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Full text of "Annals of the Early Settlers Association of Cuyahoga County"




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NUMliER I. 



Published by order of the Executive Committee. 







ANNALS 



OF 



THE EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION 



OF 



Cuyahoga County. 



NUMBER I. 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE EXECUTIVE COM. 



CLEVELAND: 

Mount & Carroll, Printers and Stationers. 

1880. 

- -^ - 



THe:.-i:v/ yr. ■ -^ 

' I ■ - 7 



LENOX AND 
~QUND*T , 



OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION, 1880. 



HON. HARVEY RICE. President. 

HON. JOHN W. ALLEN,) 

\ Vice Presidents. 
HON. JESSE P. BISHOP, ) 

THOMAS JONES, Jr., Secretary. 
GEO. C. DODGE, Esq., Treasurer. 



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 



GEO. F. MARSHALL, 
R. T. LYON, DARIUS ADAMS, 

M. M. SPANGLER, JOHN H. SARGENT. 



THE EARLY SETTLERS IN CONVENTION. 



The convention met on the day appointed, May 20th, 1880 
in the afternoon, at 1 :30, at the Presbyterian Church, Euclid 
Avenue, and corner of Brownell street. The public were in- 
vited. The assemblage was large, and was mostly composed 
of persons not only venerable for age, but noteworthy for in- 
telligence. The platform was occupied by President Rice, 
Vice President Allen, Rev. Thomas Corlett, and orators 
S. E. Adams and F. J. Dickman. The exercises took place in 
their order, as follows : 

ORDER OF EXERCISES. 

1.— Voluntary on the Organ. 

2. — Prayer by Rev. Thomas Corlett. 

Lord, the giver of all good things, we render thee our 
unfailing thanks and praise for all thy mercies, and especially 
for thy good providence in conducting us thus far through 
the perils and dangers of the present life, and for raising our 
thoughts and hopes to a holier and happier life above. We 
desire this day to praise thy holy name for all the great things 
which thou hast done for us as a people and as a nation, for the 



4 ANNALS OF THE 

goodly heritage which thou hast given us, for the civil and 
religious privileges which we enjoy, and for the multiplied 
manifestations of thy favor and goodness towards us. Grant 
us grace to show forth our thankfulness to thee for these thy 
mercies, and to live in hoh' obedience to thy righteous laws. 
We implore thy blessing on our C'hief Magistrate and all 
others in authorit}', that they may so discharge their several 
duties as most eftectually to promote thy glory, the interests 
of true religion and virtue, and the peace and honor and 
welfare of the State and Nation ; and to us who are assembled 
to revive the memories of the past, and to renew old acquaint- 
ance, grant thy special blessing and grace, through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

3. — Song--"Auld Lang Syne." Arion Quartette. 

Should auld acquaintance be forgot. 

And never brought to min'? 
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, 

And days of o' lang syne? 

Chokus — ¥ov auld lang syne, mj^ dear. 
For auld lang syne, 
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet. 
For auld lang sxthq. 



« « « • I 

« • « « 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATON. 

We twa hae ran about the braes, 

And pu't the gowaus fine; 
But we've wandered mony a weary foot, 
Sin auld lang syne. 
Cho. — For auld, &c. 

We twa hae paidl't i' the burn, 

Frae mornin sun till dine; 
But seas between us braid hae roared. 

Sin auld lang syne. 
C"ho. — For auld, &c. 

And here's a hand, my trusty fier, 

And gie's a hand o' thine; 
And we'll tak a right guid-willie waught. 

For auld lang syne. 
Cho. — For auld, &c. 

And surel}^ ye' 11 be your pint-stowp. 

And surely I'll be mine: 
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet. 

For auld lang syne. 
Cho. — For auld, &c. 



6 aNnals of THt: 

4. — Inaugural Address, by Harvey Rice, President of 
the Association. 

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Association: The occasion 
which convenes us is one of unusual interest, especialh' as it 
is the first annual convention devoted to public exercises, 
which we, as an organized fraternity, have attempted to hold. 
While we who are early settlers have been busy in our 
time, time has been busy with us, and has crowned the heads 
of most of us with the silvery frostwork of age. The crown 
is one of honor, which honorably connects us with that heroic 
phalanx of early pioneers who were active in subduing a wil- 
derness and in transforming it into a civilized land of happy 
homes — the rich inheritance of the living present and the 
destined patrimony of the unborn future. 

It is the leading object of this association, as expressed in 
its constitution, "to meet in convention annuall}^ with a view 
of l)rinffiua: its members into more intimate social relations, 
and collecting all such interesting facts, incidents, relics and 
personal reminiscences relatiA^e to the early history and 
settlement of Cuyahoga county as may be regarded of per- 
manent value, and transferring the same to the 'Western 
Reserve Historical Society' for preservation." 

It is in this way, and only in this way, as it seems to us, 
that the lessons of pioneer life, with its jo^'s and its sorrows, 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 7 

its trials and its hardships, can be rescued from oblivion and 
inscribed, as they should be, on the heart tablet of every child 
in the land. These are the grand aims of the association. It 
will be readily inferred, therefore, that the association does 
not convene for the purpose of celebrating an annual "festival" 
in the ordinary sense of that word, but rather for the purpose 
of enjoing "a feast of reason and a flow of soul," with simpli- 
city of preparation and with a desire to create and leave a 
record of its work as a bequest to posterity. This it proposes 
to do by appropriating its funds arising from membership 
fees to the publication of an annual pamphlet containing its 
proceedings, with notices of its deceased members, and dis- 
tributing the pamphlet gratuitously to the members of the 
association, so that we shall have, in time, a valuable history 
of the original pioneers and early settlers of our city and 
county, to which we, and they who follow in our footsteps, 
can refer, and derive both profit and pleasure. In fact, every 
generation has its early settlers, in whose life experiences all 
succeeding generations become interested. Thus time con- 
secrates character, and embalms it. Hence our Association 
has the elements of perpetuity, and will, we trust, perpetuate 
itself. 

If we look back into the records of early times, we shall 
encounter the surprising fact that a little less than a century 
ago this beautiful region which we now occupy was a part of 



e 

8 ANNALS OP THE 

that vast unexplored territoiy whose western boundar}- was 
supposed to be lost in the golden twilight of the setting sun, 
and whose wild domain seemed destined to remain forever 
hushed in the silence of its own solitude, save when awakened 
here and there b_y the dismal howl of the wolf, and still more 
dismal warwhoop of the savage. 

From time immemorial, a powerful Indian tribe, known as 
the Eries, occupied the south-eastern shore of Lake Erie, from 
whom the lake derives its name. They were a warlike race, 
and as evidence of this, have bequeathed to our times a series 
of earth mounds, some of which are still visible at different 
points along the lake coast. The origin and object of these 
mounds furnish a mystic problem, which our modern anti- 
quarians have not, as yet, satisfactorily solved. It is quite 
probable, however, that these mounds were designed to mark 
not only the battle fields, but the sepulchres of the brave 
Eries, who lived, flourished, and became extinct at a date 
which belongs to the pre-historic ages. After their extinction 
they were succeeded by fragments of various migrating tribes, 
who continued to occupj' the ancient domain of the Eries, 
especially the Valley of the Cuyahoga, for a long period of 
years, and in fact became "monarchs of all they surveyed." 

Yet this wild region had a much higher destiny — a destiny 
which its dusky occupants did not comprehend. Their 
prophets, however, frequently predicted that a superior race 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 9 

would at no remote period invade their wild domains and 
appropriate them. In fact there were at that time, though 
unbeknown to the Indian prophets, great moral forces at work 
in the civilized world, which ultimately verified their prophetic 
utterances. Adventurers from the Old World soon began to 
colonize, at various points, the wilds of the New World. Our 
Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth Rock. A series of small 
colonies soon dotted the New England coast. Among: these 
was the colony of New Haven, a colony that grew in strength 
and in greed, loved land and liberty, and resolved to have 
more of both. In order to effect this, she sent her favorite 
Governor, Winthrop, in 1662, to England, with a prepared 
charter such as she desired, to solicit from Charles II. a grant 
of additional land and liberty. Though Winthrop accepted 
the mission he felt doubtful of its success, for the reason that 
his constituents had S3^mpathized with Cromwell, who had 
beheaded Charles I., the royal father of the reigning King, and 
especially as the latter had recently expressed his indignation 
by ordering the dead body of Cromwell to be disinterred, 
publicly hanged and buried at the foot of the gallows. 

In view of this expression of contempt on the part of the 
King for the memory of Cromwell and his adherents, Win- 
throp, when admitted to an audience, became sadly embar- 
rassed in hitting upon a favorable method of introducing the 
subject of his mission, but, as luck would have it, he be- 



10 ANNALS OF THE 

thought himself of the sparkling, massive finger-riug which 
he wore, and which had been bestowed by Charles I. on his 
father in recognition of valuable public services, and, disen- 
gaging the ring, related its history, and placed it in the hand 
of His Majesty, who, at sight of it, was moved even to tears, 
since it instantly recalled from the past many endeared 
memories of his royal sire. Availing himself of this golden 
opportunity, Winthrop delicately alluded to the subject of his 
mission, and in a reverential manner presented the prepared 
draft of a charter which he had brought with him, and re- 
quested His Majesty's seal and signature, which were readily 
accorded. The Colonial Governor then returned to New 
Haven, bearing the "glad tidings" of his success, and was re- 
ceived by his expectant constituents with wild enthusiasm. 

The charter thus obtained granted to the New Haven 
Colony all the territory lying west of her limits and between 
the same parallels, from "sea to sea." Neither the King nor 
the colonists at that time had any definite knowledge of the 
extent of the grant. Soon after this Charles II. died and 
was succeeded by James II., who did not sympathize with the 
New Haven colonists or approve the extravagant grant which 
they had received from his royal predecessor. He therefore 
demanded a surrender of the charter and directed a military 
force to march on Hartford, where the Colonial Assembly 
were in session, to enforce the demand. The Assembly, 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 11 

thougli surrounded by royal troops, instead of being intimi- 
dated, proceeded coolly to discuss the question of surrender, 
until nightfall overtook them, when candles were sent for; but 
before lights could be brought some sly colonial patriot seized 
the charter, which lay on the table, escaped with it through 
an open window, and hid the prize in the heart of a neighbor- 
ing oak. When the lights appeared, the charter was nowhere 
to be found. The commander of the besieging troops appre- 
ciated the "logic of events" and retired with his troops in 
disgust, frankly acknowledging that he had been completely 
outgeneraled. In due time, however, the charter was repro- 
duced. The old charter oak, while it stood, was revered as 
the "tree of liberty." The great and glorious principles of 
that charter still remain embodied in the Constitution of the 
plucky little State of Connecticut — a State that has produced 
more eminent men, in proportion to her population, perhaps, 
than an}'^ other State in the Union. 

It was in the month of August, 1679, that the first ship 
that ever sailed on the waters of Lake Erie was seen in the 
distance approaching the coast of the "Western Reserve. This 
ship was the "Griffin," commanded by La Salle, built by 
Frenchmen near Buffalo, and sent out to explore the lake 
regions and secure trade with the aborigines. The Indians 
of the Reserve beheld the vision with alarm, and believed it 
to be a white-winged messenger, half walking and half flying 



12 ANNALS OF THE 

on the water, sent by the Great Spirit to chastise them for 
their neglect of divine observances, and hence they fled, panic- 
stricken, into the forest and hid themselves in its dark reces- 
ses until the vision had passed out of sight. This eftbrt to 
secure the native trade was soon followed by the establish- 
ment of French and English trading posts and military forts 
at different points along the great chain of our northwestern 
lakes. Then came missionary efforts to christianize the 
natives, followed by the introduction of a more refined race, 
whose object was to secure wealth and western homes. 

Soon after the American Revolution the vast western 
territory granted by Charles II. to the colony of New Haven 
became the subject of contention between sundry claimants, 
which Congress adjusted by awarding to the State of Connec- 
ticut what is now known as the Western Reserve, because the 
tract was "reserved" in the adjustment as her share; but, as 
compared with her original claim, Connecticut thought it an 
insignificant patch of woodland, though it contained three 
and a half million of acres. She accepted it, however, as a 
choice between evils, and soon afterwards sold the entire tract 
to a land company composed of her own citizens. 

This company in 1796 sent out, in charge of General Moses 
Cleaveland, a party of surveyors to survey this tract into 
townships and hundred-acre lots, preparatory to placing the 
land in market. The General with his survey' party, accom- 



) 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION 13 

panied with a few emigrants, some fifty souls in all, after 
reaching Buffalo, proceeded by way of the lake in open boats, 
and landed at Conneaut, on the Fourth of July, and at once 
resolved to celebrate the day. The party made hasty prepar- 
ations, flung the "banner of freedom" to the breeze, and pro- 
vided a sumptuous dinner, consisting of baked pork and beans, 
rye and corn bread, and other similar luxuries. The General 
extemporized an oration, and when the party had concluded 
the dinner, patriotic sentiments were offered, and responses 
given, crowned with the firing of guns and oft repeated drinks 
from cups brimming with a beverage dipped from the crystal 
bowl of Lake Erie, and infused, doubtless, with a liberal share 
of the "ardent" for the "stomach's sake." This was the first 
celebration of the Fourth of July that occurred in the Western 
Eeserve. 

The next day after the celebration the party proceeded to 
fell timber and erect a log store house, which they called 
"Stowe's Castle," in honor of Joshua Stowe, who was their 
commissary. This strange and uncouth structure attracted 
the attention of the Indians, who gazed at it with wonder and 
retired in silence. In a few days the chiefs sent a messenger, 
demanding to know what were the intentions of the white 
intruders. This demand resulted in an agreement for holding 
a council. On the oppointed day the principal chief, Piqua, 
and his son, Cato, appeared with their attendant warriors, 



14: ANNALS OF THE 

painted and plumed, and seated themselves in a circle upon 
the ground in the shadow of "Stowe's Castle," and invited 
General Cleavcland to a seat in the center of the group. Cato 
made the opening speech, to which General (Ueaveland replied 
in a manner so conciliatory and pleasing to the Indians that 
the chiefs presented him at once the "pipe of peace" with some 
silver trinkets of value. He accepted the gifts, and after 
smoking the "i^ipe of peace" with the Indian counselors, he 
returned the compliment by presenting the chiefs with a keg 
of whisky and a liberal quantity of glass beads for their 
squaws. This settled at once all objections on the part of the 
Indians to the further progress of the survey. 

General Cleaveland was familiarly called "Moses" by the 
surveyors, because he led them into the wilderness, and was 
expected to lead them through it. He remained about two 
weeks at Conneaut, and then proceeded with a small detach- 
ment of surveyors on his wa}^ up the lake in an open boat, 
with a view to commence surveys at the confluence of the 
(Juyahoga river. On the voyage he discovered a river, not 
traced on his map, which he supposed to be the Cuyahoga. 
He entered its channel, and after much toil and delay discov- 
ered that it was a "Mistake of Moses," and retraced his steps 
so chagrined that he instantly named this unknown river the 
"Chagrin," a significnnt designation by which it has ever since 
been known. 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 15 

After correcting this Mosaic mistake, he reached the verit- 
able Cuyahoga river on the 22nd of July, and in attempting 
to land on its eastern bank near the foot of Union Lane, ran 
his boat aground. Here "Moses" found himself cradled, like 
his ancient namesake, among the bulrushes. He and his 
party, however, succeeded in extricating themselves without 
serious difficulty, ascended the steep bluff, and were greatly 
delighted in beholding a beautiful plain of woodland, stretch- 
ing away to the south, east, and west of them as far as the eye 
could reach, and seeming like a shoreless sea of waving foliage. 
While standing on this angular nook of land, formed by the 
junction of the river with the lake. General Cleaveland pre- 
dicted that here was the spot where a great commercial city 
would arise at no distant day, and give tone and character 
not only to western commerce, but to Western civilization. 
So impressed was he with this belief that he directed a survey 
of this angular nook of land into city lots, and while hesitat- 
ing in the selection of an appropriate name for his predicted 
city, his associates in the survey came to his relief and named 
it "Cleaveland," in honor of their respected chief of staft'. The 
General blushed«, bowed, and accepted the compliment. 

From her baptismal day the infant city of Cleveland grew 
in strength and in beauty, and with her growth grew the 
"region round about;" and yet the city, though now possess- 
ing a population of 170,000, is still in her infancy, or rather 



16 ANNALS OF THE 

girlhood, sitting enthroned like a queen on the emerald bank 
of Lake Erie, looking into the crystal wave, as into a mirror, 
and admiring her own charms, while she 'is still more admired 
by the dazzled e3'e of' every stranger who comes within the 
charmed circle of her acquaintance. 

5. — Song — "Hail Columbia." Arion Quartette. 

Hail, Columbia, happy land! 

Hail, ye heroes, heaven born band ! 

Who fought and bled in Freedom's cause, 

Who fought and bled in Freedom's cause; 
And when the storm of war was gone, 
Enjoy'd the peace your valor won. 

Let independence be our boast. 

Ever mindful what it cost; 

Ever grateful for the prize. 

Let its altar reach the skies. 

Chorus — Firm-united let us be, 

Rall3ing 'round our Liberty, 
As a band of brothers joined. 
Peace and safety we shall find. 

Immortal patriots ! rise once more ; 
Defend your rights, defend your shore; 
Let no rude foe with impious hand, 
Let no rude foe with impious hand, 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 17 

Invade the shrine where sacred lies 
Of toil and blood the well-earned prize. 
While offering peace sincere and just, 
In Heaven we place a manly trust, 
That truth and justice will prevail ; 
And every scheme of bondage fail. 
Cho. — Firm-united, &c. 

6. — Historical Address, By S. E. Adams, Esq. 

An historical address can be little more than a brief recapit- 
ulation of human transactions and social events gleaned from 
historical records and unwritten tradition. Originality in such 
an address is hardly possible. For my present purpose I have 
therefore gathered a posy of other men's flowers, and little 
else than the thread that binds them is mine. An irresistible 
fascination attaches to the early history of every people. We 
long to penetrate that mysterious veil which the flight of ages 
has flung around the cradle of our race. How earnestly we 
scrutinize the oldest records which may possibly shed a ray 
of light upon the long-forgotten past. History furnishes but 
little aid or encouragement to the archaeologist in the study of 
anthropology, and not until recent years could the archaeologist 
trace the memorials of man further back than about the be- 
ginning of written history. But now he can confidently point 
us to mementoes of man in this and other lands which date so 



18 ANNALS OF THE 

far back in the long series of eventful years, and so infinitely 
beyond the first dim glimmerings of history and tradition, 
that they know nothing about them, nor do they even mention 
them — of a time far anterior to the formation and gradual ap- 
proach of that vast body of ice which scooped and hollowed 
out the rocky basin in which rests our beaxitiful Lake Erie ; of 
a time long before the wonderful grottoes and caves of Ken- 
tucky were formed by the slow percolation of acidulated water 
through the solid rock. To the archseologist the massive 
structures of the Mound Builders, and the races who immedi- 
ately preceded them, however venerable their antiquity, are but 
the work of yesterday. He has arranged the memorials of 
pre-historic man under three groups, and adopted a classifica- 
tion predicated upon ditterential features presented by pre- 
historic weapons, implements and personal ornaments, of stone 
bronze and iron. But a detailed statement of the evidence 
which geology and archaeology furnish of the great antiquity 
of man would take me beyond the limits I have prescribed for 
this address. 

Assuming that what has transpired within the last quarter 
of the century just closed, to enhance the growth and commer- 
cial prosperity of our city, is familiar to all members of this 
association, I shall attempt nothing more than a partial and 
imperfect digest of earlier events in the history of Cleveland. 
As far back as 1749, the mouth of the Cuyahoga was 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION, 19 

favorably regarded by explorers and geographers as a point 
which would ultimately become vastly important in its rela- 
tions to the commerce of the great West. 

As early as 1765, Benjamin Franklin, with his usual 
sagacity, foresaw* its availability and recommended its occu- 
pancy as a military post. Washington, while various projects 
for water communication between the great northern lakes and 
Chesapeake Bay were being considered, suggested the practic- 
ability of a route from Lake Erie by way of the Cuyahoga, 
Tuscarawas and Muskingum into the Ohio, as an outlet to the 
future inland commerce of the lakes. This route necessitated 
a portage near Akron of less than seven miles, whereby ship- 
ments were to be transferred from the lakes to the River Ohio ; 
thence to ascend its upper tributaries into the mountains, from 
whence by another portage, would be reached the navigable 
rivers falling into the Atlantic. The commercial importance, 
of the mouth of the Cuyahoga was thus early perceived by 
distinguished men ; nevertheless history gives no reliable in- 
formation of its permanent occupancy for trade or commerce 
anterior to the year 1786; nor is there any evidence that any 
active measures were taken to carry forward this scheme for 
opening communication between the lakes and the Atlantic, 
and nothing more is heard of it until 1793-4, when the State 
of New York proposed to provide an outlet for lake com- 
merce, by clearing out and improving the Oswego and 



20 ANNALS OF THE 

Mohawk Rivers, when the discussion of the route by the 
Cuyahoga, and Tuscarawas iuto the Ohio wan revived. We 
are destitute of further historical facts concerning eitlier of 
these projects, from the year 1794 until 1807 — five years after 
Ohio was admitted into the Union as a State. In that year 
the Legislature passed an act authorizing a lottery for the 
purpose of raising $12,000 for improving navigation between 
Lake Erie and the river Ohio. The Commissioners appointed 
by the act met and organized, published the scheme and sold 
a few tickets for five dollars each; but no drawing ever 
occurred, and finally, in after A-ears, the money but without 
interest was graciously refunded to such of the ticket holders 
as had retained their tickets ; and that was all. May it not 
be that the failure of this brilliant scheme culminated in the 
enactment by the Legislature of our earliest statutes against 
all lotteries and schemes of chance? These several plans of 
improvements having failed, the great Northern Lakes, whose 
shores now teem with millions of industrious and intelligent 
people, remained without water communication with the 
Atlantic Ocean and the outside world until the final comple- 
tion of the Erie Canal in the year 1825. Within the memory 
of many present, how vast the change; how wonderful and 
almost magical the transition ! Some of you doubtless remem- 
ber the boding yell of the Indian, and the hoarse growl of 
wild animals as they reverberated along the lonely shore, or 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 21 

broke the stillness of the miduig-ht air, startling you from 
sweet dreams of far oft' friends, and instinctively causing you 
to grasp the ever-present weapon of defense. But you have 
lived to see this beautiful city, with its vast industries, its 
commercial and mercantile structures, its magnificent private 
residences, its public school houses, and splendid temples of 
worship rise and expand over a territory which was but a 
wilderness when yon first beheld it. And you have remained 
that you might hear the musical monotone of the approaching 
steamer, and the shrill whistle of the locomotive succeed the 
gloomy silence of the woods, and the roar of the breakers. 
The frail skiff, once youi- only means of crossing the Cuya- 
hoga, has given place to a bridge of monumental arches which 
will endure until that river shall cease to flow. And now, in- 
stead of waiting, as in earlier days, the uncertain and long 
delayed, though ever welcome arrival of some adventurous 
neighbor from the east, with news from friends and the old 
home, you may instantly communicate bj- telegraph. 

Concerning the early occupation of the site on which our 
city stands, and the scene presented to General Moses Cleave- 
land and his associates on his arrival here on the morning of 
the 22d day of July, 1796, I cannot do l)etter than to repro- 
duce substantially the eloquent and graphic words of our 
distinguished fellow-citizen. Colonel Charles Whittlese}^: "All 
the party must have felt unusually interested as they 



22 ANNALS OF THE 

approached the spot. As they coasted close along the shore, 
overhung by a dense green forest, mirrored in the waters over 
which they were passing, the mouth of the river disclosed it- 
self, as a small opening between low banks of sand. The man 
who controls the party is seated in the stern, steering his own 
craft, which is gracefully headed into the stream. His com- 
plexion was so swarth}^ his figure so square and stout, and 
his dress so rude, that the Indians supposed some of the 
blood of their race had crept into his veins. As they passed 
into the channel, and the broad river unfolded itself to their 
view, bordered by marshes, reeds and coarse grass, their anti- 
cipations must have been somewhat moderated. The flats on 
the west side and the densely wooded bluffs on the east pre- 
sented anything but a cheerful prospect. It was necessary 
to proceed some distance along this shore before there was 
solid ground enough to effect a landing." 

"As the Indians had from generation to generation kept 
open a trail along the margin of the lake, it is probable that 
Cleaveland's party, scanning with sharp eyes every object as 
they moved along the river, saw where the aboriginal highway 
descended the hill, along what is now Union Lane. Here they 
came to the bank, and scrambling out, trod for the first time 
the soil of the future city. While the boat was being un- 
loaded Cleaveland had an opportunity to ascend the bluff and 
scan the surrounding scenery. This view must have revived 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATON. 23 

his enthusiasm more than the swamps along the river had 
depressed it. A young growth of oaks with low bushy tops 
covered the ground. Beneath them were thrifty bushes, 
rooted in a lean but dry and pleasant soil favorable to the 
object in view. A smooth and even field sloped gently toward 
the lake, whose blue waters could be seen extending to the 
horizon. His imagination doubtless indulged in a pardonable 
flight into the future, when a great commercial city should 
take the place of the stinted forest growth which the northern 
tempests had nearly destroyed. But whatever may have been 
his anticipations, the reality has outstripped them all. Such 
a combination of natural beauty, with natural advantages of 
business, is rarely witnessed." As he gazed Avith rapture 
upon the far-off lake and the tortuous river at his feet, well 
might he have imagined that tlie time was not extremely 
distant when all the natural facilities within range of his 
vision would be utilized by the inhabitants of an enterprising 
city to be built upon the ground where he stood, and which 
should perpetuate his name forever. Pardon me for suggest- 
ing that this association would do a noble and commendable 
act were it to inaugurate a project for the erection in Lake 
View Park of a monument crowned with a statue of General 
Cleaveland, commemorative of his having founded our beauti- 
ful city. I cannot doubt that our citizens, ever proverbial for 
liberality, would aid us in the work. I would also most 



24 ANNALS OF THE 

respectfully suggest that hereafter our aunual meeting be held 
on the 22d day of July — the anniversary of General Cleave 
land's arrival at the mouth of the Cuyahoga. 

7. — Song — "The Good Old Days." Arion Quartette. 

Give me the good old days again, 
When hearts were true and manners plain ; 
When boys were boys till fully grown, 
And baby belles were never known ; 
When doctor's bills were light and few, 
And lawyers had not much to do; 
When honest toil was well repaid, 
And theft had not become a trade. 

Give me the good old days again. 
When cider was not called champagne; 
When round the fire, in wintry weather. 
Dry jokes and nuts were cracked together; 
When girls their lovers battled for. 
With seeds from juicy apple's core; 
While mam and dad looked on with glee. 
Well pleased their merriment to see. 

Give me the good old days again, 
When onty health}' meat was slain ; 
When flour was pure, and milk was sweet. 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 25 

And sausages were fit to eat; 
When children early went to bed, 
And ate no sugar on their bread, 
When lard was not turned into butter. 
And tradesmen only truth could uttex\ 

Give us the good old days again. 
When women were not proud and vain ; 
When fashon did not sense outrun. 
And tailors had no need to dun ; 
When wealthy parents were not fools. 
And common sense was taught in schools ; 
When hearts were warm, and friends were true. 
And Satan had not much to do! 

8. — Life and Character of deceased Pioneers, by 
F. J. Diekman, Esq. 

Mr. President: 

It was announced a short time ago through 

our local press that there would be addresses on this occasion 

by several of our oldest citizens. While I do not claim to 

have come down to you from a former generation, I am old 

enough to cherish the memory of our early settlers, and am, 

perhaps, coeval with many who have seen and talked with 

some of the pioneers of our county. Some of them died full 

of years, and we can almost catch the tones of their voice as 



26 ANNALS OF tse: 

they recounted the trials and the raptures of their struggles 
with the rude forces of nature. To some of them the veil 
was uplifted before their eyes were closed in death, and they 
could behold, in a not far distant future, on the banks of our 
lake, a beautiful and flourishing city, the pride of our Western 
civilization, teeming with population, adorned with temples of 
religious worship, endowed with a noble system of schools, 
alive with the activities of a large and growing commerce, and 
of manufactures to which all the strong and manly arts pay 
tribute. 

It is not our office, in the light of historic truth, to exalt 
to the statue of heroes all who carried the compass and chain, 
or plied the settler's ax in the forests of New Connecticut. 
But, during the first sixteen or seventeen years following the 
22d of July, 1796, when the surveying part^' entered the 
mouth of the Cuyahoga from the lake, there came to the 
Western Reserve, and settled within the present limits of our 
county, a class of men whose characteristics we may well 
admire and commemorate. Thej' did not leave their homes 
because they were there the victims of intolerance, and could 
not there follow the dictates of a tender and enlightened con- 
science. They came here to improve their material condition 
— to better their worldly fortunes. Like the rest of us, they 
had an eye to the main chance in life; but they richlj- 
earned and paid a hundred fold for all thej' received. 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 27 

The land, the river and the lake acknowledged their authority, 
and surrendered to them their treasures only after the 
greatest patience, perseverance and hardship. He who 
makes the blade of grass to spring up where it would 
not o;row before, becomes a benefactor of the race. While 
the earth yields her increase, the city and the town 
spring up, and with the accumulation of capital come the com 
forts and luxuries of life, and many of those appliances and 
institutions which minister to the general happiness and pros- 
perity. And so it is, as we see the city arise where once was 
the primeval forest, our thoughts revert to the pioneers, who 
fell the trees; and till the soil, and seeking to exchange the 
products of their industry, start into being the village and the 
town, as the natural outgrowth of their own necessities. The 
backwoodsmen thus become the founders of our civilization, 
and, filled with the pride of ancestry, their names and achieve- 
ments become our most cherished traditions. 

It was not until the year 1800 that the right o' jurisdiction 
over the Reserve was relinquished to the Union by the State 
of Connecticut. Prior to such relinquishment, there had been 
no civil government existing or likely to exist in the district. 
It required, therefore, no ordinary resolution to give up the 
advantages of State and Federal protection, and incur the risk 
of unrestrained lawlessness in a wild Western settlement. But 
we have no record of violated rights of person or of property 



28 ANNALS OF THE 

among the settlers. The same instinctive reverence for law, 
the same self reliance, patient endurance, industry and thrift, 
which made him a good citizen at home, characterized the 
settler when he became a sovereign and law unto himself in 
the wilderness of the Western Reserve. He was, however, 
only a type of those who followed his trail, to live under a 
State organization, and help build up the thriving and well 
ordered communities on the shores of the lake. As we look 
around us, and behold on all sides the evidences of unex- 
ampled progress, we see but the embodiment of the same ideas, 
habits and principles which governed the dail}- life of those for 
whose labors and virtues we would to-day express our grati- 
tude and admiration. 

In contemplating the life and character of our early settlers, 
their principles and motives of action, it will occur to you that 
the firmest guaranty of private honor and good faith in all our 
business transactions may be traced to the ordinance of 1787 
for the government of the pioneers of the Northwest territor^^ 
and to the wisdom, sagacity and justice of its New England 
author, Nathan Dane of Massachusetts. In the multiform 
engagements of business you feel that you will be secure 
against any and all legislative action by which the obligation 
of your private contracts might be impaired. This safeguard 
pecidiar to our American Constitutional law found its way 
into our Federal Constitution from the clause in that memor- 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 29 

able ordinance which provided that no law ought ever to be 
made or have force in the Northwest territory that would in 
any manner, whatever, interfere with or affect private contracts 
or engagements. It would be difficult to measure the vast in- 
fluence which has been exercised on the security of property 
by the operation of this wise and effective provision. Its in- 
corporation with our organic law is a monument to the wisdom, 
honesty and probity of New England. It gives us assurance 
that in the midst of party strife, and with the most hostile 
faction in the ascendant, a stern regard to private rights will 
characterize our State legislation. I have especially referred 
to this provision in that famous ordinance as illustrating the 
noble ideas and principles which lay at the foundation of the 
government of our Northwest territory, and which emanated 
among the progenitors of those whose memory we celebrate 
to-day. 

One of the tests of the character of a people lies in the 
extent to which they utilize the gifts of nature around them. 
At an earl}' day there were among the settlers of our county 
men of large forecast and comprehensive views of internal 
improvement, who clearly discerned the commercial import- 
ance of the mouth of the Cuyahega. The great natural routes 
known to the eai'ly geographers and statesmen did not escape 
their penetrating glance. A scheme was formed for improving 
the navigation between the lake and the river Ohio through 



30 ANNALS OF THE 

the Cuyahoga and the Muskingum. The project failed, but it 
was the foreshadowing of a grander enterprise which will 
always be connected with the enterprise and sagacity of a 
master mind that illustrated the early history of Cleveland. 
It was the concurrent testimony of skillful engineers that, in 
connecting the lake with the river Ohio, the navigation of the 
beds of small rivers was inferior to the canal as a mode of 
commercial intercourse. The great public work, therefore, 
which now traverses our State and opens a direct water com- 
munication with the Gulf of Mexico, could not long be 
delayed. The canal has succumbed to the railroad, and is no 
longer perhaps the necessity it once was; but, as a potent 
agent for the development of the resources of our State, it 
will ever be regarded as one of the noblest achievements, and 
its originators and builders will have a lasting claim upon 
the gratitude of our people. When the Erie Canal was com- 
pleted and the inland seas of the West were conducted in 
proud triumph, to the bosom of the Atlantic, it was proclaimed 
that the name of DeWitt Clinton would be transmitted to suc- 
ceeding generations and cherished as a possession forever. 
Let us not then, on this occasion, forget the name of Alfred 
Kelley. In the prime of his manhood he cast his lot with the 
people of our city, and was in the forefront of every enterprise 
for the public good. During the construction and until the 
completion of the Ohio canal, he was the acting commissioner 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 31 

and resided in our midst. He was a man of capacious mind, 
of unconquerable will, of untiring energy, and of unfailing 
power of endurance. He seemed eminently fitted for the Her- 
culaan task which he undertook ; and in the selection of him 
for the arduous work, it proved in the end that fortune had 
smiled upon the State. In the city of Columbus, to which he 
removed from Cleveland, he exerted his great powers in other 
fields of public labor ; and, as State Fund Commissioner, saved 
our State from the dishonor of repudiation ; and as a profound 
master of finance originated a banking system which remained 
in successful operation for twenty years. In alluding to his 
life and labors, we would not be unmindful of the signal merits 
of others who were engaged with him, and wrought faithfully 
and at the same time, and in the same public service; but his 
name belongs to the history of Cuyahoga county, and we would 
recall the lineaments of his character as we would revive in 
memory the cherished images of those who once belonged to 
our own household. 

The men who brought their household goods to the Western 
Reserve eighty years ago found an environment far different 
from what they would find to-day in one of our newly-orga- 
nized territories. Railroads are now penetrating the continent 
to the farthest settlement. Labor saving machinery and almost 
every article of comfort may be placed now, on the shortest 
notice, at the door of the settler's cabin. The products of his 



32 ANNALS OF THE 

labor now tind a profitable market, and he is not unfamiliar with 
the sight of money. • The savage, too, once so formidable, will 
soon cease to be an object of terror to him. So far as physical 
causes can operate, his character can be subjected in only a com- 
paratively slight degree to novel influences. But our own 
pioneers were subject to other conditions, and to many trans- 
forming agencies. Taking no account of ancestral traits or na- 
tural tendencies, they could not, from the necessities of their 
situation, fail to wax independent in spirit, fearless in danger, 
tenacious in their opinions, persistent in their undertakings, 
and thrifty in their habits. If they had not been affected by 
their surroundings, the}^ would have been an exception to the 
general law which governs the rest of mankind. It is well 
said by Buckle that physical agents powerful^ influence the 
human race; that they have originated the most important 
consequences in regard to the general organization of society, 
and from them there have followed many of those large and 
conspicuous differences between nations which are often 
ascribed to some fundamental difference in the various races 
into which mankind is divided. In studying the character, 
then, of. our early settlers it becomes of interest to know the 
manner in which they lived, what their occupations were, to 
what perils they were exposed, what was the drift of their 
thoughts, what, if any, opportunities they had for education, 
what were their pastimes and social enjoyments, what, in fine, 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 33 

was the difference between their new condition and that which 
the}' had left behind them. Our pioneer records thus become 
attractive and fraught with instruction, and are no longer 
musty and repulsive chronicles, and you gather up the leaves 
that would otherwise perhaps be scattered. You learn of the 
dreadful sufferings of James Kingsbury and his family, 
during the first winter after their arrival at Conneaut. Major 
Lorenzo Carter is the might}^ hunter, and the terror of 
the bear. He it was who dwelt in the log house, on 
the slope from Superior street to the harljor. The sight 
of weakness and oppression can draw "iron tears" down 
his cheek, and the fugitive from slavery, on his way to 
the land of promise beyond the lake, feels his helping hand. 
His maxim was, not to give an insult, but when he received 
one, the giver usually bowed beneath his sturdj- stroke. His 
influence with the Indian was unbounded, for he was known 
alwa^'s to do justice to him. Judge Huntington, on his way 
from Painesville on horseback, while floundering after dark 
through a swamp at what is now the corner of Wilson avenue 
and Euclid street, is attacked by a gang of hungry wolves 
and barely escapes. For two or three mouths the only way 
in which the Doane family were supplied with food was for 
young Seth Doane, who had two attacks of fever and ague 
daily, to walk to Kingsbur3^'s, five miles distant, with a peck 
of corn, grind it in a hand mill and bring it home upon his 



34 ANNALS OF THE 

shoulders. In the morning after his first attacli of ague was 
over, he Avould start on his journe\^, and having obtained his 
meal, he would wait until the second attack on that day was 
over and then set out on his return. In the year 1802 the 
Rev. Joseph Badger, a soldier of the revolution, writes that he 
had preached on the Sabbath inNewburg, that there Avere live 
families there but no apparent piety, and that they all seemed 
to glory in their infidelity. These few brands, however, we 
are assured, were afterwards snatched from the burning. 
During the same year the first village school was held in 
Major Carter's house, and Anna Spatibrd was the teacher. 
Economy in those days was counted among the Christian vir- 
tues. Three Western Reserve boys left home for Connecticut 
to get their education, with fifteen dolku's among them, and 
reached New Haven with twelve still in their pockets. One 
frugal young man, wishing to visit the ancestral home in New 
England, bought him a cow, and trudging at her heels with 
his book, lived on her milk and what he got in exchange for 
it, and sold her at an advance when he reached his point of 
destination. In 1809, Stanley Griswold informs his friend in 
Vermont that Cleveland would be an excellent place for an 
enterprising and skillful young physician; that the country 
around bid fair to increase rapidly in population ; that a 3'oung 
physician, well qualified, would be certain to succeed; but, 
for a short time, if without means, he must keep school in 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. OO 

winter, till a piece of ground, bring a few goods for sale, or 
do something else in connection with his practice. The next 
year the physician came, and the attorney also entered his 
appearance. The fur trade grows into a lucrative branch of 
business, and Nathan Perr}^, tilled with the mercantile spirit, 
masters the Indian dialect and lays the foundation of an 
ample fortune. The river holds out its inducements for 
honest gain, and Noble H. Merwin, crossing the mountains, 
becomes the founder of our city's commerce, and builds the 
good schooner "Minerva" — the tirst vessel registered at 
Washington from the district of Cuyahoga. But let me not 
detain you any longer with these fragmentary incidents and 
details of our early history. 

I would that at this gathering I could point in fitting terms 
to the lessons which the pioneers of the Western Reserve and 
their descendants have read to the world within the past 
seventy years. In all the stirring events of peace and of 
war, that have risen to National importance, they have borne 
a conspicuous part. With but little outward enthusiasm, the 
current of their feelings and convictions has run deep and 
strong, and their latent ardor of soul has known no diminu- 
tion. They have occasionally been called impracticable, and 
have been slow to compensate, reconcile and balance; but it 
is because they have regarded it a low and groveling policy 
to prefer expediency to right, and have feared the maxim that 



36 ANNALS OF THE 

in public affairs we should "join compliance with reason and 
sacrifice to the graces." Whenever any great measure has 
appealed to the moral sense, even though in feeble terms, it 
has been easy to determine where they would take their stand. 
Though they may at times have seemed to be a peculiar 
people, they have always been zealous of good works. Such 
an element in the mass of our national interests is not incap- 
able of imparting a healthy tone to public sentiment and of 
extending its salutary influence to the farthest extremities. 
With such dejith of conviction and earnestness of purpose in 
the line of duty, those who have gone forth from our Western 
Reserve to try their fortunes in other regions, have carried the 
talisman of success, and have reflected the lustre of their 
triumphs upon the place of their origin. They are found in 
the halls of legislation ; among the officers of the armj- and 
the navy; among the ornaments of tlie bench and the leaders 
of the bar; among eminent divines: among the votaries of 
science; in the walks of literature; and, wherever there is an 
appreciation of intellectual and moral worth and of the high- 
est traits of manly character, there you will tind them in the 
foremost ranks of their fellow men. And as often as the day 
shall come around for the annual convention of this Associa- 
tion, a proof of your own elevated standard of excellence will 
be aftbrded in the high estimate which you shall place upon 
their many ennobling charac-teristics. 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 37 

9. — Hymn written for the occasion by Harvey Rice. 

(Time: Old Hundred.) Avion Quartette and Andience, 

Still pilgrims in a favored laud, 
Who long- have liuoered on the way, 

How hlest to meet and grasp the hand, 
And crown with joy onr festive day! — 

And tell of years whose scenes return. 
Like shadows on oui- pathway cast; 

And catch from living lips that bui-n 
The fleeting memories of the past. 

And while we trace from whence we sprung. 

And early friendships fain renew, 
Still let us dream that we are young, 

And, though a dream, helieve it true! 

Nor days forget when first we heard 
Life's battle-cry, and sought the field ; 

When lofty aims our bosoms stirred, 

And faith had armed us with her shield. 

'Twas courage, then, with youthful zeal. 

That led us onward, flushed with pride; 

• 

'Tis years, now ripe, that make us feel 
How swiftly glides life's ebbing tide! 



38 ANNALS OF THE 

Yet while we here prolong our stay, 

We'll keep our pledge of love and truth; 

And when we pass the darkened way, 
Ascend and share immortal youth! 

10. — Announcement of Members who have died within 
the past year. By Rev. Thomas Corlett. 

DECEASED MEMBERS. 

Within the past year the following members of our asso- 
ciation have died: First, our ver^' estimable Vice President, 
the Hon. Sherlock J. Andrews. Judge Andrews was born in 
Waterbury, New Haven count}^, Conn., November 17, 1801, 
and moved to Cleveland in 1825. He died at his I'esidence in 
this city on the 11th of February, 1880, full of 3'ears and 
honors, and Avith but little abatement of the natural force of 
his vigorous character. 

The next member who has died is Judge Seth A. Abbey. 
He was born in Watertown, New York, in 1798, came to Cleve 
land in 1830, and moved his family in 1831. He, too, died in 
this city March 15, in a good old age, respected and honored 
of all wlio knew him. 

The third member of the Association who has died during 
the past 3-ear — and 3'ou will understand this society is only 
about six months old as yet — was Mrs. Elizabeth Spangler, 
who was born in the State of Mai'vland. 1790. She moved to 



EARLY SKTTT.ERf=i ASSOCIATION. 39 

Stark county, in this State, in 1802, and was married to 
Michael Spaugler in 1807. In 1810 she reerossed the 
Allegheny Mountains to her native State on horseback. She 
moved to Cleveland in 1820 with a family of five children, 
four of whom are still alive. Her husband kept the hotel 
known as the Commercial House on Superior street, where 
the Miller's block now stands. She was of German parentage, 
and her's was the first family speaking the German language 
in the city of Cleveland. She drew a pension to the time of 
her death for services rendered by her husband to his country 
during the war of 1812. Her husband died August 29, 1836, 
at the age of fifty-two. She died in this city March 5, 1880, 
in the ninety-first year of her age. 

