 
Major Ingersoll. Twelve Houses in Twelve Months, 335. First 
attached to Medina Co. Incorporated 1818. First School and Church. 

A Raft on the Black River 336 

Graham, A. A 166 

Grave Creek Mound Stone 107-8 

Griswoid, Senator Stanley 145 

Griswold, Hon. S. 158 

Gordon, W.J 129,215 

Gould, Dr. T.D 261 

Hammer Stones 33-4 

Harris, S.T 140 

Harmar, Gen. J 304 

Harper, James A., Field notes of 139 

Hawley, T. B 139 

Hayes, Hon. R. B., 152, 215. Address at Annual Meeting 202 

Haynes, Prof. H. W 173 

Heart, Capt. Jonathan, Journal of 147 

Heckenwelder, John ^ 142 

Heighway, S. C, his collection S, 19-22 

Hematite ^2 

Henrietta, History of, 359. Division of. Brownhelm. A rejected peti- 
tion, 360. Transfers and partitions. First settlers. Holcombs and 

Abbots ', 360 

Hilliard, Richard ;^228 

History, Improved Methods in 257-8 

Hitchcock, Peter 215 

HoUey, J. M., Field notes of, 136, 140. Memoranda of, 141. Survey of..l38-139 

Holley, Gov. A. H 1^0-1 

Homer Township, History of, 358. A part of Sullivan Organized as 

Richmond ^^^ 

Hoover, Ezekiel 288-9,297 

Huntington, History of, 346. Original owners. Settled from Huntington, 
Conn. The Labories, their house and furniture, 347. Benjamin 

Rising's factory, 347. Incorporated 1822. Officers 347 

Huntington, J. C, Statements of , Letter ^^2 

Ice Age Effect on Plant Distribution, 376. Benefit to Ohio 259-60 

Indians, Advent of in Ohio, 264-266. Compared with Early Aryans, 267-8, 



VI INDEX. 

Iroquois and Algonquin, 269. Traditions of. Conquest in Ohio, 
270. Early wars of, 271. Treaties with, 308-9-10. Closing War 
with, 309-10. Weapons and Tools Manufactured by 10, 11, 37 

Jefferson, Thomas, Letter of 145 

Johnson, Henry N 153-4, 215 

Jollification at Cleveland, 1815 144 

Johnson, Levi, Statement of 145 

Judson, Frederick 141 

Kelley's Island Glacier marks 260 

Kelley Madison, Deposition of 144 

Kirtland, Turhand, Contracts, Notes and Explorations 142-3 

Kirtland Society of Natural History 161, 231 

Kinney, Thos. W 8, 9, 17, 19, 22, 52-3-4, 61, 64 

Knives, daggers and spear-points, 11-22. Finds in Logan cc, 19. In 

Trumbull co., 22. In Knox co 17, 19 

LaGrange, History of, 358. H. Champion and L. Storrs owners. Exchange 
of Lands, 359. Attached to Carlisle. Separated in 1827. Kapid 

Settlement. Judge Hubbard :..359 

Lake Erie before and during Ice Age 258, 263 

Landon, Joseph, Surveys of 137, 140 

Leland, C. P 205-6,263 

Lewis, Dr 76 

List of Families in Cleveland, 1810 145 

Lloyd Street, 291. Allotment of 289, 291 

Lorain CO., First Commissioners and County Officers, 363-4. Educational 
Institutions and Societies, 364. Self-denials of the Pioneers, 365. 
Their high character, 366. Wonderful changes and progress 366 

Manchester, D. W., Secretary 205, 215 

Manhattan City D278, D280 

Margry Papers 148-9, 150 

Marsh, O. C 90 

Mather, S. H 139 

Mercer, K. W 8 

Metropolitan Museum, Collection 51 

Migration of plants and animals Compared 376 

Mills, W.C 165 

MiUerism in Cleveland 145 

Miskouaki, Speech of 143 

Mistake at a Wedding 144 

Mitchell's Map 271 

Monroe, James 149 

Moravians in Tuscarawas co ". 277 



INDEX. vn 

Mortars and Pestles 36-38 

Mounds in Licking co., 89. At Chattanooga, 114-115. Methods of Explor- 
ing, 179. At Newark, 90-98. At Wayne, 82. At Cahokia Creek, 89. 
Serpent Mound, 180-182. Alligator Mound 99 

Mound Builders, Origin of, 113-117. Social and Civil Condition of, 109, 
110-111, 264. Skulls of, 112, 180, 266. Priority to the Indians, 
264. Mining of 100 

Murray, Elias, Letter 143 

Neff, Peter 6,52,63 

Newburgh Pioneer Society 125 

New Methods in History, Address by Judge Baldwin, 209-213. Of recent 
origin, 209. Northern Ohio a fertile field for, 210. Advance the 
study of economies and government, 211. Relation of Historical 

Society To 212 

Northampton, Lots in 142 

Northeastern Ohio with map in 1796 142 

Oberlin Colony and College 354-5-6 

Ohio Canal 289 

Ohio Rail Road Co., Incorporators and Charter, 268D. Proposed route 
and termini, 271D. Cyrus Williams, Prospectus of, 272D, 274D. 
Construction of, 274D. Causes of collapse, 275D, 280D. Thomas 
Richmond's account of, 276D, 280D. Fraudulent stocks and 

credit 281D-284D 

Ohio Plunder Law and Results 268D-271D 

Ohio State University Collections .....8, 33, 54 

Ontario Street dock proposed -94 

Paine, Edward, Letter of • ^^^ 

Palaeolithic implements found at Newcomerstown by W. C. Mills, 165-6. 
Paper on by Prof. G. F. Wright, 167. Report to New York Nation, 
168-173. Paper Read before Boston Society of Nat. History by Prof. ^ 

H. W. Haynes 173-176 

Palmer, Caleb, Surveys of ^^^'^^ 

Parker, Charles, Field Notes ^^" 

Parkman, Francis, llis writings -^^' ^'^ 

Partition and draft west of Cuyahoga co ^^^ 

Pease, Seth, Surveys, 136 Memoranda and Field Notes, 137-8. Journals 
and Diary, 140-1, 145. Journeys, 140-1, 145. Notes of magnetic 

variations, 138. Contents of townships on Western Reserve 139 

Pease, Horace 

Pendants • .„ 

Penftekl, Alanson ' 

Penfield, History of, 356-7. Caleb Atwater and his heirs-First settlers. 



VIII INDEX. 

Penfield and IngersoU, 357. Annexed to Grafton. Organized inde- 
pendent in 1825. First log school house D828, 357 

Perforators 22 

Perkins, Joseph 126,129,155-157 

Perkins, Douglass 215 

Perkins, Gen. Simon, Biographical Notice of 145, 224 

Picture Rocks, 64-5. At Barnesville, 66-73. At Newark, 73. At Inde- 
pendence, 75.79. At Wellsville, 74. On Susquehanna River ** Big 
Indian Rock," 67. In Georgia, 71. In Museum, Detroit Nat. His- 
tory Association 79 

Pittsfield, History of, 361. Barker and his sons Who drew township. 

Slow growth. Annexed to Wellington. Organized, 1832 

Pipes, 46-52. Finds of in Ross co., 48, 51. In Mound City, 47-48. In 

Chillicothe 49 

Plumb-balls 35 

Pottery 64-5, 68 

Proposed Cleveland Harbor , 293 . Impro vemts Suggested 294 

Putnam, Prof. P. W 179, 265 

Railroads in U. S. before 1888, 265D-266D. First Projected in Ohio, 267D. 

In Cleveland 291 

Ranney, Judge R. P 253, 215 

Rau, Dr. Charles 39, 46 

Read, M C 5, 9, 56, 1^7 

Redfield, Nathan, Surveys of 136-7 

Rice, Hon . Harvey 228 

Richmond, Thomas 276D 

Ridgeville, History of, 327. Drawn by Ephraim Root. Terrills and 
Beebees. Hardships of the route, 327-8. Rude dwellings. Rhoda 
Terrill. First school house burned. The *' Mill of Necessity." 
Town Organized in 1828. Requisites for township organization, 

Conditions of annexation 329 

Rock Shelters, 56-7. In Summit co 56 

Rochester, History of, 363. Drawn by Uriah Holmes. Names of first 

settlers. Organization and officers 

Root, Ephraim, Memoranda of 142 

Root, James, Deposition of 144 

Rootstown, Lots in 142 

Russia, History of, 354. First owners. First settlers. Names of 
pioneers. Organized, 1825. Contains Oberlin, (which see.) 

Salisbury, Dr. J. H 66, 73, 76 

" Sandosquet." " Sandoski " 272 

Sanford, Gen. A. S 135 

Sargent, John H 202, 206, 215, 286 

Science of History and Froude 209 



INDEX. IX 

Scott, Charles O I55 

Scrapers 32 

Sewage, Suggested Disposal of 296 

Shells, 56. Heaps at Chattanooga 114 

Sheffield, History of, 336-8. Drawn by Wm. Hart, Say brook, Conn. First 
^ ^ Settlers from Berkshire CO., and Sheffield, Mass. Judge Day. Eapid 
P, Settlement. -, Transferred from Huron co. to Cuyahoga, then to 

pjf" Lorain, 338. First Officers Organized, 1824 

Shephard and Atwater, Field notes of, 136. Allotment of 139 

Shephard, Warham, Field notes of 139 

Shooting of Daniel Diver 144 

Sinkers and skinners 35- 

Sloane, Kush K 269D 

Smith, H. A n 126,132 

Smith, Martin 143 

Smithsonian Collection 14,17,35,39, 118,152 

Society for Savings 129 

Spaulding, Solomon, 188. His Manuscript. Theory of, 187. History of, 
j^, 193.t Testimony concerning, 189-193. Not the Book of Mormon. 

Proof 193-200 

Sp afford, Amos, Field notes of 136,138,145 

Spafford and Stoddard Surveys 138 

Speculation of 1836 266D.267D 

Spencer, History of, 358. Organized, 1831 

St. Clair, Gen. Arthur, Notice of, 143. Letter of, 145. Defeat of, 309. 

St. Clair Papers 147-8 

"Starved Island," Glacier channel and boulders 261 

Steadman, Mrs. Buckley, Statement of 144 

Sterling, Dr. Elisha 129,152 

Stimson, Hon. R: M ■ 130, 155 

Stockwell, John N ' 251 

Stoddard, R. M., and Atwater, A., Field notes of 136 

Stoddard, Richard M., Surveys • 137-138, 140^ 

Stone, S. S,, Allotments • 289, 293,. 297;- 

Stone Implements, 25, 34, 59, 65. Ornaments 40^* 

" Sufferers Land " 277,311 

Suffield, Partition "of J^^; 

Sullivan, Notice of -'f^J' 

Sjimmit CO., finds of implements 10, 11, 37, 39, 40, 42, 46, 54^ 

Sweeney, Thomas T 

Tappan, A., Field Notes of • ^^^' ^^^ 

Taylor, Isaac ' 

Taxes in Cleveland in 1807 ^^^ 

Tisdale, Geo. A 

Tod, Judge George, Letters of "• 



X INDEX. 

Tod, Rev. M W 

Towasend, Amos.... ' 215 

Tracy, Uriah, Letters of 145 

Troy, History of, 358. Detached from Sullivan in 1835. Incorporated 
into Ashland co., in 1846 

Vienna, Lots in. 142 

Waggoner, Clark 284D 

Waite, F. M 45 

Walton, Dr. James 66 

Walworth, Miss Anna 140 

Walworth, John, Biography of, 143. Letter of, 143. Walworth Papers, 

142. Walworth Run, Past and Present 295 

Ward, J. W 66 

Warner, John F 128 

Warren, Moses, Surveys of 136, 138, 139, 140 

Warren, Survey of Town Plot, 145. Celebration of July 4th, 1800 223 

Wayne, Gen. A 309 

Wellington, History of, 344. Drawn by E. Root and James Ross. First 
Settlers from Berkshire Co., Mass.. and Montgomery Co., N. Y. 
First beds, 345. Danger from wild beasts. The Wilcoxes. A 

School entertainment. First officers. Col. Herrick 346 

Western Reserve named, 307. Limits of, 307. Settlement of, 143, 324^. 
Contents of Counties in east of Cuyahoga R., 139. Southern bound- 
ary of, 143. Sale of to Connecticut Land C>o, 307. Jurisdiction 
of United States in, 307, 308, 318. Of Connecticut in, 307, 308, 
318. Indian Rights in, 308, 223. Surveys in, 312-314. Erection 
into Trumbull Co., 318. Formation of Counties in, 318-323. False 
alarm and last '' Block House," 325-6. Fund for common schools 

in, 323-4. First mail route in 326 

Western Reserve Historical Society, 123. Originators, 125. Organization 
and Bye-Laws, 131. First Members and Officers of, 131-2. Donors 
to library, 130. First and second reports, 132-5. Officers in 1869, 
135. In 1869, 135. Membership and Officers of in 1890, 160-161. 
Twenty-fourth Annual Meeting of, 201-216. Officers and Commit- 
tees in 1891, 215-216. Collections, 134-5. Autographs, 159-160. 
Exchanges, 158. Library, 154. Maps, 135, 158-159. Manuscript, 
volumes, 136.146. Museum, 125, 150-154. Newspaper Files, 157. 

Tracts 157-8 

White, John G 154 

Whittelsey, Col. Charles, 6, 53, 62, 64, 80, 100, 125, 126, 130, 132, 134, 152, 

154,158, 161. Allotment of 289,290 

Whittelsey, Hon. E 140 

Wilmington, Stonea 31^ 104 

Williams, Cyrus 271D 




INDEX. XI 

Williamson, Judge Samuel, 142. Deposition of 144 

Winslow, RufusK 169 

Winslow, Nathan C 159 

Winslow, Richard; 228 

Wolcott, A., Field notes of, 139. Surveys 143 

Wood, Perry & Co 249 

Wright, Prof. G. F 156, 159, 160 

Wright, Albert A 167 

Wyandots, Farewell of, 278. Diary among 141 



PUBIirSHKD BT 



(T^c Ulroteru ^totvt^t l^wtoximi Soctrtij, 

CLEVELAND, OHIO. 



ARCH/EOLOGY 



OF OHIO. 



By M. C. read; 



■•• 



LATE OP^ THE GEOLOGICAL SUKVEY OF OHIO; TRUSTEE 
OF OHIO ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY IN CHARGE AT 
PHILADELPHIA, 1876; AND ASSISTANT COM- 
MISSIONER AT THE EXl'OSITION AT 
NEW ORLEANS IN 1884-5, 



XRACT 73. 



Approved for piiblication : 

Lee McBride, 
H. G. Cleveland, 
Sam Briggs, 

Committee on Printing. 



CLBVELAKD LRADER PRINT. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS, 



PAOl. 

The Archseological Exhibit, , - - - - . . 7 

Flint or Chert Irapleinents, ..... 8 

Arrow Points, ... . . . . lo 

Knives, ..--...-H 

Scrapers, Drills and Perforators, - - - - - 22 

Chert Spades and Hoes, -..--. 22 
Stone Implements, .......25 

Axes and Battle Axes, ...... 25 

Hammer Stones, - - - - - - - 33 

Celts, Skinners, Etc., - - - - - - 34 

Plumb Balls, Sinkers and Pendants, - - - - - 35 

Mortars and Pestles, ....-- 36 

Cup Stones, -..--.-- 39 
Discoidal Stones, -.-...-39 
Stone Ornaments, -- - - - - -40 

Bird-Shaped Ornaments, - ..... 42 

Beads and Tubes, - - - - , - - - 42 

Banner Stones, Badges, or Wands, - - - - 45 

Pipes, 46 

Hematite, ......-- 52 

Bone and Horn Implements, - - - - - - 52 

Copper Implements, ...--- 53 

Pottery, ..------- 54 

Shells, 56 

Rock Shelters, - - - 56 

Human Effigies, ...---- 61 

Fire Hearths, ^^ 

Picture Writing and Inscribed Rocks, - " - - - ^5 

Earthworks, -------- 79 

Mining by the Mound Builders, ----- 100 

Alphabetic Writing and Engraved Tablets, - - - - 101 

Social and Civil Condition of the Mound Builders, - - 1^^ 

Were the Mound Builders the First Occupants ? - - - 113 

Addendum— What is It ? ^ - 118 



INTRODUCTION. 

During this centeimial 3^ear of Ohio, the attention of its 
citizens will be generally directed to its past. 

The State is remarkable for the number and extent of its 
earthworks, no spot of equal size on the globe having so 
many and so extensive monuments of earth. 

Whether one stands on the grounds of the Agricultural 
Society, in Licking County, inside the thirty- acre circle, with 
its high walls shutting out all view of modern civilization, 
and remembers that this was only one of many works 
extending tor miles in more than one direction ; whether, as 
happened to me last summer, he spends three and a half 
hours clambering along the steep embankments of Fort 
Ancient, or whether he reads in books alone of these and 
various wonderful works, remembering again that there are 
over ten thousand mounds in the State, he will be alike 
amazed at such and so many remains left by a race so far 
unknown that it can as yet simply be styled " The Mound 
Builders.'' 

The interest has been romantic, and the temptation, in 
absence of evidence, to exercise the imagination, has been 
quite irresistible. As years have flown and knowledge from 
many investigators has been added up, it is time that archae- 
ology shall begin to be certain and a science. The next 
step requires a competent experience and a sound judgement 
to decide both what is and what is not proven. For to be 
right it is quite important to know the limits and certainties 
of knowledge. 

This Society presents to its inembers with pleasure this 
little book, by Professor M. C. Read, of Hudson, Ohio, late 
a prominent member of the Geological Survey, of the State. 
He was also, in 1876, the most active Trustee of the State 
Archaeological Society of Ohio, in charge, with the late 



President of our Society, Colonel Charles Whittlesey, of the 
Archaeological Exhibit of the State at the Philadelphia 
Exhibit. Later he was in 1884-5 Assistant Commissioner at 
the Exposition at I^ew Orleans, having in charge the archae- 
ological exhibit there. 

His tastes, experiences, and mental habits, have been such 
that we think ourselves fortunate in making this, in this 
centennial year, the first of our new series of publications. 

It has been desired that at this time this publication 
should be made, and hoped that it will be of value in assist- 
ing knowledge and directing attention to this subject which 
it is to be hoped is this year to have the advantage of the 
largest exhibitions within the State itself. 

This book was mainly prepared for a report upon this 
subject and most of the illustrations were prepared for it as 
such and in outline as the amount to be devoted to engrav- 
ing was small. The author acknowledges his indebtedness 
to this Society, to the Smithsonian Institution, to Mr. Robert 
Clarke, of Cincinnati, and Mr. Peter Neff, of Gambler, for 
the use of engravings and for copies of others. Some of 
them have appeared in former tracts of the Society, but it 
has been thought best that Professor Read should be able to 
present, though not a complete, a typical treatise upon his 
subject. 

C. C. BALDWIN, 

President of the Western Reaerte Historical Society, 
of Cleveland, Ohio. 



The Archaeological Exhibit, 



By M. C. READ, Assistant Commissioner, 
Hudson, Ohio. 



The general attention now given to archaeological studies 
makes all good exhibits of local archaeology important 
features in general exhibitions. This was made apparent at 
the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. ^N'o part of that 
great exhibit of the industries and arts of the world attracted 
greater attention of all classes, than the pre-historic relies of 
the nations represented. The beginnings of civilization, the 
rude attempts of primitive man everywhere, to conquer the 
forces of nature, and provide for his ever-increasing wants, 
are now more carefully studied than ever before. And as 
there is no State in the Union richer in archaeological remains 
than Ohio, it was eminently fitting that the exhibit made at 
New Orleans, intended to illustrate the arts, industries, 
resources and civilization of this State, should be accom- 
panied by a like exhibit of its pre-Columbian inhabitants. 

The brief time which could be given to making the col- 
lections for this exhibit, rendered the making of such 
a collection as was desirable, wholly impossible. If all of 
the collections great and small in the State could be examined, 
and permission obtained to use selected specimens, which 
were well authenticated, accompanied with descriptions 
showing when, where and under what conditions they were 
found, an exhibit could, be made which would enable us to 
commence an accurate classification of these remains, and to 



understand at least approximately their significance. Before 
these typical and valuable specimens are lost or carried out 
of the State, such a collection ought to be made, either by 
the State, or by some society, so organized, as to insure the 
preservation of the collection, in some central locality, where 
it would be accessible to all students of archaeology. Every 
year's delay renders the making of such a collection more 
difficult, and would make the collection of less value when 
made. Its preservation could be fully insured by making it 
the property of the State, to be treated as a part of the 
library of the history of the State. 

In making the selections for the N"ew Orleans Exhibition, 
many collections could not be visited. Many owners were 
unwilling, for any monied guarantee, to risk the loss of 
specimens, and reliance had to be made upon the generosity 
and public spirit of those who were willing to entrust their 
Avhole collections to the care of the Commission. Messrs. 
Baldwin and Bauder, of the Northern Ohio and Western 
Reserve Historical Society, of Cleveland ; The Ohio State 
University, of Columbus ; Thomas W. Kinney, of Ports- 
mouth ; R. W. Mercer and S. C. Heighway, ot Cincinnati, 
are entitled to the special thanks of the Committee for their 
generosity in this" particular. 

FLINT OR CHERT IMPLEMENTS. 

Of the many thousand articles exhibited, the so-called 
*^ flint " implements were the most numerous, and these, 
from the great variety ©f forms, and often from their delicacy 
and perfect workmanship, attract the most attention. They 
are not made of a true flint, but of a flint-like chert, found 
in place on the horizons of the carboniferous limestones of 
the State. Many ancient quarries have been noticed from 
which this material was mined, the most extensive one being 
on Flint Ridge, southeast ot Newark, in Licking county. 
Here many acres are covered, to a depth of several feet, with 
the broken fragments of chert, taken from the quarries. 



I 



The miners had learned that the chert exposed to atmos- 
pheric agencies did not chip readily, and was poorly adapted 
to their work. Accordingly they rarely attacked the stratum 
at its outcrop, but sunk pits to it, where it was covered with 
several feet of earth. These they carried through the chert? 
undermined it, and could thus easily work out the blocks 
into which it was naturally divided. The value they attached 
to this material is indicated by the vast amount of waste 
now remaing upon the surface. Not more than one or two 
per cent., of the material quarried, would be available for 
the production of the bettter class of flint implements. The 
selected material was apparently largely carried to other 
places to be manufactured, and was probably an article of 
barter between separated communities. Many places have 
been noted, remote from these ancient quarries, where the 
surface soil is filled with chips and flakes, and where broken 
ari-ows, knives and spears are conspicuously abundant. 

The typical fossih of the limestones are sparingly found 
in the chert, and are occasionally seen in the finished imple- 
ments — reliable witnesses of the material. Two such 
specimens from my small collection were on exhibition. 

In Mr. Kinney's collection was a large number of beauti- 
ful specimens, called by the Archaeologists of the Smith- 
sonian Institute, "leaf-shaped implements." These were a 
part of a single find of nearly four hundred specimens, and 
a large number of such finds have been made in the State. 
Rarely seen scattered upon the surface, they are found depos- 
ited by hundreds beneath the surface, and, in every case, 
where definite information can be obtained, on the margin 
of a stream or lake where they would be kept constantly 
moist. None of them are notched or fitted to be attached to 
handles. They appear to be unfinished implements, chip- 
ped into form and hurried where the flaking character of the 
material would not be impaired, and to be afterward fitted 
for their special uses. 



—10— 

It is related that when the Angel met Moses at the Inn 
and sought to kill him, his wife, Zippora, evidently suppos- 
ing that his danger arose from the fact that he had neglected 
to subject their son to the Abrahamic rite, seized a "sharp 
stone," and with it circumcised their child, when the Angel 
departed. The word rendered "sharp stone" in the Septua- 
gint version means a pebble from the brook, indicating that 
the author of the narrative understood that a stone, from 
which a knife could be extemporized, must be taken from 
the water. It is also related that the California Indians, in 
want of a knife, will search in the nearest stream for a stone, 
chip it to an edge, and with it skin a deer almost as quickly 
as he could with a modern steel knife. The primitive inhab- 
itants of Ohio were doubtless equally well informed, and 
would preserve their unfinished implements where their 
flaking qualities would not be impaired. One of these de- 
posits, in Summit County, contained also a number of pieces 
of matamorphic slate, chipped into the form of the polished 
stone ornaments, common in the State, but neither per- 
forated or polished. 

ARROW POmTS. 

What are "arrow points ?" is a question which would be 
differently answered by different collectors. A correct an- 
swer to this question, and many others which will arise in 
an attempted classification, can perhaps be reached by 
learning — 

First. How tribes, still making flint implements, use 
them. 

Second. What is the form of the first substitutes for them 
made of metal ? 

Third. What light does any well-authenticated picture 
writing shed upon the question? 

Now all the flint arrow tips, anywhere obtained, attached 
to shafts, are very small in comparison with many so-called 
arrows in most collections, and the modern Indian, who still 



—11— 

uses the bow, and has adopted iron or steel for his arrow 
tips, makes them all small. It is obvious also that the large 
pieces could be used for arrow points only at short rano-e, 
and with very strong bows. 

In the illustrations, figure ]N'o. 8 represents a very delicate 
glass arrow point made by a Tin Tin California Indian; Nos. 
19 and 20, chert points, attached to shafts in the Smith- 
sonian collection, made by McCloud River Indians; Fos. 21 
and 22, similar points in the same collection, made by 
Hoopah Indians, and Nos. 24, 25 and 26, iron points, attached 
to shafts in the Montana exhibit. 

With these may be compared ITos. 1 to 18, inclusive, repre- 
senting the different forms and sizes of what may properly 
be called Ohio arrow points. But there is a gradual increase 
in size, and no definite line can be drawn between the arrow 
points and the larger forms. 

KNIVES. 

Chert and rock fragments, which could be chipped to a 
sharp edge, constituted the only material largely available 
for the manufacture of cutting implements for primitive men, 
and natural wants would prompt to the extensive use of this 
material for such purposes. The forms of the implements, 
the specimens still found in use attached to their short han- 
dles, and the few specimens found, in which the handle is 
wrought out of the same material as the knife, and consti- 
tuting a part of it, clearly indicate the character of these 
implements. 

The rudest form is made without any attempt at symmetry, 
without any provision for the attachment of a handle, and is 
simply a rock fragment chipped to a single cutting edge. 
A collection of such knives,* taken from a rock shelter in 
Boston, Summit County, was among the exhibits. Nearly 
all found at that place were of this character— fragments of 
shale, quartz, boulders, and other rock, so broken as to give 
a single cutting edge, of such forms as Nos. 27 and 28 in the 



—IS— 




—14— 

illustrations. From the ash-bed of this shelter seventy-five 
such knives were gathered, made from all the material avail- 
able for such uses, to be found in the neighborhood, and the 
uses for which they were intended could not be mistaken. 

Figure, 29 represents one of several specimens of handled 
flint knives in the Smithsonian collection, reduced one-half 
diameter. 

No. 3930, of the Smithsonian collection, is a knife of red 
jaspery chert, obtained from a mound on Warrior River? 
Alabama, of which the handle is of the same material as the 
knife, the whole being of one piece. This is also in figure 
^o. 30, reduced one-half. 

Figure No. 31 represents a similar kaife from the same 
collection, and No. 32, still a difierent form, made of white 
chert, in the Missouri collection, both reduced one-half. 

These illustrations sufiiciently show the manner of attach- 
ing handles to these implements, which were doubtless used, 
so far as their wants required, for all the purposes for which 
modern cutting implements are used. When all the collec- 
tions in the State are collated and compared, it is probable 
that specimens from the mounds may be distinguished from 
later forms, and that a discrimination can be made between 
local tribal forms. Marked distinctions can now be seen 
between collections made in different places, in part due to 
the diflterences in the character of the material used, and 
doubtless in part due to the skill and taste of the manufac- 
turers. 

The forms are almost endless, and pass by incessable 
gradations into the forms which in collections are classified 
as daggers and spears. Illustrations of a few of the most 
typical forms will be given. 

Figure 33 represents a very beautiful specimen, found 
deeply buried in the glacial drift in Twinsburgh, Summit 
County. 



—15— 






31 



J\ 



•^> 




— 16- 




—17— 

It has a highly polished, reddish surface, supposed 
to indicate great antiquity. A. precisely similar specimen 
was in the Rhode Island Exhibit at the Centennial. Mr. 
Thomas Cleany has, in his very valuable collection at Cin- 
cinnati, two such specimens taken from a mound in Missouri ; 
and Mr. Thomas W. Kinney has also one which was on 
exhibition in his collection at New Orleans, but the locality 
from which it was obtained is not given. 

A similar form, of yellow jasper, from California, is figured 
in the description of the typical specimens in the Smith- 
sonian Collection. 

This peculiar form, from widely separated localities — all 
the specimens, so far as appears, are very old — some of them 
from mounds, tends to the conclusion that the Indians 
occupying, at least the northern part of the United States 
upon its discovery by Europeans, were preceded by a more 
artistic people. 

Attempting to make no distinction between knives, dag- 
gers, and spear points, illustrations of some of the most 
marked forms are given in the plates of illustrations, figures 
No. 33 to QQ inclusive. Some of these, particularly No. 36, 
from Indiana, and No. 46, from North Carolina, are remark- 
ably similar to modern knife-blades. Quite a large number 
of the arrow-point form, are symmetrically beveled on the 
opposite sides of the two edges, of which No. 40, from 
Knox county, is an illustration. This specimen carries a 
characteristic fossil of the coal measure limestone. 

This form is by many regarded as intended to give a 
rotary motion to the missile, but this is very doubtful. Most 
of these beveled specimens are too large for arrow-points, 
and if used for spear-points, the small surface of the beveled 
edges would not give the rotary motion to a heavy missile. 
This form may be the result of the peculiar character of the 
material, the symmetrical beveling being determined by the 
position in which the object was held when chipped. Or, if 
designed, the object may have been to get a stronger cutting 
or scraping edge than would result from a flatter chipping. 



-IS- 




—19— ^ 

Figures 39, from Mr. Kinney's collection, and 47, from 
Knox County, illustrate forms abundant in the southern part 
of the State. They are all very thick, short and broad, with 
long and strong shanks by which they were apparently 
fastened into sockets ; none of them have notches to aid in 
binding them in place. Figure 87 illustrates, probably, one 
of the uses of this form. It is a modern war-club with an 
iron tooth, doubtless of the form of the flint tooth formerly 
used. Bancroft, in his "Native Races of the Pacific States," 
Vol. lY., page 210, gives an illustration of Yucatan sculpture, 
in which a figure is represented armed with probably what 
the Spanish invaders called stone swords, consisting of a 
club into which was fastened four chipped stones or flints; 
the weapon is illustrated in figure 88. These stout Ohio 
forms were very probably used in a similar manner. 

Figure 45, from S. C. Heighway's collection, represents a 
form found in nearly all the collections in the southwest 
part of the State. All are very symmetrical, very elegantly 
chipped, generally of pretty large size, the specimen figured 
being one of the smallest. The shank is often very much 
smaller than that of the one figured, and often so delicate 
that if fastened to a handle it would be very liable to be 
broken. Every modern man or boy is not equipped for work 
or play, without his pocket knife ; and it is suggested that 
the notched shanks of these and similar^forms were not made, 
at least in all cases, for the purpose of attaching handles, 
but rather for attaching strings, by which the knives were 
securely tied to the clothing, to be always ready for all the 
uses made of the modern pocket knife. 

Figure 53, from Logan County, is beautifully toothed on 
each edge, and is a remarkably delicate specimen of chipping. 
It could not be designed for use as an ordinary knife or spear, 
but was probably used as a kind of saw. 

No. 44 is of white chert, very beautifully chipped, and 
was picked up on the site of an old manufactory of chert 



—20— 




I 



—21- 




—22— 

implements in the northern part of Trumbull County, and at 
a remote distance from any natural deposit of chert. 

SCRAPERS, DRILLS AITD PERFORATORS. 

Figures 67 to 79 illustrate some of the forms of drills and 
scrapers from Mr. Kinney's collection, and 80, 81, and 84, 
specimens from Mr. Heigh way's collection. There is almost 
an endless variety of forms, and some of them show won- 
derful skill in the art of chipping. 

Figures 82, 83, and 85, represent specimens put on exhibi- 
tion at Philadelphia by H. H. Hill, of Cincinnati, and are 
introduced to show some of the most unusual forms. 

Figure 86 is quite unique, and illustrates a specimen 
belonging to Florien Giouque, Esq., of Cincinnati. The 
peculiar form is plainly designed, and not the result of acci- 
dent, or of any flaw in the material. He calls it a fish spear, 
and the name may stand in default of a better one. 

CHERT SPADES AND HOES. 

Some remarkably excellent agricultural implements were 
put on exhibition, especially in the collection contributed by 
Mr. L. F. Bander and Judge C. C. Baldwin, of Cleveland. Some 
of these were fully one foot long and six inches wide, chipped 
from chert in a way which would puzzle any modern artificer, 
with all his appliances, to imitate. Ordinary chert arrows 
and knives can be readily imitated, as the material yields to 
simple pressure upon the edges and can be flaked in shape. 
But how sufiicient pressure could be applied to these large 
pieces to flake them into shape, and not entirely crush them, 
is a difi&cult problem to solve. These spades and hoes were 
attached to handles, and fastened in place by some material 
which covered from one-third to one-half their surfaces. 
This is shown by the limitation of the polished surface, as 
some of them have been used until the part brought into 
contact with the earth became as smooth as glass. Taking 
into account the difliculty in finding blocks of chert without 



—25— 

flaws, large enough for the production of these tools, and 
the labor required to shape them, it is probable that spades 
and hoes to-day, of beaten gold, would not cost as much in 
days' labor as these old implements cost. Surely in the 
sweat of their faces did these old agriculturists eat their 
bread. 

STONE IMPLEMENTS. 

The boulders of the drift furnished the great supply of 
material for what are ordinarily called stone implements. 
These are found in the State in great profusion and of a 
variety of forms, some very roughly wrought, and others 
very highly polished. But in Ohio material does not exist 
for the determination of a paleolithic and neolithic age, 
unless we limit the latter to post- Columbian times. Very 
delicately cut and highly polished pipes of catlinite are 
occasionally found, probably wrought with modern tools 
obtained from the whites. Several such specimens were 
obtained from small mounds near Monroeville,Huron County. 
In other places pipes of this material are found inlaid with 
lead ornaments. Of course these are quite modern. The 
carefully wrought pipes, and other articles obtained from the 
mounds, indicate greater skill in the working of stone than 
was manifested by the hunting tribes, who occupied the 
territory upon the advent of the white settlers. So that it 
we should seek for a rough stone age and a polished stone 
age, the latter would be prior in time. The builders of the 
mounds evidently had a higher social organization than the 
hunting tribes, and would naturally excel them in the 
rudiments of the arts of civilization. 

AXES AND BATTLE-AXES. 

The grooved axes are among the most remarkable of Ohio 
finds. They present a great variety of forms, and range in 
size from a weight of one to sixteen pounds. Some even of 
the largest are highly polished, very symmetrial in form, are 



—26- 




— 27- 




—28— 

brought to as sharp aa edge as the material will permit, 
each evidently representing many months of continuous 
labor. 

Many of the forms indicate that they were handled by 
bending a flexible branch of the size of a small hoop-pole 
around the groove, and fastening it in place by thongs, or 
some similar material. A groove is sometimes made on one 
of the narrow sides, at right angles with the groove for the 
handle, and evidently intended to keep iu place a wedge 
driven in to tighten the fastenings of the handle. 

When we imagine one of the largest of these axes, with a 
handle proportioned, like the handle of a modern axe, we 
have to imagine with it a man to wield it, larger and stronger 
than Goliath, of Gath. 

Through the kindness of W. H. Abbott, I obtained at the 
Exposition the cast of an axe found in Lake County, Illinois, 
at a place where several small mounds were plowed over. 
The axe and handle are wrought out of one piece, and the 
specimen doubtless illustrates the relative proportions of the 
axes and handles, when wooden handles were used, a pro- 
portion which must have been substantially preserved to 
enable any one to wield these large axes. The length of the 
axe, from poll to edge of bit, was seven inches ; width of edge, 
four and a halt inches ; entire length of axe and handle, 
nine and three-fourths inches. It was intended to be used 
with one hand, and grasped so near to the axe the imple- 
ment does not seem unwieldy. A greatly reduced outline of 
this axe is given in figure 93. Whether used in peaceful 
avocations, or as battle-axes, especially by foot soldiers, such 
short handles would be indispensable. For purposes of com- 
parison, figures 95 are given, showing the size of battle axes 
in the hands of warriors, from sculptures copied by Rawlin- 
son in his "Ancient Monarchies." At the right of each is a 
line showing the height of the figure of the soldier carrying 
the axe. Figure 94 is a copy of the battle-axe in the hands 
of a warrior, taken from one of the published cuts of the 



—•^9- 




-30— 




b 



—31— 

" Wilmington Inscribed Stones." The line at the right also 
shows the height in the engraving of the warrior carrying 
it. As he is evidently represented as on the war-path, 
carrying a spear in his left hand, and this battle-axe in the 
other, it is evident that the artist intended to represent an 
axe to be wielded with one hand. If the manner in which 
the axe is fastened to the handle is compared with the 
obvious mode of fastening two pieces, crossing each other at 
right angles as represented in figure 96, from a figure of a 
sculpture from Guatemala, and the use that is made of one 
of these delicate crescents of metamorphic slate, so common 
in Ohio, is noted, it will be evident that the artist com- 
mitted about as many blunders as could be crowded into the 
delineation of a single object. If the relative proportions 
are observed, and the warrior was of the stature of six feet, 
the axe would be one foot long and with a handle of the 
length of about four and a half feet. It is attached to the 
handle in an impossible manner. An expensive ornament is 
attached to the end of the handle, the most inconvenient 
termination that could be devised, but which would for- 
tunately be shattered by the first blow with the axe. 
Whoever may be the artist, and in whatever age he lived, he 
has certainly given us a fancy sketch of no value except to 
illustrate the skill and imagination of the artist. 



-32- 





-33— 



Figure 90 is a full-sized illustra- 
tion of a very beautiful and higlil}^ 
polished ornamental axe, of bluish 
green metamorphic slate, found 
near Fort Hamilton, in Hamilton 
County, which, so far as known, 
is a unique specimen. Figures 89 
and 92 represent more common 
forms reduced one-half. 

A systematic classification of 
the dilterent forms is impossible. 
The workmen apparently selected 
natural boulders as near the form 
92 and size of the utensil to be 

formed as jjossible, and worked them into a useful shape 
with as little labor as possible, so that the forms tliey finally 
assumed were often more the result of accident than of the 
design of the workman. 

Not all of the axes are grooved ; occasionally a double- 
grooved specimen is found, and one double-bitted axe was 
on exhibition. It will be apparent that none of these axes 
were efficient cutting implements, yet a specimen of wood 
taken from a mound, and belonging to the Ohio State Uni- 
versity, shows that a log could be cut off with a nearly 
square butt with these stone axes, and the marks of the axe 
upon it indicate a rapidity of execution quite remarkable. 

HAMMER STO:^ES. 

These are symmetrical stones, oblong or round — sometimes 
plain, sometimes grooved — and occasionally double-grooved, 
two grooves passing around the stone at right angles to each 
other. While commonly called hammer stones, specimens 
obtained from the Western Indians are conclusive evidence 
that they were sometimes used, with handles attached, as 
war clubs, and very likely were mainly designed for this use. 



—Si- 
Sitting Bull's war club, exhibited in the Montana collec- 
tion, is a symmetrical stone in the form of two cones, applied 
base to base, grooved at the centre, to which is attached a 
flexible handle covered with raw buffalo hide, by which it is 
attached to the stone. The handle is thirty inches long and 
the whole constitutes a very formidable weapon for hand to 
hand combat, in the hands of a mounted man. Specimens 
similar to this, with a stiff handle made of the leg bone of a 
deer, and ten or twelve inches long, all covered with raw- 
hide, are used by unmounted Indians. 

Another specimen in the Montana collection shows another 
similar mode of using these stone balls. A spherical stone, 
about two and a half inches in diameter, is neatly covered 
with rawhide, which at one side is continued into strings, 
braided into a stout cord a few inches long. The end of 
this cord is attached to a flexible handle, the whole forming 
a slung-shot with which an enemy could be terribly punished. 

Figures on Trojans column represent 
the Kelts in battle, loaded with such 
stones, which they are using as missiles, 
some throwing them with the hand, 
others with a sling. They were doubt- 
less used by our Indians for a variety of 
purposes, peaceful and warlike, and some 
Roc^Xrin... «f them by their abrasion show their 
Ohio, i nature. coutinucd usc as hammer stones. 



CELTS, SKII^JSTERS, ETC. 

Of these there was a very large variety in the exhibit. 
They are chisel-shaped stones of different sizes, all brought 
to an edge, and some showing long-continued use. By some 
they are called bark-peelers, and if their name was to be 
determined by the purpose for which they were most used, 
it is probable that this name would be adopted. 




—as- 
Lumbering, with the Indian, was bark-peeling, and there 
was nothing within his reach supplying so many of his wants 
with so little labor, as bark. An Indian Paley would find in 
the fact that at certain seasons of the year the bark was so 
easily separated from the growing tree, his most marked 
evidence of a beneficent design, intended for the comfort of 
the race. With the whole sheets of bark he built his houses ; 
with the inner layers he made baskets, clothing, thread, cord, 
ropes, etc., and doubtless used it many ways not suspected 
by us. In the gathering and preparing of this material 
these implements would be used, and also many of the sharp 
or serrated edged chert knives. Until we can compile a 
history of their arts, we can not determine all the uses of 
any of these implements. 

PLUMB-BALLS, SINKERS AND PENDANTS. 

The forms of these are almost as numerous as the speci- 
mens : some spherical, some cylindrical, some oval, some 
simple circular disks ; and the kinds of material of which 
they are made almost equally diverse. They all have this 
in common, that they are relatively small, and are so per- 
forated as to be easily suspended by a string, or have a small 
groove in which a string can be tied, for purposes of sus- 
pension. In the collection of the Smithsonian Institute 
obtained from Alaska, are stone sinkers, one of which is 
six and a half inches long, and over an inch in diameter at 
the largest point, attached as sinkers to the lines furnished 
with hooks for fishing. One would be slow to suspect the 
use of so heavy stone sinkers with so small fishing lines as 
those in this exhibit. Almost all tribes have learned the 
art of fishing with hook and line, and specimens of hooks 
found in Ohio, as well as in all parts of the country, indi- 
cate the practice everywhere here of the art which good 
old Isaac Walton has made classical. 

With lines made of bark and the coarse fibers available, 
and unevenly and poorly twisted, requisite strength would 



—36— 

require large lines, and these would require correspondingly 
heavy sinkers. Doubtless these articles were sometimes used 
for other purposes, but none of them are too heavy sinkers 
for fishing, and it is probable that they were oftener used for 
this than for any other purposes. 

.MOETARS AND PESTLES. 

!N'atural instinct everywhere prompts to the crushing, or 
grinding of grain to prepare it for food, and the first flour- 
ing mill is composed of two stones, one of which can be used 
with the hand io crushing the grain poured upon the other. 
This would soon be developed into the pestle and mortar, 
so easily made and so efficient that civilized man everywhere 
reverts to their use when better appliances fail. 

When the Confederate forces were driven from Mission 
Ridge, flouring mills were found scattered along the whole 
length of the ridge. Each consisted of the stump of a tree 
hollowed out with the axe, and a round boulder picked up 
in the neighborhood. With these the soldiers prepared the 
grain for their corn-dodger rations. In the bed of a stream 
in a forest, in the north part of Ashland County, is a granite 
boulder of considerable size, in the top of which a cavity of 
a capacity of a peck or more has been laboriously picked. 
It would have been carried away long ago, to do service in 
an archaeological collection as a splendid specimen of an 
Indian mortar, had it not been disclosed that it was the 
work of a pioneer hunter who remained long enough in that 
locality to raise small crops of corn, and needed a mill in 
which to grind it. It still deserves to be rescued from its 
retreat and preserved as an illustration of pioneer history. 

The indigenous races here seem never to have advanced 
beyond the pestle and mortar, although the hand-mill of 
two stones, one turning upon the other, seems to be readily 
suggested by them. Such a mill is a machine — the pioneer of 
all machinery — and these races apparently made no machines. 
Tools and implements of a great variety of forms, with 



—37— 

which the working power is muscular force, they had the 
skill to make, but not the skill to subject any of the forces 
of nature to their control. The hand-mill substitutes the 
force of gravity for muscular force. 

The most intelligent animals use tools — the Gibbon fights 
with a war club, the monkey cracks nuts with a stone, and 
the elephant drives away the flies which annoy him, with a 
brush. The savage makes tools, but no machines. His bow 
and arrow and his blow-tube are not in the highest sense 
machines, for his muscular energy drives the missile. 

The beginning of real civilization is made in the construc- 
tion of machines by which the strength of animals and the 
forces of nature become a substitute for human muscular 
work. When the hand-mill is discovered, the force of the 
running stream is soon harnessed to it, and out of this com- 
bination grows the modern flouring mill with all its im- 
provements. This first step was not made by these primitive 
races, and they must be classed as savages. While they did 
not advance beyond the mortar and pestle, they expended 
much labor upon them, and with very creditable results. 
As the mortars are generally very heavy, only two were put 
on exhibition, but the pestles were very numerous and of a 
great variety of forms. While they had no flouring mills, 
they prepared their grain both by the grinding and the 
roller process. The pestles with one broad, rounded end, 
were used for grinding; the long specimens, largest in the 
middle and tapering slightly toward each end, were used in 
the roller process as they are now used with the metate by 
the ]N"ew Mexican and Pueblo Indians. 

An unusual form of pestle is represented by figure 93, 
reduced one-half. It has a broad grinding surface, with a 
handle just long enough to be clasped with one hand and a 
peculiarly ornamented top. It was found upon the surface 
in Summit County. An illustration of a common form from 
the Cleveland Historical Society's Collection is also given, 
(figure 93a.) 




Fig. 93a. 



—39— 

CUP STONES. 

These are sometimes called nut stones, and oftener foot- 
rests for spindles. They are very common in the State, and 
have been picked up in large numbers at the site of a series 
of old fire hearths in Summit County. A large collection 
shows that the cavities were commenced by an instrument 
like a pick, which left a conical, rough cavity, and were 
finally shaped by rotating some object in the cavity. When 
brought to the size of about one inch in diameter, they were 
apparently no longer used, as new cavities are commenced 
near their margins which enlarged to the same size would 
cut into them. They are made on natural fragments of 
rock, in this locality almost exclusively the debris of the 
carboniferous conglomerate, a coarse sand-stone with a sharp 
grit. With few exceptions throughout the State they are 
made in similar rock. A single fragment often bears several 
of these cavities and sometimes on opposite sides. If used 
as spindle rests, it is strange that so coarse a stone is selected 
which would make the friction much greater than if a 
harder rock were used. 

Dr. Ran reports that some of the specimens in the Smith- 
sonian collection still show traces of red paint in the cavities, 
and it, is possible they were generally used to grind down 
pieces of hematite for paint. The specimens from this 
locality show no indication that they were formed by crack- 
ing nuts. 

DISCOID AL STONES. 

These, of various sizes, are tolerably abundant in the State, 
and some remarkably fine and large specimens were exhib- 
ited in the collection. Those of smaller size, and perforated 
at the center, were probably used as spindle weights. The 
larger and unperforated ones, perhaps in some game. Dr. 
Rau quotes from Adair a detailed description of the game of 
chungke as played with such discs, and this explanation of 
their urse is the most probable one. See also "Relics of the 
Mound Builders," Western Reserve Historical Society Tract 
No. 28, l)y C. C. Baldwin. 



-40- 



STONE ORNAMENTS. 

The metamorphic slate, found in the drift, was the favor- 
ite material for the manufacture of stone ornaments. It is 
often beautifully banded, is moderately hard, takes a fine 
polish, and is not easily broken or scratched. Oblong pieces, 
generally called "shuttles," are very abundant. Of these 
there are a great many forms, generally with two perforations 
on a central line, each one generally about equi-distant 
from the center and one of the ends. These holes are 
apparently counter-sunk, so that if attached to the clothing 
by cords passing through the holes, having a knot at the 
end, the knot would be below the surface. Unfinished 
specimens show that in perforating them, conical drills were 
used, giving a counter-sunk form to the holes. It has been 
suggested that they were used as shuttles in weaving, in 
smoothing sinews or cords drawn through the holes, or in 
twisting double-stranded cords, but the holes are almost 
uniformly as perfect as when first drilled, and either of these 
uses would quickly destroy their symmetry — certainly the 
striae left by the drill. That they were not made purely for 
ornaments, is indicated by the fact that a much coarser 
material than this ornamental slate is sometimes used in 
making them. An unfinished specimen from fine grained 
yellow Waverly sand-stone was picked up in Summit County, 
and a rock-shelter in the same county, in which all the 
remains were exceedingly rude, yielded one specimen from 
Waverly shale, unpolished, unperforated, but which had 
apparently been abraded or worn longitudinally on one side 
by a softer material than that by which it was formed. 

It may have been attached to the left arm as a protection 
against the bow-string, and it is possible that the more 
perfct specimens were used for the same purpose. This use 
is rendered more probable by the fact that specimens are 
found in graves in such position as indicates that they were 
attached to the arm of the buried body. 



—41— 




i Naturb. Assorted Shuttles from Stones— Northern Ohio; Collection of the Fire Lands 

Historical Society. 




Xaturr. Assorted Shuttles from Stones— Northern Ohio: Collection of the Fire Lands 
Ilistorica Society. 



— 1-2- 



BIRD-SHAPED ORNAMENTS. 

These were largely represented in the collection, and are 
abundant in Ohio. They are formed out of this ornamental 
slate, and in most of the specimens the bird-form is very 
clearly intended. Some of them have projecting eyes that 
give them a strange appearance. They all have this pecu- 
liarity in common with several other ornamental forms into 
which this material is worked. On a central line at the 
base of each end a hole is drilled diagonally through the 
corner by which the ornament could be sewed to the cloth- 
ing or other fabric in such a manner that the thread by which 
it was fastened in place would be concealed. Other orna- 
mental pieces, of such form as not to admit of these concealed 
holes, are drilled through the central line Irom the top, the 
holes being so conical that a knot at the end of a cord 
drawn through the hole would be concealed, and the same 
result obtained, that is, the mode of fastening would be 
concealed. 

In the collection of Dr. Griste, of Summit County, is one 
of these ornamental stones, exhibitirtg that peculiar polish 
which shows long continued use, while the striae left in 
drilling the diagonal holes are not vvorn down in the slightest 
degree. 

BEADS AND TUBES. 

Ornamental beads, sometimes nearly two inches in diam- 
eter, and flattened upon one side, composed of this same 
material, are sparingly found, and a few were included in 
the exhibit. Strings of similar beads are seen around the 
necks of sculptured flgures from Mexico and Central America. 
It is obvious that such beads would be worn only by distin- 
guished personages, and on state occasions. 

Tubes of this slate, sometimes entire, but more frequently 
broken, have been gathered from all parts of the State. 
They are of various sizes, and many of them are as perfect 



—43— 

as if turned in a lathe and bored with a modern drill. 
Unfinished specimens show that in some cases, at least, the 
drilling left a core after the manner of the action of a diamond 
drill. The drill was doubtless a node of cane, its action 
assisted by sand and water. 

The use made ot these tubes is not clear, but the words, 
pipe and tube, have originally the same signification, and 
the earliest record of tobacco smoking on the continent 
shows that it was done by the use of tubes. The following 
is quoted from a small volume entitled, "A Paper of Tobacco," 
"By Joseph Fume," published at London, in 1839 : 

"Oviedo appears to have been the earliest writer on the 
history of America, who mentions the word tobacco, and 
from the account which he gives of the ahumadas, or smok- 
ings of Hispaniola, w^e learn that the word, tahaco, as it is 
spelled by him, properly signified a smoking-tube, and not 
the plant nor the stupor w^hich was the result of the Indian 
manner of smoking it. His chapter entitled, ' Of the 
Tabacos or Smokings of the Indians of the Island of His- 
paniola,' appeared for the first time in the second edition, 
published in 1535, from which the following is quoted : 
"The Indians inhabiting this island have, among their other 
evil customs, one which is very pernicious, namel}^ that of 
smoking, called by them, tobacco^' tor the purpose of pro- 
ducing insensibility. This they effect by means of the 
smoke of a certain herb which, so far as I can learn, is of a 
poisonous quality, though not poisonous in appearance. * 
* * The manner in which they use it is as follows : The 
caciques and principal men have small hollowed sticks 
about a span long and as thick as the little finger; they are 
forked in the manner here shown, Y, but both the forks and 
the stalk are of the same piece. The forked ends are 
inserted in the nostrils and the other end is applied to the 
burning leaves of the herb, which is rolled up in the manner 
of pastils. They then inhale the smoke till they fall down 
in a state of stupor in which they remain as if intoxicated? 



—44— 

for a considerable time. Such of the Indians as can not 
procure a forked stick, use a reed or hollow cane for the 
purpose of inhaling the smoke.' " 

His descriptions show that the smoke was taken into the 
lungs, hence the speedy intoxication and stupor produced. 
This practice was evidently at first followed by Europeans, 
and was called drinking tobacco, as witness the following 
stanza of a moralizing tobacco-drinking poet, of the time 
of James I.: 

" The iDdian weed withered quite, 
Green at noon, cut down at night, 
Shows thy decay — all flesh is hay, 
Thus think, then drink tobacco." 

These quotations help to an understanding of the use of 
tubes for smoking, and suggest a reason for the very small 
bowls of very many of the pipes into which the tobacco was 
placed for smoking. Taken directly into the lungs, the 
smoke from a very small quantity would suflice. 

The large, slightly trumpet-formed pipes from the Pacific 
Coast, described by Dr. Abbott, and the similar tubes taken 
by Prof. Andrews from Ohio mounds, were doubtless used 
for smoking, and probably substantially in the way first 
described by Oviedo, and if these Ohio stone tubes were 
used for the same purpose, they must be very old. When 
pipes with bowls were devised, of much easier construction, 
and more convenient for use, they would certainly supersede 
the smoking-tubes. These, as they became scarcer, might 
become more highly prized, and in places, be retained for 
sacred and ceremonial uses, as were flint knives by the 
Hebrews and stone axes by the Romans. Their use was, in 
places certainly, continued to recent times, as is evidenced 
by the iron mouth-piece attached to one of the specimens 
described by Dr. Abbott. 

At the time of the construction of the Lake Shore Rail- 
road, a pottery tube nearly of the shape and size of the 
largest tubes figured in Dr. Abbott's report, was taken from 



I 



—45— 

a mound near Collinwood, east of Cleveland. It has a 
highly-polished surface, simulating salt-glazing, which is 
probably simply the result of long use. The base gradually 
diminishes toward the smaller end and about three-fourths 
of an inch from it is much reduced by a square offset. In 
it when found was a slightly flattened pottery ball, which 
would drop down the tube until stopped by this offset. It 
is called a horn, and by blowing in it, a sound can be pro- 
duced audible at a long distance. 

The fact that a louder sound is produced when the ball is 
in the tube, and the mouth of the tube elevated, favors the 
idea that it was designed as a horn. This interesting relic 
belongs to F. M. Wait, of Northfield, Summit County, and 
was loaned by him for the exhibition. 

BANNER STONES, BADGES, OR WANDS. 

These are made from the slate already described, all highly 
polished and exhibit great varieties of form. They are too 
fragile to bear any very rough usage ; are all of a symmetrical 
bilateral form, and bored at the center with great accuracy to 
tit them for attachment to handles. Some of them are 
perfect crescents, but the gradual transition from these 
through pick-like forms to specimens quite straight, and 
from these to the winged and double-crescent forms renders 
it improbable that any were intended to represent the crescent 
moon. They represent no animal forms, and the ornamental 
battle-axe, previously described, is the only attempt I have 
observed to imitate any implement of peace or war. They 
can not be connected with any of the symbolic forms of the 
old world, and if intended to be symbolical, they belong to 
a sealed book of human history. The clew to their signifi- 
cance has not been found. They were doubtless used in 
civil or religious ceremonies, which were held in- high con- 
sideration, as is evidenced by the number and variety of the 
specimens found, and by the great labor expended in their 
production. Unfinished specimens show that large blocks 



— 4G- 

were sometimes taken and carefully chipped away to a com- 
paratively small size. Collectors of relics should remember 
that one rough, unfinished implement which many would 
throw aside as worthless, is often of more value than many 
highly-prized perfect specimens. It may help to a knowl- 
edge of primitive art not to be learned in any other way. 
The Indian picture-writing, it is believed, throws no light 
upon the use of these banner stones, and they probably belong 
to the age of the builders of the mounds, where a more 
dense, stationary and peaceful population and a more 
advanced organization would result in civic and religious 
ceremonials not practiced by hunting tribes. We may 
imagine the old priests or chiefs carrying these badges or 
wands in solemn procession, and of course understanding 
their significance, while we speculate in vain effort to 
understand them. ^ 

A broken specimen of one of these crescentic forms made 
of green gypsum, has been recently picked up in Summit 
County. This material is so fragile as to clearly indicate that 
it was intended only for ornamental or ceremonial use. 

PIPES. 

Smoking pipes of stone and of pottery of a great variety 
of forms and sizes are abundant in the State, and were well 
represented in the exhibit. In the State cabinet are some 
forty casts of elegantly carved specimens, obtained by Squire 
& Davis from Ohio mounds. Photographic copies of these 
were in the collection exhibited, and the remarkable char- 
acter of the whole find is shown by the following quotation 
from Dr. Rau's report on the Smithsonian Archaeological 
Collection : 

"Numerous stone pipes of a peculiar type were obtained 
many years ago, by Messrs. Squire & Davis, during their 
survey of the ancient earthworks of the State of Ohio. They 
have been minutely described and figured by them in the first 
volume of 'Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge.' The 



—47— 

originals of these remarkable smoking utensils (presently to 
be described) are now in the Blackmore Museum, at Sails- 
burg, England ; but the I^ational Museum possesses casts of 
them, which enable visitors to become acquainted with their 
character. These pipes were formerly thought to be chiefly 
made of a kind of porphyry, a substance which by its hard- 
ness would have rendered their production extremely 
difficult. That view, however, was erroneous, for since their 
transfer to the Blackmore Museum they have been carefully 
examined and partly analyzed by Prof. A. H. Church, who 
found them to consist of softer materials, such as compact 
slate, argillaceous iron stone, ferruginous chlorite and cal- 
careous minerals. Nevertheless they constitute the most 
remarkable class of aboriginal products of art thus far 
discovered ; for some of them are so skillfully executed that 
a modern artist, notwithstanding his far superior modern 
tools, would find no little difficulty in reproducing them. 

"Four miles north of Chillicothe, Ohio, there lies close to 
the Sciota River, an embankment of earth somewhat in 
shape of a square with strongly rounded angles and enclosing 
an art a of thirteen acres, over which twenty-three mounds 
are scattered, without much regularity. This work has been 
called "Mound City," from the great number of mounds 
within its precinct. In digging into the mounds. Squire & 
Davis discovered hearths in many of them which furnished 
a great number of relics, and from one of the hearths nearly 
two hundred stone pipes of irregular form were taken, many 
of which, unfortunately,were cracked by the tire or otherwise 
badly damaged. The occurrence of such pipes, however, 
was not confined to the mound in question, others having 
been found elsewhere in Ohio, and likewise in mounds of 
Indiana. In their simple, or primitive form, they present a 
round bowl rising from the middle of a flat and somewhat 
curved base, one side of which communicates by means of a 
narrow perforation, usually one-sixteenth of an inch in 
diameter, with the hollow of the bowl and represents the 
tube, or rather the mouth-piece of the pipe, while the other 



—48- 

unperforated end forms the handle by which the smoker held 
the implement and approached it to his mouth. A remark- 
ably fine specimen of this kind was found in a mound of an 
ancient work in Liberty township, Ross County, (Fig. 177.) 
In the more elaborate specimens from Mound City, the bowl 
is formed, in a few instances, in imitation of the human 
head, but generally of the body of some animal, and in the 
latter cases the peculiarities of the species which have served 
as models are frequently expressed with surprising fidelity. 
The human heads, undoubtedly the most valuable specimens 
of the series, evidently bear features characteristic of the 
Indian race, and they are further remarkable for the head- 
dress, or method of arranging the hair, (Fig. 178.) A few 
of the heads show on the face incised ornamental lines, 
obviously intended to imitate the painting or tattooing of 
the countenance. The following animals have been recog- 
nized : The beaver, (Fig. 179 ;) the otter, with a fish in its 
mouth, (Fig. 180 ;) the elk, bear, wolf, panther, wild-cat, 
raccoon, opossum, squirrel and sea-cow (Manati, Lamantin, 
Trichecus, manatus, Tin.) Of the animal that is supposed to 
represent the sea-cow, seven carvings have been found. This 
inhabitant of tropical waters is not met in the higher lati- 
tudes of IN'orth America, but only on the coast of Florida, 
which is many hundred miles distant from Ohio. The 
Florida Indians called this animal the "big beaver," and 
hunted it on account of its flesh and bones. More frequent 
are carvings of birds, among which the eagle, hawk, falcon, 
turkey-buzzard, heron, (Fig. 181 ;) several species of owls, 
the raven, swallow, parrot, duck, and other land and water 
birds have been recognized. One of the specimens is sup- 
posed to represent the toucan, a tropical bird not inhabiting 
the United States ; but the figure is not of sufiicient dis- 
tinctness to identify the original that was before the artist's 
mind, and it would not be safe, therefore, to make this speci- 
men the subject of far-reaching speculations. The amphibious 
(?) animals likewise have their representatives in the snake, 
toad, frog, turtle and alligator. One specimen shows the 



—49— 

snake coiled around the bowl of the pipe. The toads in 
particular, are faithful imitations of nature. Leavino- aside 
the more than doubtful toucan, the imitated animals belong, 
without exception, to the North American fauna, and there 
is, moreover, the greatest probability that the sculptures in 
question were made in or near the present State of Ohio, 
where, in corroboration, of this view a few unfinished pipes 
of the described character have occurred among the com- 
plete articles. 

"Pipes of this type are generally of rather small size, and 
in many the cavity of the bowl designed for holding the 
narcotic is remarkable for its insignificant capacity. These 
pipes were probably smoked without a stem, the narrowness 
of the perforations in their necks not permitting the inser- 
tion of anything thicker than a straw or a very thin reed. 
Yet most of the pipes of earlier date, occurring in mounds 
or on the surface of the ground, are provided with a hole of 
suitable size for the reception of a stem. A very remarkable 
stone pipe of this character, obtained during the survey of 
the Ohio earthworks by Squire & Davis, was found within 
an ancient enclosure twelve miles below the city of Chilli- 
cothe. It represents the body of a bird with a human head, 
exhibiting strongly-marked Indian features, (Fig. 182.) The 
original, not having been exposed to the action of the fire, 
is in an excellent state of preservation and retains its 
original beautiful polish. 

"The name ' calumet pipes ' has been given to large stone 
pipes which were smoked with a stem, and are usually fash- 
ioned in imitation of a bird, mammal or amphibian, and 
sometimes of the human figure. They were thus called, on 
account of their bulk, which seemed to indicate their char- 
acter as pipes of ceremony, to be used on solemn. occasions. 
It was further thought these pipes had not been the property 
of individuals, but that of communities, a view which does 
not seem to be altogether correct, since some have been 
discovered in burial mounds, accompanying a single skeleton. 



■50— 





—51 — 

"A pipe of the kind just mentioned, is made of ferruginous 
sandstone, and represents, rather rudely, a human figure 
with a snake folded around its neck, (Fig. 183), from Paint 
Creek, Ross County. Another large calumet pipe, carved 
in imitation of a quadruped of the canine family, (probably 
a wolf,) consists of chlorite, and was found in Ross County." 

The small size of the bowl cavities of these pipes may prob- 
ably be explained by the primitive mode of smoking already 
described, for which a very small quantity of tobacco would 
suffice, and so far as we can learn the primitive use of all 
narcotics and intoxicants was designed not to quiet the 
nerves or produce a pleasurable enjoyment during their use, 
but to produce the complete suspension of all sensation, and 
as quickly as possible. 

These artistically-wrought pipes from the mounds show a 
much higher degree of skill than was shown by the hunting 
tribes, indicating a higher culture on the part of the mound 
builders, and a greater advance toward civilization. 

Among the casts in the State collection is one of a calumet 
pipe representing a bird, with partially expanded wings, 
measuring a little over nine by twelve inches. This was 
found in Mississippi. 

Near Willoughby, in Lake County, is a site of an Indian 
village which has furnished a great variety of relics. A very 
interesting and instructive collection of pipes, finished and 
unfinished, was made from this locality, which is now in 
the Metropolitan Museum, of Central Park, New York. 
These show that water-worn pebbles were selected, exhibit- 
ing slightly an animal form, which the pipe-maker pecked 
iuto a more perfect animal shape without much apparent 
design of imitating any particular species. These were the 
work of modern Indians, and greatly inferior to the speci- 
mens obtained from the mounds. 

Pottery pipes of various forms are more sparingly found, 
and one specimen only have I seen from hammered copper. 
Pipes of catlinite, the sacred pipe-stone of the Indians, are 
found, but they seem to be quite modern. 



—52— 

HEMATITE. 

This seems to have been esteemed one of the precious 
stones, and was wrought by much labor into many forms. 
In Mr. Kinney's contribution were several highly polished 
small celts or axes, but whether intended as ornamental 
tools or for use, it is hard to determine. It contained also 
a very artistically-carved image of the beaver, only about 
one inch long, and considering the hardness of the material, 
perhaps the most perfect specimen of carving found in the 
State. It contained also several highly polished pendants 
sinkers, and a number of half spheres ot this material. 
These were worn on all sides by rubbing, and probably the 
abrasion of the material by rubbing furnished one of the 
most valued of paints. There are indications that the com- 
mon Ohio iron ores were used for paint, and that the 
advantage of roasting them for that purpose had been 
learned. 

In a mound at the top of a hill several hundred feet high, 
opened by Mr. Peter I^eff, in Knox County, a considerable 
amount of roasted iron was found which must have been 
taken from the plain below. 

BONE AND IRON IMPLEMENTS. 

Messrs. Bauder and Baldwin exhibited a collection of bone 
bodkins, awls and needles, obtained from the site of the 
Indian village, near Willoughby, already mentioned. This 
place has furnished the most perfect collection of bone and 
horn implements of any place in the State, much of which 
was collected by Mr. Williams, of Chagrin Falls. Speimens 
of deer's horn obtained show the work of cutting instru- 
ments operating like saws by which the thickest part of the 
horn was cut into strips longitudinally eflecting a great 
saving of material and adapting it to the production of small 
bodkins and needles. The bones of almost all animals were 
utilized, but mainly for the production of sharp-pointed 
instruments. 



—53— 

Mr. Kinney's collection contained many specimens of 
bears' teeth and claws perforated to be strung as ornaments, 
and several long strings of bone and shell beads ; also several 
perfect imitations of bears' claws in cannel coal. The teeth 
and claws of predaceous animals seem to have been highly 
prized everywhere as ornaments, and were probably worn as 
evidence of the prowess of the hunters in overcoming these 
formidable animals. 

COPPER IMPLEMENTS. 

Col. Charles Whittlesey has collected information in regard 
to 720 pre-historic copper relics found in Ohio, and nearly 
all of these were taken from mounds. The number ot 
specimens found in other localities is so small that we may 
safely assume that the manufacture of implements from this 
material was confined to the builders of the mounds. 

It was, in their hands, a maleable stone. They did not 
understand the art of melting it, and casting objects from 
it. Laboriously hammering it into the desired forms, it was 
only the larger fragments that could be put to the best uses 
and with much waste in trimmings, that could be utilized 
only for beads and small ornaments. 

This mode of working it developed a quality which has 
puzzled many archaeologists. It gave to the metal a degree 
of hardness which it never acquires under the ordinary mode 
of working it, and resulted in better cutting tools than 
could be made by castings unless the copper was alloyed 
with other metals. 

Relics of this metal are so highly prized that the owners 
are reluctant to take the risk of sending them to distant 
localities, and but few specimens were exhibited. Several 
were exhibited by Mr. Kinney, among them a very beautiful 
axe in the form of a modern Indian tomahawk, the history 
of which was not given ; but it is pretty certainly not the 
work of the Indians or of the mound builders. 



—54— 

In the collection of the Ohio University, there was a 
copper adz, chisel, and bodkin, taken from a small mound in 
Summit County, with a number of stone implements of 
peculiar construction, a large stone pipe, many large sheets 
of mica, and a large piece of galena. These articles thus 
grouped show a system of exchange by which articles were 
secured from distant localities 

But a very small part of Ohio mounds have been thor- 
oughly explored, and a completion of the explorations will 
doubtless increase very largely our knowledge of the pre- 
historic copper implements of the State. 

POTTERY. 

The remains of pottery in the form of fragments are very 
abundant in the State, while perfectly preserved vessels are 
comparatively rare. They are all of coarse character, im- 
perfectly burned, and generally composed of clay and 
powdered shell. Specimens obtained from a rock shelter in 
Summit County, show the use of powdered quartz pebbles of 
the adjacent carboniferous conglomerate, mixed with clay. 
These exhibit markings on the outside such as would be 
produced by beating the inner bark of the basswood,macerated 
in water, until the fibres were crushed and separated, and 
using this as lining to a cavity or model to be plastered with 
the prepared clay. The upper margin is generally turned 
outward and pierced with holes for handles, made while the 
material was soft and plastic. An entire vessel from the 
collection of the Fire Lands Historical Society, of JN'orwalk, 
exhibited at Philadelphia, indicates the use of grass as 
a lining to the mold in which it was formed. 

There were two perfect vessels in Mr. Kinney's collection 
in ^ew Orleans, one in the form of a small basin, the other 
a large vase. 

The forms and texture of the pottery from all parts of the 
Mississippi Valley, are very much alike, but with an increased 
tendency to the west and southwest to adopt the human and 



—55— 

animal forms so abundant in Few Mexico. Specimens 
obtained in Ohio are mostly found in rock shelters and in 
mounds. 

The earliest manufactured vessels everywhere were of 
pottery, and the study of ancient ceramic art is especially 
interesting to the archaeologist. Similar forms are found 
everywhere, and are often continued in more costly material. 
In many instances these forms can be traced back to the 
time when all vessels were formed of natural products. The 
delicate long-necked bottles or vases, now made of Bohe- 
mian glass, are substantially of the same form as the orthodox 
whiskey bottle of forty years ago ; are exact copies in glass 
of the pottery water coolers now made in India, Africa and 
South America, of which many specimens were exhibited at 
Philadelphia, and which are found in the earliest collections 
of pottery known. All are imitations of the earliest bottle 
used — the gourd with its long neck. The Rhyton, brought' 
to the Greeks from Egypt, and of which substantially similar 
forms were exhumed by Schlieman, perpetuated by the 
Greeks and Eomans in silver and other costly material, was 
a drinking cup which could not be set down until its contents 
were emptied. Its origin is clearly preserved in its name, 
"drinking horn," and its use, in the slang phrase, "taking a 
horn ;" and the practice still preserved in many places in 
drinking bouts of reversing the cup upon the table as an 
indication that it is empty. Originally it was a veritable 
horn which could stand only in a reversed position. The 
ancient vases found in America, in pottery, and in Europe 
in silver and other costly material, with small rounded bases 
which required tripods for their support, would never have 
taken such forms as original inventions. They were imita- 
tions of vases made from the shells of nuts and other natural 
productions. Hence similar forms found in widely.separated 
localities, do not indicate community of race or commercial 
intercourse, but that man everywhere was at first dependent 
upon natural productions, which he adapted to his wants, 
and afterward imitated, and gradually modified their forms. 



-56- 



SHELLS. 

Fresh and salt water shells were largely utilized hy the 
primitive inhabitants of the State. The sharp edges of the 
fresh water muscles made them valuable as knives and 
scrapers, and the contents of mounds show that they were 
used as spoons, cups for holding paint and other articles. 
From the large salt-water univalves they made excellent 
dippers, and inscribed circular ornamental disks which were 
apparently worn upon the breast and were often buried with 
the dead. They were favorite material for the beads, of 
which many are found preserved in graves, and would 
naturally be used for a variety of purposes, some of which 
may not be apparent to us. 

EOCK SHELTERS. 

Caves adapted to human habitation are very rare in Ohio, 
but rock shelters, which would afford protection from the 
weather, are abundant. These have been very inadequately 
explored. Every rocky projection under which a benighted 
hunter would seek protection, if there is a dry surface below 
it, will, on examination, show evidences of human habitation, 
and sometimes of a habitation greatly prolonged. Such a 
rock shelter in Summit County, already referred to, was 
explored by me some years ago, and a description contributed 
to the American Antiquarian. As this may be regarded as a 
typical rock shelter, and a description of it may lead to other 
explorations, the greater part of the communication to the 
Antiquarian is here copied : 

"In the eastern part of Boston township, the outcrop of 
the carboniferous conglomerate exhibits bold bluffs, fissured 
with ravines, with large masses of detached rocks at the 
base of the blufls, where the rock has been undermined, and 
broken by its own weight, or else detached and pushed out 
of place by the ice. So-called caves, which are simply long 
fissures in the rocks, are abundant, often with springs of 
pure water at the bottom, while the margin and detached 



—57— 

rocks afiord shelters which would be attractive places for 
residences to those unable to build comfortable dwellings. 
Among these detached rocks is one shelter composed of two 
large blocks, twenty or more feet in diameter, separated 
about fifteen feet with a huge block resting upon the top at 
the height of about twelve feet, making a large, perfectly 
protected room, open only at the north and south, and the 
northern opening perfectly protected from storms by its close 
proximity to the adjacent bluff. Such a rock shelter it is 
evident would afford a much better family dwelling than 
could be easily erected without good cutting tools, and would 
certainly be occupied by people having the characteristics of 
our native races. The abundant springs of water, the 
abundance of game to be found in this wood-covered, broken 
region, not far from the Cuyahoga River, which was one of 
their channels of communication, would be sure to attract 
occupants. 

"The exploration of this shelter was made in the early 
part of June, 1878. After removing a few inches of vege- 
table mold, a mixture of ashes and earth was reached extend- 
ing to the depth of from four and a half to ^ve feet at the 
bottom, tilling fissures and covering rock fragments which 
originally rested on the floor of the cave, and which the 
occupants did not attempt to remove. These scattered 
blocks covered the sandy debris of the conglomerate and 
were gradually buried beneath the accumulated deposits of 
ashes and dirt, the evidences of long-continued occupancy. 

"The whole of this material was filled with evidences of 
the use of the place as a human residence — pottery, bones, 
shells, and stone implements. In the deposit of these there 
was no sudden transition. The bones near the top were in 
a good state of preservation ; those that had not been 
changed by the fire, not blackened, but colored slightly 
yellow by lapse of time. They became darker and less 
abundant as the excavation was carried deeper, and sub- 
stantially disappeared before the bottom of the excavation 



—58— 

was reached, showing that the earliest occupancy was so 
long ago that the bones in the dry shelter had been con- 
sumed by time. 

"Over two hundred and fifty fragments of pottery were 
collected. This had been manufactured in the immediate 
neighborhood, for it was composed of clay in which had 
been mixed coarsely pulverized fragments of the quartz 
pebbles of the conglomerate. It was all coarse without any 
attempt at ornamentation for the sake of ornament. The 
outside of most of it and the inside of a part of it was 
minutely marked by sharply-defined depressions or casts, 
not the marks of basket work or braided grass, but such as 
would be produced if a mold for the formation of a vessel 
had been lined with the macerated and beaten bark of the 
elm or basswood. The mode of manufacture indicated is as 
follows : A cavity was formed in earth or sand, ot the form 
of the outside of the vessel ; a coating of bark was prepared 
by macerating in water, beating it with stones until the 
fibers were partially separated, and the whole mass 
rendered soft and plastic. With this the cavity was lined 
and then plastered with the prepared clay. After it had 
sufiS-ciently dried, the whole was lifted out of the mould and 
ultimately burned in the fire. In other cases a mold was 
formed of the form of the inside of the proposed vessel, 
covered with bark, and the clay plastered upon the outside 
of it. This of course results in leaving the bark markings 
on the inside of the vessel. 