Thus, Avithin the brief period of the existence of this 
association, about a half year, three of our most venerable 
and esteemed ones have passed from this stage of action, 
where they have performed their work well, to that better one, 
we trust, where they shall realize the full fruition of their 
labor, and of their hopes and eftbrts. 

11. — Call for volunteer speeches. 

The President said: "The next exercise in order is a call 
for volunteer speeches. I notice there are quite a number of 
gentlemen here from whom we would all feel greatly interested 
in hearing a few remarks. We shall have for the want of 



40 ANNALS OF THE 

time, however, to ask them to limit themselves to from tive to 
ten minutes, that we may hear as many as we can. I would 
here remark the fact that in this association we regard women 
as possessed of their equal rights: and if there are any of 
the ladies of our association who would be willing to mal^e 
some remarks or addresses, we shall be happy to hear them, 
and they will be at liberty to speak as long as they please, 
for we know they always are interesting. [A})plause.] I will 
call upon Hon. E. P. Spalding to open the way, and I trust, 
he will favor us with a few remarks." 

Judge Spalding arose in his seat and spoke as follows: 

"Mr. President: 

Although I have not the honor to be enrolled 
among the members of this association, the term of my actual 
residence in the city, falling short of that prescribed by the 
constitution, ver^' few can boast of a more familiar acquain- 
tance Avith Cleveland and its earl}^ history, than myself 

General Moses Cleaveland lived in the town of Canter- 
bury, in Windham County, Connecticut. His mansion house 
was but a quarter of a mile distant from that of my maternal 
grand father, David Paine, who lived in the same- town. The 
two families were nearly related and lived on terms of the 
closest intimacy. 

Among the earliest recollections of mv childliood is the 
following anecdote, told me by my mother: 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 41 

She said that late, in the autumn of the year 1796, General 
Cleaveland spent an evening at her father's house, and in the 
course of conversation said to her mother: 

"Mrs. Paine: — While I was in New Connecticut, T laid out 
" a town, on the bank of Lake J^rie, which was called by n^y 
'■'■ name, and I believe, the child is now born that may live to 
" see that place as large as 'old Windham.' " / 

Old Windham was then the seat of Justice of Windham 
County and its population, I think, never exceeded fifteen 
hundred. I was born about eighteen months after' the General 
uttered this prediction, and may be supposed to know some- 
thing of the comparative growth of "Old Windham" and the 
"new town on the bank of Lake Erie," as I studied my pro- 
fession in the former place and have practiced it for nearly 
thirty years in the latter, which is now said to contain a 
population of 170,000. 

"The town was called by my name," said the General, and 
so it was, C-1-e-a-v-e-l-a-n-d ; and that was the way in 
which the name was spelled, written and printed, until an 
"act of piracy" was committed on the word by the publisher 
of a newspaper, something over forty years ago, who, in pro- 
curing a new "head-piece" for his paper, found it convenient 
to increase the capacity of his iron frame by reducing the 
number of letters in the name of the city : Hence the Cleve- 



42 ANNATES OF THE 

LAND Advektisek, and not "Moses Cleaveland," settled the 
Orthograph}' of the Forest City's name for all time to come. 

At a term of the Supreme Court, held in Trumbull Countj- 
in October 1821, I was admitted to the practice of the law. 
The examination, I well recollect, was held in a large hall in 
Town's Hotel. The two justices of the court, Calvin Pease 
and John McLean, and all the lawyers, including with others 
whose names are not recollected, Elisha Whittlesey, Thos. D. 
Webb, Homer Hine, Jonathan Sloane, James D. Wheeler, 
Ralph Granger and Joshua R. Giddings, were present. The 
side-board, at one end of the room was according to the 
custom of that day, plentifully supplied for the benefit of 
those who might choose to partake, after the examination 
should be closed. 

In the course of the questioning I was asked by 3'Ir. 
Granger, who was not very much of a "total abstinence" man, 
"What is proof?" 

"Tell him," said Chief Justice Pease, who sat a short 
distance from me, and who could not always control his fond- 
ness for witticism, "tell him it is that which "bears a bead.'' — 

In the month of March, 1823, 1 first saw Cleveland. I came 
from Warren, in Trumbull County, where I then lived, in the 
company of Hon, George Tod, who was then President Judge 
of the 3d Judicial Circuit, which embraced, if I mistake 
not, the whole Western Reserve. We made the journey on 



EARLY SKTTLERS ASSOCIATON, 43 

Iiorse-back, and were nearly two da^'s in accomplishing it. I 
recollect the judge, instead of an overcoat, wore an Indian 
blanket drawn over his head by means of a hole cut in the 
center. We came to attend court, and put up at the honse of 
Mr. Merwin, where we met quite a number of lawyers from 
adjacent counties. At this time the village of Warren, where 
I lived, was considered as altogether ahead of Cleveland in 
importance; indeed, there was very little of Cleveland at that 
day, east and south east of the Public Square, or, as it is now 
called, Monumental Park. The population was estimated at 
Four Hundred souls. The earliest burying-ground was at 
the present intersection of Prospect and Ontario streets, the 
north-east corner covered by the Herrick Block. Some years 
afterwards, in riding away from Cleveland, in the stage coach. 
I passed the Erie Street Cemetery, just then laifl out. I re- 
collect it excited my surprise that a site for a burying ground 
should be selected so far out of town. 

The court that I attended on my first visit, was held in 
the old court house that stood on the north-west quarter of 
the Public Square, nearly- opposite the Wick Block. 

The presiding judge was the Hon. George Tod, a well read 
lawj^er and a most courteous gentleman, the father of our late 
patriotic governor, David Tod. His kindness of heart was 
proverbial, and sometimes the lawyers would presume upon it- 

I recollect being present at his court in Portage Couiitj'; 



44 ANNALS OF THE 

on one occasion, when he was subjected to some little embar- 
rassment l>y the wit of his friend John W. Willey, of Cleve- 
land. Mr. Willey was charged with the defence of a person 
who stood indicted for some i)etty misdemeanor, and though 
a ver}^ astute law3-er, he found it difficult to clear his client 
without a single witness in his favor. There had been, the 
night before the case was called, a fire in Ravenna, and a 
small house had been burned to the ground, which excited 
much commotion in the village. 

When the case was reached for tj'ial, on the call of the 
docket, Mr. Willey rose, and with great gravity asked the 
court to continue that cause until the next term. 

"For what reason, Mr. Willey?" said the benignant judge. 
"May it please your Honor," said our facetious friend, "one 
"of our principal witnesses was burned up in that tire last 
"night, and we want time to supply the loss." 

"Judge Tod was almost convulsed in endeavoring to 
restrain his laughter, but finally was enabled to sa^-, "your 
"motion must be granted, Mr. Willey. The cause stands con- 
"tinued." 

The Associate Judges of the Common Pleas were, at the 
time of which I speak, Hon. Thos. Card and Hon. Samuel 
Williamson. Horace Perry was clerk, and Jas. S. Clarke, 
sheriff. The lawyers attending court were Alfred Kelley, 
then acting Prosecuting Attorney for the county, Leonard 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 45 

Case, Sam'l Cowles, Reuben Wood and John W. Willey, of 
Cleveland, Saml. W. Phelps aAd Sara'l Wheeler of Geauga, 
Jonathan Sloane of Portage, Elisha Whittlesey, Thos. W. 
Webl) and R. P. Spalding of Trumbull Counfy. John Blair 
Avas Foreman of the Grand Jury. 

No one of them all, except myself, is alive to-day. I very 
much doubt if a solitary individual who attended that court 
in 1823, whether judge, juror, attorne}' or witness, is left to 
greet you here to-da}-, other than myself. 

And so with almost the whole of my Companions at the 
commencement of life's journe}': They are gone. 

"I feel like one 

"Who treads alone 

"vSome banquet-hall deserted, 

"Whose lights are fled, 

"Whose garlands dead, 

"And all but he departed." 

(Applause.) 

The Rev. A. S. Hayden, of Collamer, formerly President of 
Hiram College, was called upon to address the meeting, and 
responded as follows: 

REMARKS OF MR. HAVDEN. 

My remarks, as I am called at the instant, will be very 
brief, and chiefly for two reasons: The approaching lateness 
of the hour, which some may feel, and the other fact that, 



46 ANXAL.s OF THE 

though not amongst the youngest men, I am j)erhaps the 
youngest born member of the association, and it does not 
become 3'oung children to talk long in the presence of age. 
But I take pleasure, for a reason or two that I will try to 
mention, in standing before j^ou and with you in this relation, 
and as a member of this association. I Avas in this community 
long enough ago to know quite a number of its earliest mem- 
bers — far enough back to have had a very intimate acquaint- 
ance with Judge Samuel Starkweather, whom ^our whole city 
delighted to honor: in like manner, an acquaintance with the 
lamented and recently departed Judge Andrews, whose name 
amongst ^-ou will be cherished green as long as 3'our memory 
continues. I do not forget, either, in a farther back period, 
mj' acquaintance with one of the flrst and most efficient 
sheritfs of your count}'. I mean David L. Wightman, 
who for quite a period carried the key of authority for the 
whole county ; and still farther, I was here long enough ago 
to be acquainted with that distinguished ph3^sician, Dr. David 
Long, who passed a.way in early days, and was not known 
perhaps, even to a large number of the older persons be- 
fore me. 

I merely say, in addition to these reasons for gr;itification 
for standing amongst you, and being reckoned amongst the 
early settlers, this : To congratulate the communitj- on the 
formation of such a society as this. It cannot but be that 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 47 

the memories and the experiences of the older men of the 
community carry within them treasures of too vast importance 
to be forgotten; and the formation of this society will form a 
storehouse, a reservoir, where these early experiences and 
memories will be gathered together, and where they will be 
sifted and used, unquestionably, for profitable ends in years 
that are yet to come. 

I merely take your time a little further to say that, whilst 
feeling very greatly the advautages likely to arise from this 
society in the way just now alluded to, there is another con- 
sideration which with equal hope inspires my heart. I venture 
it as a prophecy, if prophecy you may regard it, that many an 
instance of grand virtue, hid away behind the curtains, 
secluded, not wrought out upon the historic page, will in this 
society find mention and a memorial. Wh}- is it that the 
sturdier virtues and the stronger powers of man are celebrated 
and the graudei- and finer elements of womanly character have 
been so long left in the shade? Why is it that our discerning 
and intelligent press of this city, whilst doing all it may to 
honor a citizen whom the whole. town and the country are de- 
lighting to honor — I refer to him who has made so magnificent 
a bequest to the city, Leonard Case, Esq., — why, in bringing 
out all his history, and the history of the toil and ability of 
his honored father, has his mother found no mention what- 
ever? So far as my own observation has gone that quiet 



48 



ANNALS OF THE 



excellent woman has not been referred to. I have eaten bread 
more than once at her table, and her bread was not the bread 
of idleness, nor was it ever salted with the salt of hypocrisy. 
Of noble virtues, but quiet, serene, contemplative, she filled 
well her measure and has passed away honorably. And how 
comes it that no mention of her has been made? In that group 
which we shall form in honor of the family, I would assign to 
her a conspicuous and honored place. And in like manner 
would I those excellent pioneer women who accompanied their 
husbands, and who became the founders by their virtue of the 
strong good sense and virtue which rules and pervades society 
here. 

Hon. John W. Allen : Mr. President, I want to call upon the 
most popular man in Cleveland, a man who knows about 
three-quarters of all the men in Cleveland, and about all the 
women — ^Judge Tilden. 

judge tilden speaks. 
Mr. President and Friends: 

It was the last business that I expected to attend to, to be 
called in here to-day to make a speech. I came here for the 
purpose of witnessing the proceedings, at the earnest request 
of a particular friend of mine, and I am very much disinclined 
to talk. There is nothing that embarrasses me so much as to 
get up before an intelligent audience like this, and after I 
have said one word, don't know what to say next. (Laughter.) 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 49 

That is precisely my couditiou to-day. I do not know that I 
am able to utter a single sentence here that will be worth your 
listening to. There is one thing, however, I "wish to state dis- 
tinctl}', that I am a pioneer in the veriest sense of that word. 
And yet I am told that I have no right to associate with the 
j)ioneers that are assembled here to-da}'. I have been told 
that I was a kind ot an outside barbarian. 

I have been here, however, fifty years. I was in the country 
as early as 1830, and can say a few things in relation to life 
as it existed here at that time. It was the most interesting 
})cri()d of my life. I had nothing, and was not looking for any- 
thing in this world, and have not been very much disappointed 
in that respect (laughter), but there was a life there that was 
interesting to me. I was in Portage county, and it seems to 
me tiuit I have rarely in my later experience seen a better 
order of men than those that inhabited the then wilderness of 
that country. There was no money. I recollect when wheat 
sold for three shillings a bushel. There Avere certain articles 
that the}^ could buy by paying barter. Muskrat skins! skunk 
skins! yes, probably skunk skins were currency at that time 
(laughter), but when it came to tea and leather, I recollect 
that we had to scrape around and get the money for those 
things. (Laughter.) 

There never was a more accomodating, kind-hearted set of 
men and women in the world than inhabited the country at 

4 



50 ANNALS Oi- THE 

that time, and I am rejoiced that we are liaviiig this kind of 
associations as a kind of souvenir and a remembrancer of that 
class of men and women to whom this Western Reserve is so 
largely indebted for that retined and cultivated civilization it 
enjoys to-da}'. There were very few privileges. Everything 
was plain. If a neighbor was in trouble, wanted a barn raised, 
they would come live and ten miles to help him. If there was 
to be a logging, to gather together the logs, why, all the neigh- 
boi'hood would turn out and cheerfully assist a neighbor in 
l)erforming his work. It cultivated a spirit of kindness, prob- 
ably springing from the fact that every man felt that he was 
dependent upon his neighbor for a living. All was simple. I 
recollect how they used to kindle lires. They had no loco-foco 
matches in those days. I recollect I went to see an uncle of 
mine, and he started a hre in the morning — I guess that is a 
little ahead, maybe, of you pioneers who had a village here to 
start with. We hitched the old mare on the log; there were 
two doors in the log cabin, and the tire-place extended across 
the cabin; the old mare drew on the back log; then the fore- 
stick was drawn and put on the lire, and a fire was built that 
lasted for three or four days. 

Well, we had religion then. I think I was more }>ious in 
those days than I have been since. (Laughter.) I know that 
those old Methodist preachers, who came round with their 



EAKLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATON. 51 

leggings all covered with miul. used to meet at the sehool- 
house, and there was a kind of earnestness about them, a force 
and incisiveness in their talk that made a very deep and power 
ful imi)ression upon my young mind at that time, moi'e so than 
since. (Laughter). There was no ostentation, no display; 
everything plain and straightforward. I recollect that there 
was a i)eriod during that early history when religion was the 
main topic of conversation. Every old farmer who was in- 
terested in religious matters, had a rusty old book in his 
l)ocket, and there was a controversy between my Brother 
llayden's sect, called Campbellites at that time, and the Ortho- 
dox, and many a long, tedious struggle have I heard between 
them. Every man was gifted upon that subject. They would 
quote the text of scripture, lire and fire back, and it was en- 
tertaining and instructive, and cultivated a very high moral 
feeling in all classes of the conimunit}'. Well, that was one 
time. We had no particular excitements. There were plenty 
of deer and plenty of l)ears and plent}' of wolves. I think I 
never shall forget while I live when I came in from Connecti- 
cut, and from the civilized portion of the world, to stay with 
my grandfather. I recollect one night of hearing the wolves 
howl, and I would have given the whole United States if I 
could have gotten out of Ohio. (Laughter.) It was the most 
heart-sinking sound that I ever heard in my life. Now you 
will see, my friends, that I am a pioneer, and T don't under- 



02 AKXALS OF THE 

Stand, my tVieud Rice, why I should be shut out from tliis 
society of yours. 

I recollect that lirst time I came to Cleveland. It looked 
about as large to me, coining out of the woods, as it does to- 
da,y. Judge Spaulding was with me, and I will tell the stoiy 
lor the purpose mainly of illustrating how hard it was to have 
a little money in one's pocket, in those days. The Judge came 
along to me and said he, "I wish you would come to Cleveland 
with me." I sprang at once at the otfer to see Cleveland. 
We journeyed along all day and finally reached Cleveland late 
in the evening. I think we stayed one night. Said the Judge 
to me: "Don't you want some oysters?" "Why, yes." I had 
not seen an oyster since I was a small boy. (Laughter.) Said 
I, "Yes, I will be glad of it." I took it that he had plenty of 
means. So we went over, I think, to a man by the name of 
Cozzens who kept a sort of saloon, and asked him if he had 
oysters. He said he had. He gave each of us a dish of oysters, 
and we ate them, and by that time I began to feel very well, 
(Laughter.) He came around and said he, "Won't you have 
some more?" Said I: "Yes, I will have some more." 
(Laughter.) I looked across the table to the Judge, and I 
saw that his head fell, and I took the hint in a moment that 
the funds were out. (Laughter.) Said I: " No, I think I have 
had enough. I won't take any more." (Laughter.) After- 
wards I inquired of the Judge what it was that made his 



EAKLT SETTLEKS ASSOCIATION. 58 

couutenance fall as it did. "Why," said he, "I had made my 
calculations and had paid the l:)ill, and had got just exactly 
euouoh to o;et those two dishes of oysters and get home, and 
I hadn't a cent left, and when you called for another dish of 
oysters I was broke." (Laughter.) 

I recollect the hardships which the farmers had to endure. 
There were no carriages — in fact, no roads. I have seen in 
those days a man load his family on a stone-hoat, and when 

it came Sunday start oft' to the school-house. They would 
hitch tlie horses on to the stone-boat. You know wliat tliat 
is; the}' used to call them drags in Connecticut. The whole 
family, on account of the mud, would get on to that stone-boat 
and ride to church. Tlint is one of the h.ardships they liad to 
endure at that time. 

Well, noAv, gentlemen, I am not going to talk here any 
longer. I can see and feel myself that I am not getting ahead 
mucli. (Laughter.) But I can assure you of one thing: Tliat 
there is no organization that has interested me more than this 
one that you are here to-day for the purpose of strenghtening 
and perpetuating. These old pioneers should be remembered. 
We are as mucli indel)ted to them as to any class of men 
that have lived upon the face of the earth, and I rejoice with 
you that there is a spirit at last awakening by whicli their 
memory is to be preserved and perpetuated. Thanking y(»u 
for your patience, I leave you. 



54 ANNALS OF THE 

MK. Williamson's keminisoences. 

Mr. S. Williamsou was called ou next. He said : 
Mr. President: 

I sii])pose yon will not expect an address at tliis time from 
me, and all that I shall attempt tf) do in the ilve minutes al- 
lowed to me will be to refresh some of your recollections ahout 
the early condition of C^leveland. Probably most of you. like 
myself, cannot very well remember Cleveland in connection 
with your childhood so that you can tix upon a thing as hav- 
ino- occurred at this or that or the other time. But I will give 
you some of my recollections of Cleveland, and will occupy 
but a lirief time. I will saj' that at my earliest recollection 
Water street had been opened; that is, the timber luul ))ccn 
cut out and a wagon road was run down through the center 
of the street from Superior street to Bank street, so called. It 
had grf)wn up, however, with ekler bushes, thick all the Avay 
along. There were occasional trees and some houses upon it. 
The house nearest the lake was that of Alfred Kelley, who 
has been referred to here, and was the first brick house built 
in this city. It stood upon the corner of Water and Bank 
streets, so-called. Mr. Kelley, as you well know, was also the 
fii'st lawyer here. I ma}- also mention that the first l)auk, 
knowMi as the Old Commercial Bank of Lake P^rie, was or 
ganized by him. The next house was a small one story 
wooden house occupied by Dr. Long, the first physician here, 



KARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 55 



standing upon Water street where the lighthouse now stands. 
Two or til ree houses, amongst them one occupied by my father, 
at that time, according to my earliest recollections, were all 
there were upon Water street. There was a clearing on each 
side of Water street from Superior street to the lake; on the 
west side of Water street to the river, and on the east side to 
about where Bank street is, and the lower part of it from St. 
Clair street — there being no St. Clair street there tlien — to the 
lake was occupied by Mr. Carter as a farm. One year, I 
remember, he had it covered with rye from Water street u)) to 
about Bank street. There was one log house standing upon 
Lake street, a little east of Water street. Tlie oidy house 
there was upon those premises. Under the hill there were 
several log houses, warehouses, etc., and one or two dwelling 
houses. Commencing at Superior street and going down 
toward the lake, when you got down lielow wliat was Mandrake 
street there were woods, and from that down under the hill it 
was mostly swamp or wet land. 

Perhaps I might say here, the first brewery built in tliis 
city was built under the hill on the Lighthouse street lot, and 
I remember after I came here the first fire in tliis city was at 
that brewery, which was destroyed. 

On Superior street it was cleared of timber, so far as 1 
remember, up to the Public Square, and the Public Square 
partly. The old court house stood on the northwest corner of 



56 ANNALS OF THE 

the square. The street was full of large stumps, but otherwise 
than that it was clear. There were upon that quite a number 
of houses. Amongst the rest was one kept l)y M]\ Wallace, 
and afterwards by Mr. Merwin, and there were some others 
on the other side. Mr. Newberry kept the store on the corner 
of Water and Superior streets and occupied the land from 
Water street up to about Bank street. When I saj^ he occu- 
pied it, I mean there was a fence around it, and he had planted 
some fruit trees, peaches mostl}', and it was a suitable })lace 
I'or pasturing cows, and it was a good place for picking straw- 
l)erries. As you came up this way the onl}- clearing was a 
field right opposite where we are now, but there was a Magon 
track from the square. Going south of Ontario street there 
was a wagon track until you reached where Mr. Walworth 
owned. There was an opening there extending down the hill, 
and that was the only clearing there was there for some dis- 
tance in that direction. 

The first vessel, I may say, built here, the vessel that has 
been referred to, was built ])y Major Carter on top of the hill 
between Water and Union streets. It was l)uilt at an early 
date, and was afterwards destroyed by the British in the war 
of 1812. At the same time Levi Jolinson l)uilt a smaller 
vessel just east of tlie Pul>lic Square. He was a common 
earpenter Jiud had no expei'ience in building vessels: but he 
watched the building of Mr. Carter's an<l succeeded in build- 



EAKLV SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 57 

iug- that. Of course, they had to haul it dowu to the river to 
he Launched. It was a small vessel. He ran it toi' a few 
years until he was ahle to build a better one, and did build a 
better one in 1817. 

One word in reference to schools. The first school of which 
I have any recollection was taught in a barn which stood back 
of the American House, between that and the brow of the 
hill; and I should not remember that, perhaps, but for one or 
two cii'cumstances. I know a severe, heavy storm of wind, 
rain and hail came from the west, and blew through the cracks 
and knotholes of the barn, and the school was broken up lor 
that day. Of course, it was not a finished building ut all, it 
was merely luiilt of planks, logs, sticks, etc. That was tlie 
first school of which I have any recollection. Afterwards 
there was a shed, so-called, that stood where the Commercial 
buildings now stand. There was a school also taught by the 
late Benjamin Carter, in a little old building that stood on 
Water street. It was kept there, I think, two winters. Aftei"- 
wards we went to the old Court House, and occupied, in the 
fii'st place, the family room. Afterwards we went up stairs 
and occupied the room when the court was not in session. It 
was kept there until the small building was erected on 
St. Clair street, west of Bank street, which remained there 
until a very few years ago. From that the school was trans- 
ferred to the Academy, a brick building erected on the oppo- 



58 ANNALS OF THE 

site side of tlie street. At the time that little building was 
erected on St. Clair street, the opposite side of the street was 
wood. When I sa^' "wood,"! mean Im'iisIi, with occasional 
trees. Of course, schools in those days were taught hut a 
short time by one person. The first teacher we had was Miss 
Hickox. There were two Misses Hickox, one at one time and 
another at another. They were the first teachers in this city 
of whom I have any recollection. [Applause.] 

HON. .JOHN A. FOOTERS REMARKS. 

Somewhere about 183fi a weather-beaten man, with sonve 
marks of dissipation came to our oltice to have us commence 
a suit for slander against his brother. It seemed that the 
wife of this man- — Captain Reuben Turner — had lieen called 
as a witness in a suit where his brother — William Turner — 
was a party, and that she had testified against William. That 
William at once arose and denounced her to the audience as a 
bad woman. Upon this the old Captain, probably then under 
the influence of liquor, advanced to her, and, throwing his 
arms about lier neck, exclaimed: "Now mind, Mima, old 
Uncle Reuben loves j'ou yet!" We brought suit and recovered 
a judgment. The old captain soon came in and reported to 
us that his brother William had called on him and complained 
that he, the captain, would ruin him by collecting that judg- 
ment. He told us that he replied to his brother that he did 
not wish to injure him. That he did not want a cent of his 



EAKTA' SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 59 

money, but that he must sign u writing "that he lied about 
the old woman,''' and that then he would give up the judgment. 
But he told him that if he should refuse to do this that he 
would collect the judgment. I think William would not sign 
the papers, and that the old captain collected the judgment. 
This love for his wife and his odd sailor ways and expressions 
interested me in him, though he continued his intemperate 
habits. But at length I met him, and perceiving a great 
change for the better — with all marks of intemperance gone — 
I exclaimed: "What has produced this great improvement V" 
He replied that he had liecome a temperance man — that "the 
old woman had loved him out of the ditch." 

Shortly after this the news reached us here of the 
announcement of the Washingtonian temperance movement 
among the drunkards at Baltimore, as well as of the wonder- 
ful success of Father Matthew in Ireland. Hoping to aid the 
cause here, we called on the old captain to give us his experi- 
ence. He responded, and astonished us all. He had drained 
the cup to its bitter dregs, and like the modern Murphy, he 
electrified the community, and induced thousands to follow 
his example. Aristarchus Champion, a wealthy and benevo- 
lent gent from Rochester, happening here at tliis period, 
offered the old captain $500 if he would devote himself to the 
work for three months. The offer was accepted, but instea<l 
of three months he labored in this cause for two years, and 



60 ANNALS OF THE 

he told me that he obtained tifty thousand names to the pledge 
of total abstinence. Among these was Judge Smith, of 
Medina, who had become a drunkard and had fallen so low- 
that his wife had obtained a divorce from him. His reforma- 
tion was, however, so thorough that they were remarried, 
and some years since I read the notice of the Judge's death 
in Wisconsin at an extreme age and with a flattering obituary. 

Captain Turner was remarkable for his great good sense. 
This Avas specially seen in one of our county temperance con- 
ventions. It was in the ver}- white heat of the Washiugtonian 
movement. A. W. Kellogo- had denounced the clergv for not 
taking greater interest in the movement. Dr. Aiken, the then 
pasto]' of the First Presbyterian Church of this city, in reply 
to him said the Washingtonians reminded him of what he had 
frequently seen in the city of New York in his boyhood. It 
was the launching of vessels. It was in this fashion: After 
the vessel had been built by long and persistent labor, a crowd 
of gentlemen and ladies would come aboard and a single block 
would be knocked away, and the vessel, with her load, would 
glide into the water, while the gentlemen and ladies would 
shout and swing their hats and handkerchiefs, and act just as 
if they had lioth biiilt and launched the vessel. 

Now, said the Doctor, we built this good temperance ship 
by careful and strenuous labors, and now you Washingtonians 
claim all the credit, ifec. 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 61 

Old Captain Turner sprung to his feet and said : "Father 
Aiken seems to feel a good deal wamble-eropped at what 
Brother Kellogg has said, and I ain not surprised at it. For 
it is true that the blackcoats did build this good ship and 
lloated us Washingtonians oft' as he has said." And then 
turning to Dr. Aiken, he continued: "Now, Doctor, the ship 
is built, all things are ready, why not come aboard and 'liorah?' 

There is one of the old settlers, whose remains now sleei) 
in one of our city cemeteries, whose name and deeds are 
worth}' of remembrance by this societ}', and we certainly 
should l»e grateful for his example, even if it is not proper to 
lie proud of having had in our ranks so great a reformer. 

FROM ANOTHER OLD SETTLER. 

Mr, John W. Allen said: We are telling stories to-night, 
and I may as well tell one to show how difterent things are 
from what they were once. In the old village corporation 
there was a president, recorder, and three trustees. The legis- 
lation was in the hands of the trustees and president. I 
happened in the year 1828 to be one of them. Dr. Long was 
another. We thought it expedient to buy a tire engine, and 
we negotiated Avith Mr. Seel^^e for the purpose of purchasing 
a small engine. It was before the days of steam lire engines. 
We were about to make a contract with him for the engine, 
and were to pa}^ him $400, $50 down and $350 in a note of 
the corporation. There was a set of men here who were 



62 ANNALS OF THE 

hostile to the measure. They got up a meeting and talked 
pretty strongly, intimating that we had joined hands with 
Seelye to swindle the people here, and that we undoubtedly 
participated in the plunder. But we bought the engine and 
paid the $50 like honest men, and gave the note of the cor- 
poration lor the balance. An election intervened the next 
spring, and we were all turned out, and a new set of men put 
in who repudiated the note. The note came here for coUec- 
into, judgment was rendered, and those men had to walk u[) 
to the captain's office and settle the bill. 

Nothing aftects me more forcibly than the contrast be- 
tween that little machine and the arraj' of sometimes a dozen 
of our great steam fire engines, of immense power and Ijcau- 
tiful too in their appearance, and that never tire while the 
coal and water last. 

That was in the early days when the population was small 
and the means and views were small, ten or fifteen 3'ears 
before the application of steam for such purposes was 
dreamed of 

But the advance in this particular matter of protection 
against lire only corresponds with that of population and 
wealth, and the application of inventive genius in a hundred 
ways to the wants and convenience of mankind, which has 
marked the progress of the last half century. 

Our successors of that day may look back upon us of this 



EARLY SETTLKI.'S ASS0CIATI03S- ' 63 

day as a simple niiiulod pcopk', tloing- llie Ijfst we knew how 

with the little knowledge and means we had, but as not 

amounting to any partieuhir sum according to their theme 

standard. 

kemakks of h. m, addison. 

Mk. President: — 

At this late iiour I desire to state only a lew tiu'ts in 
a few words, by way of making a close connection between 
the past and the present. 

On my right sits Mr. Wm. H. Warren, the oldest man now 
living, who was born in Warrensville, in the lirst log house in 
that township; and 3Ir. Elias Cozad, a member of our asso- 
ciation, helped to build that house. 

My father taught the first school in the lirst log school 
house in that township. The first singing school was taught 
in that school house, and I hold in my hand one of the books 
used in that school. Simple facts like these call vividly to 
^ mind earl^- scenes in my career of life, and the wonderful 
progress in the condition of our county in a comparatively 
short period of time; and I hope the early settlers of the 
various townships will come to our next convention, prepared 
to give man}' of the kind, either orally or in writing. They 
are "Foot-prints in the sands of time,'' that are very desirable 
to preserve, and the sooner they are collected and reduced to 
writing, the more we Avill have of them, and the more accurate 



64 ANNAI.S OF THE 

they will Ijo, and consequently more interesting to iulure 
generations. 

The Rev. J. T. Avery was called for, but declined to make 
any remarks, owing to the lateness of the hour. 

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED. 

Mr. R. T. Lyon ottered the following resolutions wliicli 
were unanimously adopted: 

Resolved. That the thanks of this association he cxteiidi'd 
to the otticers of this church for the free use of their line and 
comfortable building to hold this, our tirst convention; also, 
to the speakers, organist, and the Aritm Quartett Club fof 
their ettbrts, which have added so much to our enjoyment. 

Resolved. That we favor the proposition of Mr. S. E. Adams 
that a monument be erected in this city to the memory of 
Moses C'leaveland, and that this association take measures to 
favor that object. 

And thereupon the convention united in singing the dox- 
ology, and then adjourned to meet next year at the call of tlie 
Executive Committee. 



Written Statement received from Geo. B. Merwin, Esq. 

]N[r. President: 

My father came to Cleveland in 181.'), the 

family in February 1816. There were six houses on Superior 

street, George Wallace's tavern, Dr. Long's office, (he lived in 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION, 65 

a double log Louse in his garden back of the office on the lot 
where the American House now stands,) Ashbel W. Wal- 
worth's house and otlice on same lot, Irad Kelley's store and 
house opposite Bank street. Uncle Abrain Heacox's black- 
smith shop where E. I. Baldwin's store now stands, on one 
side of his sign were the words " Uncle Abram works here," 
on the other a gentleman on horseback saying " Can you shoe 
my horse?" "Yes, sir." And a two story framed building 
where the Forest City House now stands, called Mowrey's 
tavern, were on the south side. Nathan Perry's store and house, 
corner of Water and vSuperior street, and the Weddell House lot, 
extending to St. Clair, were fenced in with rails, having a 
peach orchard in the north half of the lot. Here one morning 
I picked up sixteen pigeons whicli my father killed at one shot. 
An old red building in which the Commercial Bank of Lake 
Erie was established by Alfred Kelley in 1817, stood on the 
corner of Bank street; the hay-scales stood where Ogden Crit 
tenden's jewelry store now stands, and in the back part of this 
old red building the Cleveland Herald was established in 
1819. 

The letter "a" in the name as spelled by General Moses 
Cleaveland, was omitted by the printers, who having ordered 
a new set of type for a new heading, it was found that the 
size of the type extended the name too far across the paper to 
make a good job, the letter "a" was therefore omitted. The 



6(5 ANNALS OF THE 

paper upon which it was printed came from Pittsburg, once 
not arriving in time, an edition was issued on foolscap. 
David Burroughs blacksmith shop was on the opposite corner 
of Seneca; his large flock of geese occupied a part of Superior 
street, opposite his shop every time it rained. 

The old red court house and log jail stood on the square 
in front of the late Dr. Aiken's church; the court room was 
used for religious services — a masonic lodge and general 
elections; the stumps of the gallows upon which the Indian 
Omic was hung for the murder of two trappers at Sandusky, 
were visible in front of it. Omic was anatomized b}' Dr. Long. 
I have seen his bones many times. 

When the bank was established, a suitable person for 
cashier was required. Judge Kingsbury, happening to be in 
town one day, was asked if he knew any one among his 
acquaintances who could fill the position. He said he knew 
a young man by the name of Leonard Case, who wrote a good 
hand and was said to be a good accountant; and he thought 
he would answer. He was engaged and was the first cashier 
and Alfred Kelley the first president. 

In 1817 — IS small change was very scarce and the trustees 
of the village to relieve the wants of the people, after con- 
sulting with the business men, concluded best to issue cor- 
poration scrip, called by the people "Corporation Shinplasters," 
to the amount of one hundred dollars, in denominations from 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 67 

six and a quarter cents to fifty cents. I have two of these 
bills signed by Daniel Kelley, president, Horace Periy, clerk. 

There were financiers in those days as well as in modern 
times; a silver dollar was divided into nine pieces, each pass- 
ing for a shilling, and a pistareen worth eighteen and three- 
quarter cents, went for a shilling also. 

Judge Samuel Williamson lived on the corner of St. Clair 
and Water streets. Alfred Kelley in a brick-house near tlie 
bank of the lake, north of his house he had a field of two 
acres in wheat, north of this was a road leading to the mouth 
of the river. 

Water street was fenced in, the corners of the fence full of 
elders and stumps. Levi Johnson lived on the corner of Lake 
and Water. St. Clair street was fenced in on the south side 
as far as Seneca. Bank street was fenced in on each side 
with two or three houses upon it. At the foot of Bank street 
was a stockade fort, erected during the war of 1812, which 
would hold 250 men, it was constructed of chestnut slabs, 
pointed with port holes for musquetry, part of the slabs were 
standing and were cut down for fire wood as occasion required. 
This work was called Fort " Hungerford" by the boys, from 
the fact that a widow of that name lived in the bushes near 
by and was frequently visited by the commanding officer; the 
boys to show their appreciation of his devotion to the lone- 
some widow, one night placed a tub of soft soap at the rear 



68 ANNALS OF THE 

door, then knocking at the front door, the escaping officer 
landed in the tub of soap up to his knees. In those days in 
the spring of the year the bank of the lake used to crack oil' 
and fall down several feet below the plain. I remember going 
along there one spring, the bank had cracked and fallen, 
exposing about half of a coffin made of Chestnut slabs, 
pinned together with wooden pins; looking down I discovered 
the skull and other bones of some poor fellow who had been 
laid there to take his rest, not with his "martial cloak around 
him," but in his red flannel shirt and an army blanket. 

The lirst school house, a small frame, was built in the 
spring of 1817 on a lot adjoining the Kennard House; twenty- 
four scholars attended the fiirst school; several of the young- 
men in the village contributed to help pa}' the teacher; in this 
house religious services were held every sabbath. Judge 
Daniel Kelley otferiug prayer, some young man reading a 
sermon, and my niothei" leading the singing. The first winter 
a man by the name of Parsons was the teacher. I have a 
feeling recollection how very particular he was to warm the 
chestnut sprouts in the ashes, and how nicely they fitted to 
the hollow of my back. 

On the river, at the foot of Lighthouse street, Levi John- 
son had a small frame store house; Matthew Williamson a 
tannery at the foot of Union Lane; }uy father a log store- 
house at the foot of Superior street. Christopher Gun kept 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATON. 69 

the ferry across the riA^er, using a scow for teams and skiff 
for footmeu, one shilling for teams and six pence for footmen 
was the charge for ferryage. 

My father built the schooner "Minerva" at the foot of 
Superior street. She was launched in March 1823, and was 
the first vessel registered in the District of Cuj^ahoga, under 
'the United States revenue laws; she was named after my 
mother; when she was launched I stood upon the heel of the 
bowsprit, as the stern touched the water and called out the 
name and smashed a gallon jug of whisky, as was the 
custom at launching in those days. She was the first vessel 
west of Buffalo that had a cliain cable. My father got suit- 
able iron rods from Pittsburg, and an excellent blacksmith. 
Washington Jones, who made forty-five fathoms of chain 
during the winter; to test its strength was of the first im- 
portance. 

At that time there were several butternut trees along the 
east side of Water street; my father sent out to Judge Kings- 
bury and Esquire Samuel Dodge at Euclid, to furnish him 
fifteen yoke of oxen ; they were brought in, the chain fastened 
to one of the trees, the cattle were hitched on, all being ready 
word was given to surge awav, which ))eing done three times 
without parting it, Capt. Clifford Belden, her master and 
two or three other masters present, pronounced the trial satis- 
factory, the chain would hold the vessel in any gale. 



70 > ANNALS OF THE 

Office holders in those times were not as numerous as now. 
Ashbel W. Walworth was custom house collector, postmaster 
and the pioneer letter carrier, as he usually carried the letters 
in his hat and deliA'ered them to the persons addressed when 
he met them. 

The famous itinerant preacher, Lorenzo Dow, held forth 
under one of these trees one Sunda^^ afternoon in Jul}' 1827. ■ 
His first words were, " well, here you all are, rag, shag and 
bob tail." He sat flat on the ground during his discourse. 

The arrival of Gov. DeWitt Clinton, of New York, to break 
ground for the commencement of the Ohio Canal on the Lick- 
ing County summit in 1825, the celebration of the opening of 
the canal from Cleveland to Akron in June 1827, and many 
other items relating to early Pioneer times, I will defer to 
some future meeting of the Association. 

Very respectfully, 

GEO. B. MERWIN. 

Lake Side. Rockport, May 20, 1880. 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 71 

Written Remarks received from Mrs. Geo. B. Merwin. 

Mr. President. 

I was brought to Cleveland when a baby, in the first 
steamer that ever ploughed the waters of Lake Erie, the 
" Walk-iu-the-water ". — A fierce gale blowing, there being no 
wharves, as docks, the steamer rode out the storm of three 
days and nights at anchor, in great danger of going on the 
beach, watched most anxiously by the few inhabitants from 
the shore, there being no possible means of communicating 
with her. At that time all freight and passengers were landed 
by means of lighters and yawl l)oats. The greatest speed of 
the Walk-in-the-water was ten miles an hour; her route from 
Detroit to Black Rock, three miles below Buffalo, and in com- 
ing up the Niagara, there not being force enough in her engines, 
she was towed to Buffalo by six yoke of oxen. The price of 
passage was ten dollars from Detroit to Cleveland, and twenty 
from Cleveland to Buffalo. The first teacher I remember was 
Miss Eliza Beard, to whom I went when five years old. Her 
parents were cultivated Irish people. At the age of nine I was 
sent to Harvey Rice, a young law student from the East, who 
taught in a brick building on St. Clair St., an Academy, and 
used on Sundays for holding church services, An adjoining- 
lot, covered with old stumps, deposited there from various parts 
of the town, weather-beaten and bleached b}' stoinns, was our 



72 ANNALS OF THE 

play ground, the stumps our horses and play houses, where 
we arranged our liits of broken crockery, not a set of dishes 
intended for children having yet })ecn brought to the ^■illage. 
On the south side of Superior street, nearly opposite the City 
Hall I should think, there was a spring of soft water, and near 
it a shelter was built of boughs of trees in summer, and here 
many of the women used to congregate for washing, hanging 
there clothes on the surrounding bushes. The wells, what few 
tliere were containing only hard water. The only water car 
rier for a long time, was Benhu Johnson, who with his sister 
a Mrs. White, lived on P^uclid street, about whci-e tlie Vienna 
Cottee House is now. Benhu, with his wooden leg, little wagon 
and old horse, was in great demand on Mondaj's, when he 
dreAv two barrels of water at a time, covered with l)lankets, 
up the long, steep hill from the river, now known as Vineyard 
street, to parties Tequiring the element. In fancy I see him 
now, with his unpainted vehicle, old white horse, himself 
stumping along keeping time to the tune "Roving Sailor'' Avhich 
he was fond of singing, occasionally starting "Old Whitey'"' 
with a kick from the always ready leg, especially if he had l)een 
imbibing freely. At the corner of Bank and Superior streets 
Avas the store and dwelling of Peter M. Weddell, al)rick build- 
ing witli a piazza in front. Our friend, the present Mrs. 
Weddell, being then note<l, as since, for her love of flowers, 
and the choice assortment she then jjossesssed. Judge Kings- 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION 73 

bury's was a favorite place to visit, for health, pleasure and 
cherries; the latter being the sour French fruit, brought from 
Detroit, as delicious to our uncultivated tastes, as the choicest 
of the present day. A sulphur spring on his farm was sought 
as a cure for cutaneous diseases. 

The completion of the Ohio canal was celebrated by a great 
ball at the Mansion House kept by James Belden. I attended 
with my parents and sat awhile in the lap of Gov. Allen 
Triml)le who had honored the occasion by his presence. It 
took all the men, women and children in the village who 
danced, to make enough for a set of contra dances, or quad- 
rilles. A violin player by the name of Hendershot, who lived 
in Euclid, was the musician for many years. When a ball 
was held, the managers went for the ladies in a carriage, com- 
mencing at five in the afternoon, that all might be there in 
time for business at six o'clock, and I well remember the late 
Mr. Orlando Cutter, escorting mother and myself to one when 
I was nine or ten years old. Cows pastured in and around 
the town at their own sweet will, coming home at night to be 
milked, mother insuring the return of hers by feeding her now 
and then slices of bread and sugar. These are a few of my 
early recollections. The change from the hamlet to the village, 
from the log house to the frame building, is better remembered, 
than from the village to the city. After a few good residences 
are built, the eye becomes accustomed to them, and the 



74 ANNALS OF THE 

gradual increase in numbers is not so much noticed. I walk 
the streets of Cleveland to day unmindful of the changes time 
and wealth have wrought. Oul}^ occasionally I look hack and 
see the scattering houses — the vacant lots — the second growth 
of oaks on the square as we then called the Park. 