''Three forms of the rim or upper edge of the vessels were 
observed, one terminating abruptly without any curve, or 
angle ; one with an outer angle about three-fourths of an 
inch from the margin, and one with a regular outward curve. 
Small holes were made in the pottery, when soft, near the 
edge of the rim, and in one fragment a hole had been drilled 
of a conical form, after it was burned, probably — certainly 
after it was dry. The pottery near the bottom of the exca- 
vation was less abundant, heavier and coarser, but made in a 
similar manner. 



—59— 

"The stone implements were abundant, but most of them 
rude and coarse, only eleven flint or chert implements, and 
among these two small perfect arrow points, one fragment 
of a spear or knife, two scrapers and one rimmer ; the others 
were flakes or irregular fragments. 

"There was one fragment of a polished stone implement- 
This was the bit of a flat-sided celt or gouge, which was of 
especial interest from the fact that it had been broken at the 
edge, and repaired by bringing the nicked part down to an 
edge ; this was done by pecking out the substance of the 
stone in a groove running back a little over an inch till a 
new edge was obtained by a depression in the bit. The 
repaired portion was not polished. 

"There was one fragment of a polished granite hammer, 
several water-worn boulders, evidently gathered for hammer- 
stones, fourteen flakes from conglomerate pebbles, and sixteen 
trom water-worn drift pebbles. Both of these materials 
were utilized by striking a slice from one side, which would 
naturally produce a cutting edge on the side opposite to that 
on which the breaking force was applied. Oblate forms of 
these pebbles were selected, as they would yield a better 
shaped flake. One wrought but unfinished stone implement 
was found of the form called by some, 'shuttles,' but unpol- 
ished and without perforations. It was from the material of 
the local shales. 

"The most abundant of the stone implements were cutting 
tools or knives. Ot these, seventy-five were gathered, made 
from the local shales and the shales of the drift. They were 
all primitive forms of the stone knife, the material split 
in such manner as to secure a cutting edge, with the least 
labor, and without any attempt to secure any particular form, 
some showing that after the cutting edge had been dulled 
by use, it was sharpened by blows upon the edge. 

"Besides these there were about twenty rock fragments 
apparently broken out for rude scrapers or as a material 
from which to make cutting tools. 



—60— 

"All showed a meagre supply of material, and but very 
slight skill in adapting it to use. The great bulk of the 
material was from the immediate neighborhood, the pebbles 
of the cono^lomerate and of the drift and the shales which 
crop out in the valley. 

"Not a single article was found designed for ornament, nor 
was there any attempt to ornament any of the articles found. 
Everything seemed adapted to the necesssities of the lowest 
savage life. 

"The relative proportions of the diflerent kinds of imple- 
ments, and the fact that the most of those of polished stone 
and chert were fragments, and the mode of repairing one of 
these fragments, indicate that the crude forms alone were of 
home production, while the others were either picked up 
from the ground, or obtained irom other tribes. 

"An abundance of bone fragments indicated the large, 
use of animal food. Every shaft-bone, and the lower jaws 
of all the larger animals were so broken that every particle 
of the marrow could be extracted, and there was a rude 
attempt to fashion a few of the bone fragments into useful 
forms. Over a half-bushel of these fragments was collected, 
and from the meagre supply of materials for tools, it was 
quite remarkable that no more use was made of these 
fragments. 

"Among the bones could be identified those of the bear, 
the wolf, the beaver, the hedgehog, the deer, the buffalo, the 
raccoon, the skunk, the chipmunk and the fox. There were 
a number of the bones of birds, of which those of the turkey 
and large blue herron were probably identified. A number 
of mussel shells from the Cuyahoga were also found. In the 
fragments of the jaws and in the whole jaws the teeth were 
ordinarily in place, showing no attempt to use these as orna- 
ments or otherwise. The fire seemed to have been built 
near the center of the shelter, and the bulk of the bone 
fragments were found upon the west side, and of the pottery 
upon the east, showing the ordinary savage division of labor. 



—61— 

the care of the cooked food being given to those on one side 
of the shelter and that of the cooking and cooking utensils 
to those occupying the other side. It is not difficult to 
imagine that the latter was the quarter of the women." 

huma:^^ effigies. 

Effigies of the human face and figure, carved in stone, are 
abundant in Ohio relics. An entire figure in a sitting posi- 
tion laboriously worked out of granite and with marked 
Indian features, was exhibited by Mr. Kinney, and called an 
"Idol," but there is no evidence that it deserves that name, 
unless it is used in its primitive sense, meaning simply an 
image and not suggesting any religious worship. Children 
and savages everywhere make early attempts to delineate 
the human figure, and with results remarkably similar. 
Attempts to carve the human figure soon follow the attempt, 
involving greater labor, but producing much more satisfac- 
tory results, for savage artistic skill is never equal to giving 
any roundness or projection to a drawing. A pretended 
savage drawing that attempts to do this may pretty safely be 
set down as a fraud and the work of one who has learned 
something of the laws of perspective. 

Several images have been obtained from Stark County, one 
a grotesque figure carved in variegated marble and represented 
as obtained in sinking a well and at the depth of twelve 
feet, aud below a stratum of very compact yellow clay. It 
was discovered in a bucket of boulders when brought to the 
surface from the bottom of the well, and believed by all 
present to be taken from the bottom. If really found in 
such a place, it would carry back the life of the sculptor to 
the' aore of the drift. All who have seen it seem to have 
no doubt of its being a work of art, but its very crude 
character, as shown by an engraving from a photograph, 
suggests the possibility that the form is the result ot 
accident. (A wood-cut of this image is here introduced.) 



—62— 



The probabilities are so much 
against the finding of a carved image 
in such a position, that it would be 
more reasonable to suppose, if a 
genuine carving, that it was loosened 
from the soil near the surface, and 
dropped without being observed into 
the well. 

A tew years ago, workmen, in dig- 
ging a well, in Hudson, brought up 
from a depth of about eighty feet in 
compact blue drift clay, a live frog, 
which they were sure they dug out 
at that depth. One of its legs had 
been cut off apparently by a mowing 
machine. Its life in the well was 
evidently measured by a part of the 
time between cessation of work in 
the evening, and the commencement of work in the morning. 




Quite an artistically carved 
head in sandstone was dug up 
while opening the Sandy & 
Beaver Canal, in Columbiana 
County, which now belongs to 
J. F. Benner & Son, of !N'ew 
Lisbon, a cut of which is here 
given ; and a carving in sand- 
stone picked up on the surface 
in JSTorristowD, Carroll County, 
now in the cabinet of G. G. B. 
Greenwood, of Minerva, shows 
characteristic Indian features. 

These are illustrated in a pamphlet published by Col. Charles 

Whittlesey. 




—63— 

Many other carvings ot images and faces have heen col- 
lected, but none of them have any special significance, except 
a single specimen to be hei-eafter described. They do not 
exhibit that degree of artistic skill which would make them 
reliable evidence of race or tribal characteristics. They 
show how much work, with poor tools, was expended in the 
production of images, having no form or comeliness to make 
them worthy of admiration, but which were doubtless 
esteemed by the artists and their contemporaries as remark- 
able triumphs of artistic skill. 

Mr. Peter Neff, of Gambler, has a mask-like face, carved 
in sandstone, which was plowed up in a field in Jackson 
township, Coshocton County, in 1851. It measures 3ix2f 
inches, not including two projections or blunt horns rising 
on each side of the top of the head. It is of especial interest 
from its close resemblance to similar faces worn on the breast 
of priest-like personages represented on Central American 
sculptures, of which illustrations are given by Bancroft in 
his "Native Races of the Pacific States." In his illustrations 
these face-ornaments are in one instance suspended by a 
string of very large beads, apparently quite similar to the 
large metamorphic slate beads found in this State, and 
previously described. 

The projections from the top of Mr. I^eff's specimen were 
plainly intended for purposes of suspension, and if suspended 
from a string of these large Ohio beads the whole would be 
a complete repetition of the ornament figured by Bancroft. 
A precisely similar face, except having only one projection 
from the top of the head, has been tound in Missouri. A 
cut 3-5 size of Mr. I^efit's specimen is here inserted. 



—64— 



FIRE HEARTHS. 

In all parts of the State are found hearths formed of rough 
stones, laid snugly side by side, and generally several feet 
square. They are usually in groups, and show the long- 
continued action of ^re. They are the sites of ancient 
village commuoities and encampments, and the abundance 
of relics about them indicate long-continued occupancy. 
Along the banks of the Ohio, above Portsmouth, Mr. Thomas 
W. Kinney has found such hearths, disclosed by the 
encroachment of the river, which are now six and eight feet 
beneath the surface ; and Col. Whittlesey reports such 
hearths fifteen feet below the surface, indicating very great 
antiquity. 

PICTURE- WRITmG A:N^D INSCRIBED ROCKS. 

Col. Charles Whittlesey, of Cleveland, Ohio, has given 
more attention to the study of these remains than any other 
man in the State, and by his permission the following 
extracts from a chapter on ancient rock sculptures, prepared 
by him for the Centennial report, are here copied : 



—65— 

*an many places within the State rude effigies of man and 
animals have been observed, chiseled or picked into the 
natural surface of the rocks. They are most numerous in 
the eastern half of the State, where the grits of the coal 
series furnish large blocks or perpendicular faces of sandrock, 
which are easily cut, and which are, at the same time, im- 
perishable. These surfaces are never prepared for inscriptions 
by'artificial smoothing. The figures are sunk into the stone 
by some sharp-pointed tool like a pick, whick has left the 
impression of its point similar to the rough- hewn stone of 
our masonry. This tool has not been found in the form of 
a pick, and was probably only a small angular stone, held in 
the hand and used as a chipper until the points and angles 
were worn off. Many artificial stones of flint, trap, and 
greenstone are seen in all large collections, from two to four 
inches in diameter, evidently worn into a partially rounded 
form by blows that have chipped off the projecting corners. 
Some are quite thoroughly rounded and even polished like 
the spherical balls. Such balls, sometimes called "sling- 
stones" or "slung-shots," could, in their rough condition, 
have answered the purpose of a picking tool, at the same 
time being itself brought into shape for a weapon or an 
ornament. Such contrivances, to save labor by accomplish- 
ing two purposes at once, are visible in other fabrications of 
the early races. Rude picks of the early races in Europe 
have been found, which were made by inserting a pointed 
stone in the prong of a deer's horn. Such an implement 
seems to be required to finish some of the channeling observed 
on some of our rocks, and may yet be found. How ancient 
the intaglios are can not yet be determined, but there is one 
instance at Independence, Cuyahoga County, where soil had 
accumulated over them to a depth of one to one and a half 
feet, on which were growing trees of the usual size in that 
region. The Western Reserve Historical Society has pro- 
cured several tracings of them on muslin, of the size of 
nature, which were forwarded for exhibition. 



—66— 

"It has been found that sketches, even by good artists, are 
so deficient in accuracy as to be of little value. By clearing 
out the channels sunk in the rock, painting them heavily, 
and pressing a sheet of muslin into the freshly-painted 
depressions, an exact outline is obtained. This is pho- 
tographed to the size intended for engraving, and thus the 
reduced copy remains an accurate fac simile of the original. 
Those which are mentioned below were traced and reduced 
in this manner. 

"Track Rocks Near Barnesville, Belmont 
County, Ohio. 

"In 1857 or 1858, Mr. Thomas Kite, of Cincinnati, exam- 
ined the 'track rocks' near Barnesville, and took casts of 
some of the sculptured figures. Jas. W. Ward, Esq., of the 
same city, soon afterward made a detailed sketch, which he 
caused to be engraved and circulated. In 1869 Dr. J. 
Salisbury and myself made a visit to the place with a view 
to get a tracing on cloth, but were compelled to give it up 
for want of time. An arrangement was made with Dr. Jas. 
W. Walton, of Barnesville, to take tracing for this Society, 
which, however, was not received until the fall of 1871. The 
discussion which took place at the Indianapolis meeting of 
the American Association, in August, 1871, was based upon 
Mr. Ward's sketch, which had been made with much care, 
he being not only an artist but an antiquarian. 

"This was reproduced, with a detailed description, by Mr. 
Ward, in the first number of the American Anthropological 
Journal, issued in January, 1872, at iTew York. When Dr, 
Walton' s/ac simile tracings, size of nature, w^ere received, it 
was evident that notwithstanding the care exercised by Mr. 
Ward, there were important omissions, which destroyed the 
value of the discussions at Indianapolis, based upon his 
sketch. It is now conceded that copies of such sculptures 
must be made by casts, squeezes, or tracings, in order to be 
reliable. In the different representations that have appeared 



—67— 

of the 'Dighton Rock/ the supposed Grave Creek stone, the 
^Big Indian Rock/ on the Susquehanna, and the 'Independ- 
ence Stone,' of this county, something material is omitted, or 
palpably distorted. Mere sketches are of little or no ethno- 
logical value. I think the mode adopted by us leaves little 
room for errors, either in size or proportion, but there may be 
in the manner or aspect that belongs to every object, and 
which is known by the plain but forcible expression, 'life- 
like.' The rock was first thoroughly cleaned of the moss and 
dirt, as Dr. Walton explains in his letter accompanying the 
tracings. All of the artificial depressions were then filled 
with paint, and a sheet of muslin, covering the entire block, 
pressed into the sculptured figures. This coarse grit is so 
nearly imperishable that whatever distinct markings were 
originally cut upon it are doubtless there now and are not per- 
ceptibly injured by exposure. These groups present the first 
instance among the rock inscriptions of Ohio,where it can be 
said that we now have complete and entire, in their primitive 
condition, all the figures that are capable of being traced,not 
mutilated by man, or obliterated by the elements. Dr. 
Walton's description will now be both intelligible and 
interesting : 

" 'The copies I send you exhibit every definite figure those rocks contain^and 
indeed many more than will be noticed by a casual observer of them. 

" 'Some of them were discovered only after removing the lichens of ages; 
others after glancing the eye along the surface of the rocks from every point 
of the compass; and others after the sun had declined low in the west, casting 
dim shadows over depressions too shallow to be seen before. And there are 
many indistinct impressions on each of the rocks that could not be copied — 
these resemble the indefinite remains of innumerable tracks of men and 
animals, overlying each other, as may be seen on our highways, after a rain 
has effaced almost every outline. 

** 'Upon examining the print of the smaller rock it will appear that two 
men, each accompanied by a dog, seem to have passed over it in opposite 
directions. This idea has never, so far as I have learned, occurred to any 
person who has heretofore examined the rocks; tlie figures being regarded as 
distinct and disconnected, as they appear on the larger stone. I did not catch 
the idea until after I had painted all the distinct figures on this stone, and had 
impressed the cloth on the paint, when, upon removing and examining the 



—68— 

print, I found, say, first a right foot print, then a left one at its appropriate 
position, then a right foot where it should be, but the succeeding left one 
wanting. 

" 'This set me on a more careful examination of the motley indentations 
covering this part of the rock for traces of the lost feet, and it was not a great 
while before I found sufficient remains of just what was wanting, and at their 
appropriate places, but in exceedingly indistinct impressions. 

" 'The rude cuts of human faces, part of the human feet, the rings, stars, 
serpents, and some others are evidently works of art, as in the best of them 
the marks of the engraving instrument are to be seen; and it is barely possible 
that the residue of those figures were carved by the hands of men; however, 
I must say that the works of the best sculptors do not surpass the equisite finish 
of most of the tracks on those rocks.' " 



—69— 
<'Plate I.— Barnesville Track Rocks No. 1— 1-20th of Nature. 




—70- 



"Plate II. — Enlarged Figures of No. 1 — 1-7th of Nature. 




"Block No. 1. — 1-20th of Nature. 



—71— 

"In all cases, whether single or in groups, the relative 
dimensions of the figures are preserved. The surface of this 
block is eight by eleven feet. An error has crept into the 
engraving of this group, in regard to the east and west 
sides, which should be reversed : for east read west, and for 
west, east. 

"ai — human foot, greatest length 15 inches. 

"a2 — human foot, greatest length 10 inches. 

<'cfi — human foot, greatest length 3J inches. 

"b — Nos. 1 and 2, awparently the fore foot of a bear, 5J to 9 inches long. 

*'c — hind foot of a wolf or dog, breadth across the toes 3J inches. 

*'c^ — hind foot of a wolf or dog, breadth across the toes 2J inches. 

"d — probably the hind foot of a bear, length oj inches. 

"c — Nos. 1 to 5, buffalo tracks, length 2 to 5 inches. 

"/—Nos. 1 to 13, so called 'bird tracks,' 3J to 5 inches in length. 

"g — Nos. 1 to 4, snakes, or portions of them, 13 to 21 inches in length. 

"h — eflBgy of a bird, greatest length 22 inches. 

"* — Nos. 1 to 9 resembles the spread out skin of an animal, 3 to 8 inches 
greatest diameter. 

"k — not recognized as an animal form, length 6 inches. 

'H — an imperfect figure. 

"n — probably a variation of i, with a groove that may have been part of the 
figure. 

"o — apparently incomplete. 

"p — ^greatest length 6 inches. 

"q — spirit circle, diameter 7J inches. 

"x — Nos. 1 to 3, outlines of the human face, breadth 3J to 6 inches. 

"There is a rock in Georgia, described by the antiquarian, 
C. C. Jones, of that State, on which are a number of circles 
like ^g,' a sign used by the Chippeways to represent a 
spirit. 



—72— 

"Plate III.— Barnesville Track Eock No. 2—1-19 and 
1-7 OF Nature. 




'Block No. 2, 7 fekt ey S, Lying 20 Feet South of No. 1. 



—73— 

**a — Nos. 2, 6, 7, and 8, human foot 9 inches long. 
«<aio — human foot 3^ inches long. 

"c — Xos. 1 and 10 to 16, hind foot of a dog or wolf, 2^ to 4 inches broad 
across the toes. 

"c — Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5, five toes, greatest breadth 4 to 5 J inches across the toes 
(the animal not recognized.) 
'*d — hind foot of a bear. 
"e^ — buffalo track, 3 inches long. 
"e2 — buffalo track 1 J inches long, a pair. 
*y— so-called "bird tracks," 3J to 5 inches long. 
"g — snake, 21 inches long; g^ — part of same. 
"t — groove, 5 inches long. 

"We have here as good representations as it is possible to 
procure of an entire rock inscription. The copy of the 
Independence stone embraces only a fragment of the original, 
not exceeding one-fourth of the surface once covered with 
sculptured effigies. If the figures had a general relation to 
each other, it could not be determined by an inspection of 
only a portion of them. 

"The inscriptions near Newark, in Licking County, Ohio, 
originally covered a vertical face of conglomerate rock, fifty 
or sixty feet in length, by six and eight feet in height. This 
rock is. soft, and, therefore, the figures are easily erased. As 
the place was partially sheltered from the weather by over- 
hangs, the injury done to them by exposure was not much; 
but from the earliest settlement of the country, about the 
year 1800, it became a place where white men sought to im- 
mortalize themselves by cutting their names across the old 
inscriptions. When Dr. Salisbury, in 1864, undertook to 
rescue what remained of them, it was- only possible to trace 
the ancient figures over a space about seven feet by thirteen, 
and here many of them were restored with difficulty, by 
great patience and labor. His copy is in the hands of the 
American Antiquarian Society, and is in the course of 
publication. It is, therefore, like the Independence stone, 
only a fragment. 



—74— 

"On the rock-faces and detached sandstone blocks of the 
banks of the Ohio River, there are numerous groups of 
intaglios, but in them the style is quite different from those 
to which I have referred, and which are located in the 
interior. Those on the Ohio River resemble the symbolical 
records of the North American Indians, such as the Kelley 
Island stone, described in Schoolcraft by Captain Eastman, 
the Dighton Rock, the Big Indian Rock of the Susquehanna, 
and the *God Rock' of the Alleghany River. In those the 
supposed bird track is generally wanting. The large sculp- 
tured rock, near Wellsville, which is only visible at low 
water of the Ohio, has among the figures one that is prom- 
inent on the Barnesville stones. This is the fore foot of the 
bear, with the outside toe distorted and set outward at right 
angles. 



--75- 



^' Plate IV. — Independence Slab, 4^ by 6 Feet, now in the West 
Wall of the Church — 1-14th of Nature. 




"AAA— Irregular patches slightly worked with a pick. 



—76- 



"Great care has been taken to obtain a correct sketch of 
what remains of this inscription. A very rude drawing of 
it was published in Schoolcraft's great work upon the Indian 
tribes, in 1854. He probably regarded it as the work of the 
red man. In 1869, Dr. J. H. Salisbury, who has long been 
engaged in the investigation of rock inscriptions at the 
West, in company with Dr. Lewis, of the Asylum at New- 
burgh, made a copy, by means of full and exact measure- 
ments. 

"As no sketch is of equal authenticity with a photograph, 
Mr. Thos. T. Sweeney, an artist at Cleveland, went to 
Independence, and took a copy with his instrument. The 
light on that day was not favorable, but the outlines of all 
the artificial work upon the stone were thus secured with 
exactness. For the purposes of the engraver, the figures 
were filled in by Dr. Salisbury from his sketch. Without 
expressing an opinion as to the authors of these inscriptions, 
I present, in connection with the engraving, the details 
furnished by Dr. Salisbury: 

"'Mr. W. F. Bushnell, who resides at Independence, and M. B. Wood, of 
Cleveland, state that these markings were discovered about 1853, while strip- 
ping the earth from the surface of a quarry on the north brow of the hill on 
which the village of Independence stands. Here the rocks projected in the 
form of a perpendicular cliff, from twenty to forty feet in heiglit. On the top 
of this cliff, aud near its edge, the markings were discovered. The soil over 
the markings was from five to eight inches in depth, and was black, having 
been formed from decaying vegetation. A tree was growing directly over the 
markings, that was one foot or more in diameter. Within a few feet of the 
spot there was an oak tree over four feet in diameter. This tree, some years 
previous to the discovery of the sculptured rock, had fallen nearly across the 
markings, and, in 1853, was much decayed. Besides the markings represented 
in the engraving, there were others adjacent, belonging to the same group, 
which had been destroyed by the quarryraen before Messrs. Bushnell and 
Wood were aware of it. Among the markings destroyed, were the outline 
figures of a man and woman, very well executed. There were also the repre- 
sentations of a wolfs foot, and figures of the feet of other animals. 

" 'At the time of the discovery the stone church at Independence was being 
built, and, at the suggestion of Deacon Bushnell and others, all the markings 
not previously destroyed were carefully cut out, and the block placed in the 



—77— 

rear wall of the church, about eight feet above the ground. It was prudently 
placed at this height to prevent its being defaced, for they are not very 
distinct. 

" 'In company with Dr. Lewis. Superintendent of the Northern Ohio 
Lunatic Asylum, I visited the locality on the 5th day of June, 1869, and made 
careful drawings of all the markings visible on the block in the rear wall of 
the church. These, with accurate measurements, are represented here, made 
more perfect by the use of Mr. Sweeney's photography. 

" 'The rock here described only contains a portion of the inscription; the 
balance was destroyed in quarrying. The markings on the portion of the 
rock preserved consist of the human foot, clothed with something like a 
moccasin or stocking; of the naked foot; of the open hand; of round mark- 
ings, one in front of the great toe of each representation of the clothed foot; 
the figure of a serpent; and peculiar character w, which might be taken for 
rude representation of a crab or crawfish, but which bears a closer resemblance 
to an old-fashioned spear head, used in capturing fish. 

" 'The clothed feet are of five different sizes. There are eighteen impressions 
of this kind, arranged in nine pairs. Of the largest size there are five pairs — 
Of Cf g, I, m; of the next size smaller there is only one pair — o; of the next 
smaller size one pair — g; of the next smaller size one pair — e; of the 
next smaller size one pair. Of the naked foot there is only a 
single figure, which is rudely carved, and which is much longer 
than the clothed representations. There are two figures of the open hand — 
one with a large palm and short fingers, the other smaller, with fingers long 
and slender. 

" 'The sculptures have all been made with a sharp-pointed instrument, by 
the process of pecking, and sunk in throughout instead of being mere outlines. 
The cuttings are from one-eighth to half an inch deep. The two hands are 
sculptured the deepest. In the illustrations I have endeavored to give an idea 
of the markings left by the tool used, though these are less evident than the 
representations. 

" 'The length of the largest feet in figures a, c, g, I, m, from the extremity of 
the great toe to the heel, is six and three-fourths inches, and the width, at the 
widest place, two and three-fourths inches. The length of the next in size, o> 
is five inches, and the width two and one-eighth inches; and of g, five inches 
by two inches. Length of next smaller size, e, three and a half inches, and 
width one and three-fourths inches, and three and three-fourths inches by 
one and a half inches. The length of the naked foot, s, is nine inches, and 
greatest width, four and three-fourths inches. The great toe is one inch long, 
the second toe one and one-fourth inches long, the third toe one and a half 
inches long, the fourth toe one and a fourth inches long, and the little toe one 
inch long. 

" 'In the large hand, t, the palm is five and a half inches long and three and 
a half inches wide. The length of the thumb is one and a half inches, the 
index finger one and three-fourths inches, the middle finger two inches, the 



—78- . 

ring finger one and three-fourths inches, and the little finger one and a half 
inches. In the other hand, u, the palm is three and a half inches long and 
two and a half inches wide. The length of the thumb is two and one-fourth 
inches, the index finger two and a half inches, the middle finger two and three- 
fourths inches, the ring finger two and a fourth inches, and the little finger 
two inches. 

" 'The diameter of the circular markings, invariably found in front of the 
clothed feet, are as follows: 6, one and one-eighth inches; c/, one and three- 
fourths inches; /, three-fourths inch; h, one inch; k, half inch; n, one and * 
half inches; p, one and one-fourth inches; g, one inch. 

" 'The diameter of the serpent's head is two and three-fourths inches; length 
of body, ninety-four inches, making the entire length of the figure about 
eight feet. 

" 'In the sculptured figure, w, the measurements are omitted. 

" 'It is evident this slab does not contain the entire description. The tracks, 
I, are only partially present, while it is very probable that more tracks 
occurred in the direction a, b, arranged in a line as those are from c to /, where 
there are ten tracks and eight round characters, and which are probably not 
all that were originally in this line previous to the stones being quarried. 
The round markings in front of the clothed tracks may have been intended to 
represent the track of dogs or wolves, but at present they are so smoothed by 
time that it is impossible to make out anything but simple irregular circular 
depressions. 

" 'The rock on which the inscription occurs is the grindstone grits of the 
Ohio Keports, an extensive stratum in Northern Ohio, about one hundred and 
fifty feet below the conglomerate. It is almost pure silex, and possesses the 
property of resisting atmospheric changes to a remarkable degree. Boulders 
and projecting portions of the formation, from which this block was obtained, 
that have been exposed to the weather for ages, preserve perfectly their sharp, 
angular projections. As a building stone it is superior on account of its 
extreme durability. This durability of the rock, and the fact that these 
markings were covered with earth, explains why they have been so finely 
preserved. 

" 'The markings a, c, e, g, I, m, o, and g, have been supposed by some to 
represent the tracks of the buffalo. After carefully measuring them, however, 
I have come to the conclusion that they were designed to represent tracks of 
the clothed human foot, and as such have described them. 

'* 'The so-called bird tracks, which are few and faint on this slab, are num- 
erous and bold on most of the rock inscriptions of Ohio.' " 

It is difficult to determine whether any of these sculptures 
can be properly called picture writings. There is no regular 
order of arrangement ; no systematic grouping of characters 
pointing to a serial connection between them. In a specimen 



—79— 

of modern Indian picture-writing, purporting to be the life 
of a Chippeway, and deposited in the Museum of the 
Natural Science Association, of Detroit, the characters are 
arranged in regular order, tliere being two series on each 
side of a wooden tablet, the feet of the figures of men and 
animals directed toward the edge of the tablet, clearly 
indicating a methodical arrangement, and that the record is 
to be read from one end to the other, along one series of 
characters, when the other edge of the tablet was to be 
turned upward and the reading continued to the place of 
beginning. It is not apparent whether the reading should 
be from right to left or the reverse, nor where the reading 
should begin. It is certainly a much more perfect specimen 
of picture-writing than any of the rock inscriptions in Ohio,* 
and all of the latter are probably the work of modern 
Indians. 

EARTH WORKS. 
The ancient earth works of Ohio, in their variety, magni- 
tude and extent, excel those of all the other States. Single 
mounds of greater size are found elsewhere, but no other 
State has such a variety of these works, or such numbers of 
them as Ohio. When it is remembered that the builders of 
these works had no beasts of burden, or draught, no metal 
tools of a size or character to be of any use in their con- 
struction ; that all the material must have been laboriously 
carried to its place in baskets, it will be obvious that the real 
labor expended upon some of them was not much, if any, 
less than that expended upon the largest pyramid of Egypt. 
Such works could be constructed only by a people who had 
a compact, civil organization, with a central authority which 
could control the labor of the masses, and with dominant . 
civil or religious ideas which would induce the masses to 
submit to long-continued labor. The more extensive works 
peculiar to the State, indicate large, fixed commuities, which 
involves the practice of agriculture and habits of life very 
different from that of the hunting tribes, roaming over the 
State, upon its first occupancy by the whites. 



—80— 

The most of these works are confined to the valleys of 
the streams where there is land specially adapted to the 
cultivation of maize or Indian corn, which was the basis of 
pre-Columbian American agriculture. They are much more 
abundant in the northern and southern than in the central 
parts of the State, a fact which might be easily explained 
from the small extent of the alluvial valley, on the table 
and. Still there is a marked difference in the character of 
those in the northern and southern regions. The former 
have more the appearance of defense works, both in their 
location and mode of construction. They ordinarily occupy 
elevated spurs, projecting from the table land into the 
valleys, overlooking extensive alluvial plains — often where 
erosion has leit these spurs with a narrow connection with 
the table land, and a wider expanse of surface on the part 
projecting into the valley. In such cases the works consist 
of one, two, or three ditches and embankments across the 
neck, plainly intended to protect the spur against aggression 
from the table land. The enclosed surface often shows evi- 
dence of having been leveled off", the material removed so 
deposited as to increase the angle of the slope, rising from 
the valley ; and in some cases the location of an old foot- 
path leading from the summit into the valley can be clearly 
traced. The enclosed surface is generally filled with pit- 
holes and shows evidence of long occupancy. The valley of 
the Cuyahoga is lined with such works, which have been 
figured and described by Col. Whittlesey. Typical forms of 
these works are to be seen at the junction of Furnace Run 
with the Cuyahoga, in Summit County, and at the junction 
of Payne's Creek with Grand River, in Lake County. 
These protecting walls and ditches take different shapes, 
determined by the form of the surface to be protected. Two 
in INTorthampton township form complete enclosures with 
the exception of a single gateway in each opening toward 
the alluvial bottom land to which doubtless a foot-path 
originally led. Were these purely military works, or such 
defences as pertained to the ordinary life of their builders? 



—81— 

These old agriculturists had three enemies against whom 
they were compelled to contend : the extension of the 
forests, the intrusions of wild beasts, and the aggressions of 
more war-like hunting tribes. The extension of the forests 
is mentioned because it may have been one of the 
most efficient causes in the final expulsion of these people. 
Many attempts have been made to find causes for the exist- 
ence of the treeless prairies of the West. A more natural 
inquiry would be, how came the other sections to be covered 
with forests? An herbacious vegetation doubtless preceded 
the forests and has been slowly restricted by the growth of 
the latter. In the Southern States extensive regions which 
sustained only an herbacious vegetation when first explored 
by the whites, are now covered with trees. Early agriculture 
attained its highest perfection in regions too arid for forest 
growth, where facilities were aftbrded for the artificial 
irrigation of the cultivated land, and was practically restricted 
to treeless regions until better cutting tools than our mound 
builders possessed enabled the argriculturists to successfully 
contend with forest growth. 

These alluvial plains, not long ago covered with water 
would be the last to be encroached upon by the torest, and 
were very probably treeless when first subjected to tillage. 
Land could not be cleared of forests, and its intrusion could 
with difficulty be resisted with such tools as have been 
described above. Crowded out by any causes from these 
regions, they could not transfer their agricultural operations 
to the treeless plains of the West, where the rank growth of 
grass would present so formidable obstacles and where 
countless herds of bufiklo roamed. Certainly they sought 
these alluvial valleys, poorly adapted to the growth of grass, 
admirably adapted to the growth of Indian corn ; the fortified 
adjacent bluffs, so selected as to command a view of their 
cultivated fields below, from whence they could observe the 
intrusion of man or beast and make provision against the 
attacks of enemies from the table lands. The size of these 
enclosures seems to be related to the size of the arable land 



—82- 



in the adjacent valley, and hence to the size of the village 
communities that could be supported from them. It seems 
a reasonable inference that these enclosures were strong- 
holds, for protection and observation, and designed to meet 
the normal wants of small communities of argriculturists, 
and that they were not erected to meet the exigencies of a 
campaign. The great number of them, and the small size 
of each, scattered along the bluffs of a single stream, like 
the Cuyahoga, would tend to confirm this conclusion. 

The wood-cut here intro- 
duced indicates the general 
character of these fortified 
spurs. 

In the valley, and at a 
distance from these pro- 
tected enclosures, are some- 
times single mounds, which 
seem not to have been 
burial mounds raised to 
such an elevation merely 
as would give an extended 
view above the top of the 

5'A. — Enclosed space; a. a. a. — Embank- fi^rowmg COrn. 
ments and ditches. Scale,200 f t.to the inch. 

Such an outlying mound may be seen in the Pymatuning 
Valley, in Wayne, Ashtabula County. In this whole north- 
ern region true burial mounds are rare, and those that have 
been observed are of small size. 

In Copley, Summit County, is a fortified enclosure pre- 
cisely similar to those known to be made by the more 
modern Indians, and which may probably be referred to 
them. A large circular elevation rises like an island in the 
center of a swamp, which, before the adjacent land was 
cleared, would be almost impassable. This was enclosed by 
a ditch and and wall, carried entirely around the elevation, 
making a secret and pretty secure retreat. It is known 



FORT HILL, NEARBEREA, CUYAHOGA CO. 


kU 


0\b ' 






I^^Ht 






^tot^^^^" >M((fY'. 


^^AHua 


1 




''iiV/l'.'Ui,,,, 


0^ 


I^S^B 


-r ^'^ 


k^ 


^oV^To^^ 


Vaud. 



. —83— 

that the New England Indians secreted in such places their 
wives and children when at war with the whites, and when 
discomfited in battle, often retreated to them, sometimes 
eluding pursuit, sometimes defending themselves there to 
the last extremity. It is not certain that they enclosed them 
with embankments of earth. 



Island Fort— Lot 14, Copley, Summit f\^ a^^r. ^f a-i. x.- v. 2. 
CoxTNTY,0., Surveyed AUGUST 17, 1877. , .,?^ fJ"\f ^!^^ ^'g^^'^ 

hills of Richland and Knox 

Counties, are look-out or 
signal mounds, similar to 
those which may be traced 
from these places south to 
ttie Ohio River. In some 
of these places small 
mounds have been built, 
with much labor, of stones 
brought from the valleys 
below, and nearly all show 
the results of surface fires. 
Many of these, and per- 
haps all of them, may be 
the work of modern In- 
dians, as it is well Known 
that they were in the 
habit of telegraphing to scattered members of their tribes 
or allies by the smoke of fires kindled at such places. 

Licking County seems to be the center of population of 
the old mound builders of the State, and in it are some of 
the most remarkable earth-works to be found in the United 
States. Mounds, some of them of large size, some of earth 
and some of stone, are scattered over the county, but so 
remarkable are the works near !N"ewark, now in part occupied 
by the county agricultural society, that comparatively little 
attention has been given to the others. This collection of 
mounds, embankments, enclosures, etc., covers over one 
thousand acres, and by its extent and character indicates 




Long diameter, 244 feet; short diame- 
ter, 196 feet. Scale, 200 feet to the inch; 
d, d. — Remains of a beaver dam. 



—84— 

that here was the metropolis of the mound builders. The 
general character of the most important of these works will 
be better understood by the cut given on another page. 

Mr. Smucker has known the works for more than lifty-live 
years, and hunted over them when covered with the primeval 
forests. He reports that they were covered with a mixed 
growth of walnut, sugar-maple, beech, oak, and wild cherry 
trees, some of which, when cut down, showed that they 
were over five hundred years old, Y^^ich would indicate not 
less than from one thousand to fifteen hundred years since 
the commencement of the intrusion of the forests. It is 
believed that General Harrison first called attention to the 
fact, in regard to similar works, that a mixed forest indicated 
a forest growth of at least two or three generations of trees. 
A new natural forest is almost if not quite uniformly com- 
posed of one variety only, and the change to a variety of 
species is made very slowly. But was this ground ever 
occupied by forests until the abandonment of these works? 
Their erection with mound builders' tools, if it involved the 
clearing of a forest as a preliminary work, is so nearly 
impossible that we can not imagine it would be ever under- 
taken. It involved not only the clearing of these lands 
of the forest, but also the neighboring lands which were to 
be subjected to tillage. It is with the utmost difficulty, in 
moist and tropical climates, that men armed with the best 
of steel tools make a successful battle with the forests. It is 
much more reasonable to suppose that these works were 
originally located in a treeless region, and the works 
evidently of the same age scattered over the county indicate 
that this treeless region was of large extent, covering prob- 
ably most of the alluvial valley. The inference would follow 
that the abandonment of the region marked the time when 
the slow intrusion of the forests reduced the amount of 
tillable land below the necessities of the community ; the 
time since their abandonment marks the whole period of 
forest growth on the alluvial bottoms. If the question is 
asked, how long is this period ? the only answer that can be 



-85— 




—86— 

given is that in the term as applied to human history, the 
time was long ; how long, no one can tell. 

The most prominent features of these works consist of an 
octagonal enclosure embracing 50 acres ; a square enclosure 
of 20 acres ; a circle of 30 acres, and a smaller circle of 20 
acres. A number of covert ways extended from these 
enclosures, and various mounds, circles and crescentic em- 
bankments are connected with them. These walls still rise 
in places to the height of 30 feet. At the center of the 
largest circular enclosure is a low mound which Mr. Smucker 
regards as intended to represent an eagle, with extended 
wings, measuring from tip to tip ot the wings 240 feet, and 
from head to tail 210 feet. The largest circular enclosure is 
reported by Mr. Smucker to have an opening about 100 feet 
wide, and the door-ways in all are much too wide to admit of 
the idea that any of them are intended for forts. But for 
what were they designed ? A cut of the w^orks at Marietta 
and of those at Circleville are given for comparison, and to 
bring out the typical character of this class of earthworks. 

The typical characteristics are circular and square, or 
rectilinear enclosures, the circle with one broad gateway ; 
the square with many gateways, the two either closely con- 
nected, as in the Circleville works, or by long covert ways, as 
in the Newark works. The- absence of the circular enclosure, 
as at Marietta,indicates that it is an adjunct to the other form 
of enclosure, and may be dispensed with. The presence of 
something like an altar or symbolic mound in the centre of 
the circle is also significant. The large number of passage 
ways into the rectilinear enclosures show that the dominant 
idea in making these embankments was not to secure a 
protected enclosure. Yet the protecting of most of these 
gateways, or breaks in the wall, by mounds, seems to indicate 
a use of the whole for protecting the interior. The difference 
in the numbers of the segments of the rectilinear walls 
should also be noted. In the Circleville enclosure, 8 ; in the 
!N"ewark,in one case, 8 ; in another, 6 ; in that at Marietta, in 



-87- 




8o RODS 



OHIO R'VER 




p CIRCLEVILLE 



—88— 

one case,16 ; in the other,10. Both at Newark and at Marietta 
there are isolated segments of just such embankments form- 
ing no part of an enclosure, but which could be easily 
imagined to be the beginning of an enclosure. 

When Vol. IV. of " Contributions to North American 
Ethnology," by Lewis H. Morgan, was published, his con- 
clusions, which he advanced, however, as a hypothesis, as 
simply a possible explanation of the use of these embank- 
ments, was not very generally accepted. It must be conceded, 
however, that he undertook the only line of investigation 
which could lead to correct conclusions. If wc can learn 
the peculiarities of the social life of the mound builders, we 
may hope to learn the significance of their remains. The 
communal life of so many of the American races; the asso- 
ciation of so many families in the same dwelling,or connected 
series of dwellings, which Mr. Morgan shows was character- 
istic of tribes most nearly allied in other characteristics with 
the mound builders, makes it a reasonable conclusion that 
this was a characteristic of their social life, and the theory 
may well be accepted, as a provisional one, that these 
segments of embankments of the rectilinear enclosures were 
the foundations of residences for closely related families of 
large tribal villages. The enclosures they formed may have 
contained the store houses of their common supplies, 
opening also into the circular enclosure which, the central 
altar-like mound contained in it, suggests was appropriated 
to religious or ceremonial rites. The single wide opening 
into these circular enclosures was evidently adapted to the 
easy ingress and egress of large masses of men. It would 
follow that they practiced that form of socialism, 
or communism, which many modern reformers are 
advocating, which is characteristic of many savage 
tribes and is always abandoned before any great 
advance is made in civilization. A clearly defined 
distinction, universally admitted, between the tuum and the 
meum is essential to that personal efl:ort which results in 
civilization. 



—89— 

The apparent use of the circle for the sacred enclosure 
confirms the above conclusions, as the circle is the primitive 
form of building. Our children build circular snow forts, 
and the birds and beavers build in a circle, because this is 
the natural form, and most easily made — ^a form always 
retained by savages until they learn to build with timber, 
cut into regular lengths, or with stone. The circle, long 
used as a sacred enclosure and consecrated by custom, will 
be retained by a natural conservatism for religious uses long 
after rectilinear buildings are constructed for common uses. 

The engineering skill required for the construction of these 
works is generally over-estimated. To the eye many of them 
appear to be perfectly symmetrical. But do we know that 
they are? They have suffered much from erosion, and it is 
in every case now impossible to define what was originally 
the central lines of the embankments or the exact corners of 
rectilinear enclosures. After all the careful measurements? 
we do not know the exact dimensions of the base of the 
great pyramid of Egypt, or whether it is an exact square ; 
the preponderance of evidence being that it is not. "No such 
care has been given to the measurements of any ot these 
enclosures, and it is not proved that any of them are exact 
geometrical figures. A measuring rod and an instrument 
for laying down a right angle would suffice for the planing 
of all of them without a knowledge of any of the principles 
of geometry. 

Associated with these enclosures are many forms of 
mounds which are also found isolated in various parts of 
the State, and very abundantly in Licking County. Those 
that are truncated at the top are usually regarded as temple 
mounds, and are comparatively rare in Ohio. Explorations 
in other States show that some of them are- true burial 
mounds. The most noted mound of this character in the 
United States is located on the rich alluvial land bordering 
the lower Mississippi, and near the mouth of Cahokia Creek, 
from which it takes its name. It is ninety feet high, with a 



—90— 

base seven hundred feet long, and five hundred feet wide, 
the level surface at the top measuring four hundred and fifty 
by two hundred feet, and its solid contents estimated at 
twenty millions of cubic feet. 

Burial mounds are very abundant in this State, of a conical 
form, generally with a circular, but sometimes with an oval 
base, usually built of earth, but sometimes of stone. No 
better idea of the general character of these mounds can be 
given than is afiTorded by the following extracts from a 
paper read before the Connecticut Academy of Arts and 
Sciences, February 21, 1866, by that careful observer, 0. C. 
Marsh, F. G. S. He says : 

" The mound selected for examination was about two and 
a half miles south of !N'ewark, on the farm of Mr. Thomas 
Taylor, and was known in the neighborhood as the ' Taylor 
Mound.' It was conical in form, about ten feet in height, 
and eighty in diameter at the base, these being about the 
average dimensions of the burial mounds in that vicinity. 
It was situated on the summit of a ridge, in the midst of a 
stately forest. * * * The mound stood quite alone, nearly 
half a mile from its nearest neighbor, and about three miles 
from the large earthworks already mentioned. * ^f^ * 

" An excavation about eight feet in diameter was first 
made from the apex of the mound, and after the surface soil 
was removed, the earth was found to be remarkably com- 
pact, probably owing to its having been firmly trodden down 
when deposited. This earth was a light loam, quite different 
from the soil of the ridge itself, and its peculiar mottled 
appearance indicated that it had been brought to the spot, 
in small quantities. In excavating the first five feet, which 
was a slow and very laborious undertaking, nothing worthy 
of notice was observed except some traces of ashes, and 
pieces of charcoal and flint, scattered about at various 
depths. At five and a half feet below the surface, where the 
earth became less diflacult to remove, a broken stone pipe 
was found which had evidently been long in use. It was 



—91— 

made of a very soft limestone, containing fragments of 
small fossil shells, apparently cretaceous species. IN'o rock 
of precisely this kind is known to exist in Ohio. Pieces of 
a tube of the same material, and about an inch in diameter, 
were found near the pipe. The cavity was about two-thirds 
of an inch in diameter, and had been bored with great 
regularity. Similar tubes have occasionally been found in 
mounds, but their use is not definitely known. 

"About seven feet from the top of the mound a thin white 
layer was observed, which extended over a horizontal surface 
of several square yards. Near the centre of this space, and 
directly under the apex of the mound, a string of more than 
one hundred beads of native copper was found, and with it 
a few small bones of a child about three years of age. The 
beads were strung on a twisted cord of coarse vegetable 
fibre, apparently the inner bark ot a tree, and this had been 
preserved by the salts of the copper, the antiseptic properties 
of which are well known. The position of the beads 
showed clearly that they had been wound two or three 
times around the neck of the child ; and the bones them- 
selves (the neural arches of the cervical vertebrae, a clavicle 
and a first rib) were precisely those which the beads would 
naturally come in contact with when decomposition of the 
body ensued. The remains evidently owe their preservation 
to this fact, as they are all colored with carbonate of copper, 
and the other parts of the skeleton have entirely decayed. 
The position the body had occupied, however, was still 
clearly indicated by the darker color of the earth. The 
beads were about one-fourth of an inch long and one-third 
in diameter, and no little skill had been displayed in their 
construction. They were evidently made without the aid of 
fire, by hammering the metal in its original state ; but the 
joints were so neatly fitted that in most cases it was very 
difiacult to detect them. On the same cord, and arranged 
at regular intervals, were five shell beads of the same 
diameter, but about twice as long as those of copper. All 



—92— 

had apparently been well polished, and the necklace when 
worn must have formed a tasteful and striking ornament. 

"About a foot below the remains just described, and a 
little east of the centre of the mound, were two adult human 
skeletons, lying one above the other, and remarkably well 
preserved. The interment had evidently been performed 
with great care. The heads were toward the east, slightly 
higher than the feet, and the arms were carefully composed 
at the sides. A white stratum, similar in every respect to 
the one already mentioned,was here very di8tinct,and extended 
horizontally over a space of five or six yards, in the centre of 
which the remains had been laid. The earth separated 
readily through this stratum, and an examination of the 
exposed surfaces showed that they were formed from two 
decayed layers of bark, on one of which the body had been 
placed, and the other covered over them. The smooth sides 
of the bark had thus come together and the decomposition 
of the inner layers had produced the peculiar white sub- 
stance, as a subsequent microscopic examination clearly 
indicated. (This white layer, which was thought by Squire 
and Davis to be the remains of matting, is a characteristic 
feature in burial mounds. It has only been found where the 
interments were unquestionably of mound builders.) Directly 
above these skeletons was a layer of reddish earth, apparently 
a mixture of ashes and burned clay, which covered a surface 
of about a square yard. Near the middle of this space was 
a small pile of charred human bones, the remains of a 
skeleton, which had been burned immediately over those 
just described. The fire had evidently been continued for 
some time, and then allowed to go out ; when the fragments 
of bone and cinders that remained were scraped together, 
and covered with earth. All the bones were in small pieces, 
and most of them distorted by heat ; but among them were 
found the lower extremity of a humerus and some fragments 
of a fibula, which showed them to be human, and indicated 
an adult rather below the medium size. The two skeletons 
found beneath these remains were well formed and of 



—93— 

opposite sex. The ossification of the bones indicated that 
the female was about thirty years of age, and the male 
somewhat older. 

" It is not impossible that these were husband and wife, 
the latter put to death and buried above the remains of her 
consort ; and the charred bones may have been those of a 
human sacrifice slain at the funeral ceremonies. Near these 
skeletons was a small quantity of reddish brown powder, 
which proved on examination to be hematite. It was 
probably used as a paint. 

** On continuing our excavations about a foot lower, and 
somewhat more to the eastward, a second pile of charred 
human bones was found, resting on a layer of ashes, charcoal 
and burned clay. But one or two fragments of these 
remains could be identified as human, and these also indi- 
cated a small-sized adult. The incremation had apparently 
been performed in the same manner as in the previous 
instance. Immediately beneath the clay deposit, a third 
white layer was observed, quite similar to that just described. 
In this layer was a male skeleton, not in as good preservation 
as those already mentioned, although belonging to an 
individual considerably older. lu this case, also, the head 
was toward the east, and the burial had been carefully 
performed. Near this skeleton about a pint of white chaff 
was found which appeared to belong to some of the native 
grasses. The form was still quite distinct, although nearly 
all the organic substance had disappeared. A few inches 
deeper, near the surface of the natural earth,several skeletons, 
of various ages, were met with, which had evidently been 
buried in a hurried manner. All were nearly or quite 
horizontal, but no layer of bark had been spread for their 
reception, and no care taken in regard to the arrangement 
of limbs. These skeletons were in a tolerable state of 
preservation, some parts being quite perfect. A tibia and 
fibula, with most of the corresponding bones of a foot, were 
found quite by themselves, and well preserved. 



—94— 

" Our excavatioDs had now reached the original surface of 
the ridge, on which the mound was erected, and we were 
about to discontinue further researches, when the dark color 
ot the earth at one point attracted attention, and an exam- 
ination soon showed that a cist or grave had first been 
excavated in the soil before the mound itself was commenced. 
This grave was under the eastern part of the elevation, 
about four feet from the center. It consisted of a simple 
excavation in an east and west direction, about six feet long, 
three wide, and nearly two deep. In this grave were found 
parts of at least eight skeletons, which had evidently been 
thrown in carelessly — most of them soon after death, but 
one or two not until the bones had become detached and 
weathered. Some of the bones were very well preserved, 
and indicated individuals of various ages. Two infants, 
about a year and eighteen months old respectively, were each 
represented by a single os illium, and bones of several other 
small children were found. One skull, apparently that of a 
boy, about twelve years of age, was recovered in fragments, 
and this was the best preserved of any obtained in the 
mound. The skeleton of an aged woman of small stature 
was found resting on its side. It was bent together and 
lay across the grave, with its head toward the north. Some 
of the loose human bones, exhumed from the bottom of the 
grave, were evidently imperfect when thrown in. Among 
these was part of a large femur, which had been gnawed by 
some carniverous animal. The marks of the teeth were 
sharply defined, and corresponded to those made by a dog 
or wolf. 

" Quite a number of implements of various kinds were 
found with the human remains in this grave. Near its 
eastern end, where the detached bones had been buried, were 
nine lance and arrow-heads, nearly all of the same form, and 
somewhat rudely made of flint and chert. * >i^ ^ These 
weapons are of peculiar interest, as it appears they are the 
first that have been discovered in a sepulchral mound, 
although many such have been carefully examined. They 



—OS- 
show that the custom — so common among the Indians of 
this country— of burying with the dead their implements of 
war or the chase, obtained occasionally, at least, among the 
mound builders. ^N'ot far from these weapons six small 
hand-axes were found, one of which was made of hematite, 
and the rest of compact greenstone or diorite, the material 
often used by the Indians for similar articles. Two of these 
corresponded closely in form with the stone hand-axe figured 
by Squire and Davis, as the only one then known from the 
mounds. With these axes were found a small hatchet of 
hematite, a flint chisel, and a peculiar flint instrument, 
apparently used for scraping wood. 

" In the central part of the grave, near the aged female 
skeleton already alluded to, were a large number of bone 
implements, all exceedingly well preserved. Among these 
were five needles or bodkins, from three to six inches in 
length, neatly made from the metatarsal bones of the com- 
mon deer, and also a spatula cut from an ulna and probably 
used for moulding pottery. With these were found about a 
dozen peculiar implements formed from the antlers of a deer 
and elk. They are cylindrical in form, from three to eight 
inches in length, and an inch to an inch and a half in 
diameter. Most of these had both ends somewhat rounded, 
and perfectly smooth, as if they had either been long in use, 
or carefully polished. It is possible these instruments were 
used for smoothing down the seams of skins or leather ; 
they would at least be well adapted to such a purpose. A 
whistle niade from a tooth of a young black bear, and several 
'spoons,' cut out of the shells of river mussels, were also 
obtained from near the same spot. 

" A vessel of coarse pottery was found near the western 
end of the grave, but unfortunately was broken in removing 
it. It was about five inches in its greatest diameter, six in 
height, and one-third of an inch in thickness. It was with- 
out ornament, and rudely made of clay containing some sand 
and powdered quartz. It was filled with soft, black earth, 



—96— 

the color being probably due to some animal or vegetable 
substance, which it contained when deposited in the grave. 
Fragments of a vase of similar material, but having the top 
ornamented, were found in another part of the mound- 
Neither of these vessels were superior in any respect to the 
pottery manufactured by the Indians. 

"Near the bottom of the mound, and especially in the 
grave, were various animal bones, most of them in an 
excellent state of preservation. Many of them belonged to 
the common deer, and nearly all the hollow bones had been 
skillfully split open lengthwise— probably for the purpose of 
extracting the marrow — a common custom among rude 
nations. * ^ * 

" The skeletons found in this mound were of medium size, 
somewhat smaller than the average of the Indians still living 
in this country. The bones were certainly not stouter than 
those of Indians of the same size, although this has been 
regarded as a characteristic of the remains of the mound 
builders. All the skulls in the mound were broken — in one 
instance, apparently before burial — and most of them so 
much decayed that no attempt was made to preserve them. 
Two, however, were recovered with the more important 
parts but little injured. Both were of small size, and showed 
the vertical occiput, prominent vertex and large interparietal 
diameter so characteristic of crania belonging to the Amer- 
ican race. In other respects there was nothing of special 
interest in their conformation. With a single exception all 
the human teeth observed were perfectly sound. The teeth 
of all the adult specimens were much worn, those of aged 
individuals usually to a remarkable degree. The manner in 
which these were worn away is peculiarly interesting, as it 
indicates that the mound builders, like the ancient Egyptians, 
and the Danes of the stone age, did not, in eating, use their 
incisive teeth for cutting as modern nations do. This is 
evident from the fact that the worn incisors are all truncated 
in the same plane with the coronal surfaces of the molars* 



I 



—97— 

showing that the upper front teeth infringe directly on the 
summits of those below, instead of lapping over them. This 
peculiarity may be seen in the teeth of Egyptian mummies, 
as was first pointed out by Cuvier. * * * 

" One of the most remarkable features in the mound was 
the large number of skeletons it contained. With one or 
two exceptions none of the burial mounds, hitherto exam, 
amined, have contained more than a single skeleton which 
unquestionably belonged to the mound builders, while in this 
instance parts of at least seventeen were exhumed. The 
number of small children represented among these remains 
is also worthy of notice, as it indicates, for this particular 
case, a rate ot infant mortality (about thirty-three per cent.) 
which is much higher than some have supposed ever existed 
among such nations. Another point of special interest in 
this mound is the evidence it aftords that the regular method 
of burial among the mound builders was sometimes omitted, 
and the remains interred in a hurried and careless manner. 
This was the case with eleven of the skeletons exhumed in 
the course of our explorations, a remarkable fact, which 
appears to be without a precedent in the experience of 
previous investigators. It should be mentioned in this con- 
nection that nearly all these remains were those of women 
and children. Their hurried and careless burial might seem 
to indicate a want of respect on the part of their surviving 
friends, were there not ample evidence to prove that rever- 
ence for the dead was a prominent characteristic of the 
mound builders. It is not unlikely that in this instance 
some unusual cause, such as pestilence, or war, may have 
made a hasty interment necessary. The various implements 
and remains of animals found with these skeletons also 
deserve notice, as they far exceed in number and variety any 
hitherto discovered in a single mound. They prove, more- 
over, that if in this instance the rites of regular burial were 
denied the deposited, their supposed future wants were 
amply provided for. The contents of one part of the cist, 
(which is itself a very unusual accompaniment of a mound) 



—OS- 
appears to indicate that the remains of those who died at a 
distance from home, were collected for burial, sometimes long 
after death. The interesting discovery of weapons, which 
were found with these detached bones, would seem to imply, 
that in this case the remains and weapons of a hunter or 
warrior of distinction, recovered after long exposure, had 
been buried together. 

" The last three interments in this mound were performed 
with great care, as already stated, and in strict accordance 
with the usual custom of the mound builders. The only 
point of particular interest in regard to them is the con- 
nection which appears to exist between some ot the skeletons 
and the charred human bones found above them. Similar 
deposits of partially burned bones, supposed to be human, 
have in one or two instances been observed on the altars of 
sacrificial mounds, and occasionally in mounds devoted to 
sepulture, but their connection with the human remains 
buried in the latter, if indeed any existed, appears to have 
been overlooked. Our explorations, which were very care- 
fully and systematically conducted, clearly demonstrated 
that in these instances the incremation had taken place 
directly over the tomb, and evidently before the regular 
interment was completed ; taking these facts in connection 
with what the researches of other investigators have made 
known concerning the superstitious rites of this mysterious 
people, it seems natural to conclude that in each of these 
cases a human victim was sacrificed as a part of the funeral 
ceremonies, doubtless as a special tribute of respect to a 
person of distinction." 

These copious extracts from the report of Mr. Marsh, of 
his explorations of a mound, doubtless erected by the con- 
structors of the IN'ewark works, is given, for the important 
information it affords as to the character of these people, and 
because the minute and pains-taking care exhibited by him 
in the exploration may well be taken as a model to guide 
others in similar explorations. 



—99— 

If all the mounds in Ohio, not less than ten thousand in 
number, were as carefully explored, it would throw a flood 
of light upon the character and social condition of their 
builders. 

Mounds of observation are usually smaller than the last, 
generally occupying elevated places constituting a series of 
signal stations, and sometimes located on alluuial plains in 
positions commanding an extensive view up and down the 
valley. Natural elevations often show, by the accumulation 
of charcoal and burned stones, that they were used as signal 
stations; but whether these were used by the mound builders 
or by the more modern Indians, can not be determined, but 
it is probable they were used by both for this purpose, as 
were also the burial mounds when properly located. 

A large number of still smaller mounds are called, and 
probably correctly, altar mounds. They are usually connected 
with other works and include altar-like constructions of stone 
or clay on which are found ashes, charcoal, calcined bones, 
some of which have been identified as human, and specimens 
of nearly all the domestic and military utensils and orna- 
ments of the mound builders. The circular enclosures, as in 
the instances above given, often have such mounds at the 
center. 

Of effigy mounds there are comparatively few in the State, 
but among these the Serpent Mound, of Adams County, and 
the so-called Alligator Mound, of Licking County, are con- 
spicuous examples. They are so well known, and have been 
so often described, that a repetition of the descriptions here 
is unnecessary. The so-called Alligator Mound is a very 
poor imitation of an alligator, having a long tail curved in a 
manner that no American animal could imitate, except the 
opossum. The walls of Fort Ancient, in Warren County, 
have been described as two huge serpents, but the early plats 
of it show nothing to justify this description. 



-100- 



MIOTNG BY THE MOUND BUILDERS. 

The extensive pre-historic copper mines of Lake Superior, 
first accurately described by Col. Whittlesey, are without 
doubt the work of the mound builders, and the source from 
which they obtained the greater part of the material for their 
copper implements and ornaments. Some of it they doubt- 
less obtained from the drift. These mines were opened by 
means of their rude tools, with great labor, wooden shovels 
being used in removing waste material. The rock enclosing 
the copper was subjected to the action of fire, and broken 
up by stone hammers and mauls. Pieces from the masses 
too large to handle were laboriously cut or pounded off with 
their stone axes, and pieces too large to be handled in any 
other manner were slowly raised to the surface by prying up 
the alternate sides, placing small timbers beneath and 
building them up under the load in the form of a log house- 
The copper thus obtained was sometimes worked into im- 
plements in the neighborhood of the mines, as important 
finds in that region show. Several copper spears and 
knives have been found together, showing that they were 
not accidently lost but buried for safe keeping. The great 
abundance of mica found in the mounds is evidence that the 
builders made long journeys to engage in mica mining, or 
maintained a system of exchanges with those who worked 
the mines. This mineral was held in high esteem, and was 
obtained in large quantities. Skeletons have been exhumed 
entirely covered with it. 

Masses of galena have been found in Ohio mounds too 
large to have been obtained in the State, and which were 
doubtless the product of galena mining. Lead is so easily 
obtained from galena that it would be strange if the mound 
builders did not stumble upon the mode of reducing this ore, 
but the metal would not be of great value to them. In the 
State Collection is a lead ornament found in the ditch within 
the great Circleville enclosure ; but the form is so much like 
that of the lead tomahawks the school-boys made, when they 



—101 — 

used lead to rule their writing paper, that it is reasonably 
inferred that it is of modern manufacture. 

Salt was evidently manufactured from natural brine springs 
by some of the native races in other localities, but the 
evidence is wanting of its manufacture within the present 
limits of this State. 

In the " oil territory " of Trumbull County, are pre- 
historic wells which were apparently sunk to obtain petroleum, 
but whether the work of mound builders or of the more 
recent tribes, is not apparent. It is known that the Indians 
highly prized the petroleum from springs, and used it as a 
medicine. 

ALPHABETIC WRITING AND ENGRAVED 
TABLETS. 

On the present site of Cincinnati, at its first discovery by 
the whites, was a series of mounds, earth-works and 
embankments, which, according to the account given by 
General Harrison, were among the most extensive in the 
State. In one of these mounds, explored in 1841, was found, 
as it is alleged, the " Cincinnati tablet," which has given rise 
to much discu8sion,and has been classed among the " frauds " 
by expert and conscientious archaeologists ; but the vindi- 
cation of its authenticity, published by Mr. Robert Clark, of 
Cincinnati, in 1876, may be regarded as fully satisfactory and 
as entitling it to a place among the authentic relics of the 
mound builders. It is made of a dark, fine-grained sand- 
stone, and as no verbal description could be made to convey 
an intelligible idea of it, a cut of both sides of it, of full size, 
is here given, which was kindly loaned for this use by Mr. 
Clark. An inspection of the cuts will lead to the ready 
inference that it is not a writing of any kind. There are 
slight difi*erences between the engraving and a cast of the 
relic. In the cast the two bars at one end of the tablet are 
each connected at the middle with the central work, so that 
all that is included within the outer margins constitutes one 



—102- 




CINCrNNATI TABLET. 



—103- 



I 




CINCINNATI TABLET, REVERSE. 



—104— 

figure with bilateral symmetry. It is a work showing much 
skill in stone-engraving, both in the execution and in the 
almost exact duplication of the separate parts, but its signi- 
fication, if it has any, is not apparent. The supposition that 
the conspicuous markings at the two ends are copies of 
standard measures of length is scarcely tenable, when it is 
noted that in the cast neither of the series of divisions are 
of equal length and that the smaller are not subdivisions of 
the larger. Mr. Clark sends me a photograph of a somewhat 
similar engraving said to have been found in a mound. It 
is smaller, very much less skillfully executed, and lacks the 
bilateral symmetry of the " Cincinnati tablet." A cut of the 
reverse side of the latter is given, but it probably has no 
significance. 

The sand-stone tablet, alleged to have been found at 
Wilmington, is in some respects like the "Cincinnati tablet.'' 
According to the engravings published it is far inferior in 
execution. There is only a partial attempt at bilateral 
symmetry, and the duplication of parts is inaccurately done. 
This, and the unintelligible carving on the slate ornament, 
might pass as genuine relics were it not for the character of 
the animal and human carvings on the other part of it. The 
free-hand attempt at shading the animal figures, the graceful 
outlines of the human figures, the delineation of their 
clothing, particularly the close-fitting garments of the male, 
and the character of the weapons he carries, which have 
been previously described, all indicate that they do not 
represent barbaric art. A doubt of their genuineness is no 
imputation upon the integrity of those who have given 
descriptions of them to the public. The best collections of 
relics contain forgeries, some of which have been purchased 
for a large price, and almost every community can furnish 
those who will take great delight in imposing upon explorers 
of mounds. If the genuineness of all these relics were 
conceded, they do not afford, as is claimed, any evidence of 
the use of writing. What are claimed to be written char- 
acters in all of the squares, are laboriously unlike in all their 



I 



—105— 

details. A writing of that length, either alphabetical, 
pictorial or symbolical, would certainly exhibit repetitions. 

The controversy over the Hebrew inscriptions, claimed to 
have been found by David Wyrick, near Newark, is now 
generally regarded as closed. They were found when evi- 
dence was eagerly sought to connect the aboriginal races 
with the house of Israel. Now that the idea of such a 
connection is abandoned by all, the discovery of Hebrew 
inscribed stones would be an anachronism, for such forgerie^ 
will always in some way represent the ideas of the time of 
the forgery. As an example, the greatest forgery of this 
century is the book of Mormon. A careful reading of it will 
disclose to any competent critic very nearly the date of the 
forgery. It was written during, or very soon after, the 
controversy between Masonry and Anti-Masonry, and is 
decidedly Anti-Masonic. It was written during the theolog- 
ical controversy over popery pedo-baptism ; the salvation of 
infants ; a paid priesthood, election and free-will, all of 
which questions it attempts to settle; when the "falling 
power," as it was called, was regarded as the work of the 
Spirit, which it describes and approves ; while ,the act of 
divination by looking into a crystal was believed in by some; 
while it was believed that the native races here were Israel- 
ites ; and before contact with Europeans, worshipers of the 
Great Spirit, and while it was popularly believed that the 
linguistic peculiarities of our bible were wholly character- 
istic of the languages in which it was originally written, and 
not of the state of the English language at the time of its 
translation. These internal evidences fix the date of its 
composition as about fifty years ago. 

Mr. Wyrick's first find was the inscribed key-stone in the 
form of a Masonic emblem on which was carved in Hebrew 
of the twelfth century, " The King of the Earth.'' " The 
Word of the Lord." " The Laws of Jehovah." " The Holy 
of Holies." In the year following he "found," enclosed in a 
neat stone box with a closely fitting cover, a stone tablet 
having on it an efiigy of Moses in priestly robes and an 



—106— 

epitome ot the ten commandments in Hebrew. Surely no 
better evidence could be secured of a Hebrew migration to 
this country. It is significant that Mr. Wyrick's published 
account of the "finds" was largely devoted to an attempt to 
prove that they could not be forged, and that upon his 
death there was found in his working-room a Hebrew Bible 
which doubtless aided him much in finding Hebrew 
inscriptions. 

These Holy relics w^ere sold to David M. Johnson, of 
Coshocton, Ohio, who in 1867 employed laborers tor several 
days in exploring a mound from which one of the inscribed 
stones, he obtained from Wyrick, was taken. His search 
was rewarded by finding inside of a human skull a conical 
stone about three (3) inches long on which was also a Hebrew 
inscription. No one seems to have been surprised by the 
peculiarity of the place in which it was found, or to have 
doubted its genuineness. It is probable that no archaeologist 
of fair standing can now be found to advocate its genuine- 
ness or that of the Wyrick finds. 

Perhaps no relic has been the cause of more discussion in 
Ohio, and among archaeologists everywhere, than a small 
piece of sand-stone covered on one face with inscribed 
characters and which it is alleged was taken from a vault 
in the Grave Creek Mound, in 1838. Some years ago, as 
one of a committee appointed for that purpose by the Ohio 
State Archaeological Society, I undertook to gather up all 
the evidence that could be secured in regard to the finding 
of this relic. Numerous letters were received from those 
engaged in the exploration, or who were present when it 
was found. All answered every inquiry fully and frankly. 
These letters were turned over to the Northern Ohio His- 
torical Society, of Cleveland, for preservation. From all 
these letters it may be regarded as well established — 

First. That this relic was first seen in the loose dirt, 
wheeled out through a tunnel leading to the centre of the 
mound, and dumped in a pile, from which it was picked up 



—107— 

and exhibited to those standing by, all at once assuming that 
it came from the mound. 

Second. That no one questioned its genuineness or gave 
it any scrutiny to see whether it showed evidence of recent 
manufacture. Hence the character of the inscription can 
now be determined only by an examination of it, or of 
engravings of it. 

It is very easy to manufacture a series of arbitrary char- 
acters which would constitute a good alphabet. It ig not so 
easy to forge an inscription with it. In an inscription the 
letters will be duplicated, or doubled, and will be repeated 
with a frequency in an inverse ratio to the number of the 
characters in the alphabet used. The torger of an inscrip- 
tion will proceed very much as if forging an alphabet, and 
it will rarely occur to him to double or repeat his characters. 
In a forged alphabet, also, a genetic relation will frequently 
be observed between letters and those immediately preced- 
ing, the one being a modification of the other. In using the 
same letters in an intelligible inscription this connection will 
be broken. 

To illustrate these facts, four different persons were asked 
to write each an inscription in arbitrary characters, unlike 
the letters of any alphabet they knew, and without being 
informed as to the object of the request. These inscriptions 
are here copied, and all of the characters except the last two 
of the Grave Creek Mound inscription : 



-108— 



No. 1. By a teacher and law student. 

" 2. By a school girl. 

" 3. By a druggist. 

" 4. By a college professor. 

" 5. The Graw Creek inscription. 

The latter may be compared with an engraving copied 
from the stone, which is here inserted : 

The genetic relations be- 
tween different successive 
characters can be clearly 
seen in all these inscrip- 
tions, that from the Grave 
Creek Mound, included- 
The writer of each often 
had one character in mind 
when making the next one, 
and gave a modified form 
of it. 

There is no doubling of letters in any of them, and there 
is no certain repetition of letters. In the Grave Creek 
inscription, the 4th from the left, is somewhat like the 8th, 
and the 6th somewhat like the 20th. In a cast of the stone 
these characters are more unlike than in the engraving. If it is 
conceded that there are two repetitions, it will be found that 
taking a sentence of equal length from any known alpha- 
betical writing, the repetitions will be much more numerous. 
The inference is that the inscription is not alphabetical, an 
inference greatly strengthened by the smallness of the char- 
acters, the lineness and distinctness of the lines forming 
them. The character of the tools for writing on stone, which 
the mound builders must have used, if they wrote at all, is 
apparent from the preceding pages. This inscription requires 
for its production as good an instrument as a sharp-pointed 
steel knife. With that it could easily be produced in a very 
few minutes. 




—109— 

As the case now stands, it can well be said that there is no 
evidence that the mound builders knew or practiced the art 
of writing. Further, that their social and artistic condition, 
as disclosed by the study of their remains, was not such as 
to make the discovery of the art of writing probable. 

SOCIAL AND CIVIL CONDITION" OF THE 
MOUND BUILDERS. 

The social condition of the American hunting Indians has 
been pretty thoroughly known through the direct contact of 
the civilized nations ; but that of the "mound builders" is not 
fio easily learned. A special definition of this term is a 
necessary preliminary to the investigation, for many of the 
hunting races, inhabiting the country after the advent of the 
whites, were mound builders, and the erection of mounds, 
-especially in the southern part of the territory now including 
the United States, was continued to quite modern times. 
Articles of copper, silver and steel, of unquestioned modern 
manufacture, are found in southern mounds as deeply and 
securely buried as the implements found in Ohio mounds. 
The term, unless the context otherwise shows, will be used 
to designate the builders of the elaborate structures found 
in Ohio annd the other works attributed to the same age. 

The facts above recorded, as well as the concurrent testi- 
mony of all the well established facts, show the want of 
three very important aids to civilization : domestic animals, 
iron or steel tools, and the art of writing. The want of the 
first is almost an inseparable obstacle to emergence from 
barbarism. The pastoral condition which was here impos- 
sible, is normally the first advance from the hunting condition- 
Flocks and herds are the first important accumulations of 
capital for distant future use, and their possession leads man 
out of the savage habit of content if his immediate wants 
are supplied, and induces labor and forethought for the 
future. The flesh, skin, milk and wool of these animals 
provides more abundantly for his wants, developes arts for 



—no- 
preparing and utilizing them, secures a more compact social 
organization, and less vagrant habits. These lead upward 
to the practice of the art of agriculture and a special appro- 
priation of land interfering with its pastoral use, followed 
by controversies like that between Cain and Abel, in which 
the agriculturist is generally victorious, because his is the 
superior condition, leading to further advancement. It is 
not without significance that the descendants of Cain were 
represented as the discoverers of the arts of metallurgy. The 
single domestic animal of the Peruvians, valuable for tood^ 
as a beast of burden, and for its wool, gave them a great 
advantage over all other American tribes. Its wool devel- 
oped the art of spinning and weaving, gave them better 
clothing, and with many other important advantages, gave 
them the use of sails and the art of navigation. North 
America, with its deeply indented coast line, was more 
favorable to navigation, but a sailboat was nowhere found by 
its first European explorers. 

The mound builders reached the agricultural without 
passing through the pastoral condition, but the want of 
eflicient metal tools must have made that agriculture com- 
paratively unproductive. Their agriculture consolidated 
them into village communities, gave them a compact, social 
organization which made the construction of the remarkable 
works they have left us, possible. If they had stumbled 
apon the art of producing iron and steel, they would doubt- 
leBS have attained to a true civilization. Without it we 
should naturally deem this impossible ; and [we in fact find 
that all the relics of the arts they have left us are barbaric. 
Their sculptures and carvings often show much skill and 
very patient, long-continued work, but to the modern eye 
are not artistic. Their clothing must have been of a prim- 
itive character. The fragments of textile fabrics preserved 
are coarse, and the use of strings of bark fibre for their 
most costly necklaces, as disclosed by remains found in a 
mound by Mr. Marsh, suflPiciently attest the want or scarcity 
of better spinning fiber. They were doubtless largely clothed 



—Ill— 

in the skius of wild beasts, and they perhaps utilized the 
wooly hair of the buffalo by spinning and weaving it. They 
found leisure for the attendance of large concourses at 
religious or civic festivals, as the elaborate and costly enclos- 
ures evidently designed for some such use, abundantly testify. 
They manufactured pottery, but it was all rude. They made 
long journeys in search of copper and mined it in the most 
primitive manner, but they did not learn the art of making 
castings of it, or of consolidating the small fragments by 
melting them. They probably sunk wells for petroleum 
where it could be obtained from seepings through the earth, 
but no vessel which is suspected to be a lamp for burning it, 
or animal fats, for light has been discovered. They wrought 
chert and stone and shells into about as many useful forms 
as modern workmen could, with their more perfect tools, but 
these were all very poor substitutes for modern steel tools. 
They believed in a future life, and provided the dead with 
the weapons of war and of the chase and the domestic 
utensils they had used in life and dispatched with them on 
their long journey their wives and attendants as companions. 
Their later history was probably that of a long-continued 
struggle against the aggressions of hostile hunting tribes and 
the encroachments of forests, before the combined influence 
of which they were forced to retreat. 

Standing beside some of their remarkable earthworks, a 
glamour of admiration leads us to picture, in imagination, a 
departed race, learned in all the highest arts of civilization. 
But under the careful study of their remains the picture 
vanishes, and leaves in its place that of a patient, plodding 
people, with poor appliances, struggling towards civilization 
while still on the confines of barbarism. If we compare the 
artistic remains found in the mounds with those exhumed 
on the sites of the most ancient Asiatic cities,- the contrast, 
both in the variety of articles and skill displayed in their 
production, is very great, and precisely such a contrast as 
we ought to expect between peoples having good metal 
cutting tools and those without them. 



— il2— 

If it is asked of what race were these mound builders, it 
BOW can only be said they were one of the native American 
races, closely allied to the hunting Indians, and probably a 
branch of the same race. There are certain peculiarities of 
the skulls and jaws of the skeletons, found in the mounds, 
which are supposed by many to separate them from the other 
native races. 

The description of the skulls found by Mr. Marsh, in a 
mound at Newark, as given in the quotation from his report, 
indicates the character of these peculiarities, which also 
characterize a skull obtained from a mound at Marietta, and 
two obtained from a mound near Chattanooga, Tenn. The 
lower jaw is larger and more prognathous than that of the 
modern Indian, and so articulated that the incisors of each 
jaw meet squarely when the mouth is shut, not passing each 
other so as to give a scissor-like cutting action, as do the 
incisors of modern civilized people. Hence the action of 
the incisors is a grinding and not a cutting action, and these 
teeth are worn off on the same plane as the molars, and of 
necessity, just as fast. In none of the jaws of these skulls 
were there any unsound teeth, but all were remarkably worn 
away, all of the incisors equally with the molars. This 
rapid wearing away of the teeth, which is frequently observed 
in savage races, and is seen in the early British skulls, is the 
result of eating hard, unground grain, or of a want of neatness 
in preparing food, leaving it filled with dirt and sand. 
Ordinarily the latter is the cause. Either is incompatible 
with much advance in civilization. This form of the jaw 
and mode of its articulation, which brings the incisors of the 
two jaws into direct contact, is not, as supposed, peculiar to 
the mound builders, but is often seen in skulls which plainly 
belonged to modern Indians, and occasionally in the white 
race, when the one having that peculiarity is said to have 
double teeth all round. This peculiarity is seen in a skull 
taken from an Indian burial ground near Fairport, Lake 
County. Comparing this skull with that from the Marietta 
Mound, the following differences are observed : The lower 



—113— 

jaw of that from the mound is more massive and more 
prognathous. The front teeth are larger and all the teeth 
are more worn ; all are sound, while two in the Indian 
skull were partly decayed. The forehead is narrower and 
more retreating, and there is a marked occipital protuber- 
ance greatly exceeding that on the Indian skull, above which 
is a suture, below the lamboid suture, which is wanting in 
the Indian, and in most modern skulls. The supereilliary 
ridge is more prominent, the molar bones larger, but more 
retreating ; the chin less prominent, the cavities for the eyes 
less circular, and a little more oblique ; and the nasal cavities 
smaller in the skull from the mound. All the cranial char- 
acteristics of the Indian skull, although it is smaller, are of 
a higher type than are exhibited by the skull from the 
Marietta mound. 

Note. — The Indian skull was pierced, while living, through the occipital 
bone with some sharp cutting instrument, about an inch and a half wide,, 
which pierced the brain, and was evidently the cause of death. 

' WERE THE MOUND BUILDERS THE FIRST 
OCCUPANTS OF THIS REGION ? 

The fire hearths along the banks of the Ohio River,, 
described by Col. Whittlesey and Mr. Thomas W. Kinney, 
are doubtless of an earlier date than the mounds, but unless 
the builders of these were an intrusive people, bringing with 
them their practice of mound-building,they may have occupied 
thecountry for centuries before the building of these structures. 
On the banks of the Tennessee River, between Mussel Shoals 
and a point a little above Chattanooga, a rude chronology is 
preserved that is of especial interest. Along the banks of 
the river are many little shell heaps containing various relics 
of a rude art which clearly indicate the artificial character of 
these mounds. Scattered through them are many minute 
bivalve shells, clearly indicating that the water formerly 
covered the mounds, and that they were probably the 
accumulated refuse from residences built on piles over the 
water. The extent of these mounds indicate long-continued 



—114— 

occupancy, and if, as appears, by the occupants of pile- 
dwellings, this fact can probably be demonstrated by the 
careful excavation of the earth under and around the shell 
mounds. 

The iirst terrace above the river is covered with the 
bleached fragments of river shells, ot such a character as to 
clearly show that the water of the river covered the terrace 
when these shells, which are of the same species as those now 
in the river, were deposited. A little above Chattanooga the 
soil of the terrace is tilled with these shells, and here on this 
terrace is a large sepulchral mound ^hich was partially 
explored in 1864. It was built up from the alluvial soil of 
this terrace, and contained large numbers of shells like those 
scattered upon the surface, so well preserved as to show that 
the mound was built shortly after the recession of the water, 
and before the shells were bleached by atmospheric influence. 
On the same terrace, and close to the mound, is the site of a 
manufactory of pottery and of chert implements, the 
material for the latter being very abundant in the immediate 
neighborhood. The soil is filled with flakes of the chert, 
with broken and perfect chert implements, as well as with 
fragments of pottery and amorphous masses of partially 
burned clay. It is diflScult to take up a shovel full of earth 
without taking with it some of these relics, but not a trace 
of them was found in the mound, making it certain that its 
erection preceded the rude manufactory. The shell heaps 
pertain to a human occupancy when the water of the river 
covered the first terrace, the building ot the mound to an 
occupancy immediately after the water had fallen to its 
present channel, and the manufacturing of pottery and chert 
implements to a time subsequent to the erection of the mound. 
If the withdrawal of the water from this terrace is to be 
attributed, as seems probable, to the wearing away of a 
narrow rock channel of the river directly below Chattanooga, 
it will carry back the date of the mound and of the preced- 
ing shell heaps to a very remote period. The mound is in 
all respects a typical mound builder's sepulchral mound. 



—115— 

In explanation of a possible tind which may astonish some 
future explorer, it should be stated that the examination of 
the mound was made during the war, when the land around 
it was cultivated by the United States Sanitary Commission 
as a hospital garden. A tunnel was carried in from the east 
side to the centre of the mound where a chamber of con- 
siderable size w^as excavated. As the walls stood firm, this 
chamber was utilized by the gardener as a store-house. 
When all the guns of the forts about Chattanooga were 
simultaneously discharged in celebration of Lee's surrender, 
the concussion caused the top of this chamber to fall in, 
hurrying at the center of the mound a large number of 
modern gardening tools. The top of the mound was restored 
to shape, the entrance to the tunnel closed, and the tools 
left to await a resurrection at the hands of an antiquarian. 

The last occupancy of the banks of the Tennessee disclosed 
above was doubtless by modern Indians ; the next by the 
*' mound builders," as distinguished from modern mound 
building Indians. Whether the earliest was that of an 
earlierjstage in the life of the mound builders can not as 
satisfactorily be determined. The probability is that of 
different tribes. 

The question as to the origin of the mound builders would 
be answered if the question of the origin of the other native 
races was solved. Whether the new world, as it is called, 
which is in tact^the old world, was peopled from the old, or 
the reverse, can not be determined. Linguistic and other 
evidences indicate a point in Southern Asia,or in a submerged 
land south of it, from Jwhence an emigration started which 
gradually spread over all that continent. This, if true, 
would make it probable that emigration from the same point 
extended to this continent. This would lead to the infer- 
ence that it was peopled by some early branch of the 
Mongolian race, to which the American races are most nearly 
allied, by the way of Behrings Strait, and the Auletian 
Islands, perhaps reinforced in South America,^ as Haeckel 
suggests, by way of the Pacific Islands, from Southern Asiatic 



—lie- 
tribes. If this was the case, this emigration was at a very 
early date, as nearly all the customs, habits, arts, and even 
languages of the American races seem to be indigenous. 

The practice of scalping, common to the American Indians 
and the ancient Scythians, is the most apparent evidence of 
race affinities between the people of the two continents. It 
is evident also that the more civilized American races 
practiced some forms of the sabian and plallic worship which 
characterized the earliest known religious culture of Asia, 
and that the use of the cross was intimately associated with 
this worship in both continents. The ceremony of baptism^ 
called a new birth, pertained to both, and there are indica- 
tions of the practice of other rites and ceremonies substan- 
tially the same on both continents. But these points of 
agreement are few, and if not accidental, point to a time 
anterior to all written history and to a social condition 
essentially barbaric. 

To the finds, as claimed, of a stone carving buried beneath 
ten feet of glacial drift, in Stark County, and of the antique 
chert knife in the drift in Summit County, may be added the 
claim of a find of a beautifully polished stone axe, at the 
depth of twenty feet, in Ashland County. If these finds are 
accepted as authentic, we must assume that these articles 
were manufactured before the close of the glacial epoch. 
But the Summit County specimen was found where there was 
only tv^o or three feet of drift clay over the rock surface 
below, and various causes may have carried it from the 
surface to that depth. 

It is also not claimed that any one saw either of the other 
specimens in the clay n^atrix at the bottom of the well. They 
both appeared in the material dumped from the buckets 
used in hoisting material from the wells. The evidence of 
the finding of pre-glacial implements must be so certain as 
to exclude any other reasonable hypothesis. Such evidence 
is not afforded in these cases. 

In Europe, rude carvings demonstrate the co-existence of 
man with some of the extinct animals. Such carvings are 



—117— 

generally wanting here. But the bones of the elephant and 
the niastodou are found near the surface, sometimes in 
marshes that are alternately wet and dry, in a much better 
state of preservation than some of the human bones at the 
bottom of burial mounds where the conditions for their 
preservation are much more favorable. Placing such bones 
side by side and bearing in mind the places from which they 
were exhumed, one can not resist the conclusion that the 
human remains are quite as old as those of these extinct 
animals. With these facts apparent, there is no intrinsic 
improbability of the antiquity of the " elephant pipes " in the 
Davenport collection. The manner in which they were 
found does not indicate that they were ^' planted to deceive." 
They are of the recognized form of the mound builders' 
pipe, a form not imitated by modern Indians. The prepon- 
derance of evidence is in favor of their genuineness, which, 
if granted, proves the co-existence of the mound builders 
with the extinct American pachyderms. 

Evidence of a very remote human occupancy, approaching 
the close of the drift period, is not wanting. Mr. Abbott's 
many finds of " drift implements" are all found in the 
modified river drift, and while he makes a pretty strong case 
that this modification occurred at the close of the drift 
period, the most conservative archaeologists are awaiting the 
discovery of undoubted human remains in the unmodified 
drift. Until such a discovery is made, the existence of man 
at the time of the glacial epoch on this continent will be 
regarded as an open question. 



Addendiam, 



After this report was completed, Mr. Rufus Chapman, of 
Garrettsville, Ohio, brought to me an unique specimen, 
obtained by him from a neighbor who plowed it up in a field 
at a place where several " Indian relics " had previously been 
found. It is made of blue porcelain ot the form shown in 
the figure : lli^o inches long, and in diameter, 1^^ inches and 
1 inch. It is hollow, as is shown by its weight, and by a small 
fire-crack in one of the grooves through which the cavity 
can be explored by a stiff hair. It is smooth, very symmet- 
rical, and could be formed only in a carefully prepared 
mold in two pieces, and the parts attached to each other 
while the material was plastic. The adhesion of the two 
parts is perfect, leaving a slight ridge, but no other indica- 
tion of the place of junction. On one of the ridges, near 
the end of the piece, is an imperfection, showing that after 
it was taken from the mold, this place was repaired by the 
addition of the plastic material, which did not make the 
ridge at that place perfect. 

Mr. Holmes, of the Bureau ot Ethnology of the Smith- 
sonian Institute, after an examination of it, says : '' l^o one 
here has seen anything like it. It is made of porcelain, a 
material unknown to the American aborigines. Jt is there- 
fore not aboriginal, and is probably not ancient. It looks as 
if it might be an implement intended for use in some of the 
arts — in the manipulation of fiber, skins, leather, or the 
like. Some one will probably be found who can tell you all 
about it." 

If designed for such use, the reason is not apparent of the 
greatly inci:eased labor of making it hollow. A wood cut 
of the specimen is here given, and information solicited 
from any who have seen similar articles or have any knowl- 
edge of the uses to which they were applied. The cut is a 
little less than one-half natural size. 



•119— 






I 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 



OF THE 



Wegteiiii l^ejeiiVB jli^torical ^oeie^J, 

CLEVELAND, OHIO, 

BY D. W. MANCHESTER, SECRETARY. 



For some years prior to the organization of this society, 
the value and importance of such an institution had been 
fully foreseen and measured by a few — and I think it may 
safely be said by only a few — of our citizens. Some of them 
were men whose birth began almost with the first settlement 
at the mouth of the Cuyahoga ; others antedated its birth as 
a village ; the most of them were older than the city, and all 
were men of intelligence, progressive in their natures, broad 
of view, comprehensive in idea, farseeing and reaching in 
grasp, while but few were especially given to historical 
study and investigation and scientific and antiquarian re- 
search. Outside of these, this small circle, it seemed to have 
but few friends, but they were steadfast, persevering and 
undismayed through all the struggles and adverse fortunes 



— 124— 

incident to its beginning. Cromwell said to the painter of 
his portrait: "Put in every wrinkle and wart; paint me 
as I am." To the men who took the initial step in the 
formation of this association, the background and coloring 
all were full of ''gorgeous hues and glowing tints." 
To the customary salutation, '*Good day," of an acquaint- 
ance, Ben Johnson replied : " Sir, it may be propitious, 
but the atmosphere is humid and the sky nebulous." And 
so, though the atmosphere surrounding these faithful, earn- 
est men may have been damp and the horizon dark, yet they 
knew that it was only in a storm that the rainbow appeared. 
They had a correct appreciation and full comprehension of 
both the magnitude and importance of the undertaking. 
There were then living in their midst men and women who, 
on their first arrival, found here only Indians and a wilder- 
ness. Referring to this period, a worthy member of this 
society has said : 

*'The early emigration to Ohio represented in its compo- 
sition fully and adequately the spirit of the Union. On her 
fruitful soil the culled grain from New England, the middle 
states and the south was sown, and the product was a race 
of giants. If these emigrants were not versed in the learning 
of universities and colleges, they had been educated at a 
higher academy. The prominent elder men had been sol- 
diers of the Revolution, and the young men had graduated 
in that school of self-sacrifice, nobleness and exalted patriot- 
ism, which eminently fitted them to become the founders 
and builders of a state. In looking back to that time, they 
seem to resemble in appearance the great trees of the virgin 
forest which covered the land, and not the smaller timber 
of a second growth." 

From these early settlers, these sturdy, hardy pioneers, 
much of historical interest and value could be obtained and 
secured, and the aim of the founders of this society was to 
provide the means and facilities for its preservation and to 
render it of usefulness and interest to present and future gen- 



— 125- 

erations. And so we have here, among other things, the 
simple articles of their simple, honest lives, the plain imple- 
ments of plain industry, now cherished " relics" — the spin- 
ning wheel, the swift, the reel, the hetchel, the flax wheel, 
the swingling knife, the neck-yoke, the warming-pan, the tin 
oven, the tin lantern, with its "grater" appearance, the 
charcoal foot-stove, the keg canteen, the tongs and long- 
handled iron shovel, the andirons, the crane and hooks, the 
iron and brass candlesticks, the snuffers and tray, the pewter 
platter and spoons, the wooden trencher, the sand-box in- 
stead of " blotters," the wafers instead of self-sealing envel- 
opes, the quill, the hour-glass, etc. 

The plan of organization of the present Western Reserve 
Historical society was first suggested by C. C. Baldwin, its 
present president, while he was vice-president of the Cleve- 
land Library association, now Case library, early in the year 
1866. Of this. Colonel Whittlesey, who furnished material 
for an article published in the Illustrated Detroit News of De- 
cember, 1 88 1, says : 

" A slight reference to the Historical Society of Cleveland 
will give an insufficient idea of its importance, not only as 
an enduring monument to the zeal of its founders, but as 
showing how much maybe accomplished in so short a period 
of time. The society originally comprised about twenty 
persons, organizing in May, 1867, upon the suggestion of 
Mr. C. C. Baldwin, the present secretary. The real work 
fell upon Colonel Whittlesey, Mr. Goodman and Mr. Baldwin 
— Mr. Goodman devoting nearly all his time until 1872. 
His death in the same year was a serious loss to his col- 
leagues and the interests of western history." 

There had been previously a pioneer society which held large 
and enthusiastic annual meetings at Newburgh. But the inter- 
est died away, and the society languished and became prac- 
tically at an end. It seemed to Mr. Baldwin that there should 
be a society formed with somewhat different ends, and so or- 
ganized and planned that its work done should be preserved. 



126 

During the next year of the association, 1866-7, the plans 
were perfected, and at the annual meeting of May 7, 1867, 
amendments were made to the constitution of the Library 
association authorizing the formation of departments, histor- 
ical and scientific, and so planned that while each depart- 
ment would be quite distinct and separate, yet, if such un- 
timely fate should befall it as befell the Pioneer society, its 
collections would be preserved by the library. 

The Kirtland Society of Natural History, though sepa- 
rately organized, finally fell into the same plan, and its rooms 
are now in connection with the Case library. 

The records read : . 

''On Thursday evening, April 11, 1867, a meeting was 
held in the directors' room of the Cleveland Library associa- 
tion, on Superior street, near Seneca, at which were present 
the following persons : Colonel Charles Whittlesey, Joseph 
Perkins, Judge John Barr, H. A. Smith, Charles C. Baldwin, 
attorney-at-law, and Alfred T. Goodman. The object of the 
meeting thus assembled was to take steps towards the forma- 
tion of a historical society in the city of Cleveland. The 
meeting was not organized in a formal way, but Colonel 
Whittlesey acted as chairman. A discussion was held as to 
the name the association should take, the following being 
finally adopted, viz.: 'The Reserve Historical Department 
of the Cleveland Library Association.' Judge Barr, Mr. 
Baldwin and Mr. Perkins expressed themselves favorable to 
this name. 

' * Further discussion was had upon the objects of the as- 
sociation, manner of organizing it permanently, etc., which 
was of great interest." 

Of those present at this first meeting. Judge C. C. Baldwin 
alone survives. The amendment above referred to was offered 
at the annual meeting, in the following May, of the Cleveland 
Library association. Article V, under which this society 
was organized, was adopted at the annual meeting, May 7, 
1867, and reads as follows : 



I 



I 



—127— 

*• Section i. Historical and scientific departments of this 
association may be organized upon the written application 
of ten members, who, with their associate members in such 
department, shall, for the management of the same, elect a 
board of nine curators. 

"Section 2. After the first election three members of said 
board shall be elected annually, all of whom shall hold office 
until others are elected to succeed them. Said board shall 
elect a president of said department and three vice-presidents 
and such other officers as may be required by the by-laws of 
this association, and shall make report of their proceedings to 
the board of directors ten days previous to the annual election 
of this association." 

Pursuant to the constitutional amendment, adopted May 7, 
1867, authorizing special departments, an historical section 
was drawn up by C. C. Baldwin, inaugurated on the twenty- 
eighth of May by the following paper, signed by the requi- 
site number of members : 
* * To the Board of Library Directors : 

**The undersigned members of the Cleveland Library 
association hereby associate ourselves as a department of his- 
tory and its kindred subjects, in accordance with the provis- 
ions of the amended constitution, and agree to proceed 
immediately to organize said department by adopting the 
proper rules and regulations and the appointment of officers. 
•'[Signed] M. B. Scott, Samuel Starkweather, 

A. T. Goodman, J. C. Buell, 
Peter Thatcher, Henry A. Smith, 
W. N. Hudson, C. W. Sackrider, 
J. D. Cleveland, J. H. A. Bone, 
George Willey, Joseph Perkins, 
E. R. Perkins, A. K. Spencer, 
John H. Sargeant, H. B. Tuttle, 
W. P. Fogg, C. C. Baldwin, 

George R. Tuttle. T. R. Chase, 
Charles Whittlesey." 



128- 



The Cleveland Library association, from which this society 
derived its legal existence, was incorporated in 1848, the 
purpose being, as stated, for a library and an annual course 
of lectures. This was, for many years, the only public library 
in Cleveland, and was of great benefit to the community in 
an educational sense in both its functions as a library and in 
its lectures. It is the outgrowth of a society organized in 
181 1 by sixteen persons, citizens of the village, none of 
whom are now living, but who left their mark and impress 
on the community.* The War of 18 12 and the financial 
depression incident thereto effected its dissolution. In 1833 
a number of those who were instrumental in its formation in 
181 1 were yet living and organized a lyceum, and in 1835 a 
reading-room association was formed in connection with 
and in addition to it, and in 1836 the Young Men's 
Literary association was formed for library purposes. In 
1843 this was dissolved and the books, some eight hun- 
dred volumes, in part found their way into the present 
library. In 1845 the work was again taken up under the 
same name, which continued until 1848, when it became a 
corporation under its present name. 

The Historical society in its young days found some sub- 
stantial pecuniary friends. Mr. John F. Warner died about 
the time it was organized and by his will gave it five hun- 
dred dollars, as lately the sister of Mr. Warner has done. 
These are the only pecuniary legacies ever made to it. That 
of Mr. Warner was very useful indeed in the infancy of the 
society. 

Other gentlemen who have made liberal gifts are Mr. 

* They were as follows : William Gaylord, Abijah Hewit, James Kings- 
bury, Alfred Kelley, John Lanterman, David Long, Daniel Mosher, Elias 
Murray, Harvey Murray, Nathan Perry, James Root, George Wallace, John 
Walworth, Samuel Williamson, Matthew Williamson, Stephen King. This 
was three years prior to the incorporation of Cleveland as a village. The 
year previous, l8io, it numbered eighteen families, the total population 
being fifty-seven persons. So, in i8ii, about one-fourth of the entire popu- 
lation were members of the first Cleveland Library association. 



129 — 

William J. Gordon, haply still living, who gave one thou- 
sand dollars towards the endowment of ten thousand dollars. 
The late Joseph Perkins contributed another one thousand 
dollars. Mr. Perkins time and again made smaller contribu- 
tions, and was always ready with his purse. He reprinted 
at the time of the funeral of General Garfield Tract No. 20 
(General Garfield's Address on the History of the Northwest), 
and always subscribed liberally to any especial purpose or 
object of the society. 

His advice was always valuable and his friendship strong. 
He was desirous that the society should have an entire build- 
ing of its own. 

By far the most liberal friend of the society was the late 
Leonard Case. He preferred at first that the society should 
have its rooms in his block — since donated by him to the 
Case library. It was thought best to locate in the new block 
of the Society for Savings, that society in building its fire- 
proof edifice having built and arranged the whole of the third 
story for the society, and on the most liberal terms, alike 
honorable to itself and the gentlemen directing it, and bene- 
ficial to the public. Mr. Case's interest continued, and it 
would be impossible to give an accurate account of his kind- 
nesses. It was characteristic of Mr. Case that he never in- 
tended his charities to be counted. He authorized the pur- 
chase of a library, and with Mr. Case as capitalist and Dr. 
Elisha Sterling to select it, the library rapidly grew and was 
selected with exceeding skill. Mr. Case never stopped be- 
cause a book would cost money. If it was of value to the 
society, price was no hindrance. Mr. Case gave towards the 
endowment the sum of three thousand dollars. His subse- 
quent gifts were large and valuable, and were generally 
given in a very characteristic manner. 

Once when there were many volumes of unbotind news- 
papers, he asked, " Why don't you get those bound ? " and 
on reply, said, "Send them to the bindery and the bill to 
me." 



The bill was several hundred dollars. Once he asked : 
" Would not you like some Indian photographs ? " 

The result was the donation of a couple of thousand of 
photographs of persons and other matters pertaining to 
aboriginal life, a collection of which it was said there were 
only ten in the world. 

In similar manner he caused to be made and presented 
the fine models of cliff dwellings and other monuments of 
antiquity which ornament the rooms. 

At one time he presented the fine copy of Lord Kings- 
borough's * Antiquities of Mexico,' with the voluminous 
copies in colors of the picture-writing of the Aztecs. It 
is in nine immense, finely bound folios and was published, 
it is said, at over one thousand dollars. Mr. Case did many 
more other liberal things. 

Other large donors to the library have been its late pres- 
ident, Colonel Charles Whittlesey, who gave it his library, 
selected through many years and containing many books 
relating to Ohio and other states, which could not well be 
duplicated, and the present president, Mr. Baldwin, who has 
given it hundreds of volumes, worth more than a thousand 
dollars. Among the books donated by Mr. Baldwin is the 
fine hand-painted folio edition, in three immense folio vol- 
umes, of Hall & McKenny's 'Indians.' This copy was 
the property of William L. Marcy, secretary of state. A 
similar copy was priced a few months ago in New York at 
two hundred and fifty dollars. 

A gentleman who should also be mentioned in this con- 
nection is the Honorable R. M. Stimson of Marietta, to 
whose learning, generosity and kindness the society is 
greatly indebted for its quite full collection of rare and old 
state documents and other rare books. The rare union of 
ability, learning and kindness in the donor made the service 
unique. 

The historical department adopted the by-laws, which 
were unanimously accepted and ratified on the fifth of June, 



—131— 

186/, by the directors of the Library association, after 
which the officers provided for were elected. By resolution 
of the library directors, the splendid fire-proof room, twenty- 
nine feet by one hundred and twenty-five, in the savings 
bank, is especially devoted to the purposes of history, mechan- 
ical arts, specimens in natural history and natural science, 
maps, manuscripts, likenesses of the pioneers, relics, en- 
graved views, etc., constituting a valuable museum. 

The following officers were chosen : 

"President, Charles Whittlesey; vice-president, M. B. 
Scott ; secretary, J. C. Buell ; treasurer, A. K. Spencer. 

'' Ex-officio curators for one year: Peter Thatcher, A K. 
Spencer, Amos Townsend. 

"Curators for one year : J. C. Buell, H. A. Smith ; curators 
for two years : C. C. Baldwin, M. B. Scott ; curators for 
three years : Joseph Perkins, Charles Whittlesey." 

After the selection of the above named officers for the 
government of the society, there were adopted the following 
by-laws : 

**i. This department shall be known as 'The Western 
Reserve Historical Society,* the principal object of which 
shall be to discover, procure and preserve whatever relates 
to the history, biography, genealogy, antiquities and sta- 
tistics connected with the city of Cleveland and the West- 
ern Reserve, and generally what relates to the history of 
Ohio and the Great West. 

' * 2. The officers of this department shall be a president, 
three vice-presidents, secretary and treasurer, to be appointed 
by the curators, who shall hold their offices for two years, 
and until their successors are appointed, and whose duties 
shall be such as usually pertain to such offices." 

The following persons desiring to become members of the 
society then signed their names to the constitution and by- 
laws : 

"Charles C. Baldwin, M. B. Scott, Heniy A. Smith, 
Joseph Perkins, Samuel Williamson, Charles Whittlesey, 



— 132 — 

A. T. Goodman, Harvey Rice, John D. Crehore, George 
Mygatt, L. E. Holden, H. M. Chapin, C. T. Sherman, 
Samuel Starkweather, F. M. Backus, D. H. Beardsley, S. 
V. Willson, Joseph Ireland, G. C. F. Hayne, Jacob H. 
Smies, J. S. Kingsland, P. H. Babcock. " 

Twenty-one were they in number, and all in their various 
professions and occupations men of prominence and merit. 
Of this number fifteen, at least, have closed their earthly 
career and the activities of life. 

During the first year of the existence of the society 
several meetings were held at the residences of curators for 
social and literary intercourse. On Wednesday evening, 
March ii, 1868, on the call of the president, a meeting was 
held, when several matters of a business nature received 
attention. J. C. Buell, secretary, tendered his resignation 
of such office, to fill which C. C. Baldwin was elected. At 
this meeting a committee, consisting of the president, Col- 
onel Whittlesey, H. A. Smith and J. D. Cleveland, was 
appointed to devise the best means of raising funds to fur- 
nish the hall of the society, and to expend the means so 
raised in such manner as they might think best. At the 
end of the first year, or in May, 1868, the curators, as re- 
quired by the constitution, made their first annual report 
to the Cleveland Library association. It gives an intelligent 
idea of the progress that had been made and of the interest 
felt and manifested. 

The report was written by Curator C. C. Baldwin, and 
is as follows : 

** Possession of the room assigned to this and the refer- 
ence department, which occupies the entire third floor of 
the savings bank, was given by the bank on the first of 
November last. The room seems, in all respects, all that 
can be desired. The war relics belonging to the Library 
association are stored there with a few rare and valuable 
works on history, designated for reference, together with 
donations of books, maps, pamphlets, manuscripts, news- 



— 133 — 

papers and curiosities, of which a partial list has been pub- 
lished, with the names of the donors. As yet, means have 
not been secured to fit up this room with cases, seats, etc., 
in order to display the articles already accumulated there. 
The curators are well satisfied that when this is done and 
the room opened at regular hours, there is abundant material 
in the city and vicinity which can be gathered in, and it will 
be an attractive and useful part of the association. There 
is ample space for all the books of reference, and for a de- 
partment of mechanical arts and natural science, if the asso 
ciation wishes it, whenever the proper furniture can be pro- 
vided. The Historical department has, as yet, no endowment, 
nor has it collected or disbursed any funds. A plan of en- 
dowment was devised and two thousand dollars pledged to 
it by two gentlemen of this city, on condition that twenty 
thousand dollars should be raised, of which the savings 
bank was to be made trustee. The bank declined to assume 
the trust, and there the matter rests. A committee has 
also been appointed to solicit a smaller subscription for 
present use by this department. One of our citizens has 
expended fifty dollars in copying old and imperfect manu- 
script, of which about six hundred pages are now transcribed. 
Contributions of valuable articles, books, relics, portraits, 
old newspapers and pamphlets are offered almost every day, 
all of which are carefully stored in the historical rooms. We 
have reason to hope that, before another year expires, the 
collection will be properly arranged and an annual income 
secured for its regular increase. Such collections, when put 
in order and opened to the public, accumulate with great' 
rapidity. At the close of this first year the records show 
that there were fifty-nine annual members ; corresponding, 
fifty-one." 

The officers for 1868 were : President, Charles Whittlesey; 
vice-president, M. B. Scott ; secretary, C. C. Baldwin ; 
treasurer, A. K. Spencer; curators for one year, E. B. 
Chamberlin, A. K. Spencer ; two years, Samuel Williamson, 



—134- 

J. H. A. Bone ; three years, C. T. Sherman, C. C. 
Baldwin. 

During the year meetings were held at various times at 
the residences of members, when interesting and valuable 
papers were read and discussions of great benefit took 
place. Among the subjects considered were, " The Location 
of Pine Point, the Seat of Major Wilkins* Shipwreck, No- 
vember, 1763." Mr. Baldwin exhibited a map, Charlevoix's 
works, 1744, locating this point at the east point of Rondeau, 
on the Canada shore. ** The Evidences of Man's Antiquity in 
the United States," by Colonel Whittlesey ; ** The Location 
of the Iroquois," by C. C. Baldwin. By October, 1868, one 
hundred and fifty dollars had been appropriated by the 
** military committee of Cuyahoga county" at the sug- 
gestion of Mr. William Bingham, a member of that com- 
mittee, to secure cases in which to display military relics ; 
and of donations of articles to the museum and library there 
were from William Bingham one book-case and sofa ; also 
similar articles by William J. Boardman, esq. , and a case for 
minerals from Dr. Theodatus Garlick. A committee had 
been appointed to solicit memberships and steps taken to 
procure and issue certificates of same, and the society seemed 
to be making good, substantial, if not rapid progress. For 
a year or more weekly meetings were held for ** social inter- 
course " and the transaction of such business as was necessary. 
At the close of the second year. May, 1869, the president, 
Colonel Whittlesey, made an interesting annual report, show- 
ing the condition of the society at that time and its future 
prospects. The following is taken from that report : 

" Possession of the rooms of our society commenced Novem- 
ber 14, 1867. It is ample, fire-proof and without its equal in 
the city. About the time of our moving into the room, the 
county commissioners, under authority from the legislature, 
authorized the Honorable Samuel Williamson to expend five 
hundred dollars in recovering the papers of the Connecticut 
Land company. Judge John Barr had procured some of 



—135— 

them many years since which he had placed in my keeping, 
to which I had added others from time to time. We were 
able to secure more of the field notes, maps and papers of 
the company. We hope to secure more from the descend- 
ants of the first proprietors, among whom the original field 
books of the interior surveys of the townships are dispersed. 

"We have from various sources procured seven of the 
earliest manuscript maps of the city of Cleveland, commenc- 
ing in 1796 and extending to 1806. Their value as historical 
papers is very great. Of maps of townships and counties, 
extending to the year 1797, we have about one hundred. Of 
the early field books we have twenty-four, and quite a num- 
ber of other papers, books, records and accounts. It is also 
a part of our purpose to make a complete collection of city, 
county and state maps, city directories and all gazetteers for 
the state of Ohio. Of books that relate strictly to our local 
and state history, we have one hundred and fifty volumes, 
most of which are extremely rare. We have in manuscript 
several hundred pages of historical matter. I believe we 
have all the engraved views of Cleveland hitherto published ; 
also a painting by Joseph Parker taken in 1839 for the late 
C. M. Giddings, esq., representing the northwest quarter of 
the Public square at that time, presented by General A. S. 
Sanford. The relics of the mound-builders, the red men, 
and of their successors, the white pioneers, accumulate faster 
than we have conveniences to exhibit them. A large number 
of minerals, ores, specimens of metals and of fossils are 
ready for use when we can provide room for them. In the 
department of natural science we expect the cooperation of 
the Cleveland academy, which is one of our early institu- 
tions, and has already a valuable collection." 

At this meeting the election of officers for the ensuing 
year was as follows : President, Charles Whittlesey ; vice- 
president, M. B. Scott ; secretary, A. T. Goodman ; treasurer, 
George A. Stanley. 

Some idea of the energies put forth by the early members 



—136— 

in collecting historical manuscripts, maps and field notes, 
and the results arising, may be had from the following par- 
tial list of such collections printed during the third year of 
the existence of the society : 

^ISTS OF MANUSCRIPTS IN BINDING. 

VOLUME ONE. 



PAGES. 



Surveys of Nathan Redfield, June, 1797, 

Tenth meridian Western Reserve 1-12 

Seventh meridian Western Reserve 20-22-23 

Surveys of Seth Pease, July, 1797 — south line of West- 
ern Reserve from 20th to 51st mile 34-36 

Field notes of Shephard & Atwater, on the 9th merid- 
ian 48-54 

Field notes of Shephard & Atwater, on the 5th merid- 
ian 55-58 

Field notes of Nathan Redfield, on parallel No. 2, June 

20, 1797 69-77 

Field notes of Shephard & Atwater, on the 5th merid- 
ian 78-90 

Field notes of Richard M. Stoddard and Amzi Atwater, 

July, 1797, 6th meridian 92-105 

Field notes of HoUey, Pease, Stoddard and Redfield, 

August, 1797, on 8th meridian 1 06-1 19 

Field notes of Amos Spafford, 1797, on the 12th 

parallel 1 23-126 

Surveys of Amos Spafford, June, 1797, on 4th parallel.. 127-136 
Surveys of Amos Spafford, June, 1797, on first parallel. 137-147 
Surveys of Amos Spafford, August 11, on nth merid- 
ian 148-149 

Surveys of Amos Spafford, town 5, range 11 150-187 

Surveys of Nathan Redfield, September i, in the Gore, 

town 6, range 12 188-191 

June, 1797, surveys of Moses Warren, 5th parallel. . . . 192-199 
June, 1797, surveys of Moses Warren, 2d parallel 200-209 



o 



PACES. 

Surveys of R. M. Stoddard and Nathan Redfield, town 

7, range lo 222-243 

Surveys of R. M. Stoddard and Nathan Redfield, town 

7, range 9 222-243 

Surveys of R. M. Stoddard and Nathan Redfield, town 

7, range 8 222-243 

Surveys of R. M. Stoddard and Nathan Redfield, town 

8, range 8 222-243 

Surveys of R. M. Stoddard and Nathan Redfield, town 

9, range 8 222-243 

Surveys of Richard M. Stoddard, August, 1797, town i, 

range 10 245-250-263 

Surveys of Nathan Redfield, town 12, range 5, October, 

1797 268 

Surveys of Joseph Landon, town 12, range 5, October, 

1797 • • • * 269-273 

Surveys of R. M. Stoddard, town 13, range 4, October, 

1797 275-278 

Surveys of R. M. Stoddard, town 13, range 3, October, 

1797 280 

Surveys of R. M. Stoddard, town 12, range 6, October, 

1797 294-296 

Surveys of R. M. Stoddard, town 11, range 8, October, 

1797 298-300 

VOLUME TWO. 

Book i. pages. 

Memoranda of Seth Pease at Cleveland, June, i797- • • i-7 

Magnetic variations on the Reserve 8 

Journey up the Cuyahoga, June, 1797 9~^2 

Memoranda of the eclipse, June 24th, 1797 13-^4 

Journey eastward on the Salt Spring Trail 15-^7 

Magnetic variations ^^ 

Surveys on the Salt Spring Tract • 19-20 

Magnetic variations, July, 1797 22 

Names of the parties, July 9th, 1797 23 

Comparison of the different compasses and south line 

Western Reserve 24-26 



.jOOK I. PAGES. 

Field notes of south line Western Reserve 27-31 

Field notes of south line Western Reserve 35-40 

Survey of the Portage path by Moses Warren 41-44 

Memoranda of Seth Pease, July and August, 1797 45-49 

Length of meridians and parallels 50 

Comparisons of variations 5 1-53 

Memoranda August 7th, nth, 1797 • 56-58 

Memoranda August 20th, 28th, 1797 ' 59-60 

Memoranda September ist to 14th, 1797 61-63 

Memoranda September i6th to October 2d, 1797 64-66 

Voyage down the lake October 3d to October 8th. . . . 67-68 

Operations from loth October to 20th 69-71 

Loss of boats and three men 71-72 

Book 2. 

Field notes of Seth Pease, 1796 i-i© 

Survey of the 6th parallel by Moses Warren i-io 

Survey of the 8th parallel by Spafford and Stoddard, 

August 15th, 1796 11-16 

Survey of the 9th parallel by John Milton Holley, 

August i6th, 1796 16-21 

Survey on the 7th parallel by Spafford and Stoddard, 

September, 1796 2 1-23 

Survey on the 4th parallel by Spafford and Stoddard, 

September, 1796 23-27 

Survey on the nth parallel September nth to 29th, 

1796 23-27 

Survey on the hundred acre lots in Cleveland, by John 

M. Holley, October, 1 796 30-38 

Survey on city lots in Cleveland by A. Spafford, Sep- 
tember, 1 796 38-40 

Survey on city lots in Cleveland by R. M. Stoddard, 

September, 1 796 40-45 

Book 3. 

Field Notes of 1796 — Surveys of Spafford on 2d merid- 
ian, July I, 1796 1-9 

.Surveys of John M. Holley on ist meridian, July and 

August, 1796 10-19 



— 139— 

^Otm. ^. PAGES. 

Surveys of Moses Warren on 3d meridian 16-24 

Surveys of Moses Warren on portions of 9th meridian. 25-29 
Surveys of Moses Warren on 9th meridian running 

south — comparison of variations 29 

Surveys of J. M. HoUey on 8th meridian 30 

Surveys of J. M. Holley on portions of nth parallel, 

September, 1796 31 

Surveys of J. M. Holley in town" 10, range 9, for the 

purchasers, September and October, 1796 31-33 

Portion of 12th parallel, May 9th, 1797 33-36 

Allotment of town 6, range ii,by Shephard and At- 

water, September, 1797 37-46 

Book 4 — Contents of the several townships on the Western Re- 
serve, east of the Cuyahoga, by Seth Pease, Septem- 
ber, 1798. 

VOLUME THREE. 

Book I — Field notes of Shephard and Atwater, Allotment of 

town 7, range 11, 1797, and field notes of Warham 

Shepherd, town 8, range 10. 
Book 2 — Field notes of A. Freese, town 4, range 15 (presented 

by S. H. Mather). 
Book 3 — Field notes of town 8, range 2, by J. P. Bissell, Octo- 
ber, 1800. 
Book 4 — Surveys of great lot 2, town 11, range 8, September, 

1801, by A. Tappen. 
Book 5— Field notes in the town of Chapin, by James A. 

Harper, November, 1802. 
Book 6 — Surveys in town 9, range 7, by L. Foot, October, 

1801. 
Book 7— Field notes of great lot No. 3, town 6, range 9, July, 

1801, by Alfred Wolcott. 
Book 8— Field notes in town 3, range 13, October 7, 18 13, by 

T. B. Hawley. 
Book 9 — Surveys of town 11, range 3, without date, by Caleb 

Palmer. 
Book 10— Field notes of town 2, ranges 3 and 4, by A. Wolcott, 

without date. 



— 140 — 

Book II — Field notes of great lot i, town 13, range 3, by Caleb 

Palmer, without date. 
Book 12 — Field notes of town to, range 9, by Charles Parker, 

October, 1802. 

VOLUME FOUR. 

Book i^Field notes of 1796-97, surveys in town i, range 10. 

Book 2 — Field notes of J. M. HoUey, presented by Governor 
A. H. Holley, of one hundred acre lots in Cleveland, 
September, 1766. 

Book 3 — Field notes of J. M. Holley, presented by Honorable E. 
Whittlesey and Governor A. H. Holley. Survey 
of first meridian, July, 1796; also, ninth parallel, 
August, 1796. Traverse of the Chagrin river and 
portion of 7th parallel, September, 1796, with a 
portion of the 6th meridian. Variation of the 
compass. 

VOLUME FIVE. 

Book I — Field notes of Phineas Barker (presented by Judge 
Barr), in town 10, range 8, October, 1797. 

Book 2 — Surveys by R. M. Stoddard, presented by Judge Barr, 
in town 11, range 8, October, 1797, and in town 12, 
range 6, town 12, range 4, and town 13, range 3. 

Book 3 — Surveys of R. M. Stoddard, presented by John Barr, 
in the hundred acre lots in Cleveland, June, 1797. 

Book 4 — Field notes of J. Landon, presented by J. Barr, in 
town II, range 7, and town 12, range 5, in town 14, 
range i, 1797, October. 

Book 5 — Field notes, by Moses Warren, 1797 ; portion of 
second parallel and traverse of Portage path, also 
10 acre lots in Cleveland, August, 1797, a copy 
by S. T. Harris, Portage county. 

Book 6 — Minutes of explorations in the Fire-lands, 1808, pre- 
sented by Miss Anna Walworth. 

VOLUME SIX. 

Book I — Diary of Seth Pease, from Connecticut to the Western 
Reserve, 1796, procured by Judge Barr at Suffield, 
Connecticut. 



~i4i — 

Book 2 — Diary of Seth Pease on return from Canandaigua, 
1796. 

Book 3 — Diary of Seth Pease, 1797. 

Book 4 — Mems. of Seth Pease, 1799. 

Book 5 — Mems. of Seth Pease, 1799. 

Book 6 — Field notes and mems. of Seth Pease in Holland Pur- 
chase, 1798. 

Book 7 — Diary of Seth Pease, Cleveland to Canandaigua, 
1796. 

Book 8 — Diary of Seth Pease, 1799. 

Book 9 — Diary of Seth Pease in the state of Maine, 1795. 

Book 10 — Mems. of Seth Pease, 1797, from Chippeway to Cleve- 
land. 

Book II — Diary of Seth Pease on the return from New Connec- 
ticut, October and November, 1797. 

Book 12 — Journal of Seth Pease from Suffield, Connecticut, to 
Western Reserve, 1797. 

Book 13— Field notes without date, apparently by A. Tappen. 

VOLUME SEVEN. 

Book I — Mems. of J. M. HoUey, from Salisbury, Connecticut, to 
Little Sodus Bay, April, 1767, donated by Governor 
A. H. HoUey. 

Book 2 — Same from Ironduquoit to Presque Isle, or Erie, June, 
1796. 

Book 3 — Mems. of J. M. HoUey, June, May and July, 1796. 
Obituary of Major Cuyler, by J. M. HoUey, in 
1812. 

Book 4 — Diary of same from Cleveland to Salisbury, Connec- 
ticut, October, 1796. 

Book 5 — Diary of Q. F. Atkins, July, 1804, to May, 1805, pre- 
sented by Frederick Judson and Rev. M. Tod. 

Book 6 — Diary of Q. F. Atkins, April and May, 1806, among 
the Wyandot Indians. 

Book 7 — Diary of same, among the Wyandot Indians, Novem- 
Der, 1806, to August, 1807, presented by Messrs. 
Tod and Judson. 



142 — 

VOLUME EIGHT. 

Book I — Taxes in Cleveland, December, 1807, from the Wal- 
worth Papers. 

Book 2 — Memoranda of Ephraim Root, 1802-1803, from the 
Walworth Papers. 

Book 3 — Memoranda of E. Root, 1801. 

Book 4 — Memoranda of E. Root, no date. 

Book 5 — Memoranda of E. Root, 181 7, T 4, R 2 (Vienna), & 

T 4, R 7- 
Book 6 — Memoranda of E. Root, 1800. 

VOLUME NINE. 

Book I — Description of Northeastern Ohio, with a map by 
John Heckewelder, January, 1796, from the papers 
of Moses Cleaveland, presented by his son-in-law, 
S. C. Morgan, Norwich, Connecticut. 

Book 2 and 3 — Membership and accounts of the first Cleveland 
library, 1811-1813, from papers of the late Judge 
Samuel Williamson. 

Book 4 — Report of the Committee on Drafts of Connecticut 
Land Company, December, 1802, from the papers 
of Ephraim Root. 

Book 5 — Report of the Committee on Drafts of the Connecti- 
cut Land Company, January, 1798. 

Book 6 — Report of the Equalizing Committee of the Connecti- 
cut Land Company, January, 1798. 

Book 7 — Partition of Sufheld Township No. i, Range 9, Janu- 
ary 20, 1802, presented by Horace Pease of Dayton, 
Ohio. 

Book 8 — Number of lots in Rootstown, Northampton, Vienna 
and other towns, without date. 

Book 9 — Portions of Field notes of Joseph Landon, September 
and October, 1797, in township No. 12, range 5, and 
township No. 13, range 3. 

Book 10 — Draft of Conn. Land Co., 1798. 

VOLUME TEN. 

Book I — List of contracts and notes given for lands in the 
Western Reserve, 1803, by Turhand Kirtland. 



1^ 



— 143— 

Book 2— Subdivision of tract i, town 6, range 8. By Seth I. 

Ensign, August, i8o8. 
Book 3 — Survey of the west half town 14, range 14, July, 1815. 

By John Freese. 
Book 4 — Explorations of lands in the Western Reserve, west of 

the Cuyahoga river. Report of Turhand Kirtland, E. 

Austin and Martin Smith, Committee, October, 1806. 
Book 5 — Survey of part of the town of Bristol, No. 6, range 4. 

By Alfred Wolcott, 1801. 
Book 6 — Report of the Committee on Partition, and the drafts 

of lands west of the Cuyahoga river, February, 1807. 
Book 7 — Draft of the Conn. Land Co. east of the Cuyahoga, 

1798. 

VOLUME ELEVEN. 

Book I — Lecture by Judge Barr on the History of Cleveland, 
1842. 

Book 2 — Biography of John Walworth, apparently by his son, 
A. W. Walworth, without date. 

Book 3 — Settlement of the Western Reserve, by Edward Paine, 
without date. 

Book 4 — Notice of General St. Clair. 

Book 5 — Southern Boundary of the Western Reserve, by Seth 
Pease. Survey of 1806. Presented by Alanson 
Penfield, Esq., Washington City. 

Book 6 — Letter of John Walworth, July, 1800. 

Book 7 — Indictment of Lorenzo Carter, 1803. 

Book 8— Statement of Allen Gaylord of Newburgh, June, 1858. 

Book 9 — Deed of Robert, Earl of Warwick, including the West- 
ern Reserve, March 19, 1632. 

Book 10— Letter of D. C. Doane, December, 1843. 

Book II — Letter of Edward Paine, September, 1843. 

Book 12— Letter of Captain Daniel Dobbin, on the early Lake 
craft, June, 1843. 

Book 13— Statement of Q. F. Atkins, June, 1851. 

Book 14— Letter of Elias Murray, April, 1852. 

Book 15— Speech of Miskouaki, a Chippeway chief, to the Mar- 
quis Veaudrieul, and his reply, Montreal, 1706. 
(From the Cass Manuscripts.) 



—144— 

VOLUME TWELVE. 

Journal of Captain Jonathan Heart, Headquarters of the Revo- 
lutionary Army, 1782-3 ; 170 pages. 

VOLUME THIRTEEN. 

Book I — Deposition of Leonard Case in the Bath street 
cases, District Court of the United States, Cleveland, 
1858. 

Book 2 — Deposition of Samuel Williamson in the Bath street 
cases. 

Book 3 — Deposition of Madison Kelly, in the Bath street cases, 
April, i860. 

Book 4 — Deposition of James Root of Hartford, Conn., in the 
Bath street cases, April, 1856. 

Book 5 — Testimony in the Court of Common Pleas, March 
Term, 1848, Bath street cases, by Anson Hayden, 
B. White, Q. F. Atkins, Alfred Kelly, Alonzo Car- 
ter, Dr. David Long, Levi Johnson, Leonard Case, 
James Root, Philo Scovil, Clifford Belden, Samuel 
Williamson, Selleck Waterbury, Ahaz Merchant, 
Allen Gaylord, D. Wilkinson, Richard Baily, Jeffer- 
son Thomas, Wheeler Bartram and others. 

VOLUME FOURTEEN. 

Book I — Communication of Edward Paine, 1843, on the early 
settlement of the Western Reserve, and of Cleveland. 

Book 2 — Notice of James S. Clarke by Judge Barr. 

Book 3 — Statement of Orlando Cutter, August, 1866. 

Book 4 — Statement of D. H. Beardsley, September, 1858. 

Book 5 — Jollification at Cleveland on the News of Peace, 1815. 

Book 6 — Mistake at a Wedding, East Cleveland, 1809. 

Book 7 — The Shooting of Daniel Diver, Darefield, Portage 
county, 1807. 

Book 8 — Statement of J. C. Huntington, Painesville, July, 185 1. 

Book 9 — Statement of Mrs. B. Steadman, Cleveland, June, 1869. 

Book 10 — Letter of J. C. Huntington, Painesville, 1848. 

Book II — Letter of Gains Burke, Newburgh. 



145 



Book 12— Letter of Thomas Jefferson, April, 1805. 

Book 13 — Statement of Levi Johnson, September, 1866, 

Book 14 — Statement of John Blair, September, 1866. 

Book 15— Letter of Judge George Tod, Chillicothe, January, 

1802. 
Book i6~Two Letters of Judge George Tod, Youngstown, Feb- 
ruary and November, 1802. 
Book 17— Letters of John S. Edwards, February and April, 1803. 
Book 18 — Letter of General Arthur St. Clair, July, 1802. 
Book 19 — Letters of Uriah Tracy, 1800, 1802. 
Book 20 — Notice of Senator Stanley Griswold, 1805, 1810. 
Book 21 — List of families in Cleveland, 1810. 
Book 22 — Millerism in Cleveland, 1845. 
Book 23 — Biographical notice of General Simon Perkins. 
Book 24 — Extracts and letters published in the Newport, R. I., 

Mercury^ 1762, 1763, relating to the siege of Detroit, 

42 pages. 

VOLUME FIFTEEN. 

Book I — Transcripts from the journals of Seth Pease, 1795-9. 

Book 2 — Survey of the town plat of Warren, Trumbull county, 
December, 1801. 

Book 3 — Plat of the same and memoranda, August, 1802. 

Book 4 — Survey and plat of the Public square, Canfield, Ma- 
honing county, Ohio. 

Book 5 — Survey of streets and public grounds in Youngstown, 
1802. 

Book 6 — Discrepancies between different surveys in Cleveland, 
by Leonard Case, without date. 

Book 7 — Deed of the trustees of the Connecticut Land Com- 
pany to Samuel Huntington, March 18, 1802. 

Book 8 — Deed of the trustees of the Connecticut Land Com- 
pany to Samuel P. Ford, September 28, 1802. 

Book 9 — Memoranda of deeds and contracts relating to the 
Bath street cases. 

Book 10 — Memoranda of the resolutions and city ordinances re- 
lating to Bath street. 

Book II — Letters of Amos Spafford to Samuel Huntington, 
Cleveland, 1801. 



— 146 — 

Many valuable and interesting manuscripts have been since 
, acquired, among which is a complete transcript of some six 
hundred pages of the complete collection of the Ashtabula 
Historical society, organized in July, 1838, and conducted 
for some years with great success and energy by the Spencers 
and by the late O. H. Fritch. It numbered among its active 
members such men as Joshua R. Giddings and R. P. 
Ranney. 

The work of the society in the diffusing of historical matter 
by print does not appear alone in its own publications. We 
do not refer to the great use made of the library from time 
to time by writers for newspapers, magazines and histories. 

The enthusiasm of Colonel Whittlesey, excited by the 
plans for the formation of the society, led to the publication 
of his * History of Cleveland,' which appeared almost as 
soon as the society was born. The remainder of the edition 
of this valuable chronicle of northeastern Ohio is now owned 
by the society. 

That bright and much lamented secretary of the society 
Mr. Alfred T. Goodman, wrote a valuable series of the 
'Lives of Ohio Governors,' which appeared in newspapers 
and never in book form, as they should. Mr. Goodman also 
edited with much and learned introductory and editorial 
history one of the society's manuscripts, procured for it in 
London by the late John Lathrop Motley. This valuable 
volume of one hundred and twenty handsome pages was 
printed for William Dodge by Messrs. Robert Clarke & Com- 
pany of Cincinnati, and the remainder is now owned by 
them. It is entitled, * Journal of Captain William Trent, 
from Logstown to Pickawillany, A. D., 1752, now published 
for the first time, from a copy in the archives of the Western 
Reserve Historical society, Cleveland, Ohio, together with 
letters of Governor Robert Dinwiddie. An historical 
notice of the Miami confederacy of Indians; a sketch of the 
English post at Pickawillany, with a short biography of 
Captain Trent, and other papers never before printed. 



—147— 

Edited by Alfred T. Goodman, secretary Western Reserve 
Historical society, 1871.* 

heart's journal. 

In 1885 Joel Munsell's Sons of Albany, New York, pub- 
lished the journal of Captain Jonathan Heart, on the march 
with his company from Connecticut to Fort Pitt, in Pitts- 
burgh, 1785, to which he added the Dickinson-Harmar 
correspondence of 1784-5, the whole illustrated with notes, 
and preceded by a biographical sketch of Captain Heart. 
This was edited by the well-known historical writer. Consul 
Willshire Butterfield of Madison, Wisconsin, the matter hav- 
ing been furnished by this society, which possesses a copy of 
the original famous journal. 

ST. CLAIR PAPERS. 

Some time in 1868 Mr. Goodman, secretary, became aware 
that there were in existence valuable papers and documents 
of Major-General Arthur St. Clair, the first governor of the 
territory northwest of the Ohio. They were found to be in 
possession of Mr. Robert Graham of Atchison, Kansas, who 
married a granddaughter of General St. Clair. The society 
realized the importance of securing to the state and country 
these papers, and it took immediate action in the matter. A 
meeting was called, at which the sum of about one hundred 
dollars was pledged for the expense of making an examina- 
tion, and, in the event of not being able to make the pur- 
chase, to make copies and extracts. At this point in the 
proceedings Mr. Graham died, and his son. Robert St. Clair 
Graham, was appointed executor of the estate, and informed 
Mr. Goodman that the papers had been inventoried and ap- 
praised at five thousand dollars. This seemed a large sum for 
this society to raise, and the aid of the state was sought. Gov- 
ernor Hayes was personally interviewed and his cooperation 
secured by recommending an appropriation for the purchase. 



—148— 

Meanwhile Mr. Graham had become impatient, and announced 
his determination to make an immediate disposal of them. 
He advertised them for sale in Cincinnati and eastern papers, 
which resulted in a general interest being awakened and of 
action being taken by eastern historical societies. Officers 
of this society went to Columbus, urging the necessity and 
importance of their being secured in the state. One bill 
after another, making what was considered liberal appropria- 
tion, was introduced, but failed to pass both houses of the 
legislature. Finally both bodies agreed upon a bill, and 
the object was at last attained. Mr. Goodman at this time 
records in our records : 

" It is, perhaps, unpardonable in me to have referred at 
such length to this subject, but I thought it would be right 
and proper that a full history of the negotiations for securing 
to the state the St. Clair papers should be preserved among 
the archives of this society, more especially so for the reason 
that to this society belongs the honor of having taken an 
active and prominent part in advocating and obtaining the 
first appropriation ever made by the legislature of Ohio for 
exclusively historical purposes." 

Creditable in the extreme was it to this society. True it is 
that because of its intelligent and persevering efforts, the 
general historian, and especially the student of Ohio and 
northwestern history, can find in nearly every considerable 
library throughout the land those two large octavo volumes, 
aggregating nearly thirteen hundred pages — * The Life and 
Public Services of Arthur St. Clair, Soldier of the Revolu- 
tionary War, President of the Continental Congress, and 
Governor of the Northwestern Territory,' so admirably ar- 
ranged and so excellently edited by William Henry Smith, 
esq. , and published by Robert Clarke & Company of Cin- 
cinnati in 1882. 

MARGRY PAPERS. 

The most important publication of original matter relating 



— [49 - 

to the history of the west for many years is the Margry 
papers, a collection of original documents in the French 
language, published at Paris, with the help of congress, in 
seven large volumes. This most valuable collection of papers 
had been known for years. It belonged to Mr. Pierre Margry, 
who, by the offices he had held and his taste and learning for 
many years, had been facilitated in its acquirement. Three 
of the large volumes relate to the early discoveries in the west^ 
being largely devoted to La Salle. 

Mr. Francis Parkman had more knowledge of this collection 
than any other American, and had matured plans for its 
publication which were frustrated by the Boston fire. 

With Colonel Whittlesey, the president of the Western 
Reserve Historical society, originated the plan pursued, by 
which congress subscribed for five hundred copies of the 
work, which insured the publication — an enterprise warmly 
aided by O. H. Marshall of Buffalo, and especially by the 
powerful influence of Mr. Parkman. 

The society interested General Garfield and Mr. James 
Monroe, then in congress. General Garfield was especially 
active, and some account of the matter in his own words is 
the preface to Tract No. 20, an address by General Garfield. 

Since the death of Colonel Whittlesey was received a warm 
letter of acknowledgment from Mr. Margry, written without 
knowledge of his decease, to announce to him, first of any 
in America, the completion of Mr. Margry's task. 

The importance and the history of the undertaking may be 
gathered from the fourth volume of the 'Narrative and Critical 
History of America,' on page 242, and also from the address 
of General Garfield referred to. 

A review of the first volume of the book by C. C. Baldwin, 
then secretary of the society, was published as Tract No. 34 
of the publications of this society, in which quite extended 
translations were made on important topics. It was a labori- 
ous work and one of great literary merit as well, on account 



— 150— 

of which it received much commendation from scholars 
throughout the country. 

These volumes must give a new stimulus and opportunity 
for that most delightful form of historical study — original in- 
vestigation. 

THE MUSEUM OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

On entering the large rooms of the society, occupying the 
whole of the third floor of the building for the Society for 
Savings, the first impression conveyed is usually one of sur- 
prise at the display. The room is thoroughly filled ; near 
the entrance are the last memorials of our late lamented 
President, General Garfield, in his lifetime an earnest life 
member of the society. There rests the dais upon which he 
rested at the immense funeral ceremony at Cleveland, at its 
head the portrait then displayed,* and below the famous 
lines : 

Life's race well run, 
Life's work well done, 
Life's crown well won. 
Now comes rest. 

The story of the lines will be found in the Society's Tract 
No. 57. They were translated from the Latin lines : 

** Cursus vitae bene actus. 
Opus vitae omne factum, 
Laurus viiae acquisita, 
Mene venit quies," 

paneled in a window upon a lithograph of General Garfield. 
The whole of the Latin lines were afterward found and 
translated into English by a member of the society, before 
it was found that the Latin was itself a translation from the 
English and the original lines written by Dr. E. H. Parker 
of Poughkeepsie, New York. 

* Refusing generous offers for this fine portrait, Mr. Ryder, its owner, 
also a life member, presented it to the society. 



—151— 



The re-translation is so wonderfully like the original that 
we place them side by side, but the similarity became neces- 
sary in using the same metre and necessary short Saxon 
words : 

MR. BAUDER'S RE-TRANSLA- 

TION. 

Life's race well run, 

Life's work well done, 

Life's crown well won, 

Now comes rest. 



ORIGINAL. 
Life's race well run, 
Life's work all done. 
Life's victory won, 
Now cometh rest. 



Sorrows are o'er. 
Trials no more — 
Ship reacheth shore, 
Now cometh rest. 

Faith yields to sight, 
Day follows night — 
Jesus gives light, 
Now cometh rest. 



All troubles o'er, 
We strive no more — 
Ship touching shore, • 
Now comes rest. 

Faith yields to sight. 
Day conquers night — 
From Christ comes light, 
Now comes rest. 



We a while wait. 
But soon or late. 
Death ope's the gate. 
Then cometh rest. 



Brief time we wait, 
For soon or late. 
Death swings the gate, 
Then comes rest. 



Other memorials of General Garfield are wreaths presented 
by foreign nations for his funeral, and skillfully preserved. 
That presented in the name of Queen Victoria has an elegant 
frame carved of British oak, taken from an old bridge built 
and opened to commemorate the battle of Waterloo, and 
presented by the Sons of St. George of Cleveland. 

Around the walls are portraits, views, old maps, and other 
articles too numerous to mention. There is a fine oil por- 
trait, by Miss Ransom, of Colonel Whittlesey, to whom the 
society is so much indebted. Also an original oil portrait 
of J. R. Giddings, by the late Alonzo Pease. One can see 
how the Cleveland Grays and the Public square, appeared in 
1839. '^^^ residents of Toledo can see how that city ap- 
peared in 18 1 2, in a graphic painting owned by Judge Bald- 
win. The descendants of pioneers will find many photo- 



—152— 

graphs. The student will find a fac-simile of the famous 
Rosetta stone, which solved the enigmas of Egypt's hiero- 
glyphics. There are a valuable and very fine series of models 
of the cliff cities of the southwest, with Montezuma's well 
and the National park. 

Other fine models are there, by Mr. Herkomer and Dr. 
Sterling of Cleveland ; Inscription rock at Kelley's Island, 
and other curious matters. 

The collections of flints, stone knives, hammers, badge- 
wands, pipes and pottery of ancient man are very large. 

Here are the relics of the early copper miners, including 
what is, perhaps, the only tool of wood left of these old wor- 
thies, an original wooden shovel, a cut of which appears in 
the Smithsonian publication of Colonel Whittlesey's work 
on ancient mining in Lake Superior. The ancient pottery 
covers — vases from Lake Superior, many from the more 
central parts of the Mississippi valley, and fac-similes pre- 
sented by Ex-President Hayes, as well as a fine collection of 
fac-similes of the Pueblo pottery collected by the govern- 
mental expedition, and presented by the late Leonard Case. 

A large and fine collection, showing what one may do, is 
the **D. C. Baldwin collection," presented, case and con- 
tents, by Mr. D. C. Baldwin of Elyria, who was largely 
assisted in its collection by Mr. John E. Cole, now of Santa 
Fe, New Mexico. 

It contains many things found in Lorain county, including 
a fine vase from the vicinity of a shelter cave, and many rare 
finds in bone. A beautiful quartz knife is so transparent 
that print is readily read through it. Other bone implements 
are from imperial Rome and beautifully cut, while very rude 
are remains from the lake dwellings of Switzerland. 

Masonic gentlemen may look with interest upon a pipe 
tomahawk of iron, inlaid with silver Masonic emblems. 
Other silver emblems are let into the restored handle. On 
the end is inserted ** Captain Charlo." The whole was found 
in a mound in Lucas county. 



—153— 

Who was Captain Charlo, who undoubtedly owned this 
pipe more than a century ago, and who finally rested his 
bones and his pipe in a mound? 

One incident attaching to the Elyria case is the many 
relics from a few localities, so that the student can get good 
knowledge of the finds of the localities. 

This interest attaches still more to the large, though not 
showy, collection of things made by Henry N. Johnson, esq., 
at Kelley's Island, and presented by him to the society, and 
which, when the society has more room, deserves separate 
and clear display in the manner of the National Museum of 
Washington. 

The names of a large number of donors will be found on 
the various articles exhibited. 

Interesting are the old gunstocks and barrels, bayonets, 
the surgeon's knife and the silver spoon marked I. C, relics 
of the unfortunate march of Colonel Bradstreet in 1764. 
The rusted surgeon's knife is not so sharp as those of flint 
from Ohio, and of obsidian from Mexico, not far off. 

At the left of the entrance, in a high wall case, is the col- 
lection of antiques and eastern curiosities donated by the 
well-known author of ' Arabistan,' Colonel W. P. Fogg, and 
named from him the ** Fogg Collection." It is described by 
him in Tract No. 24, entitled, " Donations by W. P. Fogg." 

There are eastern and ancient idols ; images of Venus, 
once more handsome than now ; an ancient wine jar, taken 
from the bottom of the ^gean sea with sponges adhering to 
it. The jar may have been there for the whole of the 
Christian era, and is certainly in form like those in use 
in Anno Domini. There are silks and vases, fans and 
shades — curious things, the names of which are only known 
to the learned. There is a seal and amulet from the mum- 
mies, translated by the late George Smith ; and what will 
interest all, a brick from Babylon made in the time of Nebu- 
chadnezzar, as proved by its name and titles thereon. 

But we cannot enumerate. In one case will be found a 



— 154— 

massive meteor, which fell in Muskingum county of this 
state.* 

There are many war relics, a torpedo from Charleston 
harbor, and wonders of all kinds of interest to old soldiers. 

The coin collection is large and was partly described in 
Tract No. 45, written by Mr. Johnson, for many years chair- 
man of the coin committee. 

There will be found coins ancient and modern — Assyrian, 
Roman, mediaeval and early state American — from the Pine 
Tree shilling down to the coins of 1887. 

A valuable accession to this department came under the 
will of the late Henry Goodman and was handed over to the 
society not long since by his executor, Mr. John G. White. 

A fine set of casts of the Napoleon medals was presented 
by the late Dr. Garlick. These are carefully put up in 
boxes, t 

LIBRARY. 

To give any adequate description of the library is too large 
a task. For over twenty years it has been selected to satisfy 
the student of history and tell him things such as other 
libraries could not. If he wants prehistoric man. Colonel 
Whittlesey was a high original authority, and the collection 

* It fell near the village of Concord, about noon, on the last of May, i860. 
It was secured by Mr. J. Grummen immediately after its fall. It is the 
fourth fragment of that meteor in the order of weight. The other large ones 
were purchased by Marietta college, another by Yale, and a third by the 
medical college of Louisville, Kentucky. As it approached the earth its 
brilliancy was almost equal to that of the sun. 

t Among other things of historic interest belonging to the society 
is the large gun, a thirty-two pounder, in the northeast quarter of the 
Public square, captured by Commodore Perry in the naval action on Lake 
Erie, September 10, 1813. It was donated by Foot, Moore & Company of 
Detroit, in June, 1872, and, through the efforts of Dr. E. Sterling, transported 
free of expense to us by the commissioners of public grounds of Cleve» 
land. 



—155— 

of early and late books on that subject is full and well 
selected. 

The discoveries are represented by many original and re- 
printed books, in English, French, Dutch and Spanish. 

The collection of early foreign books on America is un- 
usually full. 

The early travelers, Indian adventures, wars, are all there, 
early and late ; the general history of the United States, its 
settlement, wars, union and disunion, statesmanship and 
biographies. The department of biography is especially full 
of Ohio. 

Then there are the county histories and atlases ; hundreds 
and hundreds of volurhes of newspapers, early and late. 

The society has something of a collection of books on the 
late war, but not as full as it should be. The heroes of the 
late *' unpleasantness " have been careless of their history. 

It is impossible to describe a library like this, so great is 
the individuality in the contents of a special library care- 
fully selected from two continents for many years. There 
are many rare and valuable books. Mr. Case paid sixteen 
dollars for a single pamphlet for its shelves, and the society 
sold for thirty dollars a single twelve-mo. duplicate. 

The publications of the state of Ohio are very full and 
have had the careful attention of Honorable R. M. Stimson 
of Marietta, formerly the state librarian. 

Often are there people in the library from the various 
counties of the state, who are almost always substantially 
helped. Does one wish to know of his own personal ances- 
tors ? Nowhere in the state is there so good a chance. 

The department of genealogy has cost very little money, 
but is quite a library. Mr. C. O. Scott donated the * Genea- 
logical Register, ' complete until the decease of his father ; 
the present president, nine volumes, so that there is to 
be found the only complete copy of the ' Register ' in a 
public library in Cleveland. The late Joseph Perkins 
donated Mr. Savage's « Genealogical Dictionary,' worth. 



-156- 

when he presented it, forty dollars. Many genealogies 
have been obtained by donations from the present president, 
Judge Baldwin, who acquired them by exchange for his own 
books or by purchase. 

There have been many other donors to this department, 
for the genealogist has a kindly disposition, so that whether 
one wishes to know what the solemn old worthies of New 
England, or of the Revolution did, what did congress or the 
Nation, what did the people of his own state, or what or 
how did his own great-great-great-grandfather, he is pretty 
sure to get his information. 

It is, however, to Ohio, its peoples, its territory and its 
history, that the society has specially given its attention. 
And indeed it has commenced at the beginning of that history. 

The ancient enormous sheet of ice that extended over the 
vast north crossed Ohio, and so marked its agriculture, its 
lands and its life that an adept can easily find the line. 

The friends of the society paid the expenses of that 
eminent scientist, a life member of the society, Dr. G. F. 
Wright of Oberlin, in locating the line of the divide on every 
man's farm which it crossed. 

Man then lived in Ohio as lived glacial man in Europe. 

One of the publications of the society was Professor 
Wright's book, with maps not only of states but of each 
county which it crossed. The book was of so much interest 
that a synopsis of it was published by the state and a re- 
print by the neighboring state of Pennsylvania. 

The work was appreciated at Washington, and Professor 
Wright has spent his leisure time for some years since in the 
service of the United States geological survey, fixing the 
shores of the ancient lake which covered the whole Valley 
of the Ohio to Cincinnati, where was the ice dam over five 
hundred feet in height, and in other investigations. 

The library contains about seven thousand five hundred 
volumes of bound books, ten thousand pamphlets and 
four hundred magazines unbound. 



157- 



NEWSPAPER FILES. 



The bound volumes of newspapers number one thousand 
and fifty-six. We have on deposit the Herald and Plain 
Dealer of this city from the origin of those papers, the 
former in 1819, the latter in our files since 1842. A very 
valuable collection in this line is a complete set, to 1870, 
of the Western Reserve Chronicle, embracing thirty-seven 
volumes, a gift from the late Joseph Perkins. The Chronicle 
was a continuation of the Trump of Fame, a paper started in 
Trumbull county during the War of 18 12 by Thomas D. 
Webb. A file of the latter was also presented by Mr. 
Perkins, which, with the Chroniclcy gives a complete local 
history of Trumbull county from 18 12 to the date above 
mentioned. Probably another similar collection cannot be 
found on the Reserve. We also have, through recent 
purchase complete volumes of the New York Herald during 
that interesting period in the Nation's history, the War of 
the Rebellion. The historian, Macaulay, said: " The only 
true and correct history of a country can be learned from 
its newspapers." 

The publications of this society are called tracts, of which 
the seventy-third is now being printed — an illustrated book 
upon the archaeology of Ohio by Professor M. C. Read of 
Hudson, Ohio. 

The early tracts though valuable in matter are plain in 
form. The series was the result of natural growth and the 
help of the newspapers. Many of them were struck off in 
double column from the type used in printing the same matter 
in the daily journals, and it is to the generosity of the news- 
papers of Cleveland that many of them owe their existence. 

In that manner much valuable matter has been preserved 
at very small expense. 

In this manner were tracts furnished by the Herald, Plain 
Dealer and especially by the Cleveland Leader, which in its 



-158- 

earlier and most needy days dealt especially kindly with the 
Historical society. 

All these papers also have united in getting as complete 
sets as can be of their files for the society. 

Although the printing on poor paper with type from the 
journal has ceased, the title tracts still remain, and the 
student of Ohio history could not well afford to lose the un- 
pretentious ''tracts." These earlier tracts contained much 
of the most valuable writings of Colonel Whittlesey, the first 
president, who cared little for fine paper or handsome type, 
but who was an encyclopedia of rare information. 

Of these publications, nine relate to the War of 1812, and 
were edited by Colonel Whittlesey. 

Quite a number of these tracts were published for the 
society by various friends, among whom may be mentioned 
the late Leonard Case, Judge Baldwin, Mr. W. J. Board- 
man, Judge Griswold and W. P. Fogg. 

EXCHANGES. 

We have on our exchange list nearly all the principal 
societies in America, as well as some foreign societies ; like- 
wise individuals, from whom we receive in exchange for our 
publications and duplicates that we may have, much valuable 
matter. In September, 1872, we received, through the 
Smithsonian Institute at Washington, a request to lend 
our aid in filling up the large and ancient library at Stras- 
bourg, in Alsace, which was nearly destroyed during the 
siege. A large box was sent, which was cordially received 
and gratefully acknowledged. Thus were we able, without 
impairing our own usefulness, from our surplus, to render 
assistance to a deserving institution in the old world. 

MAPS. 

The society is fortunate in having made a splendid collec- 
tion of maps, numbering over eight hundred, a collection 



—159— 

probably not excelled in the west. There are a large 
number of rare and valuable early books of discovery, travel 
and history, many of which were selected in Paris and Amster- 
dam by Judge Baldwin, while some were purchased abroad 
and presented by Mr. Rufus K. Winslow and his brother, 
the late Nathan C. Winslow. We have maps of a very large 
number of the townships on the Reserve, which have been 
carefully pasted upon muslin and bound in an immense folio 
volume. Most of these could not be duplicated at any price, 
being the originals made by the surveyors for the Connec- 
ticut Land company. The early maps of Cleveland and 
vicinity are very frequently consulted by attorneys to deter- 
mine and settle the early title to the land. 

AUTOGRAPHS. 

The collection of autographic memorials of distinguished 
men is large and numbers many interesting specimens of 
chirography, among which are those of Governor Samuel 
Huntington, John Adams, John Heckewelder, James Madi- 
son, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, 
Albert Gallatin, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Abraham 
Lincoln, Salmon P. Chase and James A. Garfield. 

The society needs more room. To satisfactorily exhibit 
and place for utility and convenience what we now have, 
requires at least four times the amount of space now used. 
From this statement the reader will conclude that the society 
has "grown" — accumulated rapidly. Indeed, its growth is re- 
markable, and one might even say phenomenal, when it is con- 
sidered that it has never received any pecuniary aid from the 
state or city, but has depended for support solely upon its 
members and friends. Many of the successful organizations 
of alike character throughout the country have the aid of 
the pubHc treasury for the supplying of their needs, but no 
such fortune has befallen this one. That it should have won 
the high standing it enjoys, have accumulated so large and 



i6o 



valuable a museum and library, and sent forth the publica- 
tions that bear its name, speak volumes for the energy, 
liberality and unselfish devotion of those who have had 
its interests at heart. And yet its founders did not 
"build better than they knew." They laid foundations 
deep and broad. The structure has risen with strong and 
steady pace ; it is not inharmonious or unsymmetrical of 
proportion. It is hoped that somebody, with large heart 
and purse, recognizing our merit and remembering that we 
are one of Cleveland's most worthy and deserving institu- 
tions, will come forward and " lay the topmost stone." 

MEMBERSHIP. 

The membership of the society at the present time is: 
Patrons,* five ; annual members, one hundred and seven; life 
members, seventy-four; corresponding members, seventy- 
seven ; and honorary members, five. 