MRS. GEO. B. MERW IN. 
Lake Side, Rockport, May 30th, 1880. 



Written Recollections and Experiences received from 

J. H. Sargent, Esq. 

Mk. President: 

For forty years all the members of this association, and 
some of us for a much longer period, have contributed their 
share towards making history for Cu3'ahoga County-. But 
where shall we all be forty years hence? Eveiy youuger 
recruit of to-day will then be an octogenarian, at least, or on 
the other side of Jordan. The venerable men of that day 
will be telling of the great bridge victory of peace consumated 
in the Viaduct, as I may refer to-day to the bridge victory of 
war. They will be telling of fierce contests between gas- 
lights and petroleum, and electricity, as we now refer to the 
tallow dips and grease cups, with overhanging lighted rags, 
of our youthful days. 

While some of the most sensitive among us may now be 
looking back witli longing to the quiet days of sandy streets 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 75 

ahfl grassy walks, and an atmospliere innocent of coal dnst 
and vile smells of crude oils, slaughter houses, acid works and 
untrapped sewers, the veteran of that day will describe them 
as the dark days of "applied science.", For by that time the 
active minds of our "Case Institute" and of progress the 
world over, will have lighted our streets and dwellings with 
the lightnings from heaven, and warmed our homes with the 
vapor of water, while smoke and filth and vile smells will 
have become too precious to be wasted upon the desert air. 
Per chance electricity genei-ated in the coal mines and brought 
to us on threads of metal, may furnish our busy half million 
with power and light and heat. At least this picture is good 
to look upon. The possiliilities of this progressive age are 
almost boundless, and after all this would scarcely be more 
wonderful than the advancement to-day from the condition of 
things when I first set foot upon the shores of the sand 
blocked Cuyahoga. This is what I now propose to describe 
to you. * 

I hope my fellow members will not consider me egotistical if 
my narative takes somewhat the form of an auto-biography — 
what is history but the recital of the acts and experiences of 
men? — When a boy of four years, in 1818, we came to Cleve- 
land from the River Raisin, New Monroe, Michigan. The 
little schooner, in whose hold we were all huddled together, 
was forced to anchor oft' the nu)uth of "the creek." A lighter 



76 ANNALS OF THE 

came out and took us over the bar, aud lauded us at the foot 
of Superior street, or rather Superior Lane, as it was then 
called. At the corner of South Water and Superior street 
stood the first-class Hotel of the village, kept by Noble H. 
Merwin. 

Here we recovered from the sickness incident to rolling 
seas and bilge water. My father, a blacksmith, went into 
partnership with that well-known character " Uncle Abram 
Heacox," and worked and lived on the now celebrated Boule- 
vard, Euclid Avenue. "Uncle Abram" was a historical 
character, and relics of him and his trade are now on exliil»i 
tion in the Historical rooms. From Euclid street we dropped 
down into the little '-red house" on Water street, near 
Frankfort. 

The accumulated dust of these sixtv vears through which 
memory has to peer with all the intervening experiences, 
leaves upon the mind of the careless l)oy but a shadow of 
here and there a fact, important and trivial, strangely mixed. 
Farther down on Water street, near the lake, about that time, 
Wm. G. Taylor established himself, who afterwards in com- 
pany with " Jim Brown " became notorious sharpers, and 
fitted out a ship at New Orleans to send to China with 
counterfeit United States liank bills to exchange for tea. They 
were, however, detected and escaped punishment, I believe 
through some tricks of the law. Taylor, I believe, was sharp 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 77 

enough to ever after keep clear of prison bars; but Brown 
after various vicisitudes and escapes througli a couragous 
daughter, was finally caged for good. 

Near this point lived Dr. Macintosh, a rougli eccentric 
character, who made such free use of that early manufacture 
of the west side which gave its name to Whisky Island, that 
at last he fell from his horse and broke his neck some years 
hiter. Of his two wild sous — chips of the old block — Grove 
and Dan, some of you can doubtless tell some anecdotes. 

In those days the correct people also had their physician, 
Doctor Long, an exemplary man and skilful M. D. ; lived 
on Superior street, near where now stands E. I. Baldwin's 
store. His only daughter, Mrs. Mary L. Severance and 
her desceudauts, and his adopted daughter Catharine 
Phelps, now Mrs. James Sears of Chestnut Ridge, Brooklyn, 
and their descendants are still among us. 

Noble H. Merwin, "mine host," I remember as a promi- 
nent villager among us. His two sons and a daughter I 
remember well. The daughter Minerva broke to me the bottle 
upon the stern of the first water craft launched in Cleveland, 
and imparted to the schooner "Minerva" her name. Through 
her husband came the Atwater estate, now fronting upon 
South Water street and the Viaduct. I remember Gus, as a 
rather gay clerk, now gone to the "happy hunting" grounds," 



78 ANNALS OF THE 

while George B. is still among us and well-known to most 
of us. 

In these days Orlando Cutter, the later well-known auctio- 
neer, dispensed provisions, sugar and groceries, just where the 
Viaduct touches Superior street. 

Nathan Perry's store on the corner, Merwin's tavern across 
the way, Walworth the hatter, and tailor White, are other 
dim recollections of those earlj^ days. Dovetailing into these 
I see Philo Scovill, and his wife Jemima, still of us, and 
her sisters Meriam and Rose; Ann Bixby looming up soon 
after in the Franklin House. Then follows "Ed" and "01," 
afterwards "Crocket" and Caroline. These shadows are 
bounded by Young and ScovilFs saw mill out in "the thick 
woods," on Big Creek, Brookl3n, on the one hand and the 
Franklin House on the other. Mrs. Scovill and the children 
we have still with us ; the others have gone where the good 
pioneers go. 

These are the dim shadows that bound m}- vision east of 
tlie Cuyahoga, down to the end of the second decade in this 
momentous century. 

Since then m}- lot has been cast on the much advertised 
"West Side," and with your indulgence I will continue 
my recollections there down to the real marriage of the two 
sides — the completion of the viaduct. 

By no Viaduct, by no street cars, by no iron rails, b}^ no 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 79 

pavements of solid stone or rotten wood, b}' only the Ferry 
boat could the great east communicate along the shore of 
Lake Erie, with the almost unbroken west. 

Charon's duties were here performed by old father Gun 
and his bo}^, nick-named Pistol. We settled down on an acre 
of ground on Pearl street, near Franklin, for which we gave 
seventy-live dollars, a large sum in those days. Judge Josiah 
Barber, the patron of Brooklyn Township, then lived on the 
corner of Pearl and Franklin streets, in an unpretensious log 
house, and Alonzo Carter down by the ferry in a frame house, 
the only one then on the west side; but a half dozen more 
si)rang up quite suddenly. Alonzo Carter was a character of 
the olden time, but long gone from among us. I imagine I 
see now the particular kink to his eye and jirk to his head as 
he starts out with his rifle on his shoulder, and his pack of 
hounds at his heels for a deer hunt. The flat about the old 
river bed was then a dense swampy thicket, bounded on the 
lake side by a narrow saudv beach. The hounds would drive 
the deer on to this beach, when thinking to escape their tor- 
menters they would take to the lake. But there was no escape, 
for the old hunter was there with his unerring rifle to brain 
them. His children, and I believe his widow, are still among 
us to connect the old with the new. 

In those days there were too few children to support a 
school west of the River and the mysteries of Webster's spell- 



so ANNALS OF THE 

ing l)ook wt'i'e taught iiic in a two roomed I'laiiic ))uil(Ung on 
St. Clair street, perhaps where the central station of the fire 
department now is. This single school was suflicient for the 
united vilages of some four hundred inhabitants. 

Well I remember seeing the forest slowly driven back 
towards the setting sun. The first great want of the settlers 
a Distiller}^ was soon supplied. 

The Walworth run was then really a spring creek as it was 
called of i)ure clear water very difl[erent from the sluggish i)ool 
of blood and filth it now is. Its waters drove a i)aper mill 
near Mill street, and a i>laning mill near Willey Street and 
another near its mouth. The native forest trees were cut 
away on the top of Detroit street hill for the blacksmithshop, 
while shoemaker Smith Avent about " whipping the cat " and 
guzzling Josiah's low wines, and at this early day a store was 
started on the corner of Franklin and Pearl — Trinity Church 
was there instituted about this time and Bishop Chase and 
Parson Searl lent an occasional helping hand to Judge Barber 
and others in conducting services and Sunday schools in 
l)rivate houses. 

This progress had been made down to the close of the year 
1822. The next ten years I spent in New Hampshire, iml)il)- 
ing Democracy from Isaac Hill and Levi Woodberry, and my 
liberal religious views from Hosea Ballou — and tliey, the views, 
stick to this day. 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 81 

I left the west side with the genus "Homo," disputing its 
possession with the bears, deers, blaelc snakes and clouds 
of wild pigeons, and Pearl and Detroit streets in undis- 
puted })ossession of jimson weeds and sand hills. 

Fellow P^ailies — I must tell you tliat my trip to New Hamp- 
shire was made in a two horse sleigh carrying most of our 
provisions with us. This was before the days of canned food, 
but Jack Frost came to our assistance and preserved our meats. 
My ten years sojourn in the land of steady habits wrouglit 
some change in the means of locomotion. Steamboats had 
established themselves upon domestic waters ; and even a rail- 
way fifteen miles in length had been })uilt between Albany 
and Schenectady. A young locomotive drew the carriages 
over the level part of the Road, but the grades were operated 
by animals and gravit}-. Thence to Buffalo the " Line Road" 
dragged its slow length along, and from there the " Henry 
Clay" rushed us through in twenty-four hours. This was a 
decided improvement over the two horse sleigh, but how 
small! Compared with the accomplishments of the half 
century intervening since. 

These ten years had wrought great changes in Cleveland. 
The o;overnment Piers had been constructed and the "Ohio 
Canal" with its produce laden boats and gay Packets, made 
things lively. Still that great cause of future contention be- 
tween the east and west, and between land and Water com- 



82 ANNALS OF THE 

merce — bejyinniim with the Columbus street Biida;e and e'lidiuii 
with the Viaduct, liad not ^-et arisen. A single raft ol' logs — 
a " float bridge " spanned the river at Center street and this 
was succeeded by a pontoon bridge, these when the freshets 
came it made sundry excursions to the lake. Our present great 
interest, the Iron industi'v had already made a beginning. 
The "Cuyahoga Steam Furnace " was standing on its present 
site, and Blast Furnaces w'ere making pig iron at UoAcr and 
Middleburgh, from charcoal and Ijog ore. 

About this time arose that sectional strife known as " the 
Iiridgewar'" — a chasm but just bridged by the completion 
of the Viaduct. 

A Buttalo company uniting with local spirits bought u[) 
the Carter and Charles Taylor farms, and these with tiie 
Patroons of Brooklyn, sought to overshadow the pretensions of 
their eastern neighbors. Then arose those enterprising spirits, 
James 8. and Edmund Chii-k. who buying up Cleveland Center 
and Wille^^ville opened up Columbus street straight south from 
iSuperior street, and erected the Columbus street draw-bridge. 
This they donated to the then city of (Cleveland which uniting 
with certain marine interests sought to prevent the construc- 
tion of an}- bridge below Columbus street; while Brooklyn, 
jiew incorporated under the specious name of '• The City of 
Ohio " determined that there should be more bridges or none. 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION, 83 



This war continued to rage until tlie bridge interests liave 
seen tlie travail of their souls and are satisfied. 

About that time another of Cleveland's great interests 
leccived its first "Boom". Elijah F. Willey, a Baptist clergy- 
man put in operation on the Walworth run near Willey street 
a Brewery, so the introduction among us of this wicked 
beverage cannot be laid at the dof)r of the immigrant Tueton. 

These events, thus rapidly sketched, occurred, to use 
round numbers, between 1820 and 1840. 

In the year 1840 the first movements in the direction of 
Railways were made in what is new Cleveland. But they 
were made by men with more brains and enterprise than 
money, and it was ten years before the locomotive whistle was 
sounded in Cleveland. 

Since then, Ladies and Gentlemen, you have all Ijcen 
citizens of Cuyahoga county, and I will not tire your patience 
longer. When all the members of this Association shall have 
as minutely related their experiences as I have, they will be in 
l»ossession of the history of Cuyahoga County. 

J. H. SARGENT. 



• 



84 ANNALS OF THE 

A sketch of Early Times in Cleveland, received from 

Geo. F. Marshall. 

Mr. President: 

The conipanitively receut elate in which Cuyahoga county 
was peopled, makes this ert'oit of the early settlers to keep 
alive its history, one of interest to yourselves and may become 
ol" greater importance to those who follow. Most of you ha\e 
lived here fully one half the time since the lirst settler made 
his home in this part of the Reserve, and if you are disposed 
to l)righten up your memory respecting the past and the 
traditions of a generation or two that preceeded you, we may 
gather a tolerably correct histor}- of the region round about 
and make a safer record to rely upon than those of which we 
read respecting cities and countries away back ever so far in 
the past. 

This association appears to have taken a broader and more 
liberal ground than any with which | was ever connected. It 
requires no standard of morals or education, it has no article 
of faith in religion or politics, no restriction in hight or 
breadth, weight, health, wealth, color, j)hysical forces, or pre- 
vious condition of the purse, has no abstemious clause or 
other restrictive policy, and the tenure of membership is that 
we have been hanging about Cu3'ahoga Co. two score years or 
more all told. The object of the organization, although not 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 85 

fully detined in the constitution, I take it is that we shall get 
together now and then and look eacli other in the face to see 
how the Lake winds have atfected us, and tell pitiful and 
pleasing stories adout how things appeared to us when we 
were born into this new western world. Some of you older 
settlers may propose for entertainment passtimes of athletic 
contests, such as running, jumping, climbing greased poles, 
chopping, plowing, turning summersets, building log cabins, 
chasing foxes or other early passtimes, just to siiow the 
younger settlers how well you can do it in your old days. 

The true standard by which an "Old Settler" is regarded 
in a community, is not so well defined as that of an old 
sinner, (although the two qualifications may be embraced in 
the same person.) Whether it be that he has managed to live 
here forty years and more and means to stick it out, or that 
he left his early home for its good, or that he was unable to 
o-ain a living where he was, or that his father told him to go 
somewhere and do something for himself, or that he came here 
out of choice and was determined to make it pay; it matters 
but little as long as we are here and have gained a residence 
and claim the title. The chances or mischances which fell in 
our path to make this our home do not enter into the condi- 
tions by which we gain the title, neither need these things be 
recorded by the secretary with our l)irth place and the time 
we landed for good in this Lake shore region. 



86 



ANNALS OF THE 



If there he any settlei' who came here single handed in 
eai'ly nianliood tliat can pnt his hand npon his heart and say 
that he never longed to see his former home in less than six 
months, — in other words if his heart was so tough that he did 
not (eel the ix'culiar sensation of homesickness now and tlien 
— that he did not go down on the l)ank of the Lake in the 
winter time and long for spring to come, and the ice to melt. 
and the boats to run — if that sort of an old settler still lives. 
Rider wants his photograph. He has mine, l)ut it hangs on 
the o])posite side of his gallery. 

At the l)attle of Cherubusco a guai'd of our soldiei's Jieai'd 
a moan coming out of a near wood and upon following up liu' 
sound, they discovered a big, stout, healthy soldiei- on n c:u'tus 
stump, swaying too and fi-o. all alone, moaning pitifully, they 
came to a lialt and waited, undiscovered, to see wh:it would 
develop. 

"O my God," shouted the lone soldiei-, "I do want to go 
home and see ouk Folks." He appeared to l)e in the agony 
ofpi'ayerand homesickness. 

You see a l)i-ave hearted s<»ldier, even on the (con)tento^d 
field, thinks of his home and his mother, ami i)erhaps the 
pumpkin pies she used to make, but nevertheless there may 
have been a young lady in the case: there is no certain method 
to account for human sympathies and mental sutfering. 

]t is possible that there are three oi' more soils of early 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 87 

settlers aiuong us; one who came in oarl.y luanliood to work 
his way single handed, another who came in early youth, led 
by the hand of his parents, and anotlior who liy good luck 
was born here. It is easy to guess that the former had more 
yearning to go and see "our folks" than either of the latter, 
but wliat one class gains the otlier loses. 

A man's start out in life to earn his own bi'cad and butter 
is the next most important event to his liirth. You will 
remember that Shakespeare said something about man's 
coming and his going, and about the parts he plays, but he 
said not a word about the play in Cuyahoga county. The 
worlds we thought, was pretty large when we started out in it. 
and we thought we liad i-eached about as far west as it was 
safe to go. Do you remember how men and things, houses 
and lands, the moon and the stars dwindled in comparison to 
those you left behind '? You made new discoveries every time 
you went back home and returned; after a time your eye 
teeth were well cut and you began to see things in their true 
light and became a "settler" in stubborn facts and in the 
uneritable. 

A neighbor of mine who came, from Great Britain and 
settled in this county some fifty odd years ago, made a visit 
to his native heath aftei' forty odd years of absence, and 
although he found the identical fields, the orchards, the 
houses, the barns and hedges, he declares that if he had 



S8 ANNAl.S OK THE 

waited another ten years befoi'e making his first visit, he fears 
all England wonld l)e dwindled to such small proportions 
that it wonld not be worth while to take a look at it. He 
further contends that one of two things has taken place, either 
his ideas he brought with him have changed, or the country 
he left has terribly shrunk up. It can scarcely be said lliat 
forty years ago any uian came hei'c to be a bona tide "•settler'" 
and make no sign — there wei'c no retired men of wealth, living 
on a laid up foi-tune— about every one had his fortune to make 
and his bread to earn ; if we should exact an accurate account 
of Ihc moneys and valuables you were in possession ol' when 
you became "settled," I flunk the column would not be a ii;ii-d 
one to fool. If a man was known to have as much as two or 
three hundred dollars in good current money, or as much as 
would sell foi- that in "wild cat" or "red dog," he was looked 
upon with suspicion, and most people could not help Itnt 
lhiid< tlittf he came by it in some uiysterious and im})roper 
way. Money l)eing rather scarce in those early days, there 
were now and then some public spirited people who were 
anxious to supply the needs and necessities of comuiunity 
by establishing private mints and l)anks of issue, and dni)li- 
cnting those bits ol" jjapcr that })asscd current for all the 
necessaries of life. And these were l)auks of early piolits 
some after fare, and the proverbial maxim that "man hatii 
sought out many inventions," w^as manifest wherever you 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. !^9 

chanced to investigate. Currency, or the want of it, was a 
source of happiness or misery as well in those days as in 
these. 

I have not enumerated in mj- list the most emphatic and 
noteworthy " old settler" that is entitled to the widest field 
and the highest honor; I mean the one who, in early man- 
hood, living not far from the 74th meridian, packed his wife 
and children in a covered wagon, yoked his faithful oxen to 
the front, bidding good-by to New P^ngland, or New York, and 
in spite of all opi)Osing elements, came through the Cattar- 
augus woods and planted himself here, root and branch, to 
live or die, survive or perish, in spite of whate^'er may prevail 
to discourage so bold an enterin-ise. 

He who brought his perpendicular, honesty and unflinch- 
ing determination to win, together with his bible, his religion, 
his rifle, his axe, his plow, his politics and a good sized chunk 
of Foley White's sticking salve, was the man for this country. 
You who were born here, or came here in your mothers arms, 
or ran away from home out of shire cussedness, or di-opped in 
by chance and could get no further, are all worthy of an 
honorable place among " Old Settlers," nevertheless it would 
be a mark of respect you owe to that stalwart sort of which I 
speak, if you woidd but raise your hat when one of tliem 
passes you on the street. He is entitled to the double meiit 
of Pioneer as well as "'Old Settler." 



90 ■ AKNAT.S OP THK 

It was easy enough for a young man, forty-iive years ago, 
with only a little grain of enterprise, to start out for the west, 
I'iding by stage coach or canal boat, steam boat, or even foot 
it away from New England clear to Ohio. He had no cares 
on his mind to trouble him, except to eat and slee]) and move 
on when the day was pleasant enough, even after he gets here 
some trilling matter may cross his path, or lie hears that 
times are booming some ftther where, and off he goes like any 
rolling stone. Don't you see that such a fickle settler lias 
nothing substantial to tie to like the man of family of the 
ox team and the covered wagon, and tlie children growing up 
Not a few of that former sort of boys haA'c found their way 
back to Watei'town or Taunton, or Groton, in order to get 
under the old familiar roof ti-ee once more: failing to bring- 
out any faculty oi' perserverance or ))luck he feels assured 
that his mother wdll receive him with open arms, wliatever 
the old uian may say or think aliout it. The poor fellow can 
easier withstand the taunts of the boys in his neighliorhood 
rather than suffer tliat intolei-able nostalgia that made him 
feel so ]iad under his jacket. 

After passing through all you have and rejoicing in your 
preserverance, while you may be reveling in the luxury of all 
the modern appliances of the aeshetics, you should bear 
no ill will towards your unfortunate neighliors who neither 
had the })luck nor the disposition t(t })ull out and stay out, 

\ 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATON. 91 

abandoning the hills and the valleys of their youtii for an 
uncertain tenure in this unbroken wilderness, when we were 
told tliat every newly turned ferrow brouglit a streak of chill 
along the spine and an ague in every bone that would bring 
our red hair with jaundice to the grave. New^ England people 
have been known to fumigate and disinfect the letters received 
from here, before reading them, in order to be secure against 
contagion and infection. We had a reputation among the 
people in the east for a considerable ague, and i)erhaps were 
worthy of it. 

A little beyond Bedford on the old Pittsl)urg roail is a 
heavy strip of swale and in muddy seasons was well nigh 
impassable for wagons: the mail and stage coaches would 
manage to work their way 1)}' making detours through the 
woods and fields. In the spring of ISoT, Philetus Francis, a 
man who is yet among us, wrestling with men and horses; 
while driving an open mud wagon in place of the covered 
coach through this swale, had a full load of passengers, includ- 
ing a man from Boston. The Boston man was disgusted 
with Ohio and expressed himself to that elfect in unmistak- 
able terms; he had never seen a log cabin until that day in 
all his life. When the}' came to the bad bit of road, "Fleet" 
politely told his passengers of the state of things asking them 
to walk across the dangerous path as a matter of safety for 
themselves and tlie horse. The Boston ti'aveler declared he 



92 ANNALS OF THE 

would "do no siieli tliiiiG,," pioclaiining that he had paid his 
fare and the stage eompan}' was under an ohlioation to eariy 
him to Pittsburgh; he Avould not budge, altliough all the 
others, including two ladies, took the chances on foot. Com- 
ing to an unfortunate pitch-hole in the road, the wagon gave 
a heavy lurch and the Boston man was thrown completely out 
and landed on his ruffled shirt front in the soft mud, becom- 
ing one of the "first settlers" of Bedford; he went back to 
Boston and his mother Avilh clearer ideas of the west, but 
dirtier linen, than if he had not unexpectedly settled in Bed- 
ford. They sometimes i)rint books in Boston and it may be 
this man has published his experiences in Ohio, if so, it would 
be well that this society place his volume ou file among its 
archives for future reference as part of our history. 

Some of you, no doubt, came here under the most favor 
able auspices — had a friend to live on, had good luck, health 
and hai)piness all through, and no serious impediment to 3'our 
ultimate success, for all this you have reason to kick up your 
heels, thank God and rejoice. There were those who were 
perplexed with all the hindi-ances a human being could well 
be surrounded with. In either case you can sit by the tire- 
side and tell OA'er your experiences to your grand-children, l)ut 
't is well that you l)e careful not to magnify the incidents too 
much. 

Perhaps the man is alive who declares with a wonderful 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION 93 

positivenc'ss that when his lather settled here he could have 
l)ought all that tract of land north ot" Superior street, and west 
ol' Baidv street, extending,' to the lake and river for two plugs 
of tobacco, a pint of whisky and a Jew's harp. Such wonderful 
tales, when told in solcniii earnest, only tend to dami)en a man's 
ambition and make him provoked with himself to think that 
he was not born sooner, and been possessed of those valua)»le 
articles of commerce. Yet if he had the offer made him at 
the time with the goods on hand, he may have taken a look 
all round and imprudently 'wait until land went up or whisky 
went down. 

As 3'our cities grew up it was wonderful how (juick you 
))ut on metropolitan airs. From au overgrown village Cleve- 
land sprung out of her bounds in a single day to a lirst class 
cit}", from a line of municipal officers ranging in salaries in 
the aggregate to about three thousand dollars, she leaped into 
a liability of some thirty thousand at one bound, and it is 
yearly on the increase. 

It has somewhere been said that God made Ihe country 
and man the city. We are also told that cities are an un- 
natural fungus growth or wart on the body politic. Whether 
these propositions are correct or not, I have no pi'eseut inten- 
tion to controvert them, yet we are all willing to concede that 
the city has vastly more art and cunning, more elegance and 
style, more applied art to beautify the human form and habi- 



04 ANNALS OF THE 

tation, more aj^plicd sciences in tiie art of life than the 
eountrv, but for honest purpose and sound common sense, for 
robust liealth and the true art of living to a Godly pur[)o«e in 
earning bread by the natural perspiration of the Imow, and 
doing something as well for those who are figuring on the 
blackboard of imagination in cities to win a livelihood In' 
the insensible perspirations of the pui'se, commend me to 
God's tields in the broad and open country. 

You inhabitants of the city, pent up in limited bounds, 
who can tell what sauce your neighbors have for supper, are 
liable to boast of a numerous population and glory in the 
fact that you have outnumbered some other town which was 
once much greater than your own in the census roll. A cit}^ 
is great onl}' when her people are virtuous, intelligent, healthy 
and happy, and have made marked progress in the substantial 
and elegant arts, made her schools of the best grade and her 
manufactories of a standard equal to any, and her jails and 
poor houses mere temporary expeciients, and of little use. 

Men will hazard a vast deal for wordly gain, they will 
locate at times, where the chances of life are greatly against 
them, and sometimes put their money where the chance to 
win is as one to many thousand; they will gather in cities or 
gulches, where one man in ten thousand has become a Crtjesus 
and the rest paupers, simply from the impulse thereof, per- 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 95 

htips tlu'v loo may bocomc tlie next lueky iudividiitil in point 
of dolhifs und cents. 

Where two or three, or more houses, are gathered in close 
proximity in the name of civilization, the people around and 
about them begin to dream of city airs, whistling around the 
gables, and as soon as a few more buildings are added and a 
blacksmith shoj), a grocery and shoe shop, perhaps a whisky 
shop, hang out their signs, an alley or lane becomes a "'street" 
and a street is named an "avenue,"' and an avenue a "boule- 
vard,'" and a boulevard becomes "a park,"' and so on; every 
thing else moves along in the same ratio. We are now living 
in an age of- [jrogress — there was not (juite so much of that 
sort of thing in our eai'lier days, and the word ";esthetic" was 
not invented until Webster came along with his unabridged. 

The method in olden time, of building up cities and popu- 
lating the country, was somewhat ditferent from that of our 
time. A mandate from a king oi' an empeior was enough to 
set the j)eoi)le adrift and at once gather arounil a given point, 
building up a permanent city as earnestly and faithfully as if 
it had been their choice. This American people have their 
own way in such matters and were likely to gather around a 
mill site, wliere there happened to be a water power for a 
grist mill or a saw mill, or a distillery, or an oil well, or some 
sort of a mine, and we can hunt up but few other reasons 
that make much of a village in the interior, while on the 



96 ANNALS OF THE 

water cour.scvs a good harbor lor vessels is enough to form 
quite a gatliering of people in view of the eommeree most 
likely to follow in the wake of labor to be })erfornietl. Forcing- 
trade out of its natural channel is an up-hill business, and if 
it should run for a time in unnatural grooves, it will be most 
certain to tind its easiest course and follow it until a better 
one is opened. Mill dams and water power do not enter so 
much into the inducements to make a village as formerly. 
New and cheap power has been found in steam that can be 
carried to any convenient })oint, so that if water power was 
once the attraction, Ave can now set up a village in any desir- 
al»le spot; about all that is needed is a climate, soil and a 
people willing to dig with a prospect of something to come 
of it. 

When you came to Cleveland you had the self-imi)osed 
assurance, that it was to be a successful grain market, and so 
it was for a time: the wheat and corn and oats that came 
here by canal and transhipped both east and west, appeared 
to be simply unequalled in quantity; when that trade left us, 
some of our best men fled to other lields, and we thought that 
the rise and fall of Cleveland could then be written for all 
time. New animation came, and the iron, the copper, the 
coal, the petroleum, the lumber, the stone, the mechanic arts 
and railroads have brought lier to a proud eminence among 
the cities of the great west, and yet her history is unwritten. 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION, 97 

For 1113' own part, seeing so many who were here long before 
me, although my lot has been cast nearly a half century in 
this county, I do not claim to be a very earl}^ settler. If we 
form a line and place the older ones in the advance, my place 
would be well nigh the rear, unless there be some among you 
who are afraid to be called old. I can only look upon those 
venerable men and pioneers with a degree of reverence and 
respect, about every one of whom I have had more or less 
acquaintance during my time among you and the greater 
source for rejoicing when we get together is that there are so 
many who have survived so many perils and come looking so 
well. Some in other states and some in other nations, where- 
ever they may be it cannot change the fact that we have stuck 
tight to Cuyahoga (bounty and are here yet. 

lu the year 1836 there was what would be called in the 
present day " a boom " in the West, it was emphatically a 
speculative boom, people went wild to some extent ; lines of 
emigrant wagons were seen along the roads ranging east and 
west, anywhere from the southern borders of Pennsylvania to 
the northern point of Mane long before the northeastern l)oun- 
dary question was settled. The line of march extended as far 
as Ohio and " the Michigan," now and then you would hear 
(»f a family that had ventured as far west as the 90th meridian. 
There were some chums of mine and some other boys who slid 
out from our neighborhood on foot between two da3's. Not so 



98 ANNALS OF THE 

much perhaps to seek a fortune, however, aud loUowing the 
Star of Empire, Init oljeying the spirit of liberty tliat broke out 
about that time, tlie boys thought that an indented apprentice 
was one of the twin relics of barbarism and did not care to 
hold allegieuce against their will to a boss until they were 
twenty-one aud get nothing but their board and clothes. Some 
of those boys I am 'sorry and glad to say lied their country 
for its oood, went west and forsook some of their sins, grew 
up with the country, became respected, made good citizens or 
went further west and joined the Mormons. 

It may have been that I saved my credit, and what little 
desirable reputation I had, in consequence of my boss pulling 
up stakes in the east and emigrating, bag and baggage, to 
Ohio, when I followed suit, coming up the lake on the steamer 
"North America," which steamer had more pulmonaries, more 
cronies and more asthmatic beings than any craft afloat, it 
took twenty-six hours to make the voyage from Buffalo to 
Cleveland, and I have rejoiced about every day since that she 
came safe tlirougli. A very fine spoken gentleman met nie as 
I landed on the dock with a beautiful town plat in his hand, 
which had many corner lots and water lots, with a church, a 
court house, a school house, and factories adorning the borders, 
nicely pictured out. He wanted to make me rich by selling 
me one — that is one of the maps — he said there was money in 
selling the lots for any one could buy a lot and pay a quarter 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 99 

down, 111' wantod a (luarter for thu chart and I only had left 
half enough to buy one, or I might have gone in and made a 
fortune by this time. The great idea in those days was to 
found a city, the spirit of Romulus was abroad in the the land. 
It was a big thing to have a franchise in an imaginary city 
with corner lots and water lots a plenty. Many people in a 
speculative way followed the course of streams in their chase 
for fortune, and looked for a sight for a dam or a good chance 
for a saw mill or a grist mill; the idea was to pitch in and 
make a fortune as quick as possible and let other people do 
the work; speculating on paper was one of the open gateways 
to wealth in that day. 

The boom struck Cleveland between wind and water, she 
had it tolerabl}^ bad, but weathered it through rather better 
than most towns that were struck. In Cuyahoga County 
beside our own city that was sure to win in the end we had 
the city of Gilnett at the mouth of Rocky River, and St. Johns- 
ville at Chagrin, while plats and survey's were made for the 
mouth of P^uclid Creek and Doan's Brook. As for the interior 
of the county cities in embryo were a plentj^, and Tinker's 
Creek was said to have the linest water power anywhere 
between Niagara and St. Antony. 

Railroads that had just been tested for utility in the east 
were lieiug projected for us in the booming west. William B. 
Lloyd and John R. St, John, two of our most enthusastic 



100 ANNALS OF THE 

citizens were the firmest advocates of tliis new means of 
transit, but they had more mind than money. 

We had Pittsburgh connected with us by links and cluiins 
by grades and curves on paper, but we had to use the okl mud 
roads long before the cars and rails were ready for use. Those 
enterprising gentlemen were only a score or more of years in 
advance of our necessities. 

Speaking of railroads we had an unmistakable one in our 
midst which is worthy of more than a passing mention. The 
Cleveland and Newburgh Railway was au accomplished fact, 
had its day, carried its loads of human freight and Ijlue stone 
combined, yielded up its dividends and the ghost simulta- 
neously, and where is it? Ahaz Merchant was one of the 
public spirited men of those days that not only projected 
improvements, Ijut his enterprise brought many to a practical 
test; it was his head and hands that brought this Newburg 
road to completion, and if it was not financially a success it 
became no excuse to call Mr. Merchant a visionary man. ■ He 
was bound to test the practicability of bringing the blue stone 
of the Shaker quarries to a profitable purpose. The western 
terminus of that road was in the southwest corner of the 
Public Square and its eastern was in the midst of the blue 
stone of the Shaker brook at Doan's Corners, near where the 
famous spring of blue rock water has burst through its seams. 
The line of route was directly through Euclid street (now an 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION 101 

"aveuiie,") and a single passenger coach carried all the human 
freight that sought transit; one horse was quite enough for 
any car load and we prided ourselves that we had a street 
railroad in real good earnest, and two trips a day was quite 
enough for all the travel, hut the rails were of the stately 
forest oak and there was no fear of snake heads or of Ashta- 
bula holocosts nor yet of such mysterious and terrible water 
casts as that of the river Tay in Scotlnnd. 

You all know that the Cuyahoga is a crooked stream and 
that its present outlet is through a channel cut out l)y the 
hand of man ; its waters once meandered westerly through the 
delta till it sluggishly reached the Lake about a mile west of 
where it ought to be, if nature is mistrusted to have made any 
mistake about the matter. That old I'jver ]ied was rich in 
allusions, in flags and rushes, in muskrats and snipe, in bull 
frogs and water snakes, in wild ducks and sunfish, and it was 
one of the safest winter quarters for Lake craft anywhere to be 
found on the shore. The experienced eye of men of means 
saw what could be done with that "old river bed," and a com- 
pany set to work and dredged the channel and opened the 
mouth with a determined intent to make a roadstead that 
would eclipse the new channel in every essential manner. The 
work was completed to a degree, and the first steamer was to 
pass through the channel to the open sea on a given Fourth 
of July loaded with the beauty and chivalry of those who 



1U2 ANNALS OF THE 

leut their favor towards the new enterprise. It was indeed a 
gay scene when that load of gay citizens steamed down the 
channel with Hags above and flags below and shouts of triuni|)h 
all around. The steamer moved like a thing of a good deal of 
life for a while, but whether in consequence of too much delta 
or too much ])oat or too many happy people on board, she got 
stuck in the mud and never got out to sea with its gay load 
after all. Whatever you may say about that old river l)ed it 
is rapidly coming into use in spite of its earlj- history, we may 
yet see immense fleets riding through it in safety and no 
sectional jealousies to cpiestion the practicability of the enter- 
prise in view of the coming breakwater. 

You well remember what an eftbrt was made to get a I'ail- 
way from Cleveland to Colnmbus. Sandusky had ali'eady 
formed a connection ])y rail with Cincinnati. It touched the 
pride and poverty of our Cleveland people to sucli a degree 
that they got just a little bit on their ear. Everyone wanted 
everyone else to go down into tlieir pockets and l)ring up 
enough to secure the progress of the road. How tliey did beg 
and plead, pull and haul, tear, and perhaps swear, for a rail- 
road, but those tilings won't come without a prc^tty loud call 
upon the purse. 

In order to save the charter, which had lain doi-mant for a 
time, it was thought best to make a shoAV of work on the line 
ali'eady surveyed. One bright autumn foivnoon a)>out a 



EAKLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 103 

dozen men got themselves together near the ground now occu- 
pied b}' the A & G. W. Railway depot with the noble purpose 
of inaugurating the work of building the Cleveland, Colum 
bus and Cincinnati Railroad. Among the number was Alfred 
Kelley, the President, T. P. Handy, the Treasurer, J. H. 
Sargent, the Engineer, James A. Briggs, the Attorney, and H. 
B. Payne, Oliver Perry, John A Foote and others besides j^our 
humble servant. On that memorable spot one could look upon 
those vast fields of bottom land and nothing could be seen 
but unbroken wide }neadows, the brick residence of Joel 
Scranton on the north, and the ruins of an old mill in the 
ravine of Walwortli Run on the south, were the only show of 
buildings in all that region round about. These gentlemen 
had assembled to inaugurate the work on the railway, yet 
there was a sadness about them that could be felt, there was 
something that told them that it would be difficult to make 
much of a railroad without monc}' and labor. Yet they came 
on purpose to make a show of a beginning. Alfred took a 
shovel and with his foot pressed it well into the soft and wil- 
ling earth, placing a good chunk in the tranquil wheelbarrow 
close at hand, repeating the operation until a load was at- 
tained and dumping it a rod or so to the south. We all 
shouted a good -sized shout that the road was really inaugura- 
ted. Then Mr. Handy did a little of the same work as well 
as Sargent and Briggs, while I sat on tlie nearest log rejoicing 



104 ^ ANNALS OF THE 

to see the work going on so lively and in such able liands. 
The fact was demonstrated that the earth was willing if man 
would only keep the shovel, the pick and the wheelliairow 
moving lively according to this l»eginning. 

All tliat fall and winter one man was kept at work on the 
great enterprise, simply to hold the charter with a ho\)o that 
something would turn u^) to enable the directors to push 
things witli a greater show for ultimate success. During the 
winter that followed any one passing up Pittsburgh street 
near the blutf could see day bv day the progress this one man 
powei' was making in his work. Foot ])y foot eacli day tlio 
brown eai'th could be seen gaining on tlie white snow (tn the 
line towards ('olumbus, and ho[)0 i-emained lively in the hi-east 
of everyone that saw the })rogress, tluit if the physical powers 
of that solitary laborer held out long enough, he would some 
day l»e al)le to go to state's prison b^' rail. 

There was a serious hindrance in the progress of the work, 
wliich came in this wise. The laborer who had so great a job 
(tn his hands took a look and a thought at wliat he had to do 
— it was one hundred and forty miles to Columbus and it was 
best to hurry up or the road would not he ready for use for 
(piite a spell to come, he set to work witli renewed energy foi- 
a while, then threw himself quite out of breath on tlie ground 
for a brief rest when the rheumatism took liold of liini and 
sciatica troul»led liis limits so much that tlie ureat work was 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. . 105 

brought to a stand still; he struck for his altars and his fires 
at home, while tlie next fall of snow oliliterated the line of his 
progress towards the south, and the directors got together to 
devise ways and n\eans to keep tlie work moving onAvard. It 
was said that the hest thing they could do under this stress 
of circumstances was to devise a method for drying and 
warming the ground so that a like calamity would not occur 
to tlieir workman, wishing to encourage every freak he had to 
work a little faster, provided he would do so at tlie same 
wages. 

Soon after this calamity befel the laliorer and the road, a 
meeting was called at P^mpire Hall and it was a jam. Alfred 
Kelley discoursed on the sul)ject of the railway and telling us 
that if Ave did not take hold of tliis opportunity to make an 
iron way to the center of the state Cleveland would only be 
known in the Gazeteers as a small town on Lake Erie about, 
six miles from Newburgh where steamers sometimes stop to 
wood and water. By a sudden stroke of generalship tlie exit 
doors of the hall were locked and the audience were held 
until all were converted to the faith and pooled in enough to 
secure the road and add a few more men to the work, Avhen, 
after a reasonable time, the solons of our legislature came up 
here cm the 22d of February and celebrated the completion of 
the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Eailroad, and the 
birthda\' of Washington all at once. 



106 ANNALS OF THE 

Previous to the memorable period of Cleveland's first 
advance step towards popular favor we liave endeavored to 
cai'r}' our memory back, to note what manufacturins: interests 
she was engaged in, and the only establishment that could 
trul}' be called a "factor^-" was a one story building Avhere fine 
teeth combs were made by machinerj^ the old coml» factory 
opposite the head of Bank street. Messrs. Bartram and Dean 
and Lowman made wagons and carriages, and it is furtlier 
true that Lowman continues to make them to this day and to 
all appearances lie will continue to do so till the crack of 
doom, anil it is further true that Duty made coflins then to 
sliip away and he is at it now. D. A. Shepherd made furni- 
ture and lie is bus}- to-day in a better appointed factory. O. 
A. Brooks sold crockery then and he is at the same business 
today. Dr. McKenzie sold pills and squills and febrifuge then 
and he is at it yet. C. C. Carlton was an active business man 
in our city forty-five years ago and he is now about as active 
and attentive to his calling as ever. W. T. Smith, the genial 
and always courteous and happy dealer in boots and shoes 
has been dispensing those pedal integuments to the third and 
fourth generation of them that loved him and he has kept at 
it it every day since, 8unda5's excepted. George Williams 
was then and is noAV in active life in the same line that found 
him engaged nearly fift}' years ago. George Whitelaw forty- 
eight years ago thought there was notliing like leathcf to be 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 107 

engaged in and he thinks so yet. John A. Vincent sold chairs, 
cradles and such like to the great grand parents of those he 
is dealing with to-day in the same line. T. P. Handy is as 
regular in his banking office to-day as fort^'-eight years ago. 
S. S. Lyon made tackling for horses and mules nearly a half 
century ago and he would not refuse to keep right on as lie is 
doing now for another like term of years. 

When the old comb factory had lived out its day and 
aliout everybody was in doubt whether C'lcAeland would 1)oom 
to any considerable extent in the future, many of our nervous 
and eager citizens sought other fields for their genius and a 
sort of stillness set in and about our waters, an<l at one time 
it was proposed to fence the pond in for fear some one would 
fall in and get drowned. Something whispered in the ears of 
the inhabitants that they had better stay and weather it out, 
all that they heard of other places was but wild rumor and 
many who had bitten at the shining bait came wangling back 
to our own waters for more sul)stantial food. Something also 
told us to stick to it, get up another comb factory or some 
sort of a manufacturing shop and Cleveland would some day 
come to be quite a town. About this time a new set of inhab- 
itants came among us, there appeared to lie a spontaneous 
putting of shoulders to the wagon wheel, things moved more 
lively, and when our railway" was opened up and people could 



108 ANNALS OP THE 

get here in winter as well as summer it was the opening- period 
of Clevelands prosperity. 

The new comers joined hands with the old settlers, our 
railroads were built, manufactories were planted in tlie valleys 
and on the hills. And when the Heecy vapors came up from 
the thousand steaming boilers and the l)lack smoke from 
vastly more seething furnaces it swept every vestige of ague 
from the atmosphere and the chill from every bone of an 
animate body, it gave new life to the people and it became a 
well settled fact that the boom of 1S;3G was a well shaped 
boomerang in 1856, and so on to the present day. The enter- 
prise of those who have been coming here since the days of 
"Tippecanoe and Tyler too" have done wonders towards build- 
ing up a city of no mean proportions. Yet 3'ou old settlers 
have not been materially eclipsed Ity those new comers except 
in their overpowering numbei's, whom all were glad to receive 
with open arms. 