The present officers are : President, C. C. Baldwin ; 
vice-presidents, D. W. Cross, W. P. Fogg, J. H. Sargent, 
Sam Briggs ; elective curators, C. C. Baldwin, Rutherford 
B. Hayes, Stiles H. Curtiss ; to May, 1890, Douglas 
Perkins, P. H. Babcock; to May, 1888, Levi F. Bauder, 
Peter Hitchcock, Henry N. Johnson; trustees of invested 
funds, Honorable William Bingham, Honorable R. P. Ran- 
ney, Honorable C. C. Baldwin ; ex-officio curators, Wil- 
liam J. Boardman, William Bingham, James Barnett, George 

A. Tisdale ; secretary, D. W. Manchester ; treasurer, John 

B. French ; librarian, D. W. Manchester. 

Mention should be made of the following persons who have 
been librarians of the society: Mrs. Miranda Milford, Miss 

C. M. Seymour, Miss E. S. Dockstader, Mrs. J. C. Scher- 
merhorn, Mr. H. N. Johnson, Mr. C. E. Wheeler, Mr. D. 

*A. patron is one whose cash donations have amounted to at least five hun- 
dred dollars. Annual memberships are five dollars each. Life memberships 
ar« one hundred dollars each. 



— i6i— 

Holmes, all faithful and useful ; especially have the services 
of Mr. Johnson been of incalculable benefit to the society in 
a great variety of ways. 

Colonel Charles Whittlesey, the first president, had most 
excellent qualifications for the position, and gave to its 
duties great zeal and efficiency. He was able to devote 
nearly his entire time to its interests, and its success and useful- 
ness are largely due to him. He died in October, 1886* 
Said Judge Baldwin in his memoir of Colonel Whittlesey : 
**Byhis learning, constant devotion without compensation 
from that time (1867) to his death, his value as inspiring con- 
fidence in the public, his wide acquaintance through the 
state, he has accomplished a wonderful result." In November 
following, Judge Baldwin was elected to the presidency. 

D. W. Manchester. 

♦ This society, in the resolutions passed by it in October, 1886, on the 
death of Colonel Whittlesey, requested Judge Baldwin to prepare a memorial. 
It has been published as Tract No. 68, and also appeared in the February, 
1887, number of the Magazine of Western History. It is an elaborate and 
truthful sketch of an active life and worthy man. 



Tract no. 75, 

WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 

Cleveland, Ohio. 



DISCOVERY 



Paleolithic Implement, 



NEW COMERSTOWN, OHIO. 



Report at a Meeting of the Western Reserve Historical 

Society, Held December 12, 1890, by 

Mr. W. C. mills 

— AND — 

Prof. G. FREDERICK WRIGHT, LL;D 




Plate A. — Shows, in the shaded portion, the glaciated area of Ohio and 
the relation of New Comerstown and the Tuscarawas Valley to this area. 
(From Wright's **Ice Age in North America.") 



ACCOUNT OF DISCOVERY BY MR. W. C. MILLS. 



At the request of Prof. G. F. Wright I have prepared this 
brief account of the palseolith, which I have here for your 
consideration, discovered in the terrace gravels at ]N"ew 
Comerstown, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. 

E'ew Comerstown is a small village of 1,500 inhabitants, 
situated on the right bank of the Tuscarawas River, about 90 
miles west of Pittsburgh and 100 miles south of Cleveland, 
and near the confluence of the Tuscarawas and a small 
stream known as Buckhorn Creek and from 30 to 35 miles 
south of the glacial boundary, which extends into the north- 
ern part of the county in Wayne Township. [See Plate AJ] 

In the northern part of the town and within its corporate 
limits is a large gravel terrace, deposited in a recess near the 
mouth of Buckhorn Creek and derived from the northern 
drift. For several years past the Cleveland and Marietta 
Railroad Company have been taking out this gravel in large 
quantities, which they have used in ballasting their railroad, 
and so have kept the gravel exposed to the depth of about 
25 feet. The top of the terrace is about 35 feet above the 
flood plain of the Tuscarawas and extends up the Buckhorn 
about a quarter of a mile, gradually diminishing in height 
as it recedes from the main line of deposition. 

In this gravel bank, on the 27th day of October, 1889, 
while examining the diff'eirent strata of gravel, I found the 
specimen that you have before you, 15 feet from the surface 
of the terrace. The bank was almost perpendicular at this 
time exposing a front of about 20 feet. The small part of 
the bank was iu place in the side of the terrace, until I 
struck it with my walking cane, when a space ©f about 6 
feet in length by 2 feet in height tumbled down, exposing 
to view the specimen. 

At first sight I recognized the peculiar shape and glossy 
appearance of the specimen, such as were characteristic of 
palaeolithic specimens described to me by Prof. Edward 
Orton, while I was a student at the Ohio State University. 



— 166 — 

I at once compared the specimen with other flint implements 
which I had collected in this valley, which at present number 
upwards of 3,000 chipped specimens of flint found on the 
surface and in mounds, and I found that I had none that 
resembled it. I communicated these facts to Mr. A. A. 
Graham, Secretary of the Ohio Arch geological and Historical 
Society. Mr. Graham sent the specimen to Prof. Wright, 
who wrote me for a detailed account of the circumstances 
connected with the And, which I furnished him, at the same 
time inviting him to visit 'New Comerstown and satisfy him- 
self in reference to my statements. I^will leave him to teli 
the rest of the story. 



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Paper by PROFESSOR GEORGE FREDERICK WRIGHT. 



In the latter part of March, the implement forming the 
principal theme of our discussion to-night was sent to me 
from the discoverer, Mr. W. C. Mills, Secretary of the 
Archaeological Society of New Comerstown, and I at once 
recognized its striking resemblance to the palaeolithic imple- 
ments discovered in the valley of the Somme, Northern 
France, a specimen of which I am able to show you side by 
side with this from our own State. As is to be expected, 
however, the material from which the implement is made is 
of local origin, and differs much in appearance from that of 
the French implement. Upon showing this specimen from 
New Comerstown to my associate, Professor Albert A. 
Wright, who did much work upon the State Geological 
Survey in Holmes county, immediately adjoining Tuscara- 
was, he at once recognized the material as a black flint, or 
chert, which occurs with much frequency in the " Lower Mer- 
cer " limestone strata, an exposure of which passes through 
the eastern part of Holmes county, and he was able at once 
to go to his drawer and produce the accompanying speci- 
men, which he brought home from that vicinity several 
years ago. On comparing Mr. Mills' palseolith with this 
specimen, even the most unpracticed eye will see at once the 
identity of the material. It is needless to say that this 
identity gives strong circumstantial support to Mr. Mills' 
testimony. For a description of the flint see Geological 
Survey of Ohio (Economic Geology), Vol. v. pp. 13 and 819. 
Mr. Mills has since discovered the rock about five miles 
west of New Comerstown. [See Plate B.'] 

From Mr. Mills' description of the locality in which he 
found the implement, I was confident that it was in one of 
the numerous glacial terraces which I had already described 
in my report to this society upon " The Glacial Boundary in 
Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky," published in 1884. To make 
the matter sure, a party, consisting of Judge C. C. Baldwin, 



— 168 — 

E. A. Angell, Esq., William E. Gushing, Esq., Mr. David 
Baldwin, of Elyria, and myself, visited the locality on the 
11th of April, 1890. The following results of this trip I 
communicated to the New York Nation as published in their 
number for April 24th, 1890. 



Palaeolithic Man in Ohio. 

Oberlin, O., April 14, 1890. 

Two or three weeks ago, Mr. W. C. Mills, Secretary of the 
Archaeological Society of ITew Comerstown, Tuscarawas 
County, Ohio, sent me a flint implement which, according to 
his description, seemed to have been found in the undis- 
turbed gravel of the glacial terrace which everywhere lines 
the valley of the Tuscarawas River. In order the more fully 
to judge of the significance of the discovery, I visited the 
locality last week together with a small party of Cleveland 
gentlemen. The result of the investigation cannot fail to be 
of considerable public interest. 

The flint implement referred to is a perfect representative 
of the palaeolithic type found in northern France and south- 
ern England. It is four inches long, two inches wide, and 
an inch and a half through at its larger end, tapering 
gradually to a point and carefully chipped to an edge 
all around. Fig. 472 in Evans's ' Ancient Stone Imple- 
ments of Great Britain ' would pass for a very good repre- 
sentation of it. The material is black flint, or chert, such 
as occurs in the " Lower Mercer" limestone strata not many 
miles away, and has upon all the surface that peculiar glazed 
appearance which indicates considerable age. \_See Plates G 
and jD.] 



I 





Plate C. — Shows the New Comerstown implement side by side with a larger 
specimen from Amiens, France, which came to Prof. Wright through Prof. Asa 
Gray directly from Dr. Evans, of London. The illustration is produced by 
mechanical process from a photograph, and is reduced one-half in diameter. 



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Plate D. — Presents an edge view of the preceding. 



— 169 — 

ITew Comerstown is situated upon the right bank of the 
Tuscarawas River, about one hundred miles directly south of 
Cleveland and forty miles south of the glacial boundary in 
Ohio. The latter part of the journey from the north to 
reach the place is so complete a demonstration of the now 
accepted theory concerning the origin of the terraces along 
this river, and others similarly situated, that a brief descrip- 
tion of it will be profitable. 

The headwaters both of the Tuscarawas itself and of the 
several branches which unite with it before reaching Canal 
Dover are all within the glaciated area, thus affording access 
to an unlimited quantity of debris brought by the conti- 
nental ice-sheet from the Laurentian region in Canada, 
Immediately below the glacial boundary, all these streams 
are bordered with extensive terraces, the material of which 
consists of assorted matter from the glacial drift such as 
would naturally have been carried down during the closing 
floods of the glacial period. 

From Canal Dover to ^N'ew Comerstown the Tuscarawas 
River makes a long bend to the east, but the railroad cuts 
across the elbow, and for twenty miles or more finds its way 
through two small valleys tributary to the main line of 
drainage. The course of the railroad first strikes up the 
valley of Stone Creek, following it for several miles. But 
no sooner does it enter this tributary valley than it leaves 
behind the terraces and other gravel deposits which mark 
the main valley and every tributary further north. At 
length the road, after passing through a tunnel, strikes into 
the headwaters of Buckhorn Creek, which runs southward 
to join the Tuscarawas at 'New Comerstown. Here, too, for 
several miles, there is a total absence of terraces or of any 



— 170 — 

deposits of gravel. On approaching the mouth of the creek, 
however, a vast gravel deposit derived from the northern 
drift is encountered, in which the railroad company is mak- 
ing extensive excavations to get material for ballasting their 
track. Thus, in this short journey, there was demonstrated 
before our eyes the limitation of these peculiar gravel de- 
posits to the main valley of the river, and so, by conse- 
quence, their glacial age and origin. 

It was in this last-named gravel-bank, on the 27th of 
October, 1889, that Mr. Mills found the palseolith above des- 
cribed. The surface of the terrace is at this point thirty-five 
feet above the flood-plain of the Tuscarawas. The valley of 
the river is about a mile wide. This gravel has been depos- 
ited in a recess at the mouth of Buckhorn Creek, where it 
was protected from subsequent erosion, and extended up the 
creek about a quarter ot a mile, but, according to the law of 
such deposits, with gradually diminishing height as one 
recedes from the main line of deposition. The implement 
was found by Mr. Mills himself, in undisturbed strata, fifteen 
feet below the surface of the terrace ; thus connecting it, 
beyond question, with the period when the terrace itself was 
in process of deposition, and adding another witness to the 
fact that man was in the valley of the Mississippi while the 
ice of the glacial period still lingered over a large part of its 
northern area. 

The importance of this discovery is enhanced by the fact 
that this is the fifth locality in which similar discoveries 
have been made in this country, the other places being Tren- 
ton, 'H. J.; Madison ville, 0.; Medora, Ind., and Little Falls, 
Minn. But in many respects this is the most interesting of 
them all, especially as connected with previous predictions 



— 171 — 

of my own in the matter, though it is proper to say that Mr. 
Mills was not, at the time he made the discovery, aware of 
what had been written upon the subject. 

When, in 1882, after having surveyed the glacial boundary 
across Pennsylvania, I continued a similar work in Ohio, I 
was at once struck with the similarity of the conditions in 
the various streams in Ohio flowing out of the glaciated 
region (and especially in the Tuscarawas E-iver), to those in 
the Delaware River, where Dr. C. C. Abbott had reported 
the discovery of palaeolithic implements at Trenton, N. J. 
Attention was called to this similarity in various periodicals 
at the time, as well as in my report upon the Glacial Bound- 
ary made to the Western Reserve Historical Society in 1883 
(pp. 26, 27), where it was said that the Ohio abounds in 
streams situated similarly to the Delaware with reference to 
glacial terraces, and that " the probability is that if he [man] 
was in New Jersey at that time [during the deposition of the 
glacial terraces], he was upon the banks of the Ohio, and the 
extensive terrace and gravel deposits in the southern part of 
the State should be closely scanned by archaeologists. When 
observers become familiar with the rude form of these palaeo- 
lithic implements, they will doubtless find them in abund- 
ance." Whereupon a dozen streams, among them the 
Tuscarawas, were mentioned in which the conditions were 
favorable for such investigations. The present discovery, 
therefore, coming as it does in addition to those of Dr. Metz 
in the Little Miami Valley and of Mr. Cresson in the valley 
of White River, Ind., has great cumulative weight, and 
forces, even on the most unwilling, the conviction that glacial 
man on this continent is not a myth, but a reality. 

A glance at the physical feature of the region in Ohio and 



— 172 — 

Indiana where these palseoliths have been found, shows their 
eminent adaptation to the primitive conditions of life in- 
dicated by the implements themselves. The Tuscarawas 
valley has been formed by erosion through the parallel strata 
of sandstone and limestone here composing the coal forma- 
tion. The summits of the hills on either side rise to heights 
of from 300 to 500 feet, and their perpendicular faces abound 
even now with commodious shelters for primitive man. But 
in pre-glacial times the trough of the Tuscarawas was 175 
feet deeper than at present, that amount of glacial gravel 
having been deposited along the bottom, thus raising it to its 
present level. Hence in pre-glacial times the opportunities 
for shelter must have been much superior even to those 
which are now in existence. The present forests of the region 
consist of beech, ©ak, tulip, maple, and other deciduous trees. 
Evergreens are now totally absent, but the advancing ice of 
the glacial period found here vast forests of evergreen trees. 
JSTot many miles distant, terraces of the same age with this at 
IN'ew Comerstown have, within recent years, yielded great 
quantities of red cedar logs, still so fresh as to be manufac- 
tured into utensils for household use. 

The relation of glacial man to the mound-builders is so 
often made a subject of inquiry that a brief answer will here 
be in place. The above relic of man's occupancy of Ohio 
was found in the glacial terrace, and belongs to a race living 
in that distant period when the ice-front was not far north 
of them, and when the terraces were in process of deposition. 
Thus this race is unquestionably linked with the great ice 
age. The mound-builders came into the region at a much 
later date, and reared their imposing structures upon the sur- 
face of these terraces, when the settled conditions of the 



— 173 — 

present time had been attained, and there is nothing to show 
that their occupancy began more that one or two thousand 
years since, while their implements and other works of art 
are of an entirely difierent type from the rude relics of the 
palaeolithic age. If, therefore, interest in a work of art is in, 
proportion to its antiquity, this single implement from New 
Comerstown, together with the few others found in similar 
conditions, must be ranked among the most interesting in 
the world, and will do much to render i»[orth America a field 
of archaeological research second to no other in importance. 

G. Frederick Wright. 



Soon after receiving the implement, and with Mr. Mills' 
permission, I forwarded it tor examination, in the absence 
of Professor Putnam, to Professor Henry W. Haynet?, of 
Boston, who has one of the largest collections of palseoliths 
in the country, and who, as an expert, in this class of ques- 
tions ranks as of the very highest authority. At a meeting 
of the Boston Society of ITatural History on May 7th, he ex- 
hibited the implement, expressing his belief in its antiquity 
i in the report, which I append. 

Read before the Boston Society of Natural History, 
Wednesday, May 7, 1890. 



At a meeting of this Society on March 7, 1883, Professor 
George Frederick Wright, of Oberlin, Ohio, described and 
illustrated by means of a large map the line of the terminal 
moraine, which marks the limits of glacial action in Ohioy 
extending from a point upon the borders of Pennsylvania^ 
northwesterly to those of Kentucky, a little 'east of Cincin- 
nati. After commenting upon the similarity of the extensive 
gravel and terrace deposits of Southern Ohio to those of the 
Delaware Yalley, near Trenton, K J., in which Dr. C. C. 



— 174 — 

Abbott first discovered the well-known palseolithic imple- 
ments made of the argillite of that region, Professor Wright 
predicted that similar discoveries of palaeolithic implements 
would be made in the gravel-beds of rivers in Ohio flowing 
out of the glaciated region, if proper search were made for 
them. It will be recollected that this prediction met with a 
speedy fulfilment, and that Professor F. W. Putnam exhibit- 
ed at a meeting of this Society on IlTovember 4, 1885, such 
an implement, which had been found by Dr. C. L. Metz, at a 
depth of eight feet below the surface, in the gravel beds of 
the Little Miami Piver, at Madisonville, and was made of 
black chert, and was of the same material, size and shape as 
one found by Dr. Abbott in the Trenton gravels. In the 
spring of 1887 Dr. Metz discovered another palaeolithic im- 
plement in the gravels of the Little Miami, nearLoveland, at 
the depth of some thirty feet below the surface. 

I have now to exhibit a third implement of the same char- 
acter, discovered by Mr. W. C. Mills, October 27, 1889, in 
undisturbed strata fifteen feet below the surface, in a glacial 
terrace of the Tuscarawas River, at !N'ew Comerstown. The 
valley of the Tuscarawas is one to which particular attention 
had been directed by Professor Wright as presenting spec- 
ially favorable conditions for such discoveries; and he has 
just given a detailed account of the physical character of the 
locality of the discovery in a letter to the Neiv York Nation, 
April 24, 1890. 

Prof. Wright has requested me to bring this new evidence 
of the existence of palaeolithic man in North America to the 
consideration of this Society, and at the same time to express 
my opinion in regard to the genuineness and age of the object 
in question. I have accordingly brought here for compari- 
son some half a dozen palaeolithic implements from my own 
collection, all coming from the classic locality in France of 
St.Acheul, near Amiens, in the valley of the Somme. Two 
of tl;iem were given to me by Dr. John Evans, the eminent 
author of The Ancient Stone Implements of Great Britain, 



— 175 — 

The others I procured myself at St. Acheul, where I had 
come without any previous notice, and where I saw two 
similar implements taken from the gravel by laborers em- 
ployed in sifting it for ballast. At the same time I procured 
one of the best examples I have ever seen of the forgeries of 
similar implements, for which that country has obtained an 
undesirable notoriety. This I have also brought here for 
comparison, together with a genuine specimen found by me 
in 1874 in a gravel pit at Levallois, just outside of Paris. I 
have brought also two specimens from England, given to me 
by Dr. Evans, one from Wangford, on the Suffolk side of the 
valley of the Little Ouse, the other from lower down the 
same valley, at Shrub Hill, Feltwell, Norfolk. 

It will be apparent upon careful examination and compari- 
son that this implement from !N'ew Comerstown exhibits one 
of the recognized tests of genuineness applicable to such ob- 
jects. As it is made of the black chert,occurring in the "Lower 
Mercer" limestone of the vicinity, it does not possess the fine, 
compact grain of the flint from the chalk, in France and Eng- 
land, but it plainly displays what Dr. Evans describes as the 
"glossiness of surface * * which appears to be partly due 
to mechanical and partly to chemical causes" (p. 575), and 
which characterizes genuine implements found in the beds of 
Kiver Drift. All these European specimens, besides this 
glossiness, show a peculiar structural alteration of the surface 
(technically known as the patina), due to the infiltration of 
water, which has partially dissolved the substance of the flint. 
Although this is wanting in the lN"ew Comerstown specimen, 
it will readily be seen how different is its glossy appearance 
from the dull, lustreless hue which freshly broken flint ex- 
hibits, as is shown by the forgery from St. Acheul. It will 
be found also that the genuine implements give to the touch 
a waxy or greasy sensation, differing sensibly from the raw 
feeling of the surface of the forgery. 

I desire, therefore, to express most emphatically my belief 
in the genuineness and age of this ITew Comerstown imple- 



— 176 — 

ment, as well as to call atteation to the close resemblance in 
;all particulars which it bears to these unquestioned palaeo- 
lithic implements of the Old World, and to the additional 
light it sheds upon the question of the antiquity of man in 
iN^orth America. 



i 



Tract No. 76. 

WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 

CLEVELAND- OHIO. 



ABSTRACT OF LECTURE 



The Ancient Earthworks of Ohio, 



DF.LIVKRBD BY- 



Prof. F. W. PUTNAM, 

OF Harvard Univebsity, 

Before the Western Reserve Historical Society, of 
Cleveland, Ohio, October 25th, 1887. 



RBPORTBD BY 

Prof. G. FREDERICK WRIGHT. 



ll 



THE ANCIENT OHIO MOUNDS. 



I.— Importance of the Study. 

The proper study of history begins with the earliest monu- 
ments of man's occupancy of the earth. We are in great 
danger of exaggerating the accuracy and completeness of 
written history. At the best it is but fragmentary, and dis- 
torted by the ignorance and prejudice, if not the mendacity, 
of the writers. From study of ancient implements, burial- 
places, village-siteSy roads, sacred enclosures, and monu- 
ments, we are able to get as vivid and correct a conception 
(all bat the names) of pre-historic times as of what is called 
the historic period. 

II.— Method of Procedure. 

The study of archaeology is now assuming new importance 
from the improved methods of procedure. Formerly it was 
thought sufficient to arrange archaeological ornaments and 
implements according to size and perfection of workman- 
ship, and call it a collection. But, now, extended and 
minute comparison is the principal thing. Formerly, 
mounds were said to have been explored when trenches had 
been ^ug through them in two directions, and the contents 
thus encountered removed and inspected. Kow it is con- 
sidered essential to the exploration of a mound that it be 
sliced off with the greatest care and every shovelful of earth 
examined and every section photographed. The skeletons 
are now also handled with great care, being first gently un- 
covered and then moistened so as to harden them, when, 
ordinarily, they can be removed without fracture. The 
record of the excavation of the earthworks where imple- 
ments, ornaments, and skeletons are found is more impor- 
tant than the possession of the objects themselves* 



— ISO- 
Ill.— General Progress. 

Although an immeDse field still remains to be explored, 
we have already gone far enough to show, in a general way, 
that Southern Ohio was the meeting place of two diverse 
races of people. Colonel Whittlesey's sagacious generaliza- 
tions concerning an advance of a more civilized race from 
the south as far as Southern Ohio, and their final expulsion 
by more warlike tribes from the Lake region, are fully con- 
firmed by recent investigations. The Indians of Mexico and 
South America belong to what is called a " short-headed " 
race, i. e., the width of their skulls is more than three- 
fourths of their length. Whereas, the ^N'orthern Indians are 
all " long-headed." 'Now, out of about fourteen hundred 
skulls found in the vicinity of Madisonville, near Cincinnati, 
more than twelve hundred clearly belonged to a short- 
headed race, thus connecting them with southern tribes. 
Going further back it seems probable that the Southern 
Indians reached America across the Pacific from Southern 
Asia ; while the northern tribes came via Alaska from 
Northern Asia. 

IV.— Preservation of the Serpent Mound,. 
Adams County. 

Coming to objects of more special interest, it is pleasing 
to announce that the celebrated Serpent Mound, of Adams 
County, has been explored, restored, and preserved for all 
the future. The mound is one of the most interesting and 
remarkable structures ot its kind in all the world. But re- 
peated visits had shown that it was fast going to destruction. 
Its surface had been repeatedly ploughed, and successive 
crops of grain had been grown upon it. Upon setting the 
urgency of the case before some public-spirited ladies of 
Boston last spring, they became so much interested that by 
subscriptions and lunch-parties upwards of three thousand 
dollars was raised for purchase of the mound with sufficient 
land to command approach to it, and to include other adja- 
cent tumuli. In May last this purchase was effected. Sub- 



I 



— 181 — 

sequentlj about twenty-live hundred dollars more was raised 
in the same manner to enable me to restore the mound and 
make it accessible to the public. During the larger part of 
September and October, I have been on the ground oversee- 
ing the work of restoration. I have followed all around the 
outer edges and dug down to the old trodden path and had 
the earth that had washed down from the mound thrown 
back to its original position. This will now be seeded over 
and preserved from further incursions of the plow and the 
harrow. A road has been made up the steep hill from Brush 
Creek and a spring-house constructed for the comfort of 
visitors. Another year a park is to be set out with all the 
variety of trees growing in the county. 

v.— Description of the Mound. 

The Serpent Mound is situated on Brush Creek, in Frank- 
lin township, Adams county, 0., about six miles north of 
Peebles Station, on the Cincinnati and Eastern Railroad, and 
five miles south of Sinking Springs in Highland county. 
The head of the serpent rests on a rocky platform which 
presents a precipitous face to the west, towards the creek, of 
about one hundred feet in height. The jaws of the serpent's 
mouth are widely extended, in the act of trying to swallow 
an egg represented by an oval enclosure about one hundred 
feet long. This enclosure, as well as the body of the serpent, 
consists of a ridge of fine earth about four feet high and from 
ten to fifteen broad. The body of the serpent winds grace- 
fully back towards higher land, making four large folds be- 
fore reaching the tail. The tail tapers gracefully, and is 
twisted up in three complete and close coils. The whole 
length of the mound from the end of the egg on the preci- 
pice to the last coil of the tail on the higher land is upwards 
of thirteen hundred feet. 

What was formerly supposed to be two symmetrical limbs, 
or projections, on either side of the neck prove to be, on the 
right side, a small mound of stones, perhaps for sacrificial 



— 182 — 

purposes, and on the other a prominence produced by the 
partially rotted stump of a tree. An extensive burial-place 
was discovered in the vicinity of the serpent's tail. This 
remains to be explored, and will no doubt yield important 
results. A conical mound about one hundred rods to the 
southeast was carefully explored, revealing in the centre at 
the bottom, a well-preserved skeleton with many ornaments, 
and two intrusive burials at subsequent times and by parties 
evidently ignorant of the original purpose of the mound. 

VI.-Fort Hill. 

The Serpent Mound is not in a conspicuous place, but in a 
situation which seems rather to have been chosen for the 
privacies of sacred rites. The rising land towards the tail 
and back for a hundred rods afforded ample space for large 
gatherings. The view across the creek from the precipice 
near the head, and indeed form the whole area, is beautiful 
and impressive, but not very extensive. To the south, how- 
ever, peaks may be seen ten or fifteen miles away which 
overlook the Ohio River and the Kentucky hills ; while at 
a slightly less distance to the north, in Highland and Pike 
counties, are visible several of the highest points in the 
State. Among these is Fort Hill, on one of the best pre- 
served and most interesting ancient enclosures in the 
country. 

Fort Hill is about eight miles north from the Serpent 
Mound, four or five miles from Sinking Springs, and nine or 
ten south of Bainbridge, on the Ohio Southern Kailroad. It 
is in Brush Creek township, on the extreme eastern edge of 
Highland county. This region lies along the western out- 
crop of the Waverly sandstone, corresponding to the Berea 
sandstone in the northern part of the State. These rocks 
dip gently towards the east and are underlaid by thick 
deposits of rather soft shale. They formerly extended much 
farther to the west than now, but have been undermined 
and removed by various eroding agencies including the ic© 



— 183 — 

of the glacial period. The terminal moraine, as marked by 
Professor Wright, passes about a mile to the northwest of 
X y z, Fort Hill. These outliers of the Waverly sandstones 
remain as isolated caps upon pedestals of shale which the 
streams have not yet had time to wear away, and are from 
four hundred to five hundred feet above the bed of the 
stream at their base. The stream winding around the north 
and west sides of Fort Hill is Baker's Fork of Brush Creek. 

In ascending the slope of Fort Hill it is found to be gentle 
for the first 250 feet, then much steeper until the last 100 
feet is so steep as to be almost inaccessible. The summit is 
completely isolated, is fiat topped, quite irregular in shape, 
and includes about forty acres of land which has been 
cleared, and cultivated, having at one time been partly occu- 
pied by a peach-orchard. A heavy forest of first growth 
timber covers the sides of the hill in every direction, and 
their projecting leafy tops largely obstruct the view in sum- 
mer. But the glimpses of the scenery from every side are 
among the most charming and extensive anywhere to be 
found in the State, looking down to the south, as already 
intimated, upon the valley ©f Brush Creek, in the vicinity of 
the Serpent Mound. 

This fiat-topped summit of the hill is completely enclosed 
by an ancient fortification of earthworks, penetrated by 
numerous gateways at irregular intervals. The earthwork 
was formed by digging the dirt from the inside just back 
from the rim of the hill and throwing it outside, so that its 
slope concided with that of the summit. The ridge of earth 
thus tormed is from ten to twenty feet high, and from twenty 
to forty feet broad, the ditch on the inside being everywhere 
visible. The minimum age of the work can be inferred from 
the size of trees growing upon it. One of the stumps was 
certainly several hundred years old, as shown by the rings of 
annual growth which could still be counted a year or two 
ago. Inside the fortification are two shallow, hollow places 
where water could be preserved for a long time. 



— 184 — 

The purpose of this wonderful enclosure is evident. It is 
a fortification most admirably chosen for defence against the 
enemies of that time. It commanded a most extensive view 
in every direction, and afforded opportunity to exchange 
signals with other elevated points from twenty to thirty 
miles distant. In the fertile valley of Baker's Fork there 
are numerous sites of Indian villages where doubtless the 
people lived in times of peace, but upon proper warning Fort 
Hill was a refuge easily accessible, easily provisioned, and 
easily defended. What signs of occupancy there may be in 
the enclosed area is not known, as no excavations have been 
made. But in themselves both the fortification and the 
situation are of the most interesting anywhere to be found 
in the world. The triends of the Western Keserve Histori- 
cal Society could render no greater service to the archaeo- 
logical and historical interest of the State than to rescue and 
preserve this remarkable monument of the Mound Builders, 
as the ladies of Boston have rescued the Serpent Mound 
near by. By some such definite investment your own inter- 
est in archaeological investigations will be stimulated. There 
is no reason why the public sentiment of the State cannot be 
aroused to a proper appreciation of these remarkable archaeo- 
logical treasures, so that tourist routes should be laid out for 
their inspection and study. I know of nothing else so calcu- 
lated to help on this movement, at the present time, as the 
purchase of Fort Hill by this Society. 



Tract No. 77. 

WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 

CLEVELAND, OHIO. 



MANUSCRIPT 



Solomon Spaulding 



Book of Mormon. 



A PAPER READ BEFORE THE NORTHERN OHIO AND WESTERN 
RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, MARCH 23, 1886, 



*MANUSCRIPTOF SOLOMON SPAULDING AND THE 
BOOK OF MORMON, 



The accepted theory of the origin of the " Book of Mor- 
mon " connects it with a manuscript written hy Solomon 
Spaulding, purporting to set forth the origin and civilization 
of the American Indians, and to account for the ancient 
mounds and earthworks and other remains of the ancient 
inhabitants which are scattered over the land. 

The first publication of this idea seems to have been made 
by the late E. D. Howe, of Painesville, in a volume published 
by himself at Painesville in 1834, and entitled " Mormonism 
Unveiled." He, with an associate, J). P. Hurlbut, of Con- 
neaut, seems to have been the first to gather evidence on the 
subject from the original sources ; and most later writers on 
Mormonism have depended essentially upon the material 
furnished by him. The theory of the connection of the 
*^ Book of Mormon " with Spaulding's manuscript has 
become traditional, and has found its way into all anti-Mor- 
mon literature and into the general cyclopsedies, such as the 
Britannia, Chambers', Appleton's, McClintock & Strong's 
and probably others. Prof. George P. Fisher, in his work 
on general history, just published, adopts the theory. 

The question whether or not the " Book of Mormon " is 
based upon a manuscript of Spaulding is intrinsically of 
little importance. It required only a very moderate degree 
of literary ability and invention to produce the book, and 
several of the original leaders of the fanaticism must have 
been adequate to the work. It is, perhaps, impossible at 
this day to prove or disprove the Spaulding theory. 



*A paper read before the Northern Ohio and Western Reserve Historical 
Society, March 23, 1886. 



. « — 188 — 

The unquestionable facts bearing on the case are as 
follows : 

Soloman Spaulding was born in Connecticut in 1761^ 
graduated at Dartmouth College in 1785, was ordained to 
the ministry, and preached in New England a few years, 
taught an academy for a time in Cherry Yalley, ]N"ew York, 
or carried on mercantile business there and failed, and in 
1809 removed to l^ew Salem, now Conneaut, in Ohio, where 
in company with one Henry Lake he established an iron 
foundry. His business not prospering, he removed to Pitts- 
burgh, or its vicinity, in 1812, and a year or two later, ta 
Amity, Pennsylvania, where he died in 1816 at the age of 
fifty-five years. Spaulding had a literary tendency, and 
while living at Conneaut, he entertained himself with writ- 
ing a story which purported to be an account of the original 
inhabitants of the country, their habits, customs and civili- 
zation, their migrations and their conflicts. From time to 
time, as his work went on, he would call in his neighbors- 
and read to them portions of his manuscript, so that they 
became familiar with his undertaking. He talked with 
some of them about publishing his book, in the hope of 
retrieving his fortunes financially ; and this appears to have 
been his purpose when he removed to Pittsburgh. There is 
evidence that he conferred with a printer, at Pittsburgh, by 
the name of Patterson, in reference to the publication, but 
the book never appeared. 

Soon after the publication of the Mormon book in 1830, 
Mormon preachers appeared in considerable numbers in 
[Northern Ohio, and attracted much attention in the neigh- 
borhood at Conneaut. At some of their gatherings where 
the new Bible was read, persons were present who had 
heard the Spaulding manuscript, and were struck with the 
resemblance between the two. Thus the opinion arose and 
was propagated that the Mormon book was written by Solo- 
mon Spaulding. It was the proper place for the testing of 
the theory. The fact that it obtained a foothold there 
affords a presumption in favor of the idea, and the testimony 



— 189 — 

of parties on the ground, if fully trustworthy, establishes 
the fact beyond question. These testimonies were gathered 
in 1833, apparently with reference to their publication in 
Howe's book. As these are the entire basis of the theory, I 
will give from the book the essential portions of them, found 
on pages 278-87. The first is from the testimony of John 
Spaulding, the brother of Solomon : 

In 1810 I removed to Ohio and found him (Solomon) engaged in building a 
forge. I made him a visit about tliree years after, and found that he had 
failed, and considerably involved in debt. He then told me he had been writ- 
ing a book, which he intended to have printed, the avails of which he thought 
would enable him to pay all his debts. The book was entitled " The Manu- 
«cript Found," of which he read to me many passages. It was an historical 
ro:i:ance of the first settlers of America, endeavorinj: to show that the Ameri- 
can Indians are the descendants of the Jews, or the lost tribes. It gave a 
detailed account of their journey from Jerusalem, by land and sea, till they 
arrived in America, under the command of Nephi and Lehi. They afterwards 
had quarrels and contentions, and separated into two distinct nations, one of 
which he denominated Nephites and the other Laraanites. Cruel and bloody 
wars ensued, in which great multitudes were slain. They buried their dead 
in large heaps, which caused the mounds so common in this country. Their 
arts, sciences and civilization were brought into view, in order to accourrt for 
all the curious aniiquities found in various parts of North and South America. 
I have recently read the " Book of Mormon," and to my great surprise, I fini 
nearly the same historical matter, name?, etc., as they were in my brother's 
writings. I well remember that he wrote in the old style, and commenced 
about every sentence with " and it came to pass," or ''now it came to pass," the 
same as in the "Book of Mormon," and according to the best of ray recollec- 
tion and belief, it is the same as my brother Solomon wrote, with the exception 
of the religious matter. By what means it h:is fallen into the hands of Joseph 
i3mith, Jr., I am unable to determine. 

John Spaulding. 

Testimony of Martha, wife of John : 

. . . The lapse of tine which has intervened, prevents my recollecting 

but few of the leading incidents of his writings, but the names of Nephi and 

Lehi, are yet fresh in my memory, as being the principal heroes of his tale. 

. . . I have read the "Book of Mormon," which has brought fresh to my 

recollection the writing of Solomon Spaulding ; and I have no manner of 

doubt that the historical part of it is the same that I read and heard read more 

than twenty years ago. The old obsolete style, and the phrases' "and it came 

to pass, etc.," are the same. 

Martha Spaulding. 

Testimony of Henry Lake, partner of S. Spaulding, Con- 
neaut, September, 1833 : 



— 190 — 

He (Spaulding) very frequently read to me from a manuscript which he wa» 
writing, which he entitled " The Manuscript Found," and which he repre- 
sented as being found in this town. I spent many hours in hearing him read 
said writing?, and became well acquainted with its contents. . . . This 
book represented the American Indians as the descendants of the lost tribes^ 
gave an account of their leaving Jerusalem, their contentions and wars which, 
were many and great. One time, when he was reading to me the tragic 
account of Laban, I pointed out to him what I considered an inconsistency 
which he promised to correct, but by referring to the "Book of Mormon," 1 
find that it stands there just as he read it to me then. Some months ago I 
borrowed the "Golden Bible," put it into my pocket, carried it home and 
thought no more of it. About a week after, my wife found the book in my 
coat pocket as it hung up, and commenced reading it aloud as I lay upon the 
bed. She had not read twenty minutes till I was astonished to find the same 
passages in it that Spaulding had read to me more than twenty years before 
from his "Manuscript Found." i well recollect telling Mr. Spaulding that 
the so frequent use of the words "and it came to pass,'' " now it came to pase," 
rendered it ridiculous. 

Henry Lake. 

Testimony of Miller, an employe of Spaulding. Spring- 
field, Pennsylvania, September, 1833 : 

. . . While there I lodged in the family of Spaulding for several months.. 
I was soon introduced to the manuscripts of Spaulding, and perused them as 
often as I had leasure. He had written two or three books or pamphlets on 
different subjects, but that which more particularly attracted my attention was 
one which he called the "Manuscript Found." From this he would frequently 
read some humorous passages to the company present. It purported to be the 
history of the first settlement of America before discovered by Columbus. He 
brought them off from Jerusalem under their leaders, detailing their travels by 
land and and water, their manners, customs, laws, wars, etc. ... I have 
recently examined the " Book of Mormon," and find in it the writings of Solo- 
mon Spaulding, from beginning to end, but mixed up with scripture and other 
religious matter which I did not meet with in the " Manuscript Found." 
Many of the passages in the " Mormon Book" are verbatim from Spaulding^ 
and others in part. The names of Nephi, Leh', Moroni, and in fact all the 
principal names are brought fresh to my recollection by the "Gold Bible." 

John N. Miller^ 

Testimony of a neighbor, Aaron Wright : 

When at his house one day he showed and read to me a history he was 
writing of the lost tribes of Israel, purporting that they were the first settlers 
of America, and that the Indians were their descendents. . . . He traced 
their journey from Jerusalem to America, as it is given in the " Book of Mor- 
mon," excepting the religious matter. 1 he historical part of the "Book of 
Mormon " I know to be the same as I read and heard read from the writings 



— 191 — 

of Spaulding more than twenty years ago ; the names, more especially, are the 
same without any alteration. ... In conclusion I will observe that the 
names of, and most of the historical part of the " Book of Mormon," were as 
familiar to me before I read it as most modern history. . . . 

Aakon Wright. 

Testimony of 0. Smith, a neighbor, with whom Spaulding 
boarded. 

. . . During the time he was at my house I read and heard read one 
hundred pages or more. Nephi and Lehi were by him represented as leading 
characters when they first started for America. Their main object was to 
escape the judgments which they supposed were coming upon the old world; 
but no religious matter was introduced, as I now recollect. . . . This wag 
the last I heard of Spaulding or his book until the " Book of Mormon " came 
into the neighborhood. When I heard the historical part of it related, I at 
once said it was the writings of old Solomon Spaulding. Soon after, I obtained 
the book, and on reading it I found much of it the same as Spaulding had 
written more than twenty years before. 

Oliver Smith. 

Testimony of Nahum Howard. Conneaut, August, 1883: 

I first became acquainted with Solomon Spaulding in December, 1810^ 
After that I frequently saw him at his house and also at my house. I once, in 
conversation with him, expressed a surprise at not having any account of the 
inhabitants once in this country who erected the old forts, mounds, etc. He 
then told me that he was writing a history of that race of people ; and after- 
wards frequently showed me his writings, which I read. I have lately read 
the "Book of Mormon," and believe it to be the same as Spaulding wrote 
except the religious part. 

Nahum Howard. 

Statement of Artemus Cunningham : 

. . . Before showing me his manuscripts he went into a verbal relation 
of its outlines, saying that it was a fabulous or romantic history of the first set- 
tlement of this country, and as it purported to have been a record found 
buried in the earth, or in a cave, he had adopted the ancient or Scripture style 
of writing. He then presented his manuscripts, when we sat down and spent 
a good share of the night in reading and conversing upon them. I well 
remember the name of Nephi, which appeared to be the principal hero of the 
story. The frequent repetition of the phrase, "I, Nephi," I recollect as dis- 
tinctly as though it was yesterday, although the general features of the story 
have passed from my memory through the lapse of twenty-two years. . . . 
The Mormon bible I have partially examined, and am fully of the opinion that 
Solomon Spaulding had written its outlines before he left Conneaut. 

This testimony of Cunningham is without his signature^ 
but is called his statement. 



— 192 — 

Of these eight witnesses, five distinctly state that the 
religious matter in the " Book of Mormon " was not con- 
tained in Spaulding's manuscript. The others state that the 
historical part of the " Book of Mormon " is the same as of 
Spaulding's " Manuscript Found." 

Mr. Howe inquired of Mr. Patterson, the printer, at Pitts- 
burgh, with whom it was represented that Spaulding con- 
ferred in reference to the publication of his manuscript, but 
Patterson had, at that time, no recollection of the subject , 
but in 1842, some eight years after the publication of Howe's 
book, Mr. Patterson signed a statement certifying that a 
gentleman had put into the hands of the foreman of his 
printing office, " a manuscript of a singular work, chiefly in 
the style of- our English translation of the Bible," that he 
(Patterson) read a few pages of it, but as the author could 
not furnish the means, the manuscript was not printed. 

Mr. Howe sent a messenger, D. P. Hurlbut of Conneaut, 
to the widow of Solomon Spaulding (Mrs. Davison by a 
second marriage), who was then living with her daughter in 
Monson, Massachusetts, to ascertain farther about the manu- 
script and to procure it if it were still within reach. Mrs. Davi- 
son stated that her husband had a variety of manuscripts, 
one of which was entitled the " Manuscript Found," but of 
its contents she had no distinct remembrance ; she thought 
it was once taken to Patterson's printing office in Pitts- 
burgh, and whether it was ever returned to the house again 
she was quite uncertain. If it was returned, it must be with 
the other manuscripts in a trunk which she left in Otsego 
county, ITew York. 

This was all that Mrs. D. knew of the manuscript in 1834, 
when Howe published his book ; but in 1839, 'Q.ve years later, 
a statement was published in the Boston Recorder under her \ 

signature, in which she describes the manuscript very fully, ^ 

states very definitely that Mr. Patterson took the manu- 
script, kept it a long time, was greatly pleased with it, and 
promised to publish it if Mr. Spaulding would make out a 
title page and preface, which Mr. S. refused to do. She 



— 193 — 

further states that at her husband's death, the manuscript 
came into her possession and was carefully preserved. This 
seems to be a great enlargement of memory or of knowledge 
since 1834, and it is difficult to read the extended and elabo. 
rate statement without reaching the conclusion that Mrs. 
Spaulding-Davison had very little to do with it. liev. 
Kobert Patterson, son of Rev. Eobert Patterson, the printer, 
now editor of the Presbyterian Banner of Pittsburgh, pub- 
lished some years since a paper on this question, and in 
quoting a paragraph from this statement of Mrs. Spaulding- 
Davison, he gays that it was made to Rev. D. R. Austin of 
Monson, Massachusetts, written down by him and published 
in the Boston Recorder. 

Mr. Hurlbut, on his visit to Mrs. Davison, obtained from 
her permission to examine the old hair trunk at her cousin's 
in Hartwick, New York, in which the manuscript, if in exis- 
tence, was to be found, and to carry it to Mr. Howe for com- 
parison with the " Book of Mormon." He found but one 
manuscript, and this he delivered to Mr. Howe who describes 
it briefly, but somewhat inaccurately in his book, page 288. 

The manuscript, lost sight of since the date of Howe's 
book, came to light at Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, a year 
ago last August, in the possession of Mr. L. L. Rice, for- 
merly State printer at Columbus, Ohio. I had asked Mr. 
Rice, who was an anti-slavery editor in Ohio many years 
ago, to examine his old pamphlets and papers and see what 
contributions he could make to the anti-slavery literature of 
the Oberlin college library. After a few days he brought 
out an old manuscript with the following certificate on a 
blank page : 

The writings of Solomon Spaulding, proved by Aaron Wright, Oliver Smith, 
John N. Miller and others. The testimonies of the above gentlemen are now 
in my possession. D. P« Hurlbut. 

The three men named are of the eight witnesses brought 
forward by Howe. This manuscript is now in'my possession, 
and it is at hand this evening. The manuscript proves its 
own antiquity. It is soiled and worn and discolored with 
age. It consists of about one hundred and seventy pages. 



— 194 — 

small quarto, unruled, and for the most part closely written 
— not far ^from forty-five thousand words. It has been 
printed by the Josephite Mormons of Lamoni, Iowa, from a 
copy of the manuscript taken since it came iijto my posses- 
sion. As thus printed it makes one hundred and thirty-two 
pages of three hundred and twenty words each — equal to about 
one-sixth part of the ^' Book of Mormon." IS'o date attaches 
to the manuscript proper, but on a blank page there is a 
fragment of a letter containing the date, January, 1812. 
Mr. Rice probably came into possession of the manuscript 
in 1839, when he succeeded Mr. Howe in the printing office 
at Painesville, but he has no recollection of ever having seen 
the manuscript until it came to his notice in Honolulu. 

The manuscript has no resemblance to the " Book of 
Mormon," except in some very general features. There is not a 
name or an incident common to the two. It is not written in 
the solemn Scripture style. It is a story of the coming to 
this country, from Home, of a ship's company, driven by a 
storm across the ocean, in the days of the Emperor Constan- 
tine. They never returned to their own land, but cast in their 
lot with the aboriginal tribes inhabiting the country; and it 
is chiefly occupied with an account of the civilization and 
conflicts of these tribes — the Delawares, Ohions, Kentucks, 
Sciotons, Chiaugans, etc., etc. The names of persons are 
entirely original, quite as remarkable as those in the "Book 
of Mormon," but never the same — such as Bombal, Kado- 
cam, Lobaska, Hamboon, Ulipoon, Lamesa, etc. The intro- 
duction expresses the purpose or motive of the author in its 
composition, and is as follows — orthography uncorrected, 
and a few words lost by the crumbling of the manuscript : 

Near the west bank of the Conneaught river there are the remains of an 
ancient fort. As I was walking and forming various conjectures respecting the 
character, situation and numbers of those people who far exceed the present 
Indians in works of art and inginuety, I happened to tread on a flat stone. 
This was at a small distance from the fort, and it lay on the top of a small 
mound of earth, exactly horizontal. The face of it had a singular appearance. 
I discovered a number of characters, which appeared to me to be letters, but so 
much effaced by the ravages of time, that 1 could not read the inscription. 
With the assistance of a leaver I raised the stone ; but you may easily conjee- 



— 195 — 

ture my astonishment when I discovered that its ends and sides rested on 
stones, and that it was designed as a cover to an artificial cave. I found by 
examining that its sides were lined with stones built in a conical form, with . 

. . down, and that it was about 8 feet deep. Determined to investigate 
the design of this extraordinary work of antiquity, I prepared myself with the 
necessary requisites for that purpose, and descended to the bottom of the cave. 
Observing one side to be perpendicular nearly three feet from the bottom, I 
began to inspect that part with accuracy. Here I noticed a big flat stone fixed 
in the form of a doar. I immediately tore it down, and lo ! a cavity within the 
wall presented itself, it being about three feet in diameter from side to side, 
and about two feet high. Within this cavity 1 found an earthern box, with a 
cover which shut it perfectly tite. The box was two feet in length, one and 
half in breadth, and one and three inches in diameter. My mind, filled with 
awful sensations which crowded fast upon me, would hardly permit my hands 
to remove this venerable deposit; but curiosity soon gained the ascendancy ; 
the box was taken and raised to open. When I had removed the cover I found 
that it contained twenty-eight ... of parchment, and that when . . . 
appeared to be mnnnscripts written in eligant hand, with Roman letters and in 
the Latin language. They were written on a variety ot subjects, but the roll 
which principally attracted my attention contained a history of the author's 
life and that part of America which extends along the great lakes and the 
waters of the Missisippy. 

Solomon Spaulding's attitude toward the sacred Scriptures 
and Christianity is brought to light by a record, appar- 
ently a copy of a letter, on two loose leaves found in con- 
nection with the manuscript, written, on paper of the same 
quality, and in the same handwriting ; the statement is 
without beginning or end, but the substantial part remains, 
as follows : 

But having every reason to place the highest confidence in your friendship 
and prudence, I have no reluctance in complying with your request in giving 
you my sentiments on the Christian religion, and so far from considering the 
freedom you take in making the request, impertinence, I view it as a mark of 
your affectionate solicitude for my happiness. In giving you my sentiments of 
the Christian religion, you will perceive that I do not believe certain facts and 
certain propositions to be true, merely because my ancestors believed them and 
because they are popular. In forming my creed I bring everything to the 
standard of reason. This is an unerring and sure guide in all matters of faith 
and practice. Having divested myself, therefore, of traditionary and vulgar 
prejudice, and submitting to the guidance of reason, it is impossible for me to 
have the same sentiments of the Christian religion which its advocates consider 
as orthod ix. It is in my view a mass of contradictions, and an heterogeneous 
mixture of wisdom and folly, nor can I find any clear and incontrovertible 
evidence of its being a revelation from an infinitely benevolent and wise God. 



— 196 — 

It is true that I have never had the leisure nor patience to read every part of 
it with critical attention, or to study the metaphysical jargon of divines in its 
vindication. It is enough for me to know that propositions which are in con- 
tradiction to each other cannot both be true, and that doctrines and facts which 
represent the Supreme Being as a barbarous and cruel tyrant, can never be 
dictated by infinite wisdom. Whatever the clergy say on the contrary can have 
no effect in altering my sentiments. I know as well as they that two and two 
make four, and that the three angles of a triangle are equal to two right angles. 
But, notwithstanding, I disavow any belief in the divinity of the Bible, and 
consider it a mere human production, designed to enrich and agrandize its 
authors and enable them to managa the multitude; yet casting aside a consider- 
able mass of rubbish and fanatical rant, I find that it contains a system of 
ethics or morals which cannot be excelled on account of their tendency to 
ameliorate the condition of man, to promote individual, social and public 
happiness, and that in various instances it represents the Almighty as possess- 
ing attributes worthy of a transcendant character; having a view, therefore, to 
those parts of the Bible which are truly good and excellent and sometimes 
speak of it in times of high commendation, and indeed, I am inclined to 
believe that, notwithstanding the mischiefs and injuries which have been pro- 
duced by the bigoted zeal of fanatics and interested priests, yet that these evils 
are more than counterbalanced in a Christian land by the benefits which result 
to the great mass of the people by their believing that the Bible is of divine 
origin, and that it contains a revelation from God. Such being my view of 
the subject, I make no exertions to dissipate their happy delusion. 

The only important question connected with this manu- 
script is, what light, if any, does it throw on the origin of 
the " Book of Mormon ?" This manuscript clearly was not 
the basis of the book. Was there another manuscript, which 
Spaulding was accustomed to read to his neighbors, out of 
which the '* Book of Mormon " grew, under the hand of 
Sidney Rigdon or Joseph Smith, or both ? If we could 
accept without misgiving the testimony of the eight wit- 
nesses, brought forward in Howe's book, we should be 
obliged to accept the fact of another manuscript. We are 
to remember that twenty-two years or more had elapsed 
since they had heard the manuscript read; and before they 
began to recall their remembrances they had read, or heard 
the " Book of Mormon," and also the suggestion that the 
book had its origin in the manuscript of Spaulding. What 
eflect these things had upon the exactness of their memory 
is matter of doubt. No one was present to cross-question, 
and Hurlbut and Howe were intent upon finding the testi- 
mony to support their theory. 



— 197 — 

In its more general features the present manuscript fulfills 
the requirements of the " Manuscript Found." It purports 
to have been taken from an artificial cave in a mound, and 
thus was naturally called the " Manuscript Found." It sets 
forth the coming of a colony from the eastern continent, 
and is an account of the aboriginal inhabitants of the 
country, suggested by the mounds and earthworks in the 
vicinity of the author, and was written to explain the origin 
of these works. This purpose it pursues with a directness 
not found in the " Book of Mormon." These general fea- 
tures would naturally bring it to remembrance, on reading 
the account of the finding of the plates of the " Book of 
Mormon." 

Of the eight witnesses brought forward by Howe, five are 
careful to except the " religious matter " of the ^' Book of 
Mormon," as not contained in the manuscript of Spaulding, 
and the theory is that this matter was interpolated by Sid- 
ney Rigdon, or some other man who expanded the manu- 
script into the book. This strikes me as an important cir- 
cumstance. The " Book of Mormon " is permeated in every 
page and paragraph with religious and Scriptural ideas. It 
is first and foremost a religious book, and the contrast be- 
tween it and the supposed manuscript must have been very 
striking to have led five of these witnesses to call this dif- 
ference to mind and mention it, after the lapse of twenty 
years and more. The other three witnesses are careful to 
say that the " Book of Mormon," in its " historical parts," is 
derived from the Spaulding manuscript, thus implying the 
same exception expressed by the others. JtTow it is difficult 
— almost impossible, to believe that the religious sentiments 
of the "Book of Mormon" were wrought into interpolation. 
They are of the original tissue and substance of the docu- 
ment, and a man as self-reliant and smart as. Sidney Rigdon, 
with a superabundant gift of tongue and every form of utter- 
ance, would never have accepted the servile task. There 
could have been no motive to it, nor could the blundering 
syntax of the " Book of Mormon " have come from Rigdon's 



— 198 — 

hand. He had a gift of speech which would have made the 
style distasteful and impossible to him. 

The minuter features of the testimony of these witnesses 
are obviously of more weight in their bearing upon the 
probability of another manuscript. When they speak of the 
Scripture style of the manuscript, the frequent recurrence of 
the expression, " and it came to pass," the names recalled, 
" Nephi," " Lehi," and others, the remembrance seems too 
definite to be called in question. But it must be remembered 
that the " Book of Mormon " was fresh in their minds, and 
their recollections of the manuscript found were very remote 
and dim. That under the pressure and suggestion of Hurl- 
but and Howe, they should put the ideas at hand in place 
of those remote and forgotten, and imagine that they remem- 
bered what they had recently read, would be only an ordi- 
nary example of the fraility of memory, and it would not be 
unnatural or improbable that such an illusion should be pro- 
pagated among Spaulding's old neighbors at Conneaut. This 
view must, of course, be purely hypothetical, and could have 
little force against the positive testimony. 

There has been an attempt to support the testimony of 
these Conneaut witnesses by following the manuscript 
through Patterson's office, at Pittsburgh, to the hands of 
Sidney Eigdon. This theory is sustained by abundance of 
conjecture, but by very little positive evidence. It has come 
to be a tradition that Rigdon was a printer in Patterson's 
office when Spaulding went to Pittsburgh, and thus became 
acquainted with the manuscript, either stole it or copied it, 
and after brooding over it fifteen years brought out the Mor- 
mon Bible. This would be interesting if true; but there 
seems no ground to dispute the possitive testimony of Rig- 
don's brothers that he was never a printer, and never lived 
in Pittsburgh at all until 1822, eight years after Spaulding 
left, and then was there as pastor of a Baptist church. 

Rigdon sent from JSTauvoo, in 1839, to the Boston Journal, 
an indignant denial of the statement of Mrs. Spaulding- 
Davison, already referred to. A sentence or two from this 
denial will be sufficient : 



I 



— 199 — 

It is only necessary to say, in relation to the whole story about Spaulding's 
writings being in the hands of Mr. Patterson, who was at Pittsburgh, and who 
is said to have kept a printing office, etc., etc., is the most base of lies, without 
even the shadow of truth. ... If I were to say that I ever heard of the 
Kev. Solomon Spaulding and his hopeful wife uniil D. P. Hurlbut wrote his 
lie about me, I should be a liar like unto themselves. 

The claim in reference to Rigdon's connection with the 
Spaulding n)anuscript seems to become more and more 
definite with every new statement of the case, and without 
any addition to the evidence. Mrs. Ellen E. Dickinson, a 
grandniece of Mrs. Solomon Spaulding, in her " iTew Light 
on Mormonism," recently published, finds it easy to put 
imaginings in the place of facts, in her statements in refer- 
ence to Rigdon, as follows : 

At an early age he was a printer by trade, and is known to have been in 
Conneaut, Ohio, at the time Spaulding read his " Manuscript Found " to his 
neighbors, . . . and it is easy to believe the report that he followed or 
preceded Spaulding to Pittsburgh, knowing all his plans, in order to obtain 
his manuscript, or copy it, while it was in Patterson's printing house — an easy 
thing to do, as the fact of the manusctipt being left carelessly in the office for 
months, is not questionable. — P. 47. 

Over against these fancies are the facts given in the testi- 
mony of Rigdon's brothers, published by Rev. Robert Pat- 
terson, of Pittsburgh, that when Spaulding was reading his 
manuscript to his neighbors in Conneaut, Rigdon was a boy 
seventeen or eighteen years of age, on his father's farm in 
Allegheny county, Pennsylvania; that he never was a printer, 
and did not live in Pittsburgh until 1822, six years after 
Spaulding's death. 

Another example of the increasing definiteness of the tra- 
dition may be found in a volume just published at Cincin- 
nati, giving an account of the various religious sects. Speak- 
of the "Book of Mormon," the writer says : ** Rigdon, who 
afterwards became Smith's right-hand man, is known to 
have copied this (Spaulding's) manuscript. A comparison 
of the ' Book of Mormon ' with the original manuscript of 
this novel, satisfies all, except professing Mormons, that the 
Mormon bible is simply the old novel revised and corrected 
by Smith and Rigdon " — an illustration of the facility with 
which a shadowy tradition becomes definite history. 



— 200 — 

It does not appear that Smith and Eigdon had any 
acquaintance with each other until after the puhlication of 
the Mormon book. In Howe's book we have a full account 
of Eigdon's conversion to Mormonism at Mentor, in the 
autumn of 1830, when Parley P. Pratt introduced to him 
two Mormon missionaries from Palmyra, New York. In a 
pamphlet published by Pratt, in 1838, he gives a similar 
account of Eigdon's conversion and states positively that 
Smith and Eigdon never saw each other until early in 1831. 
So far as I am aware, there is nothing to disprove this 
statement. 

A samewhat prevalent theory, which Mrs. Dickinson 
maintains, is that Hurlbut took two manuscripts from the 
old trunk in Hartwick, New York — one the genuine ^'Manu- 
script Found," which he treacherously sold to the Mormons, 
the other which he delivered to Howe, and which is present 
this evening. Of this there seems to be no proof. Howe 
intimates no such thing in his book. It is true that Mrs, 
Dickinson reports an interview of her own with Howe, in 
1830, in which he expresses the opinion that Hurlbut had 
two manuscripts, one of which he sold to the Mormons, but 
in the appendix to her book (page 259) she publishes a letter 
from Howe to Hurlbut, written two or three months before 
the interview, in which he disclaims any such suspicion. 

There are those who claim to know that the last manu- 
script is still in existence, and will be brought to light at 
some future day. It would not seem unreasonable to sus- 
pend judgment in the case until the new light shall come. 
Professor Whitsitt, of the Southern Baptist Theological 
Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, has given much attention 
to the internal structure of the " Book of Momon," and is 
about to publish a life of Sidney Eigdon in which he will 
maintain, and expects to prove, that Eigdon is responsible 
for the " Book of Mormon," and that he had Spaulding's 
manuscript as the basis of his work. 

JAMES H. FAIECHILD. 
Oberlin, Ohio. 



Tract No. 78. 
WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 

CLEVELAND, OHIO. 



TWENTY-FOURTH 



ANNUAL MEETING 



Western Reserve Historical Society 



CLEVELAND, OHIO. 

Held in the Assembly Room of the Board of Education, 
June 19, 1891. 



Remarks of Ex-President Hayes — Annual Report of the 

Secretary — Address of Charles C. Baldwin, the 

President of the Society, on "The 

New Methods in History." 



THE meeting was called to order bj the President, C. C, 
Baldwin, and, on motion of Yice-president J. H. 
Sargent, Ex-President R. B. Hayes, an active member of the 
Society, presided. The ex-president came to the city for the 
express purpose of attending the meeting, and on taking the 
chair said : 

' * The city of Cleveland has become greatly interested in works of 
education. This city is taking its place among the great cities of the 
country in being interested in and doing all useful and progressive 
things. I do not remember with confidence its exact rank among the 
largest, leading cities, but it is to be found among the ten highest. 
Historical societies are not popular among the people, as a rule. We 
grow historical as we grow older. People in the big cities have little 
time to devote to this work, but we are growing, and it is now time 
that the work was pushed vigorously and successfully. Much has 
been done in the past by Colonel Whittlesey, and others, who might 
be named. The question now is, whether we shall have a suitable 
place in which to enlarge and to comfortably carry on the work of 
the society. The opportunity is now offered, I understand, to obtain 
a suitable place for a permanent and acceptable home. There is no 
better field for this work than right here on the Western Reserve. 
There are many families having valuable historical records and docu- 
ments. These families are only awaiting a place where the records 
may be safely kept. The fact that you are here, in a busy city like 
this, is proof enough that you are interested in the work of the 
society. 

*' It was in 1834," continued the ex-President, " in the month of 
June, fifty-seven years ago that I passed through Cleveland pretty 
thoroughly. It had then 4,000 inhabitants. A boy then twelve 
years old, with his eyes open, I am able to recall with distinctness the 
memories of that . visit. Coming as I have to Cleveland since many 
times, I know the city, and I feel as if I had an interest in it. I 
remember talking with General Grant after his tour around the 
world. I asked him if he saw any cities abroad which pleased him 
better that those at home. He replied that he had not. He said 
that he found no cities during his travels which equaled the three 
(all lake cities) in this country which he considered the most attrec- 
tive. He named Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee. Cleveland, 
considered as an attractive city, as a city having a great future, and 
Cleveland considered as being large and prosperous, is to be counted 
among the cities on the globe that are notable." 



ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY, 
D. W. MANCHESTER. 



The Secretary, Mr. D. W. Manchester, next presented his 
report for the year just ended, which proved most interest- 
ing. It was as follows : 

In some respects the past year has, perhaps, been the most satis- 
factory and important of any in the career of the society. It has 
made substantial progress in various directions — it has made many 
new friends amongst the community, while its old ones and its mem- 
bers appear to have become revived, and to have evinced a warm and 
growing interest in its welfare. The general public, too, seems to 
have opened its eyes to the fact that our rooms are not only a place 
to amuse and interest but to instruct and educate as well. In short, 
we seem to be regarded, as not a fixture only, but a necessity. The 
number of visitors has been probably greater than during the pre- 
ceding year, and the purpose of the visits has been less for sight see- 
ing and the passing away of time than for study, critical and scien- 
tific examination of our museum, consulting the rare and valuable 
books of reference in the library, our 1,200 bound volumes and up- 
wards of newspapers, our maps, atlases, and the society's own 
publications. 

The additions to the library and museum are : Bound books, by 
purchase, 181 ; by donation, 203 ; by exchange, 89 ; total bound 
books, 473. Pamphlets : By purchase, 67 ; by donation, 356 ; by 
exchange, 186 ; total, 609. Periodicals, 100 ; bound volumes of 
newspapers, 16 ; single newspapers, 150 ; manuscripts of various 
kinds, 85 ; total additions to library, 1,433. There have been added 
to the museum, pieces, 82, making the entire additions to the rooms, 
1,515. Among the valuable additions to the library may be 
mentioned 68 volumes of the Annual Register from 1748 to 1824— 
embracing those important periods in American history, the war of 
the Revolution, the birth of the nation, and the war of 1812. We 
have also added colonial records of Connecticut ; many volumes of 
genealogies ; a complete set of Michigan Pioneer Historical Society 
publications ; publications of the Prince Society ; History of the 
Upper Ohio Valley, in two large quarto volumes ; the Charlemagne 
Tower collections of colonial laws of Pennsylvania ; the final volume 
of the diary of Thomas Robbins, a pioneer missionary on the Reserve, 
1803-1806 ; vital records of Rhode Island and that masterly and in- 



— 204 — 

valuable work, compileil by tbe State of Connecticut at a cost of 
$60,000, "Record of Connecticut Soldiers in the War of the Revo- 
lution." We have also completed our sets of the Pennsylvania 
Magazine of History and Biography and of the Narragansett Histori- 
cal Register. Deserving of mention also in this connection is the 
very fine quarto edition of the Ely genealogy, presented by Hon. 
Heman Ely, of Elyria. 

Valuable additions of government publications have also been 
made, as well as the various State publications, which are much 
inquired after. We are endeavoring, through our State reprensen- 
tatives and other sources, to get complete sets of such, for they con- 
tain a \ast fund of the most useful information. The annual reports 
of the city and the publications of its several departments have also 
been looked after. A great variety of valuable information has been 
culled from local papers, pamphlets, leaflets and miscellaneous issues. 
We do not allow the wrapper of a newspaper or pamphlet, or an old 
newspaper used to protect a package of books purchased, to go into 
the waste basket until they have first been thoroughly scanned for 
some item of news, biographical, historical or genealogical. In illus- 
tration, a Connecticut newspaper which came with books purchased 
in Boston, contained the date o£the birth and death of a person whom 
ft gentleman living in Buffalo, engaged in preparing a genealogy of 
his family, had long sought to ascertain. Grateful acknowledgment 
was made, with expression of kind regard for our usefulness and 
thoughtfulness. Indeed, we have endeavored to follow the advice of 
Macaulay, that nothing which in any way casts a ray on former 
Eabits,. opinions and modes and methods of life should be omitted 
from history. The great English historian tells how an artist from 
the bits of broken glass thrown aside by another was able to construct 
a beautiful cathedral window. So this society, by being zealously 
watchful, has rescued many a gem from the dirt and rubbish and 
given it deserved and beautiful setting. A number of interesting and 
valuable donations have been made to the museum, notably by Mr. 
J. H. Wade, Jr., a life-sized portrait in oil by Alonzo Pease, of Pro- 
fessor S. F. B. Morse ; life-size crayon of the late S. V. Harkness 
and Selah Chamberlain ; also from Mr. A. St. John Newberry, a 
painting by Clough of the interior of ''Floral Hall," Cleveland 
Sanitary Fair, 1863. In a note with the present Mr. Newberry says: 
** It seems to me the picture has decided historical merit. - It is 
24x36 inches in size, and cost my father, for whom it was painted, 



— 205 — 

$150, without the frame." It is an interesting reminder of the great 
war days and of the loyalty and devotion to the country and its sol- 
diers of the people of Northern Ohio. We have likewise received 
from A. W. Humphreys, Esq., of New York City, executor of the 
late James A. Briggs, a package of autograph letters from Joshua 
R. Giddings which relate largely to the exciting anti-slavery times, 
and contain much political history of that and later periods, together 
with reminiscences of men who were prominent in public affairs in 
Ohio and the country at large. 

The society has distributed during the year 350 of its own publi- 
cations and duplicates, 475 in all. It has received and answered 
some 2,000 letters and postal cards and sent out some 1,500 circulars. 
These distributions have gone to nearly every State in the Union and 
many foreign couniries. The annual report of a year ago showed 
that the library then contained 8,004 bound volumes, 11,466 paraph- 
lets, and 1,117 bound volumes of newspapers. With the additions 
of the year we have: bound volumes, 8,477; pamphlets, 11.975; 
bound volumes of newspapers, 1,117; periodicals, iOO, a total of 
21,685. The membership has been increased by one life, six annual, 
and seventeen corresponding members. Four life members have 
died — Mr. Seymour W. Baldwin, of Elyria; Mr. Horace Kelly, Mr. 
J. H. Wade, and Mr. D. W. Cross, of this city, and one annual, 
Mr. Selah Chamberlain, and one honorary, Hon. George Bancroft. 
Memorial sketches of these individuals will appear in the customary 
obituary notices in order in our regular publications. Five new 
societies, the National Museum of Antiquity, Edinburgh, Scotland ; 
Hyde Park Historical Society, Massachusetts ; Historical Society, 
Southern California ; West Virginia Historical and Antiquarian 
Society, of West Virginia ; and Bostonian Society, Massachusetts, 
have been added to our exchange list. 

In December, 1890, the society resumed its public meetings and 
gave a series of free public lectures. "Glacial Man in Ohio," by 
Mr. W. C. Mills, of New Comerstown, was the subject of the first. 
Mr. Mills exhibited the palseolith found by him in Tuscarawas county 
in 1889, which has attracted attention of scientific men in Massachu- 
setts and at Washington as being one of the most important finds in 
many years. It is deposited in the society's rooms. The second 
meeting in January was a paper by Mr, C. P. Leland, a member of 
the society and auditor of the L. S. & M. S. R. R., entitled " The 
Rise and Fall of a Railway Company Fifty Years Ago." It was an 



— 206 — 

entertaining account of the Ohio Railway from Fairport through 
Cleveland to Toledo in 1836. Also in January Mr. John H. Sargent, 
one of our vice-presidents, read a paper on the ** History of the 
Harbor of Cleveland," a topic at that time of much local interest. 
In February, Professor Edward W. Claypool, of Akron, presented a 
paper on ''Plants of the Ice Period." March 18, Professor Wright, 
of Oberlin, delivered a most interesting address on *' Recent Dis- 
coveries Concerning Pre-historic Man of the Pacific Coast." All 
these meetings were of interest and value to the public and a credit 
to the society, and were attended by people from near and remote 
localities in the State. The average attendance at these meetings was 
184, which is unusually large for entertainments given by historical 
societies. In short, our experience was unlike and like a certain 
Eastern and older society which reported that the attendance at its 
lecture was quite small, but that "more stayed than went away." 
The society is growing in importance and usefulness. It is being 
appreciated and valued more day by day. School children, Protestant 
and Catholic, with their teachers visit it for observation, study, and 
comparison. Educators high in position in this and other States 
seek its rooms, its exhibits, and its library, and add to their store of 
knowledge and bear it away to give into other hands and other 
minds. Professional men, lawyers, physicians, divines, newspaper 
men, come here and partake of our garnered stores Such calls and 
visits are increasing, and best of all is that we never yet have failed 
to give them the information sought or put them in the way to obtain 
it. To illustrate, a student in one of our prominent local educational 
institutions came for information to be used in his thesis. He 
remarked, after a short stay, ''I have obtained more here in two hours 
than anywhere else in two weeks." We have made seventy-eight 
publications, every one of them of great historical or scientific value. 
They are sought after far and near, much beyond our facilities to 
supply. Especially are they appreciated by other societies and 
institutions of learning. In a catalogue of books published in 1890, 
relating to Ohio, a bibliographer of national fame says that our pub- 
lications are the most valuable collection of pamphlets yet published 
relating to the West. One of these pamphlets furnished much 
information used in an important case recently before the United 
States Supreme Court. I venture to say that, if this society had 
done nothing else, if it had no other record than these publications, 
they alone give evidence of its right to have lived and to live. Several 
of its members have furnished contributions to standard publications 



— 207 — 

that have commanded respectful consideration and notice from literary- 
men and historical writers throughout the country. We are doing 
good, benefiting people at home and abroad. Almost daily, letters 
are received from localities near or remote for information on various 
topics. It is only recently that a letter came from far-away New 
Zealand, making important inquiry. Not long since, a prominent 
citizen of California, unknown to us personally, but not unfamiliar 
with the society's work and reputation, wrote for certain specific 
information, saying: **I write you because I do not know where 
else I will be as likely to get what I want." To-day, a request was 
received from a historical writer and published in Virginia asking 
the loan by us of a periodical for purposes of consultation in prepar- 
ing matter for the press. To-day, also, the lecturer on history in 
Mount Union College, makes similar request for one of our own 
publications, and it is a very common thing for letters to be sent in 
by individuals or institutions that have received them with the 
endorsements, "referred to the Historical Society." Our standing 
with other societies and institutions is high and honorable, and we 
are on the exchange list of nearly all of the 215 societies in the United 
States. Historical interest and study are on the increase throughout 
the country and there is a great awakening amoug all societies. 

We must keep in step and touch with this awakening spirit and 
movement. As illustrative of this general feeling and of the 
importance of establishing and sustaining historical societies, and the 
growing interest already referred to, it may be mentioned that Massa- 
chusetts did not organize a society until 170 years after her settle- 
ment. New York organized hers not until 1804, Maine 1822, New 
Hampshire about the same time, while in the newer States recently 
admitted the first care, after setting up and setting to running the 
machinery of State government, has been to establish historical 
societies, that the history and record of those States and of the men 
and women who formed them might be preserved to all time. " The 
Historical Society is the point of attraction for those whose tastes are 
similar, and it gives opportunities for the preparation of papers which 
often in a brief form embody the results of much careful research." 
I will not say that it is a test of character to belong, to a historical 
society, but may it not be said to be an index of character ? I have 
given but the merest outlines of what we have been doing and of what 
we are. Far more, could ought to be said. It is well, however, to be 
reminded of what constitutes a historical society. It is not a reared 



— 208 — 

mass of stone and brick, not a mere location, a building, but what is 
within, its members, its publications, its elevating and educational 
character, its record. It has been said that a book should be valued 
not for what it contains, but for what can be got out of it. The 
Western Reserve Historical Society is valued both for what it con- 
tains and for what you can get out of it. 

Early in this report it was remarked that the affairs of the society 
during the past pear have been unusually satisfactory. Not the least 
gratifying have been the favorable comments and praise bestowed by 
visitors, scholars, and professional men from the older and Eastern 
States and societies, upon the valuable library we have collected, and 
the rare good taste and judgment shown in selection. The society's 
growth has been substantial, its progress wonderful, especially when 
it is remembered that it has received no aid save such as its friends 
and members have voluntarily furnished. Such a condition of things 
eloquently speaks of the intelligence and devotion of its members and 
of the harmony that has universally prevailed. And when you are 
told that this degree of excellence and efficiency, and this state of 
prominence have been attained through the efforts of those who have 
continually had a great press of other, outside business on their hands, 
I think your wonder, and respect will deepen and increase. You will 
thus see that it demands and should have the entire and undivided, 
constant, personal services of some one. It has existed and grown 
for a quarter of a century. That is not a long time, and yet it is. 
Then, when this society was organized, were living in our midst men 
and women who came here with the original pioneers and who assisted 
in establishing the foundations and developing the resources and in- 
dustries of the country. They knew all about its early history and 
their lives and examples gave tone and character to it. Bat as we 
turn back to the past, we are at once also turned to look at the future. 
" We dislike to think of anything that has been done, as having ac- 
complished itself and as having nothing to do with the years to come. ' ' 
So this society, although in the twenty -five years of its existence it 
has accomplished really great and creditable things, feels that it yet 
belongs more to the future than to the past, because, as they become 
appreciated and understood in relation to society, historical, anti- 
quarian, and scientific study and research and investigation will be 
prosecuted with greater zeal and become more interesting and valuable 
and important to mankind as time bears on. It would seem, then, 
to be the part of wisdom and of duty that the members and friends of 
this society give it aid and encouragement that shall place it in line 
and touch with the awakening and progressive interest and spirit in 
historical matters that is so apparent and so important. 



ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT C. C. BALDWIN— "NEW 
METHODS OF HISTORY." 



Most histories written in days gone by, have been justly subject to 
the criticism placed upon them by Mr. Herbert Spencer ; of relating 
what was useless and nothing useful, omitting all narration of modes 
of life, thought, state of civilization or manners, except so far as they 
were here and there incidentally revealed. But to suit the intelli- 
gent reader of to-day, there must be made for him a new and later 
narrative ; written with a different view, with a different grouping of 
facts, combined more by sociological relation than by time. Nor are 
the mnemonic triumphs of earlier days considered of value. Learned 
teachers select epochs, or write monographs on some historical topic, 
and refer the willing student more to the original authorities. What 
might seem a narrower learning is really broader and deeper and 
vastly more useful and thoughtful. It is much pleasanter also, for 
it is more delightful to be acquainted with one period, or even one 
man of olden times, than to commit to memory a worn out time card. 

The popular impetus, started by Sir Walter Scott, the novelist, 
and Macauley, the historian, more intelligently carried on by Arnold, 
Stubbs, Lecky, Freeman and Rogers, in England, and by American 
authors as well, has since our Centennial spread over our country. It 
must be that every age will look upon the past for itself, that much 
that formerly was most prominent is of little consequence, while from 
the germ of smaller things, of ideas or experience which in their 
youth seemed little — have grown great things. In no other way can 
the history of man develop. But the change in our day is broader- 
For the first time there is a general disposition to apply to history the 
scientific methods, which mankind has slowly learned, and which should 
be applied to all of life. Histories of development in different lines, 
of epochs, biographies of leaders, commonwealths treated from such 
views as give unity and dramatic interest, abound. Many of them 
are small but instructive. I am sure one may learn more from Mr. 
John Fiske's little book for young people on the Revolution than 
from many a larger book on that war. Mr. Freeman's little book on 
the English Constitution is an excellent example of the life that may 
be given in a small compass to a seemingly abstruse subject. Mr. 
Fiske's ' * Beginning of New England ' ' is instinct with the fine 
qualities of life. 

Mr. Froude has a curious essay on *'The Science of History." 



— 210 — 

The paper does not seem- to me to be as clearly reasoned as it might 
have been, but it has the very high quality of exciting thought in 
the reader, possibly the more than if it were a more analytical 
and deductive paper. He is of the opinion that history is 
not a science, because it is liable to be disturbed by human volition, 
and that it is impossible to tell the future with precision. He says 
further that history has often seemed to him like a child's box of 
letters, with which one can spell any word he pleases. ** Let," says 
he, "your theory of history be what you will, you will find no diffi- 
culty in providing facts to prove it." 

But a proper analysis leaves to history all its dignity. Past 
experience is the basis of all learning — while history may not of 
itself be a science, the scientific method should be applied to it ; 
while all the history of man may not be coterminous with 
sociology, yet it contains the material for that and other learn- 
ing. From past experience comes all science. Its aggre- 
gate is all civilization — learning its lessons is progress. So strongly 
has that been sometimes felt that Mr. Freeman has declared ''that 
history is but past politics and that politics are but present history." 

America is a fertile field for history in its many commonwealths, its 
recent life, and the short time from savagery to a high civilization. 
American students are doing much for the new methods. As an ex- 
ample, the Johns Hopkins school with its monographs on subjects 
constitutional, municipal, general, and local, is rapidly accumulating 
material which, by the comparative methods, will be most fruitful. 
To speak again of Mr. Fiske, another of his little books on Civil Gov- 
ernment shows what active life there is in such mode of study for, he 
shows large obligations to their publications. The difficulty of assur- 
ing or foretelling the future with certainty applies to all sociology. 
Where there is one cause it may be certain to produce one effect, but 
where, as in the life of man, there are many forces operating with and 
against each other, and in many ways, we can only say that a cause 
tends to produce a certain result, but to be able to say that is science. 
History is many sided and in many ways lies close to science. Socio- 
logy in all its branches, may well be science, and the seeming uncer- 
tainty of the future in history is not because causes do not tend to 
produce certain results, and will if undisturbed, but because in the 
more complicated affairs of man there are so many causes tending to 
various results, and to learn and appreciate all the causes which may 
be acting at once, is too strong a problem. And if indeed we can get 



— 211 — 

the popular mind to believe that government, national, state, and 
municipal, like all other science, is to be learned from past experi- 
ence, we may expect an advance to arise indeed, and which will not 
spend its strength in vain endeavor as in Horace the Adriatic 
" Wastes the eaten Tuscan shore in wintry strife." 

A striking feature of the intellectual life of to-day is the general 
prevalence of different views of economies and modes of government. 
Restless, and often lawless and bloody conflicts, seem to threaten the 
present condition of man, and timid souls fear much. The air is full 
of differing theories. Hardly two persons would completely agree. How 
should they and why is not this condition healthy? In the past, 
economies and government have been no part of school learning. An 
education designed to fit a young man for life, has taught him arith- 
metic, geography, grammar, a little science, the dead skelet<m of 
history, but nothing of its teachings and nothing in the science of 
business which is to be his pursuit for life, his foundation in success 
if he gets it. The slim forms of business are offered to be taught by 
commercial schools in a few weeks. Economics — the science of prac- 
tical life, has not been taught at all in common schools nor nearly as 
much as it should be in scieutific methods in colleges. Other sciences 
are to be learned and taught from experience, but social science using 
all forces of nature and the motives which meet in man — most com- 
plicated and difficult of all science — has still indulged in theory and 
unscientific methods. If, then, in consequence of such education as 
makes a general activity of mind — but has taught nothing of the laws 
of business or political life - there is general activity in theory, the 
more theories and the more general the discussion of and interest in 
them the better so that the administration of life may be well thought 
out. As to be expected, such theories have generally elements of 
weakness. But the tendencies 06 the times are plainly seen. There 
has been a most inadequate social science. It is not yet fairly past 
the theoretic stage with which every science is hampered at its out- 
set Men like to plan a system rather than to drudge in minutiae to 
arrive at certainty. 

Man has passed a stage where the end of government and economics 
was to favor a few. Then followed to favor the aggregate wealth 
without regard to distribution — the arithmetical state of balance of 
trade, of two much government and too little, too much protection, 
and a complete theory of "laissez faire." The "laissez faire" theory is 
followed by the theories of a paternal government. Lately has been 



— 212 — 

recognized the historical school, which is now rising to the ascendency, 
who are treating the science of life on Baconian models, with the same 
methods which have made a solid basis for every flourishing science. 
And a learned and humane economist. Dr. Richard T. Ely, quotes to me 
with approval the words of that leader in the new history. Dr. Herbert 
B. Adams, that ** Political Economy is becoming historical, and history 
is becoming economic. " To be accurate, the offices, rights and duties 
of government and the governed, how best conducted and the best 
rules of economics in private hands, must be determined by the ex- 
perience of history; there is no other. The historical school, bound 
to no theory, but to the scientific mode of learning, is growing strong, 
both here and abroad. The writers of pure theory are already being 
followed by wdser and more learned men, who intelligently study the 
past to make safe the future. 

It is the office of a Historical Society to carry from age to age, and 
to keep for each age such material as may be wanted, and such societies 
should be, and will be if rightly supported and appreciated, a practi- 
cal and most valuable school of education. Past history is wider 
than Mr. Freeman's definition ; man's actions are not simply eco- 
nomical. Mr. Freeman elsewhere says ''History is a moral lesson." 
Man has passions and a moral sense. He has generosity, fine feel- 
ings, which are in character above views purely selfish and such 
views of his religious duty as cannot be explained on the principle 
of weighing the most economic good to himself. He stands in Mr. 
Spencer's "First Principles," as matter of science upon the margin, 
or rather on each side the margin, between the knowable and un- 
knowable ; the world on one side and Deity on the other. There are 
as fine pictures in history as in fiction, of romance, of pathos, of 
tragedy, and of comedy. If one reads Mr. Parkman's '* Jesuits in 
North America ' ' with no better business or governmental practical 
education, yet he is not a good or a manly man if he does not feel 
greater courage and devotion to high minded and less mistaken notions 
of religion than than those held by Mr. Parkman's heroes. 

I have lately said elsewhere, that the pleasures of history are akin 
to travel and that he who well understood the life of a prior period 
of his own locality, had traveled abroad. The chief pleasure and 
profit of foreign travel consists in comparison, and those matters are 
most interesting and instructive which differ from our own country. 
The same rules obtained in the survey of history, so that those 
matters which are useful are at the same time interesting. The com- 



— 213 — 

parative methods of modern times have been most productive. I 
need hardly mention comparative philology, so directly resulting from 
history. Professor Rogers' ''Work and Wages" and "Economic Inter- 
pretation of History," Professor Freeman's * 'Comparative Politics," 
and numerous other examples might be named, and a late book in an 
international series is named "Comparative Literature." Our own 
country, with its thirteen original colonies and its many younger 
commonwealths, affords a fine field. I know none better than Ohio 
to easily compare different races, and partly by research original for 
that purpose. Palaeolithic man was here. These followed builders 
of vast earth works. Later, the neolithic races, then the French, 
the English, and the American, a mixture of different stocks, and 
from an absolutely savage condition to the highest advance of civil- 
ization is but very liitle over one hundred years. 

The hard problems of municipal government must be worked out 
with the careful use of history by each municipality ; for 
if each is to be governed only by its present experience it is but too 
plain there will be an expensive series of ignominious mistakes. 
Never has there been such promise of interesting narratives, of enter- 
taining knowledge of past times, and of practical wisdom for the 
present and the future as is likely to resuls from the new methods in 
history. 



FOR THE CAUSE OF HISTORY AND CULTURE. 

From the Cleveland Leader, June 21, 1891. 

It is a pleasure to note from the reports made at the twenty-fourth 
annual meeting, Friday, that the Western Keserve Historical Society 
is in a more than usually satisfactory condition. Cleveland has few 
organizations which deserve warmer encouragement, or are doing a 
more laudable work than this one. The necessity of collecting his- 
torical facts from time to time before the sources become obscure or 
the records destroyed is obvious, and the wisdom of preserving the 
reminders of early days and other times is equally manifest. This is 
the dual field occupied by the society, and every one who has had a 
chance to learn its reputation among historical authorities in the East 
knows that it fills it ably. Its collection of facts bearing upon the 
early history of Northern Ohio has already attracted wide attention 
and won warm praise from those interested in historical subjects. 
One noted authority has pronounced its pamphlets, some 
gsventy-eight in number, the most valuable collection of facts relat- 
ing to the West yet published. As time goes on these works will 
become more and more valuable because of the increasing difficulty 
with which the information they contain can be secured from origi- 
nal sources. In this one branch of its work it is performing a service 
to the cause of history which cannot be easily overestimated, and 
which merits the warmest recognition from the public. 

Its other work, that of gathering interesting and curious things 
connected with the history of Ohio into a museum, is of much interest. 
It affords the means for observing many interesting things in the 
every-day life of the forefathers, and excites a popular interest in his- 
torical studies that is of very great value. It preserves glimpses of 
the life of past generations that aid in appreciating history and give 
a local color to what otherwise might be considered dry records. 

Comparatively few persons in Cleveland appreciate what an excel- 
lent historical museum this society possesses because the quarters it 
now occupies are cramped and unsatisfactory. It ought by all means 
to be given better rooms, and as it now has the opportunity to secure 
an excellent building centrally located and admirably adapted for its 
purpose at a very low price the money ought to be forthcoming at 
once. If this building is secured the museum will speedily become 
the most noted historical collection in the State and one of the most 
valuable in the West, a credit and an honor to the city. We hope our 
business men will be particularly liberal in this matter and see to it 
that the society secures the old Society for Savings building in which 
to arrange its large and valuable collection of rare and curious things 
connected with the past of the city and State. A city can have few 
more priceless possessions than a first-class museum. 



OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY. 



1891, 



PRESIDENT. 

C. C. BALDWIN. 



VICE-PRESIDENTS . 

W. J. GORDON. W. p. FOGG. J. H. SARGENT. SAM BRIGGS. 

ELECTIVE CURATORS. 
(holding over to may, is 92.) 

LEVI F. BAUDER. PETER HITCHCOCK. 

HENRY N.JOHNSON. 

(TO MAY 1893.) 

C. C. BALDWIN. STILES H. CURTISS. 

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 

(TO MAY, 1894.) 

AMOS TOWNSEND. DOUGLAS PERKINS. P. H. BABCOCK. 



TRUSTEES OF INVESTED FUNDS. 

HON. WM. BINGHAM. HON. R. P. RANNEY. 

HON. C. C. BALDWIN. 



PERMANENT CURATORS. 

WM. J. BOARDMAN. WM. BINGHAM. H. C. RANNEY. 

JAMES BARNETT. GEO. A. TISDALE. 



CORRESPONDING SECRETARY. 

C. C. BALDWIN. 

RECORDING SECRETARY. 

D. W. MANCHESTER. 

TREASURER. 

JOHN B. FRENCH. 

LIBRARIAN. 

D. W. MANCHESTER. 



COMMITTEES. 



Meetings and Lectures. 

C. C. Baldwin, E. L. Hessenmueller, L. C. Hanna, Elroy M. Avery, 

D. W. Manchester. 

Museum. 
P. H. Babcock, H. N. Johnson, Phil. H. Keese. 

Biography and Obituaries. 
Sam. Brigqs, H. R. Hatch, C. C. Baldwin, D. W. Manchester. 

Geneaiogies. 
D. W. Manchester, Sam Briggs, J. H. Wade, Jr. 

Ohio Local History and Atiasses. 
L. F. Bauder, S. H. Curtiss, W. H. Brew, J. W. Willard. 

Manuscripts. 
Douglas Perkins, J. B. French, A. T. Anderson. 

Printing. 
Lee McBride, J. B. French, a. L. Withington. 

Public Documents. 

Hon. Amos Townsend, Hon. Wm. Bingham, Gen. E. B. Hayes, 

H. N. Johnson, Hon. T. E. Burton. 

Photographs and Views. 
J. F. Ryder, E. Decker, Miss L. T. Guilford. 

Newspaper Paper Files. 

E. H. Perdue, H. S. Sherman, L. E. Holden, James D. Cleveland, 

John M. Wilcox. 

Coins. 

H. 2^1 . Johnson, Miss M. E. Ingersoll, W. H. B arris. 

Finance. 

Hon. R.;P. Eanney, Hon. Wm. Bingham, Douglas Perkins, 

W. J. Boardman, Jarvis M. Adams, J. D. Rockefeller, 

Gen. James Barnett. 

Societies and Exchanges. 
Gen. M. D. Leqgett. E. L. Rich, C. C. Baldwin, N. P. Bowles. 

Military History. 

Gen. R. B. Hayes, Gen. M. D. Leggett, Col. H. N. Whitbeck. 

C. C. Dewstoe, D. H. Kimberly. 

Executive Committee. 

C. C. Baldwin, Douglas Perkins, S. H. Curtiss, 

J. H. McBride, P. H. Babcock. 



Tract No. 79, 

Western Reserve Historicai, Society, 

Ci,EVEi.AND, Ohio. 



Case School of Applied Science, 



LEONARD CASE, Sr., 1786— 1864. 
WILLIAM CASE, 1818— 1862. 

LEONARD CASE, Jr., 1820— 1880. 



A Biographical Sketch of the Founder op Case School 
OF Applied Science, and His Kinsmen. 



Read at Commencement, June ii, 1891. 



cleveland : 
short & forman, 

I89I. 



Leonard Case, Sr., 1786— 1864. 
WiLTwiAM Case, 1818 — 1862. 

Leonard Case, Jr., 1820 — 1880. 



I. 

This sketch is intended to contribute some impressions of 
the personal characteristics of Leonard Case as he appeared to 
one who was a schoolmate in his boyhood, and although know- 
ing him less intimately than some others did in his after life, 
always enjoyed his warm friendship and intercourse as a neigh- 
bor and fellow-townsman. 

It is the impression made by a man who dwelt in Cleveland 
from the beginning to the end of his career, leading an intense 
and thoughtful life, warmly attached to a few chosen friends ; 
unobtrusive, undemonstrative, avoiding publicity, denying him- 
self participation in public affairs, yet concealing nothing of his 
pursuits, his studies, his work in mathematics and in literature ; 
with declared and open convictions on all political and social 
questions. 

All was patent to those who knew him. He tried to conceal 
nothing but his benefactions and his charities. 

The union of the peculiarities of a studious life with the 
qualities of a man of wide travel and a thorough and broad 
education, gave him many sides. Possibly the opinions of his 
contemporaries will be as varied as the sides he presented, and 
the different points from which they made the observation. 



220 

With these reminiscences, mingled with facts derived from, 
authentic sources, it is hoped that those who come after us will 
be better able to understand what manner of man he was, who 
founded a school of science for the training of the youth of his 
native city, and what led him to devote so generous a portion of 
his estate to that object. 

Those who did not know the elder Leonard Case can with 
difficulty understand the unusual closeness of the bond which 
united the father and sons in certain views and objects of their 
lives. 

And no one can correctly estimate the mind and character of 
Leonard Case the younger — our Leonard Case — without some 
knowledge of the father and elder brother. An outline, there- 
fore, of the career and character of these, his kinsmen, seems 
pertinent to our subject, and ought to be of interest to all who 
would know the beginnings of a great city, and of some of its 
noblest institutions. 



II. 

You know the old saying that, " You can make anything of 
a boy that you wish, but — to do this, you must begin with his 
grandfather." 

This quaint and somewhat complex way of stating what runs 
in an old man's head when he has known and survived several 
generations of a family stock, only expresses what the laws of 
heredity teach, that a man is really the sum of his ancestors 
with all the modifications of his education and surrounding 
circumstances. 

The lines of the Case family take us, on the paternal side, 
back to Holland, from which four brothers, Christopher, The- 
ophilus, Reuben and Butler, migrated early in the last century. 

We know little of them as individuals — only that they came 
from a nation which had fought the longest and bloodiest wars 



221 



for religious and civil liberty against Spanish domination and 
the Spanish Inquisition, and had become the rival of Great 
Britain for the supremacy of the high seas, and in the planting of 
colonies in America, Africa and the East Indies. 

The Hollanders who came to our shores, both in the seven- 
teenth and eighteenth centuries, were men of the strongest fibre, 
and left tokens of their superior quality. 

They were well educated, very practical, and strongly prot- 
estant, and have left indelible marks on the institutions of our 
common country. 

These Holland Cases settled on Long Island and in Morris 
county, New Jersey— and one of them, Butler, moved into West- 
moreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1778, where his son Meshach 
Case, a young farmer, settled, and married Magdalene Eckstein 
in 1780. 

On the maternal side there is more knowledge of its history, 
lyconard Eckstein, the grandfather of the elder I^eonard Case, 
was a native of Bavaria and born near the ancient city of 
Nuremburg, that old walled and castellated city founded in 
medieval times, about ninety miles north of Munich on the river 
Pegnitz. Melancthon founded a college there, and the people 
were of old, among the most ingenious in Europe. It was the 
place where watches were first made, and known in all the marts 
of Europe as ''Nuremburg Eggs." Some of the brothers of 
Leonard Eckstein were sculptors and carvers, and Johannes 
worked for Frederick the Great in Berlin and Potsdam, and 
others at The Hague in the Netherlands. 

In 1750 this Leonard Eckstein was a fiery and disputatious 
youth of nineteen, and had a quarrel with the Catholic clergy of 
Nuremburg. He and all his family were Protestant. 

The quarrel resulted in his being thrown into prison, where, 
shut up in a high tower, he was treated with severity, and nearly 
starved. Fortunately his jailers allowed his sister to visit him 
and to carry to him food and other comforts. These two con- 
spired for his escape. One day she brought to him a cake in 
which she had baked a long and slender silken cord. 

They had discovered that the small window in his cell gave 
out upon a perpendicular wall eighty feet above the ground. 

Upon a dark night agreed upon, the silken cord was let down 



222 

from the window, and a confederate below fastened to it a larger 
cord or rope which Eckstein drew up to the aperture, fastened, 
and slid down upon, to the earth below. 

His father and family, fearing that this escape and his in- 
dependent disposition would bring him into greater trouble, 
furnished him with a little money and he fled towards Holland,, 
where he took ship for America. 

He landed in Philadelphia about 1750, a j^outh of nineteen, 
without a cent or an acquaintance in the country. 

The story has a flavor of romance; but he bravely pushed 
his way into Virginia, married in Winchester, and moved again 
into western Pennsylvania, where his daughter Magdalene 
married Meshach Case. 

There he told the story to his grand-children and showed his 
hands, scarred by the blisters which the cord had made as he 
slid down from the old Nuremburg tower window. 

He lived till about 1799, and his grandson, Leonard Case, Sr.,. 
to whom he related the story, has left us his testimony of it in 
his own narrative of early memories. 

Mr. Case, in his narrative says of Leonard Eckstein, his 
grandfather: " He was a man of more than ordinary mind; of 
strong convictions and fearless in his expression of his opinions. 
He had had a good education, was a good Latin scholar, and 
spoke English so perfectly that no one would have suspected his 
being a German. His difiiculty with the Catholic priesthood 
made a deep and bitter impression on his mind, and it lasted as 
long as he lived. He had read the scriptures so much that he 
seemed to have them committed to memory. He was always 
ready for religious discussion when he met an antagonist of 
sufficient caliber, otherwise he would not engage." 



III. 

As the fruit of this union of the German and Holland stocks, 
Leonard Case, Sr., was born July 29, 1786, in Westmoreland 
county, Pennsylvania, near the Monongahela river, and was the 
oldest son in a family of eight children. 

For many years his father, Meshach Case, suffered from 
asthma to the extent of making him a partial invalid. He 
attributed this to the hardships he had suffered as a soldier in 
the revolutionary army. Hence, much of the management of 
his affairs devolved upon his wife, a woman of superior charac- 
ter, educated beyond the average of those days, energetic, hav- 
ing a good executive faculty, and blessed with robust health. 

The oldest son had little opportunity for school learning. 
In the settlements onlj^ an occasional school was opened by an 
itinerant schoolmaster, and in one of these log school houses, 
from his fourth to his eleventh year, the boy learned to read and 
the simplest beginnings of writing and arithmetic. 

He was a robust and active boy, for at seven years he was 
cutting the wood for the fires, thrashing grain at ten years, and 
reaping in the harvest field at twelve. And he must have been 
equally strong in self control, for at that time he made a solemn 
vow never again to drink spirituous liquor, and kept the pledge 
through life. 

In 1799 his father and mother went on an exploring expedi- 
tion into Ohio, and on horseback came into the Connecticut West- 
ern Reserve, buying two hundred acres of land in the township 
of Warren, Trumbull county. It had fifteen acres of Indian 
clearing, and before they returned they had raised a log cabin 
and cut away an acre of timber around it. 

The family arrived on the spot the next spring, on April 26, 
1800, and with them several of their Pennsylvania neighbors. 
On the Fourth of July they celebrated the birth of Independence 
when there were not fifty people beside them on the whole 
domain of the Connecticut Land Company. 

Mr. Case in his narrative gives a particular account of the 
celebration, when even the musical instruments were made on 
the spot ; the drum from the trunk of a hollow pepperidge tree 

223 



224 

with a fawn's skin stretched across the ends, and a fife from a 
large strong stem of elder. Every settler, man and boy, had a 
gun. 

From April, 1800 to October, 1801, this lad of fourteen, upon 
whom the whole family leaned for the heaviest work, the plough- 
ing, harvesting, hunting the cattle through forest and stream, 
ranging the woods for game, deer and bear, exulted in robust 
and untiring strength. 

Suddenly, with no premonition, he was prostrated with a 
fever in consequence of crossing the Mahoning river when over- 
heated, in pursuit of the cattle, resulting in ulcers which made 
him a cripple for life, and oppressed with pains which never, for 
a day, gave him relief, as long as he lived. 

This sickness was prolonged, and it was not till the end of 
two years that he was so far convalescent as to be able to sit up. 

It is a story which awakes our pity and admiration. How 
he determined not to be dependent upon charity or the labor of 
the others ; schooled himself in reading and writing ; invented 
and made instruments for drafting, and in order to get books 
and clothes, bottomed all the chairs in the neighborhood, made 
riddles and sieves for the grain of the farmers, and finally found 
himself necessary to those around him. 

Then his handwriting attracted the attention of the clerk of 
the court at Warren, and in 1806 he was absorbing all that there 
was to know in the laws and land titles of the country. 

He was appointed clerk of the Supreme Court for Trumbull 
county in 1806, and had an opportunity to study and copy the 
records of the Connecticut I^and Company in the recorder's 
ofiice, and when he was employed by Gen. Simon Perkins, who 
was the land agent of the company in 1807, he was made his 
confidential clerk. From that time till 1844, when Gen. Perkins 
died, they were bound together in strong and true friendship. 

John D. Edwards, a lawyer holding the office of recorder of 
Trumbull county, then comprising all the Western Reserve, 
also proved a fast friend; advised him to study law and fur- 
nished him with books to prosecute his studies. 

At this time he made an abstract of the drafts of the Con- 
necticut I^and pompany, showing from the records of that com- 
pany all the original proprietors of the Reserve and the lands 



I 



I 



225 

purchased by them, an abstract which was so correct that it 
became the standard beginning of all searches of land titles, 
and is still copied and used by all the abstracters and examiners 
of titles in all the counties of the Reserve. 

The war of 181 2 found Mr. Case at Warren, having among 
his other duties that of the collection of non-resident taxes on 
the Western Reserve. Having to go to Chillicothe to make his 
settlement, he prepared for his journey to the state capital by 
making a careful disposition of all official matters, so that in 
case of misfortune to him there would be no difficulty in settling 
his affairs and no loss to his bail. 

The money belonging to the several townships was parceled 
out, enveloped and marked in readiness to hand over to the 
several trustees. 

The parcels were then deposited with his friend Mr. Edwards, 
with directions to pay over to the proper parties should he not 
return in time. 

The journey was made without mishap, but on his return he 
found that his friend had set out to join the army on the Mau-. 
mee and had died suddenly on the way. To the gratification of 
Mr. Case, however, the money was found where he had left it, 
untouched. 

In 1 8 16 Mr. Case received the appointment of cashier of the 
Commercial Bank of Lake Erie, just organized in Cleveland. 
He immediately removed to Cleveland and entered on the dis- 
charge of his duties. 

These did not occupy the whole of his time, so to the avoca- 
tions of a banker he coupled the practice of law and also the 
business of a land agent. 

The bank, in common with most institutions of the kind, was 
compelled to suspend operations, but was revived in after years 
with Mr. Case as president. 

With the close of active duty in the bank, he devoted him- 
self more earnestly to the practice of the law and the prosecu- 
tion of his business as land agent. 

He had a natural taste for the investigations of land titles, 
and the history of the earlier land transactions. 

His business as land agent gave him scope for the gratifica- 
tion of this taste, and his agency for the Connecticut Land 



226 

Company from 1827 to 1855, enabled him still further to prosecute 
his researches. 

His strong memory retained the facts acquired until he be- 
came complete master of the whole history of titles derived 
from the Connecticut Land Company. 

From his earliest connection with Cleveland, Mr. Case took 
a lively interest in the affairs of the village, the improvement of 
the streets, maintenance and enlargement of the schools, and 
the extension of religious influences. 

For all these he contributed liberally and spent much time 
and labor. To his thoughtfulness and public spirit are due the 
commencement of the work of planting shade trees on the 
streets, which has added so much to the beauty of the city, and 
has won for it the cognomen of the Forest City. 

From 1 82 1 to 1825 he was president of the village. 

On the erection of Cuyahoga county he was its first auditor. 
He was subsequently (1824 to 1827) sent to the legislature, where 
he distinguished himself by his persistent labors in behalf of 
the Ohio canals. 

He originated and drafted the first bill providing for raising 
taxes on lands according to their value. They had been before 
that time taxed so much per acre without regard to value, and 
this change in the mode of raising taxes has been continued. 

His great experience and practical sense enabled him to fur- 
nish a system of checks and guards against carelessness and 
peculation, and his plan for systematic estimates and auditing 
of accounts on the great public works then set on foot, was 
adopted, and was a successful safeguard against frauds, jobbery 
and defalcations. 

He headed the subscription to the stock of the Cleveland, 
Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad Companj^ with the sum of 
$5,000, and was influential in the organization and direction of 
this first railway project in the interest of the city. 

One of the rules from which he never deviated was never to 
contract a debt beyond his ability to pay within two years, with- 
out depending on a sale of property. 

His opportunities of buying in the early days were, of course, 
unlimited. He never refiised to sell lands, nor placed any 



227 

obstacle to settlement and improvement by keeping large tracts 
out of market. 

He was thus enabled to accumulate acre after acre in what 
has since proved to be valuable portions of the city, and to 
acquire a large estate, which, in his later years became steadily 
remunerative. 

He married at Stow, Portage county, September 28, 1817, 
Miss Elizabeth Gaylord, a native of Middletowm, Conn. 

Soon after this he bought a small house and lot on Superior 
east of Bank street, where a block of stores belonging to Joseph 
Perkins' estate now stands, and resided there till 18 19. Here 
his son William was born August 10, 18 18. 



IV. 

From 1 8 19 to 1826 the family lived at the corner of Bank and 
Superior streets, in a frame house, which accommodated, also, 
the Commercial Bank, of which he was president, on the lot 
now occupied by the block of the Mercantile National Bank. 

Leonard Case, the second son, was born there June 27, 1820. 

In 1826 Mr Case had moved to the beautiful homestead on 
the east side of the Public Square, now occupied by the post 
office and Case Library. 

The dwelling faced the west and the business office fronted 
the Square nearer Rockwell street. 

Mr. Case had a broad German cast of features ; a lofty head, 
covered with an abundance of light brown or sandy Saxon hair, 
and his kindly eyes looked out through half opened blinds, 
never forbidding, but always uniform in • their welcome to all 
without respect of person. 

In those days, of the most conspicuous men in Cleveland, he 
seemed to stand for the solid landed interests of the Connecticut 
Land Company, of which he had so long been the resident agent. 

There were other grand men, like Richard Winslow, from 



228 

Maine and the Carolinas, owner of great square rigged vessels 
like the brig Rock Mountain and the steamer Bunker Hill — 
pioneer of the lake merchant marine, born to large enterprises 
and capable of command ; and Richard Hilliard, the most 
important merchant west of New York, the soul of honor and 
integrity, with over six feet of stature and the complexion of an 
Bast Indian, full of public spirit and father of the first railway 
projects, a Corinthian column of grace and elegance ; and 
Harvey Rice, the tall clerk of the courts, graduate of Williams 
College, advocate of culture, poetry, education, father of our 
present public school system. 

But lyconard Case, the senior, among these, appeared like a 
pyramid, for, although feeble physically, he was a tower of 
stre7igth, broad, square and lofty in wisdom, character and finan- 
cial stability. 

He was looked up to as the source of all wisdom on all Ohio 
land laws, most of which he had helped to mould, and all history 
of his state, of which he had been a part ; and there was not, 
probably, a man, woman or child in the town who did not feel 
at liberty to approach and shake his friendly hand as he sat in 
the carriage or in the arm chair of his ofiice. There was a 
respect for his position as a broad based landed proprietor, but 
there was a profound regard for his wisdom which was freely 
given to all men, high and low ; and there must have been a 
touch of sympathy for one who was seen to suffer daily ; had 
always from his boyhood suffered ph3^sical pain, but was never 
known to complain of his affliction, except to his medical man 
and his family. 



V. 

Both of the sons, William and Leonard, were quick and dili- 
gent in study, excelled in Greek, Latin and mathematics, and 
both were remarkable for their cheerful disposition and fondness 
for athletic sports. 



229 

The}^ attached to themselves fellows of every class, and it 
was enough ever after to excuse either of them for any prefer- 
ence or generous kindness to any of the old school fellows, that 
they had " ploughed Greek together." 

They attended such schools as the town afforded, among 
them the academic school of the Rev. Colley Foster at the cor- 
ner of Ontario and St. Clair streets, and afterwards, 1836 to 1838, 
the preparatory school of Franklin T. Backus, who was a grad- 
uate of Yale College and preparing for the profession of the law. 
He was fresh from the class studies, most thorough in his 
methods, and exacting in his requirements of students. He had 
also a talent for stimulating and elevating the efforts and aims 
of young men, and I do not believe that one of his pupils was 
not indebted to him for hints and training calculated to form 
and fortify high and manly character. 

His subsequent career at the bar of Cuyahoga county evi- 
denced great abilities, and its record is not marred by a single 
act unbecoming a man of the most scrupulous integrity. 

Among the students, beside the Cases, were Rufus K. Wins- 
low, John Williamson, Capt. Jcfhn Klasg5^e, Horace and George 
Kelley, George Hoadley (since Governor of the state), Nicholas 
Bartlett (treasurer of the Lake Shore Railway), Benjamin Bart- 
lett, Steven Whitaker, Henry C. Gaylord, Horace Weddell, the 
Cutters, Herman Canfield, William ShoU, John Coon, Edward 
McGaughy, Al. Norton, Jabez W. Fitch, H. Kirk Cushing, 
James D. and Thomas G. Cleveland, William and John Wal- 
worth. 

In the fall of 1838 Mr. Backus used all his powers to encour- 
age both William and Leonard Case to enter Yale. It was 
finally determined that William must supplement his father's 
strength and devote himself to active business duties, and on 
account of slender health avail himself of an out door non- 
sedentary life ; but Leonard, who disliked business, entered Yale 
and was of the class which graduated in 1842. 

William Case possessed qualities of mind of the highest 
order. He was remarkable for his activity, energy, elasticity, 
and grace of carriage. 

His fondness for hunting and natural history attached to him 
all the hunters of the town and of the west. 



2.^0 



• This coterie of naturalists included Professor Jared P. Kirt- 
land, of Rockport, Captain Ben. Stanard, Oliver H. Perry, 
William D. Gushing, son of Dr. Erastus Gushing, Rufus K. 
Winslow, Iv. M. Hubby, D. W. Gross, John Wills, Fayette Brown, 
Stoughton Bliss, Dr. Klisha Sterling and many others, all ardent 
lovers of natural history and the sports incident to it. 

There were no birds or animals in Ohio or Michigan un- 
known to these men, and John J. Audubon, the great naturalist, 
gladly acknowledged his obligations to William Case for original 
contributions to his list of newly named and discovered birds, 
and for valuable knowledge of their habits and homes. 

The office on the square was abandoned to the sportsmen, 
and a wing built to accommodate a thousand specimens of birds 
and beasts which they had collected, stuffed and mounted. 

This collection, in time, gave origin to the names "The Ark," 
and the "Arkites," by which the place and its coterie became 
known. 

Among the excursions he made in 1842 or 1843, with guides 
and comrades, was a voyage to and through lyake Superior, Lake 
of the Woods and the Red River of the North, thence down the 
Upper Mississippi in pursuit of new and undescribed birds and 
animals ; thence he returned home by St. lyouis and Cincinnati. 

In 1844 I met William Case in Philadelphia, and spent the 
day with him in the splendid collection of natural history in the 
galleries of the Franklin Institute. You can easily appreciate 
the delight he evinced as he examined the grand exhibit in a 
field in which he was enthusiastic. " One day." said he, 
^'Cleveland must have something like this; we will have an 
Academy of Natural Science, and a Library Association which 
shall be grand and worthy of the city ; Cleveland is a chrysalis 
now ; one of these days she shall be a butterfly ! " 

He had refined taste, cultivated the fine arts, indulged in 
pictures, and with his friend and schoolmate Rufus K. Winslow, 
executed very excellent specimens of watercolor painting, in 
which branch they were pupils of Stevenson, the artist. This 
facility of drawing and painting enabled him to convey to 
Audubon and others the colors and forms of newly discovered 
birds and other specimens of natural history. 

In 1850 to 1852 he was mayor of the city, having been 



231 

councilman with Henry B. Payne, L. M. Hubby and others for 
several years. His efforts were most successful in placing the 
municipality on a firm and sound financial basis, and in main- 
taining the city's safety through the most serious popular riot 
which ever menaced its peace, the Homeopathic College riot 
in 1851. 

He was most ambitious for the prosperity of the city and 
gave years of his most valuable energies to the purchase of 
the right of way for the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula 
Railroad (afterwards consolidated with other corporations into 
the Lake Shore Railway Co.), and in securing in spite of the 
Erie city war and Pennsylvania selfishness, the uniform railway 
gauge and passage through to Buffalo, and his services and 
ability led to his being selected as the president of the Cleveland, 
Painesville & Ashtabula Railroad Co., which office he filled 
with eminent success. 

When it is considered that in that early day the president of 
this road was an active organizer and manager, it will be easily 
understood how much a man of zeal, ambitious for the welfare 
and prosperity of his road and the city of which it was a great 
promoter, could and must do. He was untiring in his advocacy 
of new improvements and new methods ; of the introduction of 
accommodation and suburban trains, and in making successful 
the only great rival which the lake steamers, then the largest 
and finest on this continent, had ever had for the traffic between 
Cleveland and the west, and Buffalo and the seaboard cities. 

He was never suspected of taking a step for personal aggran- 
dizement. His public spirit was his ruling passion. He pro- 
moted and engineered the opening of Case and Willson avenues, 
and contributed to the beauty of the streets by tree planting. 
He also planted twenty or thirty acres of land on the lake shore 
with ornamental and fruit trees imported from England and 
France to assist and stimulate their cultivation in the city. 

He began in 1859 to erect a building which should accom- 
modate the Young Men's Library Association, and the Kirtland 
Society of Natural History, which he had not lost sight of since 
I met him in Philadelphia, and of which he had been an active 
promoter and officer. 
. He had traveled with his architect, C. W. Heard, and studied 



232 

all that could aid in making the construction perfect, but, 
unfortunately for his townsmen, his kinsmen and all who relied 
upon his bright promise of public usefulness, he died of con- 
sumption in 1862, leaving the building unfinished, to be com- 
pleted and devoccd sacredly to the purposes he had intended, by 
a father and brother who shared his public spirit and approved of 
all his intentions. 

His mother, Mrs. Case, had died August 30, 1857, soon after 
the removal of the family into the brick residence on Rockwell 
street, after the sale of the old homestead to the government. 



VI. 

Leonard Case, Sr., survived his son William only till Decem- 
ber 7th, 1864. 

His cotemporaries at the bar, at a public meeting alluded to 
one trait which was regarded as one of his crowning character- 
istics. After speaking with unstinted praise of his fostering 
influence upon the growth, beauty and institutions of our Forest 
City they said: " To no other man is due a greater debt of grat- 
itude from the inhabitants of the Western Reserve. 

"For many years he stood as the agent and friend between the 
original proprietors of the soil and the emigrants who settled 
upon it ; faithful and just to the former, he was kind and lenient 
to the latter. From his position made more familiar with titles 
than any one else, his knowledge and assistance were always 
proffered to the innocent holder and sternly refused to the unjust 
disturber." 

In spite of his bodily pain which never left him for a day 
since he was a boy, his industry was incessant, and the volumes 
of his records of transactions, of maps, accounts and correspon- 
dence were marvels of beautiful workmanship and accuracy. 
But what will be found most interesting and valuable is his 
history of his whole career, which had been so intimate a part 



233 

of the history of the Connecticut Western Reserve, which he 
wrote for his own inspection only, during the last decade of his 
life, to dispel the tedium of unoccupied hours. I have used it 
for authentic data in this brief sketch. Its publication some 
day will add vivid pictures of pioneer life, and much material 
for the historian of the Reserve. 



VII. 



The survivor, our Leonard Case, had graduated at Yale in 
1842. His career at college had been creditable to him in every 
respect. He wrote frequent and lively letters to his mother, and 
those which have been preserved give evidence of his desire to 
cheer and divert her in her feeble health, and a degree of filial 
affection which would not have been expected from his unde- 
monstrative nature. 

He boarded in commons, and participated in Freshman fights 
with the Sophomores, and in riots of the students with the town 
firemen, in which he acknowledges getting thrashed, but, under 
the hammering of four opponents, considers it no disgrace. 

He was thoroughly studious and devoured whole libraries 
of historical and general literature, and though he did not 
carry oflf honors and prizes, his classmates unite in saying that 
it was not because he could not have done so if he had chosen. 
They could only attribute his indiff"erence to the final victory to 
a wish that his closest competitor should carry off a prize which 
would ensure a favorable start upon a career ; but this is mere 
conjecture. It is certain that he did not neglect his opportu- 
nities, and that he excelled in mathematics and the languages ; 
that he was most industrious and devoted to his studies, as he 
continued to be in after life. 

From 1842 to 1844 he devoted his attention to the study of 
law and lectures in the Cincinnati Law School, and was admitted 
to the bar after the required examination. 



234 

« 

He opened a law office, but his endeavor probably never 
aimed at general practice, but rather to fit himself to be useful to 
his father and to the estate which must at all times demand his 
attention. 

He also largely devoted himself to literary pursuits ; wrote 
full and racy letters when on travels, and poetry of a humorous 
tone on the slightest provocation and with the greatest facility. 

His travels included a journey to Washington with Jacob 
Perkins in 1845, when they paid their respects to President Polk; 
a trip to Germany, Italy and Switzerland, with Prof. St. John of 
Western Reserve College and Prof. Loomis of Columbia College, 
from which he was brought home prostrated with sickness. 

He had always been confident of his athletic powers, and had 
participated in all the games of college life. 

Now he challenged his guide to a pedestrian race through the 
mountains and valleys of Switzerland. It was a hard contest 
against a hardy mountaineer, but youth and an extraordinary 
activity won the race. It was at a great cost. He was desper- 
ately sick with fever after it, and his courier carried him in his 
arms to the steamer in which he sailed from Havre, and nursed 
him till he delivered him safely to his friends in New York. 

He made, in 1863, during the war, an excursion with a party 
of comrades to Knoxville while the contending forces under 
Burnside and Longstreet were battling and countermarching for 
the possession of East Tennessee. 

He afterwards, in 1873, made, with friends, a journey to Cali- 
fornia, Mount Shasta and the Modoc lava beds in that vicinity, 
and was a guest of the United States post having in custody and 
charged with the execution of the Modoc chiefs condemned to 
be hanged for the murder of General Canby and others under a 
flag of truce. 

He had assisted his father in many ways, especially in office 
work and matters of account; but while he was most expert in 
all map making, letter writing, record making, calculations, pro- 
longed and persistent labor with pen and pencil, he disliked the 
conducting of business generally, and upon the death of his 
father, in 1866, he called to his assistance Henry G. Abbey, as 
his general business manager and confidential agent. 

From that time to his death, in 1880, Mr. Case was enabled to 



235 

devote himself to studies, literary and mathematical, to the care 
of his precarious health, and to the chosen friends whose society 
he enjoyed with keenest relish. 



VIII. 

Mr. Abbey relieved him of all business cares and was most 
eminently qualified for the duties which he had been called to 
undertake. 

He had lived in Cleveland from his infancy, and united great 
strength of mind to a thorough study of the law, long experience 
in business, knowledge of the world and a cultivated taste in 
literature. 

He had been a practicing lawyer in Milwaukee, clerk of the 
Wisconsin House of Representatives, a pioneer for gold in 1849 
in California; he had "rocked the cradle" on the sands of the 
Sacramento and Klamath rivers, and had brought back to Cleve- 
land the net resultvS — some gold dust and a full stock of expe- 
rience. He had settled down to sober hard work in his profession, 
had been much trusted as a master commissioner, referee, and 
administrator of estates, and was a thoroughly equipped and 
able coadjutor of all the projects and purposes of Mr. Case in 
relation to the property, and all other matters requiring counsel, 
labor and management. 

The estate was not only of such volume and varied quality, 
composed as it was, of city and farm lands, blocks of buildings in 
process of construction and under rental, situated near and re- 
mote from the centre of activity, that they involved negotiations 
and complications with all municipal and financial corporations; 
indeed with all sorts of men — capitalists, merchants, mechanics, 
laborers, farmers and gardeners. 

The business required a very high order of administrative 
qualities, and put the abilities of the confidential agent and 
manager to the highest tension. 



236 

In these relations Mr. Abbey was so well equipped as to bring 
to Mr. Case the perfect relief and exemption from care and vex- 
ation about his business that he aimed at, and gave him oppor- 
tunity for study and the pursuits that made his life tolerable. 

His struggle with broken health was also participated in by 
Mr. Abbey, who was always at his side with his cheering conver- 
sational powers. He accompanied him usually on his excursions, 
and stood like a tower of strength between him and the aggres- 
sive and persistent pressure of worldly affairs. 

No one could so well have given to you the story of that se- 
cluded life of lyconard Case — thoughtful for those he esteemed 
and respected, and wisely considerate for those who should come 
after him — as Henry Abbey could have done. 

He did not do it, and we must conclude that what he did not 
write or say of this life was as sacred in his possession as it had 
been during the lifetime of a man of whom he spoke in these 
few but comprehensive words, ''He was the wisest and best man 
that I ever hiewT 



IX. 

We must not suppose Leonard Case to be for a moment idle. 
From his earliest boyhood he was noted for his industry. He 
never went from home without making most elaborate histories 
of the incidents and accidents of his journeys; and to these are 
added full statistics and descriptions of all the places and persons 
he became acquainted with. 

Many volumes of hundreds of pages each were filled with 
these writings, and other volumes with solutions of complicated 
and difficult problems which had been given out in astronomical 
and other journals for solution by any who could cope with the 
subject. 

Besides these were the poetic works ; among them that most 
admirable and witty poem "Treasure Trove," the racy and 



237 

charming mixture of comedy, tragedy and satire, written about 
i860 and published in the Atlantic Monthly, and afterwards by 
Osgood & Co., of Boston, with spirited illustrations by Eytinge. 
Also a great many other shorter poems ; paraphrases of Italian 
poesy — of which " The Swallow," a translation from Tomasso 
Grossi's novel "Marco Visconti" seems to show the highest 
poetic merit, and is by many thought to be a more successful 
rendering of the exquisite sentiments of the original than any 
of the translations made by William Cullen Bryant, and other 
poets. 

Both of these translations, together with the original poem, 
were published in the Cleveland Herald after Mr. Case's death. 
They are now inserted here, with the appreciative comments of 
the editor, Mr. J. H. A. Bone, between whom and the author a 
long and intimate friendship had existed. 



AN ITALIAN BALLAD. 

About twenty-three years ago a small circle in the city, of 
which the late Leonard Case was a member, became interested in 
the study of Italian, and Grossi's novel was one of the works 
read. One evening Mr. Case read to the circle the following 
translation of the poem in the twenty-sixth chapter. 

THE SWALLOW. 

Little swallow, little ranger — 

Thou, to my veranda clinging — 
Every morning, little stranger, 

Brings to me thy mournful singing. 
If to me thou art appealing, 
What the woe thou art revealing ? 

Art thou lonely watches keeping 
For a faithless mate departed ? 
Are thy woes like these I'm weeping, 
Little widow, broken hearted ? 

Wail and wail ! if thou art telling 
Grief like that my heart is swelling. 



238 

Not like thine my lot unchanging : 

Trusting thou thy pinions sailing, 
O'er the lake and ledges ranging, 
Fillest thou the air with wailing — 
Calling, calling, broken hearted. 
On thy faithless mate departed. 

Oh! if I— but 'tis forbidden, 

Low and narrow walls repress me. 
Where the sun from me is hidden. 
Where the breeze cannot caress me. 

Whence my voice in accents hollow. 
Scarce can reach thee, little swallow. 

Soon the summer will be over. 

For thy flight already trimming. 
Soon, to distant lands a rover, 

Other seas and mountains skimming, 
Thou shalt waken, unavailing. 
Other echoes with thy wailing. 

I, with each returning morrow, 

' Mid the frosts when snows are falling, 
As I wake again to sorrow, 

Still shall think I hear thee calling : 
We together, broken hearted. 
Weep for love and hope departed. 

Spring will bring thee — to discover 

On this ground a cross they've made me. 
Swallow, come at eve and hover 

Where, at last to rest, they've laid me. 
Whisper peace to me departed 
When I'm buried, broken hearted. 



Ten years afterward W. D. Howells, in a paper on " Modern 
Italian Poets," published in the North American Review for 
April, 1867, spoke of Grossi's poem as "one of the tenderest 
little songs in any tongue," and said it "is in the heart of most 
young Italians and some are old who learned it long ago." In 
that number of the North American Mr. Howells gave a transla- 
tion of his own. In the summer of 1871 the Williams Review 



239 

contained a rendering by William CuUen Bryant, that immedi- 
ately gained wide circulation. Mr. Bryant's translation is as 
follows : 

THE SWALLOW. 

Swallow from beyond the sea ! 

That with every dawning day, 
Sitting on the balcony, 

Utterest that plaintive lay — 
What is that thou tellest me, 
Swallow from beyond the sea ? 

Haply thou for him who went 

From thee and forgot his mate, 
Do'st lament to my lament, 

Widowed, lonely, desolate. 
Even then lament with me, 
Swallow from beyond the sea ! 

Happier yet art thou than I : 

Thee thy trusty wings may bear. 

Over lake and cliff to fly. 

Filling with thy cries the air. 

Calling him continually. 

Swallow from beyond the sea. 

Could I too ! — but I must pine. 

In this dungeon close and low, 
Where the sun can never shine, 

Where the breeze can never blow. 
Whence my voice scarce reaches thee. 
Swallow from beyond the sea ! 

Now September days are near. 

Thou to distant lands will fly. 
In another hemisphere 

Other streams shall hear thy cry, 
Other hills shall answer thee, 
Swallow from beyond the sea ! 

Then shall I when daylight glows, 
' Waking to the sense of pain, 

Midst the wintry frosts and snows. 
Think I hear thy notes again— 



240 

Notes that seem to grieve for me, 
Swallow from beyond the sea ! 

Planted here upon the ground 
Thou shalt find a cross in spring : 

There, as evening gathers round, 
Swallow come and rest thy wing ; 

Chant a strain of peace to me, 

Swallow from beyond the sea ! 



Those of our readers who can read Italian will be interested in 
comparing the two versions with the original and noticing the 
peculiarities of each. 

RONDINEIvIyA. 

Rondinella pellegrina, 

Che ti posi in sul verone, 
Ricantando ogni mattina 
Quelia flebile canzone. 
Che vuoi dirmi in tua favella, 
Pellegrina rondinella. 

Solitaria nell' oblio, 

Dal tuo sposo abbandonata, ^ 

Piangi forse al pianto mio 
Vedovetta sconsolata? 
Piangi, piangi, in tua favella, 
Pellegrina rondinella. 

Pur di me manco infelice 

Tu alle penne abnen t'affidi, 
Scorri il lago e la pendice, 
Bmpi I'aria de'tuoi gridi 
Tut to il giorno in tua favella 
Ivui chiamando, o rondinella. 

Oh se anch'io ! — Ma lo contende 
Questa bassa, augusta volta, 
Dove sole non risplende. 
Dove I'aria aucer m'e loita, , 

Donde a te la mia favella 
Guinge appena, o rondinella. 



I 



241 

II settembre innanzi viene, 
E a lasciarmi ti prepari ; 
Tu vedrai lontane arene ; 
Nuovi monti, nuovi mari 
Salutando in tua favella, 
Pellegrina rondinella. 

Ed io tutte te inattine 

Riaprendo gli occhi al pianto, 
Fra le nevi e fra le brine 
Credero n'udir quel canto, 
Onde par che in tua favella 
Mi compianga, o rondinella. 

Una croce a primavera 

Troverai su questo suolo ; 
Rondinella, in su la sera 
Soora lei raccogli il volo ; 
Dimmi pace in tua favella. 
Pellegrina rondinella. 



It will be seen on careful examination that the version of Mr. 
Case is more literal than that of Mr. Bryant, whilst still graceful 
in style and poetic in language, and that the double rhymes of 
the original are carefully preserved in the Case version whilst 
completely ignored in that of Bryant. 



LEONARD CASE'S MILKMAID. 



Until the publication some years ago, first in the Atlantic 
Monthly and subsequently in a handsomely illustrated volume, 
of the semi-humorous narrative poem, " Treasure Trove," none 
but the most intimate associates of the late Leonard Case knew 
that among his many accomplishments was that of verse-making. 
A mathematician of rare ability — this, too, was known only to a 
select circle of friends — he combined with this the faculty of making 
verses that exhibited not only considerable technical skill, but 
also a sportive fancy and poetic expression. " Treasure Trove " 



242 

was his longest effort, and those who have read it and admired 
its easy flow and its many quaint conceits and bits of sly humor 
must have sometimes wondered why he did no more of the kind, 
or that he could have done it at all. The charming little trans- 
lation of " The Swallow " from the Italian, which was first 
printed in the Hkrald after his death, showed that he had the 
true poetic feeling as well as ability of expression. 

The origin of these poems, or diversions in verse as they 
might perhaps more properly be called, was peculiar and charac- 
teristic of the man. In discussing the subject of poetry with 
intimate friends he stubbornly maintained that there was no such 
thing as poetic genius ; that all that was necessary to the produc- 
tion of at least the average poem was practice and a good rhym- 
ing dictionary. The proposition was scouted as absurd by the 
other parties to the discussion, but Mr. Case maintained his point 
and insisted that he could prove it by actual experience. No one 
would accuse him of the slightest taint of poetic genius, but he 
would see what could be done. The result was "Treasure 
Trove." The question ever since with those acquainted with 
the facts has been, whether he did or did not prove his proposi- 
tion. Was "Treasure Trove " a mere labor of mental mechanics, 
like a mathematical calculation, or did poetic inspiration play its 
part ? Was Mr. Case's theory with its demonstration but another 
of the mystifications with which he sometimes amused himself 
and puzzled his friends ? 

Another illustration of his theory was offered in a trifle sug- 
gested by the story in the old Webster's Speller of the " Country 
Maid and Her Milk Pail." In one of his periods of " busy idle- 
ness" — for Mr. Case was never idle, though many of those unac- 
quainted with his ways supposed him to rarely occupy himself — 
he amused himself with throwing the storj^ into verse and tacking 
to it some fanciful " morals." This was known only to a very 
few intimate friends, and we do not know of a copy ever being 
made. The original, written in the beautiful small and clear hand 
which distinguished Mr. Case's penmanship, was found among 
his papers, at the head of the verses being a neatly executed 
pencil sketch of the milkmaid and her pail. The following is a 
verbatim copy of the verses, which are now for the first time 
printed : 



243 
THE COUNTRY MAID AND HER MILK PAIL. 



A milkmaid, once upon a day — 

No matter when, or where 
This thing befell ; suppose I say 

It happened " then and there," 
With dates and names I'm not concerned ; 

I know it all was true. 
'Twas in the book from which I learned 

My a-e-i-o-u. — 
Along a lane, with pace demure — 

I cannot say she skipped, 
In maiden style ; for so I'm sure. 

Her milk pail must have tipped. — 
Along the lane, which from the farm 

Unto the dairy led. 
She bore her pail ; not on her arm. 

But balanced on her head. 
Although her head was heavy, out, 

'Twas very light within ; 
And idle fancy set about 

Its idle webs to spin. 
Now, what the webs such fancies weave, 

Would not be hard to guess ; 
For, since the fall, like Mother Eve, 

All think, first thing, of dress. 
And some believe, who are above 

A slander on the fair. 
That woman's strongest trait is love — 

Of something new to wear.' 
Awhile she mused on gay attire, 

And saw herself in silk ; 
Then thought how much it might require — 

Which brought her to her milk. 
" Now, let me see : this milk when sold 

Will give, with what I've got, 
Enough to make my eggs, all told. 

Three hundred in the lot." 
[Excuse me here ; I cannot well 

Explain precisely how 
She had a right that milk to sell, 

Unless she owned the cow.] 



244 

" But eggs will stale, and vermin steal — 

Well, I could be ' all hunks,' 
And throw off fifty — that's a deal — 

For addles, rats and skunks. 
And fifty out would leave a batch 

Of five and twenty tens, 
* As sure as eggs is eggs,' to hatch. 

And grow to cocks and hens. 
Oh, yes ! I almost see the throngs 

Of fancy fowls I'll raise, — 
Of Cochins, Brahmas, Chittagongs, 

And Dorkings and Malays. 
'Tis summer now, and they shall grow 

To be in just their prime. 
And ready for a market show, 

About next Christmas time ; 
When some, who buy our poultry, pay 

Plump prices for the large ; 
And when we have what must outweigh 

Their neighbor's, we can charge. 
So, May-day next, I'll have, cash down — 

All gained from eggs and milk ! 
Enough to buy a bran new gown 

Of gaily colored silk. 
The color — green ? I've always guessed. 

When colors I have seen. 
That green would suit my style the best — 

Oh yes, it shall be green ! 
When next our fair-day comes, I'll go. 

Arrayed in silk attire. 
And watch the lasses sneer — and know 

They cannot but admire ! 
And when the fellows flock about. 

All rivals for my hand. 
To join the dance, perhaps I'll flout, 

And make them understand ! 
I might a pretty triumph gain, 

To tell the fellows. No, 
And fling away in fine disdain. 

And toss my head— just so." 

She tossed her head — then made a bound ! 

For — horror ! — something splashed ! 
She saw, and swooned ! for, on the ground, 

Her milk and hopes were dashed ! ! 



245 
Now this fable should furnish us 

MORAIyS, 

because 
There are " sermons in stones" ; and by parity, straws, 
Only studied aright, may be found to have lessons — 
Not so heavy as sermons, but lighter and less ones. 
At the least 'tis a proverb, as every one knows — 
" Straws show," if we watch them, " which way the wind blows." 
So, I'll toss up the fable awhile, for diversion — 
As it veers with the " wind," I must vary the version. 

In life's walk, never suffer your fancy to revel. 

But look out for " what's up," do your best " on the level." 

Should reverses befall you beyond your retrieving ; 

It is better to up and be doing, than grieving ; 

For your friends would be certain to call you a " spoon " for it, — 

Never " cry for spilt milk," above all never swoon for it. 

Never seem over anxious to go better dressed 

Than your neighbors ; one slip, and you're only their jest. 

If your head should be turned with the things you may get on it, 

You'll in some way betray you're a fool — you may bet on it ! 

Don't suppose that the fellows will flutter, and crowd 

To besiege you, because you are dressed " very loud," 

For they may — seeing more than the silk, though the hue 

Of the silk is the brightest — see you, through and through. 

To convey you the moral more clearly, I mean in it — 

They may shy at a dress, if there's Too mucpi of green in it. 

Should your fancy present you some plausible scheme, 

Very fine — in the future ; from this it would seem 

That you ought to be careful to tighten your grip 

On the good that you have ; for perhaps it may slip 

From your grasp, while you find at a phantom you've snatched, 

And have counted your chickens before they are hatched ! ! 



The following extracts from " Treasure Trove "^ v^ill give a 
taste of its varied style and flavor, but will not convey the beauty 
and piquancy which characterize the whole poem. 



246 

Who has not heard of the Ivion King 
Who made the harps of the minstrels ring ? 

Oh, well they might imagine it 
Hard for chivalry's ranks to show 
A knight more gallant to face a foe, 
With a firmer lance or a heavier blow, 

Than Richard I. Plantagenet ; 

Or gayer withal : for he loved his joke. 
As well as he loved, with slashing stroke, 

The haughtiest helm to hack at : 
Wine or blood he laughingly poured ; 
'Twas a lightsome word or a heavy sword. 
As he found a foe or a festive board. 

With a skull or a joke to crack at. 

Yet some their candid belief avow. 
That, if Richard lived in England now. 

And his lot w^ere only a common one. 
He ne'er had meddled with kings or states, 
But might have been a bruiser of pates 
And champion now of the " heavy weights,"- 

A first-rate " Fighting Phenomenon." 



After the siege and capture of the Castle of Chalus, at which 
Richard receives a mortal wound from an archer — who is taken 
prisoner — the last hours of Richard are told in the following 
lines : 

On a silken pallet lying, under hangings stiff with gold. 

Now is Coeur-de-Ivion sighing, weakly sighing, he the bold! 

For with riches, power and glory now forever he must part. 

They have told him he is dying. Keen remorse is at his heart. 

Life is grateful, life is glorious, with the pulses bounding high 

In a warrior frame victorious : it were easy so to die. 

Yet to die is fearful ever ; oh, how fearful when the sum 

Of the past is only murder, — and a fearful world to come ! 

Where are now the wretched victims of his wrath. The deed is done. 

He has conquered. They have sufi'ered. Yonder, blackening in the sun, 

From the battlements they're hanging. Little joy it gives to him 

Now to see the work of vengeance, when his eye is growing dim ! 

One was saved, — the daring bowman who the fatal arrow sped ; 

He was saved, but not for mercy ; better numbered with the dead ! 

Now, relenting, late repenting, Richard turns to Marcadee, 

Saying, " Haste, before I waver, bring the captive youth to me." 



247 

He is brought, his feet in fetters, heavy shackles on his hands, 
And, with eye unflinching, gazing on the king, erect he stands. 
He is gazing not in anger, not for insult not for show ; 
But his soul, before its leaving, Richard's very soul would know. 
Death is certain, — death by torture : death for him can have no sting, 
If that arrow did its duty, — if he share it with the king. 
Were he trembling or defiant, were he less or more than bold, 
Once again to vengeful fury would he rouse the fiend of old 
That in Richard's breast is lurking, ready once again to spring. 
Dreading now that vengeful spirit, with a wavering voice, the king 
Questions impotently, wildly : " Prisoner, tell me, what of ill 
Ever I have done to thee or thine, that me thou wouldest kill ? " 
Higher, prouder still he bears him ; o'er his countenance appear. 
Flitting quickly, looks of wonder and of scorn ; what does he hear ? 

" And dost thou ask" me man of blood, what evil thou hast done ? 
Hast thou so soon forgot thy vow to hang each mother's son ? 
No ! oft as thou hast broken vow%, I know them to be strong, 
Whene'er thy pride or lust or hate has sworn to do a wrong. 
But churls should bow to right divine of kings, for good or ill. 
And bare their necks to axe or rope if 'twere thy royal will ? 
Ah, hadst thou Richard, yet to learn the very meanest thing 
That crawls the earth, in self-defense would turn upon a king? 
Yet deem not 'twas the hope of life which led me to the deed : 
I'd freely lose a thousand lives to make thee tyrant bleed ! — 
Aye ? mark me well, canst thou not see somewhat of old Bertrand ? 
My father good ! my brothers dear ! all murdered by thy hand ! 
Yes, one escaped ; he saw thee strike, he saw his kindred die. 
And breathed a vow, a burning vow of vengeance, — it was I ! 
I've lived ; but all my life has been a memory of the slain ; 
I've lived but to revenge them, — and I have not lived in vain ! 
I read it in thy haggard face, the hour is drawing nigh 
When power and wealth can aid thee not, — when Richard thou must 

DIE! 
What mean those pale convulsive lips ? What means that shrinking 

brow ? 
Ha ! Richard of the lion-heart, thou art a coward now ! 
Now call thy hireling rufiians ; bid them bring the cord and rack, 
And bid them strain these limbs of mine until the sinews crack ; 
And bid them tear the quivering flesh, break one by one each bone ; 
Thou canst not break my spirit, though thou niayst compel a groan. 
I die, as I would live and die, the ever bold and free ; 
And I shall die with joy, to think I've rid the world of thee." 

Swords are starting from their scabbards, grim and hardened warriors 

wait 
Richard's slightest word or gesture that may seal the bowman's fate. 



248 

But his memory has been busy with the deeds of other times. 

In the eyes of wakened conscience all his glories turn to crimes, 

And his crimes to something monstrous ; worlds were little now to give 

In atonement for the least. He cries in anguish, " lyct him live. 

He has reason ; never treason more became a traitor bold. 

Youth, forgive as I forgive thee ! Give him freedom, — give him gold. 

Marcadee, be sure, obey me ; 'tis the last the dying hest 

Of a monarch who is sinking, sinking fast, — oh, not to rest ! 

Haply, He above remembering, may relieve my dark despair 

With a ray of hope to light the gloom when I am suffering — there ! " 



X. 

There were some traits by which Leonard Case was distin- 
guished from many other men of wealth whom we have known. 
Before he left school to go to college, his fellow students began 
to know him as one who hadn't a selfish thought. He loved to 
win in any athletic sport, and he generally did in any feat of run- 
ning, jumping, or test of active energy. 

He loved to win, too, by the excellence of his standing in rec- 
itation ; but there were instances when he was known to have 
failed in this contest when no reason could be suspected except 
that he was not willing to win at the expense of another fellow's 
feelings and ambition — but that was only a suspicion ; no one 
knew it from lyconard. 

There was no doubt, however, about his generosity. Books 
were expensive in those days, and when he gave away a Greek 
Reader, or Cicero, or Virgil to the boys of the lower classes 
whose fathers were in poor circumstances, and wouldn't wait to 
be thanked, it was a surprise of which they were in after years 
reminded by his greater generosities. He was never known, I 
think, to make a gift without care being taken that it should not 
have unnecessary publicity. 

If there was anything he hated and despised it was public 
mention of his gifts, and he disliked to have any expression of 



249 

gratitude from those upon whom he conferred benefactions. He 
studied conceahnent of these, and his stratagems to secretly con- 
vey gifts to deserving objects were most ingenious. 

When the great forest fires destroyed the settlers' cabins, 
barns, crops and cattle in the Saginaw Bay counties of eastern 
Michigan in 1870, and the sympathy of all the lake cities was 
aroused. Woods, Perry & Co., lumber merchants in this city, 
offered to transport and distribute the contributions of the 
citizens free. 

A steam barge took a cargo of provisions, building materials, 
household goods, tools and bedding, gifts of the people. When 
the barge was loading, one of the partners was approached by 
Mr. Case, who was, to him, a stranger, and after a few questions 
to ascertain whether money could be distributed, he said 
he had hunted in that country and had been hospitably 
entertained at many of the cabins of the settlers. He did 
not wish to send aid to any particular one, but to those 
most in distress, and he laid on the desk his check for a hand- 
some sum — the largest that had been given. Mr. Perry told him 
that his wishes should be carried out carefully, and that the con- 
tribution would appear in the Leader on the next day, with 
others. Mr. Case took back the check at once and said very 
firmly : " This can go only on the condition that it be kept from 
any publicity in the newspapers." Of course it went. 

When Mr. Andrew Freese, the first superintendent of the 
high school, whom Mr. Case held in high regard, came to him to 
ask him to send a lad to college, a lad who was poor but burned 
with a thirst for a better education, Mr. Case told him he would 
not give the boy the amount necessary, but he would le7id it, and 
it must never be spoken of except as a loan ; and the terms had 
but one other condition — that the lad should loan an equal 
amount to some other boy for the same purpose, when he should 
come to such success in life as would allow him to do it. , Mr. 
Freese told me that the boy went to college on these terms. 

So skillfully and ingeniously did he sometimes manage the giv- 
ing, that his gifts seemed to the recipients to come from the sky, 
and there seems to be an indelicacy in our now speaking aloud 
of some which raised clouds of sadness from whole families, and 
brightened lives that, otherwise, would have known no sunshine. 



250 

There were surprises given to the worn out minister which 
told him to go and take a rest in the Green Mountains; and 
checks to the chaplain of the Bethel that gave him a vacation on 
the seaboard, and their surprise and enjoyment was his benedic- 
tion. His confidence and regard for the wisdom and goodness of 
Dr. Goodrich, pastor of the Old Stone Church, was such that he 
gave the doctor liberty to draw on him at any time for such 
amounts as he thought Mr. Case ought to contribute to any case of 
distress within his parish. 

He never made any demonstration of religion, but these 
things speak louder than words, that he had respect for religious 
teachers and charitable women, and a full estimation of the work 
they do in elevating mankind. Nor did he allow any display of 
hard conditions in his most important gifts; for instance, the 
endowment of the Case Library Association of twenty thousand 
dollars, which was done by Mr. Abbey's simple act of laying 
down twenty U. S. bonds of one thousand dollars each on the 
table of the society's treasurer, without a condition or a receipt, 
marginal note or practical observation to mark so important a 
benefaction. 

In 1876 he conveyed the Library Building and Case Hall to 
the Library Association, with no reservations except the rights 
of existing leases, one of which was to his chosen friends the 
" Arkites ; " and it need hardly be mentioned here, for it can 
never be forgotten that he gave to the Cleveland Orphan Asylum 
the ground on St. Clair street on which its present elegant home 
is situated ; and large additions to the acreage occupied by the 
Home of the Industrial Aid Society on Detroit street. 

It has always seemed sigularly interesting, the beginning of 
another phase in his life. At the book store of Cobb Brothers 
there appeared one day in 1865, a plain young man with a rustic 
air who enquired of the senior brother if they had that work of 
the great astronomer La Place of France, The *' Mechanique 
Celeste'' Mr. Cobb was astounded. It was the first time he 
had ever had such a call for a work he had himself only read of 
in the scientific catalogues. When he had taken in the serious- 
ness of the young man's enquiry he told him that they not only 
had not the work, but it was doubtful if there was a copy on the 
continent outside of the college libraries, or in the observatories 



251 

where astronomers were found who could use it. The young 
man said he wished he would ascertain. 

Mr. Cobb promised, and the youth left his name and his resi- 
dence on a Brecksville farm. 

Mr. Case coming in soon after, Mr. Cobb told him of the un- 
usual enquiry. Mr. Case said he had the work and wondered 
what manner of man was he who sought a book only known to 
the astronomers and mathematicians. 

He rode fifteen miles the next morning and made the most 
gratifying discovery of his life. It is said that the greatest dis- 
covery that Sir Humphrey Davy made was the discovery of 
Farraday; so the happiest discovery that lyconard Case made 
was that of John N. Stockwell, and what came of it should be 
told by one who knows the results of the close friendship of 
these two men. 

Months and years were occupied in associated study, and in 
calculations of problems incident to the movements of the 
heavenly bodies ; measuring planetary influences, and striving to 
give greater accuracy to the predictions of the celestial phenom- 
ena. These results were published at great cost by Mr. Case. 
They can only be read and tested by a few men — astronomers 
who are able to cope with the subjects ; but they have added to 
the common stock of knowledge in America and Europe, and 
reflected credit upon the authors and the city from which they 
were sent forth. 



XI. 

In 1876 the project of devoting a share of his estate to the 
founding of a scientific school seems to have been fully perfected. 
It is not necessary to enquire whether the idea was entirely 
original with him. It was foreshadowed by his father's expres- 
sions of a desire to do something for the education of indigent 
youth, having been taught by the struggles of his early life how 



252 

bitter is the lot of men who, born with a divine thirst for knowl- 
edge, are unable to attain it; and it was foreshadowed by the 
half formed projects of Wm. Case, who lived, moved, and had 
his highest enjoyment in anticipations of libraries, galleries and 
museums of art and natural history ; projects unrealized, but 
never forgotten by the surviving brother. 

It remained for lyconard, the last one of his family, to fully 
and carefully devise a plan by which he would benefit the youth 
of his native city. 

It was a work to which he brought the most generous spirit, 
a long foresight of the future wants of a country expanding and 
developing untold resources of mines and manufactures, and a 
religious regard for the honor and wishes of his father, and the 
enthusiastic projects of his brother. 

He sought every aid for the development of his thought by 
consulting others who had wisdom, experience, and love of learn- 
ing. He corresponded with Dr. John S. Newberry of the School 
of Mines, Columbia College, and other eminent educators in this 
country, all of whom confirmed him in his determination to 
found a School of Applied Science. 

He believed that he could do most to express the debt of 
gratitude which his father always acknowledged to be owing to 
the city in which he had prospered, by extending a helping 
hand to those who v/ere making a start in life. He had begun 
to do this in occasional instances ; now he would put the busi- 
ness upon a broad and well founded basis, equipped and fortified 
for all future time. He believed that he could devise nothing 
better for the youth of Cleveland and his state than to provide 
them with the means of obtaining at their very doors, a sound, 
extensive and practical scientific knowledge. 

He thought that colleges which only aimed at the culture of 
men by long years of devotion to the ancient Greek and Latin 
literature and mathematics, ought to be supplemented by schools 
where the application of pure science to particular classes of 
problems would meet the demand of an age of progress in man- 
ufactures, arts, mining, railroads, and electrical engineering, and 
enable men to unlock the secrets of nature and our country's 
hidden resources. 

He hoped to enable every lad whose capacity, ambition and 



■253 

strength of fibre were sufficient to pull him through the gram- 
mar and high schools of the city, and to profit by the opportu- 
nities offered him by a scientific school, to step at once into the 
practical application of all his knowledge and culture to the 
problems with which a daring, aggressive, energetic people were 
already wrestling. 

The country was full of minerals and coals, and all the inci- 
dents of transportation and manufactures required engineering, 
chemistry, science, to give perfection and success to the forces 
and processes to be used. Men must be thoroughly trained to do 
good work, and good work is alone of any value. Others must 
be trained for original investigation ; to carry the light into the 
darkest and remotest secret of the natural world, which gives up 
its best and most valuable things only to the hardest fighters, the 
most persistent brain, the most untiring searcher after truth. 

He had faith in the theory that it was better to build up 
strong, intellectual, practical men than to pile marble monuments 
to the skies. It was godlike to endow a man for time and eternity ; 
the monument was but the perishable plaything of mortal man. 
More than this — that the work of such men, ambitious to dis- 
cover and explore, to spread abroad the knowledge of their con- 
quests over material things, and their crucial tests of truth, was 
only excelled in value by another result — the elevating, purifj^- 
ing influence which highly educated men, loyal to truth and 
superior to mere mercenary motives — always radiate over and 
through the community in which they live. 

Who can estimate the influence of the life of such a man as 
Agassiz, or of the sentiments he illustrated when he replied to 
the tempting offers of men who told him he could make a for- 
tune by a lecturing tour through the country — by saying, simply, 
" I cannot afford to waste time in making money." 

To the foundation of a school of applied science, then, 
Leonard Case resolved to devote a handsome share of his fortune, 
leaving another large share for the law to distribute among his 
father's kinsmen. 

He availed himself of the counsel of the Honorable Judge 
Rufus P. Ranney and his careful drafting of the -legal papers to 
ensure the proper limitations of the trust, and perpetuity of the 
benefaction. 



254 

On February 24, 1877, he delivered the trust deed to Mr. 
Henry G. Abbey which invested him with the title of lands to 
endow " The Case School of Applied Science " in the city of 
Cleveland, in which should be taught by competent teachers, 
mathematics, physics, engineering, mechanical and civil, chem- 
istry, economic geology, mining and metallurgy, natural history, 
drawing and modern languages, and such other kindred branches 
of learning as the trustees of said institution might deem advis- 
able. 

As there was nothing he disliked more than notoriety, and 
especially such notoriety as is won by apparently ostentatious 
deeds of benevolence, the course he took in this matter eifectually 
prevented any public knowledge of his purpose until he was 
beyond the reach of any public or individual gratitude. 

His death occurred January 6, 1880. By an iinremitting 
battle with disease he succeeded in reaching nearly his sixtieth 
year. For the last six or eight years, however, it had been a 
struggle for mere existence, his broken health gradually but 
surely declining in spite of the best care and highest medical 
skill. 

That day one of his oldest friends paid this tribute to his 
character : " Those who knew him well must say that no kinder- 
hearted, no truer friend had lived than IvKONArd Case ; and 
nowhere could be found a man more worthy of the name of 
gentleman, in its highest sense." 

" The actions of the just 
Smell sweet, and blossom in the dust." 

James D. CIvEvki^and. 



Tract No. 80. 

WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 

CLEVELAND, OHIO. 



History of Man in Ohio. 



A PANORAMA, 



An Address Delivered at Norwalk, Ohio, Before the 

FiRELANDS Historical Society on the 

25th Day of June, 1890. 

BY 

Judge C. C. BALDWIN, . 

President of the Western Reserve Historical Society. 



History of Man in Ohio. 
A panorama. 



A/TR. HERBERT SPENCER has a happy way 
-^ ^ -*- of so saying things, that they appear, after he 
has spoken, to be self-evident. In his very readable 
little book on Education, he speaks of the importance of 
history, the summing of past experience ; while as told 
for students, all that is most important or interesting is 
generally omitted and there are summaries and narra- 
tives of lives of kings or nobles, long accounts of battles, 
from which little resulted to the race — while modes of 
life, dress, food, industries, thought, speech, civil gov- 
ernment and beliefs are left untold. After some strik- 
ing examples of the uselessness of history as generally 
written Mr. Spencer continues: "That which consti- 
tutes history proper, so called, is in great part omitted 
from works on the subject ; only of late years have his- 
torians commenced giving us in any considerable 
quantity the truly valuable information. As in past ages 
the king was everything and the people nothing ; so in 
past histories the doings of the king filled the entire 
picture, to which the national life forms but an obscure 
background ; while only now, when the welfare of 
nations rather than of rulers is becoming the dominant 
idea, are historians beginning to occupy thernselves with 
the phenomena of social progress. That which really 
concerns us to know is the natural history of society." 