The power of steam was just being applied to machinery 
in our midst. Tliere was a steam flouring mill on River street 
entirely destroyed }»y lire in 1837. Younglove and Hoyt subse- 
quently erected a paper mill on the canal near Pittsburgh 
street. About the year 1846 M. C. Younglove set up the lirst 
power press (Adams') in Cleveland which press was placed iii 
the Merchants Exchange Building, directly over where Luetke- 
me3'er's hardware store now is. It did all the work for the 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATON. 109 

Herald as well as the Plain Dealer and other rival daily papers 
at the time, and as they tried to work their^ editions off at the 
same hour they never appeared to he any great amount of ill 
feeling among the proprietors whether the}^ got their forms 
on the i)ress for the matter of a halt of three quarters of an 
liour was all either would be compelled to wait on the other ; 
the press did not throw off the sheets at lightning speed, 
perhaps two or three hundred, all told, would comprise the 
largest editions. One or two stout men were employed at 
first to manipulate the press but steam soon took their place. 
The Cuyahoga Steam Furnace Compan}- which was not in the 
present corporate limits of Cleveland in liSiU was the lirst 
substantial enterprise in that line in our county, and up to 
that time there was not probably a half dozen establishments 
that had machiner}- propelled by steam within the corporation. 
There was a manifest struggle among the cities of the Lakes 
in our day for commercial precedence, and when the doctrine 
of internal improvements was an article of faith that we held 
to out of local interest or universal principle, we could not 
help l>ut look with a degree of jealousy if Congress gave 
Ashtabula, Erie, Conneaut, Fairport, Vermillion, Black River 
or Huron any kind of a show in her appropriation bill and 
omitted Cleveland, but when Rocky River or Chagrin or even 
Euclid Creek was spoken of as asking for a pier we were all 
likely to go into spasms and give up all hope for the future 



S 



110 ANNALS OF THE 

success of the Cuyahoga as a })ort of eiitry. Congress scat- 
tered her favors so iiiuuificently and carelessly that it became 
hard to tell where the work would do the most good. 

Your progress toward improvement was a proverlj. When 
you old settlers of forty-live years standing located in Cleve- 
land you could boast of the most miserable thoroughfares in 
the spring and autumn time that the wide west ever beheld. 
Tht ladies were necessarily restricted in appearing on the 
avenues arrayed in the latest style of dress for obvious reasons, 
dress was forced to conform to circumstances. 

Among the people of my native state tliere a^)})eared to be 
an indistinct idea of the condition of things in this far west 
portion of the unsettled territory, and when it got abroad that 
I was about to emigrate to these wilds I was regarded as wild 
myself. What! are you going to that unbroken wilderness 
where tliere are no schools nor churches and hardly any 
houses l)ut log huts, and the ague so thick you can cut it? 

My first visit to the home of my youth was In'uited about 
the town among the boys, and they came to see me and hear 
me tell the. wonderful tales of the perils among the wild 
animals that everyone is said to encounter "out west." One 
notable citizen had Ijcen to see me ever so many times Ijut 
failed to lind me for a while, after })atience and perseverence 
had crowned his ettorts with success he appeared to be happy. 
He said a friend of his had gone out "to the Ohio" some 3^ears 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. Ill 

ago and he had licard nothing from him since lie lei't and he 
was anxious to learn something of his wlierea))outs. 

I asked liini wliat part of the state he located in, 1)ut that 
he did not know, and upon careful inquiry, with a full deter- 
mination to give the gentleman all the information he sought 
il la my power, I learned that his friend had settled some- 
where in "the Ohio state," the count}^, town or village he did 
not know and moreover his name was Smith, the given name 
he could not remeni1)er. If any of you know a man by that 
name in Ohio please report. 

If one of theCherubims or Seraphims had fallen in Sui)erior 
street about thirty-live years ago, it would not have created 
much more wonder than the lirst liveried coachman, who 
drove down the avenue in regulation costume. It took us by 
suri)rise, we were not fully |)repared for so much all at once 
and few of our jjeople had a knowledge of what they were 
gazing upon, only through the medium of books, of fiction, or 
memories of European times. We had all the elements of 
style — in fact there was a good deal of it put up in the human 
breast, and all it wanted was a little burst of lesthetic inde- 
pendence to bring it out. We had plenty of people who 
longed to do this thing, but it was dangerous to set sail in so 
open a sea without a guide. 

We never knew the comforts and elegances of life until we 
had them. When we waded through the mud of an evening 



112 ANNALS OF THE 

with our [)ants rolled up, and a 3'ourig lady on our arm headed 
towards a party or a prayer meeting, we knew nothing of the 
convenience of gas light and paved streets, or street ears, and 
were just as happy in our ignorance as to-day, provided the 
young lady was good looking b}- day light or candle light. 
Transportation was no difticult if the company was attractive 
while we never contemplated whether the old man was 
possessed of numerous shekels or none. 

When James 8. Clark imported a grand and elegant car- 
riage to our young city, and had it propelled ahout our streets 
by a span of lively mules, it became an epoch in our hisLoiy 
worth recording for we were not familiar with such turnouts. 
It was a master stroke of Republican independence to send 
out the ladies of his household in an elegant landaulet, 
drawn by a pair of mules, driven by a man as black as 
Erebus. We had to stop and look as the establishment passed 
us in the mudd^' streets. To say that we had no cultivated 
style in those early da^'s. would not be true. About all of us 
had studied u[) what was elegant and how Ijad avc wanted 
such just as much as any other young and thriving city 
There were men who sent their measures for coats to New 
York, while they would consent to let Shelley make tlieir 
pants and vests, and so it was in other things, a growing dis- 
position to outdo some one else; that was the era when 
aesthetics began to boom. One man squandered ten shilling, 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 113 

six pence, two pence half penny, to get his coat of arms from 
England and had a crest painted on the pannel of his wagon. 
We all hankered to appear well in society, at church or on 
the streets. 

Men who had heretofore done their own chores about their 
home, as soon as trade would warrant, hired a man and many 
a hired man as he lay down on his pillow at night repeated 
to himself the hard days work he had to perform all for 
twelve dollars a month and board. There is so much to do 
that a fellow has no time to say his own prayers in comfort. 
In the morning there are three tires to make, cow to milk and 
in summer to take to pasture, two horses to take care of, the 
walks to swee}), the wood to saw, the coal to carry in, ei-rands 
to do, the garden to weed, to lie blowed u}) ten times a day by 
the old woman, black- the old man's boots and clean the cliil- 
dren's shoes, and of a Sunday there is more hard work to do 
than any day in the week. Have to take the family to church 
and hang round outside for the last amen of the minister, 
when we })oor hostlers chant in chorus the "Gloria in Excel- 
sis," bring the team around to the curbstone and when we 
get' home as hungry as a hyena after a three days fast are 
compelled to wait to see if there is anything left from the 
dining room that is sutfered to come to the kitchen for Bridget 
and me to make a dinner from. Then hitch up again to take 
the children to Sunday School, and in the evening, storm or 

8 



114 ANNALS OF THE 

not, the team must come out for the tinal service, aud I stand 
about or drive the team around to keep them in warm blood 
until the linal benediction, when I get to the barn once more 
and work till ten o'clock to make the horses dry and fix their 
feed and bedding for the night. 

Somewhere along in the forties I well remember my own 
"aesthetic" outburst in the way of an establishmeiit. It is said 
of Thackeray when he essayed to keep a carriage and horses 
that he was not able to do so with the income the sale of his 
books attbrded, the same may liave been said of me in 
respect to my one horse harness shop, but I got an old steady 
animal and a second hand rockaway and paid for them in my 
line, picked up someone's old harness that had been left at my 
shop for repairs aud so I got out as fine a rig as was suited to 
my grade and means as is usually seen on the streets, an 
animal entirely safe for my wife or anyone else to drive; then 
u}) and down these streets she wandered with those babies of 
ours, the envy of lots of old settlers who had no horse or 
wauon or babies to boast of I call to mind one of the 
incidents connected with one of their airings. It was a liabit 
of my wife to drive in the outskirts and note the new streets 
that were in those days being opened up. reporting progress 
to me at night : one day after she was well out on her rounds 
a friend came in my shop and said that he saw my wife in a 
rockaway full of babies driving a black horse with a counter- 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 115 

brush tail going through where they are opening Oregon street. 
"Well, said I, that's all right, let her go, there is no law 
against it yet." 

Now I have never talcen time to think whether that friend 
meant to throw any slur at either horse, rockaway, harness 
wife or babies, for any lack of aesthetics on our part. 

I took a look at this friend's rig the other day, it was all tip 
top, he has a tine pair of roadsters with copious tails, yet he 
seldom indulges in a ride himself, the ladies of his family 
adorn the establishment better than if he were present. Yet 
it pains me to say that his coachman has the cockade in his 
hat on the wrong side, and that narrow banded affair of a hat 
too looks like the same old plug Paddock sold the head of the 
household in 1840, ironed over and made to tit the coachman 
by taking out a lot of cotton batting from under the lining. 
Such is the progress of the "aithetics" out in that part of the 
avenue of the world, and I don't blame my friend for his inde- 
l)endence even if he fails to carry out the nicer points in the 
progress of lesthetics. He knows well enough that that word 
was not brought here by any of the old settlers, and we all 
like to be independent and do as we please in spite of what 
Mrs. Grundy dare say. 

The wild and unbroken forests and plains that spread 
themselves to the north and west of us a half century ago 
have become the animated centers of the republic while the 



116 ANNALS OF THE 

unpeopled shores of the Pacific are now alive with the best 
blood of the Anglo Saxon race, and the almond eyed Mongo- 
lians are coming in faster than many white people really 
desire. 

When we came here the entire domain north and west of 
Ohio could barely boast of a million })eople; to-day one-third 
of our entire population has found permanent homes away oil' 
there where we had not the liejirt to face the untutored 
savages or contend against the wild beasts so vividly decribed 
in our geographies. The greater part of that teeming west 
was an unpeopled wilderness and an unexplored waste on our 
maps. 

Since you older settlers made your homes in this county 
many important events have been added to the history of our 
country, and it is a wonderful page to contemplate when the 
more notable ones are placed u})on it. Some of you took part 
in or were contemporaneous with the last war with Great 
Britain. We have had a contest with Mexico and agreed to 
quit by taking a slice of her valuable domain. We have had 
wars innumerable with the aborigines and been continually 
compelling them to go west and give our people room to swing 
a cat and lu'eathe. We have settled two important l)oundary 
questions with Great Britain that threatened badl}- for a time. 
We have acquired territory of other nations quite enough to 
make a dozen empires. We have added state upon state until 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 117 

the iiumber is so great that it troubles our people to keep tall}- 
of the increase. We have put down the greatest rebellion 
since the da_ys of the Peloponnesian war. We have wiped out 
slavery as with a sponge. We have struck oil in the hill sides 
and gold and silver and iron in the mountains. We have 
thrown a network of railways all over the land, and the meshes 
of wires above our heads are so interwoven that they form a sort 
of lace curtain against the rays of the sun. Steamships cross 
the Atlantic Ocean in a fraction over a week. The earth and 
sea are many times girded with stretched wires. So much 
has transpired which is worthy of mention since you settled 
here that the ennumeration ])ecomes tiresome and the items 
widen so infinitely that it appears useless to attempt an ap- 
proximation towards a fair schedule of all that has come to 
pass since j'our early days in Cuyahoga Countv. At the rate 
things have been moving for the past fifty j'ears, it bewilders 
the mind to attempt to comprehend what may take place in 
another fifty years. The city has l>een made over anew since 
we first set our feet emphatically down in Cleveland; our great 
avenue, Superior street, can scarcely show us a monument in 
the shape of a building that stood there when we came. The 
venerable town pump that graced the head of Bank street and 
supplied near half the town with water has been swept away; 
it is not the same town we saw any more than we are the same 
persons, for the}' tell us that we renew ourselves eveiy seven 



118 ANNALS OF THE 

years. We have worn out two jails and are developing consid- 
erable friction on the third and fourth. The three louety 
churches that were the only places for public worship have 
increased to hundreds, and yet we have a great share of wicked 
people among us. 

The public schools as well as the public school houses of 
Cleveland have been a marked feature in oui- civilization. 
From the old and unambitious Academ}^ on St. Clair street, 
which was the onl}'^ school building in our earlier days, we 
have erected four or five high school buildings, tlie last of 
which is the wonder of modern times; it is claimed to ]>e quite 
high enough for practical use, from base to pinnacle it will 
measure fully one hundred and forty feet, Columbus College 
standard, where three barley corns make one inch, and it has 
innumerable gables as well. "Is not that pretty high?" 
Every tax payer says "umph." It is not every youth that can 
boast of so much outside show in order to gain the inner 
adornments of the head, and you who had knowledge ingrafted 
at the old Academy or the schools which preceded it may be 
proud that " i^sthetics " were invented so that 3'our grauil 
children could revel in the halls of our high schools; shall we 
wait to see what onr high school house will l)e 40 years hence? 

After that " old Academj' " our public schools multiplied 
to a wonderful degree until every quarter of the citv was 
adorned l\v one or more of those educators of the coming 
people. 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 119 

During the winter of 1836-37 Mr. Upson, of Tallmtidge, 
sent to the city for trial a wagon load of bituminous coal, a 
seam of which had cropped out of a hillside on his farm and 
he was anxious to see if it could he made of use as a fuel. A 
gentleman then living where the Weddell House now stands — 
it may have been Mr. T. M. Weddell himself — ventured to 
make a trial of the coal ; his neighlpors got an idea of what 
was going on and they looked in apparent dread at the house 
when the black smoke curled out of the chimney, and when 
the sulphurous fumes came down to the ground they held 
their nostrils and made up tlieir minds at once that such stuff 
would breed a pestilence and they would liave none of it in 
theirs. This people had not been educated up to a coal stand- 
ard in those daj^s; it is quite different now. 

There is a sturdy member of your association who has 
been liere over three score years, but is not the man he was in 
opinion forty years ago. When coal l)egan to be used as fuel 
that man declared he never would consent to abandon the use 
of wood and resort to filthy coal as long as he was al)le to pur- 
chase a supply of wood. To-day that '• old settler" is able to 
purchase the native forests on either side of him, but every 
grate, range, stove and furnace in his stately mansion is sup- 
plied with coal. 

We could not consent that the advances made in our time 
should be ol)literated and we too be placed back to the condi- 



120 ANNAI.S OF THE 

tioii of tbrty-tlA^e years ago, when we had uo street lights, no 
water works, no sewers, no paved streets, no police, no steam 
fire department, no public library, no fountains, no city hall, 
no telegraph nor telephones, no railroads, no steam tugs, no 
anthracite coal, no jiropellers, no bridge across the river, no 
breakwater, no manufactories, no refineries, no viaduct, and 
no taxes to speak of. . 

Many people have wished to renew their lives by wander- 
ing among the scenes of their early youth: we are certain to 
get quite enough in a few days. How would you like to see 
our nuiin avenue again atloat with its proverbial unfathomable . 
mud of olden times? How would you like to see those scanty 
iwood wagons that used to adorn the lower end of the avenue 
again in i)laec, then those stately " Wooster schooners " that 
plied on the pike ])etweeu Wayne and Cuyahoga counties bring- 
ing fiour and whisky and returning with ballast of nails, cod 
fish an<l cotton cloth, and finally as you passed down of a morn- 
ing and see three stage coaches waiting for Captain Sartwell's 
orders at the old Franklin House to go and gather passen- 
gers with the inevitable chunky " Heniy " perched high atop 
of one with four in hand. All this would do you as a passing 
dream, but you would say give us the advance and not the 
retrograde. 

Our city stands upon a plane ranging from sevent3^-five to 
one hundred feet above the Lake; this gives us an eminence 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 121 

above our noighhoring cities of the Lakes that tliey would be 
glad to attain. You will remember that at one time in your 
early residence there was a steady, rapid encroachment of the 
Lake upon the heart of the city by the sliding away of the 
l)lutf bank above the lieach. Tlie quick sands Avhicli underlie 
the city were fast carrying away the surface, and at the rate the 
land was leaving us it was easy to calculate when the little 
city we found as we settled liere would be entirely swept away. 
I have seen the time when many acres had taken their dci)ar 
ture in one night, Imt the railroads saved our city in more 
ways than one, they put a stop to the further incroachments 
of the Lake. 

The elegant in architecture had not developed itself to any 
extent up to 1840. Men who built had so little i-egard for 
comeliness that it appears as if they told the builders the 
height, length and breadth they wanted their liouse or block' 
or shop and the number of windows and doors needed, then 
allowed them to be placed at random as was most convenient to 
the mechanics. Men of taste who have visited us have made 
a note of these things to our disadvantage. We took courage 
and thanked God that after a time a lietter order of things 
was instituted, and after the second and third series of build- 
ings went up we had something more comely to look upon, 
and to-day old settler or not, a citizen need not be ashamed to 
wander about these streets with the best meu of the proudest 



122 ANNALS OF THE 

city in our land and point to Jiuudreds of blocks and churches, 
hospitals, asylums, schools, manufactories and dwellings that 
Avill rank with any in the wide world. 

There may be a wide diversity in the hopes and realiza- 
tions of all you " old settlers." Some may have accomplished 
all they aimed for, and some may have come far short even if 
their aim had been ever so unpretending. Whatever that fate 
chances to be, it is rather too late to try and mend it now. 
We had better philosophically accept the situation and con- 
tinue striving to the end. 

You who have hung on so long through thick and thin 
never Hinched in the hour of panic or epidemic, never grunted 
too much over the cold Lake winds, nor stuck up your nose 
when the black smokes and crude oil smells hung roun<l your 
nostrils. You who have brought up a family in knowledge 
and virtue and have maintained among your fellows as upright 
a character as the times would warrant, can rest assured that 
you have done far more for the honor, glory and majesty of 
Cleveland than Cleveland could possibly do for you. 

There are two important domestic pictures. I would have 
you carefully contemplate and view in every light you can see 
the best. One is Cleveland as you saw her forty years ago, 
and Cleveland as you can'see her to-day. 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION 



123 



There are artists enough anioiiy yon to paint these scenes 
to the life, and the sooner 3^on practice with your brush, your 
canvas and your pigments on those of tlie past, your friends 
will think the more of you, while you will be likely to renew 
your life in the operation. 



A SUMMARY 



OF THE 



Records of the Association. 




ORIGIN OF THE ASSOCIATION. 

I HE lirst step which led to the organization of the 
"Early Settlers Association of Cuyahoga 
County," was taken by H. M. Addison, wlio was 
"father of the thought," and who j)uljlished in 
the fall of 1879 several articles in the Cleveland newspapers 
relative to the project. These articles having created a favor- 
able impression, so encouraged him that he circulated a 
written call for a public meeting of the pioneers and early 
settlers of Cleveland, for the purpose of consultation and 
effecting a permanent organization of such an association. 
The call was signed by a goodly number of Cleveland's 
prominent citizens, among whom were the following: 

John Crowell, 8. L. Blake, 

Ahimaz Sherwin, George Mygatt, 

Wm. H, Stanley, M. Barnett, 

Erastus Smith, Elijah Smith, 

John W. Allen, Daniel R. Tilden, 

J. P. Bishop, William Fuller, 



128 



ANNALS OF THE 



H. B. Payne, 
L. Dow ( Jottiell, 
John A. Foot, 
Homer Strong. 
Milo Bosworth, 
John Wicken, 
Harvey Rice. 
James A. Bolles, 
W. S. Rulison, 
A. R. Chapman, 
Jahez Hall. 
J. E. Twitehell. 
R. R. Herrick, 
N. B. Sherwin, 
S. Williamson. 
John C. Granuis, 
H. P. Weddell 
James Barnett, 
K. B. Hale k Co., 
P. R. Everett, 
Edmund P. Morgan, 
R. R. Root, 
R. C. Parsons, 
C). F. Welch, 
George 0' Conner, 



John Welch. 
Henry H. Dodge, 
Elijah Bingham, 
Moses White, 
Geo. C. Dodge, 
J. A. Vincent, 
J. C. Saxton, 
J. J. Elwell. 
Elias Cozad. 
W. H. Doan, 
W. H. Hayward, 
T. P. Handy, 
Jolin C. Covert. 
O. H. Mather. 
Jas. D. CleA'eland. 
S. J. Andrews, 
W. Bingham, 
J. H. Wade, 
A. Everett. 
K. S. Root. 
Wm. Perry Fogg, 
Moses Warren, 
T. J. Clapp, 
J- C. Brewer, 
E. S. Flint, 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 129 

Geo. B. Merwin, Henry Wick, 

W. S. Streator, Charles Whittlesey, 

M. S. Castle. Daniel W. Duty. 

In response to this call a large number of pioneers and 
early settlers convened at the Probate Court Room, on the 
evening of Nov. 19th, 1879, organized the meeting by appoint- 
ing Hon. John W. Allen chairman, and H. M. Addison 
secretary, and after a free discussion and interchange of 
views relative to the object of the meeting, adopted the follow- 
ing constitution: 

ARTICLE I. 

This association shall be known as the " Early Settlers 
Association of Cuyahoga County," and its members shall 
consist of such pei'sons as have resided forty years in the 
same, and who shall subscribe to this constitution and pay a 
membership fee of one dollar, but shall not be subject to 
further liabilit3^ 

ARTICLE IL 

The officers of the association shall consist of a president, 
two vice presidents, secretary and treasurer, with the addition 
of an executive committee of not less than five persons, all 
of which officers shall be members- of the association and 
hold their offices during its jjleasure, and until their succes- 
sors are duly appointed and they accept their appointments. 

9 



130 ANNALS OF THE 

ARTICLE III. 

The object of the association shall be to meet in conven- 
tion annually, with the view of briugiug its members into 
more intimate social relations and collecting all such interest- 
ing facts, incidents, relics and personal reminiscences relative 
to the early history and settlement of the city and county, as 
ma}^ be regarded of permanent value, and transferring the 
same to the "Western Reserve Historical Society" for preserva- 
tion, and for the benefit of the present and future generations. 

ARTICLE IV. 

It shall be the duty of the president to preside at public 
meetings of the association, and in his absence the like duty 
shall devolve upon one of the vice presidents. The secretary 
shall record in a book for the purpose the proceedings of the 
association, the names of the members in alphabetical order 
with the ages and time of residence at the date of becoming- 
members, and conduct the necessary correspondence of the 
association. He shall also be regarded as an additional 
member, ex-oflicio, of the executive committee, and may con- 
sult with them but have no vote. The treasurer shall receive 
and pay out all the moneys belonging to the association, but 
no moneys shall be paid out except on the joint order of the 
chairman of the executive committee and secretar}^ of the 
association. No debt shall be incurred against the association 
by any ofticer or member beyond its ready means of payment. 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATON. 131 

ARTICLE V. 

The executive committee shall have the general super- 
vision and direction of the attairs of the association, designate 
the time and place of holding its meetings, and publish due 
notice thereof with a programme of exercises. The committee 
shall also have power to fill vacancies that may occur in their 
own body or in any other office of the association, until the 
association at a regular meeting shall fill the same, and ma}' 
appoint such number of subordinate committees as they may 
deem expedient. It shall also be their duty to report to the 
association at its regular annual meeting the condition of its 
affairs, its success and prospects, with such other matter as 
they may deem important, the same to be published in 
pamphlet and distributed to members of the association, if 
approved and so ordered by the association. 

ARTICLE VI. 

The annual meeting of this association for the election of 

officers shall be held on the second Monday of January of 

each year. 

ARTICLE VII. 

The constitution may be altered or amended at any regular 

meetina^ of the association on a two-thirds vote of the 

members present, and it shall take effect from the date of its 

adoption. 



132" ANNALS OF THE 



And thereupon the meeting proceeded to the election of 
officers to serve until the annual meeting to be held on the 
second Monda}' of January, 1880, as provided in the consti- 
tution, to wit: 

Hon. Harvey Rice, President. 

Hon. Sherlock J. Andrews,) 

>- Vice Presidents. 
Hon. John W. Allen, j 

Geo"rge C. Dodge, Secretary and Treasurer. 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 

R. T. Lyon, Thomas Jones, S. S. Coe, W. J. Warner, and 

David L. Wightman. 

Whereupon the meeting adjourned to the first regular 
meeting, January 12th, 1880, at the same place. 



At a regular meeting of the association held January 12th, 
1880, at the Probate Court Rooms pursuant to adjournment, 
nearly one hundred members being present, Hon. Harvey 
Rice, President, called the meeting to order, and after a few 
preliminary remarks from him and Vice President Andrews, 
the meeting proceeded to business. 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 133 

Oil motion of George C. Dodge, Esq., Secretary, the Con- 
stitution was slightly amended in its phraseology so as to 
read as herein recorded. 

On further motion the following officers were appointed to 
serve foi- tlie ensuing year. Judge Andrews declining a re-elec- 
tion, to wit: 

Hon. Hakvey Rice, President. 

Hon. John W. Allen,) 

- Vice Presidents. 
Hon. Jesse P. Bishop, \ 

Thomas Jones, Jr., Secretary. 
GeorGe C. DodcxE, Treasurer. 

EXECUTIVE C0M3IITTEE. 

George F. Marshall, R. T. Lyon, M. M. Spangler, Darius 
Adams and John H. Sargent. 



Report of George G. Dodge, Treasurer. 

Receipts from 155 membership fees - - - $155 00 
Expenditures to date for sundries - - - - 27 20 



Balance on hand January 12th, 1880 - - $127 80 



134 ANNALS OF THE 

On motion of S. E. Adams, Esq., the following resolution 
was adopted: 

Resolved, That the Executive Committee be authorized 
to employ at their discretion H. M, Addison, or other suitable 
person to visit the several wards of the city and townships of 
the county for the purpose of diffusing information and col- 
lecting facts pertaining to the objects of the association and 
increasing the numl)er of memberships. 

On motion the meeting then adjourned subject to the call 
of the executive committee. 

Geo. C. Dodge, Harvey Rice, 

Secretary. President. 



The officers of the association and executive committee, 
on receiving the sad intelligence of the death of Hon. S. J. 
Andrews, one of the vice presidents of the association, con- 
vened at the office of Geo. C. Dodge, Esq., on the 13th of 
February, 1880. Present — Hon. Harvey Rice, president 
Hon. John W. Allen, vice president: Geo. C. Dodge, treasurer; 
Thomas Jones, jr., secretary-, and Geo. F. Marshall, Darius 
Adams and John H. Sargent of the executive committee, and 
adopted the following resolutions: 

Resolved, that we offer our most heartfelt sympathy to 
the family and friends of our deceased brother Sherlock J. 
Andrews; that in his decease we have lost one of our most 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 



135 



worthy members; the legal profession one of its most brilliant 
lights; and the city of Cleveland one of its most trusted and 
trustworthy citizens. 

Resolved, that the members of the association are re- 
quested to attend his funeral, and that these proceedings be 
communicated to his family. 

THOMAS JONES, Jr., 
Secretary. 



Names of Members, 



NATIVITY. AGE AND RESIDENCE. 



LIST OF NAMES. 



Name. 


Where, horn. 


Whe.ji born. 


Came tu 
County. 


Andrews, Sherlock J. 


Con. 


1801 


1825 


AUen, John W, 


Con. 




1825 


Adams, Samuel Ji. 


N. Y. 


1818 


1837 


Adams, Darius 


Ohio, 


1810 


1810 


Aekley, J. M. 


Ohio, 


1835 


1835 


Abbey, Seth A. 


N. Y. 


1798 


1831 


Addison, H. M. 


Ohio, 


1818 


1818 


Adams, Mrs. Mary A. 


Ohio, 


1811 


1811 


Andrews, Mrs. Julia A. 


Ohio, 


18J6 


181t> 


Bingham, Elijah 


^^ H. 


1800 


1835 


Burnham, Mrs. M. W. 


Mass. 


1808 


1838 


Baldwin, Dudley 


N. Y. 


1809 


1827 


Baile}', Robert 






1834 


Burgess, Solon 


Vt. 


1817 


1819 


Burton, Vj. D. 


Ohio, 


1825 


1825 


Burgess, Leonard F. 


Ohio, 


1823 


1823 


liull, L. S. 


Con. 


1813 


1820 


Beers, D. A. 


N. Y. 


1.816 


1818 



140 



AUNALS OF THE 



Bliss, Stoughton 


.. Ohio, 


1823 


1823 


Benedict, L. D. 


Vt 


1827 


1830 


Borges, J. F. 


Germany, 


1810 


1835 


Bury, Theodore 


N. Y. 




1839 


Beverlin, John 


Pa. 


1813 


1834 


Brett, J. W. 


England, 


1816 


1838 


Bowler, N. P. 


N.Y. 


1820 


1839 


Buhrer, Mrs. Stephen 


Germany, 


1828 


1840 


Bishop, Jesse P. 


Yt. 


1815 


1836 


i^ishop, Mrs. E. W. 


Ohio, 


1821 


1821 


Beai'dsle}', I. L. 


N. Y. 


1819 


1838 


liurnham, Thomas 


N. Y. 


ISOS 


1833 


Bingham, William 


Con. 


1816 


1836 


Brooks, 0. A. 


Vt. 


1814 


1834 


Barber, Mrs. J. T. 


N. H. 


1804 


1818 


liurwell, George P. 


Con. 


1817 


1830 


Burwell, Mrs. Louisa (J. 


Pa. 


1820 


1824 


liranch, D. G. 


Vt. 


I80r, 


1833 


i5abcock, Charl ;'s PI. 


Con. 


IS 23 


18.34 


l^arber, Josiali 


Ohif). 


1825 


1825 


Braytou, H. F. Wilna, 


Jeff. Co., N. Y. 


1812 


1836 


Cahoon, Joel P>. 


N. Y. 


17-.)3 


1810 


Cox, John 


p]n gland. 


1802 


1832 


Coe, S. S. 






1837 


Corlett, Williaui K. 






1837 



EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 



U 



Cross, David W. 


N. Y. 




1836 


f.'owles, Edwin 






1832 


Cottrell, L. Dow 


N.Y. 


1811 


1835 


( lorlett, John 


Isle of Man. 


1810 


1836 


Cook, Wellington P. 


N. Y. 


1825 


1838 


Cleveland, James D. 


N.Y. 


1822 


1835 


Clark, James F, 


N.Y. 


1809 


1833 


Clarke, Aaron 


Con. 


1811 


1832 


(Jarlton, C. C. 


Con. 


1812 


1831 


( 'ozad, P^lias 


N. .Jersey, 


1790 


1808 


( 'utter, 0. P. 


Ohio, 


1824 


1824 


( 'orlett, 'I'homas 


Isle of Man, 


1820 


1827 


Crittenden, Mrs. M. A. 


N. Y. 


1802 


1827 


Chapman, 11. M. 


Ohio, 


1830 


1830 


Christian, James 


Isle of Man, 


1810 


1838 


Carson, Marshal 


N. Y. 


1810 


1834 


Craw, William V. 


N. Y. 


1810 


1832 


( 'rawford, Lueian 


Oh if., 


1828 


1828 


Detmer, C. H. . 


Germany, 


1801 


183.") 


Dodge, George C. 


Ohio, 


1813 


18J3 


Dodge, Wilson S. 


Ohio, 


1839 


1839 


Doan, W. H. 


Ohio, 


1828 


1828 


Doan, yivs. C. L, 


Con. 


1816 


1834 


Dibble, Lewis 


N. Y. . 


1807 


1812 


Dodge, Heuxy U. 


Ohio, 


1810 


1810 



14'i ANNALS OF THE 



Dut}', Daniel W. 


N. H. 


1804 


1825 


Doan, John 


N.Y. 


1798 


1801 


Dockstader,' Chas. J. 


Ohio, 




1888 


Doan, J. W. 


Ohio, 


1833 


1833 


Dunham, David B, 


N.Y. 




1831 


Dentzer, Daniel 


Germany, 


1815 


1832 


Dodge, Mrs. George C. 


Vt. 


1817 


1820 


Edward^. Kudolphus 


Ohio, 


1818 


1818 


Erwiu, .loliu 


N. Y. 


18U8 


183;-) 


Flint, E. S 


Ohio, 


1818 


1818 


Fitch, J. W. 


K. Y. 


1823 


182(; 


Foot. John A. 


Con. 


1803 


1833 


Fuller, William 


Con. 


1814 


183C 


Foot, ]M IS. Mar}- S. 


Pa. 


1810 


1832 


Gill, Mrs. M. A. Ish 


' of Man, 


1812 


1827 


Gay lord, Erastus F. 


Con. 


179r) 


1834 


Gardnei', George W, 


Mass. 


1834 


1837 


Gordon, William J. 


N. Jerso}', 


1818 


183-) 


Greenhalgh, ('apt. R. 


I-Cn gland. 


1828 


1840 


Gorhara, John H. 


Con. 


1807 


1838 


Gayton, Mrs. Mary A. 


ICngland, 


1808 


1832 


Gaylord, Mrs. L. Cleveland, 


N. Y. 


1801 


18:}4 


Goodwin, William 


Ohio, 


1838 


1838 


Giddinos :Mrs C M 


IMich. 






Herdck, R. R, 


N. Y. 


1826 


1836 



EABiLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION. 113 



Hessenmueller, E. 






1836 


Hills, N. C. 







1831 


Hills, N. ( '. Mrs. 


N. Y. 


1811 


1831 


Handy, Freeman P. 


K. Y. 


1807 


1832 


Hudson, W. P. 


Ohio, 


1820 


1820 


Hell, Henry 


Germany, 


1810 


1832 


Hubbell, H. S. 


Ohio, 


1832 


1832 


Hubby, L. M. 


N. Y. 


1812 


1N3!I 


Hickox, ( harles, 


Con. 


1810 


1837 


Howard, A. D. 


Con. 


1803 


1834 


Honeywell. Ezra 


N. Y. 


1802 


1831 


Harris, B. C. 


Ohio 


1832 


1832 


Hudson, D. D. 


Pa. 


1824 


1831 


Heisel N. 


Germany, 


1816 


1834 


Hayden, A. S. 


Ohio, 


1813 


1835 


Harris, J. A. Mrs. 


Mass. 


1810 


1837 


Harris B. E. 


Ohio, 


1838 


1838 


Hurlbut, H. B. 


N. Y. 


1818 


183C 


Hurlbut, H. B. Mrs. 


N. Y 


1818 


1836 


Ingham, W. A. 






1832 


Johnson, L, D. Mrs. 


Ohio, 


1825 


18:!4 


•Jones, Thomas, Jr. 


England, 


1821 


1831 


•lewett, A. A. 






1821 


Johnson, P. L. 


Ohio, 


1823 


1823 


Jaynes, Harris 


Ohio, 


1835 


1835 



144 



ANNALS OF THE 



Jackson, Charles' 
Jones, W. S. 
Johnson, W. ( . 
Keller, Henry 
Kellogg, A. 
Kelley, Horace 
Kelley. .lolm 
Lewis. San fold J. 
Lewis. (luUenden 
Lathrojje. C. L. 
Lowniaii. Jaeoli 
Lyon, K. T. 
Lamb, I). ^^^ .Mrs. 
Leonaitl, -larvis 
Lyou, S. S. 
Layman. S. H. 
Lewis, G. F. 
Morgan, Y. L. 
Morgan, E. P. 
Myer, Nicholas, 
Miller, M. 31 rs. 
Marshall, George F. 
Morgan. J. A. 
Miller, William L. 
Merchant, Silas 



England. 


1820 


1835 


Ohio, 


1837 


1837 


Cou. 


1813 


1835 


Gerinau3-, 


1810 


1832 
1820 


Ohio, 


1810 


1810 


Pa. 


1800 


1832 


N. Y. 


1823 


1837 


X. Y. 


1S(»() 


1837 


Con. 


18(M 


1831 
1832 


Ills. 


1810 


1824 


Mass. 




1 837 


Vermont, 


1810 


1834 


Con. 


1817 


1818 


Ohio. 


1810 


1831 


N. Y. 


1822 


1837 


Con. 


1707 


1811 
1840 


Germany, 


1809 


1834 


Ohio, 


1800 


1020 


N. Y. 


1817 


1836 


Con. 


1809 


1811 


Ohio, 


1829 


1829 


Ohio, 


1826 


1826 



EARLY SETTLEKS ASSOCIATION. 



145 



IMathor, Samuel H. 


N. H. 


1813 


1835 


Marble, Levi 




1820 


1830 


Merwin, George B. 


Cou. 


1809 


1816 


Nott, C. C. 






1 835 


Newmark, S. 


Germau3% 


1816 


18.39 


Norton, ('. H. 


N. Y. 


l.SO."; 


1838 


Neff, Melchor 


Germany, 


182fi 


18.34 


O'Connor, R. 


Ohio, 


1824 


1824 


Penty, Thomas 


England, 


1808 


1829 


Pannell, James 


N. Y. 


1812 


1832 


Palmer, J. D. 


Con. 


1831 


1835 


Payne, N. P. 


Ohio, 


1837 


1837 


Porter, L. G. 


Mass. 


1807 


1826 


Pease, Samuel 


Mass. 


1805 


1828 


Pease, Charles 


Ohio, 


1811 


1835 


Pelton, F. W. 


Con. 


1827 


1835 


Proud foot, David 


Scot. 


1809 


1832 


Piper, A. J. 


Vt. 


1814 


18.39 


Pier, Mrs. L. J. 


Ohio, 


1823 


1823 


Quayle, Thos. 




I 


1827 


Quinn, Arthur 


Ireland, 


1810 


1832 


Rouse, Mrs. Rebecca E. 


Mass. 


1799 


1830 


Rice Harvey, 


Mass. 


1800 


1824 


Russell, George H. 


N. Y. 


1817 


18.34 


Rogers, C. C. 


Ireland, 


1813 


1839 



14() 



ANNALS OF THE 



Rupel. S. D. 
Rice, Harvey Mrs. 
RobisoH, I. P. 
Rouse, K. F. 

Spangler, Elizabeth Mrs. 
Sherwin, Ahimaas, 
Scovill, J. Bixby Mrs. 
Silberg, F. 
Sherwin, S. JNI. INIrs. 
Sabiii. Wm. 
Shedd. W. V. 
Shepard. L). A. 
Sargeut, John. H. 
Skinner. (). B. 
Southwortli. W. P. 
Slawson, J. L. 
Scovill, E. A. 
Shelly, John 
Sacket, Alex. 
Sacket, Harriet Mrs. 
Sterling. E. Dr. 
Schiely, Anna Mrs. 
Shelden. S. H. 
Stanlej-, G. A. 
Si)angler, M. M. 



Ohio, 


1808 


Vt. 


1812 


Mass. 


1824 


N. Y. 


1790 


Vt. 


1792 


Ohio, 


1800 


German}^, 


1804 


N. Y. 


1809 



Con. 


1810 


N. Y. 


1814 


0. 


1831 


Con. 


1819 


Mich. 


1806 


0. 


1819 


England 


1815 


Pa. 


1814 


0. 


1815 


Cou. 


1825 


Germany 




N. Y. 


1813 


Con. 




0. 


1813 



1808 
1833 



1830 
1820 
1818 
1816 
1834 
1827 
1839 
1833 
1833 
1818 
1831 
1836 
1812 
1819 
1835 
1835 
,5 
1827 
1832 
1835 
1837 



181b 



1820 



EARLY SETTLERS A3S0CIAT0N. 



147 



Sla<Ie, Horatio 
Sortfir, Harry 
Smith, W. T. 
Strickland, B. 
Strickland, H. W. Mrs. 
Saxton, J. C. 
Smith. Betsey E. Mrs. 
Strong, Charles H. 
Sanford, Alfred S. 
Smith, Erastns 
Steward, J. S. 
Severance, M. H. Mrs. 
Strong, Homer 
Seldon, N. D. 
Stillman, W. H. 
Simmons. Thos. 
Taylor, Harvey 
Thompson, Thomas 
Tnrner, S. W. 
Thompson, H. V. 
Thompson, F. M. Mrs. 
Townsend, H. G. 
Whltelaw, George 
Walters, John R. 
Weidenkopf, Fred 



England 




1834 


N. Y. 


1820 ■ 


1831 


N. Y. 


1811 


1836 


Vt. 


1810 


1835 


0. 




1834 


vt. 


1812 


1818 




I8y 


1836 


Ohi.). 


1831 


1831 


Con. 


1805 


1829 


Con. 


1790 


1832 


Ohio, 


1818 


1818 


Ohio, 






Con. 


1811 


1836 


Con. 


1815 


1831 


Con. 


1808 


1833 


Ohio. 


1832 


1832 


Ohio, 


1814 


1814 


England, 


1814 


1836 


Con. 


1813 


1832 


N.Y. 


1816 


1839 


Vt. 


1823 


1837 


N.Y. 


1812 


1834 


Scotland, 


1808 


1832 


N.Y. 


1811 


1834 


Germauv, 


1819 


1837 



148 


ANNALS OF THE 




Weidenkopf, Jacob 


Germany, 


1828 


Wightmau, S. H. 


Ohio, 


1819 


Watkins, George 


Con. 


1812 


Weston, George B. 


Mass, 


180.5 


Wari-en, Moses 


Con. 


1803 


Wager, J. I). 


Ohio, 


1820 


Williams, Geoi;ge 


Con. 


1799 


Welch, John 


N.Y. 


1800 


Welch, 0. F. 






Wheller, B S 


P2n gland, 




Wheller, Jane Mrs. 


England, 




Warner, W. J. 






Wightman, D. L. 






Williamson, Samuel 


Pa. 


1808 


Whittlesey, H. S. 


Ohio, 


1836 


Winslow, E. N. 


N. C. 


1824 


Welsh, Jas. S. 


Ohio, 


1821 


Wilson, H. V. Mrs. 


Mich. 




Wemple, Wjmdret 


N.Y. 


1796 


Wellstead, Joseph 


England, 


1817 


W atermau, W illiam 


Ohio, 


1818 



1837 
1819 
1818 
1826 
1815 
1820 
1833 
1825 
1017 
1836 
1831 
1831 
1817 
1810 
18.36 
1830 
1821 

1818 
1837 
1818 



ANNALS 



OF THE 




mu 




mm 



ERS'ASSOGIATION 



OF 



CUYAHOGA COUNTY, 



NUMBER II. 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 



CLEVELAND, O. : 

J. '■'' SAVAGE, PRINTER, FRANKFORT ST. 
1881. 



xv6 



SfHtiJi$ of i\$ yinmnlm, 1881* 



HON. HARVEY RICE, President 
HON. JOHN W. ALLEN, 
HON. JESSE P. BISHOP, 
THOMAS JONES, JR., Secretary, 
GEO. C. DODGE, Treasurer. 



> Vice-Presidents. 



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 



GEO. F. MARSHALL, 
R. T. LYON, 
DARIUS ADAMS, 
JOHN H. SARGENT, 
M. M, SPANGLER. 



CHAPLAIN. 





REV. THOMAS CORLETT. 



? Q^ /?^0 



m 



4 EiHL! 



.J 



ILEUS' AlREHSiM. 



1881 



The Association celebrated the day at the Tabernacle, On- 
tario street, Cleveland, July 22, 1881. In accordance Avith 
the programme, it was understood that the forenoon session 
would be devoted chiefly to the transaction of the annual 
business of the Association, such as reading the journal, 
hearing official reports, receiving new memberships, and elect- 
ing officers for the ensuing year, followed with a free lunch or 
collation, and that the afternoon session would be open to the 
public, generally, and its exercises consist of written addresses, 
songs, and volunteer speeches. 