— 258-- 

Great changes have taken place in the study of history 
within a few years. It may be that the recent students 
have come to it with views too utiHtarian, but the revo- 
lution is quite complete and happy. To thoroughly 
understand even some small topic is more interesting 
and useful than a table of dates. 

The advantages and pleasures of history should be 
near akin to those of foreign travel and arise from a 
contrast of different lives and modes of lives. He who 
thoroughly understands a past period of his own 
country has traveled abroad. A thorough contrast of 
two periods is worth more than the continuity of narra- 
tives. Hence the favorite study now of epochs. It is 
the life and character of man that interests us and his 
actions in unusual scenes, new to us, delight us. More 
and more are we studying man as man and his primeval 
state, as we learn more of it, becomes more and more 
fascinating. To study the complete genealogy of man 
and nations is too great a task. It is the whole experi- 
ence of all mankind, and hogsheads of ink and an eter- 
nity of time would hardly suffice. Happy then for the 
pleasure of an original research and romantic interest 
in history is that country, which, within a few years, has 
passed from a complete savagery to the most complete 
civilization. I speak advisedly and thoughtfully when 
I say that nowhere on the globe is the pursuit of his- 
tory, I will not call it study, so easily profitable and 
interesting as in Ohio. 

The first we know of your favored Firelands, as they 
are approaching from geology to history, is just previ- 
ous to the ice age. There was then no Lake Erie. It 
is now a shallow lake, except in the lower end, rarely 



— 259 — 

over 1 20 feet deep ; the middle portion from Point 
Pelee Island to Long Point is level and from sixty to 
seventy feet below the surface of the water. Beyond 
Long Point it is deeper. The channels of the pre- 
glacial rivers flowing towards it were about as deep as 
it. That of the Cuyahoga was 150 feet or more deeper 
than now. ^ Your pre-glacial channels were likely more 
shallow. The river flowing to the east of Lake Erie 
was north of the present Niagara and had no falls of 
consequence. The bed of Lake Erie must have been 
a wide and very level plain with a river somewhere 
through it.* The country before us had little soil and 
deep, wide valleys to its streams. But there took place 
one of the most inexplicable changes of climate on our 
globe. Nearly the whole North seems to have been 
covered with a continent of ice, moving in a southerly 
direction, bearing with it stones and dirt and leaving 
behind it a country much more fertile than it had found. 

The limits of that ice sheet on the south entered the 
east of Ohio at its middle and going irregularly to the 
south-west, entered Kentucky east of Cincinnati, and 
west of that city entered Indiana. It made a great dam 
at Cincinnati, five or six hundred feet high, forming a 
great lake called by its discoverer, Professor G. F. 
Wright, of Oberlin, Lake Ohio. Any one who will 
contrast the fertility of your soil with that in southeast 
Ohio, will see that that ice sheet had much to do with 



♦Since the above was written I notice a new and well fortified 
theory of Professor J. W. Spencer that there were two distinct rivers, 
one draining the eastern part of the present bed of the lake and the 
other draining the western part of the present bed, the last flowing 
towards Lake Huron. 



_260 — 

your history and position. The Hmit reached by the ice 
is well marked and plain, so that one can stand upon it 
and look on either side. No easier example of the influ- 
ence of nature upon man can be had than by travel up one 
road and down another, to zigzag the terminal moraine. 
On the north are rich fertile farms covered with the best 
of soil for wheat, and generally entirely covered with 
wheat ; the fine houses and still larger barns tell what 
the ice did for Ohio ; while on the other side of the line, 
there is very little wheat and grass instead, many of the 
houses are small and unpainted, and the small barns 
are dilapidated. 

The north of the line has a wide rolling scenery with 
a horizon miles around inviting one to a similar scene 
from it. 

The south is more broken ; deep narrow valleys, high 
rugged hills and narrow horizon. The instant and total 
contrast will not be forgotton by one who sees it. The 
pre-glacial surface Is hard indeed for railroads that do 
not follow valleys or streams, and nearly all the com- 
merce of a thousand miles from north and south of the 
great west, passes through the sixty miles from Lake 
Erie to the southern glacial limit 

No region is so favored as your own, in Its beautiful 
examples of ice-rock sculpture, within and just by your 
limits. That fine steamer, the City of Cleveland, two 
years ago carried nearly all the leading scientists of the 
country to Kelley's Island to see there the beautiful 
grooves in the limestone. Prof. Wright's splendid vol- 
ume on the Ice Age In North America, partly written 
on your soil, has much of Ohio and almost photo- 



— 261 — 

graphic illustrations of what is within the easy personal 
reach of each of you. 

The other islands than Kelley's are remarkably cov- 
ered, and Starved Island with its planed striated surface, 
the huge boulders where the retreating ice dropped 
them, and the amazing channel cut through it twenty 
feet wide by at least six and a half feet deep, seems 
almost like supernatural work. It is almost a fairy 
island. It is well worth while for some of you, to study 
your wonderful subterranean streams, occasionally 
showing their place. What reason have these fascinat- 
ing rivers for their existence and locality? Are they in 
the site, perhaps at the bottom of the old pre-glacial 
channels, and were they covered by the boulder clay of 
the ice period? It seems not improbable, and perhaps 
some local person will study it out, as in Cuyahoga 
county, Dr. Gould, a druggist of Berea, has studied out 
the pre-glacial channel of Rocky river. His method 
and the result, appear in one of the publications of the 
Historical Society of Cleveland, to be found in the 
library of your society.* 

The Ice Age brought to your vicinity the first pio- 
neers from another country, your boulders. The 
American Association visited last year the original 
home of many of these strangers, and I am told that 
the rocks of Georgian Bay look quite familiar to the 
friends of these boulders. That would be from a direc- 
tion a little east of north, yet it happened some years 
ago that a young girl picked up upon the beach at Mid- 
dle Bass Island a rock of worn jasper pebbles imbedded 



♦Tract Number 70. 



— 262 — 

in white quartz, which unmistakably came from Lake 
Superior. It was also found by Professor Wright in 
Kentucky below Cincinnati. The same is in my yard, 
brought down by a vessel. This is not too far back for 
the history of man, for while this was going on here, a 
little south of the ice, streams were depositing gravel, 
and deep in that gravel, deposited when it was laid, are 
the undoubted implements of glacial man, following up 
the ice. It is not my purpose to describe him. What 
may be found of him, here, as the ice retreated, is not 
known, but it may safely be presumed that the earliest 
known man knew something of your vicinity. His tools 
of flint, chert or argillite were very simple and few. His 
learning was the slightest. But what is of great interest 
is, that he seems to have been in Europe as here, and 
with very similar life and tools. In both continents he 
seems to have improved little and to have disappeared. 
There is not yet proved any gradual advance by him to 
a higher civilization. The American was so like his 
European brother that one may well believe them near 
akin. 

His mark upon the earth was so small, that high au- 
thority believes that some catastrophe overwhelmed 
him altogether ; but perhaps it only happened that 
some civilized man raised him at once to a higher civili- 
zation, perhaps in a servile condition. 

No temperate region in the world affords a finer field 
for the study of that glacial age than Ohio. 

If either glacial man was our ancestor, it was he of 
Europe, but study of his condition seems here much the 
same as there. 



— 263 — 

As the ice retreats, and before Niagara river was as 
it is now, the lake ridges formed the lake bed, and the 
immediate surface of the northern part of the Firelands 
was determined by that fact. 

In the South one may sometimes see on all the sur- 
face, the evidence of the ice ; while in the North 
underneath the rearrangement made by Lake Erie, is 
found pure boulder clay or other ice deposit. Where 
now the tunnel is being constructed by the city of Cleve- 
land, to reach pure water, there is till filled with stones, 
with planed and scratched surfaces, each giving unmis- 
takable evidence of its origin. 

But as said, glacial man disappeared, in relics sud- 
denly, here as in Europe, but very likely here as there 
overcome by a superior civilization from the south. 
After the Ohio had broken the dam at Cincinnati and 
regained its former channel ; after the plateaus had been 
formed and the surface of Ohio became as it is at pres- 
ent, there appeared a new man, the Mound Builder. He 
was a mound builder. Nowhere on the globe are there 
so many and such large earthworks as those in Ohio ; 
vast mounds of all shapes and sizes ; vast squares and 
circles and astonishing fortifications. Any one who 
stands within the vast earth circle of Newark, or travels 
the ten miles of earthworks at Fort Ancient, deems 
them a wonderful people, who patiently carried together 
in baskets that vast earth. 

The Firelands were again on the fringe. The Mound 
Builders loved corn, and the southern fertile valleys of 
Ohio, which are to-day full of their finest work, are to- 
day, as perhaps then, covered with the finest of that 



— 264 — 

cereal. Undoubted Mound Builder works, but smaller 
and less in number, may be found in Northern Ohio. 
There is nothing* to connect them with migration to or 
from Mexico. Weapons and tools of rubbed and chip- 
ped stone ; copper pounded but not cast, and galena 
not melted to lead, though both were sometimes placed 
on funeral pyres, unglazed pottery, no burned bricks, no 
stone buildings, nor stone hardly ever used even to lay 
in forts otherwise that as dirt was used ; using baskets 
to carry dirt, making a very coarse cloth or matting, 
having no alphabet ; they must have been industrious 
and agricultural or they could not have built such 
immense works. Living mainly on corn, with a govern- 
ment strong enough to combine them patiently, prob- 
ably through priestly superstition, their civilization was 
not higher than some Indians when America was dis- 
covered. It is said that the mystery of them is to be 
removed, but how? 

Shawnees were in Ohio and builded the stone graves. 
Cherokees were there and were buried there ; but how 
much work they did may not be easily known. 

But could this tribe of Iroquois stock, wild, savage, 
fierce beyond measure, living by the chase, have had 
such sedentary habits as some Mound Builders must 
have had? The mystery around them may and no 
doubt will be dispelled in part ; but not so far but that 
there will be patent mysteries beyond. Their works 
were extensive, and probably they came into Ohio from 



*High authorities think differently but it is theory rather than evi- 
dence that gives currency to such a belief unless I am wrong. 



— 265 — 

the south or southwest ; the continuity of works is in 
that direction. What more natural or probable than 
that they were displaced, or pushed to the south, by 
these northern invaders, and that their descendants 
lived in the South? Nor was there anything in the life, 
habits or character of the Indians inhabiting the South 
of our country when it was first founded, inconsistent 
with such a supposition, and in deed, much to support it. 

Here again was repeated the story of Europe. Civili- 
zation had come from the South ; in America more 
feeble and less. Southern Europe and its relations to 
other countries, were all favorable to education. In 
Europe, the civilization of the South had gained from 
surrounding and older countries, connected, rather than 
separated by water. 

The situation of the countries around the Mediterran- 
ean was singularly favorable to mental growth and edu- 
cation. The more the south of Europe is studied, the 
more is its early indebtedness to Phcenecia and Africa 
proved. Besides, Europe was blessed with such ani- 
mals, as were easily tamed and best adapted for man's 
use ; while America, an older continent, seemed more 
unfortunate. And Europe had access to three conti- 
nents, and to vast changes in climate and conditions. 
Here, as in Europe, the Northern overran the Southern. 
In Europe he was conquered by the southern civiliza- 
tion, though not by the southern people, as there was 
not such difference in the character of that civilization 
as to subdue him. 

Another curious parallel seems likely to be proved 
between Europe and America. Professor Putman, for 



— 266 — 

the Peabody museum, has restored to its primitive con- 
dition the famous Serpent Mound of Ohio. He has 
also there made extensive excavations and has un- 
earthed many Mound Builders. Most of these seemed 
to have been round headed men, or as better suits the 
scientist, brachy cephalic, though perhaps not always so. 

The modern Indians of the north are dolicho cephalic, 
or long headed. So that in the main, the invaders of 
the North, a long headed race, rolled upon a southern 
round headed race. Such was also the case in Europe, 
but there, the lines were not so closely drawn but that, 
though the statement was true in the main, it was not a 
universal fact. 

With these savage conquerers, the Firelands first 
emerge to history, by relation of eye witness. For the 
word pre-historic grows more and more improper. The 
past, even if there is no direct relation of actors, emerges 
more and more into light and truth. 

There is no satisfactory evidence of any intermediate 
race between the Mound Builders and the modern 
Northern Indian. If we believe the earth, the ances- 
tors of Indians who inhabited Ohio, in historic times, 
met the Mound Builders, The evidence seems quite 
satisfactory that these Indians came from the North, pri- 
marily from the Northwest. There were two races, the 
Huron Iroquois and the Algonquins. The former were 
related in language to the Dakota or Sioux, so that 
there came from the north two great divisions of savage 
tribes. It seems not improbable that both met the 
Mound Builders. 

This new race coming into historic view upon the 
Firelands is of interest. He is the man met by our own 



— 267 — 

grandfathers and dispossessed, and rightfully dispos- 
sessed by them. For, without adhering to any theory 
of Henry George, we may safely believe that people 
are not entitled to such wasteful use of land as that of 
the Indian. 

It is a race worth studying in itself ; a fine sample of 
primitive man ; not so debased as degenerated tribes of 
warmer climates ; comparatively simple in its religious 
beliefs ; superstitious, timid and courageous; bold, proud 
men of the new stone age, of the 7ieolithic, as said by 
scientific men who value science more when clothed in 
forgotten language. The Mound Builders and the 
modern Indian belong to that age, distinguished in 
Europe from the pceleolithic — old stone or glacial man. 

It may be of interest to see what kind of men they 
were, of the neolithic age, who were our own ancestors. 
Caesar met them and described them, and they were 
savages ; though then more advanced than our Indians. 
His narrative has been supplemented by much else in 
written history and in archaeology and I quote from the 
description of our own Aryan ancestors at an earlier 
period in Mr. Isaac Taylor's recent and excellent little 
book. 

" The most recent results of philological researches, 
limited and corrected, as they now have been, by archae- 
ological discovery, may be briefly summarized. 

" It is believed that the speakers of the Aryan tongue 
were nomad herdsmen, who had domesticated the dog ; 
who wandered over the plains of Europe in wagons 
drawn by oxen ; who fashioned canoes out of the trunks 
of trees ; but were ignorant of any metal with the possi- 
ble exception of native copper. 



— 268 — 

** In the summer they Hved in huts, built of branches 
of trees and thatched with reeds ; in winter they dwelt 
in circular pits, dug in the earth and roofed over with 
poles covered with sod or turf, or plastered with the 
dung of the cattle. They were clad in skins, sewn to- 
gether with bone needles ; they were acquainted with 
fire, which they kindled by means of fire-sticks or 
pyrites, and if they practiced agriculture, which is 
doubtful, it must have been of a very primitive kind, but 
they probably collected and pounded in stone mortars 
the seed of some wild cereal, either spelt or barley. 
The only social institution was marriage, but they were 
polygamists and practiced human sacrifice. Whether 
they ate the bodies of enemies slain in war is doubtful. 
There were no inclosures, and property consisted in 
cattle and not in land. They believed in a future life ; 
their religion was shamanistic ; they had no idol, and 
probably no God, properly so called, but reverenced 
in some vague way the power of nature." 

Save in animals suitable for domesticity, this early 
description of our early ancestors might answer well 
for the American Indian.* 



*At the time the comparison here made was written I was not 
aware that it had ever been made before, through it seems to me a 
very obvious one. In The Chautauquan, for October, 1890, that 
most able and eminent gentleman, Dr. Edward A. Freeman, says a 
great French writer made a similar comparison between * ' the Ger- 
man natives when we first hear of them in history," and the " Red 
Indians of America" and criticises it. My comparison, it is noted, 
is confined to the prehistoric Aryans and a much larger and more 
complete parallel might be made. The "Five Nations" also had 
made some advancement in government and set some example of 
union which the colonists did not disdain to follow. 



i 



— 269 — 

Even that disappears in comparing early Denmark, of 
which Mr. Taylor says (page 60) : 

''The stone implements found in the kitchen niiddens 
or shell mounds of Denmark are more ancient in charac- 
ter than those from the Swiss lake dwellings ; indeed 
they are considered by some authorities to be meso- 
lithic, forming a transition between the pseleolithic and 
neolithic periods. The people had not yet reached the 
agricultural or even the pastoral stage — they were 
solely fishermen and hunters, the only domesticated 
animal they possessed being the dog, whereas even in 
the oldest of Swiss lake dwellings the people, though 
still subsisting largely on the products of the chase, had 
domesticated the ox, if not also the sheep and the goat. 

"These shell mounds are composed of the shells of 
oysters and mussels, of the bones of animals and fish, 
with occasional fragments of flint or bone and similar 
refuse of human habitation." 

This description does not seem to differ from the 
Indians upon the Atlantic coast and their also, extensive 
shell mounds. 

The Indian, for his uncorrupted and aboriginal type 
has great interest, even though Colden was far too 
sanguine when he likened the Iroquois to the Romans. 

The Northern tribes, as stated, were of two distinct 
tongues, dissimilar in words but alike in grammar — the 
Algonkin and Huron- Iroquois. The Cherokees, of the 
Iroquois tongue and the Shawnees of the Algonkin 
stock, both differed most from their kin. Both were 
separated and towards the South ; both had lived in 
Ohio ; both had corrupted language and were in earliest 



— 270 — 

times in Indian language " Attiwandaronk," speaking a 
little different language. The Shawnees, while in Ohio, 
curiously separated Algonkin tribes on the west and 
east, whose tongues were more like each other than 
that of either like the Shawnee language. 

Is it not probable that these were the advance guard 
of the great Northern irruption and met the Mound 
Builders, and near the limits of the Firelands first rolled 
back their enemies ? 

The victory of savagery was complete, Ohio became 
a wasted and savage country. Such was Indian tradi- 
tion, and whether or not tradition was history, such was 
the fact. 

So that Algonkins and Huron-Iroquois became 
masters of Ohio soil. And as we hear from the Jesuit 
Relations, both of these great lingual nations lived in 
Ohio ; the Eries in the east and the Algonkins in the 
west. 

But wars kept on and no matter what by Indian rela- 
tion led to them, they were sure to come. The Eries 
first pushed toward the east and then attacked by the 
Iroquois proper, not far from 1655 they ceased to exist 
as a separate nation — said to be exterminated, but in 
those days there were two ways of extermination, one 
by death and the other by adoption. 

The Algonkins were driven back. Your part of 
Ohio was thereafter peopled, much as the boulders 
came, by strangers driven from foreign parts. By 
Wyandots and Ottawas around Lake Erie, driven by 
the Iroquois from the east of Lake Huron, much where 



— 271 — 

the boulders came from. The story is learnedly, ele- 
gantly and eloquently told by Mr. Parkman. Over- 
taken by common misfortune, these two nations pre- 
sented long thereafter the anomaly in history, of dwell- 
ing in intimate friendship of tribes so different in 
language. For, without reason as it may seem, a differ- 
ence in language, is most apt to create hostile feeling. 
From that time, down to the complete settlement of the 
whites, these two tribes lived on that favored spot for 
savages, the neighborhood of Sandusky Bay. The 
savage nations, mainly the Senecas, the western and 
most numerous (largely by adoption) of the Iroquois, 
inhabited or rather temporarily visited the eastern part 
of your land. As your part of Ohio was thus settled, 
if settlement it be, from each side we catch occasionally 
interesting glimpses of life here, and only by peeping 
in on either side. 

In 1744, in the noble work of Charlevoix, (Paris 
Edition) in the map by the ''ingenious Mr. Bellin," 
attached to royal service, and spread along your land 
from Sandusky Bay to the Cuyahoga river is the* 
French legend, reading in English : *' All this coast is 
nearly unknown.'' 

France was in the west and England in the east, 
striving for its possession, and in English eyes, as 
shown in Mitchell's large map of 1755 this same land 
as shown by a legend in the same place, was described. 
"The country, supposed to be forty miles by trail from 
the Cuyahoga to the Sandusky is called * Canahogue ' 
and is the seat of war, the mart of trade and chief hunt- 
ing ground of the six nations on the lakes and the Ohio. 



— 272 — 

'Fort Sandoski' is on the west side of the River Blanc, 
usurped by the French 1751." 

Occasionally after that is a war expedition, a French 
trading house, an English expedition, some white 
prisoners. 

Pontiac's war was partly across these limits. The 
Indian nations continued the same, and, as savage 
nations are apt to be, unsteady and unreliable. 

The road from French to English forts was sure to be 
little traveled. From the first, this was much the posi- 
tion of the south of Lake Erie, until by further settle- 
ment and enterprise on either side, that collision was 
precipitated, which was sure to come at last. The travel 
of the French was mainly to the north, yet occasionally 
they visited this vicinity from the west for trade, or 
even from the north for shorter travel. 

Among the Parisian documents is a memoir of the 
Indians in 1718. The author says : ** Whoever would 
wish to reach the Mississippi easily, would need only to 
take this beautiful (Ohio) river or the Sandosquet ; he 
could travel without any danger of fasting, for all who 
have been there, have repeatedly assured me that there 
is so vast a quantity of buffalo and other animals in the 
woods along that beautiful river, that they were often 
obliged to discharge their guns, to clear a passage for 
themselves. To reach Detroit from this river Sand- 
osquet, we cross Lake Erie from island to island and 
get to a place called Point Pelee, where every sort of 
fish are in abundance, especially sturgeon, very large, 
and three, four or five feet in length. There is on one 



— 273 — 

of these islands so great a number of cats that the 
Indians killed as many as nine hundred of them in a 
very short time." 

The hunting and fishing stories here seem large ; still 
the traveler on the Ohio may have met a drove of 
buffalo in stampede. The route to Detroit is that 
adopted by General Harrison in 1813. 

From 1 718 on, we hear from time to time, of French 
and English traders and houses in this border country. 
Either occupation of itself, would make an interesting 
study, and collection of notices of the French would be 
instructive. All was not peace to them, for in 1747 five 
were killed at one time at Sandusky. The vast number 
of documents in existence as to American affairs, show 
that English (perhaps American) traders were here as 
well. The French war, where Washington first ap- 
peared in protection of the west and in disaster secured 
respect, ended in a surrender to the English of all the 
west. 

But the actual savage owners were not yet evicted, 
and Pontiac traveling to the east, across this territory, 
met the English. A second and cruel war followed. I 
do not propose to rehearse it. Parkman's Pontiac 
should be in every good library in Northern Ohio. 

In May, 1763, Fort Sandusky was captured by trick 
and burned at night. But Pontiac, even if he issued fiat 
money, could not stand against numbers and civiliza- 
tion, and the west was English territory. 

From that time on existed a characteristic frontier 
condition — a series of border differences and uncertain- 
ties. It is said, and truly, that savages are like chil- 



— 274 — 

dren, indeed very much like children, driven here and 
there b)- impulse and not governed by cool reasoning. 
Indeed, it may well be doubted whether cool reasoning 
has not been mainly developed in man, by a stationary 
and agricultural life, being induced mainly by a desire 
for the preservation of his own. At any rate, the 
Indians were now friendly and now unexpectedly inim- 
ical. Some of their cruelties seem fiendish, and close 
by seems piety almost like that of the early Christians. 

In 1 767 Mr. Charles Beatty was sent to visit the tribes 
west of Fort Pitt. His journal is rare and I use the 
copy belonging to the library of Congress.* 

His description of Pennsylvania as he passes the 
frontier, is pathetic. He says : ''The house I preached 
at to-day was also attacked by the Indians ; some were 
killed in the house and others captivated. It was truly 
affecting to see almost in every place on the frontiers, 
marks of the ravages of the cruel and barbarous enemy. 
Houses and fences burned, household furniture des- 
troyed, the cattle killed and horses either killed or 
carried off, and to hear the people relate the horrid 
scenes that were acted. Some had their parents killed 
and scalped in a barbarous manner before their eyes 
and themselves captivated. Women saw their hus- 
bands killed and scalped, while they themselves were 
led away by the bloody hands of the murderers. Others 
related that they saw the cruel scenes and that they 
themselves narrowly escaped." 

Yet as Rev. Beatty went on to the country now Ohio, 
whence came these cruel murderers, and ended, his jour- 



*The Western Reserve Historical Society has since procured it. 



— 275 — 

ney on the Tuscarawas, he was much encouraged ; his 
preaching seemed most acceptable, and there was an 
invitation from the Indians of Qui-a-ho-ga to the Indians 
of New Jersey to settle with them ; the intention being 
to there make a large town and then try to get a minis- 
ter among them. It may be gratifying to know that 
Chief Thepisscowahang, who gave information as to 
''Quiahoga," also informed the travelers that ''there were 
three other nations or tribes, viz: the Chippeways, Put- 
teotungs and Wyandots that lived near the lake that is 
Erie, who discovered a great desire to hear the gospel." 
Rev. Beatty said that he understood '' that these tribes 
used to hear the French ministers preach, who wor- 
shiped God in something of a different way from us and 
therefore perhaps would not hear us." The chief 
replied, "that he was pursuaded and that he knew, if a 
minister of our way, would go out among them, it would 
be very agreeable to these nations and that many of 
them would join us." 

The text of the invitation to settle among these West- 
ern Indians is lost, but the answer is preserved in full. 
Its tones savors of strong piety and it is most interest- 
ing, but it is too long to be presented. They return the 
belt of wampum and say : 

"Brother, we thank you in our hearts, that you take 
so much care of us and so kindly invite us to come to 
you, but we are obliged to tell you, that we do not see 
at present how we can remove with our old people, our 
wives and our children, because we are not able to be at 
the expense of moving so far, and our brothers the En- 
glish have taken us into their arms, as fathers take their 
children and we do not think we ought to go without 



— 276 — 

their assistance and protection. We have here a good 
house for the worship of God, another for our children 
to go to school in, besides our dwelling houses and 
many comfortable accommodations, all of which we 
shall lose if we remove. We have also a minister of 
Christ, to instruct us in all our spiritual concerns and 
lead us to Heaven and happiness, which are of more 
worth to us than all the rest. 

'* Brothers, we have found how we may escape ever- 
lasting misery and be made perfectly happy for ever and 
ever. 

"Brothers, it is made known to us and we are sure 
that our bodies, which now die and turn to dust, shall 
be raised again at the last day of the world ; also that 
our souls shall then be united to them and we shall be 
alive again, as we are now, and live forever, never to 
die more, and it shall be so with the whole race of man- 
kind. 

"Now, brothers, we have learned what we must be 
and what we must do, to escape this world of misery 
and obtain this place of happiness and we wish that you 
and all the Indians everywhere knew it as we do." 

Mr. Beatty says that the Chippeways (probably 
largely Ottawas) are supposed to be 1,400 or 1,500 in 
number, all in one town ; the Putteotungs (Pottawata- 
mies) are considerable as to number in another town ; 
the Wyandots about 700 persons, are likewise one town, 
which is^about sixty or seventy miles distant from Qui- 
ahoga, the intended Delaware Christian town." 

The proposed Christian settlement did not take place. 



— 277 — 

Yet the Firelands were to become connected with the 
most touching of such settlements. The Delaware 
Moravians with their missionaries, founded from Sax- 
ony, were to suffer martyrdom at Gnadenhutten in Tus- 
carawas county, with a fortitude that savored both of 
Indian hardihood and Christian patience, On this river 
(Huron) they founded Pequotting and New Salem. 

But before this, this territory was to witness a variety 
of scenes, traversed for many purposes of peace and 
war, by well marked trails; by General Bradstreet in his 
unfortunate expedition, outwitted by the Indians living 
on these lands; by traders French and English; by Col. 
Crawford on his savage errand, cruelly and at once 
punished. After the Revolution, this was still a border- 
land — the British still keeping the West. The treaty of 
peace was here a dead letter. Expeditions continued 
from time to time. Yet before the war of 1812, Bad- 
ger and Atkins were to preach among the Indians of 
the vicinity. These things are copiously related and 
easily read. 

The war of 181 2 is not so clearly known. The 
American relators were of Kentucky, and told many 
more tales of their own doings than of Ohio. The En- 
glish papers, however, are in the capitol at Canada, 
ready to give new light. From an occasional view we 
know Ohio did its part. Striking Champaigns were on 
the Sandusky and further west. Perry's victory was 
even heard here. 

The very title of the Firelands grew from the sorrows 
of war. The destructive expeditions in Connecticut 
have been esteemed wanton cruelty, but in Mr, Fisk's 



— 278 — 

remarkable little book on the Revolution, are seen to 
have had a very definite, important but ineffectual pur- 
pose. The purpose governed the execution of it. There 
are yet in Hartford many books and papers relating to 
these lands — open for your use — and which if you do 
not do this service, will sometime be thoroughly ex- 
amined by the Historical Society of Cleveland. 

Such history as is common to you with others I can- 
not enumerate. 

Within the memory of many of you, the Indians made 
their last farewell to this country, transported by the 
government against their will to scenes which yet were 
more suitable to them. I think not unworthy of history 
is the Wyandot's farewell, partly rescued near you by 
oral memory. 

** Farewell, ye tall oaks in whose pleasant green shade, 
I've sported in childhood, in innocence played, 
My dog and my hatchet, my arrow and bow, 
Are still in remembrance — Alas, I must go. 

*' Adieu*, ye dear scenes, which bound me like chains, 
As on my gay pony I pranced o'er the plains, 
The deer and the turkey I tracked in the snow, 
O'er the great Mississippi — alas, I must go. 

*' Sandusky, Tyamochte and Broken Sword streams, 
No more shall I see you except in my dreams, 
Farewell to the marshes where cranberries grow. 
O'er the great Mississippi — alas, I must go. 

**Dear scenes of my childhood, in memory blest, 
I must bid you farewell, for the far distant West ; 
My heart swells with sorrow, my eyes overflow, 
O'er the great Mississippi — alas, I must go. 



— 279 — 

The last verse shows a revulsion of feeling not un- 
natural. 

" Let me go to the wildwood, my own native home, 
Where the wild deer and elk and buffalo roam ; 
Where the tall cedars are, and the bright waters flow, 
Far away from the pale face, oh there let me go." 

If my discourse has seemed too general, it is no acci- 
dental mistake. The art of history is much like paint- 
ing. In the library of Oxford University are numerous 
original drawings — many studies made by Raphael and 
Michael Angelo. In some of these studies of the 
human figure each artist has drawn first the skeleton, 
then the muscles, then the skin, and sometimes over all 
the drapery. How instinct with life and beauty is the full 
representation made by these artists from these studies. 
So in history the frame has its use, though the pattern 
is to be full wrought, to be most pleasing and instruc- 
tive, and my purpose will be quite served if any believe 
it and feel more inclined to study the history of Ohio. 

It is an easy and fresh field ; where the materials are 
in the earth, in the history of the East and the West, 
American, English and French ; and so short a time is 
it since the first settlement of Ohio that the memory of 
some living may relate history of people quite different 
from ourselves. 

If we trace from Adam — as in genealogy the way is 
long and cold ; but here the scenes change and come 
before us as in a theatre. 

The curtain rises and we see glacial man, scanty in 
resources, with his hand-struggle with rugged nature. 
The curtain drops, he goes out we know not where. 



— 280 — 

Again it rises, and the Mound Builder is on the stage 
— mysterious, yet recognized and known in part ; 
enough known and enough unknown to cause a roman- 
tic interest. 

The curtain drops again — we are still discussing 
whence he came, what became of him, — when on the 
stage we see several actors in long following scenes of 
dramatic interest — of tender, touching affections, so 
that even returned captives willingly become again 
captives ; but often hard and pitilessly cruel, exhibiting 
in every way and as freely as in Shakespeare the pas- 
sions of men. He but held the mirror up to nature. 
The play of the third and fourth acts run together ; 
English and French appear ; hostile to each other, each 
sometimes friendly and sometimes unfriendly with the 
Indians. 

There are Indian wars sometimes patriotic, always 
passionate. 

There appears in one of the scenes of the fourth act 
the romantic apostles of peace — the Moravians, with 
their wonderful sacrifice reminding of the early Chris- 
tians. The massacre may have been matched only in 
that vast pagan theatre — the Colosseum, where so many 
Christians at once were sent "ad Leonem." 

The fifth act is now being played. The persons came 
on the stage partly in the previous act. The American 
has conquered the country and its difficulties. All 
nature seems to have changed ; new and magic forces 
seem at work. If the play is not as strong in tragedy 
there is much more that is spectacular and vivid. Civi- 
lization has accumulated by arithmetical addition to such 



— 281 — 

figures as have never yet been gained and never lost. 

Where else is such dramatic history and where such 
favored place for study? Much of the world has con- 
tributed to the history of the Firelands. The Firelands, 
in the last act, is contributing to the history of the 
world. 

Its citizens have been prominent in the wonders of 
the age, in railroads, in telegraphs and in national 
finance. One of its boys is most celebrated in the 
wonderful inventions using invisible forces in sound and 
in electricity. 

One. by his work in most distant and cruel chmes, 
which first published in our country and now read in all, 
has so directed attention to the great remaining cruel- 
ties of the world that it would seem that a great result 
must follow. Only a few steps off, the whole nation 
came for a chief magistrate who to the undoubted dig- 
nity and purity of administration has added the most 
dignified and worthy life in retirement ever led by an 
ex-chief magistrate of our nation. 

Other triumphs in literature and art are advancing. 

The whole makes a wonderful picture proving that at 
home you have a history most interesting and worthy 
of pursuit. 



ERRATUM. 



Middle of page 277 read: The British still keeping their 
influence in the VVe3t. 



Tract No. 81. 

WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 

CLEVELAND, OHIO. 



The OHIO RAILROAD: 



THAT FAMOUS STRUCTURE BUILT 



ON STILTS. 



A Paper Read Before the Western Reserve Historical 
Society of Cleveland, Ohio, January 15th, 189 1, 

BY 

C. p. LELAND, Esq., 

Auditor of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern RailroAd Company. 



THE OHIO RAILROAD: 

THAT FAMOUS STRUCTURE BUILT ON STILTS. 



The railroad is but sixty years old. When George Steph- 
enson made the trial trip of his little locomotive, the 
" Rocket," from Manchester to Liverpool in September, 
1829, successfully, it was instantly recognized in this country 
as well as Europe as the coming method of land transpor- 
tation . 

Indeed the two countries were abreast in experimenting 
on this new and strange motive power. Two or three in- 
ventors in this country produced small locomotives in 1829. 
In 1830 the locomotive, " Best Friend," was built at the 
West Point foundry, and made its trial trip in November on 
the South Carolina railroad which, strange to say, is our 
oldest railroad. 

This year, 1830, is the first year in which the United 
States is credited with any railroad — 23 miles. 

Europe, with the accumulated wealth of centuries, and the 
United States, with the accumulated wealth of centuries — to 
get — started in a neck to neck race in railroad'building. It 
was slow work for the United States, with no money, and a 
superabundance of poverty, to get under headway. 

From 1830 to 1860, the first half of the sixty years, the 
record shows 30,626 miles, but 1861-1890, the last half of the 
sixty years, shows 136,546 miles. Total to the end of 1890, 
167,172 miles. 

To get a better hold on the marvelous work of the last 
thirty years in this one branch of our material development, 
please take in this fact : 

There was built, equipped, and put into active operation, 
where no railroad existed before, in thirty years, a mileage 



— 266 — 

equal to forty-one railroads clear across the continent from 
;^i^ew York to San Francisco via Chicago, a distance of 
3,338 miles. 

And this notwithstanding that during four of the thirty 
years this nation was engaged in putting down a rebellion 
that wiped out a thousand million dollars of accumulated 
capital. 

But what about the race with Europe in railroad con- 
struction ? 

At the end of 1888, the latest figures attainable, of all the 
railroads on this globe the United States had 44 per cent.; 
Europe, 37J per cent., and the rest of the world, 18J per 
cent. Western hemisphere, 53 per cent.; Eastern hemis- 
phere, 47 per cent. — Total, 100. 

The railroads of the United States have cost about nine 
and three-quarter billions of dollars, and give direct employ- 
ment to three-quarters of a million of men, supporting five 
per cent, of our population, and indirectly to another large 
army of workers, getting out the material used by railroads. 
The tons of freight moved in 1889 aggregated 619,137,237 
and the number of passengers was 495,124, 767, about eight 
times the population of the United States (62,622,250.) 

Surely you will agree with me that we can spend profit- 
ably a few minutes going back to the birth of this giant, 
and living over the struggles of our fathers in starting this 
most beneficial factor in the civilization and comfort of the 
human race, struggles that seem to us almost ludicrous, but 
to them were burdensome and even painful. 

The year 1836 was a year of the wildest speculation. Of 
course it was in land — cities on paper, mainly — for then 
there was nothing else to speculate in. The south shore of 
Lake Erie, sparsely settled as it was, was platted into city 
lots at every indentation on the coast, and one speculator, 
wilder than the others, predicted one solid city from Buffalo 
to Cleveland. One man, in 1836, paid |2,500 for a lot in 



— 267 — 

Fairport, the best harbor on Lake Erie. In 1886, fifty years 
later, his children were oflered only |200 for that lot. There 
may be a little food for thought in this to those who have 
invested in oil and natural-gas boomed towns, especially the 
farming land additions thereto, at fancy prices. Had that 
man put that $2,500 in a savings bank at six per cent., com- 
pounded semi-annually, his sons could now draw out the 
comfortable sum of $47,976.40. 

Moral : Don't buy lots in a " boom," but put your money 
in a savings bank. 

Per-contra : About the same time, 1836, another man 
bought 102 acres of quagmire and sand of the United States, 
paying therefor $127. 86J. In fifty years that land was 
worth about ten million dollars. Of course that was in 
Chicago. 

Moral : Don't put your money in savings banks, but buy 
land, only be sure you buy it in the right place. — Always 
buy in Chicago in 1836. 

Out of that wild speculation, and as an adjunct thereto, 
sprang, in 1836, that unique enterprise the Ohio railroad. 

The first railway project in which the few people then in 
Northern Ohio were especially interested was that of Col. 
DeWitt Clinton, of New York, a civil engineer of promi- 
nence, hut not the DeWitt Clinton who built the Erie Canal. 

He promulgated, in 1829, the plan for the Great Western 
Railway, starting from New York city, thence to and up the 
Tioga, intersecting the head waters of the Genesee and Alle- 
ghany rivers, thence to Lake Erie, along the Lake Shore> 
crossing the Cuyahoga, Sandusky, Maumee and Wabash 
rivers, to its western terminus where the Rock river enters 
the Mississippi (Chicago was not ''in it" in tho^e days). 
The distance was 1,050 miles and the estimated cost $15,- 
000,000, or about $15,000 per mile, undoubtedly a close, care- 
ful estimate. 

But soon after came another and most startling project to 



— 268 — 

do all this for less than a million dollars. It was to be built 
on a double line of piles, or posts, with planks edgewise, to 
be bolted thereto. I^o iron rails or chains, or even ties. 

This most economical plan (on paper) with the addition of 
a light strap-iron rail, was adopted by the Ohio Railroad 
Company. 

The company was organized at the Mansion House in 
Painesville (then kept by Joseph Card), April 25, 1836. The 
incorporators were : R. Harper, Eliphalet Austin, Thomas 
Richmond, G. W. Card, Heman Ely, John W. Allen, John 
G. Camp, P. M. Weddell, Edwin Byington, James Post, 
Eliphalet Redington, Charles C. Paine, Storrn Rosa, Rice 
Harper, Henry Phelps and H. J. Rees. 

The charter (a most liberal one) was obtained largely 
through the efforts of ]!^ehemiah Allen, of Willoughby, then 
a representative from Geauga county (now Lake), who was 
made president of the company. 

The charter gave the company, like its neighbor on the 
west, the Erie & Kalamazoo Railroad, the banking privilege, 
which was utilized, as is vividly remembered by the survivors 
who got " stuck," by the issue of three or four hundred 
thousand dollars of currency. This currency could never 
truthfully say or sing " I know that my Redeemer lives" for 
it never was redeemed. 

But the main reliance of the company financially was the 
celebrated Ohio Plunder Law 'passed in 1837. As this law 
was unique — nothing like it before or since — permit me to 
enlarge upon it and its frightful results. The story was well 
told by that veteran journalist, Charles B. Flood, of Colum- 
bus, nearly ten years ago, after delving among dusty records 
of the State with a true love for the preservation of history. 
Would there were more like him ! Here is the story of the 
Plunder Law of 1837. C. B. Flood in Cincinnati Enquirer: 

The fearfully wild speculation in regard to internal im- 
provements which followed the completion of the Ohio and 
Miami canals, would inevitably, if not checked in time, 



— 269 — 

have bankrupted the State and given Ohio the unenviable 
fame attached about that time to the repudiating States of 
the Republic. 

In the midst of this wild mania for canals, turnpikes, and 
railroads, the Ohio Legislature, March 24th, 1837, passed 
" An Act to Authorize a Loan of Credit by the State of 
Ohio to Railroad Companies — also to Turnpike, Canal and 
Slackwater !N'avigation Companies " — which law soon after 
received the name and is known as, par excellence, the 
" Plunder Law," and well it deserved the name. 

It provided — divested of legal verbiage — that the State 
should loan its credit in six per cent, stock to the amount of 
one-third of the authorized capital, if the other two-thirds 
had been paid in " to the companies organized to build rail- 
roads," etc., thus forcing the State to become a partner to 
the extent of one-third interest in all these schemes. The 
State received stock in these various enterprises for its 

bonds. 

THE ROADS THAT GOT A SLICE. 

The Auditor of the State made a special report December 
27th, 1847, giving the State subscription to railroad com- 
panies as follows : 

Mad River & Lake Erie, - - $293,050 
Little Miami, . - . . 121,900 

Vermillion & Ashland, - - 48,450 

Mansfield & Sandusky City, - - 33,333 

Total, .... $496,733 

"Upon which," the special report of Auditor JohnBrough 
says, "no dividend or profit has as yet been received." 

(The Legislature, in 1864 or 1865, ordered the stock in 
Mad River & Lake Erie, also in Sandusky, Mansfield & I^or- 
walk, sold. The Sinking Fund Commissioners, sold to Rush 
R. Sloane, in June, 1866, $395,800 of common stock in Mad 
River & Lake Erie Railroad for $33,840.90 (between eight 
and nine cents on the dollar for what had cost the State par 



— 270 — 

nearly thirty years before) and $4,588, preferred stock, same 
road, for $2,283.42, thus closing out the State's costly invest- 
ment in that road. This was the entering wedge of Sloane's 
control of that road so long.) 

" The credit of the State," the report proceeds to say, " in 
form of issues of its stock which was loaned to sundry rail- 
road companies for which no return was made, is as follows : 
Ohio Railroad Company, - - $249,000 
Fairport & Painesville, - - - 6,182 

$255,182 
Total investment in railroads, - 1751,915 

Some of these companies paid dividends, notably the Little 
Miami, which by dividends on stock (stock dividends) in 
1851, had run the State's interest up to $200,000 and paid a 
cash dividend that year of $13,008.09. 

To the same date the Mad River & Lake Erie Company 
by stock and bonds had increased the State's investment to 
$359,850; and had paid a cash dividend of $15,024. The other 
roads had paid nothing. 

TURNPIKES. 

The State issued its bonds to twenty-five companies to the 
extent of $1,853,365.21. But thirteen companies ever 
returned any dividends, and these were reported in 1851 as 
amounting to $38,106.76. 

CANALS. 

The investment in turnpikes was almost a total loss. 
The Cincinnati & Whitewater Canal got, $150,000 
The Pennsylvania & Ohio Canal got 450,000 

This latter canal was sold by Auditor Taylor to Gov. 
Tod's Cleveland & Mahoning Railroad for nothing, and less 
than nothing, as the canal carried with it several thousand 
dollars taxes then in the treasury. This transaction gave 
color to the criticism that Taylor was interested with Gov. 
Tod in the railroad. 



— 271 — 

RECAPITULATION. 

The State investment in 

Railroads, | 751,915 

Turnpikes, - - - - 1,853,365 

Canals, 600,000 



Grand total, - - - S3,205,280 

The law, which was but an ingenious device for making 
each citizen of the State rich at the expense of the whole, 
was repealed March 17th, 1840, when vast preparations 
were being made by designing men to get up new companies 
to still further fleece the State. 

You will readily see that this law offered a premium on 
dishonesty. To illustrate : If a subscriber to the stock put 
in a lot or farm at its real value, say $2,000, the company 
would get but 11,000 out of the State. If, however, he put 
it in at 110,000 the company would get $5,000 out of the 
State. As it was Ohio State stock the company wanted, 
and wanted badly, the absurd valuations claimed by sub- 
scribers to stock were not questioned or reduced. We will 
see how this resulted later on. 

While the project contemplated a line of road from the 
Pennsylvania State line to what is now Toledo, a distance 
of 177 miles, the two paper cities to be "boomed" were 
Richmond on the east, and Manhattan, three or four miles 
down the Maumee river from Toledo, a Buffalo Land Com- 
pany's speculation. Richmond was located by Thomas 
Richmond on the west bank of the Grand River, a mile from 
Fairport at its mouth and two miles from Painesville. Ohio 
City, Elyria, Sandusky and Fremont were on the contem- 
plated line. 

Of course the chief engineer, Cyrus Williams, had to get 
out a glowing preliminary report, and he was- equal to it. 
Just think of the difficulties that hedged him in. 
There was not a mile of railroad in operation west of the 
Alleghanies, and only about five hundred miles in the 



— 272 — 

United States, all new and experimental. Ko statistics, no 
annual reports, nothing to guide him. Yet he drew from 
his imagination this glowing future for the Ohio Railroad: 

"By reference to the map of the United States, and 
examining the routes of improvements completed and in 
contemplation, it will be seen that from Maine to Virginia 
in the East and South, and from Lake Superior to Arkansas 
in the West, they all concentrate and unite with your road." 

I have been writing annual reports for the last thirty-five 
years, and in some years, in lieu of dividends, pointed the 
stockholders to " the glorious future of their great prop- 
erty," and have sometimes flattered myself that it was fairly 
well done, but that takes all the conceit out of me. I take 
off my hat to Mr. Williams. As I shall not refer to him 
again, I will add he was an able engineer, was connected 
with our C. C. & C. road afterwards; also the then Mad River 
& Lake Erie, and died one of the many victims to that ter- 
rible scourge, the cholera, in Sandusky, 1849. 

But let us return to his glowing prospectus : " Through 
half of the year, when the navigation of the lakes is ob- 
structed with ice, this must be the traveler's only route, and 
the saving of time and the safe and regular transit by rail- 
road must secure through the remainder of the season a 
large portion of the travel. When we compare the delay, 
damages and accidents incident to lake navigation, the high 
and fluctuating prices of freight, and the regular prices of 
freight by railroad. Lake Erie will hardly be considered a 
rival communication for passengers, merchandise and light 
freight. South of the table land (on which the Ohio Rail- 
road is located), to the Ohio River, the country is broken 
with mountain ridges dividing the waters flowing north and 
south, and raising impassable barriers to a parallel route. 

" The following roads and canals connect, through this 
road, the fertile regions of the West and the commercial cities 
of the Atlantic. On the east it receives travel — 1st. From 
Boston to Albany by railroad ; by the Erie canal and the 



— 273 — 

railroads through the same valley to Bufialo ; and from Buf- 
falo by the Buffalo & Erie Kail road. 2nd. From 'New York 
to Albany by the Hudson River and thence by the same route 
as !N"o. 1. 3rd. From New York city by the ^N'ew York & 
Erie Eailroad to its intersection with the Buffalo & Erie Rail- 
road ; thence by the latter to the Ohio Railroad. 4th. From 
Philadelphia by canal and railroads to Pittsburgh, and 
thence to the Ohio Railroad by either the Conneaut & Beach 
Railroad, the Ashtabula & Liverpool Railroad, or the Pitts- 
burg, Warren & Cleveland Railroad. 5th. From Baltimore, 
by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the Wheeling and Wells- 
ville Railroad, and the Wellsville & Fairport Railroad. 

" On the west, the road receives the travel — 1st. From the 
Ohio River by the Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad. 2nd. 
From Missouri and Illinois by the Terre Haute & Alton, and 
the Peoria & Logansport railroads, through the Wabash & 
Erie canal, and railroad. 3rd. From Chicago through the 
Wabash & Erie canal. 4tli. From Evansville and Indian- 
apolis, by railroad and the Erie canal. 5th. From Evans- 
ville, by the Indiana and Wabash & Erie canals. 6th. From 
Lake Michigan, by the Erie & Kalamazoo Railroad. 7th. 
From Detroit, by the Detroit, Monroe, Huron & Manhattan 
Railroad (all paper railroads like the Ohio Railroad ; to be 
constructed.) 

" Some idea of the business of this road may be formed 
from the following statement of the amount of business 
done on Lake Erie, a large portion of which will be drawn 
to this road. There will be on the Lake the ensuing season, 
52 steamboats, whose aggregate tonnage amounts to 15,000 
tons ; three ships, with 800 tons ; six brigs, with 1,056 tons ; 
and 150 schooners and sloops, aggregating 13,800 tons, mak- 
ing 211 vessels with a total of 31,546 tons. From the 
records kept at Bufialo, the average number of arrivals and 
clearances for sail vessek will be 13 for each vessel. The 
average tonnage for sail vessels is 98 tons. The steamboat 
clearances and arrivals at Buffalo will average 40 for each 



— 274 — 

boat. The average tonnage for steamboats is 305 tons. This 
will give for sail vessels, 202,566 tons ; and for steam vessels, 
650,260 tons ; making for the season, a total of 852,826 
tons." 

And now after three years of getting ready we come to 
the beginning of actual construction : 

" For the use of the road, ground 100 feet in width was 
cleared. There were required 112* piles and 1,056 ties per 
mile — the former varying from 7 to 28 feet in length, 
(according to the grade), and from 12 to 16 inches in diame- 
ter, while the ties were 9 feet long and 8 inches in diame- 
ter. The piles were driven by a machine, consisting of two 
sills 30 or 40 feet long, placed parallel with each other, at a 
distance of 7 feet, that being the width of the track. At 
the forward end of these sills were erected four timbers, 
termed ' leaders,' 30 feet high, between which, on each side, 
the iron hammers, weighing one-half a ton each, were raised 
and let fall upon the pile. A circular saw, attached to a shaft 
projecting between the leaders, cut the pile to the proper 
grade, when the driver was moved and the operation re- 
peated. These machines employed eight men and drove 
about forty piles per day, covering some twenty rods in dis- 
tance. Upon the head of each pair of piles was fitted a tie, 
8x8 inches, in which a gain was cut nine inches wide and 
four deep, the tie being pinned down through this gain with 
a two-inch cedar pin ; but before this was done half a pint 
of salt was deposited in the augur hole of each pile, which, 
permeating the wood, was expected materially to preserve 
the same from decay. A locomotive saw-mill upon the 
track, and behind the pile-driver, attended by three men, 
prepared the rails at the rate of 900 lineal feet per day. 
These rails or stringers were 8x8, and 15 feet in length. On 
the wood stringers thus provided were to be placed iron 
(' strap ') rails, of the weight of twenty-five tons to the mile. 
Behind all, upon the prepared track, was a boarding-house 

* 50 in Orignal. 



— 275 — 

for ttue work hands, which moved with the rest of the estab- 
lishment." 

Certainly a unique traveling railroad-construction-circus. 
Its like was never seen before or since. 

The first pile was driven at a point near the present L. S. 
& M. S. Railway station at Fremont, June 19, 1839. The 
work was prosecuted mainly between Fremont and Manhat- 
tan, and in places eastward to the Cuyahoga River. Some of 
these piles or posts are still in existence and visible after 
withstanding the elements for more than fifty years. Doubt- 
less the half pint of salt did preserve them, as was hoped' 
But troubles accumulated. The first blow was the repeal of 
the Ohio Plunder Law early in 1840. This company had 
grabbed a quarter of a million dollars from the State, but 
that source of revenue was summarily stopped. 

Then the Allen interest, which was booming the paper 
city Manhattan, and the Richmond interest, booming the 
paper city Richmond, got to quarreling. Above all came 
the collapse of the wild speculative craze of 1836, relegating 
back to farms the paper cities that had sprung into existence 
like mushrooms; and many a paper millionaire of 1836 was 
hustling to get a piece of pork or a sack of flour to keep his 
family from starving, in 1843. 

The collapse of the Ohio Railroad was complete, yet only 
ten years later the Cleveland & Toledo and the Cleveland, 
Painesville & Ashtabula railroads were opened over sub- 
stantially the same line, and were brilliant financial succes- 
ses from the start. 

We can now see that it was fortunate that the Ohio Rail- 
road collapsed as early as it did — for Mr. Williams' estimate of 
the cost of the flimsy wooden structure was $16,000 per mile. 
Ten years later the Toledo, Norwalk& Cleveland — built prop- 
erly, with earth embankment, T rails, and with considerable 
equipment — cost, when open for business, but $15,530 per 
mile, $2,500 less than Engineer Harbach's estimate, a most 



— 276 — 

creditable achievement by its careful, able president, Mr. C. 
L. Boalt, of Norwalk. 

I have referred to the dissensions in the board of directors 
of the Ohio Railroad. A letter from Thomas Richmond 
(who, I believe, is still living in I^ew England) in 1877 tells 
the story of these dissensions much better than I can. 

PIONEER HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 

" Editor Advertiser : In my last paper upon the matter of 
Richmond village, I stated that I would give further reasons 
for its abandonment. 

" It was started and built up under the prospect and 
promise of its harbor facilities, connected with the tributary 
country and the natural trade from that position. In 1835 
or 1836 the Ohio Railroad Company was chartered, possessing 
extraordinary provisions and favors, among which was that 
practically of a circulating currency. In 1836 this company 
was fully organized, the survey had of the route, from Mau- 
mee river to Pennsylvania line, costing six thousand dollars. 
The location was determined on from Cleveland eastward, 
running through Richmond, crossing the river near the steam 
mill. The right of way was all licensed without cost, or 
very little, and abundant depot grounds given wherever a 
depot or station was proposed. 

" During this year plates were engraved and a large issue 
of circulating currency printed, and going into circulation. 

" And the company had secured a loan of the State of two 
hundred thousand dollars; thus equipped the prospect for 
the completion of the road was very good, for by the law the 
State was to loan its credit to the amount of one-third of 
the cost. 

" I had taken fifty thousand dollars of its stock and given 
the company twenty-five acres of land for its depot grounds. 
The financial office was established in Cleveland, where three 
of the directors lived, one of whom was treasurer and cash- 
ier, he having the office charge of its funds. There was a 



— 277 — 

finance committee of the directors, and I was made chair- 
man of it, thus bringing the finances under my control. 
Now, at this time, and under these circumstances, I counted 
the road sure to be constructed, and that too through Rich- 
mond, the effect of which would be to concentrate the busi- 
ness of Fairport and Painesville at Richmond. 

" This effect and the country trade I counted as being the 
measure of the business of Richmond, and that so much was 
sure, and that even the loss by the Mahoning canal would 
be so much exceeded by the railroad, as not to be essentially 
felt by Richmond village. 

" Well, as I said, in 1836 when we had our State bonds and 
finances complete, our three or four hundred thousand dollars 
currency ready for use, our railroad track located, at the 
first meeting of the directors the Cleveland directors pro- 
posed that we buy the old Cleveland Bank with our bonds. 
I fought it, knowing that the bank was exceedingly weak, if 
not absolutely rotten, and at the end of a meeting protracted 
to two days I defeated that plan after a severe scuffle over it. 

"My financial plan was to get out a circulation of say 
about $500,000, not by loans of even a dollar, but by invest- 
ing it in the produce of the country, mainly flour, that 
being most manageable, buying at the mills where the cur- 
rency would be mostly held in circulation, shipping the flour 
to 'New York, have it sold for the credit of the company, 
and draw against it for redeeming fund for our circulation. 
Exchange being high it paid a fair profit, even if none was 
made on the flour. Making this active, I believed that of 
$500,000 and our funds for redemption in New York we 
could rely on the use of $250,000 to $300,000 and keep redemp- 
tion prompt and good. This with our third of outlay by 
the State and what the stockholders could pay in on their 
investments, waiting before commencing work until our 
circulation was out and road established, then commence the 
road at Cleveland, working east and equipping the road and 
running cars as often as ten or twenty miles were prepared. 



— 278 — 

that we could build the road, or at least so far as to have a 
tangible property to loan money upon, especially as at this 
day roads were built on wooden rails, and strap bars of iron, 
the country level, but little grading and not excessive bridg- 
ing. Six thousand dollars was the estimate per mile of 
track, level land. 

" So you see things looked favorable for Richmond, in 
prospect of the railroad, notwithstanding the competition of 
the Mahoning canal up to a given time, I think in 1839. 
Living at Richmond, thirty miles from Cleveland, I was at 
the office but occasionally. One day going into the office 
and looking into the finances, the treasurer seemed embar- 
rassed, and to my inquiries informed me that a director had 
been to him for $12,000 currency, wanted it sealed up and 
pledged his honor that it should be returned with the seal 
unbroken ; he gave it to him but he found it coming in for 
redemption. Then he told me that the president had given 
to a party director a farm which he had given $12,000 stock 
for, and without any security or payment w^hatever. I also 
learned at the same time that these two directors were my 
enemies and were creating suspicions of my honesty and in- 
tegrity among the directors. Here too I learned that for 
some time the president had a gang of workers in Maumee 
swamp building u railroad from a swamp city called Man- 
hattan, lying in the tall grass some two miles below Toledo 
out to Lower Sandusky, and had paid out a large amount of 
money. I knew there had been no order by the board of 
directors to that efl^'ect, not even to begin work, much less 
there at that place. Kor had they located the road there. 
Well, all these things stunned me ; the most fatal was the 
President's conduct investing our money there on that road 
without order, or even publishing it to the directors. 

"Our office and financial plans had been running some 
two or three years. I had arranged a sale in England of our 
State bonds through Mr. Leavitt, president of the Ameri- 
can Exchange Bank, !N"ew York, for a nice premium ; all to 



I 



— 279 — 

this hour seemed promising and prosperous. Our circulation 
had become well established in first rate credit ; there was 
no difficulty at all in keeping out two dollars to one in New 
York, subject to draft. 

"At this point I at once sought the president and 
requested him to call a meeting of the directors, as impor- 
tant matters needed consideration. He complied with my 
wish. The directors met, a full board ; before going into 
session, I privately told the president that I was going to 
make a report of all my financial doings, which had been 
very large in flour investments, and should ask for a com- 
mittee to examine and report upon it, and I named the two 
directors that had raised questions of my financial integrity. 
I read my report, asked that it be referred to a committee of 
two or three, the president named the two that I requested 
him to, they examined it, pronounced it all right, the board 
by vote accepted it, and discharged me from the business I 
had already done. 

" Thus triumphantly with clean hands 1 exposed to the 
whole present board just what each had done, bringing 
heavy censure upon at least four of the board. Then I said: 
' Gentlemen, by this evening's exposure and my remarks I 
am obnoxious to many of you, of course we cannet work 
together agreeably any longer. Now I want some one on 
the board to relieve me of my stock, refund the money I am 
out, and that the board accept my resignation, for I tell you 
now and here that this company will fail. 

" * It can never live and succeed under such management, 
with directors who will conduct as these have, and officers 
that will allow and contribute to such inroads upon its 
means. Nevertheless I will not be its enemy or in any way 
be unfriendly to it, for my wish is success to it, although my 
confidence is gone and I retire from it.' 

" The directors complied with my request, took my stock, 
refunded my money and accepted my resignation. 

" With the law of the State to aid to one-third the outlay, 



— 280 — 

and with the advantage of a circulating medium of currency 
and the moderate installments that the stockholders could 
pay in, I could have built that Ohio Railroad if left free 
from the control of other parties. The allurements of the 
paper city of Manhattan laid out in the swamp of tall grass, 
two or three miles down the bay from Toledo, upon the 
president and some few of the directors, which led them to 
constructing thirty miles of the road through that swamp, 
was the death blow to all hopes of building that road, 
to my mind. And then the infidelity to the interests of the 
company of the two directors who each had obtained twelve 
thousand dollars, one of them in currency, and the other in 
land, and the transfer of officers who contributed to it, satis- 
fied me that failure must come sooner or later. 

"With this the prospects of Richmond, Ashtabula and 
convenient harbor business ended in my opinion. Then I 
gave up Richmond as a business place, and when I became 
satisfied of this fact I no longer sold lots, or took pay, or 
collected any balances due me for lots previously sold, deem- 
ing it unjust to collect pay for lots that had become value- 
less. However the Ohio Railroad Company continued finan- 
cial business some two or three years after I left it. Know- 
ing whose hands it was in I made no eftort to keep 
acquainted with its details. In what manner it reached its 
final failure I never knew, or who had the funds at last. 
The State lost its loan of $200,000. I think, however, the 
work on the railroad in the Manhattan interests in the Mau- 
mee swamp was discontinued about the tim.e I left the 
company." 

As already stated, the final collapse of this curious enter- 
prise occurred daring the year 1843. For the information 
of the Legislature, the Auditor of the State, in his annual 
report of December, 1843, made a somewhat detailed state- 
ment of the operations of the Ohio Railroad Company, so 
far as they related to the State. He said : 

" The original subscriptions to the stock of the company 



— 281 — 

were $1,991,776. Of this sum, only $13,980 has been paid in 
cash; $8,000 or $10,000 in labor and material; and $533,776 
in lands and town lots. These have been reported as a basis 
for the credit of the State ; also, there has been added $293,- 
660 in donations of lands for right-of-way, all of which are 
of course conditioned to revert, upon failure to complete 
the work. The lands received in payment of subscriptions 
were all taken at the most extravagant rates. A few speci- 
mens will suffice for the whole : 

333 acres in Brooklyn Township, Cuya- 
hoga county, as the " Lord farm," 
at $100, - ... $ 33,300 

Part of " Center farm" (30 acres) - 3,000 

One-eighth of 20 acres in Ohio City, 

parts of lots 51 and 52 - - 6,000 

7 lots in Ohio City, at $1,000 - - 7,000 

16 acres, 46 rods, in Huron township, 
Huron county, known as " Steam 
Mill lot," $1,538.08 per acre, - 25,000 

12 lots in Richmond, Lake county, 19,000 

Lot JSTo. 10, Willoughby, with brick 

tavern, 14,000 

" And so on, through the whole list. It will be seen that 
the president, though more than once pressed to the point, 
declined expressing any opinion as to the actual value of the 
lands and lots. By an examination of the appraiser's returns 
of Cuyahoga county, under the valuation of 1840, 1 find the 
first of the tracts valued at $3,748. It is mortgaged to the 
Trust Company for $4,000, which, under the rules of that 
company, is fully one-half of its actual value. I find the 
" Center farm " valued at $386 ; the one-eighth of 20 acres 
in Ohio City at $20 ; and the remainder of the lots in that 
city at from $6 to $30 each. Many judicious persons with 
whom I consulted concurred in the opinion that not one of 
these lots for which $1,000 had been allowed in subscrip- 
tions, is now or ever was worth more than $100. I doubt 



— 282 — 

much, whether from the whole of these lands and lots a 
sufficient amount could now be realized to pay the debts of 
the company. 

" The process of receiving these lands on subscription 
constituted a very decided improvement on the modern sys- 
tem of financiering. The lands were sold to the company 
by the owners, and general guaranty deeds executed for 
them. A credit was then given by the company for a pay- 
ment of stock to that amount, and certificates issued bear- 
ing interest at the rate of six per cent, per annum. After 
the lands had been reported to the Fund Commissioners as 
a basis of a loan of credit, upon the ground that they were 
purchased for the use of the road, the company commenced 
selling them for the certificates of stock issued for their pur- 
chase ; and this process had been carried on up to the date 
of the investigation, to the amount of $59,678 — thus reduc- 
ing the payments for lands for the use of the road, upon 
which the stock of the State had been issued, from |533,776 
to $474,306. The result of the operation, if left to work it- 
self out, will be that after the company has bought lands 
at excessive valuation, to the amount of more than $500,000, 
and drawn upon them from the State $249,000 in State 
bonds, the lands will all be disposed of to the original or 
other owners, and the company have nothing more tor itself, 
or as a security to the State,than the six per cent, stocks origin- 
ally issued for the purchase. In many instances, too, these 
lands have been sold back to the same person from whom 
they were purchased, and at reduced valuations. 

*' The General Improvement Law provides for a loan of 
credit by the State of one dollar for every two expende^ by 
the company in the actual construction of the road and the 
purchase of lands for the use of the same. This latter pro- 
vision in this, as well as other companies, has been construed 
to mean the purchase of lands for the purpose of speculation, 
or even fraud ; and, unfortunately for the State, this con- 
struction has been concurred in by the Fund Commissioners, 



{ 



— 283 — 

" Between the payment of that $50,000, and the next of 
$169,000 on the part of the State, the president admits that 
no money was collected from the stockholders, and that the 
operations of the company were carried on upon its stocks 
and credit. The explanation of all this is that the company 
had then commenced the business of banking ; and, as was 
well remarked to me by the president of another of these 
companies, that, ^presuming upon the general imprudence of 
the times,' they succeeded in putting out and maintaining a 
large circulation. A portion of this was paid out direct to 
contractors and laborers on the work. Other portions were 
exchanged for the then depreciated funds of the State, and 
the expenditures upon which the second report was based, 
and the payment of $169,000 made by the State was entirely 
of this character. Not a dollar had been collected from the 
stockholders; not a dollar was in the treasury as a basis of 
this issue ; but upon the expenditure of this character the 
funds of the State were procured ; and then, as will be seen 
from the deposition of Mr. Taintor, they were used to re- 
deem the circulation already out, and form the basis of a 
new emission, by which a new sum could be plundered from 
the public treasury. By this operation the State was not 
only building the whole road and supporting the horde of 
officers who were living upon it ; but was made a party to 
the infraction of her own laws, and her treasury drawn in to 
bolster up and sustain a fraudulent system of banking, that 
has ended in the robbery of her citizens to the amount of 
$35,000 or $40,000. Surely iniquity, fraud — nay, even 
swindling — could go no further. 

" The amount of stock received by the 

company from the State is, - $249,000 

" Cash paid on construction of road, 237,220 



" Leaving cash expenditures less than 

amount received from the State, $ 11,780 
" And for all this expenditure, the State had some sixty- 



— 284 — 

three miles of wooden superstructure, laid on piles, a con- 
siderable portion of which is already rotten, and the re- 
mainder ^oing rapidly to decay. The lands under the law 
also revert to the State ; but they are encumbered by a debt 
of the company, after deducting the amount paid by the 
sale of machinery, of about $80,000. This amount is due to 
laborers and contractors on the line, and to citizens who 
have received the notes of the company in good faith, and 
who are entitled, in justice and equity, to be paid ; and if 
paid from this source, as I have before intimated, I do not 
believe the lands, at a common-sense valuation, will more 
than meet the claim. The company failed in July last to 
meet the interest on the State stock, amounting to $7,479. 
The work is therefore forfeited to the State." 

After the collapse of the company, Judge Allen, the presi- 
dent, a man of high character and attainments, turned his 
attention to milling at Manhattan, and died in Toledo in 1861. 

The principal Cleveland or Ohio City man in the company 
was the largest subscriber to the stock, taking for himself 
and friends, 1307,350 out of a total subscription of 81,991,776. 

As usual, after the final collapse of the company, in 1843, 
the State by its Auditor, " wanted to know, you know," and 
investigated. 

His annual report to the Legislature, in December, 1843, 
revealed some startling financiering. 

Thus ends this " strange, eventful history " of the at- 
tempted rise and decided fall of the Ohio Railroad Company 
—1836-1843. 

I cannot close without acknowledging that I am indebted 
to that veteran editor and historian of Toledo — Clark Wag- 
goner — for a very large part of the facts in this paper. 



Tract No. 82. 

WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 

CLEVELAND, OHIO. 



THE DEVELOPMENT 



OF 



CLEVELAND'S HARBOR 



A Paper Read Before the Western Reserve Historical 



Society of CLEvfeLAND, Ohio, January 29th, 1891, 



JOHN H. SARGENT, Esq., 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF CLEVELAND'S HARBOR. 



I 



Ladies and Gentlemen and Members of the Historical 
Society. 

I will begin this paper by reading a page from the hand- 
writing upon the walls of clay and sand at Cleveland. 

At one time, no doubt, the sand ridge of Franklin Avenue 
extended across the valley to Euclid Avenue ridge and was 
the beach of a large body of water that found its outlet to 
the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Subse- 
quently the Niagara River was developed and the lake was 
cut down to its present level and the Cuyahoga delta was 
formed. 

Most considerable rivers find an outlet through a delta at 
their mouth, and in this age of the world one or more islands 
are generally found at the meeting of the waters. The 
Cuyahoga is no exception to the rule. 

Let us commence our perusal where the river meets the 
high clay bank at Huron street ; here it is diverted from its 
direct course towards its goal, the lake, and from this point 
it hugs the right bank until it reaches South Water street 
whence it flies off in a tangent to the left bank just below 
the blast furnace, thence it hugs the left bank, which con- 
tinually diverts its course forming the " bow," or Cleve- 
land Center. This left high bank, within the memory o± 
your speaker, extended down to Elm street, where it was 
known as Cannon Hill where Fourth of July patriotism 
was exploded in gun powder. 

Here the river struck across the valley again to the right 
bank, at the foot of Superior street, thence it hugged the 
right bank around to where the foundry on Whisky Island 
now stands ; thence it followed the channel which is now 
known as the " Old River Bed " and escaped into the lake 



— 288 — 

where Weddell street now is. This was the western extrem- 
ity of Cleveland. The Brooklyn high bank stopped at what 
is now Waverly street or the Walker Iron Works. 

ISTow let us return to the present river bank. At this 
point the right bank had become quite narrow and Lake 
Erie's waves on the one side and the freshets in the river on 
the other, in time wore it through, and the river took a 
short cut to the lake, deserting its old channel and making 
an island of Cleveland's peninsula. 

The current being diverted from the old channel it was 
soon blocked up by the waves of old Erie, and the island 
again became a peninsula, but this time it was annexed to 
what afterwards became Brooklyn Township. In the mean- 
time the river sought the lake on the east side of what is 
now West River street. 

In this condition Moses Cleaveland found our harbor at 
the end of the last century ; and so did Amos Spafford at 
the beginning of the present century ; in this condition 
Ezekiel Hoover found it in 1806, when he divided Brooklyn 
Township into lots. In this condition I found it in 1818 
when I landed upon Cleveland's Sand Beach. In this condi- 
tion the government engineer found our river in 1826, and 
diverted its course from where it had left its old channel, by 
diverting it sharply to the right, thus cutting off a good 
slice from Moses Cleaveland's Cleveland, and annexing it to 
Ohio City. 

But this was only a bait by which, in 1854, Cleveland 
swallowed the whole of Ohio City and is still taking in the 
country round about. 

That the Cuyahoga River once found its way to Lake Erie 
through the Lagoon, the " Old River Bed," there can be no 
doubt ; but it is quite sure that that was before Cleveland 
had found a local habitation and a name. 

It is quite possible that in times of great floods the river 
may have overrun the barrier thrown across its old mouth 



— 289 — 

by Erie's waves, but the first storm would be sure to block 
it up again. 

Ezekiel Hoover found this barrier here in 1806 ; from that 
date to about 1823 Alonzo Carter's hounds would drive the 
deer across it when to escape they would take to the lake to 
be brought down by the old hunter's unerring riile. 

In 1833 the Buffalo company made its allotment, and not 
many years after Ohio City spent a large sum to make a ship 
channel of the Old River Bed, and made an attempt to open 
it out into the lake. It appears to be a little uncertain 
whether a small vessel ran through it or not, at any rate it is 
certain that for a time the project was abandoned, for in 
1848, S. S. Stone made an allotment showing the end of the 
Old River Bed at Weddell street and 250 feet in width be- 
tween that and the lake, and he drew lines across the barrier 
to the lake and named it " Proposed Harbor." 

On the 4th of July of the same year, 1848, our former 
president, Col. Whittlesey and a Mr. Lloyd, recorded a plat 
of all the land north of River street and west of Short street 
and west of the Government piers. In this allotment is 
shown the river channel in 1826. About the year 1826, I 
have not the memorandum of the exact date, the Govern- 
ment piers were completed and the Ohio canal was opened 
from the Ohio River to the Cuyahoga River where the Valley 
Railroad now crosses it near Merwin street. 

These works gave Cleveland its first commercial boom. In 
1834-5 I was collecting tolls under D. H. Beardsley at the 
corner of Merwin street and the canal ; back of the office 
was a large basin, and here the canal boats, arriving in the 
night, would congregate to have their clearances examined 
and be inspected before going into the river. 

The canal boats brought wheat, corn, oats and other pro- 
duce, and a fieet of vessels brought merchandise from Buffalo 
taking back this produce. This then seemed a very large 
business, and so it was for the day. 



— 290 — 

Then the locomotive engine and steam railroad were not 
known to the world. In 1829 the first locomotive ran from 
Manchester to Liverpool, in England. But it took the loco- 
motive more than twenty years to reach Cleveland and give 
us another boom. 

In 1820 I saw my first launch — a schooner of perhaps fifty 
tons bunden. The other day, just across the river trom this,. 
I saw a 3,000 ton steel ship slip into the same stream — a 
wonderful change, but that little schooner was launched 
seventy years ago. What may we see in another seventy 
years ? 

Where there were 265 people there are now 265,000. 

Our river and our river bed front may be made to yield u& 
40,000 feet front of wharf, which, by dredging, may be kept 
at a fifteen foot channel 200 feet wide. And now since the 
construction of the breakwater we can readily have on the 
lake front 40,000 feet more of dock front with twenty feet 
depth of water on a dock 150 feet wide; all inside the break- 
water with an almost unlimited chance to spread out both to 
the west and east. 

In 1822 the sea dogs were not annoyed by the structures 
of the land lubbers, for at that date I had to cross the river 
to attend school and the only means of crossing was by a 
ferry at the foot of Superior street. The first bridge was a 
raft of logs at Center street. This bridge was before long 
changed to a pontoon, then to a lift draw, and last to a 
wooden swing bridge, and when this failed an iron bridge 
took its place. 

But when some land speculators built Columbus street 
bridge they called to their assistance the navigators and 
undertook to say that no bridge should cross the river below 
Columbus street. 

This raised the ire of the Ohioans, and after trying to 
blow it up with gun powder — they had no dynamite then — 
they sent their marshal to cut away the draw of this Colum- 



— 291 — 

bus street bridge. This started a bridge war which ended 
in an agreement under which Center street has been main- 
tained and Main street bridge was built. So much for 
obstructions. 

Now let us return to the beginning of railroads in Cleve- 
land and see what we can learn. It was about 1850 that 
they began to be seen in Cleveland. From this point it was 
expected that their business would be carried forward by- 
steam vessels on the lake, and soon after the great steam 
palaces, the Northern Indiana, the Michigan Southern, the 
City of Buflalo and the Western Metropolis made their ap- 
pearance and it was a matter of necessity for the railroads to 
reach them. 

At the beginning of the century, in laying out the town of 
Cleveland, Amos Spafford laid out what he called Bath 
street, its southern boundary was what is now the south line 
of Front street, from this it extended east to Water street, 
west to River, and north to the lake. Its north line would 
come and go as the winds sported with the beach sands, 
and the billows rolled over them. 

When the General Government turned the river from its 
former channel it was carried across this street. Just what 
rights it acquired on the land and how it acquired them I 
am unable to say, but this I do know, they abstracted a 
good slice of the city of Cleveland and gave it to the City of 
Ohio. 

Before the railroads reached here a sort of meteor by the 
name of Lloyd struck Cleveland, took to himself as partner 
Col. Whittlesey, our former president, and recorded an allot- 
ment of this abstracted part of our city, and perpetuated his 
name by christening a street " Lloyd street." How they 
acquired title to this part of Bath street I do notenquire. 

Next came the railroads and gobbled a good portion of 
Bath street, including its very name, calling what was left of 
it Front street. And now the Union freight depot and the 



— 292 — 

Lake Shore freight houses occupy this street and the lake 
in front of it. How they acquired this title I will not 
attempt to ferret out, neither is it important, as good use is 
made of it and the public enjoy it largely. 

But if ever the General Government finishes the break- 
water the city should resume possession and make perma- 
nent docks there, and lease them for commercial purposes 
charging only rent enough to reimburse it — at least that is 
the opinion of your humble servant. 

Here I might drop the subject, for here history proper, 
ends. But the facts of to-day become the history of to-morrow, 
so I will advance a step farther. 

It may be a little presumptions for me to talk law, especi- 
ally as we have an eminent judge at our head; but even he 
would hardly venture an opinion except at the end af the 
pleas of some experts in law. My plea is that for the 
citizens of Cleveland, aside from the special situation of Bath 
street, our lake front is the most important question before 
the people. Other cities have wrestled and are wrestling 
with the same question. 

The General Government has jurisdiction over all navi- 
gable waters ; so far I believe there is no dispute. In rivers 
this jurisdiction only extends so far as to preserve their navi- 
gation unimpaired, beyond that, the municipality have con- 
trol subject only to riparian rights. 

With the lake it is quite different. From high water 
mark the lake bottom slopes away about a quarter of a mile 
to the line of fourteen feet of water. This space is unsuited 
to navigation purposes but no one can occupy it for any 
other, save by express permission of the government. 

I know that the railroads and others claim this space. Is 
there anything they do not claim ? Certain it is, Ontario, 
Seneca, Bank, Water and Bath streets were laid out by Spaf- 
ford in 1802, to the lake. 



— 293 — 

Can their be any doubt that Cleveland may make piers of 
these streets as far out in the lake as the government will 
permit, or that the government can prohibit any of these 
claimants from putting any obstructions in the lake between 
them? 

Let us claim that the government can grant to the States 
and the States to tne municipalities, the right to reclaim 
this space by constructing slips and wharves upon it, and go 
ahead and do it. As an example let us extend Seneca street 
by a bridge across the railroads and then along the railroad 
to the dock level at Ontario and Bank streets. Then let us 
make the Ontaria, Seneca and Bank street docks each 300 
feet wide with a slip 150 feet wide between them, and on the 
outside of each. They may be made fifteen hundred feet 
long, for between them and the breakwater is but a passage 
way to the east bay of the " Harbor of Refuge.'*' Each of 
these docks may cost $75,000 built in a thorough manner. 

In the central slip may lay at one time a half dozen 4,000 
ton ships from Europe and a half dozen other ships from the 
Gulf of Maxico, when Chicago shall have opened out Lake 
Michigan to the Mississippi. 

This may look a little rose colored, but when this third 
boom of our beloved city shall become history, it will go 
down to the ages as the greatest. There is one bit of his- 
tory to which it is proper that I should allude. 

When Judge Lane secured the right of way across Whisky 
Island and S. S. Stone's project, thq " Proposed Harbor " at 
the west end of the Old River Bed, a reservation was made, 
perhaps at his instance, that the Junction Railroad should, 
whenever demanded by the city, cut away its bank and build 
a draw bridge over this " Proposed Harbor." 

Mr. Stone was in his day a " hustler," but I cannot learn 
that he demanded in his latter days that this bridge should 
be built. He owned all the land adjoining it and especially 
a body of land right at this " Proposed Harbor," which he 



— 294 — 

called a " Reserved Square," from which he took especial 
pains to exclude the public. As that " Reserved Square " is 
now occupied by the new dry docks it is perhaps fair to pre- 
sume that the representatives of its projector had given up 
the idea of his " Proposed Harbor." The Legislature has 
authorized the issue of $25,000 bonds for opening out the 
Old River Bed to deep water in the " Harbor of Refuge," at 
least a quarter mile of shifting sands, a sum not more than 
one half what it would cost to make a permanent channel. 

It would cost the railroad as much more to put in its 
bridge beside being a never ending source of danger and ex- 
pense to work it. This estimate is purposely made low ; it 
should be multiplied by two. 

This $100,000 to $200,000 of bonds, in prospect, is a tempt- 
ing plum for contractors and financiers. 

Allow me to suggest to the city to get the best bargain it 
can for River Bed Bridge Contract, with the successors to 
the Junction Railroad, and build the Ontario street dock and 
slip. Both of them will get out of the matter much cheaper 
than to carry out the contract and have, instead, a work of 
real value for all times to come. 

This would also be a rounding out of Late View Park and 
furnish an elegant site for the Exposition Building. 

Upon this Ontario street dock all the passenger boats and 
excursion business can be done, and save the annoyance of 
winding up and down the crowded river — among the freight 
boats and vessels and draw bridges. If this should be done it 
would be in the future a bright page in Cleveland's history. 
There is another chapter in the history of our harbor "whose 
offense is rank and smells to heaven." If I should omit this 
the very gods would cry out. I will first give you an idea of 
how the gods left it and then call your attention to what the 
genus homo has done to it, and will then venture to suggest a 
remedy. 



— 295 — 

In my younger days, like most boys, I had a little taste 
for hunting and tishing. The Walworth Kun we hear so 
much about lately, had not then acquired its vile character 
or name even, at least we called it Spring Run, and most 
worthily it deserved its name, for from the river bank to 
what is now " Cooney Beck's Packing House" and the stock 
yards, innumerable springs of crystal water issued from its 
banks and made a purling brook filling several mill ponds 
with crystal water, in which the dace and shiners could 
sport and thrive. The wild turkey, the squirrels and the 
black racer found a safe retreat in the thickly wooded 
valley. 

The big valley of the Cuyahoga, and its other tributaries, 
were of like character. The sturgeon, the cat fish and the 
muscalonge found, in their pure waters, a native element. 
But time has taken all the poetry out of these valleys. 

I will not attempt to describe their present condition, but 
will only say that their waters have become too vile for the 
cat-fish, the sturgeon and the mud turtle to live in. 

The sewage of well nigh a 100,000 people, with refineries, 
slaughter houses and acid works are harbored there until a 
freshet comes and sweeps them out into our coming Harbor 
of Refugee, there to be sorted out into its solid, soluble and 
volatile elements to fill up the harbor with filth, to contami- 
nate the water we drink and the air we breathe. This pro- 
cess is cumalative. But the worst thing about all this is 
that not a step is being taken to abate the nuisance. Yes, 
we have developed a great harbor ; but who that sees it or 
smells it will deny but that it is a harbor of filth. 

There is, however, a chance and hope that that filth may 
pass into history, and our harbor become .a thing of beauty 
and usefulness and a joy forever. A perfect cure is practi- 
cable and will not cost more than half that of the Central 
Viaduct. 



— 296 — 

There is but one general plan and that is to lift the sewage 
by power and discharge it well below the city in deep water 
in the lake. The plan briefly stated is tbis : Drive a tunnel, 
similar to the water works tunnel, from above Central Way 
Bridge, under Central Way and Seneca street to the lake, 
and under that to the east arm of the breakwater, wherever 
that may be, and there erect youi^ pumping works. This 
tunnel should be thirty feet below the surface of the water 
in the lake. Pumping the sewage from this tunnel will give 
you the needful current by head instead of fall. 

This tunnel will give you an ample out fall for all the sew- 
age of the west side of the river, the flats and the river 
slopes of the east side and enable you to under drain all the 
flats. 

All the sewage of this region will discharge into this tun- 
nel, through wells, reaching up to the surface. Thus all the 
sewage will be kept out of the river, while the storm waters 
should be suff"ered to escape into the river to make live 
water of that. 

When our population shall have reached its half million 
you have but to extend your tunnel south and east to take 
in its ever spreading limits. 

Our Water Board is just now asking some $400,000 with 
which to extend their tunnel 2J miles farther into the lake. 
If this 2J miles of tunnel was run under the Cuyahoga Val- 
ley, as above indicated, we should have a pure river and a 
pure harbor of refuge, and with a pure harbor of refuge we 
should get pure water from our present crib. 

In conclusion I will make a brief resume of dates and 
facts touching the subject that is now agitating the public so 
much : This is the question of opening out the west ex- 
tremity of the old river bed into the harbor of refuge. 

When the river made a break through the high bank to 
the lake at or near West River street, its old bed was made a 



— 297 — 

lagoon with no outlet at either end. This was before the 
advent of the white man. 

In 1806 Ezekiel Hoover shows in lot 50, Brooklyn Town- 
ship, the west end of this lagoon with a sand speit between 
it and the lake of about the same width of the lagoon. 
Between 1848 and 1850 S. S. Stone purchased 50 acres of 
the west side of lot 50 and allotted it showing the lagoon as 
stopping at Weddell street, and Weddell street at the lagoon 
and 250 feet of land between the lagoon and the lake. 

Stone's land extended north to the '^ Old River Bed and 
Lake Erie." Mr. Stone indicates a proposed channel to the 
lake from the end of the lagoon. By partition proceedings 
" the island," so called, was divided into blocks by streets 
and the different owners received their several shares to the 
center line of these streets. In this partition the river bed 
stops several rods short of the lake but there was no line 
across this sand speit marking where lot 48 or " the island " 
stopped and the Stone farm began. 

I cannot learn that the city ever acquired any title to the 
streets described in this partition. If they ever had any 
right to cross the sand split at the end of the Old Kiver Bed, 
it has not acquired it by possession. And it will have to 
hurry up or it will never catch the lake, for it is fast receed- 
ing and is now several hundred feet from it. , 

Before the breakwater was built a long sand beach was 
formed west of its present shore arm, but now the north- 
west gales have driven this sand into the harbor of refuge 
through the piling and is making land there very fast, 
doubtless to the advantage of the shore owners if the Gov- 
ernment fails to reclaim it. 

The eastern end of the lagoon came to a point at West 
River street with no connection with the river until the city 
established the ship channal from Elm street to the river at 
Hemlock street and widened and deepened the old river bed 



— 298 — 

to Weddell street, converting this old lagoon into a valuable 
addition to our harbor. 

Our harbor has kept, so far, abreast of our population, 
but with such harbor improvements as are within our reach 
made, our population, business and wealth would have been 
greater than they are. 

If the private enterprise and push of many of our citizens 
could be supplemented by a little more disinterested public 
enterprise and spirit we might soon become a more respect- 
able second to Chicago than we are. 

When the Buffalo Company allotment was made in 1833 
the only outlet from the Old River Bed was through a small 
brook starting in the extreme east end of it, and running 
into a small pond, still in existence, which led into the river. 

When the ship channel was dug from the old river bed at 
Elm street to the river, at Hemlock street across private 
property, this brook and a part of the Old River Bed was 
filled up and is obliterated. 

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I will ask the geolo- 
gist to take you away back to when the Berea grit formed 
an iron bound coast from Berea to Newburgh and show 
you how the Cuyahoga cut its way through this and along 
down through the underlying shales to two hundred feet 
below its present bed ; how the glaciers then came and 
filled this valley with its freight from the Canadian moun- 
tains and deposited the beds of boulder clay and the layers 
of quicksand that give General Casement his " extras," 
which in tarn give our watch dog, Major Gleason, so much 
trouble; how the sun then got in his work and drove 
back to the far north the Ice Xing; and how the Indians 
Crooked River — the Cuyahoga — after its long rest cut out 
the valley and formed the delta of the Cuyahoga enabling 
Moses Cleaveland to plant our beautiful city and your 
speaker to recount this somewhat wandering history of its 
harbor. 



I 






Tract No. 83. 

WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 

CLEVELAND OHIO. 



THE 



EARLY HISTORY 



LORAIN COUNTY 



Historical Address 



W. W. BOYNTON, 

Delivered July 4, 1876, at Elyria, Ohio. 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 



BY W. W. BOYNTON. 



Fellow Citizens : — 

In 1748, an eminent French writer informed his readers 
that a prosperous and great people, having the form of a 
free government, was forming and rising in the very forests 
of America, which they were sent forth to inhahit. One 
hundred years ago to-day, that great people, cutting loose 
from the restraints of foreign domination, declared that the 
United Colonies were, and of right ought to be, free and in- 
dependent States; an utterance involving immense and 
weighty responsibilities. That all men were entitled to life 
^nd liberty, and to engage in those pursuits that were calcu- 
lated to secure their prosperity and happiness ; that govern- 
ments instituted among men derived their just powers from 
the consent of the governed, were propositions both self-evi- 
dent and self-vindicating, and found the public mind of the 
Colonists, not only prepared to yield a ready assent to the 
principles involved in them, but to give battle for their 
establishment upon the American Continent. It is not my 
purpose to undertake to explore, or trace, the causes which 
led to the Declaration of Independence, and to a pledge of 
life, fortune and sacred honor in its support ; nor to follow 
the glorious history of the past hundred years, and note the 
progress and ^march of a civilization purely American, and 
the advancement of a people whose rise and growth, whose 
ascent into a higher national life, have been the marvel of 
the world, and unequalled in its history. Interesting and 
appropriate as this would be to the day and occasion, I am 
expected to occupy a narrower field, and confine myself to 
an historical account of the settlement and growth of our 
immediate neighborhood, to which, for a short time, I be- 
epeak your patience. 



— 302 — 

In 1609, James the First granted to a company called the 
London Company, a charter under which the entire claim of 
Virginia to the soil northwest of the Ohio was asserted. It 
was clothed with corporate power, with most of its members 
residing in the city of London. The tract of country em- 
braced within this charter was immense. It commenced its 
boundaries at Point Comfort, on the Atlantic^ and run south 
two hundred miles, and thence west across the continent to 
the Pacific; commencing again at Point Comfort, and run- 
ning two hundred miles north, and from this point north- 
west to the sea. This line run through ]^ew York and 
Pennsylvania, crossing the eastern end of Lake Erie, and 
terminated in the Arctic Ocean. The vast empire lying 
between the south line, the east line, the diagonal line to the 
northwest, and the Pacific Ocean, was claimed by virtue of 
this charter. It included over half of the JS'orth American 
Continent. Notwithstanding the charter of the London 
Company included all the territory now embraced within 
the boundaries of Ohio, James the First, on the 3d of ]^ov- 
ember, 1620, by Royal Letters Patent, granted to the Duke 
of Lenox and others, to be known as the Council of Ply- 
mouth, all the territory lying between the fortieth and forty- 
eighth degree of north latitude, and bounded on the east by 
the Atlantic, and on the west by the Pacific. This descrip- 
tion embraced a large tract of the lands granted to the Vir- 
ginia or London Company. In 1630, a portion of the same 
territory was granted to the Earl of Warwick, and after- 
wards confirmed to him by Charles the First. In 1631, the 
the Council of Plymjouth, acting by the Earl of Warwick, 
granted to Lord Brook and Viscounts, Say and Seal, what 
was supposed to be the same lands, although by a very im- 
perfect description. In 1662, Charles the Second granted a 
charter to nineteen patentees, with such associates as they 
should from time to time elect. This association was made 
a body corporate and politic, by the name of the Governor 
and Company of the English Colony of Connecticut. This 



— 303 — 

charter constituted the organic law of the State for upwards 
of one hundred and fifty years. The boundaries were Massa- 
chusetts on the north, the sea on the south, I^arragansett 
Kiver or Bay on the east, and the South Sea on the west. 
The Pacific Ocean was at that time called the South Sea. 
This description embraced a strip of land upwards of sixty 
miles wide, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, in- 
cluding a part of New York and New Jersey, and all the 
territory now known as the Western Keserve. 

In 1681, for the consideration of 16,000 pounds, and a 
fealty of two beaver skins a year, Charles the Second granted 
to William Penu a charter embracing within its limits the 
territory constituting the present State of Pennsylvania. 
This grant included a strip of territory running across the 
entire length of the State on the north, and upwards of fifty 
miles wide, that was embraced within the Connecticut 
charter. Massachusetts, under the Plymouth charter, 
claimed all the land between the forty-first and forty-fifth 
degrees of north latitude. In 1664, Charles the Second 
ceded to his brother, the Duke of York, afterwards James 
the Second, by Letters Patent, all the country between the 
St. Croix and the Delaware. After the overthrow of the 
Government of "New Netherlands," then existing upon that 
territory, it was claimed that the grant to the Duke of York 
extended west into the Mississippi Yalley. 

Thus matters stood at the commencement of the Kevolu- 
tion. Virginia claimed all the territory northwest of the 
Ohio. Connecticut strenuously urged her title to all land 
lying between the parallels 41 and 42 deg. 2 min. of north 
latitude from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Pennsylvania, 
under the charter of 1681, had taken possession of the dis- 
puted land lying in that State, and had granted much of it 
to actual settlers. New York and Massachusetts were 
equally emphatic in the assertion of ownership to land 
between those lines of latitude. The contention between 
claimants under the Connecticut and Pennsylvania charters, 



— 304 — 

on the Susquehanna, frequently resulted in bloodshed. The- 
controversy between those two States was finally submitted 
to a Court of Commissioners appointed by Congress, upou 
the petition of Pennsylvania, under the ninth article of the 
Confederation, which gave Congress power to establish a 
Court of Commissioners to settle disputed boundaries, 
between States, in case of disagreement. The Court decided 
in favor of Pennsylvania, and this decision terminated the 
controversy. The question of the title to land lying west of 
Pennsylvania was not involved in this adjudication, but re- 
mained a subject for future contention. A party sprung up 
during the war, that disputed the title of the States asserting 
it, to lands outside of State limits, and which insisted upon 
the right of the States by whose common treasure dominion 
was to be secured, to participate in the benefits and results 
arising from the joint and common effort for independence^ 
This party was particularly strong in the smaller States. 
Those colonies that had not been the favored recipients of 
extensive land grants, were little inclined to acquiesce in 
claims, the justice of which they denied, and which could be 
secured to the claimants only by the success of the Revo- 
lution. 

The convention that assembled in 1777 to frame a consti- 
tution for the State of Maryland, unanimously resolved that 
the very extensive claim of Virginia to the "back lands" had 
no foundation in justice, and that to acknowledge the claim 
would greatly endanger the liberties of the people ; and in 
1778, she called the attention of Congress to the matter, and 
made a relinquishment to the United States, of the claims of 
the individual States to the Western lands, a condition upon 
which, and upon which only, she would join the Confedera- 
tion. She insisted as the whole people were engaged in a 
common cause, having a common end in view — the achieve- 
ment of national independence — that if the outcome should 
secure to the country the vast domain stretching from the 
Alleghanies to the Mississippi, it should become the common 



— 305 — 

property of those by whose united labors it was thns secured. 

Added to these embarrassments, the claiming States en- 
countered a denial of their title to some of the lands claimed, 
emanating from the very source from which they were sup- 
posed to have derived it. George the Third, either repudi- 
ating the charters of his Royal predecessors, or rejecting the 
construction placed upon them in respect to their boundaries, 
in October, 1763, upon the heel of the treaty of Paris, issued 
his proclamation forbidding all persons from intruding upon, 
or disturbing the Indians in the enjoyment of, their lands, in 
the Valley ot the Ohio. 

There is little doubt that the conflict in the early charters 
respecting boundaries grew out of the ignorance of the times 
in which they were granted, as to the breadth, or inland ex- 
tent, of the American Continent. During the reign of James 
the First Sir Francis Drake reported, that, from the top of 
the mountains on the Isthmus of Panama, he had seen both 
oceans. This led to the supposition that the continent, from 
east to West, was of no considerable extent, and that the 
South Sea, by which the grants were limited on the west,did 
not lie very far from the Atlantic ; and as late as 1740, the 
Duke of Newcastle addressed his letters to the "Island of 
New England." Hence it was urged as an argument against 
the claims of those States asserting title to Western lands, 
that the call in the grants, of the South Sea, being, by 
mutual mistake of the parties to the charter, an erroneous 
one — the error resulting from misinformation or want of 
certainty concerning the locality of that Sea — the claiming 
States ought not to insist upon an ownership resting upon 
such a footing, and having its origin in such a circumstance. 
Popular feeling on the subject ran so high, at times, as to 
cause apprehension for the safety of the Confederation. In 
1780, Congress urged upon the States having claims to the 
Western country, the duty to make a surrender of a part 
thereof to the United States. 

The debt incurred in the Revolutionary con test, the limited 



— 306 — 

resources for its extinguishment if the public domain was 
unavailable for the purpose, the existence of the unhappy 
controversy growing out of the asserted claims, and an earn- 
est desire to accommodate and pacify conflicting interests 
among the States, led Congress in 1784, to an impressive ap- 
peal to the States interested, to remove all cause for further 
discontent, by a liberal cession of their domains to the gen- 
eral Government, for the common benefit of all the States. 
The happy termination of the war found the public mind in 
a condition to be easily impressed by appeals to its patriot- 
ism and liberality. E'ew York had in 1780, ceded to the 
United States the lands that she claimed lying west of a line 
running south from the west bend of Lake Ontario ; and in 
1785, Massachusetts relinquished her claim to the same lands 
— each State reserving the same 19,000 square miles of 
ground, and each asserting an independent title to it. This 
controversy between the two States was settled by an equal 
division between them of the disputed ground. Virginia had 
given to her soldiers of the Eevolutionar}^ war, and of the 
war between France and England, a pledge of bounties,pay- 
able in Western lands ; and reserving a sufficient amount of 
land to enable her to meet the pledge thus given, on the 1st 
of March, 1784, she relinquished to the United States her 
title to all other lands lying northwest of the Ohio. The lands 
reserved north of the Ohio lay between the Scioto and Little 
Miami, and constitute what is known as the Virginia Mili- 
tary District. On the 14th day of September, 1786, the dele- 
gates in Congress from the State of Connecticut, being 
authorized and directed so to do, relinquished to the United 
States all the right, title, interest, jurisdiction, and claim, 
that she possessed to the lands lying west of a line running 
north from the 41st deg. of north latitude to 42 deg. and 2 
min., and being one hundred and twenty miles west of the 
western line of Pennsylvania. The territory lying west of 
Pennsylvania for the distance of one hundred and twenty 
miles, and between latitude 41 and 42 deg. 2 min. north, al- 



— 307 — 

though not in terms reserved by the instrument of convey- 
ance, was in fact reserved — not having been conveyed — and 
by reason thereof was called the Western Reserve of Con- 
necticut. It embraces the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull, 
Portage, Geauga, Lake, Cuyahoga, Medina, Lorain, Huron, 
Erie, all of Summit except the township of Franklin, and 
Green ; the two northern tiers of townships of Mahoning ; 
the townships of Sullivan, Troy, and Ruggles, of Ashland ; 
and the Islands lying north of Sandusky, including Kelley's 
and Put-in-Bay. In 1795, Connecticut sold and conveyed all 
of the Reserve except the "Sufferer's Land," to Oliver Phelps 
and thirty-five others, for the consideration of $1,200,000. 
These purchasers formed themselves into a company called 
the Connecticut Land Company. Some uneasiness concern- 
ing the validity of the title arose from the tact that whatever 
interest Virginia, Massachusetts, or ^N'ew York may have 
had in the lands reserved, and claimed by Connecticut, had 
been transferred to the United States, and if neither of the 
claiming States had title,the dominion and ownership passed 
to the United States by the treaty made with England at the 
close of the Revolution. This condition of things was not 
the only source of difficulty and trouble. The Reserve was 
so far from Connecticut, as to make it impracticable for that 
State to extend her laws over the same, or ordain new ones 
for the government of the inhabitants ; and having parted 
with all interest in the soil, her right to provide laws for the 
people was not only doubted but denied. Congress had pro- 
vided by the ordinance of 1787, for the government of the 
territory northwest of the Ohio; but to admit jurisdiction in 
the United States to govern this part of that territory, would 
cast grave doubt upon the validity of the company's title. It 
was therefore insisted that the regulations prescribed by that 
instrument for the government of the j^orthwest Territory, 
had no operation or effect within the limits of the Reserve. 
To quiet apprehension, and to remove all cause of anxiety on 
the subject. Congress, on the 28th of April, 1800, authorized 



— 308 — 

the President to execute and deliver on the part of the- 
United States,Letter8 Patent to the Governor of Connecticut, 
whereby the United States released for the uses named, all 
right and title to the soil of the Peserve, and confirmed it 
unto those who had purchased it from that State. The exe- 
cution and delivery, however, of the Letters patent were 
upon the condition that Connecticut should forever renounce 
and release to the United States, entire and complete civil 
jurisdiction over the territory released. This condition wa& 
accepted, and thereupon Connecticut transferred her juris- 
diction to the United States, and the United States released- 
her claim and title to the soil; and thus, while jurisdiction 
for purposes of government was vested in the United States, 
a complete title to the soil, in so far as the States could give 
it, was transmitted to the Connecticut Land Company and to 
those who had purchased from it. While this controversy 
was going on, there was another contestant in the field, hav- 
ing the advantage of actual occupancy, and in no wise in- 
clined to recognize a title adverse to his,nor yield, upon mere 
invitation, a possession so long enjoyed. This contestant 
was the Lidian. During the war between France and Eng- 
land, which terminated in 1763, the Indians espoused the- 
cause of the French. They entered into an alliance with 
them, and joined in their battles. At the close of that war, 
the Mississippi was agreed upon, by the treaty of Paris, as- 
the boundary between the British and French possessions in 
America. The claim of France to the domain lying east of 
the Mississippi, was surrendered to England. Soon after the 
close of the Revolution, the United States sought by peace- 
able means to acquire the title from the Indians, to the lands 
northwest of the Ohio, and on the 21st of January, 1785, 
concluded a treaty, at Fort Mcintosh, with four of the In- 
dian nations or tribes. These were the Wyandots, Delawares,, 
Chippewas, and Ottawas. The section of country between 
the Cuyahoga and Maumee seemed to belong to the Wyan-^ 
dots; the region a little further south, and comprising the^ 



— 309 — 

section between the Muskingum and the Ohio, to the Dela- 
wares. By this treaty, the Cuj^ahoga, and the portage be- 
tween it and the Tu8carawas,were agreed upon as the bound- 
ary on the Reserve, between the United States and the Wy- 
andot and Delaware nations. All east of the Cuyahoga was, 
in effect, ceded to the United States. The Indians soon be- 
came dissatisfied, and refused to adhere to the terms of the 
treaty. Instead of resorting to arms to enforce its obligations, 
the United States entered into further negotiations with, 
them, and on the 9th of January, A.D. 1789, another treaty 
was concluded at Fort Harmar,at the mouth of Muskingum,, 
between Arthur St. Clair, acting for the United States, and 
the Wyandot, Delaware, Chippewa, Pottowatoma and Saa 
Nations. By this treaty the boundary line agreed upon by 
the treaty of Fort Mcintosh was renewed and confirmed, and 
for the sura of $6,000 to be paid in goods, the Indians,among 
other lands, relinquished those lying east of the Cuyahoga, 
to the United States. The consideration agreed upon was 
paid. 

But a short time, however, elapsed before the lndians,withi 
characteristic disregard of their promises, refused to submit 
to the obligations of the new treaty. They reasserted their 
title to the lands conveyed. They declared that both treat- 
ies were made, and their assent to them obtained, under the- 
menace and constraint of the guns of the forts ; and, there- 
fore, were not binding upon them — a conclusion necessarily 
following if the premises were true. The Government em- 
ployed every effort to conciliate them, and to secure their 
observance of their engagements. Peaceful means failing,, 
resort was had to arms. At first the Indians were success- 
ful in their resistance. Generals Harmar and St. Clair, who- 
successively encountered them, were drawn into ambush,and 
defeated with great slaughter. General Wayne,'in 1795,witb 
a force of 3500 men, met the combined forces of the Indians 
on the Miami of the Lake, now the Maumee, and alter a 
sanguinary conflict, gained a decisive victory. Nearly every 



— 310 — 

chief was slaiu. The spirit of the Indians being completely 
broken by their unexpected defeat in this contest, they met 
General Wayne in council, and the result was the Treaty of 
Grreenville. This treaty was made between the United 
States and the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanoes, Chip- 
pewas, Ottawas, Pattawatimas. Miamis, Eel Rivers, Weas, 
Kickapoos, Piankishaws and Kaskaskias. The Indians,8ub- 
mitting to imperative necessity, again yielded their claim to 
the lands east of the Cuyahoga, and made no further effort 
to regain them. It, however, for them, was a trying hour. 
Brought to realize that they must quit forever their hunting 
grounds, both memorable and sacred to them for the plea- 
sures they had afforded, their bravest and best slain on the 
field of battle, they threw themselves upon the ground and 
bitterly wept, giving unrestrained expression to the wildest 
grief. 

The Cuyahoga river, and the portage between it and the 
Tuscarawas, as between the United States and the Indians, 
constituted the western boundary of the United States, upon 
the Eeserve, until July 4, 1805. On that day, a treaty was 
made at Fort Industry with the chiefs and warriors of the 
Wyandot, Ottawa, Chippewa, Munsee, Delaware, Shawanoee 
and Pattawatima J^ations, by which the Indian title to all 
the lands of the Reserve lying west of the Cuyahoga, was ex- 
tinguished. By this treaty all the lands lying between the 
Cuyahoga and the meridian, one hundred and twenty miles 
west of Pennsylvania, were ceded by the Indians for $20,000 
in goods, and a perpetual annuity of |9, 500, payable in goods 
at first cost. And although this annuity remains unpaid, be- 
cause there is no one to claim it, the title to the land on the 
Reserve, west of that river, was forever set at rest. 

During the Revolution, the British, aided by Benedict" 
Arnold, made incursions into the heart of Connecticut, and 
destroyed a large amount of property in the towns of Green- 
wich, Norwalk, Fairfield, Danbury, IlTew and East Haven, 
New London, Richfield and Groton. There were upwards 



— 311 — 

of 2,000 persons and families that sustained severe losses by 
the depredations of the enemy. On the 10th of May, 1792, 
the Legislature of that State set apart and donated to the 
suffering inhabitants of these towns, 500,000 acres of the 
west part of the lands of the Reserve, to compensate them 
for the losses sustained. These lands were to be bounded 
north by the shore of Lake Erie, south by the base line of 
the Reserve, west by its western line, and east by a line 
parallel with the western line of Pennsylvania, and so far 
from the west line of the Reserve, as to include within the 
described limits the 500,000 acres. These are the lands now 
embraced within the counties ot Huron and Erie, and the 
township of 'Ruggles, in Ashland county. The Islands were 
not included. The lands so given were called " Sufferer's 
Lands," and those to whom given, were in 1796, by the 
Legislature of Connecticut, incorporated by the name of the 
" Proprietors of the half million acres of land lying south of 
Lake Erie." After Ohio had become an independent State, this 
foreign corporation was not found to work well here,not being 
subject to her laws, and to relieve the owners of all embar- 
rassment, on the 15th of April, 1803, the Legislature of this 
State conferred corporate power on the owners and proprie- 
tors of the "Half million acres of land lying south of Lake 
Erie," in the county of Trumbull, called " Sufferer's Land." 
An account of the losses of the inhabitants had been taken 
in pounds, shillings and pence, and a price placed upon the 
lands, and each of the sufferers received land proportioned to 
the extent of his loss. These lands subsequently took the 
name ot " Fire Lands," from the circumstance that the greater 
part of the losses suffered resulted from fire. 

I have already mentioned the fact, that after this dedica- 
tion to the sufferers, and in 1795, Connecticut sold the re- 
mainder of the lands of the Western Reserve, to a company, 
known as the Connecticut Land Company, for $1,200,000. 
The subscription to the purchase fund ranged from $1,683, 
by Sylvanus Griswold, to $168,185, by Oliver Phelps. Each 



— 312- 

dollar subscribed to tbis fund entitled tbe subscriber to one- 
twelve-hundred-thousandtb part in common, and undivided, 
of tbe land purcbased. Having acquired tbe title, tbe com- 
pany, in the following spring, commenced to survey tbe ter- 
ritory lying east of the Cuyaboga ; and during tbe years of 
1796 and 1797, completed it. Tbe first surveying party ar- 
rived at Conneaugbt, in New Connecticut, eigbty years ago 
to-day, and proceeded at once to celebrate tbe twentieth an- 
niversary of American Independence. There were fifty per- 
sons in tbe party, under the lead of General Moses Cleave- 
land, of Canterbury, Conn. There will be found in Whittle- 
sey's Early History of Cleveland, an extract from tbe jour- 
nal, of Cleaveland, describing the particulars of the celebra- 
tion. Among other things noted by him, was the following: 
" The day, memorable as the birthday of American Inde- 
pendence, and freedom from British tyranny, and commem- 
orated by all good, free born sons of America, and memor- 
able as tbe days on which the settlement of this new country 
was commenced, and (which) in time may raise her head 
among tbe most enlightened and improved States." A pro- 
phecy already more than fulfilled. I shall occupy but a few 
moments upon the particulars of tbe survey. The point 
where the 41st degree of north latitude intersected the west- 
ern line of Pennsylvania was found, and from this degree of 
latitude, as a base, meridian lines, five miles apart, were run 
north to the lake. Lines of latitude were then run, &ve 
miles apart, thus dividing the territory into townships five 
miles square. 

It was not until after tbe treaty of Fort Industry, in 1805, 
that tbe lands lying west of tbe Cuyahoga were surveyed. 
Tbe meridians and parallels were run in 1806, by A.Tappen, 
and bis assistants. Tbe base and western lines of tbe Re- 
servo were run by Seth Pease for the Government. Tbe 
ranges of townships were numbered progressively west,from 
tbe western boundary of Pennsylvania. The first tier of 
townships, running north and south, lying along the border 



— 313 — 

of Penusjlvania, is range No. 1, the adjoining tier west, is 
range No. 2, and so on throughout the twenty-four ranges. 
The townships lying next north of the 41st parallel of latitude 
in each range, is township No. 1 of that range. The township 
next north is No. 2, and so on progressively to the lake. Ridge- 
ville being in the sixteenth tier of townships from the Penn- 
sylvania line, and in the sixth tier from the base line of the 
Reserve, is township No. 6, in range No. 16. Wellington is, 
township No. 3, in range 18. Elyria township No. 6, in 
range 17. It was supposed that there were 4,000,000 acres 
-of land between Pennsylvania and the Fire Lands. It the sup- 
position had proved true, the land would have cost thirty 
oents per acre. As it resulted, there were less than 3,000,000 
acres. The miscalculation arose from the mistaken assump- 
tion that the south shore of Lake Erie bore more nearly 
west than it does; and also from a mistake made in the length 
ot the east and west line. 

The distance, west from the Pennsylvania line, surveyed 
in 1796-7, was only fifty-six miles. That survey ended at 
i;he Tuscarawas River. To reach the western limit of the 
Reserve, a distance of sixty-four miles was to be made. 
Abraham Tappen and Anson Sessions entered into an agree- 
ment with the Land company, in 1805, to complete the sur- 
Tey of the lands between the Fire Lands and the Cuyahoga. 
This the}'' did in 1806 ; and from the width of range 19, the 
range embracing the townships of Brovvnhelm, Henrietta, 
Camden, Brighton, Rochester and Troy, it is very evident 
that the distance from the east to the west line" of the Re- 
serve is less than 120 miles. This tier of townships is gore 
shaped, and is much less than five miles wide, circumstances 
leading the company to divide all south of Brownhelm into 
tracts, and use it for purposes of equalization. The west line 
of range 19, from north to south, as originally run, bears to 
the west, and between it and range 20, as indicated on the 
map, there is a strip of land, also gore shaped, that was 
left in the first instance unsurveyed, the surveyors not 



— 314 — 

knowing the exact whereabouts of the eastern line of the 
" half million acres " belonging to the sufferers. In 1806, 
Amos Spa-fford, of Cleveland, and Almon Ruggles,of Huron, 
were agreed on bj the two companies to ascertain and locate 
the line between the Fire Lands and the lands of the Con- 
necticut Company. They first surveyed oft the "half mil- 
lion acres " belonging to the Scfferers, and not agreeing 
with Seth i-*ease, who had run out the base and west lines, 
a dispute arose between the two companies, which was fin- 
ally adjusted before the draft, by establishing the eastern 
line of the Fire Lands where it now is. This left a strip of 
land east of the Fire Lands, called surplus lands, which was 
included in range 19, and is embraced in the western tier of 
townships of Lorain county. The mode of dividing the land 
among the purchasers was a little peculiar, although evi- 
dently just. An equalizing committee accompanied the sur- 
veyors, to make such observations and take such notes of the 
character of the townships, as would enable them to grade 
them intelligently, and make a just estimate and equaliza- 
tion of there value. The amount of the purchase money was 
divided into 400 shares, of 3,000 a share. Certificates were 
issued to each owner, showing him to be entitled to such 
proportion of the entire land, as the amount he paid, bore to 
the purchase price of the whole. Four townships of the 
greatest value were first selected from that part of the West- 
ern Reserve, to which the Indian title had been extinquished, 
and were divided into lots. Each township was divided into 
not less than 100 lots. The number of lots that the four 
townships were divided into, would at least equal the 400 
shares, or a lot to a share, and each person, or company of 
persons, entitled to one or more shares of the Reserve — each 
share being one four hundredth part of the Reserve — was 
allowed to participate in the draft that was determined upon 
for the division of the joint property. The committee ap- 
pointed to select the four most valuable townships for such 
division, was directed to proceed to select of the remaining 



— Sis- 
townships, a sufficient number, and of the best quality and 
greatest value, to be used for equalizing purposes. After 
this selection was made they were to select the best remain- 
ing township, and this township was the one, to the value of 
which all others were brought, by the equalization process of 
annexation, and if there were several of equal value with the 
one so selected, no annexations were to be made to them. 
The equalizing townships were cut up into parcels of various 
size and value, and these parcels were annexed to townships 
inferior in value, to the standard township, selected in the 
manner indicated, and annexations of land from the equaliz- 
ing townships were made in quantity and quality to the in- 
ferior townships, sufficient to make them all equal in value 
to the township so selected. 

The lands of Lorain county, that were taken for the pur- 
pose of equalizing townships of inferior value, were those of 
Kochester, Brighton, Camden, Black River, and that part of 
Henrietta that did not originally belong to Brownhelm. 
Tract 8, in range 19, being partly in Brighton, and partly in 
Camden, consisting of 3,700 acres,was annexed to LaGrange, 
to equalize it. Tract l^o, 3, in LaFayette township, Medina 
county, consisting of 4,810J acres, was annexed to Penfield. 
Tract 1, in gore 4, in range 11, consisting of 2,225 acres, was 
annexed to Eaton. Tract 2, in gore 4, range 11, consisting 
of 2,650 acres, was annexed to Columbia ; 1,700 acres, in 
tract 4, in Rochester, were annexed to Huntington ; 2,769 
acres, in fraction N'o. 3, in range 11, Summit county, were 
annexed to Ridgeville; 4,600 acres, in tract 9, in Camden, 
were annexed to Grafton ; 4,000 acres, tract 7, in Brighton 
were annexed to Wellington; 4,300 acres, in tract 3, gore 6, 
range 12, were annexed to Russia ; 1,500 acres, in tract 14, 
in Henrietta, were annexed to Sheffield; 3,000 acres in tract 
11, in Camden, were annexed to Pittsfield; tract 3, consist- 
ing of 4,050 acres, in Rochester, was annexed to Elyria ; 
4,000 acres, in tract 2, in Black River, were annexed to Am- 
herst ; Bass Islands, No. 1, 2 and Island Ko. 5, lying north 



— 316 — 

of Erie county, consisting of 2,063 acres, were annexed to 
Avon ; and Kelley's Island, consisting of 2,741 acres, was 
annexed to Carlisle. After the townships were all made 
equal in value by the process of tacking and annexation, they 
were drawn by lot. There were ninety-three townships, or 
equalized parcels drawn east of the Cuyahoga, and forty-six 
on the west. The draft of the lands east of the Cuyahoga, 
took place prior to 1800, and of those west of that river on 
the 4th of April, 1807. In the draft of the lands east of the 
river, it required an ownership of $12,903.23 of the original 
purchase money, to entitle the owner to a township; and 
in the draft of those west of the river, which included the 
lands of Lorain county, it required an ownership of $26,087 
in the original purchase money, to entitle the owner to a 
township. The same mode and plan were followed in each 
draft. The townships were numbered, and the numbers on 
separate pieces of paper, placed in a box. The names of the 
proprietors, who had subscribed, and were the owners of a 
Bufficient amount of the purchase money to entitle them to 
a township, were arranged in alphabetical order, and where 
it was necessary for several persons to combine, because not 
owning severally a suflS.cient amount of the purchase money, 
or number of shares, to entitle them to a township, the 
name of the person of the company that stood alphabetically 
first, was used to represent them in the draft, and in 
case the small owners were unable from disagreement among 
themselves, to unite, a committee was appointed to select 
and class the proprietors, and those selected were required to 
associate themselves together for the purpose of the draft. 
The township, corresponding to the first number drawn 
from the box, belonged, with its annexations for purposes of 
equalization, to the person whom he represented ; and the 
second drawn, belonged to the second person, and so on 
throughout the list. This was the mode adopted to sever 
the ownership in common, and to secure to each individual, 
or company of individuals, their interest in severalty, in 



— 317 — 

what, before then, had been the common property of all. 
When a township, by the draft, became the property of sev- 
eral, resort was had to the courts after their organization 
here, to effect partition of the same. Soon after the convey- 
ance to the Land Company, to avoid complications arising 
from the death of its members, and to facilitate the trans- 
mission of titles, the company conveyed the entire purchase, 
in trust, to John Morgan, John Cadwell and Jonathan 
Brace ; and as titles were wanted, either before or after, the 
division by draft, conveyances were made to the purchasers 
by these trustees. 

Little was known of the south shore of Lake Erie, and the 
adjoining country, until near the close of the 18th century. 
It was formerly inhabited by the nation of Indians called the 
Erigas, or Eries, from which the Lake took its name. This 
nation was destroyed by the Iroquois, or Five nations. 

Charlevoix, in his "History of !N"ew France," published in 
1744, in speaking of the country south of, and bordering on 
Lake Erie, says: "All this shore is nearly unknown." An old 
French map, made in 1755, to be seen in the rooms of the 
"Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, names the 
-country between the Cuyahoga and Sandusky rivers, as 
Canahogue ; and east of the Cuyahoga, as Gwahoga. This is 
also the name given to that river which is made to empty 
into Canahogue Bay; and the country designated as Cana- 
hogue, is indicated as the Seat of War, the Mart of Trade, 
And the Chief Hunting Grounds of the Six nations of the 
Lake. But Civil Government was not organized on the 
Western Reserve until the year 1800. The governor and 
judges of the northwest territory, under the ordinance of 
1787, in 1788, by proclamation, organized the County of 
Washington, and included within it, all of the Western Re- 
serve east of the Cuyahoga ; and in 1796, the year of the 
first settlement of l^ew Connecticut, the county' of Wayne 
was erected, which included over half of Ohio, all of the 
Western Reserve west of the Cuyahoga ; with a part of In- 



— 318 — 

diana, all of Michigan, and the American portion of Lakes 
Superior, Huron, St. CMair and Erie to the " mouth of the 
Cuyahoga." The County Seat of Wayne county was Detroit. 
In 1797, Jefferson County was established, and the Western 
Reserve, east of the Cuyahoga, became a part of it, by re- 
stricting the limits of Washington. As before remarked, 
Connecticut and the Land Company refused to recognize the 
jurisdiction of the United States, prior to 1800. The act of 
inclusion of their western land within the counties of Wash- 
ington, Jefferson and Wayne, they declared to be unwar- 
ranted, and the power of Congress to prescribe rules for the 
government of the same, they denied ; and from the opening 
settlement, in 1796, until the transfer of jurisdiction to the 
general Government was complete, on the 30th of May, in 
1800, the new settlers were entirely without municipal laws. 
There was no regulation governing the transmission of, or 
succession to, property on the decease of the owner. No 
regulations of any kind securing the protection of rights, or 
the redress of wrongs. The want of laws for the government 
of the settlers was seriously felt, and as early as 1796, the 
company petitioned the Legislature of Connecticut, to erect 
the Reserve into a county, with proper and suitable laws, to 
regulate the internal policy of the territory for a limited 
period. This petition, however, was not granted, and for 
upwards of four years the intercourse and conduct of the 
early settlers were regulated and restrained only by their 
New England sense of justice and right. But on the 10th of 
July 1800, after Connecticut had released her jurisdiction to 
the United States, the Western Reserve was erected into a 
county, by the name of Trumbull, in honor of the governor 
of Connecticut, by the civil authority of Ohio. 

At the election in the fall of that year, Edward Paine re- 
ceived thirty-eight votes out of the forty-two cast for mem- 
ber of the Territorial Legislature. The election was held at 
Warren, the County Seat. This was the first participation 
that the settlers had in the affairs of government here. Dur- 



— 319 — 

ing the same year, the Court of Quarter Sessions, a tribunal 
that did not survive the Constitution of 1802, was estab- 
lished and organized, and by it the county was divided into 
eight organized townships. The township of Cleveland was 
one, and embraced not only a large portion of territory east 
of the Cuyahoga, but all of the Reserve lying west of that 
river. This spot was once a part of that township. On 
December 1, 1805, the county of Geauga was erected. It 
included within its limits nearly all of the present counties 
of Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake and Cuyahoga. On the 10th 
day of February, 1807, there was a more general division 
into counties. That part of the Western Reserve lying west 
of the Cuyahoga and north of township N'o. 4, was attached 
to Geauga, to be a part thereof, until Cuyahoga should be 
organized. All of the present county of Lorain, north of 
Grafton, La Grange, Pittsfield and Camden, belonged to, and 
was a part of the county of Geauga, from February 10, 1807, 
until January 16, 1810. At that date, 1807, Ashtabula was 
erected out of Trumbull and Geauga, to be organized when- 
ever its population would warrant it. Also, all that part of 
Trumbull which lay west of the fifth range of townships, 
was erected into a county by the name of Portage, and all 
of the Western Reserve, west of the Cuyahoga and south of 
township 1^0. 5, was annexed to, and declared to be a part 
of Portage. So that all of the present county of Lorain, 
south of Eaton, Carlisle, Russia and Henrietta belonged to 
and was a part of Portage, and remained a part of it until 
January 22, 1811. On the 10th day of February, 1807, the 
county ot Cuyahoga was carved out of Geauga, to be organ- 
ized whenever its population should be sufficient to require 
it. On the 16th of January, 1810, the population having 
become sufficient, the county was declared organized. On 
February 8, 1809, Huron was erected into a county covering 
the Fire Lands, but to remain attached to Geauga and Port- 
age, for the time being, for purposes of government. 

On January 22, 1811, the boundary line of Huron was ex- 



— 320 — 

tended east, on the line now dividing Camden and Henrietta^ 
Pittsfield and Russia, Carlisle and La Grange, to the south- 
west corner of Eaton ; and from there, north on the line 
dividing Carlisle and Eaton, and Elyria and Ridgeville, to 
the northwest corner^' of Ridgeville ; thence west to Black 
River, and down the same to the Lake. On the day that 
these lines were so altered and extended, the Legislature ex- 
tended the south line of Cuyahoga county, from the south- 
west corner of Strongsville, west to the southwest corner of 
Eaton ; thence north, between Eaton and Carlisle, to the 
northwest corner of Eaton ; and from that point, west 
between Elyria and Carlisle, to the east branch of Black 
River, and down the same to the Lake. Here was a conflict 
in boundaries. The boundary of Huron county included all 
of Elyria, extending east to Ridgeville; and the boundary 
of Cuyahoga included within its limits that part of Elyria 
lying east of the east branch of the river. The river was 
the dividing line between the two counties, in the one act; 
and the line between Elyria and Ridgeville was the dividing 
line in the other. This conflict was removed at the next 
session of the Legislature, by adopting the township line^ 
instead of the river, as the boundary line between the two 
counties, at this point. This adjustment of boundaries gave 
to Huron county the townships now known as Elyria, Car- 
lisle, Russia, Henrietta, Brownhelm, Amherst and all of 
Black River, and Sheffield lying west of the river ; and to 
Cuyahoga county, Eaton, Columbia, Ridgeville, Avon, and 
all of the townships of Black River and SheflSleld lying east 
of the river. At that date, 1811, the territory now compris- 
ing the county of Lorain, belonged to the counties of Huron^ 
Cuyahoga, and Portage. 

The county of Huron, although established in 1809, and 
extended east of Black River in 1811, was annexed to Cuya- 
hoga in 1810, for judicial and other purposes, and remained 
so annexed, until January, 1815, when it was organized, and 
assumed control of its own affairs. 



— 321 — 

On the 18th day of February, 1812, Medina was formed, 
and comprised all of the territory between the eleventh 
range of townships and Huron county, and south of town- 
ships number five. It therefore included all of the present 
county of Lorain, south of Eaton, Carlisle, Russia and 
Henrietta. On the 14th day of January, 1818, that county 
was organized, and its local government put into operation, 
it remaining in the interim, from the date of its formation 
to the date of its organization, attached to the county of 
Portage, for county purposes. On the 26th of Decem- 
ber, 1822, Lorain county was established. It took from the 
county of Huron the territory embraced in the townships of 
Brownhelm, Henrietta, Amherst, Eussia, Elyria and Carlisle, 
and those parts of the townships of Black River and Shef- 
field that lie on the west of Black River ; and from the 
county of Cuyahoga the townships of Troy, (now Avon), 
Ridgeville, the west half of Olmsted, (then called Lenox)^ 
Eaton, Columbia, and those parts of Black River and Shef- 
field lying east of the river ; and from the county of Medina, 
Camden, Brighton, Pittsfield. LaGrange, and Wellington, 
The county, as originally formed, embraced seventeen and 
one-half townships, which, until the county was organized, 
were to remain attached to the counties of Medina, Huron 
and Cuyahoga, as formerly. It was, however, organized in- 
dependently, and went into operation on the 21st day of 
January, 1824. In the organization of the county, it was 
provided that the first officers should be elected in April, 
1824 ; and at that election, that part of Lenox that was 
brought into Lorain, should vote at Ridgeville, and that 
part of Brighton, lying in Medina before then, should vote 
in the adjoining township of Wellington. On January 29, 
1827, the boundary lines were changed. The townships of 
Grafton, Penfield, Spencer and Homer, Huntington, Sulli- 
van, Rochester and Troy — some of them organized and 
some not — were detached from Medina, and annexed to, and 
become a part of, Lorain ; and the half of Lenox belonging to 



— 322 — 

Lorain, was set off to Cuyahoga, to be a part of Middlebury, 
until otherwise provided. Upon the formation of the county 
of Summit, in 1840, the townships of Spencer and Homer 
were reattached to Medina ; and upon the formation of Ash- 
land county, in February, 1846, Sullivan and Troy were de- 
tached from Lorain, and made a part of that county. Prior 
to this, and on the 29th of January, 1827, an act was passed, 
fixing the northern boundary of the county. The mode of 
forming and organizing the counties had been such as to leave 
unsettled the northern limit of the counties of Ashtabula, 
Geauga, Cuyahoga and Lorain. And in matters involving 
the exercise of criminal jurisdiction of offenses committed 
on the lake, in the vicinity of the shore, the question was of 
too much practical importance to be left in doubt. The 
treaty between the United States and Great Britian, fixed 
the line running through the middle of the lakes as the 
dividing line between the two countries. Connecticut had 
reserved the land between the 41st degree of north latitude 
and 42 deg. and 2 min. The course and shape of Lake Erie 
were such that the parallel of 42 deg. and 2 min. would cross 
the middle line of the lake ; and adjoining Ashtabula, that 
degree of latitude would be south of, and adjoining Lorain 
north of, the boundary line between Canada and the United 
States. It was therefore declared, by this act, that the 
northern boundary of these four counties should extend to 
the northern boundary of the United States. This carried 
the northern boundary of Lorain to the middle of Lake Erie, 
without regard to the northern limit of the Western Keserve. 
Before recounting the incidents connected with the early 
settlement and organization of the county, and the town- 
ships comprising it, brief allusion should be made to a fact 
connected with the history of the Reserve, respecting its 
common schools. By the ordinance ot Congress, of 1785, it 
was declared that section 16 of every township should be re- 
served, for the maintenance of public schools in the town- 
»hip. The ordinance of 1787, reaffirmed the policy thus de- 



— 323 — 

clared. The provisions of these ordinances, in this respect, 
were not applicable to, nor operative over, the region of the 
Reserve, because of the fact that the United States did not 
own its soil ; and although the entire amount paid to Con- 
necticut by the Land Company, for the territory of the Ee- 
serve, was set apart for, and devoted to, the maintenance of 
public schools in that State, no part of that fund was appro- 
priated to purposes of education here. Here was an in- 
equality of advantages between the people of the Reserve 
and of the remainder of the State, in that respect. This in- 
equality was, however, in a measure, removed in 1803, by an 
act of Congress, which set apart and appropriated to the 
Western Rererve, as an equivalent for section 16, a sufficient 
quantity of land in the United States Military District, to 
compensate the loss of that section to school purposes, in the 
lands lying east of the Cuyahoga. This amount was equal 
to one thirty-sixth of the land of the Reserve, to which the 
Indian title had, before that time, been extinguished. The 
Indian title to the lands of the Reserve west of the Cuya- 
hoga, not then having been extinguished, the matter seemed 
to drop from public notice, and remained so until 1829. At 
this date, the Legislature, in a Memorial to Congress, direc- 
ted its attention to the fact, that by the Treaty of Fort In- 
dustry, concluded in 1805, the Indian title to the land west of 
the Cuyahoga, had been relinquished to the United States, and 
prayed in recognition of the fact, that an additional amount 
of land lying within the United States Military District, 
should be set apart for the use of the public schools of the 
Reserve, and equal in quantity to one-thirty-sixth of the 
territory ceded to the United States by that Treaty. The 
Memorial produced the desired result. In 1834, Congress? 
in compliance with the request of the Legislature, granted 
such an additional amount of land to the Reserve, for school 
purposes, as to equalize its distribution of lands for such pur- 
pose, and in furtherance of its object to carry into effect its 
determination, to donate oue-thirty-sixth part of the public 



— 324 — 

domain to the purposes of education. The lands first allot- 
ted to the Keserve, for such purpose, were situated in the 
counties of Holmes and Tuscarawas, and in 1831, were sur- 
veyed and sold, and the proceeds arising from their sale, as 
well as the funds arising from the sale of those subsequently 
appropriated, were placed, and invested with other school 
funds of the State, and constitute one of the sources from 
which the people of the Reserve derive the means of support- 
ing and maintaining their common schpols. This fund is 
called the Western Reserve school fund. 

In undertaking to notice some of the events, connected 
with the early settlement of the townships of the county, I 
fully appreciate the liability to error. But very few of the 
early settlers are left to recount the incidents, privations, 
and rude pleasures of early life. Tradition is not always 
reliable, and memory, once fresh and faithful, fades with the 
approach of advancing years. We venture only a glance at 
the township history, and vouch only its general accuracy. 
In September, 1807, a company of thirty persons left Water- 
bury, Connecticut, for the township of Columbia. They 
were Calvin Hoadley, his wife, and five children; Lemuel 
Hoadley, wife, and three children, his father, and his 
wife's mother; Lathrop Seymour, and wife; John Williams^ 
wife, and &ve children ; a Mrs. Parker, with four children ; 
Silas Hoadley and Chauncey Warner; Bela Bronson, wife, 
and child. This company were two months in reaching 
Buffalo, and in undertaking the journey from there, by the 
lake, were overtaken by disaster, and thrown ashore. Many 
of them were compelled to make the journey from the spot 
where £rie now is, on foot, nearly to Cleveland. 

The greater part of this company stopped at Cleveland 
and remained through the winter. But Bela Bronson, wife 
and child; Levi Bronson, John Williams, and Walter 
Strong, pushed across the Cuyahoga, cut their way through 
the wilderness to Columbia, erected a log house, and com- 
menced pioneer life. They were eight days in cutting their 



— 325 — 

way from Cleveland to Columbia. In the winter of 1807-8, 
the families of John Williams and James Geer, arrived ; and 
in the spring and summer of 1808, those who remained at 
Cleveland during the winter, arrived also. At the apportion- 
ment, by draft, in 1807, Levi Bronson, Harmon Bronson, 
Azor Bronson, Calvin Hoadley, and Jared Richards, had 
formed an association called the Waterbury Land Company. 
This company, Benjamin Doolittle, Jr., Samuel Doolittle, 
and William Law, drew that township, as ^o. 5, Range 15, 
with 2,650 acres in Richfield and Boston, in Summit county, 
annexed, to equalize it. Columbia, at the time of its organ- 
ization, which took place in 1809, was a part of Geauga 
county. The first election was held on the first Monday of 
April, of that year, at the house of Calvin Hoadley. There 
were nineteen voters at the election. Calvin Hoadley, Jared 
Pritchard, and John Williams were elected trustees. Bela 
Bronson was elected clerk. Having no use for a treasurer, 
none was elected. Lathrop Seymour was elected constable ; 
and to provide him employment, in May following, Nath- 
aniel Doan was elected Justice of the Peace. All of Geauga 
county lying west of Columbia, was annexed to that town- 
ship tor judicial and other purposes. The jurisdiction of 
that judicial functionary, covered, in territorial extent, nearly 
an empire. The plaintiff in the first action brought before 
him, lived on Grand River, and the defendant on the Ver- 
million. It was the case of Skinner v. Baker. The plaintiff 
had judgment, which was paid, not in legal tender, but in 
labor. The first school taught was in the summer of 1808, 
by Mrs. Bela Bronson, in the first log house erected. The 
first winter school was taught by Bela Bronson, in the black- 
smith shop, during the winter of 1809-10. In August, 1812, 
after the commencement of the war between England and 
the United States, an event transpired which 'occasioned 
feelings of great apprehension and alarm, not only to the 
pioneers of Columbia, but to the inhabitants of the entire 
Reserve. Information came, and spread rapidly, that the 



— 326 — 

British, and their allies, were approaching the settlements 
with intent to kill and massacre the inhabitants. A large 
party had been seen landing at Huron, which was supposed 
to be the forces of the enemy. Men, women and children 
fled from their homes in terror. As the inhabitants of 
Ridgeville reached Columbia, in their flight, they found the 
Columbia settlement nearly abandoned. This flight, how- 
ever, lasted but a short time, when Levi Bronson, returning 
from Cleveland, brought the news, that the persons landed 
at Huron, were the prisoners that Hull surrendered, at De- 
troit, to the British. On the return of those who had sought 
safety in flight from Columbia, the elder Bronson, who had 
refused to join them, informed them that "the wicked flee, 
when no man pursueth." The inhabitants of Columbia, 
Eidgeville, Middlebury, and Eaton, at once joined in the 
erection of a Block House, just south of the center of the 
town. This was the fortress, to which to flee for safety, in 
an hour of danger. Captain Hoadley had the honor of com- 
manding this post. A company was organized to garrison 
it ; but we are well informed that the enemy had not the 
temerity to come within reach of its guns. The Captain 
and his men were mustered into the service, and paid as 
soldiers of the United States army. Able-bodied men con- 
stituted the garrison, while the old men, women and chil- 
dren, were left unprotected, at their homes, to cultivate the 
soil, and receive the first assault of the expected foe. I 
believe, however, that the roar of the cannon, ofl" Put-in-Bay 
Island, on the 10th of September, 1813, was the first and the 
last heard of the enemy after these military preparations tor 
defense were made. The first mail,west of Cleveland,was car- 
ried by Horace Gun, in 1808. The route was from Cleveland 
to Maumee. The only houses on the route were one at Black 
River, occupied by Azariah Beebe, and one at Milan, occu- 
pied by a Frenchman by the name of Flemins. In 1809, the 
mail over this route was carried by Benoni Adams, of Co- 
lumbia. It required two weeks to make the trip. The 



— 327 — 

only road was an Indian trail, along the lake, and the carrier 
went on foot. There was no postoffice between Cleveland 
and the Maumee, no way mails, and but few who could 
either read or write. The carrier was compelled, from its 
extent, to lodge one night in the Black Swamp. 



RIDGEVILLE. 



Town Ko. 6, in the 16th range of townships, (Ridgeville,) 
was drawn by Ephraim Root, a lawyer of Hartford. For a 
few years after its settlement, it was called Rootstown. In 
1809-10, Oliver Terrell, Ichabod Terrell, and David Beebe, 
residents of Waterbury, exchanged lands by them owned 
there, for a little over one-fourth of the the township of 
Ridgeville. In -the spring of 1810, David Beebe, and his 
sons, David and Loman ; Philander and Oliver Terrell, sons 
of Ichabod ; Joel Terrell and Lyman Root, left Waterbury, 
and after a long journey, reached Ridgeville. These were 
the first settlers. On the 6th of July, of that year, Tillotson 
Terrell arrived, with his wife and three children. His was 
the first family that settled in the township. In the sum- 
mer of that year, David Beebe, Jr., returned to Waterbury, 
and brought on the family of his father, and the wife and 
children of Lyman Root. At the same time, Ichabod Ter- 
rell, his wife Rhoda, and five children ; his father, and Asa 
Morgan, his teamster, exchanged their Connecticut homes, 
and comforts, for the untried experiences of frontier life. 
Oliver Terrell, father of Ichabod, upwards of eighty years of 
age, made the entire trip on horseback. They reached 
Ridgeville in the Fall, cutting a wagon road from Rocky 
River to the place of destination. They were two days and 
three nights, en route, from Rocky River. The company 
that came on in the spring had built a small cabin of logs 
of such size as so few could carry, the roof being of bark, 
and the floor of mother earth. This cabin was built in the 
first clearing made, and on land now owned by John Lans- 



— 328 — 

bury. Here all had lived together, and kept bachelor's hall. 
Upon the arrival of Tillotson Terrell and family, in the early 
part of July, he " moved in " and remained until the erec- 
tion of a log house for himself and family, on the premises 
now owned by Mrs. Harry Terrell. This was not long after 
his advent into the town. About the same time, David 
Beebe, Sr., built a log house, a little west, nearly opposite 
the residence of the late Garry Root. These log cabins 
were an improvement on the one previously built, in one 
respect at least : each had a puncheon floor, and an opening 
for a window. As window-glass was an article not pos- 
sessed, foolscap paper was employed in its stead ; and while 
it was a poor instrument to exclude the cold air from the rude 
dwelling, it was the best means possessed as a substitute, for 
the admission of light. Joel Terrell, one of the first of the 
spring company, returned to Connecticut in 1810, and re- 
mained until 1811, when, with his family, he directed his 
steps again westward, to his future home. The families of 
David Beebe, Sr., Lyman Root, and Ichabod Terrell, that 
came on in the fall of 1810, consisted of twenty persons. 
They were seven weeks on the way. Two yokes of oxen to 
a wagon, with a horse as a leader, constituted the motive 
power that conveyed them hither. 

Rhoda Terrell, the wife of Ichabod, was a survivor of the 
Wyoming Massacre ; and at her death, occurring over 
twenty years ago, left ninety-one grand children, and a large 
number of great grand children surviving her. The firtt 
school house was erected near the centre of the town, on the 
spot where the Tuttle House now stands. It was consumed 
by fire in 1814. The first framed house was built by Major 
Willis Terrell. The first mill for grinding flour was the off- 
spring of necessity. It was erected near where Tillotson 
Terrell built his log house. It was the Mortar and Pestle. 
A log about three feet in length, cut from a pepperage tree, 
set on its end, burned out round in the top, with a pestle at- 
tached to a spring pole ; these were the sum total of its parts 



— 329 — 

and its mechanism. This was a familiar and friendly ac- 
quaintance of the neighboring inhabitants, and by them was 
kept in constant use, until time and means brought in better 
days. In 1812-13 Joseph Cahoon, of Dover, built a grist 
mill on the small creek at the centre. Capt. Hoadley, of 
Columbia, possessed a hand grist mill ; and in the winter of 
1816-17 a mill was built at Elyria, thus removing the neces- 
sity for the further use of the Mortar and Pestle. 

The township of Ridgeville was organized in 1813. At 
the spring election of that year there were fifteen voters; 
and they were all at election. Judges of election were pro- 
vided, and the polls were opened. David Beebe, Ichabod 
Terrell and Joel Terrell were elected trustees. Joel Terrell 
was elected justice of the peace ; David Beebe, Jr., constable, 
and Willis Terrell township clerk. A post office was estab- 
lished in 1815, and Moses Eldred appointed postmaster. 
Up to this date the Cleveland post office was the nearest. 
Town IN'o. 5, in the same range (Eaton), was included in the 
organization of Ridgeville. It required a population having 
ten electors to secure the privileges resulting from the civil 
organization of a township, and where the population was 
not sufficient in a surveyed town to secure incorporation 
as a township, two or more towns could unite, and thus 
secure such privileges. And such union usually continued, 
until by the increase of population the number of electors 
required to secure individual and independent organization 
became residents of the town. Adjoining towns, with less 
than the required number of electors to secure incorporation, 
were annexed to organized townships, for the purpose of 
civil and judicial administration ; and they remained so an- 
nexed until of sufficient growth to entitle them to separate 
and independent incorporation. During the continuance of 
the annexation, the inhabitants of the annexed territory 
were to all intents and purposes, citizens of the township to 
which annexed, with the same privileges, and subject to the 
same exactions as actual residents therein. It will be seen 



— 330 — 

that the practice of uniting surveyed towns for civil purpo- 
ses, and of annexations for like purposes, were of frequent 
occurrence and necessity. 



BLACK RIVER. 



The earliest attempted permanent settlement was at the 
mouth of Black River. In 1787, a few Moravian ministers, 
missionaries among the Delawares and other tribes, with a 
band of Christian Indians, undertook to make a permanent 
settlement at that point. In the spring of that year they 
removed from Pilgrim's Rest, on the Cuyahoga, to the place 
contemplated as their new abode. Here they hoped to es- 
tablish a centre, and plant the seeds of the Christian civili- 
zation of the Indians. Their hopes, however, were not to be 
realized. They had remained but a few days upon the spot 
selected, when a message from the chief of the Delawares, 
commanding them to depart from the Black River, was re- 
ceived, and at once obeyed. This was the first settlement in 
what is now the county; for although temporary and but of 
short duration, it was a settlement in fact, coupled with an 
intent to remain. No further attempt was made to settle at 
the mouth of the river until 1807. In the survey of the 
previous year. Black River had been divided into three parts 
— Gore No. 1, Tract No. 2 and Gore No. 3. It was not 
drawn as a township, but, as before stated, was used for 
purposes of equalization; Gore 1 was annexed to Olmsted, 
Tract 2 to Amherst, and Gore 3 to the township of Medina. 
The persons who drew the three last named townships be- 
came respectively the owners of Black River. The first 
family that settled in Black River was that of Azariah 
Beebe, consisting of himself and wife. This was in 1807. 
Nathan Perry, Jr., son of Nathan Perry, of Cleveland, both 
of Vermont, opened a store at Black River in the same year 
for trade with the Indians. Beebe and wife were in his em- 
ployment, and he boarded in their family. They took up 



— 331 — 

their residence east of the river, remained a few years and 
left. JSTo addition was made to the settlement until 1810. In 
the spring of that year, Daniel Perry, an uncle of ]!^athan Jr., 
settled with his family near the mouth of the river. He, 
also, was from Vermont. His stay, however, was not per- 
manent, as he remained but a few years, then moved to 
Sheffield, whence, after a short residence there, he removed 
to Brownhelm, where he spent the remainder of a very use- 
ful life. During the same year, 1810, additions were made 
to the town by the arrival of Jacob Shupe, Joseph Quigley, 
George Kelso, Andrew Kelso, Ralph Lyon, and a Mr. Seely. 
Some of these soon took up their abode in JS'o. 6 — Amherst. 
In the following year, 1811, there came John S. Reid, Quar- 
tus Gilmore, Aretus .Gilmore, and "William Martin. The first 
named of this company, John S. Reid, was a man of great 
energy of character, and soon became prominent, as the lead- 
ing citizen of the town. He was one of the first three Com- 
missioners upon the organization of the county, in 1824; and 
before then, and while Black River was a part of Huron 
county, he was, in 1819, a Commissioner of that county. He 
was one of the Commissioners of Huron county that directed 
the joint organization of Elyria and Carlisle. He died in 
1831. His son, Conrad, has lived in Black River for sixty- 
five consecutive years. He and Mrs. Slater, daughter of 
William Martin, are the only surviving residents of 1811, 
Quartus and Aretus Gilmore were sons of Edmund, who re- 
moved to Black River with his family in 1812. He was the 
owner of a large tract of land in Black River and Amherst. 
He built, in that year, the first framed barn ever built in the 
county. 

On the 14th of November, 1811, the township of Dover 
was organized by the Commissioners of Cuyahoga county. 
It included within its defined limits the present townships of 
Dover, Avon, Sheffield, and that part of Black River east of 
the river; and on the 12th of March, 1812, the territory now 
comprising the townships of Elyria, Amherst, all of Black 



— 332 — 

River west of the river, and Browuhelm, were attached to 
Dover, for township purposes. They remained so attached 
until Yermillion was organized, when the towns now known 
as Amherst, Brownhelm, and Black River, west of the river, 
were annexed to that township. On the 27th ot October, 
1818, the township of Troy was organized into a separate 
township and included the present towns of Avon, and all of 
Sheffield and Black River lying east of the river. It will be 
remembered that Huron county was organized in 1815, and 
was extended east of Black River, and for a distance, beyond 
it. At the February session, in 1817, of the commissioners 
of Huron county, it was ordered that township l^o. 6 (Am- 
herst), and that part of ITo. 7 (Black River), in the 18th Range, 
which lay in the county of Huron, with all the lands thereto 
attached in said Huron county, be set ofl' trom the township 
of Yermillion, and organized into a separate township, by the 
name of Black River. Thus Amherst, Black River, and 
Brownhelm, were first organized as Black River. 

In June, 1824, the corner of the town lying east of the 
river was annexed to Black River township for judicial 
purposes. The first election for township officers, for 
Black River township, was held in April, 1817. The names 
of all the officers elected are not known. There were 
two post offices in the town. The Black River 
post office was located on the South Ridge, now South Am- 
herst, and the other was named " The Mouth of Black River 
Post Office," and was kept at the mouth of the river. 
Eliphalet Redington was the first postmaster of the office at 
Black River, and John S. Reid of the mouth of Black River 
post office. 

BROWNHELM. 

Of Brownhelm, 1 shall say but little. Her " early settle- 
ment and history " were, years ago, put into enduring shape 
by one familiar with the incoming and outgoing of her 
people, during a growth of fifty years. On the 4th ot July, 



— 333 — 

1867, at the celebration of the semi-centennial anniversary 
of her first settlement, the scenes and incidents connected 
therewith were narrated with interesting detail by Presi- 
dent Fairchild, of Oberlin College. The town was drawn 
in the draft by Asher Miller and IS'athaniel Shalor. Origi- 
nally it was bounded south by tracts 14 and 15, in range 19. 
It included nearly one-third of Henrietta. In 1816, Col. 
Henry Brown, from Stockbridge, Massachusetts, entered the 
township, then known as No. 6, Range 19, and built the first 
log house. He was accompanied here and assisted in build- 
ing by Peter P. Pease, Charles Whittlesey, William Alver- 
son, and William Lincoln. Seth Morse and Renessalaer 
Cooley also assisted in building the house. Morse and 
Cooley returned to the East for the winter. Pease, Whit- 
tlesey, Alverson and Lincoln remained here. On the 4th of 
July, 1817, the families of Levi Shepard, Sylvester Barnum 
and Stephen James arrived, and after celebrating the Fourth 
on the shore, entered upon pioneer life near the log house of 
Brown. These were the first families that settled in the 
town. During the same year the families of Solomon Whit- 
tlesey, Alva Curtis, Benjamin Bacon and Ebenezer Scott 
arrived. In 1818, many other families were added, giving 
hope of a speedy filling up of the town. They were those 
of Col. Brown, Grandison Fairchild, Anson Cooper, Elisha 
Peck, George Bacon, Alfred Avery, Enos Cooley, Orrin 
Sage, John Graham and others. There were other families 
that arrived and settled in the south part of the town, subse- 
quently set off to Henrietta. They will be named in con- 
nection with the mention of that town. The first framed 
house in the town was built by Benjamin Bacon. The first 
brick house in the county was built by Grandison Fairchild 
in the summer of 1819. Mrs. Alverson gathered the children 
of the neighborhood together and taught the first school in 
the town. Her own house was the school house: The log 
school house was built on the brow of the hill, in the fall of 
the same year, and because of its pretentious dimensions, for 



— 334 — 

the times — 18 by 22 — the street upon which it stood received 
the name of Strut street, and bore it for many years. Gran- 
dison Fairchild taught the school the first two winters, re- 
ceiving his tuition in chopping. Labor and produce were 
the currency employed for the exchange of values. Money 
was very scarce, and nearly all debts, except the one incurred 
in the purcbase of lands, were paid in labor, its products, and 
those of the soil. 

From February, 1817, until October, 1818, the town was a 
part of Black River. At the latter date, on the petition of 
the inhabitants to the Commissioners of Huron county, No. 
6, in the 19th Range, together with the surplus lands adjoin- 
ing west, and all lands lying west of Beaver creek, in No. 7, 
18th Range, (Black River), was organized into a separate 
township by the name of Brownhelm. Col. Brown had the 
tonor to select the name. Township officers were elected at 
the spring election in 1819, held at the house of George Ba- 
con. Calvin Leonard, Levi Shepard and Alva Curtis were 
elected trustees; Anson Cooper, township clerk; William 
Alverson, treasurer; Benjamin Bacon and Levi Shepard, 
justices of the peace. This perfected the township organi- 
zation. That part of the present town of Black River lying 
west of Beaver creek was, in June, 1829, by order of the 
Commissioners, detached from Brownhelm, and re-annexed 
to Black River. 



GRAFTON. 

Town No. 4, Range 16, was drawn by Lemuel Storrs. In 
May, 1816, from fifteen to eighteen men left Berkshire 
eounty, Massachusetts, and journeyed hither for the purpose 
of selecting and locating lands for which they either Had 
exchanged, or were to exchange, lands owned by them in 
that State. Among these men were Jonathan Rawson, John 
and George Sibley, Seth C. and Thomas Ingersoll, sons of 
Major William Ingersoll, and brothers of Mrs. Harriet Nes- 
tdtt, whose reminiscences of the town, in its early days, have 



— 335 — 

been so recently, and so happily given to the public. The 
selection was made and all returned East, except the Sibleys, 
and men employed by Hawson to remain and work at clear- 
ing the forest. In the fall of that year. Major William 
IngersoU moved his family into the town, arriving on 'So- 
vember 4th. He settled just east of Kingsley's Corners, on 
land selected by his sons in the spring. This was the first 
family that settled in the town. The journey was made 
with a span of horses, and three yoke of oxen. A small 
shanty had been built on the land of the Sibleys, and upon 
their invitation, it was occupied by the family of Major 
IngersoU for about two weeks, during which time, he and 
the boys erected a log house upon land of his own. In 
February, 1817, the family of William Crittenden arrived. 
This was family No. 2. In the month of March following, 
came the families of the Rawsons, Boughtons, Sibleys and 
Nesbits ; and a little later in the same season the families of 
Captain William Turner, Aaron Root and Bildad Beldin ; 
and not long after the family of David Ashley. An attack 
was at once made upon the thick forest, and within twelve 
months from the arrival of Major IngersoU, twelve log 
houses were erected, that gave shelter to ninety-seven per- 
sons. During the following year, additions were made by 
the arrival of many other families. 

This township then belonged to Medina county, which was 
formed in 1812, but as elsewhere stated, for want of popula- 
tion, was not organized until January, 1818. From its for- 
mation to its organization, it remained attached to Portage 
county, where the deeds of the early settlers were recorded* 
On the 25th of July, 1818, on petition of the inhabitants, the 
town was incorporated by the name of Grafton by the Com- 
missioners of Medina county. At the first election held in 
August, 1818, Eliphalet Jones, William IngersoU and 
William B. Crittenden were elected trustees; William 
Bishop, clerk; Reuben IngersoU, treasurer ; David Ashley, 
appraiser of property ; Grindel Rawson and Seth C. Inger- 



— 336 — 

soil, fence viewers. Previous to the organization of the 
township, it had been attached to Liverpool for judicial 
purposes, and in April, 1818, Keuben Ingersoll had been 
elected justice of the peace, at the election held at that town. 
The first school was taught by Miss Mary Sibley, in 1818, 
in the log school house built near the residence of Capt. 
William Turner. During the same year a church was organ- 
ized by Rev. T. Brooks. The pioneer life of the early set- 
tlers of Grafton furnishes many amusing incidents, one of 
which shows the inventive power of necessity. When Guy 
Boughton was on his way from Massachusetts, he sold to 
Heman Ely a double wagon, and agreed to deliver it at town 
!N"o. 6, Range 17. On reaching Grafton he found there were 
twelve miles of unbroken forest between his wagon and the 
place of delivery. One of two ways must be adopted : he 
must cut a wagon road the whole distance, or try the navi- 
gable capacity of Black River. He chose the latter. He 
made a raft, launched it, put his wagon on it, shoved off 
from the shore, and in due time fulfilled his contract by 
delivering the wagon to Mr. Ely at the foot of what is now 
Broad street, in this villas^e. 