At the hour appointed (11 o'clock a. m.) the early set- 
tlers, in large numbers, convened at the Tabernacle with evi- 
dent pleasure beaming in their faces, and with frequent in- 
terchanges of salutations with each other on the score of 
''old acquaintance." The venerable assemblage was called 
to order by Hon. Harvey Rice, President of the Association, 
who opened the session with the following preliminary and 
congratulatory remarks: 

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Association: Allow 
me to congratulate you on this happy occasion — the second 
anniversary of our Association'. It is, indeed, an occasion that 
calls not only for. mutual congratulations, but for expressions 



6 ANNALS OF THE 

of gratitude to Him who has granted " length of days " to so 
many of us, and given us once more an opportunity to greet 
the "old familiar faces" of our earlier years, and grasp the 
hands of old friends, long-tried and true. 

The day which "we celebrate" as the anniversary of our 
Association, has been permanently adopted on account of its 
historical interest in reference to the pioneer life of the West- 
ern Reserve. It was on the 23d day of July, 1796, that Gen- 
eral Moses Cleaveland, with his staff of assistant surveyors, 
landed at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, ascended its east- 
ern bluff, and gazing Avitli delight on the beauty of the scene, 
predicted that here was the spot where, at no distant day, a 
great commercial city would spring into existence. He at 
once ordered this elevated plateau to be surveyed into city 
lots. His staff baptized the infant city and gave it the name 
of "Cleveland," in honor of their chief. This occurred just 
eighty-five years ago, and now that predicted city has grown 
to the dimensions of a great commercial emporium, contain- 
ing a population of 170,000 souls. Verily, this "Moses" of 
1796 was a true prophet. Though he has not been honored 
in his own country as such, the time has now come, as it 
seems to me, when a suitable statue of bronze or granite 
should be erected to his memory in our public park, as pro- 
posed in the action already taken by our Association. The 
project is worthy of commendation, and it is to be hoped that 
the citizens of Cleveland will generally approve the enterprise 
and aid in contributing to its success. 

The age in which we live is inquisitive. It aspires to know 
"all things." It sees in the future what it desires to achieve, 
and exacts from the past a surrender of its relics and golden 
memories. Our Association partakes somewhat of the spirit 
of the age, especially so far as regards the relics and golden 
memories of pioneer life in the Western Reserve. These we 
desire to gather while we can, and before they are forever lost. 
It is therefore requested that every member of our Associa- 



EARLY SETTLERS- ASSOCIATION. 7 

tion should contribute what he can to this end. If he has in- 
teresting relics of the early times, and is willing to bestow 
them, he can deposit them at any time with our secretary. 
If he has recollections of incidents, anecdotes, or other matter 
of historical value pertaining to pioneer life, he can jot them 
down in writing, and send or deliver his manuscript to the 
secretary as material for use or reference. It is only from 
living lips that this kind of information can be obtained. Let 
us then be up and doing while the "day lasts," and thus 
leave behind us, as Longfellow has beautifully said: 

" Footprints, that perhaps another, 
Sailing o'er life's solemn main, 
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 
Seeing, shall take heart again." 

There will always exist a class of early settlers in every 
generation who will leave behind them peculiar characteristics 
and reminiscences, which every successive generation will take 
pleasure in gathering and preserving. Hence it may be in- 
ferred that our Association has the vital elements of perpetu- 
ating itself. Its character is such that while it achieves a 
noble work, it renews early friendship, and shares a social 
enjoyment which is truly delightful as well as morally elevat- 
ing. In addition to this, it publishes, in pamphlet, its annual 
proceedings for the use of its members, and thus secures a 
lasting record. Both ladies and gentlemen who have resided 
forty years in the Western Keserve, and are citizens of Cuya- 
hoga county, are alike eligible as members of our Association, 
on payment of one dollar to the treasurer. New members 
are cordially invited, with the assurance that all who choose 
to unite with us will be received with the " right hand of fel- 
lowship." In a word, our fraternity is organized for a gener- 
'ous purpose, and especially for the social enjoyment its oppor- 
tunities afford. 

In the venerable assemblage I see before me I recognize 
many who are crowned with the silvery honors of age, stand- 



8 ANNALS OF THE 

ing, as it were, on the borders of life's battlefield, like a rem- 
nant of veterans who have heroically fought their way in the 
world thus far, and are now pausing to recall to mind the hun- 
dreds of their early companions who stood side by side with 
them, but have long since fallen in their armor on the field — 
companions who were companions in the strife, and who have 
left behind them a noble, though unwritten, record. It is a 
just and reliable account of the brave, enduring and persever- 
ing men and women of the early times that we wish to pro- 
cure and preserve as a legacy to the generations who will fol- 
low us. In thus honoring the memories of our departed 
pioneers and early settlers, we not only honor ourselves, but 
confer a public benefit which will be, in after years if not 
now, gratefully appreciated. 

Though the frost of age has silvered our heads, still let us 
resolve to live on, acting well our part, still keeping on the 
sunny side of life, enjoying its blessings and its pleasures, and 
cheering each other with the rehearsal of its drama and its 
musical interludes, until the approaching sunset shall throw 
its deepening shadows about us, and we shall pass to a 
brighter and holier s]Dhere. 



THE JOURNAL. 

The journal of the last meeting was next read and ap- 
proved. Official reports for the last year were then called for 
as next in order. 



REPORT OF THE TREASURER. 

George C. Dodge, the treasurer, reported that financially 
we are not wealthy, and the amount of money in the treasury 
need cause no apprehension of a defalcation. This Associa- 
sion is iron-clad. It provides in its constitution that no 
officer or member can contract any debt; and, secondly, that 



EARL Y SETTLERS' ASS CIA TION. 9 

no assessments can be levied against the members. Some man 
said, when I was a boy, that the Democratic party was like a 
young robin — biggest when first hatched; but that can't ap- 
ply to this Association, as we are adding new members every 

day. 

To the newspapers of the city we are indebted for many 
favors, and I trust we, as members of the Association, will 
liberally take and promptly pay for them. Cash on hand, 
159.80, with this entertainment to be provided for. 

Geo. C. Dodge, Treas. 
July 22, 1881. 



REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 

BY GEORGE F. MARSHALL, CHAIRMAN. 

Mr. President: In compliance with a duty imposed by 
the fifth article of your constitution, wherein we are required 
to report the "condition, success and prospects of this Asso- 
ciation, with such other matters as may be deemed import- 
ant," we herewith respectfully submit the following: 

Respecting the details of membership, nativity, age, term 
of residence and the financial condition of the Association, 
you are referred to the ample records and reports of the 
efficient Secretary and Treasurer. 

If we have but little money in the treasury, we know 
that we have many men of age and experience — men of perse- 
verance and business tact; men who don't look back of the 
plow, when they take hold; men who have worried through 
forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty years of the normal malaria 
of the Cuyahoga valley, and are as robust as in their earlier 
youth. Then we have many women of mature Judgment, of 
wonderful energy, of happy dispositions, of gentle manners and 
determined wills. Can any one doubt the fact that the condi- 



10 ANNALS OF THE 

tion of this Association is peculiarly superb? Whether you 
emblazon it in enduring brass, or marble, or pure Berea grit, 
this Association is a success. Another feature of its perma- 
nence, usefulness and stability was developed at the time a 
proposition was made to admit the women to full membership 
without paying the constitutional fee, when they spurned the 
idea with apparent indignity, exhibiting a determination to 
do their share in sustaining the Association as Avell as the men. 
Another assurance of the successful condition of this or- 
ganization is that ever}' person entitled to membership in- 
tends to join the Association some time, while others are 
now, perhaps, counting the years and months when they 
will reach the constitutional limit, and be eligible to have 
their names registered among those 

" Who outlived that day, and came safe back 
From those sharp conflicts. " 

Still another assurance of its sound condition is in the 
fact of the interest taken by the members themselves in their 
prompt attendance at every meeting thus far held by the 
Association. 

Now that this Association has become a signal success, and 
capable, under its well-established rules, of accomplishing all 
the objects for which it was organized, let us cast about to 
make it as efficient as possible. How shall this be done? 
The peculiarities of men — a record of their good deeds and 
their bad — may be preserved in our books as samples to adopt 
or shun; whatever they may be will help to bring back to our 
memory " the days of auld lang syne." We should multiply 
our biographers, insomuch that every early settler of note 
should have his proper place in our archives. 

Wlio will volunteer to give us life-size sketches of old Dr. 
Mcintosh and his sons, and also of Tom Colahan, Plato 
Brewster, James S. Clark, Judge Josiah Barber, Deacon Fol- 
som, Bostwick O'Connor, Capt. Dolphus Hone, D, Long, Reu- 
ben Champion, Anson Hayden, Judge AVilley, John E. St. 



EARL Y SETTLERS' A SS CIA TION. 1 1 

John, Aaron T. Stickland, Tom Lemen, Chas. M. Giddings, 
T. P. May, John Wills, George Witherell, Judge Wood, J, 0. 
Fairchild, Lansing Lake, Kichard Hilliard, Peter M, Wed- 
dell, "Nathan Perry, Geo. Kirk, Capt. Levi Sartwell, Milo 
Hickox, John Barr, Isaac Taylor, Lyman Kendall, Judge 
Hay ward, E. Burke Fisher^, Kufus Dunham, Capt. Levi John- 
son, John M. Woolsey, George Hoadley, Rev. Wm. Day, Ig- 
natius Dieholt, Myron Douw, Uncle Abram Hickox, Gur- 
don Fitch, Zalmon Fitch, David Griffith, John G. Stockley, 
S. C. Ives, Dr. Robert Johnstone, Judge Asher M. Coe, 
Judge Warren, Joseph S. Lake, Ahaz Merchant, Wm. Mc- 
Coy (the pettifogger), Joc-o-sot (the Indian), Capt. Reuben 
Turner (the sea-dog), Pliilo Scovill, Alex. Seymour, Buckley 
Stedman, Jacob Weidenkopf, Stephen Whittaker, Frederick 
Whittlesey, Edward Wade, Richard Winslow, C. J. Woolson, 
Charles Bradburn, Dr. C. D. Brayton, Dr. J. Delamater, Dr. 
Mathivet, S. L. Petrie, F. A. Keppler, N, Dockstader, Jarvis 
F. Hanks, Daniel Worley, Aaron Barker, Clifford Belden, 
Joel Coy, J. B. Finney, Jonathan Gillette, J. H. Guptyl, 
James Kellogg, Irad Kelley, Alfred Kelley, Wm. Lemen, 
Wm. Milford, N. M. Standart, Michael Spangler, J. L. 
Weatherly, J. G. McCurdy, Col. Jonathan Williams, John 
Stoddard (judge ?), David Hersch, Edward Whittemorc, Wm. 
Hewitt, Wm. Smyth, James Church, John Brown (the bar- 
ber), John Malvin, Andrew Lytic, J. M. Hughes, Jim 
Hughes, Jim Hopkins, Noble H. Merwin, Geo. Wallace, 
Judge Samuel Williamson, Judge Kingsbury, Horace Perry, 
Samuel Dodge, D. H. Beardsley, E. Waterman, Leonard 
Case, Judge Samuel Starkweather, Benj. Rouse and his phil- 
anthropic wife, S. Wolverton, Richard Hussey, Mark White- 
law, Ansel Young, Almon Burgess, J. P. Kirtland, Dr. Samuel 
Underbill, Dr. Ackley, Alonzo Carter, G. Boughton, S. Rem- 
ington, Alphonso Holly, Morris Jackson, Benj. P. Beers, Dio- 
date Clark, Gains Burke, Samuel Dille, Paul P. Condit (of 
1819), Benj. Mastick, Richard Lord, and Thos. Jones, Sr.? 



12 ANNALS OF THE 

Another and quite as important and interesting a subject 
for a special historographer might be made available if some 
of your older members who have been identified with the ear- 
lier church organizations would give us, in brief, their ori- 
gin, their original members, and other matters of interest 
connected therewith. 

There were but three church edifices in Cleveland forty-five 
years ago; one of wood (Trinity), one of stone (First Presby- 
terian), one of brick (First Baptist). There are jiersons living 
wdio could give us many points of interest relating to each 
society. Let some one give us the early record of temperance 
organizations, and also of friendly associations for the moral 
and social improvement of their members. Give us the early 
history of banks, commerce, and ship-building. 

The thought which Mr. Adams, a year ago last May, ex- 
pressed to these " early settlers " respecting some enduring 
monument to the memory of '* Moses Cleaveland," appeared to 
win every one to his opinion. An artistic structure of metal 
upon an entablature of our own native rock, formed by our 
own skillful artizans, and looking out from our beautiful lake 
park upon the blue sea, would be an eloquent though silent 
historian and speaker to every citizeii and stranger for all 
coming time. The contribution of a few dimes by every citi- 
zen of Cleveland would be ample to accomplish all that is to 
be desired; it would then become, emphatically, a monument 
in Cleveland for Cleveland. Fifteen years from to-day will 
be the centennial of Cleveland. This w^oukl be a fitting 
day, indeed, to unveil such a statue; but it is too long a time 
for us to wait for a proper recognition of the memory of the 
man who spied out the land and laid out a city to which we 
now refer with as much pride, perhaps, as the ancient Eo- 
raans did to their " Eternal City." 

July 22, 1881. 



EABLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 13 

AN INTERESTING LETTER. 

The following letter, from Charles Crosby, of Chicago, 111 , 
addressed to the President of the Association, was then read 
by Hon. John A. Foot: 

Dear Sir: A copy of the annals of your Association (No. 
1) having been sent to me with the request that I would con- 
tribute from the tablets of my memory some reminiscences of 
the "early times" in the history of Cuyahoga county, I have 
somewhat hesitatingly consented to do so. 

I beg to say, in the first place, that I find myself very much 
in the situation of the clergyman who said: "I would like to 
say a few words before I begin," or like the man who said: " I 
will take a short nap before I go to sleep." 

I premise, therefore, that my narrative will consist of a 
plain and unvarnished statement of events, incidents and an- 
ecdotes of "men and things," correlative to, and characteris- 
tic of, "the times that tried men's souls" during the period 
of your early history. 

Some writer has truthfully said: "Acts make habits, hab- 
its make principles, and principles make destiny." With 
these principles in view, I desire to show that they were rightly 
understood and adopted, in permanently establishing the 
moral and religious habits of your "early settlers." 

The result has proved the advantages of correct "early 
training," in the formation of the highly moral and cultured 
condition of society, which has always distinguished this 
region; in contradistinction to the vicious and criminal hab- 
its of reckless adventurers, always to be found in the first set- 
tlement of all new countries. In referring to individuals, I 
shall use their familiar and well-known cognomens, and aim 
to avoid giving occasion of offence which may cause hyper- 
criticism from any quarter. With these preliminaries, and 
invoking your kind indulgence, I begin my narrative. 

I was born in Lee, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, De- 



14 AyyALs OF the 

cember 11, 1801. My father's family consisted of himself, my 
mother and their four boys, ranging in ages from six to fif- 
teen years (only my brother, three years ray junior, and myself 
no\y living). Having exchanged his landed property with 
Xehemiah Hubbard and Joshua Stow, large land-owners in 
the Connecticut Western Reserve, my father with his family, 
and a colony of five or six other families, left their "old 
home" on the 30th of May, 1811. 

Their destination was " the far-off West," then regarded 
as almost beyond the bounds of civilization. The parting 
with relatives and friends (which to many was a final one), 
caused many a painful struggle. I must not omit to mention 
the parting benediction and prophetic words of my venerable 
and saintly grandmother, with whom I was a special favorite. 
Her eyes streaming with tears, she pressed me to her bosom, 
and in the affection and anguish of her loving heart, she com- 
mended me to the care of her covenant-keeping God, and 
with her hand stroking my head, she said, " The Indians will 
have your scalp." The j)rotecting care thus invoked, I trust, 
saved me from the loss of my "scalp," but a thousand times 
has my grandmother's prediction occurred to me when I have 
been in imminent danger that it might be fulfilled. 

The outfit of the colony consisted of ox teams and large 
covered wagons, horses and lighter wagons, some cows and 
such household chattels as could be well conveved bv the means 
of transportation possessed. 

Thus equipped, and farewells exchanged, the long and 
wearisome Journey was commenced, which occupied forty 
days in reaching their destination. The greater part of the 
company settled in Dover, which was "the promised land" 
to them. 

My father's lands were also there: but after visiting the 
township he found it quite too much of a wilderness to suit his 
notions of civilized enjoyment, and having the privilege of pur- 
chasing any other land owned by the parties he had traded 



EASZr SETTLEnS' ASSOCIATION. 15 

with, lie located in Euclid where the condition of society was 
more advanced. He purchased 278 acres of unimproved land, 
built a log house in the woods, commenced the laborious work 
of clearing off the heavy timber, and in due time received 
the reward of his labors in abundant harvests and a cultivated 
farm. I may here say that when he started on his journey he 
had only $50 in money and at its close it was reduced to less 
than $5. The winters were then very mild and the spring 
seasons opened early. Fruit trees were in bloom in March 
that year, and crops most abundant. In winter the ground 
was not often much frozen, with but little snow, and what 
little snow there was usually fell in the mud. Mud-boats 
were once common on these streets, and if anybody dared to 
risk anything that had the semblance of a sleigh, they would 
extemporize a rude one-horse structure dubbed a "jumper." 
The contrast with the climate of the Eastern States, which 
was more than renowned for intense cold and deep snows in 
winter, was very remarkable. 

But as the country became more cultivated and cleared of 
its dense forests, the winters entirely changed; and the East 
and West seemed almost to have interchanged in climate, the 
former becoming milder and the latter more severe,, with 
abundance of cold and snow. 

Tornadoes were of frequent occurrence and of terrific re- 
sults, prostrating the forests and causing great destruction of 
property, and sometimes of life. One occurred the year after 
our arrival, by which a fine ox of my father's was killed by 
the falling of a tree, and it made an extensive "wind-fall" of 
huge trees. 

In 1816 the Presbyterian society of Euclid erected a 
church building which was enclosed, and remained for a long 
time unfinished, but was temporarily fitted up for public wor- 
ship, which was held mornings and afternoons. I well re- 
member being jiresent on a Sabbath afternoon, when suddenly, 



16 ANNALS OF THE 

in the midst of the service, a tempest of unparalleled violence 
burst upon us. 

The darkness was like an eclipse of the sun; the wind 
blew persistently; the lightning flashed with constant viv- 
idness; the thunder rolled incessantly, and many of the 
trees which surrounded the church were shivered by the 
electric fluid; but, and strange to say, the steeple of the church, 
which was not protected by lightning rods, escaped. The tor- 
rents of rain drove through the openings for the windows, 
which were without glass, and drenched the congregation 
through and through, while the prayers and shrieks of the 
people could occasionally be heard above the deafening tumult 
of the raging storm. Escape was impossible, and all appar- 
ently thought that the " day of judgment" (at least to them) 
had surely come, and that every thunderbolt would demolish 
the church and send us all to swift destruction. 

Eev. Thomas Barr, the excellent pastor of the church, 
turned his face to the wall and remained silent until the 
storm abated, which probably lasted half an hour. He then 
turned and addressed the congregation in words of vehement 
earnestness and eloquence, which seemed like an inspiration 
from .the very throne of the Majesty on High. He spoke as if 
all the graphic language of the Bible, which described Jeho- 
vah as "thundering marvelously," was at his command, and 
specially furnished for this most extraordinary occasion. He 
was listened to with breathless attention and solemnity, 
and the effect was as profoundly impressive as the storm 
had been terrific and awful. I doubt if anyone who was 
present ever forgot this most thrilling event in their lives. 
In all my experience of four-score years I have never wit- 
nessed any scene so solemn and so awfully grand and impres- 
sive, saving, always, the terrific conflagration of Chicago in 
1871. 

But I hasten to speak of the peculiar characteristics of 
the " early settlers; " and by way of contrast and comparison, 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 17 

the principles which have predominated as the basis, which 
have made Cuyahoga county so prominent and influential in 
importance, and the beautiful " Forest City" of Cleveland, so 
conspicuous among the growing cities of our country. Here 
I am reminded of an anecdote of a rather facetious gentleman 
of New Haven, Ct , who for the first time visited Cleveland 
many years ago. New Haven is justly well known as one of 
the most beautiful cities of New England, After surveying 
aud admiring its attractiveness, the gentleman exclaimed: 
"New Haven is the handsomest city in the world, but Cleve- 
land is handsomer than New Haven." A well-deserved com- 
pliment, truly. 

The pioneers of all new countries are made up of a diver- 
sity of character, and mainly consists of two elements. The 
moral and religious element, who carry their principles with 
them, and infuse them into all the ramifications of society; 
and on the contrary, the reckless adventurers and dishonest 
seekers after gain, utterly regardless of the immunities and 
morals of others, and who neither ''feared God nor regarded 
man." I could with great pleasure give a numerous list of 
names of the first class, the impress of whose character is ap- 
parent among their descendants, (many of which appear in 
your annals) but as it might appear invidious to some, I omit 
them, and will relate only a few incidents and anecdotes of 
both classes, as will be germane to my purposes. 

Noble H, Merwin was conspicuous among the ''early set- 
tlers" for sterling integrity and enterprise, and no man did 
more to shape the commercial prosperity and interests of 
Cleveland than himself. He was a man of stalwart size — con- 
siderably above six feet m height, well proportioned, and of 
remarkable strength. It is related of him that he could take 
a barrel of salt (280 pounds) by the chimes and toss it into a 
wagon easily, and if he laid his hand upon a man's shoulder, 
he would be transfixed until he chose to release him. He pur- 
chased the old "Wallace Tavern" (a frame building and after- 

B 



18 ANNALS OF THE 

wards rebuilt it of brick), which was then considered a 
first-class hotel and affording as good accommodations as the 
times and customs would afford, but quite inferior to hostel- 
ries of the present day. Harmon Kingsbury, a wealthy and 
benevolent Christian gentleman, then well known throughout 
the country, related to me soon after the time, the following 
anecdote: He was staying at the hotel when a man and his 
wife by the name of Boughton, from West Stockbridge, 
Mass., arrived. Being quite fatigued, they retired early to 
their room. Messrs. Merwin, Kingsbury and others were 
quietly sitting in the bar-room, when they were suddenly star- 
tled by hearing Boughton, in a voice of apparent distress, call- 
ing out faintly, " Mr. Merwin, Mr. Merwin, do come here, 
quick!" Mr. Merwin seized a candle, and followed by the 
other gentlemen, quickly ascended the stairs, and opening the 
door, inquired, "What is the matter, Mr. Boughton?" He 
replied, with the most waggish drollery, " Do bring a pint of 
yeast and put it under my head to raise it!" 

Mr. Merwin at first was at a loss to know whether to take 
umbrage at the unexpected wit of his guest or to let it pass 
as a joke; but wisely concluded that " discretion was the bet- 
ter part of valor," and he and his friends hastily retreated 
down stairs to laugh over the amusing episode, and feeling 
that his pilloius and beds were quite equal to his custom and as 
good as the market afforded. 

I well remember the log tavern of Alonzo Carter and his 
father, which stood on the bank near Superior street, which 
was clap-boarded over and had the appearance of a frame 
building. 

Dr. David Long was one of the earliest and most highly- 
esteemed citizens, and had a good medical practice; also Drs. 
Mcintosh, and Graves of East Cleveland, who were regarded 
as skillful physicians, but less cultured, and of rough and in- 
temperate habits. Dr. Mcintosh was called upon in most ex- 
treme cases, but not generally so often as others by reason of 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 19 

li's intemperate habits and profane language. It is stated of 
him that he was once sent for to visit Squire Hudson (the 
founder of the town named after him,) as a last resort, who was 
extremely prostrated, and had been given over by other physi- 
cians. He found the good man very low, indeed, but entirely 
resigned to the will of his Maker, and wishing to die, and 
unwilling to have anything done with a view to his convales- 
cence. Dr. M. labored ineffectually to arouse and excite him, 
but to no purpose. At last he burst out with the most pro- 
fane oaths as follows: " You may die and be d — d, and go to 
h — 11!" This aroused the excellent man from his apparent 
apathy and excited him to show anger and caused him to re- 
buke the doctor with all the indignation and vehemence he 
could command. " Oh," said the doctor, " I can cure you; 
you've got spunk enough left to save you." The good man 
did recover and lived for many years thereafter an honored 
and useful life. Such was said to be Dr. Mcintosh's resort in 
extreme cases; but the remedy is not to be recommended. 

I am informed that the doctor came to his death at a 
horse-race where each man was to ride his own horse, and be- 
ing intoxicated, he was thrown and broke his neck. 

Doctor Graves was a skillful physician, but intemperate 
and profane. On one occasion when only women were present, 
one of them greatly offended him, when he broke out with a 
volley of oaths, for which my mother, who was present, re- 
buked him. He said, "■ Mrs. C, I have great respect for you, 
and beg your pardon, but when a woman insults me so, I swear 
I will swear." 

There was quite a coterie of sporting characters who were 
accustomed to peregrinate along the lake region, with no fixed 
residence anywhere, for any considerable length of time; 
whose principal occupation and enjoyment were gambling, and 
what they termed "fun and frolic," and who everywhere 
made themselves notorious. Some of them would manage to 
control influence enough to get elected to office and would 



20 ANNALS OF TBE 

carry their propensity for reckless drollery into their official 
seats. 

A story is told of one Elisha Norton who had been elected 
a Justice of the peace, who was applied to by a " citizen of 
African descent " to marry him to his betrothed. Bent upon 
having some fine sport on the occasion, he notified his cronies 
to be present at the ceremony, and told them that for the com- 
icality of the thing he would request the groom, at the con- 
clusion of the marriage ceremony, to salute his bride. His 
comrades, only too eager for a rare frolic, promised to be 
present, but immediately informed the expectant groom that 
the justice would instruct him to salute his bride, but he must 
tell him, " After you, is manners for me." After the official 
act was performed, the justice, with much gravity, said, " Sa- 
lute your bride," when the happy darkey, stepping aside, and 
making a graceful bow, replied, "Manners! after you, sir!" 
The official joker discovered most unexpectedly that he was 
" sold," and hastily seized his hat and vanished. But enough 
in delineation of the peculiar characteristics of the "early 
settlers," etc. 

During the war of 1812 the inhabitants were in a continual 
state of alarm and agitation, I well remember Perry's vic- 
tory, and his capture of the British fleet on Lake Erie; and 
Hull's surrender of Detroit; and of hearing distinctly the 
booming of cannon across the lake at each event. After the 
surrender of Detroit, the first information received was that 
the British were landing their forces at Sandusky, and with 
their Indian allies would be likely to overrun and devastate 
the lake country. The greatest consternation prevailed, and 
the inhabitants prepared to flee; and some did leave their 
homes, when news was received that the British were only 
landing the prisoners taken at Detroit, and the alarm was tem- 
porarily relieved. 

In 1812 the Indian, John Omic, was hung at Cleveland for 
murder committed near Sandusky. This was a novel event. 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 21 

inasmuch as it was an Indian, and the first capital execution 
that had occurred there. The Indian expected to be rescued 
and was uncontrollable until made nearly helpless by a free 
use of whisky. 

In 1819 I was at Detroit and took passage on the " Walk- 
in-the- Water," the first steamboat that was built for lake nav- 
igation. Her commander was the gentlemanly Captain Eodg- 
ers, who was brought from New York, and only thought to be 
capable and qualified for so responsible a service. We left 
Detroit on Saturday and arrived at Cleveland on Monday, the 
voyage occupying about two days. 

The Eev. Mr. Monteith, a Presbyterian clergyman, (well 
remembered for his elevated character), was a passenger, who, 
by request of the captain, performed religious services, and 
preached an excellent and appropriate sermon to a very atten- 
tive audience. 

In those "early times" Cleveland had no harbor, the 
mouth of the river being oftentimes "barred up" by severe 
storms, which caused the river to flow back and become stag- 
nant, and a thick scum would form on the surface, and the 
malaria arising from it caused much sickness, and led almost 
to an interdict with the surrounding country. 

iVccording to a census taken in 1810 the population was 
only fifty-seven in what was popularly known as "the 
city," and for the succeeding two or three years the increase 
was very slow; and during the war of 1812 to 1816 it was al- 
most at a "stand-still." But its rapid increase since then to 
170,000 is almost marvelous, with its corresponding increase 
and improvement in the manufacturing interests, its magnifi- 
cent public buildings and splendid temples of worship, its 
gorgeous private residences, the beautiful parks and broad av- 
enues, of which Euclid avenue has the fame of being the finest 
for extent and adornment on this continent, if not in the 
world, all combine to make it one of the most enterprising as 
well as beautiful cities of our country; and betoken for it a 



22 ANNALS OF THE 

"glorious future," and amply verify the New Haven man's 
opinion of it long time ago. 

I have, in a somewhat erratic way, made a conglomeration 
of events, incidents and anecdotes of " men and things," 
gathered entirely from the memory of my boyhood to my ma- 
jority, whilst living in your county; and in the significant lan- 
guage of Abraham Lincoln, " with malice toward none and 
charity for all," have endeavored to perform what I set out to 
accomplish. My memory overflows with early impressions of 
things of minor importance which I have necessarily omitted. 

I take the liberty to second the suggestion made at your 
first celebration, that a suitable monument, worthy of the 
memory of General Cleaveland, the founder of your beautiful 
city, be early erected in your central park, which shall be a 
fitting accompaniment to that of the gallant Commodore 
Perry, and make the location deserving the cognomen, " Mon- 
umental Park." 

With the most profound interest in the prosperity and suc- 
cess of the "Early Settlers' Association," and desiring to be 
regarded as an honorary member, I have the honor to be 

Your humble servant, 

Charles Crosby. 

Chicago, 111., July 6, 1881. 

On motion, said Charles Crosby, of Chicago, was elected 
an honorary member of the Association. 

The President then stated that a number of other letters 
had been received from early settlers which, for want of time 
could not be read, but were referred to the Secretary, and 
placed on file for future use. 

On motion of H. M. Addison, James A. Garfield, a native 
of Cuyahoga county, and now President of the United States, 
and Mrs. Eliza B. Garfield, his venerable mother, were unani- 
mously elected honorary members of the Association, and 
their election ordered to be certified to them by the Secretary. 



EARLY SETTZEIiS' ASSOCIATIoy. 23 

ELECTION OF OFFICERS. 

On motion of Hon. John A. Foot, the following officers 
were unanimously reelected for the ensuing year: 

Hon. Harvet Rice, President. 

Hojsr. John W. Allen, Hon. Jesse P. Bishop, Vice 

Presidents. 
Thomas Jones, Jr., Secretary. 
George C. Dodge, Esq., Treasurer. 
George F. Marshall, R. T. Lyon, Darius Adams, M. 

M. Spangler, J. H. Sargent, Executive Committee. 

Hon. Harvey Rice thanked the Association for the honor 
conferred and adjourned the meeting for the annual collation. 

The collation was then served at the Tabernacle, free of 
charge to members of the Association. The guests were 
grouped at small tables laden with the substantials of life, 
and all with genial hearts and "flow of soul" seemed to enjoy 
the repast. This was a delightful feature of- the anniversary. 



AFTERNOON EXERCISES. 



At the appointed hour (2 o'clock p. m.), the Associa- 
tion was called to order by the President, and the public ex- 
ercises conducted as arranged in the programme. 

PRAYER. 

BY THE REV. THOMAS CORLETT. 

Lord, the strength and hope of all those who put their 
' trust in Thee, mercifully accept our thanks for continued life 
and health to meet together again as on this day. We im- 
plore Thy blessing upon our beloved country, and all in au- 
thority, that they may have grace, wisdom, and understand- 
ing so to discharge their several duties as most effectually to 
promote Thy glory, the interests of true religion and virtue, 
and the peace, honor, and welfare of the state and nation; 
and for Thy great mercy and goodness to us, and to Thy 
servant, our Chief Magistrate, for rescuing him from the jaws 
of a painful and cruel death, and our nation from untold evils, 
bless and praise Thy great and glorious name; may it be Thy 
pleasure, Lord, to restore him to perfect health, and ever- 
more to save our nation from such calamity. To the 
families of those of our Society who have been removed 
from us by death, grant Thy grace and consolation; and to 
us who still survive, grant grace and wisdom so to live and 
do, as to be dispensers of good to others, and so approve 
ourselves worthy in Thy sight of the rich heritage here be- 



EARL Y SETTLERS' ASSOCIA TION. 25 

stowed, and at the close of our pilgrimage on earth, to be 
raised to that higher and better citizenship with Thy saints 
in glory everlasting, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 



SONG: "AULD LANG SYNE." 

BY THE ARION QUARTETTE. 



SETTLEMENT OF THE WESTERN RESERVE. 

BY J. H. RHODES, ESQ. 

Not quite 400 years ago all Europe believed the world to 
be flat, and the sun, after sinking at night, to be in some 
mysterious manner ferried back to its rising place, beneath 
the horizon's edge, and along the watery outskirts of the 
world. Columbus was one of a half dozen in all Europe who 
believed it to be round, and that by sailing westward across 
the trackless Atlantic, a new route to the Indies of Asia might 
be discovered. 

Hopeless and heartless he had become, suing in vain for 
the favor of Henry the Vlllth of England, and had at length, 
in his advanced years, besieged the King of Spain, and was in 
despair of success. At last the decisive hour had come. In 
the palace of Ferdinand an anxious throng, the haughty 
knights and nobles of Castile and Aragon, had gathered. A 
game of chess was in progress in the palace between King 
Ferdinand and a high official of those, the palmiest days of 
the Spanish court. Queen Isabella, the warm friend of Col- 
umbus, who had plead vainly for the royal aid, was leaning 
over the shoulders of the king, watching, with fast beating 
heart and kindling eye, the progress of the mimic contest of 
the heroes of the chess-board. The fate of Columbus had 
been staked on the results of the game. If Ferdinand, the 
king, should win, he had promised assistance to Columbus. 



26 ANNALS OF THE 

If he lost, Columbus' dreams and hopes would go down in 
ruin. No wonder that all eyes were spell-bound on the ivory 
warriors of the chess-board. Columbus was present, and hope 
and fear chased each other in flush and pallor across his anx- 
ious face, like sunlight and shadow across a summer lake. 
Never before in the history of mankind was so much at stake 
in the results of a game of chess. Never did the discovery of 
a new world hang on so slender a thread. Never before were 
the interests of the ignorant and oppressed millions of Europe, 
and the vast and countless possibilities of the discovery of a 
new world thrown into such a precarious balance. 

The game had from the first been against the king, and 
for a time alarm and terror were painted on the faces of 
Columbus' friends, as the combinations of Ferdinand's op- 
ponent threatened him with defeat. The critical moment 
had come, and the fair Queen Isabella hung in breathless 
watchfulness of the game. Her quick eye, her flashing intu- 
itions had penetrated the darkness that brooded over the re- 
sult. She saw, as in a vision, that the king could now check 
in five moves. The king's ear eagerly caught the whispered 
admonitions of the queen, and in a moment the fatal check 
was announced, which gave to Columbus the Nina, the Pinta, 
and the San Jacinto, three vessels, with which, on the even- 
ing of August 3, 1492, he set forth from the port of Palos, on 
the south coast of Spain, in quest of new worlds. 

The story of the voyage is perhaps the most fascinating of 
all stories of voyages in the history of man. I cannot dwell 
upon it, but westward he sailed, and sailed, and sailed, until, 
on the 13th of October, the palm tree of the New World be- 
came the enraptured vision that brought wild delight to him 
and his sailors. On his return to Spain the news spread like 
prairie-fire throughout Europe, and soon thereafter the work 
of conquest and settlement of the New World began. 

Nearly 400 years have passed since then. Twelve gener- 
ations only of mankind, but in that period the proudest 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 27 

achievements of the race have been won. Men and women 
have passed away, generation after generation, but the race 
remains and continues in apparently immortal youth and 
vigor. Thus did America rise from the obscurity of the great 
unknown sea that rolled its untraveled waters between the two 
continents. 

The history of the settlement of the Western Reserve is 
not so romantic, not so wonderful, but it too has its story of 
trial, adventure, suffering, and discovery, and deserves to be 
chronicled for future generations. 

I accepted the invitation of your president to address you 
on this occasion, not because I have lived forty years in the 
county, and could thus be a member of the Early Settlers' 
Association of Cuyahoga County, but because I was requested 
to speak on a subject that has always possessed a charm to my 
mind that has made its study a pleasure. 

Voyaging into this life from unknown seas, I was landed 
on the Western Reserve. Here I have always lived, and here, 
in all probability, I shall again take passage over other un- 
known seas to voyage to other worlds, yet to be discovered by 
us all. 

Ohio has been conspicuous, of late years, in the history of 
the country, and the Western Reserve has been conspicuous in 
Ohio. Ohio is peculiarly situated. Its northern boundary is 
mostly in Lake Erie. Its southern boundary is the great 
river, 900 miles in length, flowing from the mountains of 
Pennsylvania to the great central valley of the Mississippi. 
After the war of the revolution, when this great Northwest 
was an unbroken, and almost unexplored, wilderness, this great 
river was the natural highway from the Atlantic States to the 
West and South. Railroads were then undreamed. Steam, 
that great giant and slave of modern civilization, was like the 
sleeping beauty in the fairy tales, awaiting the advent of some 
knight who should penetrate the thickets of ignorance and 
wake it into life. Boats moving with the current or propelled 



28 ANNALS OF THE 

by oarSj were the easiest means of travel and transportation. 
The only other methods of penetrating into the country were 
the ax to cut a road, and a team of horses or oxen to pull and 
push the way. Hence this mighty river, sweeping onward be- 
tween full banks, overhung with dense foliage, was the nat- 
ural highway for traffic and travel, and to the survivors of 
the revolution it had all the mystery and romance of the river 
Nile. The Ohio, the beautiful river, laid the wand of en- 
chantment on the imaginations of the men who had survived 
the long war for liberty and independence, and when, at 
length, by the terms of peace, all this vast continent of the 
Northwest, this seat and nursery of great States yet to be, 
was thrown open for settlement and occupation, the soldiers 
who had suffered for eight years, who came out of the war 
for independence with nothing but wounds on their bodies 
and fiat dollars in their pockets, turned toward the great 
West with an inexpressible longing and hope that we to-day 
can scarcely imagine. 

They, therefore, came through the wilderness — the Puri- 
tans of New England and the cavaliers of Virginia, and 
blended in years into that community of people now consti- 
tuting the Commonwealth of Ohio. To each Ohio offered ad- 
vantages of climate, fertility of soil, and mineral resources 
that were boundless, and that have resulted in that immense 
and varied industry which characterizes the State. The pio- 
neer to Ohio did not come on a railroad, to be landed on a 
farm already cleared and outlined by a furrow, with all the 
luxuries of civilization at the nearest station. You could 
track his way through the forests only by the blaze of the ax 
on the trees, by the struggle with panther or bear, or by the 
treacherous Indian ambush. No canned fruits and meats 
beguiled him on the way to his new home. No prairie, with 
its stumpless, undulating sea of verdure, greeted him on his 
arrival. No new town or village sprang, as if by magic, into 
existence, at the nearest railway station, to offer ready oppor- 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 29 

tunity to exchange his corn and wheat and dairy products for 
calicoes and groceries, for silks and gewgaws, or for any of the 
luxuries of modern civilization. No great railroad corpora- 
tion searched him out in Europe and carried him at a cheap 
rate across an ocean and a continent, to be landed among his 
friends, fully equipped to break the soil. 

The modern pioneer to Kansas and Nebraska, to Dakota 
and Texas, has his tribulations and sorrows, no doubt; his 
sickness, poverty, drouth, famine and fever, but still his lot is 
one of ease and comfort compared with that of the pioneer to 
Ohio, who traveled for weeks and months with an ox team, to 
be landed at last in an unbroken forest, to fell and clear 
which was the sturdy task of ten or twenty years to come. 
Want, anxiety, fear of the treacherous savage, the sorest of 
toil and privation, were the daily companions and experiences 
of the men and women who left the Atlantic slope to build 
them new homes and altars in this great State. 

I shall not attempt to-day to tell the story of Ohio and its 
settlement. It requires volumes; but I will briefly recall to 
you men and women who compose this Old Settlers' Associa- 
tion of Cuyahoga County, the story of the settlement of this 
little "'neck in the woods." I cannot feast you on personal 
recollections and memories of Cleveland and Cuyahoga coun- 
ty, as did those venerable pioneers, Rice, Spalding, Til- 
den, Williamson, Foot, Allen, Addison, Merwin, and Mjir- 
shal at your last year's feast of reason and flow of soul. I 
may possibly live to be so ancient a pioneer that another gen- 
eration may be interested in my personal experiences and 
recollections of Cleveland, but now I can only hope to repro- 
duce something for the annals of your Society which may 
have a slight historical value. I must beg your patience 
while I rehearse so much of the history as will give my sketch 
any value as a historical contribution to your Society, and in 
doing so must go back with you into the eighteenth century. 

England and France for centuries contested for the owner- 



30 ANNALS OF THE 

ship of the entire region west of the Alleghanies. The Eng- 
hsh, under Cabot, had explored the Atlantic coast from New- 
foundland southward, claimed and settled the Atlantic coast, 
never doubting but that the South Sea or Pacific Ocean lay 
but a few hundred miles west of the Chesapeake and Dela- 
ware. On the other hand, the French, having discovered the 
mouths of the St. Lawrence and Mississippi, laid claim to all 
the unknown country drained by these mighty rivers and their 
tributaries. And so their traders and missionaries, by way of 
Canada and the great lakes on the north, and by way of the 
Mississippi and Ohio on the south, had pushed their way for 
centuries into this great Northwest, until, by 1750, they had 
girdled the colonies of the Atlantic slope with a belt of mili- 
tary forts and auxiliary outposts that actually threatened to 
hem in the English to the region east of the Alleghanies. 
The French held all of Canada and had their forts at Buffalo, 
at Erie, Sandusky, Pittsburgh, and other points in the West. 

The English trader and colonist had pushed west of the 
Alleghanies to the Ohio and its tributaries. Thus the two 
leading powers of Europe, England and France, were brought 
face to face in Ohio. The desire to trade with the savage 
brought the Englishman to the West. The desire to trade 
with the Indian and save his soul within the embrace of the 
mother Church, brought the Frenchman. 

This condition of things could not continue long without 
a conflict between the two great civilizations represented by 
the colonists who had come from England, and the traders 
and missionaries sent from France. The French claimed all 
the territory west of the Alleghanies, and had erected their 
forts at Buffalo, Erie, and on the Alleghany, with a view of 
hemming in the English to the Atlantic slope. And it is a 
remarkable fact in the history of Ohio and the great North- 
west, that the English, as a compromise, offered to surrender 
to the French all the territory west of Pennsylvania and north 
of the Ohio, they retaining the territory east of that line. 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 31 

But the French were confident of their right to push the 
English beyond the mountains, and of their ability to main- 
tain their hold on the great West. The Indians were their 
friends, their forts were numerous, and they alone hud be- 
come intimately acquainted with the vast wilderness that lay 
west of the mountains, clear to the Mississippi and beyond, 
and so they refused. The imagination alone can attempt to 
determine what would have been the result on the future of 
the race, had this great Northwestern and Southern Empire 
passed under the control, permanently, of the French. Here 
in Cleveland the nasal twang of the French might have been 
heard, instead of its being resonant with Yankees from New 
Hampshire and Connecticut. Anglo-Saxon civilization might 
have struck root only in the stubborn soil of New England, 
and a vast French Empire been erected in the valley of the 
Ohio and Mississippi. But this was not possible. France is 
not a colonizing nation. From her loins spring no such 
mighty nations as from the Anglo-Saxon race. And had she 
then assented to the terms of compromise, it would not have 
been many years before the colonies, having achieved their 
own independence, would have pushed the Frenchman west- 
ward to the South Sea, if room were needed for the expansion 
of the new nation. The great event of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, a bloody war, short, sharp and decisive, followed. The 
French were attacked in all their strongholds, and in a couple 
of years that vast, undeveloped empire, which they had been 
quietly creating in Canada and in the north and west parts of 
the United States, fell to pieces. In 1760 the war was ended. 
The English had captured the country between the Allegha- 
nies and the Mississippi, and had driven the French out of 
Canada. And so the great country east of the Mississippi 
came under English control, and of course, after the Ameri- 
can revolution, fell into the possession of the United States. 
So soon as peace was declared, in 1783, between England and 
her rebellious colonies, the United States took immediate 



32 ANNALS OF THE 

measures to obtain perfect title to the Northwestern terri- 
tory, by getting concessions of land from the Indians. In 
1785-6 treaties were concluded with the Six Nations and 
many western tribes, and in 1787 Congress passed the cele- 
brated ordinance which established a territorial government 
over Ohio and the other territory west to the Mississippi, and 
ordained that this vast country should forever be dedicated 
to freedom and free schools. 