SHEFFIELD. 

Town No. 7, in Range 17, Sheffield, in the partition by 
draft, was drawn by William Hart, of Say brook. Tract 14? 
in Henrietta, was annexed to it, to equalize it. Timothy 
Wallace was the first settler. Previous to Hart's disposition 
of the land, and in about the year 1812, he agreed with 
Wallace to give him his choice in lots, if sold by lot, if he 
would settle and occupy the same. Wallace accepted, entered 
and improved a few acres on the Robbins Burrell farm, and 
finally abandoned it. In January, 1815, Hart conveyed the 
township to Captain John Day and Captain Jabez Burrell, of 
Berkshire county, Massachusetts. Obediah Deland, Joshua 
Smith, Joseph Fitch, Solomon Fitch, Isaac Burrell and 



— 337 — 

Henry Austin, bought in, and became joint owners with Day 
and Burrell. In June of that year, Jabez Burrell and Isaac, 
Captain Day and Joshua Smith came west and made selec- 
tions. In the following ISTovember, Smith and son reached 
the selected ground and became fixed settlers. They were 
soon joined by Samuel B. Fitch and Asher Chapman, who 
struck hands with them, built a small shanty, and occupied 
it during the winter of 1815-16. Freeman Richmond aud 
family, took up their abode on Lot 2. This was the first 
settlement of the town by a family. In April following, 
Henry Root, wife and six children, two boys and four girls, 
arrived from Shefiield, Massachusetts, and took shelter in 
Smith's shanty until the log house was thrown up, that was 
to constitute their humble habitation for the immediate 
future. 

Wm. H. Root, Esq., still a resident, and now in the ad- 
vanced years of a well-spent life, was the youngest of the 
two boys.. Next, and soon came Oliver Moon, Milton Gar- 
field, John B. Garfield, A. R. Dimmick, William Richmond 
and Willis Porter. In July and August, there came the 
families of John Day and Jabez Burrell, the first arriving in 
July, and consisting of twelve persons, and the latter consist- 
ing often. William, the oldest son of John Day, at a later 
day, became one of the associate judges of the county. 
Captain Smith, in the fall, returned to Massachusetts, and 
brought on his family in March of 1817. There soon fol- 
lowed the Moores, Stevens, Hecocks, James, Arnold and 
Isaac Burrell. There is no township in the county, unless it 
be Grafton, and possibly Brownhelm and La Grange, that 
seems to have filled up as rapidly as Sheffield, in the first 
years of its settlement. 

From the organization of the county of Huron, until the 
organization of Lorain, Sheffield owed a divided allegiance. 
Originally, Dover embraced Avon, and all of Sheffield and 
Black River east of the river. At a later day, Avon, and 
the same parts of Sheffield and Black River, that formerly 



— 338 — 

belonged to Dover, constituted the township of Troy, and 
they were then in Cuyahoga county. From 1815 to 1824 all 
of Sheffield, west of Black River, was attached to the town- 
ship of Black River, as it existed before its territory was re- 
duced, to its present limits. This part of Sheffield was then 
in Huron county. The township was then known as N"o. 7, 
Range 17. On the first Monday of June, 1824, touched with 
a little ambition for territorial expansion, she laid her peti- 
tion before the commissioners of the County of Lorain, at 
their June session, in the first year of the organization of the 
county, praying for a township organization that should em- 
brace in extent its present area, all of Black River town- 
ship east of Black River and so much of IS'o. 6, Range 17, 
(Elyria), as was set off to Enoch Perkins, in the partition of 
that township. The action before the commissioners re- 
sulted in the organization of the township, with her present 
boundaries. Sheffield w^as the first township incorporated 
after the county was organized. Her incorporation was the 
first official act of the commissioners at their June session, 
1824. A special election was ordered for the township offi- 
cers, and took place July 10, 1824. John Day, Isaac Burrell 
and A. R. Dimmick were elected trustees; ]S"athan Stevens, 
clerk; Milton Garfield, treasurer. Jabez Burrell had been 
elected Justice of the Peace in 1819, while the town was a 
part of Troy, and re-elected in 1822, and was still exercising 
the duties of the office at the date of the township organiza- 
tion. 



AVON. 

Pierpont Edwards became proprietor at the draft, in 1807, 
of town 1^0. 7, range 16 (Avon), together with Bass Island, 
Ko. 1, comprising 1,322 acres of land, Bass Island, I^o. 2, 
709 acres, and Island iSTo. 5, 32 acres, in Lake Erie, west of 
north of Sandusky, annexed to the town for the purpose of 
equalization. In 1812, Noah Davis settled on the Lake Shore, 
erected a log house, remained but a short time and left, never 



— 339 — 

returning. In 1814, Wilbur Gaboon, Lewis Austin and 
Mcbolas Young made tbe first permanent settlement of tbe 
town. In 1815, Elab Park and otbers were added. On the 
27tb ofJOctober, 1818, tbe town, together witb tbe annexa- 
tions bereinbefore stated, was set off from Dover, and organ- 
ized in a separate townsbip by tbe name of Troy, by tbe 
commissioners of Cuyaboga county. It will be remembered, 
that at this date, the river from tbe point where it passes 
into Sheffield, north to the lake, was the boundary line be- 
tween Huron and Cuyahoga counties. A special election 
was ordered for township officers, to be held November 9, 
1818. Elab Park, John Williams and Lodovick Moon were 
elected trustees ; Larkin Williams, township clerk ; Abra- 
ham Moon, treasurer. In June, 1819, Jabez Burrell, living 
in the Sheffield district, and William Gaboon, were elected 
Justices of the Peace. 

Previous to 1818, the inhabitants called tbe town Xeuma, 
notwithstanding it was a part of Dover. In December, 1824, 
upon petition of forty citizens, tbe name of the town was 
changed from Troy to Avon, by the commissioners of Lorain 
county. In 1818, the first school-bouse was built, near the 
center of the town, and in the fall of that year, Larkin A. 
Williams opened the first school to the youth of the few set- 
tlers of the town. 



ELYRIA. 

Town No. 6, in range 17 (Elyria), at the draft in April, 
1807, was drawn by Justin Ely, Roger Newbury, Jonathan 
Brace, Elijah White, Enoch Perkins, a company composed 
of Roger Newbury and others, John H. Buell and Jonathan 
Dwigbt. They also drew tract 3, in the 19th range, annexed 
to the town to equalize it. These lands were aparted and 
divided between the owners, at tbe September term of tbe 
Supreme Gourt, in Portage county, in 1816. Tbe south part 
of tbe town, about one-third of the whole, was set off to 



— 340 — 

Justin Ely ; the central part to Elijah White ; 2,100 acres 
north of White's, to Jona'than Brace ; and the remainder to 
Perkins and I^^ewbury. White conveyed to Justin Ely, and 
Justin Ely to his ton Heman Ely, who purchased the Brace 
tract, making him the owner of 12,500 acres, in a solid body. 
In 1816, Heman Ely, accompanied by no one, left bis home 
in Springfield, Massachusetts, to visit the lands of his father, 
soon to become his, in the above numbered town. In due 
time he arrived, and took up his abode, while here, at the 
hotel of Captain Moses Eldred, in Ridgeville, about two miles 
east of the river. During the season he engaged Jedediah 
Hubbell and a Mr. Shepard, of Newburgh, to erect a saw- 
mill and grist-mill on the east branch ot the river, near the 
foot of the present Broad street, and in the fall of that year, 
returned to Massachusetts. The erections contracted for 
were made during the winter of 1816-17. In January, Roder- 
ick Ashley, Edwin Bush and James Porter arrived from West 
Springfield, with axes on their shoulders, prepared to grap- 
ple with the forest overhanging the Black River. In Febru- 
ary, 1817, Mr. Ely, Artemus Beebe, Ebenezer Lane, Luther 
Lane, Miss Ann Snow, and a colored boy called Ned, left 
Massachusetts for Ohio, and in March joined the company 
that came on in the winter. Of this company, Artemus 
Beebe, venerable in his year8,and venerated for a life of great 
usefulness, is the only one surviving. Ebenezer Lane, after- 
ward, and for many years, occupied with much distinction, a 
place upon the bench of the Supreme Court of the State. 

The party, on their arrival, took up their abode in a log 
house, near the present residence of Hon. Heman Ely. This 
was built the previous year by Mr. Ely, and was the first 
building of any kind erected in the town. Previous, how- 
ever, to its occupancy, and in November, 1816, a family by 
the name of Beach took up their residence in the western 
part of the town. George Douglas and Gersham Danks, 
arrived in April, i817. Festus Cooley arrived from Massa- 
chusetts May 29, having made the entire distance on foot. 



— 341 — 

and on the next day took charge of the mills on the river. 
There were now, at least, eleven persons here, and work was 
at once commenced in earnest. The first framed buildins: 
was the one occupied during the first season, for a joiner 
shop, and thereafter, for many years, for a store. Edmund 
West opened the first store in l8l8. The second framed 
building was for the residence of Mr. Ely. It is now occu- 
pied by his son Heman as the old homestead. At the rais- 
ing, as was customary in those times, men from many miles 
away were present, to put their shoulders to the bent, and 
assist their neighbor in providing a habitation. All were 
considered neighbors within a distance of twenty miles. 
While buildings were being erected the forest was being 
felled. Clark Eldred, Esq., then twenty years of age, in 18l6, 
upon Mr. Ely's first visit here, entered into a contract with 
him for the purchase of lot ITo. 16, two and ahalf miles west 
of the river; and during the winter of 1816-17, commenced 
to clear the ground, upon which he spent nearly a life. This 
was the first chopping in the neighborhood. In 1817, the 
survey of the township and village was commenced by 
Joshua Henshaw, a skillful surveyor, and continued until 
completed. In the fall of 1817, Heman El}'^ and the two 
Lanes returned to Massachusetts, and spent the most of the 
winter. In October, 1818, Mr. Ely again visited the East; 
was made happy while there by his marriage to Miss Celia 
Belden, returned to Elyria, and directed renewed energies to 
the development of the town. Tne first school house was 
built in l8l9, of logs, just east of the river; and for years it 
served the double purpose of a school house and a house for 
religious worship. Kot far distant, and in the same year, Mr. 
Chester Wright erected a distillery, one of the most flourish- 
ing institutions of pioneer times. The first village lot sold 
was to Artemus Beebe and George Douglas, co-partners in 
mechanical labor. The consideration paid was $32. The lot 
is opposite to Heman Ely's. The house standing there was 
built in 18 1 8. It was used by Mr. Beebe for a hotel for a 



— 342 — 

great many years. Major Calvin Hoadley, of Columbia, in the 
same year, being employed by Mr. Ely so to do, built a bridge 
over the east branch of the Black River. 

As elsewhere remarked, on the 14th day ot November, 
1811, it was ordered by the Commissioners of Cuyahoga 
county that township ^N'o. 7 in the 15th, 16th and 17th 
ranges, and all of ^o. 7 in Range 18, east of Black River, viz. ^ 
the present townships of Dover, Avon, Sheffield, and a part 
of Black River township, be incorporated into a separate 
township, by the name of Dover ; and on the 12th of 
March, 1812, it was further ordered by the Board, that 
all that tract of land lying west of the town of Dover, 
and west of township No. 6 in the 16th Range, and east of 
the east line of the Fire Lands, so called, and north of town- 
ship No. 5 in Ranges 17, 18 and l9, be attached to said town- 
ship of Dover. This order attached the territory now com- 
prising Elyria, Amherst,Brownhelm,and most of Black River 
township, to Dover. It is, however, of little value, other 
than as an historic fact, that the town was so attached, as 
there were no white settlers here at the time to reap any 
benefit from the connection. In 1815 this relation was sev- 
ered. The organization of Huron county detached the town 
from its former connection with territory lying east and 
north. 

In February, 1817, the township of Black River was or- 
dered organized by the Commissioners of Huron county. 
Their action declared that township No. 6, and all of No. 7, 
in Huron county, in Range 18, with all the land thereto at- 
tached in Huron county, east of the Fire Lands, should be 
set off from the township of Vermillion, and organized into 
a separate township by the name of Black River. It would 
seem from this order and description that Filyria was in- 
cluded, as it was attached to No. 6 (Amherst), and was in 
Huron county, and lay east of the Fire Lands. On the 20th 
of October, 1819, the township of Elyria, comprising towns 
No. 5 and 6 in Range 17, (Carlisle and Elyria), was set off 



— 343 — 

into a township by the same authority. It was named after 
its founder, by adding to his name the suffix ria. The two 
towns remained united for purposes of civil administration 
until June 1822. The first election was participated in by 
the electors of both towns, and took place on the first Mon- 
day of April, 1820. The names of the first officers are not 
ascertainable. 

In May, 1818, a postoffice was established, and on 23d of 
that month Mr. Ely was appointed po8tmaster,and continued 
in the office until April, 1833, when he was succeeded by 
John S. Matteson. After the act forming the county had 
been passed by the Legislature, in 1822, and previous to its 
organization in 1824 the question of the location of a county 
seat became one of no inconsiderable interest. 

The inhabitants of the three townships of Black River, 
Sheffield and Elyria, were respectively solicitous to secure it. 
A committee of disinterested persons was appointed by the 
Legislature to examine into the merits of the rival claims, 
and into the public convenience and welfare, having respect 
to the future needs of the people, as well as the present. In 
February, 1823, they made their appearance here, and by 
Mr. Artemus Beebe were conveyed to Black River and Shef- 
field, and, after examining the three points, selected Elyria as 
the Seat of Justice. It is not improbable that a promise by 
Mr. Ely to furnish a temporary court house and jail, for use 
until the county should erect county buildings, and to do- 
nate $2,000 towards the erection of a new court house, oper- 
ated as an inducement to the selection made. The county 
seat selected, Mr. Ely, in fulfillment of his promise, proceed- 
ed at once to erect the court house. It may yet be seen per- 
forming the humble, yet honorable, office of a workshop, in 
the rear of Snearer & Waldeck's furniture store. It was erect- 
ed on Cheapside corner, and used for the purpose for which 
it was designed until 1828, when the erection of the court 
house now upon the public square rendered its further use 
for county purposes no longer necessary. 



— 344 — 

It was subsequently used for school and religious purposes. 
The jail was built a short distance southeast of the present 
Court House. The family of R. W. Pomeroy, Esq., has been 
for some years confined in it, on 3d street, with the privilege, 
however, to go at large without recognizance or bail. On the 
22d day of February, 1822, Hemau Ely dedicated to the in- 
habitants of the township the public park, lying between 
Broad and South streets, and placed the title in Edmund 
West in trust for their benefit. He also conveyed to West in 
trust for the use of the county,for county buildings, if accept- 
ed and used for that purpose, eight rods of ground by twelve, 
where the Court House now stands, and the remainder of the 
back square he conveyed to the town for the benefit of its 
inhabitants. 

These gifts of Mr. Ely to the town, were followed at a 
later, and more recent date, by one from his son Charles 
Arthur Ely, the munificence of which is only equaled by the 
liberality and large-heartedness which inspired it. The 
Elyian Library is a monument that will ever keep fresh in 
the hearts of the people the memory of its generous and la- 
mented founder. 



WELLINGTON, 



Wellington, town No. 3, Range l8, was drawn together 
with 4,000 acres, in tract 7 in Brighton, annexed to equalize 
it, by Ephraim Root and James Ross. They sold the town 
to Frederick Hamlin, James Adams, Francis Herrick, and 
Harmon Kingsbury, of Berkshire county, Massachusetts . 
two of these, Adams and Kingsbury, never became residents 
of the town. In the spring of 1818, the settlement of the 
town was commenced. Ephraim A. Wilcox, John Clifford, 
Charles Sweet and Joseph Wilson, of Berkshire county,Ma3- 
sachusetts, and William Welling, of Montgomery county, i!T. 
Y., reached Grafton in February of that year, and in March 
following cut their path through to Wellington. They 



— 345 — 

made an opening to the sunlight at the centre of the town, 
and at once built a log cabin for habitation. They carried a 
few blankets, and bed ticks, tilling the ticks with dry leaves. 
The bedstead was constructed by driving four crotched 
stakes in the ground, laying poles from stake to stake, and 
placing white oak shakes from pole to pole. Upon this struc- 
ture they placed their leafy bed, and upon this bed their 
weary limbs. Having provided a dwelling they at once com- 
menced to clear the forest. As often as once a week two of 
the number went to Grafton, a distance of ten miles, to get 
their bread baked. The number and ferocity of wild animals 
made it dangerous for one to go alone. There being two, 
each constituted a body guard for the other. 

Clifford returned to Massachusetts in the following May. 
On July 4th, of the same year, Frederick Hamlin arrived, ac- 
companied by the wife of Wilcox, her son Theodore, Caro- 
line Wilcox, and Dr. D. J. Johns. Before their arrival, Wil- 
cox had erected a log house on land selected by him north- 
west of the centre, into which he at once took his family. 
This was the first family that made its advent into the town. 
Others were soon added, among whom were those of John 
Howk, Alanson Howk, Whitman DeWolf, Benjamin Wads- 
worth, Silas Bailey, Amos Adams, Judson Wadsworth,Jame8 
Wilson and Josiah Bradley. In the spring of 1820, the first 
school house was opened in the house of John Clifford by 
Caroline Wilcox, in which she continued to teach until a log 
school house was erected on the spot now occupied by the 
American House. The school was closed with a grand ex- 
hibition, the first entertainment of the kind that has been 
noted, given west of the Cuyahoga. Frederick Hamlin was 
one of the associate judges in the county, appointed in 1824, 
upon its organization. He was succeeded in that office by 
his fellow townsman, Dr. D. J. Johns. The township was 
organized in April, 1821. It was then a part of Medina 
county. Hamlin was elected a trustee ; Wilcox a justice of 
the peace, and D. J. Johns township clerk. Col. Herrick had 



— 346 — 

been a member of the Massachusetts Legislature while a resi- 
dent of Massachusetts. He did not remove here until 1837. 
The town was named after William Welling, one of the first 
settlers. The then recent achievement of the Duke of Wel- 
ington, on the plains of Waterloo, may have inspired a ready 
acquiescence in the suggested name. Welling subsequently 
took up his residence in Medina county. 



HUNTINGTON 



The town next south, No. 2, Kange 18, was drawn by 
Oliver Sheldon, Simeon Griswold, John Cowles, Benjamin 
Kent and others. Tract No. 4, in Rochester, was drawn 
with it. Sage, Skinner, Bowles and others, soon became 
large proprietors of the town, by-purchase. In the year that 
Hamlin, Wilcox, and Clifford, left Berkshire county, Mass- 
achusetts, to settle town No. 3, range 18, in the Connecticut 
Western Reserve, Joseph Sage. John Laborie and others 
left Huntington, Connecticut, for No. 2, of the same 
range. John Laborie and wife, (the latter being the 
daughter ot Mr. Sage), were the first family that took 
up its settlement in the town. They left in Febru- 
ary, 1818, accompanied by four boys and a girl. They made 
the route from Connecticut to Hudson, then in Portage 
County, in four weeks, traveling the whole distance in a 
sleigh. At Stow they hired an ox team to take them through, 
and after six days of severe journey, they reached town No. 
1, (Sullivan), then having but four families — settlers of the 
previous year — within its borders. On the next day, they 
moved forward and took possession of a log house that had 
been built by Henry Chase. There was an opening for a 
door, but nothing to fill or close it; no window nor chimney. 
The cracks, or openings between the walls, had not been 
chinked. They had one neighbor. He had just preceded 
them in settlement, and was from Easton, New York. La- 
borie at once erected a log house, and moved into it, and 



— 347 — 

there lived for some three weeks, without a window, floor or 
chimney. Their bedsteads were made of puncheons, and 
their beds were ticks filled with leaves. The boys chopped 
some poles, placed them on the joists above, making a cham- 
ber, and took up their lodging in the loft. Sage went South, 
bought some hogs, drove them home, butchered them, and 
salted them down in a trough. The trough cracked, the brine 
ran out,the salt lost itssavor,and away went the pork. Mrs.La- 
borie was not, however, to remain long without female friends 
from her Eastern home. On the 20th of Jane, of the same 
year, the family of Isaac Sage, arrived. In the afternoon of 
the day of their arrival, they vvere feasted on a pot-pie, made 
of the meat of a young bear. Early in fall, there came the 
families of Oliver Rising and Daniel Tillotson. Benjamin 
Rising came with Oliver. In 1822, a school-house was built 
and Miss Lovinia Loveland, during that season, taught the 
first school, having fourteen scholars, some coming a dis- 
tance of two miles through the woods. The first framed 
dwelling was built by Reuel Lang. Benjamin Rising was 
the first manufacturer of the town. J. B. Lang, Esq., thus 
describes his manufactory : '' It was a lathe, operated by a 
spring-pole, for turning wooden bowls. A bark rope, at- 
tached to a long spring-pole, overhead, passing around the 
mandrel, which was of wood, and attached to a treadle 
below. The treading on this threw the block around two 
or three times, and then the pole springing bacl£, threw the 
block back, ready for another *gouge.' " 

In August, 1822, the Commissioners of Medina county, to 
which Huntington then belonged, incorporated the town by 
the name it now bears. It took its name from Huntington, 
Connecticut, the former abiding place of the Labories. The 
organization also embraced the new territory now within 
the township of Rochester. An election was ordered for and 
held upon the 1st Monday of September. Joseph Sage, 
Henry K. Ferris and Benjamin Banning were elected trus- 
tees ; Isaac Sage, township clerk; and David E. Hickox, 



— 348 — 

treasurer. Joseph Sage was elected the first Justice of the 
Peace at a special election held soon after. 



BRIGHTON, 

Brighton was first settled in 1820, hy Abner Loveman, Jr. 
He took up his abode on tract 7. Settler No. 2, was Joseph 
Kingsbury, who settled upon the same tract, in the early part 
of 1821. Other families soon followed. Had the territory 
comprised by the township lines, been surveyed into a town- 
ship, it would have been town 3, range 19; and it was so en- 
tered on the country records, at the date of its incorporation. 
It was, however, formed by the Commissioners of Medina 
county, out of tract 7, a part of tract 6, and a part of tract 8. 
Lemuel Storrs was the original owner of all of tract 8. He 
drew it at the dratt in connection with LaGrange, to which 
it was annexed for equalization. Four thousand acres in 
tract 7, were annexed to Wellington, to equalize it, and were 
drawn by Ephraim Root and James Ross, in connection with 
that township, and tract 6, by Peter Brooks, John Call, Wil- 
liam Shaw, George Black, and Pennewel Cheney. Some of 
these parties sold to, and others exchanged with, Tuckerman 
Bros., Harman Kingsbury, Norton, Stocking, Deming, Ham- 
lin, and Alford. Tuckerman Bros, sold to Levi Bliss, of Mass- 
achusetts. The township was organized at the spring elec- 
tion of 1823, Joseph Kingsbury, Avory Hall, and Calvin 
Roice, were elected trustees; Leonard H. Loveland, clerk; Ab- 
ner Loveland, treasurer; and Abner Loveland, Jr., Justice of 
the Peace. There were twelve electors, just about the num- 
ber of persons required to fill the offices in those days. The 
township belonged to Lorain, as then formed, but, with other 
townships, remained attached to Medina county, until the or- 
ganization of Lorain was completed. The school-house and 
church soon followed the incorporation of the town, and for 
the observance of all things that concern the public order, and 
good morals, Brighton ranks among the highest and fore- 
most of her sister townships. 



— 349 — 
EATON. 

Town 5, range 16, at the Hartford drawing, became the 
property of Caleb Atwater, Turhand Kirtland, Daniel Hol- 
brook, and ten others. Tract 1, gore 4, in range 11, was an- 
nexed to it. to bring it up to full value with the selected town. 
It was originally called Holbrook, and retained that name un- 
til 1822, from the circumstance that Daniel Holbrook was a 
large owner of its soil. It was first settled in the fall of 1810, 
by Asa Morgan, Silas Wilmot, Ira B. Morgan, and Ebenezer 
Wilraot. These were all single men. They came from Water- 
bury, Connecticut, in the spring and summer, with those 
who took up their abode in Ridgeville. They built a log 
house, in the fall of that year, on the land long occupied by 
Silas Wilmot, and jointly occupied it, until, by a change in 
their circumstances, such occupancy was no longer desirable. 
By agreement, this house became the property ot Silas 
Wilmot. It was the first erection in the town. In 
1812, Silas Wilmot intermarried with Chloe Hubbard, 
of Ashtabula county. They commenced married life in 
a log cabin on the Ridge. His was the first family that set- 
tled in the town. Soon after, Ira B. Morgan intermarried 
with Louisa Bronson, of Columbia, built a log house, just 
east of Wilmot's, and there took up his abode. His family 
was tbe second that took up its residence in the town. Asa 
soon married and settled west of Wilmot's. 

Not long after, the families of Levi Mills, Thuret F. Chap- 
man, Seneca Andress, Meritt Osborn, A. M. Dowd, Dennis 
Palmer, Sylvester Morgan, and others, were added. The 
first school was taught by Julia Johnson, daughter of Phin- 
eas, then a resident of No. 5, range 16. The organization 
of the township of Ridgeville, included Eaton ; and the two 
towns were embraced in one civil organization, until Decem- 
ber 3, 1822, at which time it was ordered by the Commis- 
sioners of Cuyahoga county, on the petition of the inhabi- 
tants, that No. 6, (5), range 16, be set off into a township by 
the name of Eaton. At the spring election, in 1823, the re- 



— 350— . 

quired township officers were elected, the township detached 
from Ridge ville, and organized for independent action. 



CARLISLE. 



Carlisle, town !N"o. 5, Range 17, was drawn by Joseph 
Perkins, John Richmond, Tracy, and Hoit, William Eld- 
ridge, John Mc Clennan, Daniel Tilden, and Jabez Adams. 
As before mentioned,Island ^o. 6,then called Cunningham's, 
now Kelley's, consisting of 2,747 acres, was annexed to it for 
the purpose of equalization. Those who drew the town be- 
came the owners of that island. The first settlement of the 
town was made in the spring of 1819, by Samuel Brooks, 
from Middletown, Conn. He was accompanied by Phineas 
Johnson, his wife's father, who assisted in selecting the spot 
for their future home. Johnson returned to Connecticut. A 
log house was soon erected, and in it Samuel Brooks took up 
his abode. This was on the east branch of Black River, in 
the east part ot the town. In September of that year Heze- 
kiah Brooks, a brother of Samuel, and whose wife was a sis- 
ter of the wite of Samuel, and both the daughters of Phineas 
Johnson, Capt. James Brooks and family, together with the 
family of Johnson, and the family of Riley Smith, left Mid- 
dletown, and after the usual tedious journey of about six 
weeks, with ox teams, reached Elyria. Smith and family re- 
mained at Elyria for a while, and then went into Carlisle. 
The families of the Brookses and Johnsons pushed forward 
to Carlisle, and moved in with Samuel, and remained until 
other dwelling places could be provided. At about the same 
time that this settlement was making in the east part of the 
town another was springing up in the western part. The 
families of Jamison Murray, before then for some time resi- 
dents of Ridgeville, and Philo Murray, and Philo, Jr., had 
taken up their residence on the ridge, and Obed Gibbs and 
family, and Ransom and David had settled further south. 
Soon after,the families of Solomon Sutliff,Chauncey Prindle, 



— 351 — 

Bennett, Drakely, Hard and others were added. Prindle set- 
tled at the centre of the town. Abel Farr and Abel Farr, 
Jr., and John Bacon, were among the earliest residents of the 
town. Julia Johnson taught the tirst school in Carlisle, as 
she had in Eaton and Elyria. She subsequently became the 
wife of Edmund West, and resided in Elyria. 

Carlisle and Elyria were, on the 20th day of October, 1819, 
organized for civil purposes, together by the name of Elyria. 
They belonged to Huron county. This connection was sus- 
tained and continued until June 4th, 1822, when on petition 
of Obed Gibbs and others, No. 5, Range 17, was detached 
from Elyria by the commissioners of Huron county, and or- 
ganized into a separate township by the name of Carlisle. 
Before this independent organization a part of the town had 
acquired the name of Murraysville. This was not satisfac- 
tory to the inhabitants away from Murray's Ridge. Phineas 
Johnson wished the town named Berlin, after his native town 
in Connecticut. The people of the Ridge wanted it called 
Murraysville, and being unable to agree on either name, a 
compromise resulted in the selection of the name it bears. 



AMHERST. 

Amherst, No. 6, in Range 18, was drawn by Martin Shel- 
don, Calvin Austin, Oliver L. Phelps, and Asahel Hathaway. 
Tract No. 5, consisting of 4,000 acres in Black River, was an- 
nexed to equalize it. Its early history is intimately con- 
nected with that of Black River, and in connection with the 
latter town and other adjoining territory, was organized in 
April, 1817, into a township by the name of Black River. 
Its incorporation and organization were ordered by the Com- 
missioners of Huron county, at their session in February of 
that year. This relation continued until October, 1818,when 
Brown helm was detached and incorporated independently. 
Russia was detached in June, 1825, leaving the territory now 
embraced in the township of Amherst and Black River form- 



— 352 — 

ing one township. These two townships continued as one 
until January 12, 1830, w^heu a special act of the Legislature 
divided them. There was an act in force that inhibited the 
incorporation of any township, by the act of County Com- 
missioners, with less than twenty-two square miles, unless it 
included a town corporate ; and this inhibition prevented the 
organization of Black River with its present limits by the 
Commissioners of the county. An application was therefore 
made to the Legislature, for a separate organization, and on 
the 12th of January, 1830, an act was passed incorporating^ 
the inhabitants of fractional township No. 7, Range 18, in 
the Connecticut Western Reserve, by the name of the town- 
ship of Black River. The act directed, that on the first Mon- 
day of April then next, an election for township officers 
should be held at the house of John S. Reid, Esq., in manner 
and form as provided by law ; and it was further provided 
that township No. 6, in the same range, should be,and remain 
separate from, and exclusive of, fractional township No. 7, 
and be known as the township of Amherst. Its first officers 
were elected at the April election in 1830. Jacob Shupe was 
the first settler of the town. He came into Black River in 
1810, and as early as 1811 moved over the line into Amherst^ 
and settled upon Beaver Creek. He erected a saw-mill in 
the same year, and soon thereafter a grist-mill. In October, 
1815, Chileab Smith settled with his family on Little Beaver 
Creek, in Amherst, four miles west of Elyria, where he lived 
until his death. He opened and kept the first tavern in that 
vicinity. During the same year Stephen Cable, before then 
a resident of Ridgeville, moved from the latter town, and 
took up his residence near the Corners, formerly called Hul- 
bert's Corners, six miles west of Elyria. In the year 1816, 
Reuben Webb settled on the farm lying at " Webb's Corners." 
In 1817, there were other additions to the town, among them 
the family of Thomas Waite, which remained but one year, 
and then removed into Russia. The family of Ezekial Cran- 
dall settled near Cable's. In the year 1818, Josiah Harris 



— 353 — 

settled at what is now North Amherst, where he spent along 
and useful life. He came from Becket, Berkshire county, 
Massachusetts. He was elected justice of the peace in 1821, 
and held the office by re-election for thirty-six consecutive 
years. He was postmaster at i^orth Amherst for a continu- 
ous period of forty years ; was the first sheriff of the county, 
and was appointed associate judge in 1829, and served for the 
period of seven years. He was the object of universal respect 
by the inhabitants of the town of his adoption. Through the 
beneficence of his counsel, parties litigant often left his court 
with their cause amicably settled, with all irritation removed, 
and personal good feeling restored. Ebenezer Whiton became 
a resident the same or the previous year. Eliphalet Redington 
settled on the South Eidge, now South Amherst,in February, 
1818. He was selected by the Legislature as one of the Com- 
mittee to locate the road leading from the eastern termina- 
tion of the one, running east from the foot of the rapids of 
the Miami of the Lake to Elyria. Elijah Sanderson settled 
near him. in the same year. Prior to 1820, there were numer- 
ous additions to the town, among whom were Caleb Ormsby, 
Ezekiel Barnes, Elias Peabody, Thompson Blair, Israel Cash, 
Roswell Crocker, Harry Redington, Jesse Smith, Adoniram 
Webb, Frederick, Henry, Michael, David and George 
Onstine. 

RUSSIA. 

Russia, is town 'No. 5, Range 18. It was originally drawn 
by Titus Street and Isaac Mills. 4,300 acres in tract 3, gore 
6, range 12, was annexed to equalize it. Mills sold his inter- 
est to Samuel Hughes. Among the first names familiar to 
those living in the town, were those of Street and Hughes. 
The first settlement was in the northwest corner of the town, 
north of the road leading from Webb's Corner^ to Henrietta. 
It was nearly contemporaneous with the settlement of South 
Amherst. Thomas Waite was the first settler. He moved 
his family from Ontario county, New York, in 1817, and 



— 354 — 

took up his residence in Amherst until the spring of 1818, 
when he moved into Russia, took up a piece of land, and in 
a few years died. In 1820, the west road began to be opened, 
and Daniel Rathburne, and Walter and Jonathan Buck, with 
their families, settled in the town in that year. In 1821, the 
families of John McCauley and Lyman Wakely were added. 
They were followed in 1822 by Samuel T. Wightman and 
Jesse Smith, with their families. In 1823, John Maynes 
joined the settlement, and in 1824, Meeker, George and John- 
athan Disbro, Daniel Axtell, Abraham Wellman, Israel Cash, 
Richard Rice, James R. Abbott, and Henry and John Thurs- 
ton took up their abode there. Some of these may have 
moved in, in 1823. They were soon followed by Elias Pea- 
body, Samuel K. Mellen, Lewis D. Boynton, Eber I*5'ewton, 
Joseph Carpenter, and others. Whether the first school-house 
was built just north of Eber Newton's, or near the residence 
of Alonzo Wright, is in dispute. There was one at each place 
at an early day. When Black River was organized in Feb- 
ruary, 1817, by the Commissioners of Huron county, the lands 
adjoining the present township of Amherst on the south, 
were annexed to enable the inhabitants to enjoy township 
privileges. The inhabitants of Russia remained so annexed, 
until June, 1825, at which time, on petition of many of her 
citizens, she was detached from Black River by the Commis- 
sioners of Lorain county, and incorporated into a separate 
and independent township. The election of township 
ofiicers was had at a log school-house on the hill near Wright's 
in the summer of 1825, it being a special election ordered 
for the purpose of perfecting the township organization. At 
this election, George Disbro, Israel Cash, and Walter Buck, 
were elected trustees; Richard Rice, clerk; and Daniel Ax- 
tell, justice of the peace. No settlement was made in the 
south part of the town until after the year 1832. The ground 
selected for the Oberlin Colony, as it was called at an early 
day, was an unbroken forest until 1833. In the spring of 
that year, Peter P. Pease, one of the earliest of the Brown- 



— 355 — 

helm settlers, erected his log cabin, opposite of where the 
Park House now stands, and ou College ground. This was 
the first breaking in that part of the township. Street and 
Hughes had donated about five hundred acres of land to the 
contemplated '^ Oberlin Collegiate Institute," and had sold to 
its friends upwards of five thousand acres more, for the price 
of one dollar and a half an acre. The resale of this tract, at 
an advance of one dollar an acre, provided the fund that en- 
abled the successful initiation and organization of the College. 
The annual report of the Institute in the second year of its 
existence, (1834), among other things employed the follow- 
ing language : " One and a half years ago, its site was unin- 
habited, and surrounded by a forest three miles square, which 
has since been taken by intelligent and pious families, which 
have formed a settlement, called the Oberlin Colony, that 
will soon probably overspread the entire tract. This site was 
chosen because it was supposed to be healthy, couM be easi- 
ly approached by Western lakes and canals, and yet was 
sufficiently remote from the vices and temptations of large 
towns; and because extensive and fertile lands could here be 
obtained for the manual labor department of the Institute, 
and for the settlement of a sustaining colony on better terms 
than elsewhere. Its grand object is the difi'usion of useful 
science, sound morality and true religion, among the grow- 
ing multitudes of the Mississippi Valley. One of its objects was 
the elevation of female character, and included within its 
general design, was the education of the common people 
with the higher classes, in such manner, as suits the nature 
of republican institutions." How well it has accomplished 
this irrand object, and carried out this general design, its his- 
tory already written affords the most convincing proof. 
Planted in a wilderness, seemingly the abode of desolation, 
its nearest neighbor three miles away, it struggled on with 
opposition and derision, until its accomplished work gives 
it rank among the leading institutions of the land. It has 
graduated upward of sixteen hundred persons and afforded 



— 356 — 

instruction to about seventeen thousand. It has the happj 
satisfaction of having survived the odium, which attached to 
its defense of those principles of freedom and equality, which 
received their crowning triumph, in the issue, and achieve- 
ments of the late struggle for the maintainance of Ameri- 
can Independence. 

PENFIELD. 

Township Ko. 3, in range 17, became by the draft the 
property of Caleb Atwater. He gave it to his six daughters. 
Lucy Day, Ruth Cook, Abigal Andrews, Mary Beebe, Sarah 
Merrick, and the wife of Judge Cook. The first exploration 
of the township by persons seeking western lands, was in 
the fall of 1818, by Peter Penfield and Calvin Spencer, then 
resident of eastern New York. They were assisted in their 
examination of the township by James Ingersoll, of Grafton, 
after which they returned to the East. In 1819, Peter Pen- 
field again came, and selected land, employed Seth C. Inger- 
soll to erect a log house upon it, and returned home. Inger- 
soll completed the dwelling in the fall of that year. In Feb-^ 
ruary then next, Peter Penfield and Lothrop Penfield arrived 
and in connection with Alanson, a son of Peter, already on 
the ground, and who remained during the winter preceeding^ 
and taught school in Sheffield, commenced to open the 
forest four miles from the nearest inhabitant. In the fall of 
1820, or early winter, Truman Penfield arrived with his fam- 
ily, the first that came, and moved into the log house built 
by Ingersoll. In the following March, the family of Peter 
Penfield, which up to this time had remained East, arrived 
and joined in the occupancy of the log cabin, until another 
could be erected. Calvin Spencer came again in 1S21, select- 
ed land, engaged Peter Penfield to build a house upon it, and 
returned to New York. In the fall of 1821, Samuel Knapp 
came, examined the land, made a selection, and returned 
home, and remained there until the fall of 1822, when with 
his family he took up his abode in the infant settlement, upon 



— 357 — 

the lands so selected. Other families soon followed. David 
P. Merwin arrived in 1824. Calvin Spencer moved his fam- 
ily into the house prepared for him in the spring of the same 
year. The family of Stephen Knapp arrived ahout the same 
time,and the family of Benjamin E. Merwin in 1825. The town- 
ship was organized at an election in 1825, held at the dwell- 
ing house of Truman Penfield, having been previously or- 
dered by the Commissioners of Medina county, of which 
county the town then formed a part. The officers elected 
were Samuel Knapp, Samuel Root and Peter Penfield, trus- 
tees; Truman Penfield, clerk ; Lothrop Penfield, treasurer. 
In 1826, Benjamin E. Merwin was elected Justice of the 
Peace. Previous to its incorporation,the inhabitants had agreed 
upon Richland as the name of the town, and petitioned the 
Commissioners for an order of incorporation by that name. 
But the Commissioners ascertaining there were other locali- 
ties having the name of Richmond, rejected the application, 
and named it Penfield, in honer of the first settler. Previ- 
ous to the organization of the town, it had been annexed to 
Grafton, and in connection with that townee njoyed township 
privileges until it was set apart to act under independent or- 
ganization. 

The first school was taught by Miss Clarissa Rising, of 
Huntington, in the private dwelling of Calvin Spencer. The 
usual facilities for teaching were, however, soon provided by 
the erection of a log school house in the fall of 1828, and a 
teacher for the winter supplied, in the person of our respect- 
ed townsman, Geo. R. Starr. 



SULLIVAN. 



In 1728, the township of Sullivan, No. 1, range. 18, em- 
bracing the territory now included in Sullivan and Troy, was 
organized by the Commissioners of Lorain county, and town 
No. 1, range 17, now Homer, was annexed to it for judicial 
purposes only. 



— 358 — 

SPENCER. 

In December, 1831, the inhabitants of 'So. 2, range 17, ap- 
plied for township organization, by the name of Spencerfield. 
The "field" was dropped, and the town was incorporated by 
the name of Spencer. 



HOMER. 



In March, 1833, town 1, range 17, previously annexed to 
Sullivan, was detacked and organized into a township by the 
name of Richmond. Subsequently the name was changed to 
Homer. 



TROY, 

In June, 1835, all of the l9th range, south of Roche8ter,to- 
gether with the surplus land lying west, was detached from 
Sullivan, and organized into a township by the name of Troy. 
Upon the formation of Summit county, in March, i840, 
Spencer and Homer were severed from Lorain and re-at- 
tached to Medina ; and upon the formation of Ashland 
county, in February, 1846, Sullivan and Troy were detached 
from Lorain, and were incorporated into that county. 



LA GRANGE, 



La Grange, town 4, range 17, with 3,700 acres m tract 8, 
range 19, now in Brighton and Camden, was drawn by 
Henry Champion and Lemuel Storrs, Champion owning two- 
thirds and Storrs one-third of the purchase. Champion con- 
veyed his part of the town to his son-in-law, Elizur Good- 
rich, who exchanged part of it with E*athan Clarke, Roger 
Phelps, Noah Holcomb and James Pelton, for lands owned 
by them in Jefferson county, New York, where they former- 
ly resided. The three last named, in the fall of 1825, visited 
the ground to form a judgment of its merits for farming pur- 



— 359 — 

poses, and returned home. Goodrich, also, exchanged lands 
with David Eockwood, Asa Rockwood, Fairchild Huhbard, 
Joseph Robbins, Sylvester Merriam and Levi Johnson. On 
November 14, 1825, iTathan Clarke made the first settlement 
of the town. During the next season the tamilies of E"oah 
Holcomb, Sylvester Merriam, James Disbrow and Joseph A. 
Graves arrived for permanent settlement, and a new abiding 
place. In the latter part of the same year, Fairchild Hub- 
bard moved in from Brighton, where he had remained dur- 
ing the season of 1826. Population so increased, that in the 
fall of that year there were over sixty persons resident in the 
town, with more continually coming. 

At the June session of the Commissioners of Lorain county, 
1824, La Grange, then known as town 4, range 17, was at- 
tached to Carlisle for civil and judicial purposes, and re- 
mained so attached until its separate organization in 1827. 
Immigration had been so rapid, and of such numbers, during 
the eighteen months succeeding the advent of the first fam- 
ily, as to necessitate an independent township organization. 
In January, 1827, it was detached from Carlisle and incor- 
porated into a township by the name of La Grange. The first 
election for township officers was held in April of that year, 
at the dwelling house of Fairchild Hubbard. Eber W. Hub- 
bard afterward one of the associate judges of the Court of 
Common Pleas, was elected township clerk; James Disbrow, 
treasurer; Noah Holcomb, Noah Kellogg and Fairchild Hub- 
bard, Trustees, and Eber W. Hubbard, Justice of the Peace. 



HENRIETTA. 



Henrietta was organized during the same year. In Nov- 
ember, 1826, the inhabitants in the south part of Brown- 
helm, petitioned the commissioners to take off the three south 
tiers of lots, and attach them to unsettled lands lying south, 
and incorporate the same into a township. The petitioners 
took occasion to say, that it was seven miles from the Lake 



— 360 — 

Shore, to the south line of the township ; that there had been 
but little communication between the north and south set- 
tlements ; and that it was extremely inconvenient for some 
part of the people, to attend on the public business of the 
town. The prayer of the petition was rejected, but at the 
same session of the commissioners it was ordered that tracts 
-9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, in range 19, with surplus lots lying 
west of said tracts, be erected into a township, by the name 
of Henrietta, and be attached to Brighton for judicial pur- 
poses. This township, as thus formed, included a large part 
•of the present township of Camden, and a little more than 
two-thirds of the present township of Henrietta. As organ- 
ized, it was not satisfactory to the inhabitants of the south 
part of Brownhelm, and in February, 1827, upon their peti- 
tion, two tiers of lots, being over a mile in width, were de- 
tached from the south part of Brownhelm, and annexed to 
Henrietta ; and tract l^o, 9, was detached from Henrietta, 
and annexed to Brighton. An election was ordered for town- 
ship officers, which took place in April, 1827, Calvin Leon- 
ard, Simeon Durand and Smith Hancock, were elected trus- 
tees ; Justin Abbot, clerk ; Joseph Powers, treasurer ; Edward 
Durand, Justice of the Peace. In March, 1830, lots 86, 87, 88, 
were detached from Brow^nhelm, and annexed to Henrietta ; 
and in March, 1835, lots 81, 82, 83, 84 and 85, the remainder 
of the tier, were added. The first settlement was on the 
Brownhelm territory. The first occupants were Calvin Leon- 
ard, Simeon Durand, Euloff Andress, Joseph Swift, John 
Denison, Uriah Hancock, Jedediah Holcomb, Almon Hol- 
comb, Obed Holcomb, Joseph Powders, the Abbots and possi- 
bly others. They took up their abode there, in 1817, about 
the same time that the Shore settlement was made. After 
the organization of the town in 1827, a postoffice was estab- 
lished on the hill, and 'Squire Abbot appointed first post- 
master. 



I 



— 361 — 



PITTSFIELD. 



The first white inhabitants of No. 4, range 18, now Pitts- 
l&eld, were a man by the name of Barker, and his two sons. 
He cleared a small spot on the northeast corner of lot 96,and 
there built a small log house. This was as early as 1813. 
Barker enlisted and went into the Military Service of the 
United States, in the war of 1812. His two sons remained a 
while, and left. Some surveyor's instruments were found in 
their cabin a few years after. In the Draft at Hartford, in 
1807, the town was drawn by Ebenezer Devotion, William 
Perkins and eight others. Tract 11, in Camden, range 19, 
<jonsisting ol 3,000 acres, was annexed to the town, to make 
it equal in value to the others to be drawn. In 1819,the town- 
ship was surveyed into lots, and divided between those who 
had purchased it. Milton Whitney became a large owner. 
In 1820, he came from the East, made an examination of the 
land, and entered into an arrangement with Thomas and Jer- 
ry Waite, sons of Thomas Waite, then of Kussia, by which 
they were to settle in town No. 4, range 18, upon his giving 
them fifty acres of land, each. This he did, and in the spring 
of 1821, the two Waites moved into the town, and took up 
their residence tnere. They were the first permanent set- 
tlers in Pittsfield. 

Immediately following the settlement of the Waites, they 
were joined by Henry and Chauncey Remington, upon a gift 
of one hundred acres of land to each of them by Whitney. 
The next settler was a minister by the name of Smith. Mr. 
NortoQ soon thereafter moved into the town. He built the 
first framed barn erected in the town. The town filled up 
quite slowly ; so much so that there was but one framed house 
in the town as late as l834. The town was early annexed to 
Wellington for township purposes, and remained so annexed 
until December, 1831, when, on petition of the inhabitants, 
it was detached aud incorporated into a township by the 
name of Pittsfield, taking its name from Pittsfield, Massa- 



— 362 — 

chusetts, where many of its land-owners resided. In April, 
1832, the selection of township officers completed its organiz- 
ation as a separate township. 



CAMDEN. 

In March, l835, an order incorporating Camden townt^hip 
was made by the Commissioners of the county. The pro- 
longation of the line between Ilussia and Pittsiield, west to 
range 20, was its northern boundary, and the extension west 
to the same range, of the line between Pittsfield and Well- 
ington, its southern. It was carved out of Brighton and 
Henrietta. Tracts 9 and 10, and parts of lots 8 and 11, in 
range 19, together with surplus lands lying west, formed the 
material for its territorial composition. Tract 9, by the draft 
at Hartford, became annexed to Grafton, and was drawn by 
Lemuel Storrs. Tract 10, annexed to Dover, by E"ehemiah 
Hubbard and Joshua Storrs. Tract 11, annexed to 
Pittsfield, was drawn by Henry Champion and Lemuel 
Storrs. It has before been remarked, that none of the 
19th range south of Brownhelm, as originally formed, 
was surveyed into townships, but was all surveyed into 
Tracts, which were wholly originally annexed to other 
towns, for purposes of equalization. Leonard Clark, 
with his family, accompanied by his wife's father, Moses 
Pike, made the first occupancy of land now forming the town 
of Camden. This was in 1829. This family lived there but 
a few years before moving West. In March, 1833, the fam- 
ilies of William Scott and John Johnston took up their set- 
tlement on tract 11. These were the first families that per- 
manently settled, at least in that part of the town then con- 
stituting a part of Henrietta. Later in the season, a school- 
house was "thrown up" by the inhabitants, and Mrs. Johns- 
ton gathered the few children and opened the first school. 
Other settlers soon joined, among whom were those of 
Waugh, Clark, Douglas, Washburn, Cyrenius, Holcomb, 



i 



— 363 — 

Wells, Lee, Wilcox, Smith and Eddy. On the 6th of April, 
1835, the lirst election for township officers was held in the 
log school house, and resulted in the choice of Azel Wash- 
burn, Robert Douglas and Obed Holcomb, trustees ; John 
Cyrenius, clerk ; David Wells, treasurer. Gideon Waugh 
was the first Justice of the Peace. 



ROCHESTER. 



At the same session that Camden was set apart and organ- 
ized into a township, lots 1 to 15, inclusive of tract 3, 
with all of tracts 4 and 5, and a part of tract 6, in 
range 19, together with surplus lots, 9 to 14, inclusive, lying 
west of the range, with a part of surplus lot 8, were united, 
and formed into the township of Rochester. Tract Ko. 5, 
was drawn by Uriah Holmes, in connection with the town of 
Litchfield, Medina county ; and tract 4, by Oliver Sheldon, 
and others annexed to Huntington. The first settlement was 
made by Elijah T. Banning, in April, 1831. Between 1831, 
and 1835, Benjamin C. Perkins, William Shepard, John 
Conaut, John Baird, Samuel Smith, Luther Blair, Joseph 
Hadley, Nehemiah Tucker, M. W. F. Fay, Erastus Knapp, 
Obijah W. Babcock, John Peet, and others, some with and 
some without families, were joined to the settlement. 

The township was organized on the 6th of April. 1835, by 
the election of John Conant, Joseph Hadley, and Kehemiah 
Tucker, trustees ; M. L. Blair, township clerk ; Benjamin C. 
Perkins, treasurer. The organization of Camden and Roch- 
ester, in March, 1835, and Troy in June following, completed 
the organization of the townships ot the entire county. 



COUNTY. 

At the organization of the county there were not to exceed 
ten organized townships. At the spring election, 1824, Asahel 
Osborne, John S. Reid, and Benjamin Bacon, were elected 



— 364 — 

Commissioners for the count j ; Sherman Minott, auditor, 
and Josiah Harris, sheriff. In the fall of the same year they 
were re-elected. At this election there were three hundred 
and thirty-two votes cast. The first term of the Court of 
Common Pleas was held on the 24th of May, 1824, by Hon. 
George Tod, President of the Third Circuit, and Moses El- 
dred, Henry Brown and Frederick Hamlin, his associates. 
Wolsey Wells, the only resident attorney, was appointed to 
prosecute the pleas of the State, and also clerk of the Court 
for the time being. He served as clerk only one day, when 
Ebenezer Whiton was appointed and assumed the duties of 
the office. Edward Durand was appointed surveyor for the 
county. Court continued its session for three days and finally 
adjourned. 

At the first session of the Commissioners, Edmund West 
was appointed County Treasurer ; an'd at the next session, 
John Pearson was appointed Collector of State and County 
taxes. This completed the official organization of the county. 
Literary and educational societies sprang up at an early day, 
and supplied the means for mental culture and improvement. 
In 1828, the Lorain County Library Society was incorporat- 
ed. Heman Ely, Reuben Mussey, and others, were incorpor- 
ated by the name of the " Elyria High School," in 183 L This 
school flourished for some time, under the superintendence 
and tuition of the Rev. John Montieth. In 1834, John 
Montieth, and his associates, were incorporated by the 
name of the " Elyria Lyceum." In March, 1835, Dan- 
iel L. Johns, and others, were incorporated by the 
name of the " Wellington Social Library Company." 
These were private corporations. These societies, and others 
of a similar character, served a good purpose, and were well 
supported until a more general diff'usion of the means of edu- 
cation and mental culture obviated the necessity of their 
continued existence. 

The time I have consumed reminds me that I am weary- 
ing your patience. I will detain you but a moment longer. 



— 365 — 

One of the most pleasant features of this day's celebration is 
the coming together, and the warm greetings of old friends. 
It is like the reunion of the family at the Golden Wedding, 
where ongratulations are interchanged, and the recollections 
and pleasures of youth are revived. We are happy in hav- 
ing with us so many, then young, whose immediate ancestors 
were the ones who, upwards of a half century ago,exchanged 
their homes in New England for a life in this far-off land. 
They were the advance guard of the Empire of the West. 
Little do we, of a later day, know of their trials and sufter- 
ings ; little of the self-denial, the selt-sacrifice, the longing 
for homes left behind, and the society of former days, of 
those who pioneered the way to this New Land of promise. 
Their hardships were not those ot the battle-field, but those 
incident to a life at the out-post of civilization. The most of 
them have gone to the rewards of a work well accomplished. 
Many of them are still here, survived to witness the Centen- 
nial Anniversary of their country's Independence, and to 
join in its acclamations; enjoying to the fullest and freest 
civil and religious liberty, surrounded by a thickly populated 
community in the enjoyment of like freedom, with the prom- 
ise of its continuance forever. But, as we look back to the 
day when they first made their advent here and note the in- 
tervening progress of events, and the great growth of the 
people, and of the things which denote their prosperity and 
happiness, what changes have been wrought! The same sky 
above, and the same earth beneath, are still here. The same 
rock-bound rivers,and the same beautiful blue lake expand- 
ing upon the North, are also here. But what else that has 
not undergone change? The dense forest has melted away, 
and its savage inhabitants are gone. The land then in the 
wilduess of nature, is covered with cultivated and fruitful 
fields, with thriving and growing villages,with cities of great 
wealth and architectural beauty. There is one, but a short 
distance away, whose surpassing beauty is equalled only by 
the splendid promise of its future. There are facilities for 



— 366 — 

carrying, for transit and intercommunication, that bring re- 
mote neighborhoods into friendly intercourse and seeming 
proximity. There has been an accumulation of industries 
and industrial products, surpassing all expectations. Insti- 
tutions of learning, spreading a knowledge of the arts and 
sciences, and affording the means of high intellectual culture 
and scholarship, long since sprung forth, and tound a wel- 
come habitatation and seat, in this New England of the 
West. 

These are some of the fruits of that energy, and courage^ 
brought hither by the Pioneers of that early day. The germ 
of New England culture, those influences that soften, elevate, 
and reline her social life, were brought. They brought the 
Bible, the church, and the school — the inevitable attendants, 
and sure security, of an enlightened future. Some of them 
brought what DeTocqueville names, as the surest guaranty 
of equality among men — poverty and misfortune. But good 
neighborhood, common sympathy, and fraternal regard, miti- 
gated the rigors of the latter, and supplied the needs, and 
necessities, of the former. They brought with them a deep 
love of Liberty, an immovable trust in God, a Patriotism in- 
spired afresh by the glories and achievements of the Revolu- 
tion ; and accepting, yet defying, the hardships and priva- 
tions that threatened, they came, bearing aloft the emblem 
of their Country's Liberty, and led forth to this benighted 
wilderness and wild, the advancing hosts of civilization. 

Let us, my friends, rejoice in the example, in the courage, 
in the patriotism, and worth of those hardy Pioneers. Let 
us rejoice that we are the honored recipients of the blessings 
they secured and transmitted. Let us rejoice in the happy 
and glorious future, of which the present is so full of prom- 
ise. And above all, let us rejoice in a country whose pro- 
gress, during the century, up the highway of nations, com- 
mands alike the wonder and admiration of the world ; and 
whose crowning glory is, that before the century's close, it 
extended the aegis of its protection, and imparted the full 
fruition of its liberty, to the humblest citizen of the land. 



I 



Tract No. 84. 

WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

CLEVELAND OHIO. 



TRACES OF THE ICE AGE 



Flora of the Cuyahoga Valley 



-DBLIVBRED BT- 



Prof. E. W. CLAYPOLE, 

OF Akron, Ohio, 

Before the Western Reserve Historical Society, of 

Cleveland, Ohio, February 24th, 189 1. 

^ 



I 



TRACES OF THE ICE AGE IN THE FLORA OF 
THE CUYAHOGA VALLEY. 



E. W. CLAYPOLE. 



Among the revelations of Geology the great changes of 
temperature which parts of our globe have experienced in 
comparatively recent times are not the least surprising. So 
strong 18 our association of the pole of the earth with a 
cold climate that it is not easy to conceive of it in any other 
relation. Yet no fact is more certain than that this connec- 
tion has not always been actual. So also the existing tem- 
perature of the temperate zone has not always prevailed. 
The testimony of geology is conclusive on both these points. 

If we look back into the Tertiary Era to the beginning of 
the Miocene, or perhaps to the end of the Eocene age, a very 
different state of things meets the eye. From the cold and 
ice-bound north come fossil plants which tell us a story, at 
once strange and true, of those countries as they then were 
— not the dreary wastes of to-day, but warm and green and 
beautiful as our own land in our own time. 

Collections of vegetable fossils from Disco Island, in West 
Greenland, in 78° of north latitude, have revealed to us a 
rich and varied floral growth indicating, if not warm, at least 
mild temperature, when trees, which cannot in our days 
stand in Ohio, could live and grow on the shores of Baffin 
Bay and Davis Strait, now clogged with the terrible "Mid- 
dle Ice " of the polar current. Examination of the fossils 
by botanists, especially by the late Prof. Heer, of Zurich, 
enabled him to draw up the following list : 

Disco. Spitzbergen. 



Salix, 


Willow, 


P 


... 


Populus, 
Corylus, 
Tilia, 


Poplar, 

Hazel, 

Linden, 


P 


P 
P 
P 


Alnus, 


Alder, 


P 


P 



— 369 



Quercas, 


Oak, 


P 


Fagus, 


Beech, 


P 


Platanus, 


Plane, 


P 


Juglans, 


Walnut, 


P 


Salisburia, 


Ginkgo, 


P 


Liriodendron 


, Tulip tree, 


P 


Vitis, 


Vine, 


P 


Thujopsis, 




P 


Taxodium, 


Bald Cypress, 


P 



Sequoia, Giant Redwood, P 

Any one familiar with the forests of our State and the 
nature of their trees will be deeply impressed on reading 
this list. Though it may cause him no surprise to see the 
first few names, because the Willow, Poplar, Hazel and 
Alder are among our hardiest trees and range far to the 
northward over Canada at the present day, yet the Oak and 
Beech seem strangely out of place for they are far more 
tender; the White Oak not ranging north of Ottawa, the 
Red Oak being scarcely found on the north shore of Lake 
Superior, and the Bur-Oak, the hardiest of its genus, only 
reaching even in the west to the Prairie Province and 
Winnipeg Lake. 

The Beech is a little less hardy and occurs rather less to 
the north than the Red Oak. The Plane is not fully hardy 
even in Ohio being often killed by spring frosts. The same 
is true of the Tulip-tree, which scarcely crosses the iTiagara 
and St. Lawrence. The Vine and Walnut hardly enter 
Canada except in the Ontarian peninsula and on the Atlantic 
coast. The Japanese Ginkgo, planted through the Eastern 
States, is scarcely able to bear the winters of the I^ortheast 
and of Ontario and Quebec without protection, and never 
fruits save in very favorable surroundings, while the Bald 
Cypress and the Redwood, as is well known, only grow 
where the winters are mild, as in the Southern States and in 
California, to a few spots of which latter Sequoia is now 
confined. 



— 870 — 

Let us then, if we can, imagine the earth's condition when 
it was clad with all this luxuriant forest growth as far as 
78° of Korth Latitude. It is a legitimate inference that no 
severe winter was then experienced in those regions and 
that the climate was milder than that of Ohio at this day, 
and prohahly resembled what now prevails in California and 
on the West Coast generally. 

Yet a^ain we may further infer that if Taxodium and 
Sequoia could flourish within 12° of the pole, the hardier 
genera could range yet farther to the north, and the Willow, 
Poplar and Alder could grow at the very pole itself, sup- 
posing land to have existed there. In any case, it is almost 
beyond doubt that no icy sea or snow-clad land was there, 
and that the North Frigid Zone was then as accessible 
as the Equator, had man been present to traverse it. 

But this glorious Miocene or Eocene Summer passed 
away. Slow changes, whose causes are as yet unknown, 
reduced the temperature age after age until the trees 
migrated south or died out and the snow and ice assumed 
undisputed possession of the Polar region. Toward the end 
of the next era, the Pliocene, the empire of frost slowly ex- 
tended itself over the North Temperate Zone until, in the 
Pleistocene, much of it became what Greenland is now, and 
the Ice-Age was at its zenith. All Northwestern Europe and 
Northeastern America were hidden beneath the icy mantle 
or only a few of the highest peaks raised their heads, as the 
** Nunataks" of Greenland, above its concealing sheet. Every 
living thing was driven southward before it. Animals 
migrated; plants died and their seeds alone, borne to a more 
genial clime perpetuated the species. When migration was 
impossible, extinction was the only alternative. 

But in time nature relented and the ice-sheet began to re- 
treat. Slowly the country was uncovered in reverse order 
and the hardiest plants and animals, among the latter of 
which was man, ventured northward close to the edge of the 
receding ice. As the retreat continued the denizens of 



— 371 — 

warmer regions trod on the heels of the hardy pioneers and 
pushed them farther and farther northward, usurping their 
place. Conditions that suited the former disagreed with the 
latter and they retreated to the Arctic Regions or to the 
mountain tops. In this way vegetation was again dis- 
tributed over the continent and resumed its former abund- 
ance, but not its former luxuriance, for the Miocene mildness 
has never returned. The chill of the ice yet lingers over the 
I^orth Temperate Zone, and its eflects are visible wherever 
opportunity ofters. 

One of these opportunities is in our own district. In the 
cool moist glens of the Cuyahoga Valley there yet linger 
traces of a northern flora, and the botanist whose ken takes 
in more than the mere outside of his science, who seeks the 
history and the ancestry of his pets, and asks himself how 
they came where they now are, linds no little pleasure in 
seeing, as it were, the footprints of the ice-king on the 
ground before him. 

The flora of these glens contains, among others, the fol- 
lowing species whose most congenial habitat is farther 
north, though several of them range southward when and 
where conditions tavor them. 

Hemlock Spruce 

(Abies Canadensis) common north, rare south. 

Arbor-vitse 

(Thuja occidentalis) " " " " 

Canada Yew 

(Taxus Canadensis) *« " " " 

Mountain Maple 

(Acer spicatum) Me. to Wis. & Alleghanie 

Canoe Birch 

(Betula papyracea) Almost entirely INT. & l!T. W, 

Red-berried Elder 

(Sambucus pubens) K, S. in mountains. 

Purple Raspberry 

(Rubus odoratus) common northward. 



I 



— 372 — 

Calla 

(Calla palustris) common northward. 

Swamp Saxifrage 

(Saxifraga Pennsyl.) common, especially northward. 
Gold Thread 

(Coptis trifolia) N. & S. in mountains. 

Long Club-moss 

(Lycopodium lucidulum) common K. 

Without insisting strongly on every one of these cases we 
may assert that the aspect of this flora is decidedly north- 
ern, and that it would be difficult to explain its presence in 
the Cuyahoga Valley had the temperature and conditions 
betn always as they are now. And when further we recol- 
lect that nearly all the glens and valleys of similar nature in 
the glaciated region as far south as Southern Indiana are in 
like manner occupied by a northern flora, the impression 
deepens and it becomes impossible to escape the conclusion 
that our state has recently recovered, or is, perhaps, even 
now recovering from a great depression of temperature — a 
" cold snap " of no short duration. In short, the Botanist 
fully bears out the conclusion of the Geologist regarding the 
great ice-age. 

The story above given of the migration of plants and ani- 
mals, from the north to the south and their partial return, is 
confirmed by another set of facts the consideration of which 
requires a wider view and a more extensive range over the 
field of Biology. When the Botanist compares the floras 
of the Old and IlTew Worlds he is struck by the fact that 
there is a marked resemblance between them and yet a sub- 
stantial difference. Frequently the same genus is found on 
both hemispheres, but the species are different. In not a 
few cases the similarity is yet greater and the same species 
occurs on both showing only varietal differences. In yet 
another set of cases no distinction at all can be drawn be- 
tween the eastern and the western forms and the botanist is 
compelled to admit their complete identity. How can these 



— 373 — 

things be ? How can plants so nearly or completely alike 
occur at so vast a distance from one another ? 

As illustrations of this statement, we may quote the oaks, 
of which several species occur in Europe and perhaps more 
in America, and yet no two are alike ; the willows with six- 
teen American and fifteen English species, of which one 
only is common to the two continents, (S. herbacea,) and 
that the smallest only attaining the height of two inches and 
arctic in its taste, occurring on the White Mountains of ITew 
Hampshire and at high elevations in Britain ; the Poplars 
with six American and three English species, all different ; 
the apples, with five species on each continent, but none 
identical ; the Golden-rods, with one species in England and 
thirty or forty here, and the Heaths, of which six species 
grow in England, only one of which is found, and that very 
rarely, in America. 

The same is true of smaller genera of which we may 
quote the Hornbeam with two species (Carpinus Americana, 
and Ostrya Yirginica,) in America and one in Europe; the 
Beech, Chestnut and Linn, with a single species on each side 
of the Atlantic, scarcely distinguishable ; the Hazel and 
Strawberry with two American and one English species, 
and the Elm with two English and one American. 

Coming down to still closer resemblance we find many 
species, especially those of northern affinity, common to 
both hemispheres. One of the most showy and abundant of 
arctic flowers, the Rosebay, (Epilobhim angustifolium,) in- 
habits Europe, Asia and America. A Violet, ( V. canina,) is 
found in both worlds, and the Marsh-marigold, {Caltha 
palustriSj) with its large yellow flowers, colors in spring the 
swamps of Europe and America. Two Sundews, {Drosera 
rotundifolia and D. longifolia) open their leafy traps in both 
hemispheres, and the Harebell, (Cawpamda rotundifolia,) 
so well known to every tyro in botany, hangs its purple 
blossoms from the crevices of rocks in the northern parts of 
the eastern and western worlds, l^ot a few plants are truly 



— 374 — 

circumpolar and range around the globe from Western 
Europe through Asia to ITorthern and Arctic America. This 
is the case with all those just mentioned. They greet the 
botanist as he travels around the world. They are citizens 
of no country in particular but so far as conditions suit them 
they are cosmopolitan. 

If we may be allowed to add a single additional fact to the 
strong case already presented, we would cite the Ferns. And 
taking no wider view of this family than is shown by the 
comparison of the Fern-flora of the Eastern United States 
and England, we find that out of between fifty and sixty 
species that are natives of the former, about one-half are also 
indigenous to the latter. In no family does the European 
botanist find more constant reminders of his old home than 
when he is working among these plants. In most instances 
he can detect no difference between those which he gathers 
here and those which he has collected on the other side. So 
close a resemblance between two floras can admit of no 
rational interpretation save community of origin in the dis- 
tant past. The Ferns of the East and of the West are 
cousins, though their common ancestral home has been des- 
troyed and its memory almost effaced by the disastrous 
physical changes that have supervened. 

One of the most be'autiful little gems of the Swiss Alps, 
well known to every botanist who has visited them by its 
starry flowers and feathery seed-vessel, (Dryas octopetala,) the 
Dryad of the limestone ridges, well exemplifies the funda- 
mental facts of this paper. Its range is from England and 
Scotland to Arctic Europe, Asia and America, extending 
south to the high mountains of Switzerland and ot Colorado 
and through British America to Greenland. Nor is this 
pretty little Rosewort alone in its wide range and unex- 
pected appearance. Such facts might be multiplied in 
almost endless succession. But enough have been given to 
suggest the question, how can they be explained? 

Fifty years ago the query would have had no significance 



^375 — 

because the problems of Evolution had not been propounded. 
But to the present generation such resemblances can only 
be explained on the theory of descent with modification. 
The family likeness indicates a common origin. The Beech 
of Europe and the Beech ot America must have sprung 
from a single ancestor at some time in the past. So also 
with the two Chestnuts, the three Hornbeams and all the 
others. What solution has geology to give to this botanical 
problem ? 

Revert for a moment to the Tertiary history of the North- 
ern Hemisphere and realize the Arctic luxuriance of the 
Miocene Era as already described. Transport all these 
plants back to their polar home and watch their slow south- 
ward migration with the secular cooling of the climate^ 
Recollect too what is meant by the migration of a plant, and 
note how it differs from that of an animal. The animal 
travels, or can travel, in most cases, during its whole life- 
time, so that its offspring may start in life many miles from 
the spot where its own individual existence began. But the 
plant has no such power of locomotion. Where it springs 
from the ground there it remains till it dies. The species- 
can, in most cases, only travel through their seeds, which 
may be carried or drifted to some distance — or may not. 
Obviously, this is a slow and uncertain process in which 
chance takes by far the greater part. An annual plant, 
seeding every year, has an immense advantage over a tree, 
which may not produce seed till it is twenty years old. Yet 
even an annual plant can in most cases, and barring external 
help from wind, currents and animals, travel but a short dis- 
tance every year and during its retreat it was pressed close 
in the rear by the advancing ice and cold. How many of 
the Miocene occupants of the Polar Regions failed to make 
their forced march to the southward quickly enough ta 
escape their pursuer and were consequently overtaken and 
ruthlessly extinguished we may never know. But appar- 
ently the absence of many Miocene species from Europe ia 



— 376 — 

due to this accident. The Hickories, the Red Maple, the 
Sweet Gum, the Western Plane, the Fox Grape, the Bald 
Cypress, the Tulip-tree, the Fan Palm and the Sequoia , all 
lie buried in- the Oeningen beds of Switzerland but survive 
in isTorth America where southward migration was not 
blocked by the Alps, the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean. 

These features of the European geography, especially the 
last, were very fatal to the inhabitants of that continent 
during their migration. Stretching, as did the Mediter- 
ranean, a long unbroken barrier accross their path, it left 
them no way of escape, and when caught between it and 
the cold, many of them perished. Hence the forests of 
Europe lack numerous species which still survive in those of 
!N"orth America. These latter retreated to the south during 
the cold era and returned with the rising temperature to 
their old haunts, thus escaping the extinction which over- 
took their less fortunate brethren of Europe. 

ITature, to the student of science, is full of such accidents. 
She mercilessly destroys the work of her own hands and 
shows that the organic world is but as it were a plaything in 
the hands of the inorganic. Amid the changes and catas- 
trophes of the latter, the former must take its chance, sur- 
viving if it can and if it cannot perishing and forever ; for 
the type once lost is never renewed. 

Of those that survived this disastrous retreat before the 
advancing hosts of the ice-king, we find the descendants 
scattered over both hemispheres, and so distributed that the 
flora of Eastern Asia shows a strong resemblance to that of 
Eastern America, where the climate is severe while the 
plants of Western Europe have, in many cases, their nearest 
allies on the west coast of America where the climate is 
mild and moist. 



*NoTE. — In regard to a few of these trees there is some doubt among 
botanists whether or not the species were precisely identical but at most the 
differences are only varietal. 



— 377 — 

To the evolutionary geologist the case as above stated pre- 
sents no difficulty. He sees the plants slowly retreating 
before their foe, and adapting themselves to changes of 
environment as best they could. Some show no alteration, 
as the Harebell aud the Dryad, mentioned above. Others 
show differences regarded by most botanists as merely 
varietal, such as the Chestnut, Beech and Sequoia, etc., 
though by some these are regarded as distinct species. In 
other cases the variation has goae so far as to constitute 
clearly two species of the same genus. 

But in all this he finds nothing at all surprising. It is not 
more than he would expect considering the enormous lapse 
of time which these migrations have occupied and the won- 
derful changes of environment to which the emigrants 
have been subjected. He sees with satisfaction the deduc- 
tions of botany confirming those of geology, and the most 
difficult and apparent inexplicable problems of the one sci- 
ence receiving a complete solution from the deductions of 
the other. Thus they are mutually supporting and by the 
efforts of the students ia both departments is the story of 
•continuous life on the globe being gradually recorded. 

Digressing a little I may be allowed to introduce an illus- 
tration from another science. There is a species of butterfly, 
the " Goddess of Mt. Washington," {Oeneis semidea,) which 
haunts that mountain alone, so far as we know, in the East- 
ern United States. But it reappears in the West on Pike's 
Peak and is an Arctic insect. To explain its presence in 
these two places on any other theory would not be easy, and 
this butterfly is accordingly regarded by zoologists as a relic 
of the ice-age, exterminated on the plains by the rising 
temperature and only lingering on the cold heights where 
conditions are still favorable. 

The moral of my story is that physical changes leave on 
the region where they occurred, and on its living residents 
traces, which if not indelible, are yet very long lasting, and 
that these records may be read and interpreted by him who 



— 378 — 

has learned the language ia which they are written. An 
eminent botanist, lately lost to science, once said that if all 
historical records were destroyed and the white race exter- 
minated from the "Western World, the fact of its presence 
here would be demonstrated by the botanist from the weeds 
of Europe that infest our fields. So the botanist could in 
the same way, from a study of the flora, come to the con- 
clusion that there has been in the recent stages of the Earth's 
history a time when the climate was much colder and more 
ungenial than it now is in the North Temperate Zone. He 
is slowly learninjT the characters in which nature has re- 
corded these events and is engaged in translating them into 
the language of man. 

Not many years ago the marvellous history of Egypt was 
totally unknown. The mysterious characters graven on the 
tombs and temples of the new and old empire, though elo- 
quent, were dumb to the historian. Not until the Kosetta 
stone, with its trilingual inscription was discovered, could 
we obtain any historical knowledge of this the most wonder- 
ful of ancient empires. But uow, thanks to the labors of 
Champollion and Young and their disciples and followers, 
we are translating the story recorded on the monuments and 
dug from the ruins into the language of the modern world, 
so that he who runs may read, and the procession of Egyp- 
tian kings and the succession of Egyptian people stretches 
farther and farther back into the past till both are lost in 
the dim mist of an antiquity far older than the date formerly 
assigned to the human race, or even to the earth on which it 
lives. The true story of Egypt, as told by the critics and 
the historian, far surpasses in interest any imagination that 
we formerly entertained regarding the significance of those 
mysterious hieroglyphics. 

So the botanist and the geologist are engaged in decipher- 
ing the records of nature graven with an iron pen in the 
rocks almost forever, and translating them into a tongue 
that is " understanded of the people." And it is not too 



— 379 — 

mucli to say, even of the recent developments regarding the 
Ice-age, that no story that poet ever feigned comes up in 
marvellous interest to that which reveals to us the icy region 
of our earth clad with beauty and fertility, the home of tem- 
perate and almost semi-tropical life, and then anon the 
Temperate Zone overspread with continuous sheets of ice and 
snow which blotted out of existence all this teeming life and 
beauty and reduced it to a waste and howling wilderness — a 
Greenland vastly magnified and enduring for millennium 
after millennium — and finally its redemption in part from 
this desolation and its restoration to fertility and fruitful- 
ness. Yet this is the story told, not by the fancy of the poet 
or novelist, but by the sober, solid deductions of the Botanist 
and the Geologist. 



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F Western Reserve Histori- 

486 cal Society, Cleveland 
W58 Publication 

no. 73-84 



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