And now the old dispute between the colonies and the 
crown arose again. For a century Virginia and Connecticut 
had disputed as to their territorial limits. After the defeat of 
the French, and their expulsion from the territory west of 
Pennsylvania, the colonies began their contentions over this 
great empire of land. This disjjute continued down to the 
revolution, and was only silenced by the guns at Lexington 
and Bunker Hill. After the revolution, the dispute was not 
with the crown, but with the new power that had emerged 
from the flames of Avar; the young republic that had just been 
born through the terrible throes and agonies of war; a nation 
among the nations. Subdued and chastened by the sacrifices 
of the revolution, the colonies renewed the struggle for the 
possession of the mighty West, whose possibilities had just 
begun to dawn on the imaginations of the people. 

And now let me direct your attention to the history and 
settlement of the Western Reserve. The claim of Connecticut 
was in conflict with that of Virgmia. Virginia claimed, un- 
der a contract granted May 29th, 1609, by King James of 
Engknd. This is the territory ceded by King James: "All 
those lands, countries and territories situated, lying and being 
in that part of America called Virginia, from the point of the 
eastern land called Cape or Point Comfort, all along to the sea 
west, to the northward 200 miles (and now notice carefully 
the description), all that space and circuit of land lying from 
the sea coast of the precinct aforesaid, up into the land, 
throughout, from sea to sea, west and northwest; and also all 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 33 

the islands lying within 100 miles along the coast of the both 
seas of the precinct aforesaid." 

It will be seen from this description, the writer supposed 
that the Pacific Ocean or South Sea was not far west of the 
Atlantic, and that by extending the northern boundary north- 
west from the sea coast limits, 200 miles north of Point Com- 
fort, that it included almost all of Pennsylvania, the whole of 
Ohio, and in fact about one-half of the continent of North 
America. 

Connecticut claimed under a charter by King Charles II., 
on the 23d day of April, 1662, and which swallowed up and 
submerged all previous grants to persons of the present ter- 
ritory of Connecticut. The charter of King Charles reads as 
follows: ''And know ye further, that we, of our abundant 
grace, certain knowledge and mere mention, have given, 
granted, and confirmed, and by these presents, for us, our 
heirs and successors, do grant and confirm unto the said gov- 
ernor, and company, and their successors, and that part of 
our dominion in New England, in America, bounded on the 
east by Naragansett River, commonly called Naragansett Bay, 
where the said river falleth into the sea, and on the north by the 
line of the Massachusetts plantation, and on the south by the 
sea, and in longitude, as the line of the Massachusetts colony, 
running from east to west; that is to say, from the said Nar- 
agansett Bay on the east, to the South Sea on the west part,, 
with the islands thereto adjoining." 

This description, like those of the Virginia charter, is- 
magnificently indefinite and all-embracing; yet it is by virtue 
of this description that Connecticut claimed and finally ob- 
tained that part of Ohio known. as the Western Reserve. ThC' 
charter granted by King Charles II. to the Duke of York,, 
was in the Connecticut patent, and is now a part of New York 
and New Jersey. King James the II. granted to William 
Penn what is now Pennsylvania. These charters both con- 
flicted with the one to Connecticut, but New York and Con- 



34 ANNALS OF THE 

necticut settled their dispute by an agreement in 1683, which 
was finally ratified in 1733. But with the colonies of Penn- 
sylvania and Virginia there was serious dispute. Connecticut 
claimed all that part of Pennsylvania in the same latitude as 
Connecticut, and actually sold seventeen townships on the 
Susquehanna River to certain individuals, and attached it to 
the county of Litchfield, and representatives from this part 
of Pennsylvania sat in the Connecticut Legislature before the 
revolution. Pennsylvania protested, and both colonies sent 
agents to England. Soon after the war, Pennsylvania sent 
an armed force and drove these Connecticut settlers on the 
Susquehanna out of the State. The controversy was finally 
submitted to a court held at Trenton, New Jersey, in 1787, 
and this court declared that the claim of Connecticut, under 
her charter of Charles IL was not good against the terri- 
tory covered by the patent of the King of England to Wil- 
liam Penn. But Connecticut still insisted that her charter 
covered all the territory west of Pennsylvania, and in the 
same latitude as Connecticut. 

By some it was contended that the vast territory west of 
the Alleghanies should be appropriated by the new govern- 
ment for the benefit of all the States. The controversy for a 
time threw a dark shadow on the prosperity of the Union. 
Congress appealed to the States to remove the danger by ces- 
sion for common benefit. New York led the way and agreed 
to surrender all claims to western territory for the benefit 
of all the States. Virginia finally followed New York, and 
then Massachusetts followed Virginia, under a pledge from 
the General Government that all the territory so ceded should 
be held for the joint benefit of the original States, and new 
States should be carved out of it from time to time; and finally, 
in 1786, Connecticut made a deed of cession to the United 
States of all right, title and interest to the territory west of 
Pennsylvania, reserving, however, what is now the Western 
Reserve; but in 1780 all claim of political jurisdiction was re- 



EABiy SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 35, 

leased to the United States, and the absolute right of Connec- 
ticut to the soil of the Western Reserve was fully established 
iind confirmed. 

The precise limits of the land reserved by Connecticut are 
described in a deed of cession to the United States, made Sep- 
tember 13, 1786, whereby she released all her right, title, inter- 
est, jurisdiction and claim, which she had to certain western 
lands, except a section which she had in northeastern Ohio, 
beginning at the west line of Pennsylvania, and at the 41st 
degree of latitude, thence west on the 41st degree of latitude 
120 miles from the west line of Pennsylvania; thence north 
until it comes to a point 42 degrees 2 minutes north latitude; 
thence east to the western line of Pennsylvania; thence south 
on the western line of Pennsylvania to the 41st degree of 
north latitude to the place of beginning. This included all 
of the counties of Ashtabula, Lake, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Trum- 
bull, Portage, Summit (except two townships,) Medina, Lo- 
rain, Huron and Erie, the ten northern townships of Mahoning 
county and three northern townships of Ashland; or some- 
what more than the area of Connecticut itself. Connecticut 
has 4,750 square miles, or 3,040,000 acres of land, while the 
Western Reserve, according to a computation by the late 
Leonard Case, had 3,333,699 acres of land. Before this time 
the other States had relinquished all right to the territory 
northwest of the Ohio, and so the Western Reserve became 
indisputably the property of the State of Connecticut. The 
next year — 17S7 — the United States passed the famous ordi- 
nance of 1787, and appointed Gen. St. Clair governor of all 
the territory northwest of the Ohio. He proceeded to divide 
the country into counties. He organized all the territory in 
Ohio east of the Cuyahoga, the Tuscarawas, and Muskingum 
into Washington county, with Marietta for the county seat. 
The counties of the Reserve, west of the Cuyahoga river, 
were in Wayne county, with Detroit for the county seat. The 
establishment of these two counties, so as to include the West- 



36 ANNALS OF THE 

ern Keserve, was regarded by Connecticut as an interference 
with territory over which she claimed undisputed jurisdic- 
tion. 

Let me now consider briefly the manner in which Connec- 
ticut disposed of the Western Keserve. During the Revolu- 
tionary War the British had invaded Connecticut, and a large 
number of people lost property, mostly by fire, in consequence 
of this invasion. The sufferers, after the war, appealed to 
the Legislature for relief, and after several years discussion, 
examination and delay, in May, 1792, the Legislature decided 
to compensate them by giving to the sufferers by fire and their 
heirs 500,000 acres of land off the west end of the Reserve. 
This included Erie and Huron counties, which were known as 
Fire Lands, but did not include the islands in the lake; and 
these lands were divided among them according and in pro- 
portion to their several losses. 

Prior to that time the State had sold to Samuel Parsons 
24,000 acres of land on the Mahoning River. So there re- 
mained all but the Fire Lands and the land sold to Parsons. 
The land which Parsons purchased in 1786 of the State of 
Connecticut, is now included by parts of the townships of 
Lordstown and Weathersfield in Trumbull county, and Jack- 
son and Austintown in Mahoning county. General Parsons 
had ascertained that there were salt springs in that section, 
and expected to make his fortune out of them as much as some 
more modern speculators expected to find big bonanzas of oil 
and salt in Mecca and other places. But his expectations 
were never realized, and he himself was drowned in 1789 in 
the Beaver. As Parsons never paid for the land, after his 
death it reverted to the State of Connecticut, but the Con- 
necticut Land Company never had anything to do with it, al- 
though in the heart of their possessions. 

The purchasers of the Western Reserve supposed it to con- 
tain about 3,000,000 acres. At a session of the Legislature 
held in October, 1786, the State of Connecticut resolved to 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 37 

put into market all that part of the Reserve east of the Cuya- 
hoga and the Portage path, leading from the Cuyahoga to the 
Tuscarawas; that the land should be sold for the public se- 
curities of that day, and it was determined to have the lands 
surveyed into townships six miles square and numbered from 
the lake south. The land was to be sold at 50 cents an acre. 
In 1787 the Legislature modified the plan of selling and sur- 
veying, and that townships should be numbered northward 
from the 41st parallel. No sales except that of Parsons, I be- 
lieve, were made under these resolutions. In May, 1795, the 
Legislature passed another resolution to sell the lands of the 
Reserve. They resolved to appoint a committee to obtain 
propositions for the sale of all the lands in the Reserve. This 
committee was authorized to make such contract as it could 
and give deeds to the purchasers. The purchasers were to 
give their personal notes for the price, payable to the Treas- 
urer of the State, bearing interest at six per cent., at not more 
than five years from the date. These notes were to be secured 
by good and sufficient sureties residing in Connecticut, or by 
a deposit of State or United States stocks. The committee 
was authorized to sell the whole of the Reserve except the 
500,000 acres of Fire I^ands in Huron and Erie counties al- 
ready given to the sufferers in the Revolutionary War, and the 
25,000 acres sold to Parsons, for not less than $1,000,000 in 
specie, or, if time was given, not for a sum of less value than 
$1,000,000 in specie with interest at six per cent. You see 
how your thrifty ancestors had no faith in fiat money or any 
other kind than coin. Eight men were appointed on the com- 
mittee, one from each county in the State. Propositions were 
received from various parties and by September, 1795, this 
committee succeeded in selling the entire remaining land of 
the Reserve for $1,200,000. As the lands remaining were sup- 
posed to be about 3,000,000 acres, this was at the rate of 25 
cents an acre. The sale was made to a combination of thirty- 
five persons, who put down their names and the amounts taken. 



38 ANNALS OF THE 

and the whole footed up $1,200,000. This sum became the 
basis of the Connecticut school fund and now amounts to over 
$3,000,000. The largest interest was taken by one Oliver 
Phelps. He took $168,185 worth, and was the leading man in 
effecting the purchase. These parties and some others they 
represented in making the purchase, constituted the Connec- 
ticut Land Company. This committee of eight made a deed 
to each of these buyers of so many 1,200-thousandths of the 
Reserve according to the amount of money invested by each. 
As there were thirty-five buyers, thirty-five deeds were made. 
These thirty-five buyers, for convenience in handling the 
property, united in a deed to three trustees, John Cadwell, 
Jonathan Brace and John Morgan. These trustees all sur- 
vived, I believe, until 1836, long after the Connecticut Land 
Company had dissolved. 

On the same day, September 5th, 1795, the Connecticut 
Land Company was formed, and adopted fourteen Articles of 
Association and Agreement. This document is drawn with 
much skill and great care, and showed that the management 
of the Company was well considered. Article third provided 
for the immediate election of seven diretors who were author- 
ized, in addition to other powers, first, to procure an extinc- 
tion of all Indian titles to the Western Reserve: second, to 
survey the whole of the reserve and lay it out into townships 
containing not less than 16,000 acres each; third, to fix on a 
township in which the first settlement should be made, to sur- 
vey it into small lots, and dispose of it to actual settlers only, 
and to erect in it a saw and grist mill. (Cleveland township 
was selected for this purpose); fourth, to sell five other town- 
ships to actual settlers only. The five townships selected for 
this purpose were Euclid, Willoughby, Mentor, Madison, and 
one on the Mahoning. The work of surveying was begun in 
1796. The surveying party consisted of about forty-six men, 
of whom General Moses Cleaveland was the superintendent. 
They landed at Conneaut Creek, on or near the Pennsylvania 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 39 

line, with thirteen horses and some cattle, on the 4th day of 
July, 1796, and celebrated the day in gooa style, and two days 
later began to measure the east line of New Connecticut, as 
they called it, and on the first day found plenty of gnats and 
mosquitoes, and encamped near a swamp. This surveying 
party was about sixteen days in working southward along the 
western line of Pennsylvania, which had been surveyed about 
two years previously. They made their way through woods 
and swamps, over streams, up and down the hills, keeping a 
full account of what they saw each day, describing the soil, 
the timber, the water, etc., until they reached the 41st degree 
of latitude, which was the base or south line of the Western 
Reserve. The plan of survey agreed upon at the time re- 
quired them to run west on this parallel 120 miles, from the 
west boundary of Pennsylvania, making in all twenty-four 
ranges of townships, five miles square. The townships were 
numbered northward to the lake, from one upward; Cleveland 
was in the twelfth range, and No. 7 in order, from the south. 
As all that part of the Western Eeserve west of the Cuyahoga 
River was at that time claimed by the Indians, the original 
survey was made only to the river Cuyahoga, coming from the 
East. 

I need not dwell on the manner in which the proprietors 
of the Connecticut Land Company surveyed and divided up 
the immense territory which thus came into their possession. 
The system of division adopted was too complicated to admit 
of a satisfactory explanation at this time. The entire interest 
which the company owned was divided up into 400 shares, 
each subscription of $3,000 representing one four-hundredth 
part of the price of the Western Reserve. The first division 
made was of four townships, which were selected by a com- 
mittee of three, as being of the greatest value, next to the six 
already selected for sale, on account of their situation and nat- 
ural advantages. These four townships were Northfield, in 
Summit county, Bedford and Warrensville in this county, and 



40 ANNALS OF THE 

Perry in Lake county. These were surveyed into 412 lots, the 
intention being that each lot should contain about 160 acres, 
and each share was intended to be good for an average lot in a 
township. In this, as well as in other drafts, many of the 
owners of an interest in the Connecticut Land Company 
united their interests in common, and drew together. 

In addition to this draft of these four townships there 
were four others. The first was in 1798, and was for all the 
remaining lands east of the Cuyahoga, and was arranged to 
be drawn in ninety-three parts, each part being about one 
township, and representing $13,903.23 of interest in the orig- 
inal $1,200,000 purchase price. The second draft was in 
1802, for the balance of the six townships then unsold, and 
the land in Weathersfield township, Trumbull county, where 
Niles is located, and which was not divided in 1798 because 
of uncertainty about the limits of the 25,000 acres bought 
by General Parsons. The third draft was in 1807, and was 
for the townships west of the Cuyahoga. Draft number four 
was for the surplus land, so-called, lying between the Fire 
Lands on the west and the Connecticut Land Company's on 
the east; also at this draft were divided up what notes and 
claims there were on hand growing out of the sale of the six 
townships and all unadjusted claims. 

The actual quantity of land in the Western Eeserve, by 

survey, as estimated by the late General Simon Perkins, is as 

follows: 

Connecticut Land Company — Acres. 

Land east of Cuyahoga River, etc 2,002,970 

Land west of Cuyahoga, exclusive of surplus and islands 

in Lake Erie 827,921 

Surplus land, so-called 5,286 

Islands in Lake Erie 5,924 

Amount of Connecticut Land Company, in acres 2,841,471 

Parsons or Salt Spring tract 25,450 

Sufferers' or Fire Lands (Huron and Erie counties) 500,000 

Total of acres in the Connecticut Western Reserve 3,366,921 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 41 

According to the computation by the late Leonard Case, 
there were but 3,333,690 acres, but he does not include the 
Parsons tract. He also estimated that the directors sold, be- 
fore the division of the six townships, 2,852 acres in Mentor; 
2,355 in Euclid, and 6,754 in Cleveland. 

As I have already said, in 1788, Governor St. Clair estab- 
lished all of Ohio east of the Cuyahoga, the old Portage Path, 
and the Tuscarawas into Washington county; in 1796, Wayne 
county was organized, including with other counties, all of 
the Reserve west of the Cuyahoga, the Portage Path, and the 
Tuscarawas. In 1797 that part of the Reserve that had been 
in Washington county was put into Jefferson county, with 
Steubenville for the county seat. In 1780 the Western Re- 
serve was organized under the territorial government of Trum- 
bull county, with Warren as the county seat, and the first 
court held August 25th, 1800. In 180] there were but thirty- 
five families in Warren, but it was by far the most important 
point on the Reserve. In 1801 they began to get a mail once 
in two weeks from Pittsburgh by way of Canfield and Youngs- 
town, and that was the terminus of the mail route for a couple 
of years before it came on to Cleveland. The route from War- 
ren was by way of Deerfield, Ravenna, Hudson, etc., and from 
Cleveland to Detroit, along the old Indian trail to Sandusky, 
Toledo, and so on to Detroit. From Cleveland to Warren, 
the mail went via Painesville and Jefferson. Geauga county 
was organized March 1st, 1806, and included a large part 
of Cuyahoga; and Portage county, June 7th, 1808, whilst 
Cuyahoga was organized May 7th, 1810. As that part of the 
Reserve lying in the Mahoning Valley was more accessible for 
many years than the northern part, for a number of years it 
thrived most. 

The county of Cuyahoga has remained in its present 
state since 1843, having, from time to time, been reduced 
in size by the formation of Huron, Medina, Lorain, and Lake 
counties. 



42 ANNALS OF THE 

The first mill erected in Cuyahoga county was at the falls 
in Newburgh. Its completion was celebrated by the pioneers 
with great rejoicing, and it was only at the beginning of this 
century that our forefathers of the Reserve enjoyed the luxury 
of bolted flour. Another evidence of advancing civilization 
was the building of a still-house, in 1800, at Cleveland. They 
couldn't sell their corn for money, so they made it into 
whisky; they couldn't sell the whisky for money, so they 
were compelled to drink it. 

The lands in the six reserved townships and of the city lots 
in Cleveland, were very slow of sale. City lots had fallen one- 
half in value, or from $50 to $25, and it is a remarkable fact 
that the most fortunate of the men who went into the Con- 
necticut Land Company realized a very meager profit, and 
many of them were losers rather than gainers in the enter- 
prise. The Reserve settled very slowly compared with more 
recent settlements in the western States, as Kansas, Iowa, 
Minnesota, or Wisconsin. As showing the slow growth of 
the country for the first twenty years of this century, take 
Cleveland. In 1796 its population was 4; in 1797, 15; in 
1800, three years later, only 7; in 1810, 57; only 50 in ten 
years; and in 1820, Cleveland had 150 inhabitants. In those 
early days money was scarce, the facilities for transportation 
were very poor, and the country was yet in the woods. To 
pioneers, as to most of mankind, the golden age is always in 
the past, but he who compares the Western Reserve with what 
it was when the pioneers first invaded its forests, cannot fail 
to see the wonderful change. 

Within its borders are the thrifty cities and towns of San- 
dusky, Norwalk, Elyria, Wellington, Medina, Cleveland, Ak- 
ron, Ravenna, Warren, Youngstown, Painesville, Ashtabula, 
Jefferson, and numerous others. It is abundantly supplied 
with railroads, and I have the authority of the Secretary of 
the Ohio State Board of Agriculture for saying that every 100 
acres of land on the Reserve, besides yielding a variety of 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 43 

tillage crops, yields also an average of 263 pounds of butter 
and 924 pounds of cheese, " far exceeding the world-wide 
famous Scioto Valley." Again, the Reserve averages 9^ 
cattle to every 100 acres, while neither the Scioto nor Miami 
Valleys, both famous for their cattle, exceed 6^ head to 100 
acres. Also, that the product per acre of wheat, corn, oats, 
flaxseed, potatoes, tobacco, sorghum, and clover hay, exceed 
those of the Miami Valley. The explanation is not in the su- 
periority of the soil, but, as Mr. Klippart says, there is a better 
system of culture on the Reserve than is to be found any- 
where else in the State. What but fifty years ago was little 
better than a wilderness, is now a rich and populous portion 
of Ohio, increasing yearly in wealth, people and general pros- 
perity. 

I have thus outlined the history of Ohio for two hundred 
years, and of the Western Reserve for three-quarters of a 
century. What there is to-day to be proud of and rejoice in 
our midst, we largely owe to the brave pioneers — to the noble 
men and women who subdued the wilderness, and laid the 
foundations of this Commonwealth of the Western Reserve, 
whose people are as intelligent, thrifty, prosperous, and patri- 
otic as are to be found on any equal area in the world— a^eo- 
ple who read and think for themselves. Many of the old 
pioneers have passed away. Their memories should be hal- 
lowed, the story of their early trials and struggles should be 
often told. The younger generation should not be allowed to 
forget that there is a past full of intense interest, the study 
of which will enrich and ennoble the descendants of the pio- 
neers, by its memorable struggles, trials and conquests, through 
which our pioneer fathers passed in the subjugation of a wil- 
derness, and its reduction under the hand of civilization and 
industry. It was the proud boast of a Roman Emperor that 
he found Rome brick and left it 'marble. The pioneers did 
more. They left blooming gardens, affluence, thriving cities, 



44 ANNALS OF THE 

and a grand civilization, where they found a wilderness, pov- 
erty, wigwams, and barbarism. Coming as they did from 
the American Eevolution, many of them were old soldiers 
who had lost everything but life, and who came to the new 
West poor, adventurous and hopeful. They knew that by the 
solemn compact of 1787, that spread its protecting aegis over 
400,000 square miles of untrodden wilderness, the fair heri- 
tage of the Reserve, and the entire country north of the Ohio 
and east of the Mississippi, would forever be dedicated to free 
schools and freedom; that no slave should breathe its air; that 
religious liberty was forever guaranteed. They had and 
needed no stock in trade but the musket and the ax, and to 
many an old revolutionary veteran that had slept in camps, 
his log cabin was a palace. Those who came from New Eng- 
land came also with a deep love of knowledge, and in many 
a log house young men were reared who have since become 
famous and are among the great of the earth. 

[The foregoing address, evincing as it does profound historical re- 
search, was listened to with deep interest by the association, and is 
justly regarded as a valuable production.] 



SONG: "THE GOOD OLD DAYS. 

BY THE ARION QUARTETTE. 



LIFE AND CHARACTER of DAVID H. BEARDSLEY. 

BY HON. J. P. BISHOP. 

A few days since I received a communication from our 
honored President, saying that the committee were unani- 
mous in requesting me to deliver an address on the " Life and 
Character of David H. Beardsley," at this meeting of "the 
early settlers." 

In compliance with this request, I appear before you to- 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 45 

day. If only the customary tribute was paid to the subject 
of this address, it would be substantially as follows: 

" IN MEMORIAM 

David H. Beardsley — Born June 6th, 1789, at New Preston, Litchfield 
County, Conn. ; died at Cleveland, O., August 31st, 1870." 

I doubt not many here are ready to ask "What more than 
this can be said of David H. Beardsley, whose life was so un- 
obtrusive and unassuming among us, and who came and went 
in the daily walks of life almost unnoticed by the world around 
him?" 

To this I reply, very much may be said. Much more than 
I have time here to say or you to listen to. 

I wish to preface, before I proceed, that being acquainted 
with Mr. Beardsley in his public, private and social life, soon 
after his decease, with the approval of his nearest family rela- 
tives, I prepared a sketch of him, which was published in the 
Cleveland Leader. Much of the matter contained in this arti- . 
cle I reproduce here. 

From what I have already said, it appears that on August 
31st, 1870, an aged citizen of Cleveland went to his rest. He 
went as he had lived, peacefully and quietly, and thus ended 
his earthly being in the very manner he had desired; and as 
many plants leave behind them an attractive and lovely fra- 
grance, so may it be truly said that in the many varied mem- 
ories which are now cherished of the deceased there is an 
aroma of character left by him, which every one who may be 
old and experienced in intercourse among men in the best and 
most intelligent circles of society, may. not meet with in a life- 
time. There was nothing in his early life calculated to 
produce this result, except his native genius and original char- 
acteristics of mind. 

There were no influences of the home-circle that could 
produce this result, for of these he was very early deprived. 
He was, however, in the early part of his life, thrown among 



40 AJSTNALS OF THE 

that class of religious people called ''Friends," whose simple 
ways, austere, but unostentatious virtues he admired and 
loved, and was greatly influenced by them to his latest days. 

Thrown upon his own resources in his youth, he pursued 
that course to which his inclinations of mind most impelled 
him, which was gaining and treasuring up knowledge. 

Those who have been privileged to enjoy an intimate ac- 
quaintance with him can now attest how thoroughly he per- 
sisted in his favorite habit all his life and even in his old age, 
of keeping apace with the times in the general sciences and 
modern improvements and progress. 

His native place was New Preston, Litchfield county, 
Conn. In early life he qualified himself for a first-class 
teacher, and pursued that profession successfully in Baltimore, 
Md., and othei- places. After his marriage he removed to 
Ohio and settled in what was then called Lower Sandusky, 
now Fremont. Early in 1826 he removed to Cleveland, but 
previously, and soon after removing to Ohio, his character for 
intelligence and integrity were appreciated, as he was elected 
to the Legislature of Ohio, and also was appointed a judge of 
the Court of Common Pleas. His residence and public posi- 
tion in Cleveland after he came here, have become historical. 
The history of the city could not well be written without giv- 
ing him a prominent place. Appointed, as he was in 1827, 
as collector at this point of the Ohio Canal, and continuing 
in that office for a score of years, when most of the commerce 
of Cleveland passed through the canal and thence connected 
itself with a great part of the State, he could not help being 
widely known. 

It is well kuown his experience was such that his aid and 
counsel were sought in framing and adopting the rules and 
regulations governing the canals of Ohio. Under his intelli- 
gent counsels the canal rules and regulations and laws of Ohio 
became almost a perfect code. 

So highly was he esteemed that no matter how political 



EABLV SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 47 

parties changed, Mr. Beardsley remained unmolested in his 
office so long as he chose to retain it, however much it might 
have been coveted by others. At one time, at the accession of 
the Democratic party to power, an effort was made to change 
the Collector of Cleveland, but a high official connected with 
the public works of the State declared to those in power that 
if Mr. Beardsley were removed he would himself resign, as he 
considered him indispensable, not merely as Collector of 
Cleveland, but as an adviser on the management of the public 
works of the State. 

In transacting the business of the State, he was precise 
and exact. But while he required this from others, he prac- 
ticed the same rule towards them — always according to them 
every right and insisting that they should accept it. 

His long continuance in office and his manner of conduct- 
ing the public business caused him to be very widely known. 

His integrity was the great feature of his character. Dur- 
ing all those years that he transacted the business of the 
State, and ia the numerous accounts rendered by him, which 
amounted to thousands, and in the amount of money collected 
to about $1,400,000, not an error, either large or small, was 
ever detected in his accounts. Having remained many years 
in his office, and feeling finally that some other business would 
be more congenial to him, he voluntarily retired. 

Not long after this, however, he was called to still more 
important positions in connection with the Water Works and 
Sinking Fund Commissioners of the City of Cleveland. In 
the latter of these positions he remained till a short time be- 
fore his death. 

In these as well as in every other position, the most strict 
integrity was his rule, and not only this but all his transac- 
tions were free from the ordinary mistakes that most persons 
are liable to make. 

It has already been said that integrity was a great feature 
of his character and the rule of his life. 



•48 ANSALS OF THE 

When he is spoken of as the ''honest man," the man of 
"great integrity," it should not be understood in the limited 
sense in which it is ordinarily used. It was no assumed fea- 
ture of his character that he might possess a good name before 
the world. It was a feature woven into his very nature. He 
loved these characteristics for their own sake; they were hidden 
down deep in his most secret heart. He loved them as he 
loved to think of their great and pure Author. Loving them, 
he endeavored to impress them upon the minds of others who 
might come under his influence, not so much in 'words as by 
the example of his life — thus well exemplifying the sentiment 
contained in the following lines from Longfellow: 

" In the elder days of art, 

Builders wrought with greatest care, 
Each minute and unseen part, 

For the gods see everywhere. . 

" Let us do our work as well. 
Both the unseen and the seen; 
Make the house where gods may dwell, • 
Beautiful, entire and clean." 

That his life, as one symmetrical whole, was illustrative 
of the sentiment in these lines, those who were at all inti- 
mate with him will readily verify, and the more intimate and 
confidential the relation was with him the more clearly was 
this apparent. 

The poet says: 

" 'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view;" 

But whatever may be the ordinary experience, it was not so 
with David H. Beardsley, either in public, private, social or 
domestic life — for he, as builder, "wrought with greatest care 
each minute and unseen part." 

His integrity of character was illustrated in his religious 
convictions. 

He could coincide with no religious creed fully, and there- 
fore, was not willing to subscribe to one that did not in all of 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 49 

its leading features command his assent; and yet no man in 
the community was more ready to commend religion than he. 
His attendance was, in the main, on the Presbyterian Church 
service, and he encouraged his family in a religious life, and 
in making a public profession. 

His views of the Christian Sabbath corresponded to those 
of some of the early reformers — that the Jewish Sabbath 
passes away with the Jewish law, and that the first day of the 
week was to be observed only in grateful remembrance of 
Christ's resurrection. With all this he was a conscientious 
observer of the Lord's day. 

He was an uncompromising enemy of intemperance and a 
friend of the temperance reform, and evinced this friendship 
by both precept and example. 

In theology he was no mere surface reader and thinker. 
He went back to the fundamental principles. 

He was especially versed in the evidences of Christianity — 
not content with reading one author on the subject, lie not 
only read but studied various authorities and could start que- 
ries which the ordinary student could not answer or solve, but 
to him they were clear and answerable, not only from reasons 
found in his reading and studies, but from the logic of his 
own mind. 

He was a student in geology and especially as bearing on 
the first of Genesis, and could, in a private interview of one 
hour, give you the theories and solutions of them, far beyond 
what you could get in the ordinary circles of learned professors. 

What has been said of him with reference to his theological 
knowledge may be said of him in the departments of history, 
philosophy and politics. 

He was a logician and metaphysician, also. He was a 
keen discriminator as to the merits of discourse and argument 
and had not patience with declamation when it was claimed to 
be argument, and mere sophistry would be met by him some- 
times with the most telling sarcasm. 

D 



50 AN]:fALS OF THE 

In metaphysics he was learned far beyond many who claim 
to be learned in the mysteries of that science — and the able 
metaphysicians of the age would have been astonished in an 
encounter with Mr, Beardsley when he would freely enter into 
discussion on metaphysical subjects. 

It may be said that it is surprising he should have accom- 
plished so much and have become so learned. Not so. For a 
score of years as canal collector he had four or five months of 
leisure every year, and his leisure days and evenings were not 
allowed to pass without adding to his storehouse of knowl- 
edge. Also, after he had retired from that office, he had equal 
facilities for reading and study which he sedulously improved. 

It is not our province to enter into the sanctuary of home 
and speak of him in his relations of husband and father — there 
are those living who feel how sacred these relations were, espe- 
cially the relation of father — and now that he has gone from 
them, long years of busy life will not suffice to efface these 
precious memories. One trait of character may be spoken of 
here which was common both in the family as well as in other 
relations — that is his kindness of heart. 

It has been supposed by many who had merely business 
relations with him as a public functionary, that he was cold 
and austere and unapproachable. This was not so; on the 
contrary, he was on all proper occasions as warm-hearted and 
approachable and kind as even a fond and tender mother. He 
had kind words for those in his employ, while he was in of- 
fice as collector, that will ever be remembered, particularly by 
one who now attributes his success and position in life to kind 
and encouraging words of Mr. Beardsley. In the work as col- 
lector's clerk at one time there occurred a succession of er- 
rors, and the young man made up his mind to leave because 
of these errors, but Mr. Beardsley remarked in the kindest 
of manner, "we must all live and learn; we are none of us 
perfect." From that moment more courage was inspired, and 
the young man went on anew during the whole year with 



EARL Y SETTLERS' ASSO CIA TION. 5 1 

scarcely a recurring error. A friendship began at that time 
between the employer and that clerk that continued till death 
terminated the earthly relation. The one who now addresses 
you was that clerk. Notwithstanding this, he was austere in 
the performance of his public duty and carried his principles 
into practice. In one respect this was particularly marked. 

All who were masters of boats navigating the canal were 
obliged to make oath to the amount of cargo they had on 
board. This oath was for the most part administered by him. 

The oath being required by law and the name of God be- 
ing used, he would not administer the oath as a mere form or 
ceremony as is generally done, but would always proceed to 
do it in the most solemn and impressive manner and with un- 
covered head, and always requiring the one taking the oath to 
uncover also. This was but being consistent Avith himself — 
believing in God and in revelation, he could not do otherwise 
than he did (as he believed) without '"'taking the name of the 
Lord in vain." 

Another firm and unyielding feature in his character was 
the conviction that the laws, while they remained such, must 
be implicitly obeyed ; that no infraction of them was to be 
winked at, nor was their effect to be nullified by a weak senti- 
mentalism under the guise of mercy and good- will. 

His reply to all who inveighed against the rigors of the law 
was that he did not make the laws — that while they existed 
upon the statute book they must be obeyed, and the repeal of 
them must be by the law-making power. It will naturally bo 
asked " is there no member of the family of this distinguished 
citizen still living?" I answer: Yes. Mrs. Bingham, the 
accomplished wife of Hon. William Bingham, formerly our 
State Senator, is his daughter and only surviving child. 

Much more might be said of the deceased; even an inter- 
esting volume might be written on the subject, but it has not 
been the object of this sketch to present more than an outline 
of our deceased fellow citizen's life and character. 



52 . ANNALS OF THE 

In conclusion. In a review of the whole life and the 
death of David H. Beardsley, I can only look upon him as a 
faithful soldier in his sphere, who had fought a good fight 
and quietly gone to his rest, almost literally exemplifying the 
words of the old Spanish poem: 

" As thus the dying warrior prayed, 
Without one gathering mist or shade 
Upon his mind, 

Encircled by his family. 
Watched by affection's gentle eye, 
So soft and kind. 

His soul to Him who gave it rose, 
God led it to its long repose. 
Its glorious rest. 

And though the warrior's sun has set, 
Its light shall linger round us yet. 
Bright, radiant, blessed." 

[The life and character of Mr. Beardsley, as estimated by Judge 
Eishop, was received with evident satisfaction, and regarded as not 
only truthful, but eminently worthy of imitation.] 



SONG: "AMERICA." 

ARION QUARTETTE. 



ANNOUNCEMENT OF MEMBERS DECEASED 
DURING THE PAST YEAR. 

BY REV. THOMAS CORLETT. 

The following are the names of members of the Association 
who have departed this life during the past year, including a 
statement of place and year of birth, when residence com- 
menced in the Western Reserve, and date of decease, viz: 

Daniel Beers, born in N". J., 1816. Eeserve in 1818; 
died Dec. 4, 1880. Dr. D. G. Branch, born in Vt., 1805. 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 53 

Eeserve in 1833; died Dec. 23, 1880. Elias Cozad, born in 
IS". J., 1790. Eeserve in 1808; died Sept., 1880. Rev. A. S. 
Hayden, born in Ohio, 1813. Reserve in 1835; died Sept. 10, 

1880. Harvey Taylor, born in Ohio, 1814. Reserve m 
1814; died Nov., 1880. Ahimiaz Sherwin, born in Vt., 
1792. Reserve in 1818; died Jan. 24, 1881. Elijah Bing- 
ham, born in N. H., 1800. Reserve in 1831; died July 10, 

1881. Aaron Clark, born in Conn., 1811. Reserve in 1832; 
died Jan. 6, 1881. Capt. C. H. Norton, born in N. Y., 
1805. Reserve in 1838; died Feb. 23, 1881. 

The entire number of members who have been removed by- 
death since the organization of the Association, is twelve. Of 
these, not a few were individuals we all delight to honor. The 
hardships and perils which the early settlers of this country 
encountered and overcame, gave them qualities of head and 
heart which, to us, their descendants, are of inestimable 
value, and which we shall do well to imitate and cherish, and 
so hand down to posterity, as our fathers have to us, a goodly 
heritage, worthy of a free and enlightened people. 

Though more or less might be said relative to the lives of 
deceased members which would, perhaps, be of public inter- 
est, yet in the announcement of their deaths it is not expected 
that a biographical sketch of each will be appended, or can be 
furnished within the brief period that has elapsed since their 
decease. In a few instances, however, where deceased mem- 
bers were well known to the public, a brief notice of their life- 
work seems desirable in connection with their final departure. 

Rev. a. S. Hayden was, for nearly fifty years, an active 
and efficient minister in the ministry of the Disciple Church. 
He was also a composer of music, and was one of the com- 
mittee which compiled the Christian Hymn-book, now used 
by that denomination; and to him, perhaps, more than to any 
other, is that body of Christians indebted, not only for its 
church music, but also for his latest work, the " History of 
the Disciples of the Western Reserve." 



54 ANNALS OF THE 

In 1850 he was chosen Principal of the Western Reserve 
Eclectic Institute (now Hiram College), and this position he 
filled honorably for seven years; since which time he has 
filled honorable offices in that church, and left an impress up- 
on those among whom he labored that will not soon be for- 
gotten. 

Mr. Ahimiaz Sherwin, for sixty-three years a resident 
of Clevehind, leaves us a record honorable to himself, and 
worthy of our imitation. He was one of Cleveland's earliest 
builders and land purchasers, and may be justly ranked 
among the most active promoters of Cleveland's growth and 
prosperity; nor did his interest in this direction cease until 
he was called to his heavenly state. Long will his kind and 
genial spirit be cherished by those who knew him. 



CALL FOR VOLUNTEER SPEECHES. 

On call. for volunteer speeches, the following gentlemen 
responded in an interesting manner: Dr. E. D. Burton, T. 
D. Crocker, Esq., Hon. E,. C. Parsons and Mr. H. M. Addi- 
son. The exercises of the day were then closed by singing 
" The Early Settlers' Hymn" (tune Old Hundred), by the 
quartette and audience: 

THE EARLY SETTLERS' HYMN. 

Still pilgrims in a favored land, 

Who long have lingered on the way, 
How blest to meet and grasp the hand, 

And crown with joy our festive day ! — 

And tell of years whose scenes return, 

Like shadows on our pathway cast; 
And catch from living lips that burn 

The fleeting memories of the past. 

And while we trace from whence we sprung, 

And early friendships fain renew. 
Still let us dream that we are young. 

And though a dream, believe it true ! 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 55 

Nor days forget when first we heard 

Life's battle-cry, and sought the field ; 
When lofty aims our bosoms stirred, 

And faith had armed us with her shield. 

'Twas courage, then, with youthful zeal, 

That led us onward, flushed with pride; 
'Tis years, now ripe, that make us feel 

How swiftly glides life's ebbing tide ! 

Yet while we here prolong our stay. 

We'll keep our pledge of love and truth ; 
And when we pass the darkened way. 

Ascend and share immortal youth ! 



APPENDIX, 



WHAT I RECOLLECT. 

[COMMUNICATED.] 

The writer of this article first saw Cleveland in 1811, 
when a small boy. Then, what now is a grand and growing 
city, could hardly be called a village. A few houses of the 
primitive order located along Superior street between the 
river and the Public Square, with here and there a temporary 
dwelling in the bushy vicinity, gave but a slight indication that 
it was the beginning of a future large city; or that there were 
then some who would live to see Cleveland what she now is, 
a great city, was not anticipated by any at that time. 

My father settled between the two villages, Cleveland and 
Newburgh, in April, 1812, which brought us into a position 
to observe the various changes occurring in the two aspiring 
villages from year to year. 

I remember when there was no court house in Cleveland, 
nor a church building in Cuyahoga county, nor a bridge across 
the river from the outlet to Cuyahoga Falls. The outlet of 
the river at that time was some 120 yards west of where it is 
now, and was sometimes completely barred across with sand 
by storms, so that men, having on low shoes, have walked 
across without wetting their feet. A ferry at the foot of Su- 
perior street, consisting of one flat boat and a skiff answered 
the purpose to convey over the river all who desired for quite 
a number of years. 

When a boy I frequently visited the family of Dr. David 
Long, living in a log house on the top of the hill in the rear 
of where the American House now stands. The doctor's 
premises extended from Superior street to the river. Who 
would have dreamed in those days that the side-hill where the 



60 ANNALS OF THE 

doctor pastured his cows, would, in after years, be rendered so 
entirely useless for the purpose it was then used for, by laying- 
out streets (Champlain and Canal), and by digging a canal 
across it, extending to the Ohio Kiver, and the ruin brought 
on the doctor's garden-spot, by running Long street through it? 

I recollect seeing, on the Public Square, the gallows of 
John Omic, the Indian who was hung in 1812 for killing two 
white men. That same year the first court house was built 
by the late Captain Levi Johnson. It was located on the 
Square about where the northwest fountain now is; the west 
end of the lower story served for a jail, and the east end as a 
residence for the jailor's family. The upper or second story 
was the court-room. 

In this building ex-Treasurer William Waterman's father 
lived as jailor during several of the last years that the build- 
ing remained on the ground. 

In that-court room the Episcopalians held their meetings 
before Trinity Church was built on the east corner of Seneca 
and St. Clair, the Eev. Mr. Freeman being their pastor. At 
the same time the Presbyterians occupied the old academy, 
where engine house No. 1 now is; but before the academy was 
built they met in a little frame school house on St. Clair 
street, a little east of the Kennard. Revs. McLain and 
Bradstreet were their first regular ministers. The father of 
the late John Barr preached occasionally. The Baptists or- 
ganized and occupied the academy after the Presbyterians had 
moved to the third story of a house which your correspond- 
ent helped to build for Dr. Long, where the American House 
is. On the ground floor were two stores; one was occupied 
by the firm of John McCurdy and Prentis Dow. McCurdy 
had recently arrived from Connecticut, and Dow had been a 
clerk for Irad Kelley. At that time there was but one public 
cemetery in Cleveland. Its location was where Prospect 
street and several lots south of Prospect intersect Ontario; 
there had been quite a number of soldiers buried on the bank 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATIOy. 61 

of the lake, not far from Ontario street, during the war of 
1812-14, but subsequently the land slides carried them into 
the Lake. 

About the year 1836, the ambitious men of Cleveland 
concluded that a better court house was a necessity; accord- 
ingly, through their county commissioner, David Long, it 
was resolved to have a house that would be a lasting ornament 
to the place. Henry L. Noble was called to draw the plan. 
The plan being satisfactory, the job was let to H. L. Noble 
and George C. Hills, and the work commenced in the spring 
of 1837. Esquire Stanley, of Tvvinsburg, was superintendent 
of the mason work, and the second court house was erected on 
the Square about where the southwest fount is. In 1837 came 
the noted sickly season; the season that the water was let 
into the northern division of the Ohio Canal; your corres- 
pondent being one of the number who worked on the Court- 
house, and remained Avell while most of the men and boys were 
iinable to work, put in more days during that season than 
any other hand. 

About 1833, the village of Cleveland began to put on airs 
and to enact and enforce municipal laws. John W. Allen 

was elected mayor, and Marshall was elected marshal, 

otc. This was the summer -that the cholera first made its ap- 
pearance in Cleveland. A quarantine was established by 
having a man stationed on the jiier day and night with a 
loaded musket to intercept any vessel that should dare to 
outer the harbor without a proper quarantine permit. Doctor 
Cowles, brother to Samuel Cowles, attorney-at-laAV, and Doctor 
Mcllvane, both having recently come to Cleveland, and board- 
ing at C. L. Lathrop's, on Water street, were appointed a 
board of health and visiting committee. 

One afternoon the steamboat Henry Clay was seen head- 
ing for the port of Cleveland, and on its being ascertained 
that the cholera was on board, and not well men enough to 
man the boat, she was permitted to tie up at the mouth of the 



62 • ANNALS OF THE 

river. Doctors Cowlos and Mcllvane went on board every 
day for a few days and prescribed for the sick, and then the 
boat was taken to Bhick Rock and tied up till the cholera 
season was over. 

On Christmas day, in 1825, there was a shooting match to 
see who could win the most geese and chickens. Turkeys were 
not much domesticated about Cleveland at that time, but 
there were plenty of wild ones to be found within the present 
corporation limits. The shooting was done from a rail fence 
on the line of Superior street, where the front of McGillin's 
store now is. From the fence southerly to the river the space 
was clear of obstructions, except patches of bushes and scat- 
tering stumps. A little west of the shooting position was the 
blacksmith shop with the significant sign-board, '' Uncle 
Abram Works Here," and the rack for shoeing oxen, that 
stood by the side of the shop, indicated that " Uncle Abram's '^ 
(Hickox) sign told the truth. On the opposite side of the 
street was the competing blacksmith. In the only newspaper 
in Cleveland, a weekly, might be found this advertisement; 
" David Burroughs may be found by the sign of the anchor 
and the sound of the hammer." 

That winter I went to school at the newly-built academy, 
then standing where engine house No. 1 now stands, on St. 
Clair street. The male pupils of that school, under the in- 
struction of Harvey Rice, now President of the Early Settlers' 
Association, were Jesse Pease, Albert Kingsbury, Louis Dib- 
ble, Henry H. Dodge, Samuel Williamson, Henry Blair, Wol- 
cott Bliss, Don Mcintosh, myself, and several whose names I 
cannot recall. Of the females who attended that school fifty- 
five years ago there were quite a number. One is still living 
in the city, one in Rockport, this county, and one in Cincin- 
nati. Seven of that school beside their teacher, are still living 
that I know of. Whether any others survive I am unable to 
say. 

About the beginning of the summer of 1826 the Franklin 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 63 

House was completed for a hotel, and about that time N. E. 
Crittenden came to Cleveland and set up a watch and jewelry 
establishment next door east of the Franklin, in a little one- 
story brick, built by the Terhoeven Bros., to carry on brandy 
making by a process kept secret by them. Crittenden's was 
the first watch and jewelry store established in Cleveland, and, 
though not very extensive, or rich in materials, its contents 
attracted the attention of sight-seers, and many of the glitter- 
ing gems were eagerly sought for, especially by some of the 
lads and lasses, who liked to make a little display of fine 
things. It is a good while since that store gave place to a larger 
and better one through the energy and business capacity of 
the late N. E. Crittenden. 

Previous to building the Franklin House the site was occu- 
pied by'a small one-and-a-half-story frame house, owned and 
occupied by Philo Scovill. To make room for the Franklin, 
which was to be a three-story frame building, the small house 
was moved to H. L. Noble's lot, on the north side of the 
Public Square, about half way between the Savings institu- 
tion and Ontario street. That was the first and only home on 
that side of the Square for over a year. In that house, which 
consisted of one room on the first floor, which answered the 
purpose of a kitchen, dining-room and parlor, with a bed- 
room and pantry attached to it, and two small chambers up- 
stairs, Henry L. and his wife Hopey Johnson Noble, first set 
up housekeeping; and they also found room to board from one 
to four men in Noble's employ. Subsequently they attained 
to greater aflluence, but now they lie in Woodland Cemetery, 
while year by year some of the few left who remember them 
in 1826, follow after. 

When I pass along the north side of the Square I some- 
times try to locate the spot near the sidewalk where Noble's 
well was. It was there I once had a little anxiety to know 
how a certain occurrence might terminate. Preparatory to 
occupying the new quarters, I was requested to go with a man 



64 ANNALS OF THE 

by the name of Jones, a well digger and cleaner, and assist in 
cleaning the well. When we arrived at the well Jones drew 
the water out, and then took from his pocket a pint bottle 
full of whisky, uncorked it, put it to his lips, drank about 
two-thirds, then set the bottle down and commenced descend- 
ing the well, which was from twenty to twenty-five feet deep. 
I had seen some big dram drinking in my boyhood excursions, 
but that was the biggest swig I ever saw taken at one pull. 
Then came trouble in my meditations. What to do was diffi- 
cult to decide, I supposed that Jones, who was a heavy man, 
would be helplessly intoxicated at the bottom of the well 
before he could clean it and come out, and the water might 
run in and drown him while I was after help to extricate him 
from his impending fate. On mature deliberation I concluded 
to stick by and watch the progress of affairs, and if any per- 
sons came in sight, to notify them of the predicament of my 
companion in the well. But as good luck would have it, Jones 
was proof against two-thirds of a pint of the pure article to 
start on. Be finished his job, came out and drank the re- 
mainder of the pint, and then went away in a business-like 
manner, in pursuit of another job. 

It has been said that the first court house was built of 
logs. This is a mistake. It was a frame, except the jail room 
on the lower floor, which was constructed with logs notched 
together and sided up like the other parts of the building. I 
helped build the second court house, which was a brick 
structure, and for that reason it was supposed it would outlast 
a century. It occupied the ground where the south corner 
fountain is, as many who saw it before it was taken down re- 
member. All the doors and sash for it were made by hand, 
and the flooring dressed by hand. There was no labor-saving 
machinery to do a part of the work of carpenters when the 
second court house was being constructed. We worked in 
summer from sunrise to sunset, but were favored in June and 
July with an hour nooning. Truly, times have changed, since 



EARL Y SETTLERS' ASSO CIA TIOX. 65 

a man can now do a legal day's work in from four to five 
hours less time than was required when some of us were young 
men. Of those employed on that building I am not certain 
that I am not the last one living. If there are any to respond 
who worked on the old brick court house, or on the old Trin- 
ity Church in 1828, I would like to hear from them. 

I. A. Morgan". 

Cleveland, February 4, 1881. 



THE OLDEST RESIDENT. 

[Copied from the Sunday Voice]. 

• 

John Doane, of Collamer, the oldest living pioneer of 
Cuyahoga county, came to Cleveland in April, 1801. He was 
born June 28, 1798, and consequently is now almost eighty- 
three years of age, although he looks to be much younger. The 
distinction of being the oldest male inhabitant of the county 
invests Mr. Doane with public interest, and the facts regard- 
ino- both his ancestors and his life while here will be read with 
pleasure. Mr. Doane is descended from one of the oldest fam- 
ilies in the country, and his family for generations has sup- 
plied substantial and worthy members of the community. 
While heredity does not possess the significance in this coun- 
try that it does abroad, it is always a matter to be gratified at 
that our ancestors have been useful men and good citizens. 
The original John Doane, the founder of the Doane family 
in this county, crossed the Atlantic in one of the first three 
ships that sailed to Plymouth, landing at that famous spot in 
the year 1630. A brother came after and settled in Canada, 
and founded a family that now has numerous branches in the 
Dominion. Another brother settled in Virginia, and also 
founded an extensive connection. 

E 



66 AySALS OF THE 

John Doaue, the ancestor, took a prominent and useful 
part in the affairs of Plymouth colony, and in 1633 was chosen 
assistant to Governor Winslow. Subsequently in 1639 he was 
chosen one of the Commissioners to revise the laws. In 1642 
he was again made assistant to the Governor, and in 1647 and 
for several years succeeding he was elected Deputy to the Col- 
ony Court. In addition to the civil offices which he held he 
was made a deacon in the church at Plymouth and at East- 
ham. He died in 1 685 at the advanced age of ninety-five 
years. His wife's name was Abigail, and by her he had five 
children — Lydia, Abigail, John, Ephraim and Daniel. All of 
these were the progenitors of large families, whose descend- 
ants are numerous in that section. 

Daniel Doane had four, children by his first wife, among 
Avhom was Joseph Doane, who was born June 27th, 1669, three 
years after the fire and plague of London. 

Joseph had twelve children by two wives. He was a dea- 
con of the church at Eastham for forty years, and was a pious 
and God-fearing man. His first child was named Mary, after 
her mother, and the second Joseph, after the father. 

Joseph Jr., was born November 15th, 1693, and married 
Deborah Haddock, September 30th, 1725. He moved to Mid- 
dle Haddam, near Middletown, on the Connecticut river, and 
there engaged in ship building. His children were Joseph, 
Nathaniel, Seth, Eunice and Phineas. Seth was born June 
9th, 1733, and married Mercy Parker, February 23d, 1758. 
"Both died in 1803. They had nine children, Seth, Timothy, 
Elizabeth, Nathaniel, Job (died early), Mercy, Job, John M. 
and Deborah. The two Seth Doanes, father and son, were 
taken prisoners by the British from a merchant vessel in 1776, 
during the Eevolutionary war, the father, at the time, being 
mate of the vessel on which he was captured. They were re- 
leased in 1777, and soon after the younger Seth died from 
sickness contracted while a prisoner and due to his captivity. 

Nearlv all of these children came west and settled in and 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 67 

around Cleveland. Nathaniel was the iirst Doane to reach 
this vicinity. He came here in 1796 with a surveying party, 
and in 1798 moved with his family. The route of emigration 
was down the Connecticut river, along the coast by vessel to 
New York, up the Hudson river, across by land to Lake On- 
tario, and thence by boat to the mouth of Cuyahoga river. 
The family lived in the then little village of Cleveland, until 
the next fall, when they removed to what is now East Cleve- 
land, settling at the " Corners," just this side of Wade Park. 
The children of Nathaniel Doane were Sarah, Job (died 
young). Job, Delia, Nathaniel and Mercy. W. H. Doane, of 
Cleveland, is a son of Job Doane. 

Timothy Doane moved from Connecticut to Herkimer 
county, New York, about the year 1794. In 1801 he followed 
his brother Nathaniel to Cleveland, arriving here in April. 
On the way he stopped at Fairport, where the boat on which 
he had journeyed from Buffalo stopped. From Fairport he 
and his family performed the journey on horseback to Cleve- 
land. Timothy's family consisted of himself and wife, and 
six children — Nancy, Seth, Timothy, Mary, Deborah and 
John. Of these only one besides John is living — Deborah, 
'the mother of T. D. Crocker, who was born January 
14, 1796. Nancy Doane married Samuel Dodge, the father 
of General H. H. and George C. Dodge. Seth married 
Lucy Clark, and was the father of David Clark Doane, Mar- 
garet A., wife of A. S. Gardner, and Seth Cary Doane. Chil- 
dren of each of them reside in Cleveland. Timothy had eleven 
children, whose descendants reside mostly in East Cleveland. 

John, the subject of the present sketch, was born in 1798, 
and having been brought to Cleveland in 1801, has been a res- 
ident here for 78 years. There were only a few log huts 
here at the time, and the country was very wild. It is a 
somewhat noteworthy circumstance that he has lived within 
one hundred yards of the same spot where he now resides since 
1801. 



G8 AyXAL.S OF THE 

111 January, 1829, John married Olivia Baldwin, who lived 
but a short time. In September, 1832, he married Sophia 
Taylor, and by her had six children — Mary S., Abigail Corde- 
lia, Edward B., Anna 0., Harriet S. , and John Willis, all of 
whom are living and reside in or near Cleveland. 

He has been a -^vitness of all the principal events of local 
interest from the building of the first frame house in the 
county to the present time. He saw the Indian Oniic hung 
in 1812, and has a distinct recollection of the event, as it oc- 
curred on the Square, nearly in front of where J. M. Eichards 
& Co.'s establishment is now. A storm came on during the 
hanging of Omic, and he was cut down and the body put into 
a box, which, it was afterward ascertained, the doctors got 
hold of at night. 

Mr. Doane has been a Republican in politics ever since the 
organization of the party. He has never taken an active in- 
terest in politics, to which is probably due much of his good 
health and peace of mind. He is to-day one of the most ac- 
tive old men in the county. He gets around in a lively man- 
ner, and is generally on the go. He has never used tobacco 
in any form, nor has he ever indulged in ardent spirits. He 
attributes his longevity and health to daily exercise and regu- 
lar habits. 

Mr. Doane's present home is just east of the Euclid Ave- 
nue House, while the old Doane farm, where he lived so many 
years, is directly opposite. 

The majority of Doanes in this section spell their names 
without the final letter of the original name; a custom that 
was introduced some fifty or more years since, and has been 
kept up by all the families here excej^t by the descendants 
of John Doane. 



EABLY SETTLEES- ASSOCIATIoy. 69 

LETTER FROM MR. T. D. CROCKER. 

Cleveland, 0., August 9, 1881. 
Hon. Harvey Rice, 

Dear Sir: Yours of the 27th ult., asking me to furnish 
the '' Early Settlers' Association " with the substance of my 
remarks at the meeting on the 22d of July, Avas received on 
my return from Chicago. After narrating some of my early 
recollections of Cleveland and its vicinity, I gave, in substance, 
the experience of my grandfather on the maternal side. 
Judge Timothy Doane, in migrating to this part of the then 
Northwestern Territory. Mr. Doane was ,born in Middle 
Haddam, in the State of Connecticut, in about the year 1757. 
His father, Seth Doane, owned and sailed, as the captain, a 
merchant vessel to foreign ports. He carried his son, Tim- 
othy Doane, when about the age of fifteen years, to sea, and 
taught him the science of navigation; and, at the age of twen- 
ty-two, he (Timothy Doane) was well qualified to sail a vessel 
as master, and he took the place of his father, who left the 
ocean. When about thirty years of age, he was the owner of 
the vessel he sailed, and continued in that business, trading 
in France, Spain, and the West Indies. He not only became 
the owner of the vessel but of the cargo also, and had de- 
cided to leave the ocean when he was at the age of forty. 
On his home-bound voyage he encountered a severe storm, 
and the only means of saving the ship was to throw over its 
cargo, consisting mostly of sugar, molasses and coffee, and 
then, as a last resort, to cut away the masts. The hull then 
floated until they almost despaired of life — the hull being in a 
leaky condition. Their signal of distress was at last seen by a 
vessel, Avhich took them off. When he reached home he said 
to his wife that he had lost all. His wife replied that she 
was willing it should all go if he would leave the sea, and not 
take his sons. Soon after that he left for Herkimer county, 
New York. My mother, Mrs. Deborah Crocker, a daughter 



70 AXXALS OF THE 

of Judge Timothy Doane, was born in Herkimer county, on 
the 11th day of January, 1796, and John Doane, Esq., of 
East Cleveland, the youngest of the family, was born on the 
21st day of June, 1798, and both are present to-day. 

The hardships endured by Timothy Doane prior to this 
time well fitted him for a pioneer settler of the Northwestern 
Territory, and on the 11th day of January, 1801, he started 
with his family, for Cleveland. They were taken in a two- 
horse sleigh to Buffalo; his household goods Avere cdnvej^ed in 
a large sled, drawn by two yoke of oxen, ' One yoke of oxen 
and the sled were owned by the man whom he hired to assist 
him, and who returned home after he had landed them in 
Buffalo. The sleigh in which the familv came was taken to 
pieces at Buffalo, and brought here on the boat, and was sup- 
posed to be the first one brought to this country. 

On reaching Buffalo they found the lake open, the winter 
having been very mild. It being the general opinion in Buf- 
falo that the lake would be frozen over in February, Mr. 
Doane decided to leave his family at Buffalo and proceed 
to Cleveland with his horses, oxen and young cattle. Before 
leaving he made arrangements for his family to leave for 
Cleveland when the weather and condition of the lake would 
permit. There was no wagon road between Buffalo and 
Cleveland at that time, only an Indian trail. He took with 
him corn to feed his stock on the way, and clothing for him- 
self and son Timothy, Jr., who accompanied him. The 
eldest of the family, Seth, with Nathaniel, his uncle, had pre- 
ceded the family some two years. In crossing the streams, 
they placed their portmanteaus, containing their clothing, 
etc., on the horns of the cattle, to prevent them being wet. 
They swim, as it is known, with a high head. When the 
lake would permit them they traveled on the beach, and 
when it would not, they would drive the stock on the 
bank, keeping the lake in sight as their guide. In crossing 
one stream which was very wide, and much swollen, Mr. 



EABZr SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. . 71 

Doaiie had to swim his horse, and lead each animal into the 
water, which was so cold that they utterly refused to be driven 
into it. He crossed and recrossed the stream thirteen times. 
When across, they built a fire by means of an old, tinder box 
and flint, by which they dried their clothing. 

In March the rest of the family left Buffalo, with their 
goods and provisions, in an open boat, rowed by two Indians 
and two white men, pursuing their Journey westerly, land- 
ing every night, pulling up the boat on the beach, pitching 
their tent on the bank, and building their camp fire, making 
their beds, and cooking their meals. About the time tliey 
reached Erie, then called Presque Isle, Mr. Doane and his 
brother met them. When off the mouth of Grand Kiver, 
near what is now the town of Painesville, Judge Walworth 
and General Paine, early settlers of that country, who daily 
went to the bank of the lake to see if there were any immi- 
grants in distress, or in need of assistance, saw this boat, and 
that there was a storm approaching. They signalled them to 
come ashore, and about the time the signal was hoisted, the 
Indians discovered the approach of the storm, and they headed 
towards shore. The beach would not admit of landing until 
they were near the current of the river, which, coming in 
contact with the waves, swamped the boat. Mr. Doane car- 
ried his wife ashore; his brother, the white men and Indians 
carried the children. In a short time the tent washed ashore, 
which they immediately pitched for their accommodation; 
then came the beds and bedding, which had been closely 
rolled and corded; then their year's supply of flour, and all 
the light articles. In the morning, after the storm had sub- 
sided, the Indians went out into the lake, righted the boat, 
bailed it out, rolled out the barrels of pork and hams, and got 
them ashore and gathered up the cooking utensils, then reload- 
ed the boat, preparatory to resuming their journey. General 
Paine and Judge AA'alworth came down in the morning to see 
how they were situated. Mrs. Doane declined going in the 



72 AyyALs of the 

boat again, if horses could be obtained to come by land, which 
were tendered to them by the said gentlemen. Mrs. Doane 
and the younger children were placed in the care of his 
brother Nathaniel, to come by land. Nancy Doane, the eld- 
est child, and mother of General H. H. Dodge and George C. 
Dodge, the treasurer of this Association, said, " I will go 
with father," and she accompanied her father in the boat. 
Mr. Doane proceeded on his journey with the boat. When 
Mrs. Doane, and the younger members of the family, 
reached Chagrin Eiver, they found it swollen, and full to the 
banks. Mrs. Doane asked her brother \\o^v they could cross, 
he said to her, there is a man on the other side of the river, 
named Abbott, who has a canoe; he will ferry us across. 
When they reached the east bank, and were discovered by Mr. 
Abbott, he pushed out his little frail bark into the angry 
stream; the current carried him down, and he landed on the 
other side a quarter of a mile below the place from which he 
had started, and then rowed up stream to Mr. Doane, and in- 
formed him that he could take but one at a time. Mrs. 
Doane' s heart almost sank Avithin her when she saw the 
rapid current and the frail canoe that was to take them 
over, saying that she might as well have risked her life, and 
that of the family, in the boat on the lake. She decided to 
venture first, and stepped into the little canoe, and seated 
herself in the bottom, taking hold of each side of the boat 
with her hands. Thus he continued to cross, and recross, 
until all Avere over. The horses Avere driven into the riA'er 
and swam across; it taking more than half a day to convey 
them over. They were three days in going from Painesville 
to Cleveland. The boat in which Mr, Doane came reached 
Cleveland at the same time. They were three weeks in per- 
forming the journey from Buffalo to Cleveland. At that 
time there Avere only four log cabins in Cleveland, occupied 
by Major Carter, Mr. Spafford, Mr. David Clark, and Mr. 
Stiles. All Avest of Cuyahoga RiA'er Avas Indian Territory. 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 73 

Mr. Timothy Doane settled in Euclid, now East Cleve- 
land. The Indians camped on Mr. Doane' s premises, occu- 
pying during winter a portion east of the Cuyahoga River, as 
hunting ground. Mr. Doane never turned them away hun- 
gry; never refused them lodging, Indian fashion, around liis 
kitchen fire; and they, on the other hand, never committed 
any depredations, but brought to Mr. Doane the first fish 
caught in the spring, and the first fruit and game in its sea- 
son. Mr. Doane regarded them as good neighbors. 

My grandfather, Jedediah Crocker, emigrated from Lee, 
Massachusetts, some nine years later; his family came in a 
covered carriage, similar in style to a rockaway, and said to 
have been the first one in this part of the country. His house- 
hold goods were brought in a large covered wagon, drawn by 
two yoke of oxen and one horse. The wagon was covered 
with sole-leather, for use when here, and then a canvas over 
that. He purchased a large tract of land in the vicinity of 
what is now Collinwood, in this county, and also in the town- 
ship of Dover. 

"Among the articles brought into this country by Mr. Tim- 
othy Doane, was a box of glass, seven inches by nine in size, 
for the windows of his log house; but finding no one Avho 
could make the sash, they used oiled paper tacked on striiDs of 
board instead. 

How changed the present mode of traveling, and what im- 
provements those now living who came here in 1801 have 
seen. 

Respectfully, 

T. D. Crockee. 



74 ANNALS OF THE 

CLEVELAND WHEN A VILLAGE. 

[CONTRIBUTED BY ARA SPRAGUE.] 

Mr. President: 

Tliougli not a member of your Society, I was, in my earlier 
days, a resident of Cleveland. I emigrated from St. Lawrence 
county, N. Y., in 1818, with a full determination to earn my 
own living, and make my home in Ohio. I stopped at Ash- 
tabula, but was not satisfied with that location, and strapped 
my knapsack on my back, and started for Cleveland. There 
were only two buildings (and those log) between Doan's cor- 
ners and the Public Square. I arrived in Cleveland, April 9, 
1818, a few weeks after the first census had been taken. Its 
population was at that time but one hundred and seventy-two 
souls; all poor, and struggling hard to keep soul and body 
together. Small change was very scarce. They used what 
were called corporation shinplasters, as a substitute. The in- 
habitants were mostly New England people, aud seemed to be 
living in a wilderness of scrub oaks. Only thirty or forty 
acres had been cleared. Most of the occupied town lots were 
fenced with rails. I put up at Howe's tavern, on the corner 
of Water and Superior streets. In one room of that building 
the first newspaper was printed. It was a small paper, some- 
thing larger than a sheet of foolscap, but it answered the 
j)urpose for the times and business of the village. At that 
time the clearing extended from the foot of Superior lane (so- 
called) east a few rods beyond the square. About where the 
Gushing block now stands were four or five small dwellings, 
inhabited by a difEerent class from the rest. This locality 
was called ''Podunk," and directly back of these buildings 
was the first burying ground. At that time there were two 
.taverns, one kept by Mr. Howe, and the other by Mr, Wallace. 
Noble H.Merwin was buildino- what was then called a lars^e 
hotel, on the corner of South Water and Superior streets, 
which opened in 1819. There were three stores, Elisha Tay- 
lor's, Irad Kelley's, and Nathan Perry's, and also one small 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 75 

grocery; two physicians, Drs. Long and Mcintosh; two lawyers, 
Leonard Case and Alfred Kelley. Aslihel W. Walworth was 
justice of the peace. Ben Tuell was constable, and worked 
at the jewelry business. Mr. Walworth was a hatter; Dea- 
con Hamlin and Philo Scovill were carpenters; Moses White 
was a tailor; George Kirke was a shoemaker; Matliew Wil- 
liamson owned a tannery at the foot of Union lane, (so I 
did); two blacksmiths, David Burroughs and Abram Hickox; 
and Christopher Gunn kept the ferry. These comprised the 
professions and tradesmen at that time. As yet no minister 
of the gospel had arrived, nor had a church edifice been built. 
One small school-house and a brick academy,, however, had 
been erected; in the latter, religious services were sometimes 
held on the Sabbath. In 1819 courts were held in the cham- 
ber of the log jail, as no court house was yet built. There 
were three warehouses on the river, N. H. Merwin's, Levi 
Johnson's, and Mr. Gaylord's; but very little commercial 
business was done, however, as there was no harbor at that 
time. All freight and passengers were landed on the beach 
by lighters and small boats. To get freight to the ware- 
houses, which Avere a quarter of a mile from the beach, we 
had to roll it over the sand ten or fifteen rods, and load it 
into canal boats. The price of freight from Buffalo to Cleve- 
land was $L00 per barrel; the price of passage on vessels, 
$10.00, and on steamboats $20.00. In 1822, Mr. Merwin 
built a small schooner called the Minerva; it was the first 
one launched into the Cuyahoga Eiver. It was sailed by 
Capt. Clifford Belden. I took passage on her to Buffalo, on 
her first trip; soon afterward, Mr. William Jones built a small 
schooner, called the Ann. In 1825, Mr. Whittlesey, a member 
of Congress, got an api:)ropriation of $5,000 for the improve- 
ment of the harbor, and Mr. Ackley, as contractor, superin- 
tended the commencement of the pier, and sank twelve cribs 
during that year. In 1826, I superintended Avork on the 
harbor, under Capt. Morrice, and sank thirty-one cribs, and 



76 AyjVALS OF THE 

drove piles across the old river-bed, and filled them in with 
brnsh and stone, which increased the water in the new 
channel. In the fall of 1826, I piloted the Henry Clay into 
the harbor, she being the first steamboat that entered the 
Cnyahoga River. In the spring of 1827, I helped set out the 
first shade trees on the north side of the park. In July of 
the same year, the opening of the Ohio canal, between Cleve- 
land and Akron, was celebrated; all rejoiced, and nobody 
dreamed of the terrible reaction that was soon to take place by 
sickness and death. In July and August an epidemic of ty- 
phoid fever prevailed, caused by malaria arising from the 
digging of the canal basin; there were hardly well ones enough 
to take care of the sick. There were seventeen deaths in less 
than two months. A terrible depression of spirits and stagna- 
tion of business ensued. The whole corporation could have 
been bought for what one lot would now cost on Superior 
street. For two months I gave up all business. I went from 
house to house to look after the sick and their uncared for 
business. For one month, every day, I carried Mrs. Wal- 
worth's little babe to Mrs. Hamlin's to nurse; Mrs. Walworth 
was not expected to live, and her husband was also sick. At 
the same time. Dr. Long, his wife and daughter Mary, were 
sick. At the Franklin, where I boarded, were two young men 
sick, by the name of Hall and Opdyke; they had the contract 
for excavating the canal basin, and owned a clothing store. 
Dr. Mcintosh said nothing but the best of care would save 
them. I took care of them nights, and looked after their 
store, and others that were sick, through the day. For over 
a month I did not take off my clothes to go to bed. I took 
my sleep in a chair, or on the floor, ready for the first call. 
People were generally discouraged and anxious to leave. I will 
give the history of one, as I had it from both her and her hus- 
band. She said she left a good home and kind friends, much 
against her own wishes, to folloAV her husband to Cleveland. 
He landed in 1821, at the foot of Superior street, with his 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 77 

small effects, wife and baby, with fifty cents in his pocket. 
She, worn out by the fatigue of a long tedious journey, and 
sea-sickness on the lake, sat down on a trunk to await the 
depositing of their goods in the warehouse. Tears were her 
only relief, and she said death would have been a welcome 
messenger. Her husband did not realize his expectations, 
and wanted to return. She said, no. She had been fool 
enough to follow him to Cleveland, and she did not propose to 
bear the chagrin of returning; he could go back, if he wished, 
but she should stay, live or die, telling him that " a rolling 
stone gathers no moss." They lived it through, and died 
worth their "thousands." 

There are three other women of whom I wish to make 
special mention, that I found at Cleveland in 1818. They 
were all church members, and lived consistent Christian 
lives. In goodness they were the salt of the earth: Mrs. 
Leonard Case, Mrs. Dr. Long, and Mrs. Ashbel Walworth. 
Well may their children be proud of them, and cherish in 
memory their kind acts and benevolent deeds, many of which 
I might mention. I have no doubt there were others equally 
good among the 178 souls. Peter M. Weddell and I have 
killed deer, foxes and squirrels, wild geese, ducks and turkeys, 
not one mile from where the Weddell House now stands. I 
have seen the population of Cleveland increase from 172 souls, 
to its present estimation, about 172,000, and still its grow^tli 
seems as rapid as at any former period. I have visited Cleve- 
land every year since my removal from there many years ago. 
I now reside at Mentor, Lake county, the far-famed home of 
President Garfield. I do not expect I shall ever visit Cleve- 
land again. I am now nearly eighty-eight, and very feeble, 
and must soon pass the portals through which my old associ- 
ates have passed — to a " home Jiot made Avith hands." 

Mentor, July 4, 1881. 



CONSTITUTION. 



ADOPTED, AS AMENDED, JANUARY lO, 18SO. 



ARTICLE I. 

This Association shall be known as the ''Early Settlers' 
Association of Cuyahoga County," and its members shall 
consist of snch persons as have resided in the Western Reserve 
at least forty years, and are citizens of Cuyahoga county, and 
who shall subscribe to this Constitution and pay a member- 
ship fee of one dollar, but shall not be subject to further lia- 
bility. 

ARTICLE 11. 

The officers of this Association shall consist of a President, 
two Vice Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer, with the addi- 
tion of an Executive Committee of not less than five persons, 
all of which officers shall be members of the Association and 
hold their offices for one year, and until their successors are 
duly appointed and they accept their appointments. 

ARTICLE IIL 

The object of the Association shall be to meet in conven- 
tion on the 22d day of July, or the following day if the 22d 
fall on Sunday, each and every year, for the purpose of com- 
memorating the day with appropriate public exercises, and 
bringing the members into more intimate social relations, and 



80 AX\ALS OF THE 

collecting all such facts, incidents, relics, and personal rem- 
iniscences respecting the early history and settlement of the 
county and other parts of the Western Eeserve, as may be re- 
garded of permanent vahie, and transferring the same to the 
Western Eeserve Historical Society for preservation; and also 
for the further purpose of electing oflBcers and transacting 
such other business of the Association as may be required. 

ARTICLE IV. 

It shall be the duty of the President to preside at public 
meetings of the Association, and in his absence the like duty 
shall devolve upon one of the Vice Presidents. The Secretary 
shall record in a book for the purpose the pi-oceedings of the 
Association, the names of the members in alphabetical order, 
with the ages and time of residence at the date of becoming 
members, and conduct the necessary correspondence of the 
Association. He shall also be regarded as an additional mem- 
ber, ex-officio, of the Executive Committee, and may consult 
■with them but have no vote. The Treasurer shall receive and 
pay out all the moneys belonging to the Association, but no 
moneys shall be paid out except on the joint order of the 
Chairman of the Executive Committee and Secretary of the 
Association. No debt shall be incurred against the Associa- 
tion by any officer or member beyond its ready means of pay- 
ment. 

ARTICLE V. 

The Executive Committee shall have the general supervi- 
sion and direction of the affairs of the Association, designate 
the hour and place of holding its annual meetings, and pub- 
lish due notice thereof, with a programme of exercises. The 
committee shall also have power to fill vacancies that may occur 
in their own body or in any other office of the Association, 
until the Association at a regular meeting shall fill the same, 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 81 

and shall appoint such number of subordinate committees as 
they may deem expedient. It shall also be their duty to re- 
port to the Association at its regular annual meetings the con- 
dition of its affairs, its success and prospects, witli such other 
matter as they may deem important. They shall also see that 
the annual proceedings of the Association, including such 
other valuable information as they may have received, are 
properly prepared and published in pamphlet form, and gra- 
tuitously distributed to the members of the Association, as 
soon as practicable after each annual meeting. 

ARTICLE VI. 

At any annual or special meeting of the Association the 
presence of twenty members shall constitute a quorum. No 
special meetings shall be held, except for business purposes 
and on call of the Executive Committee. This Constitution 
may be attested or amended at any regular annual meeting of 
the Association on a three-fourths vote of all the members 
present, and shall take effect, as amended, from the date of its 
adoption. The former Constitution of Nov. 19, 1879, is hereby 
abolished. 



A Complete List 



Of the Members of the Association since its Organi- 
zation, November 19, 1879, to October 1, 1881 
—Total 390— With the Addition of Three 
Honorary Members, Received by 
Unanimous Consent, 



NAME, 


WHEKE BORN, 


WHEN, 


CAME TO 
THE RESERVE, 


DIED. 


Andrews, S. J. 


Connecticut, 


1801 


1835 


1880 


Allen, J. W. 


Connecticut, 


1803 


1835 


• • ■ • 


Adams, S. E. 


New York, 


1818 


1837 





Adams, Darius 


Ohio, 


1810 


1810 


• • • • 


Ackley, J. M. 


Ohio, 


1835 


1835 


• • • • 


Abbey, Seth A. 


New York, 


1798 


1831 


1880 


Addison, H. M. 


Ohio, 


1818 


1818 


• . . . 


Adams, Mrs. Mary A. 


Ohio, 


1811 


1811 


. . * . 


Andrews, Mrs. J. A. 


Ohio, 


1816 


1816 


. • ■ . 


Adams, W. K. 


New York, 


1813 


1831 


• ■ • • 


Anthony, Ambrose 


Massachusetts, 


1810 


1834 


• ■ > • 


Adams, Mrs. E. E. 


Ohio, 


1836 


1836 


• > > . 


Atwell C. K. 


New York, 


1813 


1817 


. • • • 


Adams, G. H. 


England, 


1831 


1840 


.... 


Avery, J. T., Rev, 


New York, 


1810 


1839 


.... 


Angell, George, 


Germany, 


1830 


1838 


. . . . 


Bingham, Elijah 


New Hampshire, 


1800 


1835 


1881 


Burnham, Mrs. M. W. 


Massachusetts, 


1808 


1838 


, , • , 


Baldwin, Dudley 


New York, 


1809 


1819 


. . , , 


Bailey, Eobert 




. . , . 


1834 


, . . . 


Burgess, Solon 


Vermont, 


1817 


1819 


, . , . 


Burton, Dr, E. D. 


Ohio, 


1835 


1835 


.... 


Burgess, L. F. 


Ohio, 


1833 


1833 


, , , . 


Bull, L. S. 


Connecticut, 


1813 


1830 


. . , . 


Beers, D. A. 


New Jersey, 


1816 


1818 


1880 



84 



AKXALS OF THE 



NAME. 

Bliss, Stoughton 
Benedict, L. D. 
Borges, J. F. 
Bury, Tlieodore 
Beverlin, John 
Brett, J. W. 
Bowler, N. P. 
Buhrer, Mrs. Stephen 
Bishop, J. P 
Bishop, Mrs. E. W. 
Beardsley, I. L. 
Burnham, Thos. 
Bingham, William 
Brooks, O. A. 
Barber, Mrs. J. T. 
Burwell, G. P. 
Burwell, Mrs. L. C. 
Branch, Dr. D. G. 
Bartlett, Nicholas 
Babcock, Chas. H. 
Barber, Josiah 
Brayton, H. F. 
Bander, Levi 
Bowler, William 
Beavis, B. R. 
Blossom, H. C. 
Beers, L. F. 
Bander, L. F. 
Bingham, E. Beardsley 
Butts, Bolivar 
Benham, F. M. 
Burns, Mrs. F. M . 
Butts, S. C. 
Brooks, S. C. 
Baldwin, N. C . 
Blair, Elizabeth, 
Blair, Mary Jane, 
Burke, O. M. 
Burton, Mrs. Abby P. 
Gaboon, Joel B. 



WHERE BOEN. 


WUEX. 


CAME TO 
THE RESERVE 


Ohio, 


1833 


1823 


Vermont, 


1837 


1830 


Germany, 
New York, 


1810 

• • • • 


1835 
1839 


Pennsylvania, 
England, 


1813' 
1816 


1834 
1838 


New York, 


1830 


1839 


Germany, 
Vermont, 


1838 
1815 


1840 
1836 


Ohio, 


1831 


1821 


New York, 


1819 


1838 


New York, 


1808 


1833 


Connecticut, 


1816 


1836 


Vermont, 


1814 


1834 


New Hampshire, 
Connecticut, 


1804 

1817 


1818 
1830 


Pennsylvania, 
Vermont, 


1830 
1805 


1824 
1833 


Massachusetts, 


1823 


1833 


Connecticut, 


1833 


1834 . 


Ohio, 


1835 


1825 


New York, 


1812 


1836 


New York, 


1813 


1834 


New York, 


1822 


1833 


England, 


1826 


1834 


Ohio, 


1822 


1822 


Ohio, 


1823 


1823 


Ohio, 


1840 


1840 


Ohio, 


1826 


1826 


New York, 


1826 


1840 


Connecticut, 


1801 


1811 


Ohio, 


1833 


1832 


New York, 


1794 


1840 


Ohio, 


1830 


1820 


Connecticut, 


1802 


1816 


Ohio, 


1818 


1818 


Ohio, 


1820 


1820 


Ohio, 


1823 


1833 


Vermont, 


1805 


1834 


New York, 


1793 


1810 



1880 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION, 



85 



NAME. 


WHERE BOEN. 


WHEN. 


CAME TO 
THE KESEKVE, DIED, 


Cox, John 


England, 


. • • • 


1887 


Corlett, Wm. K. 




• • • • 


1837 


Coe, S. S. 




.... 


1837 


Cross, David W. 


New York, 


■ . . • 


1836 


Cowles, Edwin 


Ohio, 


. . • • 


1832 


Cottrell, L. Dow 


New York, 


1811 


1835 


Corlett, John 


Isle of Man, 


1816 


1836 


Cook, W. P. 


New York, 


1825 


1838 


Cleveland, J. D. 


New York, 


1832 


1835 


Clark, James F. 


New York, 


1809 


1833 


Clark, Aaron 


Connecticut, 


1811 


1832 1881 


Carlton, C. C. 


Connecticut, 


1812 


1831 


Cozad, Elias 


New Jersey, 


1790 


1808 1880 


Cutter, 0. P, 


Ohio, 


1824 


1824 


Corlett, Thomas 


Isle of Man, 


1820 


1827 


Crittenden, Mrs. M. A, 


New York, 


1802 


1827 


Chapman, H. M . 


Ohio, 


1830 


1830 


Christian, James 


Isle of Man, 


1810 


1838 


Carson, Marshal 


New York, 


1810 


1834 


Craw, William V. 


New York, 


1810 


1832 


Crawford, Lucian 


Ohio, 


1828 


1828 


Crosby, Thomas D . 


Massachusetts, 


1804 


1811 


Colahan, Samuel 


Canada, 


1808 


1814 


Curtiss, L. W. 


New York, 


1817 


1834 


Crocker, Mrs. D . 


New York, 


1796 


1801 


Cushman, Mrs . H. 


Ohio, 


1830 


1820 


Chapman, G. L. 


Connecticut, 


1795 


1819 


Chapman, Mrs. G. L. 


New Hampshire, 


1805 


1837 


Corlett. Mrs. M. H. 


New York, 


1839 


1833 


Cottrell, Mrs. L. D. 


New York, 


1811 


1833 


Dodge, George C. 


Ohio, 


1818 


1813 


Dodge, H. H. 


Ohio, 


1810 


1810 


Dodge, Wilson S. 


Ohio, 


1839 


1839 


Detmer, G. H. 


Germany, 


1801 


1835 


Doan, W. H. 


Ohio, 


1838 


1828 


Doan, Mrs. C. L. 


Connecticut, 


1816 


1834 


Dibble, Lewis 


New York, 


1807 


1812 


Duty, D. W. 


New Hampshire, 


1804 


1825 


Doan, John 


New York, 


1798 


1801 


Dockstader, C. J. 


Ohio, 


1838 


1838 



86 



AA^SALS OF TEE 



NAME, 


WHEKE BORN, 


WHEN. 


CAME TO 
THE EESEEVE. DIED. 


Doan, J. W. 


Ohio, 


1833 


1833 


Dunham, D. B. 


New York, 


.... 


1831 


Dentzer, Daniel 


Germany, 


1815 


1833 


Dodge, Mrs. G. C. 


Vermont, 


1817 


1830 


Doan, George 


Ohio, 


1838 


1838 


Davidson, C. A. 


Ohio, 


1837 


1837 


Diemer, Peter 


Germany, 


1837 


1840 


Dutton, Dr. C. F. 


New York, 


1831 


1837 


Day, L. A. 


Ohio, 


1813 


■ ■ ■ • .... 


Dunn, Mrs. E. Ann 


England, 


1806 


1834 


Dunn, Mrs. Elizabeth 


New York, 


1838 


1834 


Diebold, Fred 


Ohio, 


1840 


1840 


Doan, Seth C. 


Ohio, 


1819 


1819 


Davis, L. L. 


Connecticut, 


1793 


1839 


Davis, Mrs. Cynthia 


Pennsylvania, 


1818 


1839 


Edwards, R. 


Ohio, 


1818 


1818 


Erwin, John 


New York, 


1808 


1835 


Emerson, Oliver 


Maine, 


1804 


1831 


Flint, E. S. 


Ohio, 


1819 


1838 


Fitch, J. W. 


New York, 


1833 


1836 


Foot John A. 


Connecticut, 


1803 


1833 


Foot, Mrs. John A. 


Pennsylvania, 


1816 


1833 


Fuller, William 


Connecticut, 


1814 


1836 


Fitch, James 


New York, 


1821 


1837 


Foot, A. E. 


Connecticut, 


1810 


1830 


Flint, Mrs. E. S. 


New York 


1834 


1830 


Ford, L. W. 


Massachusetts, 


1830 


1841 


Foljambe, Samuel 


England, 


1804 


1834 


Ferris, William 


Pennsylvania, 


1808 


1815 


Fish, Electa 


New York, 


1808 


1811 


Gill, Mrs. M. A. 


Isle of Man, 


1813 


1837 


Gaylord, E. F. 


Connecticut, 


1795 


1834 


Gardner, George W. 


Massacliusetts, 


1834 


1837 


Gordon, Wm. J. 


New Jersey, 


1818 


1835 


Greenhalgh, R. 


England, 


1838 


1840 


Gorham, J. H. 


Connecticut, 


1807 


1838 


Gayton, Mrs. M. A. 


England, 


1808 


1833 


Gaylord, Mrs. E. F. 


New York, 


1801 


1834 


Goodwin, William 


Ohio, 


1838 


1838 


Giddings, Mrs. C. M. 


Michigan, 


.... 





EAELY SETTLERS- ASSOCIATION. 



87 



NAMB, 


WHERE BORN, 


WHEN. 


CAME TO 
THE RESERVE, DIED, 


Gibbons, James, 


Ohio, 


1840 


1840 


Gibbons, Mrs. M. B. 


Ireland, 


1839 


1838 


Gaylord, H. C. 


Connecticut, 


1826 


1834 


Gardner, A. S. 


Vermont, 


1809 


1818 


Gardner, Mrs. A S. 


Ohio, 


1814 


1814 


Graham, Robert 


Pennsylvania, 


1814 


1834 


Greene, S. C. 


Ohio, 


1822 


1841 


Herrick, R, R. 


New York, 


1826 


1836 


Hessenmueller, E. 


Germany, 


• ■ • 


1836 


Hills, N. C. 


Vermont, 


1805 


1831 .... 


Hills, Mrs. N. C. 


New York, 


1811 


1831 


Handy, T. P. 


New York, 


1807 


1832 


Hudson, W. P. 


Ohio, 


1820 


1820 


Heil, Henry, 


Germany, 


1810 


1832 


Hubbell, H. S. 


Ohio, 


1832 


1832 


Hubby, L. M. 


New York, 


1812 


1839 


Hickox, Chas. 


Connecticut, 


1810 


1837 


Howard, A. D. 


Connecticut, 


1803 


1834 


Honeywell, Ezra 


New York, 


1802 


1831 


Harris, B. C. 


Ohio, 


1832 


1832 


Hudson, D. D. 


Pennsylvania, 


1824 


1837 


Heisel, N. 


Germany, 


1816 


1834 


Hayden, A. S. 


Ohio, 


1813 


1835 1880 


Harris, Mrs. J. A. 


Massachusetts, 


1810 


1837 


Harris, B. E. 


Ohio, 


1838 


1838 


Hurlbut, H. B. 


New York, 


1818 


1836 


Hurlbut, Mrs. H. B. 


New York, 


1818 


1836 


Hughes, Arthur 


Vermont, 


1807 


1840 


Hudson, Mrs. C. Ingersol 


I Ohio, 


1819 


1819 


Hawkins, H. C. 


Ohio, 


1823 


1822 


House, Martin 


Ohio, 


1835 


1835 


Haltnorth, Mrs. G. 


Prussia, 


1819 


1836 


Hird, Thomas 


England, 


1808 


1830 


Hastings, S. L. 


Massachusetts, 


1813 


1836 


Harper, E. R. 


Ohio, 


1813 


1816 


Henry, R. W. 


New York, 


1809 


1818 


Ingham, W. A. 




.... 


1832 


Johnson, Mrs. L. D. 


Ohio, 


1835 


1834 


Jones, Thos., Jr. 


England, 


1821 


1831 


Jewett, A. A. 




.... 


1831 



88 



ANNALS OF THE 



Johnson, P. L. 
Jaynes, Harris 
Jackson, Chas. 
Jones, W. S. 
Johnson, W. C. 
Johnson A. M. 
Jayred, Wm. H. 
Keller, Henry ^ 
Kellogg, A. 
Kelley, Horace 
Kelly, John 
Kingsburj^ Jas. W. 
Keyser, James 
Keyser, Mrs. James 
Kannell, William 
Kennell. John S. 
Lewis, Sanford J. 
Lewis, Chittenden 
Lathrop, C. L. 
Lowman, Jacob 
Lyon, R. T. 
Lamb, Mrs. D. W. 
Leonard, Jarvis 
Lyon, S. S. 
Layman, S. H. 
Lewis, G. F. 
Lee, Mrs. R. 
Lemen, Catherine 
Lathrop, W. A. 
Lyon, Mrs. S. S. 
Minor, Marion 
Morgan, A. W. 
Morgan, Y. L. 
Morgan, E. P. 
Myer, Nicholas 
Mackenzie, C. S. 
Mygatt, George 
Mcintosh, Mrs. A. 
Mcintosh, A. 
Mcllrath, M. S. 



WHBBB BOBN, WHKK. 

Ohio, 1823 

Ohio, 1835 

England, 1839 

Ohio, 1837 

Connecticut, 1813 

Ohio, 1823 

New Jersey, 1831 

Germany, 1810 



Ohio, 


1819 


Pennsylvania, 


1809 


Ohio, 


1813 


New York, 


1818 


Ohio, 


1821 


Isle of Man, 


1811 


Isle of Man, 


1801 


New York, 


1823 


New York, 


1800 


Connecticut, 


1804 


Illinois, 


1819 


Massachusetts, 


• • B • 


Vermont, 


1810 


Connecticut, 


1817 


Ohio, 


1819 


New York, 


1823 


Ohio, 


1837 


Ohio, 


1811 


New Hampshire, 


1813 


Ohio, 


1833 


New York, 


1825 


Ohio, 


1815 


Connecticut, 


1797 




.... 



Germany, 

Maryland, 

Connecticut, 

Scotland, 

Scotland, 

New Jersey, 



1809 
1809 
1797 
1809 
1808 



CAME TO 
THE BKSKBVK, 

1823 
1835 
1835 
1837 
1835 
1823 
1833 
1832 
1820 
1819 
1832 
1813 
1832 
1831 
1837 
1838 
1837 
1837 
1831 
1832 
1824 
1837 
1834 
1818 
1831 
1837 
1837 
1820 
1816 
1823 
1831 
1815 
1811 
1840 
1834 
, 1836 
1807 
1836 
1836 



EARLY SETTLEES' ASSOCIATIOy, 



89 



NAME. 


WHEKE BOBN, 


WHEN. 


OAME TO 
THE KESEBVE. DIED. 


Miller, Mrs. M. 


Ohio, 


1809 


1820 


Marshall , George F. 


New York, 


1817 


1836 


Morgan, I, A. 


Connecticut, 


1809 


1811 


Miller, William L. 


Ohio, 


1829 


1829 


Merchant, Silas 


Ohio, 


1826 


1826 


Mather, Samuel H. 


New Hampshire, 


1813 


1835 


Marble, Levi 





1820 


1830 


Merwin, George B. 


Connecticut, 


1809 


1816 


Marshall, Daniel 


New York, 


1824 


1841 


Marshall, Mrs. Daniel 


Vermont, 


1830 


1841 


Merkel, M. 


Germany, 


1818 


1840 


Merkel, Mrs. M. 


Germany, 


1823 


1834 


McReynolds, Mrs. M. D. 


Ohio, 


• . . • 


. • > • . . • . 


Morgan, Caleb 


Connecticut, 


1799 


1811 


Meeker, S. C. 


Ohio, 


1820 


1820 


Morgan, H. L. 


Ohio, 


1832 


1832 


Morgan, Sarah H. 


Ohio, 


1838 


1838 


Morgan, Mrs. N. G. 


Ohio, 


1815 


1818 


Marshall, I. H. 


Ohio, 


1822 


'. . • . • . • * 


Mallory, Daniel 


New York, 


1801 


1833 


Morgan, Mrs. A. W. 


Ohio, 


1821 


1821 


Nott, 0. C. 




• • • • 


1835 


Newmark, S. 


Bavaria, 


1816 


1839 


Norton, C. H, 


New York, 


1805 


1838 1881 


Neff, Melchor 


Germany, 


1826 


1834 


Ogram, J. W. 


England, 


1820 


.... . . ■ ■ 


Ogram, Mrs. J. W. 


Ohio, 


1825 • 


1825 


O'Brien, 0. D. 


Ohio, 


1819 


1819 


O'Brien, Delia R. 


Vermont, 


1813 


1817 


O'Connor, R. 


Ohio, 


1824 


1824 


Pannell, James 


New York, 


1812 


1832 


Penty, Thomas 


England, 


1808 


1829 


Palmer, J. D. 


Connecticut, 


1831 


1835 


Payne, N. P. 


Ohio, 


1837 


1837 


Porter, L. G. 


Massachusetts, 


1806 


1826 


Pease, Samuel 


Massachusetts, 


1805 


1828 


Pease, Charles 


Ohio, 


1811 


1835 


Pelton, F. W. 


Connecticut, 


1827 


1835 


Proudfoot, D. 


Scotland, 


1809 


1833 


Piper, A. J. 


Vermont, 


1814 


1889 



^0 


ANNALS OF THE 




CAME TO 


NASrE. 


WHERE BOF.N. 


WEES, 


THE BESERVE. DIED. 


Pier, Mrs. L. J. 


Ohio, 


1823 


1823 


Pease, Mary E . 


Connecticut, 


1816 


1835 


Pankhurst, Mrs. Sarah. 


England, 


1812 


1835 


Paddock, T. S 


New York, 


1814 


1836 


Phillips, B. F. 


Ohio, 


1833 


1833 


Palmer, Sophia 


Ohio, 


1818 


1818 


Payne, H. B. 


New York, 


1810 


1833 


Payne, Mrs. H. B. 


Ohio, 


1818 


1818 


Phillips, Mrs. Emily 


Ohio, 


1809 


1809 


Prescolt, James 


Massachusetts, 


1826 


1826 


Quinn, Arthur 


Ireland, 


1810 


1832 


Quayle, Thos. 




• • • • 


1827 


Kice, Harvey 


Massachusetts, 


1800 


1824 


Eice, Mrs. Harvey 


Vermont, 


1812 


1833 


Kouse, Rebecca E. 


Massachusetts, 


1799 


1830 


Russell, George H. 


New York, 


1817 


1834 


Rogers, C. C. 


Ireland, 


1813 


1839 


Eupel, S. D. 


Ohio, 


1808 


1808 


Robison, J. P. 


New York, 


1811 


1832 


Rouse, B. F. 


Massachusetts, 


1824 


1830 


Ranney, W. S. 


Ohio, 


1835 


1835 


Rowley, Lucy A. 


Connecticut, 


1805 


1827 


Radcliflf, Mary A. 


Isle of Man, 


1822 


1826 


Rice, P. W. 


Ohio, 


1829 


1829 


Redington, Mrs. C. 


New Y'ork, 


1821 


1839 


Redington, J. A. 


New Y'ork. 


1818 


1839 


Ranney, Rufus P. 


Massachusetts, 


1813 


1824 


Spalding, R. P. 


Massachusetts, 


1798 


1820 


Stickney, Mrs. C. B. 


Canada, 


1836 


1836 


Stickney, Hamilton 


New Y^'ork, 


1824 


1830 


Spangler, Mrs. Elizabeth 


Maryland, 


1790 


1820 1880 


Sherwin, Ahimas 


Vermont, 


1792 


1818 1881 


Scovill, Mrs. J. Bixby 


Ohio, 


1800 


1816 


Silberg,F. 


Germany, 


1804 


1834 


Sherwin, Mrs. S. M. 


New York, 


1809 


1827 


Sabin, "William 




.... 


1839 


Skedd, W.V. 




.... 


1833 


Shepard, D. A. 


Connecticut, 


1810 


1833 


Sargent, John H. 


New York, 


1814 


1818 


Skinner, 0. B. 


Ohio, 


1831 


1831 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 



91 



NAMK. 


WHERE BOEN. 


WHEN. 


CAME TO 
THE EESERVE. DIED. 


Southworth, W. P. 


Connecticut, 


1819 


1836 


Slawson, J. L. 


Michigan, 


1806 


1812 


. . . 


Scovill, E. A. 


Ohio, 


1819 


1819 


. . . 


Saxton, Mrs. E, A. 


Maine, 


1821 


1833 


. . . 


Stephenson, Wm. 


Pennsylvania, 


1804 


1833 


... 


Smith, Mrs. F. L. 


Connecticut, 


* . - • 


1836 


. . . 


Shelley, John 


England, 


1815 


1835 


. . . 


Sacket, Alex. 


Pennsylvania, 


1814 


1835 


. . . 


Sacket, Mrs. Alex. 


Ohio, 


1815 


1815 


. . . 


Sterling, Dr. E. 


Connecticut, 


1825 


1827 


. . . 


Schiely, Mrs. Anna 


Germany, 


. . ■ • 


1832 




Shelden, S. H. 


New York, 


1813 


1835 


. . . 


Stanley, G. A. 


Connecticut, 


. • ■ • 


1837 


. . . 


Spangler, M. M. 


Ohio, 


1813 


1820 


. . . 


Slade, Horatio 


England, 


• • • • 


1834 


. . . 


Sorter, Harry 


New York, 


1820 


1831 


. • . 


Smith, W. T. 


New York, 


1811 


1886 


. . > 


Strickland, B. 


Vermont, 


1810 


1835 


. . . 


Strickland, Mrs. H. W. 


Ohio, 


. • • • 


1834 


. . . 


Saxton, J. C. 


Vermont, 


1813 


1818 


. . . 


Smith, Mrs. B. E. 




1811 


1836 


. . . 


Strong, Charles H. 


Ohio, 


1831 


1831 


. . . 


Sanford, A. S. 


Connecticut, 


1805 


1829 


. . . 


Smith, Erastus 


Connecticut, 


1790 


1832 ] 


L881 


Steward, J. S. 


Ohio, 


1818 


1818 


• . . 


Severance, Mrs. M. H. 


Ohio, 


• • ■ • 


• • > 


• > . 


Strong, Homer 


Connecticut, 


1811 


1836 


. > . 


Selden, N. D. 


Connecticut, 


1815 


1831 


. . . 


Stillman, W. H. 


Connecticut, 


1808 


1833 


> • • 


Simmons, Thomas 


Ohio, 


1832 


1832 


. * . 


Shunk, Mrs. A. H. 


Ohio, 


1824 


1834 


. • ■ ■ 


Stevens, C. C. 


Maine, 


1819 


1833 


• • • • 


Simmons, Isaac B. 




1806 


1836 


• • - • 


Selden, Mrs. Elizabeth 


Ohio, 


1819 


1819 


• • • 


Sorter, C. N. 


New York, 


1812 


1831 


• . * > 


Sharp, Clayton 


Ohio, 


1811 


1833 


• . • . 


Severance, S. L. 


Ohio, 


1834 


18.34 




Slade, Samantha Doan 


Ohio, 


1817 


1817 


• • • • 


Spring, V. 


Massachusetts, 


1799 


1817 


■ • ■ ■ 


Short, David 


Connecticut, 


1818 


1827 


, , . . 



92 



AyyALS OF TEE 



CAME TO 

>fA31E. WHEKK BOBN. WHEN. THE EESERVE. 

Tilden, D. R. Connecticut, 1806 1828 

Taylor, Harvey Ohio, 1814 1814 

Thompson, Thos. England, 1814 1836 

Turner, S. W. Connecticut, 1813 1832 

Thompson, H. V. New York, 1816 1839 

Thompson, Mrs. H. V. Vermont, 1823 1837 

Townsend, H. G. New York, 1812 1834 

Truscott, Samuel Canada, 1829 1838 

Vincent, J. A. Pennsylvania, 1807 1830 

Williams, A. J. New York, 1829 1840 

Wick, C. C. Ohio, 1813 1835 

Whitelaw, George Scotland, 1808 1832 

Walters, John E. New York, 1811 1834 

Weidenkopf, F. Germany, 1819 1837 

Weidenkopf, Jacob Germany, 1S38 1837 

Wightman, S. H. Ohio, 1819 1819 

Watkins, George Connecticut, 1813 1818 

Weston, George B. Massachusetts, 1805 1826 

Warren, Moses Connecticut, 1803 1815 

Wager, I, D. Ohio, 1820 1820 

Williams, George Connecticut, 1799 1833 

Welch, John New York, 1800 1825 

Welch, O.F. 1817 

Wheller, B. S. England, 1836 

Wheller, Jane England, 1831 

Warner, W. J. 1831 

Wightman, D. L. 1817 

Williamson, Samuel Pennsylvania, 1808 1810 

Whittlesey, H. S. Ohio, 1836 1836 

Winslow, E. N. North Carolina, 1824 1830 

Wilson, William Ohio, 1819 1819 

Welch, Jas. S. Ohio, 1821 1821 

Willson, Mrs. H. V. Michigan, .... 

Wemple, Myndret New York, 1796 1818 

Wellstead, Joseph England, 1817 1837 

Waterman, Wm. Ohio, 1818 1818 

Williams, William Connecticut, 1803 1836 

Whitaker, Charles New York, 1817 1831 

Walters, B. C. New York, 1807 1837 

Weidenkopf. Mrs. O. Alsace, 1819 1830 



1880 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 



CAME TO 



KAME. 


■WHERE FROM. 


WHEK, 


THE RESEl 


White, Moses 


Massachusetts, 


1791 


1816 


Wilson, Fred. 


New York, 


1807 


1833 


Warren, Mrs. J. Y. 


New York, 


1816 


1816 


Walworth, John 


Ohio, 


1831 


1831 


Younglove, M. C. 


New York, 


• • • • 


1836 



93 



1881 



HONORARY MEMBERS. 

Crosby, Charles Massachusetts, 1801 1811 

Garfield, James A., 

President United States, Ohio, 1831 1831 

Garfield, Mrs. Eliza B., 

his mother. New Hampshire, 1801 1830 



1881 



'I'HlilS' ^gW ^OHK 



PUBLIC LI 



ANNALS 



^- 






ASTOR, LENOX AND 
TILDEN FOUNDATtONS. 

1897. 



OF THE 



Early 



7TT 

j1 1 JJJJ 



m 




lATlON 



OF 



CUYAHOGA COUNTY. 



NUMBER III 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 



'^ 



^N^%^, 



■=*5>-=^ 



CLEVELAND, O. 
CLEVELAND, O.: 

J. B. SAVAGE, PRINTER, FRANKFORT ST. 
1882. 



ANNALS 



OF THE 



Early Settlers 




J 



lATION 



OF 



CUYAHOGA CO.UNTY. 



NUMBER III 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 



CLEVELAND, O.: 

J. B. SAVAGE, PRINTER, FRANKFORT ST. 



1882. 



s 



D 



OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION, 

1882. 



HON. HARVEY KICE, President. 

HON. JOHN W. ALLEN, ) 

ATTIC T A Tx.T.T,To r Vice-Presidents. 

MRS. J. A. HARRIS, ) 

THOMAS JONES, JR.. Secretary. 

GEO. ('. DODGE, Treasurer. 



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 



GEO. F. MARSHALL. 
R. T. LYON, 
DARIUS ADAMS, 
JOHN H. SARGENT, 
M. M. SPANGLER. 



CHAPLAIN. 



REV. THOMAS CORLETT. 



rr 



I EiELf SETTLERS' AilfEHSiKl 



illU Li 



1882. 



FORENOON SESSION. 

The Earh 8ettlers' Assueiatiou of Cuyahoga County com- 
memorated the day, July 22, at the Tabernacle, Ontario Street, 
Oleveland. They promptly convened at the appointed hour, 11 
o'clock A. M. There was a large attendance. From sixty to 
seventy new memberships were received. All seemed to be in a 
liuppy mood, and s})ent the first half hour in social intercourse, 
not less interesting than enjoyable, when Hon. Harvey Rice, 
President of the Association, called the venerable assemblage to 
order. The session was opened with prayer by the Chaplain, 
Rev. Thomas Corlett. The following introductory address was 
then delivered bv tlie President: 



ADDRESS. 

Ladies and Gentlemex: This is the third anniversary of 
our Association — a day we have chosen as Avorthy of commemo- 
ration, because it was on tlie 22d of July, 179G, that our beauti- 
ful city of Cleveland, the pride of the Western Reserve, acquired 
a local habitation and a name. 

It is therefore a day that brmgs with it many pleasant mem- 
ories of historic interest, both as regards the city and the entire 



G AXNALS OF THE 

Western Reserve — a day tliat affords iis. a^ early settlers, an oyt- 
portunity to exchange congratulations and renew old acqnaint- 
ances which should never be forgotten and wliicli Ave never can 
forffet. 

The pioneer life of the Western Reserve has a liistory that 
approaches the marvelous, and is of sucli value that no part of 
it should be lost. The principal ol)ject of our Association is to 
collect, while it can be done, the relics and unrecorded incidents 
of her past history, and transfer them to the custody of the 
Western Reserve Historical Society of Cleveland, for preserva- 
tion and the benefit of the piiblic. This liistorical society was 
incorporated many years ago. and has now become of great value 
as a source of antiquarian information. It is ke])t open to vis- 
itors free of charge, and is the only prominent institution of the 
kind in Northern Ohio. It is a credit to the State, and reflects 
honor on its originators and efficient officers. 

The AVestern Reserve, as you all know, was originally and for 
the most part settled by emigrants from New England, the land 
of the Puritans. The Reserve has, therefore, good ancestral 
blood in her veins, and still maintains her Puritanic character, 
except so far as it has been modified and liberalized by Western 
influences. 

We may rest assured, however, that her ])ioneer life will 
never repeat itself. Say what we will, it was an exemplary life, 
as full of lessons of wisdom as it was of noble ainis and heroic 
struggles — a life that laid its foundations, not in sand, but on a 
rock — the rock of common schools and churches — a life that has 
produced many accomplished men, and still more accomplished 
women. 

The Western Reserve, as a civilized land, was l)orn and liap- 
tized at Conneaut Creek, on the 4th of July, 1790, and is there- 
fore a child of freedom. There were fifty persons present at her 
birth, who proceeded at once to commemorate the ha})py event. 
They prepared a sumptuous feast of baked pork and beans and 
corn bread, made patriotic speeches, fired salutes, and drank 



EARL Y SETTL ERS' AS, SO CIA TIOK. 7 

three buckets of grog by way of crowning tlie ceremonies of the 
day. 

Our Association has great reason to be gratified with its suc- 
cess. When organized, Noveml)er 19th, 1879, it consisted of 
but nineteen members, and now it has an aggregate of over four 
liundred, and still they come and are received with a cordial 
welcome. Its published "Annals "' are sought and read with 
much interest and profit, and, if continued, will soon furnish a 
storehouse of valual)le information nowhere else to be found and 
which coming generations will appreciate. Every member of 
the Association is expected to contribute what he can in the way 
of interesting relics and reminiscences to promote its ol)ject. It 
is hoped that other similar associations of the Reserve will aid us 
in the same way, and thus concentrate the efforts of all for the 
common benefit of all. Honorary memberships should be con- 
ferred on individuals residing in other counties of the Reserve, 
who may make desirable contributions to our Association. 

It must be conceded that the Western Reserve has become a 
power in the State and in the Nation. Her population in 1800 
was Init 1,300; it is now at least 550,000. In the meantime the 
Reserve has ])roduced her thousands of talented men and supe- 
rior women. They are her jewels. She points to them, with 
pride, and still persists in lavishly increasing her assortment of 
jewelry. To say nothing of minor officials, she has already fur- 
nished the State with five Governors and eleven Supreme Judges, 
and the United States with three Senators, two District Judges, 
two Foreign Ministers, and one President, and still has enough 
aood material on hand to furnish as manv more officials as may 
be needed. 

But why is it that the names of our great men are emblaz- 
oned in history, while the names of so many meritorious women 
are overlooked ? This seeming neglect is a liioral wrong which 
should be corrected. The women are the mothers and educators 
of mankind. They give to infancy its traits of character for life, 
and to manhood its grace and dignity. In all that pertains to 



8 ANNALS OF THE 

social refiuement and moral elevation of cliaracter, the women 
excel the men. Excellence can and Avill take care of itself. If 
we would have what we Avish, we must achieve it. The world 
has no room for idlers. All should live, while they do live, with 
a view to useful results. Let us then still pursue the even tenor 
of our ways as best we can. and Avhile the day lasts — 

"Act — act in the living present, 
Heart within, and God o'erhead." 



REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 

Another year finds the affairs of this Association in most ex- 
cellent condition, and its objects, end, and aim on the high road 
to success. 

If the Treasurer should report that the funds are reduced to 
an insignificant sum. or should intimate that there is a claim 
for a few paltry dollars hanging over the Association, all this 
would imply a healthy condition of the body corporate: 1st, be- 
cause it is better that no large sum be collected in the hands of 
(mr financial officers to tempt them to do a wrong: 3d, if a debt 
shoiild appear, even the thought of such an event has created a 
friendly rivalry to see who should ))e the first to retire it, and 
sliould it be ever so small, it is thought best that no individual 
be allowed the special ])leasure of wi])ing it out, ))ut let each 
have a portion of the pleasure of doing so honorable a deed. 

Some member may say that the initiation fee was too small to 
accomplish any object worthy so interesting an organization. If 
our annual doings become so cheap and uninteresting that one 
dollar for the remainder of a life will not so much as supply each 
member at our annual gathering with a hollow sandwich and a 
cup of cold comfort, it would be as well that we add an annual 
fee to each membership, that none go away hungry. 

Many hours have been consumed ])y tlie Board of Managers 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 9 

in laudable endeavors to make the annual meeting as interesting 
and profitable as conld well be out of the means at hand; there 
is no lack of interest anywhere. 

The first public gathering, two years ago, was one of great 
interest and quite a success; the second, held in this Tabernacle, 
was more abundantly so, and established the permanency of the 
Association. 

The effort has been, among the members of the Board, to de- 
termine upon a proper method of holding and conducting these 
annual meetings. There has been no marked variation in opin- 
ion that we should have something said of interest respecting the 
early days of our Ohio residence; and in those early days, at tlie 
hour of twelve, noon, a horn was blown, or a bell rung, or a red 
rag hung at the window — we never could pass by the hour of 
noon and not think of dinner. 

In getting men to consent to say a few words or to make us 
a set address, it was difficult to limit their time on the platform; 
if they had anything to say, they wanted to say it. If the Board 
consent to extremely long set speeches, it would involve, for the 
comfort of the members, the necessity of upholstering the seats. 
To avoid this, a general opinion prevailed that we procure one 
early settler, of ability, to entertain the Association, limiting his 
own time, after which, a sprinkling of from five to ten minutes' 
speeches, a sort of free-to-all affair, and if any overspoke his 
time, it would become the society's duty to start in on "Hail 
Columbia,'' and choke him off'; but no limit should be imposed 
upon the women. 

The prospects of this Association are bright, and becoming 
more lu-illiant as each year comes around. One enthusiastic 
member expresses himself in the emphatic langiiage of Aiulrew 
Jackson, that this Association must not fail; (who ever thought 
it could?) why he should entertain a thought of the possibility 
of it not being able to succeed, is a mystery. As the older mem- 
bers pass away, new ones fall in to take their places, so. that the 
incoming members will be likely to far outnumber tlie outgoing 
ones. 



10 AyN^ALS OF THE 

We need more interest to be taken for our annual pamphlet; 
we Avant more sketches of persons,' places and events. While we 
hare so many who can link the history of their time with the 
past of the Western Eeserve, we cannot afford to lose their as- 
sistance in putting on record what everyone would be pleased to 
peruse, and the more so as time passes away. The year may 
come, in the future, when the early settlers of the Fire Lands 
will be held as a remarkable people, if they are not already, and 
their grandchildren may be lictter pleased with the record than 
to trace their descent through doubtful books of heraldry, or the 
possibility that they were descended from one of the early Irish 
kings. 

Geo. F. Marshall, Chairman. 



REPORT OF THE TREASURER. 

Mk. Phrsidext: Since our organization in the Fall of 1879, 
we have expended 1560.12; our receipts from members to date, 
*4:06.00; leaving a debt against us of $154.13; this will be re- 
duced by new members to-day. 

At a glance we can see that a life-membership of one dollar 
will not pay running expenses. We cannot assess you; we can- 
not run you into debt. What shall we do? 

Geo. C. Dodge, Treasurer. 



ELECTION OF OFFICERS. 

On motion, the follow^ing officers were elected for the ensuing 
year: 

Hox. Harvey Rice, President. 

Hox. John W. Allen and Mrs. J. A. Harris, Vice Pres- 
idents. 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCTATION. 11 

TiroMAs Jones, Jr., Secretiirv. 

(tEORge C. Dodge, Treasurer. 

George F. Marshall, R, T. Lyox, Darius Adams, John 
H. Sargent, M. M. Spangler, Execntive Conimittee, 

Key. Thomas Corlett, Chaplain. 

On motion of H. M. Addison, Mrs. Lueretia Garfield was 
elected an honorary member of the Association. He also offered 
the following resolution, which was adopted without a dissent- 
ing vote: 

Resolved, That we as an Association invite other similar Associations of 
the Western Reserve to unite with us in contributing desirable relics and re- 
miniscences, to be deposited in the rooms of the Western Reserve Historical 
Society, of Cleveland, for the common benefit of the public, and that with a 
view to harmonious action all such Associations be invited to send delegates to 
meet with us at our regular annual meetings, held on the 22d of July each and 
every year. 



LETTER FROM HON. THOMAS J. McLAIN. 

Warren, ()., July 20, 1882. 
G. F. Marshall. Esq., C]uiirina)t E.recufive Committee: 

Dear 8ir: I find it is inij»ossil)le for me to be at your an- 
nual meeting on the 22d inst. ; a fact I very much regret, for I 
iiad foiuUy anticipated a large amount of real pleasure in meet- 
ing so many of my old friends and ac(iuaintances. 

In reviewing the events and hai)})enings which I have wit- 
nessed m Ohio since I came within her borders, more than fifty- 
four years since, much of interest, much worthy of consideration 
and of value, is called to mind, and should l)e held u]) before the 
young and enterprising men and women of the hour for their 
cheer and encouragement. 

The wonderful changes that have been Avrought in your own 
beautiful city furnish apt illustrations of the go-aheaditiveness of 
our people: the dwellers upon the borders of our grand Lake 
Erie, u])on whose bhie waters my delighted eyes rested, for the 



12 ANNALS OF THE 



first time, in May, 18"28. Then, Cleveliind was a small rustic 
village, sparsely ])()j)ulate(l. of 1)nt limited business and enter- 
prise; now, one of the most Ijeantiful cities in all the land I A 
wonderful change indeed I Then, a miserable, shabbv court-house 
and other public buildiiigs of kindred character; now, we see 
what is pleasant to view; then. Hickox's old wooden blacksmith 
shop stood near the corner of Superior and 8eneca streets; now. 
behold the change; then, Crittenden's little jewelry store stood 
near the Weddell House; now, a splendid structure meets the 
eye; then, my old friend Fitch presided over the old frame hotel 
corner of Water and St. Clair streets; now, what a change! At 
that early day Cleveland i)resented not miich inducement to him 
in search of a life stopping jdace; now it is one of the most de- 
lightful cities to settle in which can be found in all the land. 
Its progress is simply wonderful to contemplate. 

So it is all over our broad land, wherever the eye rests. Great 
changes are apparent in our advanced civilization as well as in 
the face of the country. Kote for a moment the style and fash- 
ion of the ])resent age, embracing not only that of the ladies but 
of the gentlemen as well, and compare it with that of an earlier 
day in the then village of Youngstown in this county, when the 
Eev. Charles E. Boardman, when on duty, was arrayed in buck- 
skin breeches, painted blue, and a u()))le Christian man he was. 

In conclusion permit me to wish you a pleasant season, full 
of })leasLire and enjoyment, and your noble Society a long and 
prospenms career in the fulfillment of its great purposes. 

Most truly yours, 

Tkomas J. McLaix. 



REMARKS BY CHARLES CROSBY, OF CHICAGO. 

Me. President : I am most happy to have the pleasure of 
being with you on this third anniversary of the Early Settlers' 
Association. I had the h()nt)r of being represented before you a 



PJA RL Y SETTLERS' A SS CIA TION. 1 3 

year ago Ijy a conimuuication read by my friend. Hon. John A. 
Foot, and ]nil)lislied in yonr '"Annals," and also of being con- 
stituted an honorary member. My childhood and youth, from 
ten years of age to my majority, were spent in this region, and 
a frequent revisitation has kept afresli my recollections from 
1811 to the present time. It is three years since I have visited 
this region, and although myself an octogenarian, I meet a great 
many older persons than I am. 

When I was a 1)oy, those who had reached the age of forty- 
live or fifty years were regarded as '* old jieople," but now they 
are not considered old until tliey attain to seventy or seventy- 
live years; so that when I meet with many from eighty to over 
ninety (and vet fresh and vigorous), I almost feel that I am 
voung again, and youthful scenes and incidents recur to me 
with vivid freshness, like "a thing of beauty, a joy forever." 
I would not. however, indulge in mere sentimentalism, hut re- 
call several incidents of historical interest which may serve to 
amuse, if nothing more. When f was young, " church privi- 
leges"' and Sabbath enjoyments were not quite so adorned (but 
j)robably more highly appreciated) than now. It often happened 
that a congregation would for a time be destitute of a "stated 
supi)ly" of the ministry, but the habit was observed of keeping- 
up the regular public services on the Sabl^ath, and having a ser- 
mon read from the published works of some eminent divine. I 
A\'ell rememljer that, during such a vacancy in the Presbyterian 
Church of Euclid, one Sabbath morning, before the time for 
services to begin, a stranger on horseback rode up to the door 
and announced himself as a Methodist minister. He was very 
cordially invited by the Elders to officiate, to which he readily 
assented, and was accordingly coiulucted to the pulpit. On en- 
tering it, lie found on the desk a large Bible which contained 
the Apochrypha (a portion of Scripture history not regarded as 
inspired), and opening the book he took for his text the first 
verse he cast his eye upon, and an]iounced it as Ecclesiastes vii 
(diapter. 1st verse, as follows: ''Do no evil; so shall no harm come 



14 AXNALS OF THE 

to theo."" He delivered an illitentte. haphazard liarangne of 
three-quarters of an hour, ami tlie congregation, hecoming rest- 
less, were quite ready and anxious to have the henedieti<m. The 
text being new to the ])eo])le. on going home they searched Ec- 
clesiastes through and through. l)utall in vain, until they learned 
from Mrs. Rev. Dr. Cowles, of Austinburgh, Avho hajjpened to 
be present, and who being the most thoroughly versed in Bible 
history (canonical and uncanonical), informed them that they 
would find the text in the l)ook of Ecclesiasticus in the Apocry- 
pha. The mystery being solved, this amusing episode was the 
town talk, and afforded no little entertainment for a long time. 
It was afterwards reported that the affair coming to the knowl- 
edge of the Church Conference, this ignoramus was summarily 
silenced and dismissed therefrom. 

In those days conformity to church requirements were more 
strictly enforced than in these later times. There was occasion- 
ally an individual whose infraction of the " Articles of Faith" 
caused him to be arraigned ])efore the sessions of the church for 
trial. On one occasion a rather festive member, who was })rone 
to overstep the bounds of proi>riety, Avas under examination for 
some irregularity, and on l)eing pressed rather closely, made the 
quotation of an old maxim, with a slight alteration to suit his 
purposes. He said, ''circumstances alter principles"" instead of 
cases. Elder Ruple, a well-poised and godly man, of remarkable 
consistency of character, l)ut rather slow of si)eech, who had ])een 
patient and indulgent in listening to the delinquent, and who had 
his equanimity quite dist^^rbed. could bear it no longer, and 
broke out as follows: '"'Mr, B. I really wish you would either 
keep inside of the line or step over it; you keep right along on 
the line and we can neither get you out iior keep you in." This 
twisting of the familiar proverb has occurred to me a thousand 
times, when I have seen men, ]mrticularly politicians, act upon 
the principles of this church delinquent. "- circumstances alter 
principles,'" which, after all, does not seem to be much out of 
the way, as a])plicable to our own times. 



EABLY SETTLEBS' ASSOCIATIO^\ 15 

Another noticeable and somewhat remarkable and amnsing 
event occurred in the township of Twinsbnrg, Summit county. 
I tell the story as it was related to me in that vicinity very many 
vears ago, and which Avas fully confirmed ]\v my old friend. 
Buckley Hiibbard. Esq., of Ashtabula, a few weeks ago. Among 
the first settlers who came into the place were two twin brothers 
by the name of Wilcox, from Connecticut, who, according to 
Shakespeare, were real "Dromios," their resemblance was so 
perfect; inasmuch as in size, features, voice, dress and actions,' 
they were so nearly alike that they could rarely Ix' distinguished 
apart, and their identity Avas often mistaken, the one for the 
other. The name of TAvinsburg Avas giA'en to the township in 
their honor. In progress of time, one of these brothers fell 
under the susceptible influence of the sly god Cupid, and be- 
came blindly enamored of a fair damsel of the land. His at- 
tachment became so ardent, and his devotion so strong, that he 
made it a rule never to disappoint his lady love in his promised 
visits. It so happened that indispensable business called him 
unexpectedly aAvay at one of these golden periods. As he could 
not endure the thought of disapjiointing his inamorata, he ap- 
plied to his brother, in whom he could entirely confide, to take 
his place, and act the part of the devoted lover. To this end he 
posted him thoroughly in the progress of the courtshiiJ, and in- 
structed him in the sentimental part he Avas to perform, and left 
him to his ready resources, having the most undoubting faith 
that he Avould accomplish his part successfully. Tlie eclat which 
folloAved can easily be imagined, as the successful ruse AA^as not 
diA'ulged nor discovered until long after the happy marriage Avas 
consummated. These brothers had the reputation of being gen- 
tlemanly and intelligent, and so devotedh' attached to eacli other 
in affection and interest that in their deaths neither long sur- 
A'iA'ed the other, as I have been informed. 

With many thanks for your kind indulgence, and for the 
honor you have done me, I beg to express the hope t'hat your 
beautiful and groAving city, Avhich bears the name of its honored 



16 ANNALIS OF THE 

founder, will, ere long, in its pride and jirosperity, erect a suit- 
able monument to his memory, and continue to grow in wealth 
and influence; and the Early Settlers' Association he perpetu- 
ated long after the snowy heads here present to-day shall have 
gone to ''that bourne from whence no traveler returns." 



ADJOURNED. 



The Association now adjourned until 2 o'clock p. m., and 
during the interim the members partook of a free lunch, served 
in the Tabernacle, from Weisgerber's refectory. This was a 
brilliant feature of the day, and highly enjoyed. 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 17 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



The public were cordially invited to attend the exercises of 
the afternoon, commencing at two o'clock. The Tabernacle, spa- 
cious as it is, was filled by an intelligent and highly interested 
audience. The exorcises consisted of an opening prayer, followed 
by the annual written address, a life-sketch, report of members 
deceased within the past year, and sundry volunteer speeches of 
prominent citizens, interspersed with songs adapted to the occa- 
sion, and rendered in charming style by the Arion Quartette 
Club. 

At the appointed hour the assembly was called to order by 
the President of the Association, and the session opened with 
prayer by the Chaplain, Eev. Thomas Corlett. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty and everlasting God, from whom all good things 
do come: we render Thee thanks and praise for Thy mercy and 
goodness to us and to all mankind; but more especially do we 
praise Thee for prolonging our life and health to meet together 
again as on this day. 

Grant, Lord, that all our doings this day may redound to 
Thy glory, our own mutual good, and the welfare of this com- 
munity. 

We implore Thy divine blessing on all legislative, Judicial, 
and executive authority; that they may have grace and wisdom 
so to discharge their respective duties as most effectually to pro- 
mote Thy glory, the interests of true religion and virtue, and the 
highest good of the State and Nation. Preserve, we beseech 
Thee, to our country the blessings of peace, and prosper our in- 
2 



18 ANNALS OF THE 

stitiTtious for the i)r(niiotion of sound learning and the diffusion 
of virtuous education. 

To the families of those of our Association who have been re- 
moved from us by death, grant Thy grace and consolation; and 
to us who still survive, wisdom so to live and do, as to be dis- 
pensers of good to others, and thus to approve ourselves worthy 
in Thy sight of the rich heritage here bestowed, and at the close 
of our pilgrimage here, to be raised to that higher and better 
citizenship with the saints in light — through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen. 



The President here introduced to the audience Mrs. J. A. 
Harris, ^\\\o sat on his right, as one of the Vice-Presidents of the 
Association, elected to fill the vacancv made bv the death of the 
late Judge Bishop. The audience applauded. Mrs. Harris arose 
and gracefully acknowledged the compliment. 

George C. Dodge, Esq., Treasurer of the Association, now 
arose and said: ''Mr. President: I desire to congratulate our 
Association upon having settled one question. We have vindi- 
cated (alluding to a scene in Dickens,) the character of Sarey 
Oamp, and squelched Betsey Prig. There is a Mrs. Harris." 

This adroit and complimentary witticism convulsed the au- 
dience, and when the laughter had subsided, the regular exer- 
cises were resumed. 



ANNUAL ADDRESS— Success of the Early Settlers. 

BY HON. JOHN HUTCHINS. 

Ladies axd Gextlemex: In 1824 Daniel Webster visited 
Jefferson and Madison at their homes in Virginia. One morn- 
ing it became necessary for Mr. Webster and his party to cross in 
a rude ferry-boat a river which was much swollen by recent rains. 
The ferry-boat was propelled by hand, and the ferryman and his 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 19 

assistant became much exhausted. While crossing, Mr. Web- 
ster, in his frank and clieerfnl manner, began a conversation with 
the boatman, and remarked: "You find it hard work enough 
this morning, I think." ''Yes, sir;" said the boatman, "it 
puts a man \\\) to all he knows, I assure you.'' " An apt phrase," 
says his biographer, ''which amused Mr. Webster very much 
at the time, which he was constantly using on all occasions 
through the rest of the joilrney, and which he often introduced 
in speaking and writing in after years. In this way it has be- 
come a common phrase in our part of the country, where few 
])ersons know its origin." This plain language of this hard- 
working and unlettered boatman explains the successes of the 
early settlers of Cleveland and Ohio. 

Their circumstances stimulated the best efforts of mind and 
body, and hence their history, habits and traits of character, 
their virtues and their vices, for example as well as warning, are 
now and will be interesting matters of study, not only to their 
immediate descendants, but to all the people Avho shall hereafter 
inhabit the country they settled and cleared, and converted its 
wilderness into productive farms and populous cities and towns. 
The State of Connecticut sold in 1795 the land it claimed in 
the then Northwestern Territory, except the "Fire Lands," to 
the Connecticut Land Company, and the original deed transfer- 
ring the title to the company is recorded in the Eecorder's office 
in Trumbull county. In 1795-6 the proprietors of this company 
began an organized effort to survey these lands, with a view to 
sale and settlement, and some of the earliest settlers of the 
Western Eeserve were connected with those surveys. Moses 
Cleaveland, a lawyer in Connecticut, was the first general agent 
of the Connecticut Land Company. He did not become a set- 
tler, but returned to Connecticut. General Cleaveland, in the 
performance of his duties as agent, became familiar with the 
south shore of Lake Erie, and he located this city, and named it 
Cleaveland. His prophetic eye, in a measure, saw the future 
growth of Cleaveland, by reason of its location. 



20 ANNALS OF THE 

A large proportion of the early settlers purchased farms and 
cleared them, devoting their lives to the business of agriculture, 
the most ancient and useful of all human industries. We do 
not find the names of those engaged in it in history as frequently 
as of those employed in positions of a more public character. 
My father, Samuel Hutchins, came from Connecticut to Vienna, 
Trumbull county, in 1798, and cleared a farm which he pur- 
chased of Uriel Holmes, Jr., one of the persons named in the 
deed from the State of Connecticut to the Company, with whom 
lie had lived in his boyhood, and I am proud to say that his vo- 
cation was that of a farmer, and that my first lessons of industry 
were learned on that farm. 

Trumbull county is the mother of all the other counties 
comprising the Western Reserve, and when organized, July 10, 
1800, embraced all of the Reserve, including the " Fire Lands," 
all the neighboring islands in Lake Erie, and i)arts of Jefferson 
and Wayne, and the county seat was Warren. The first election 
held in the county was at Warren, on the second Tuesday of 
October, 1800, for the election of a representative to the Terri- 
torial Legislature. There were cast at this election forty-two 
votes, thirty-eight of which were given for Edward Paine, and 
he was declared duly elected. It is not stated in any of the his- 
tories of that day what Mr. Paine's campaign expenses were, but 
they probably did not exeed a sum that would be regarded le- 
gitimate at the present time in Cleveland, under a more enlight- 
ened civilization. 

The settlement of Trumbull county is so intimately con- 
nected with the early settlement of Cleveland, that I may be 
pardoned for referring briefly to a few of the early settlers of 
that county. Some of them afterwards became citizens of 
Cleveland, and many of their descendants are now residing 
in Cleveland and extensively associated with its manifold busi- 
ness enterprises, its religious, educational, moral, political and 
social agencies. In the year 1800, when Trumbull county was 
organized, a majority of the settlers were located m the south- 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 21 

eastern corner of the Reserve. Among the early settlers of 
Trumbull county were Turhand Kirtland, James Hillman, Si- 
mon Perkins, Samuel Everett, Meshach Case, Ephraim Quinhy. 
John Kinsman, Francis Freeman, John Young, Leicester King, 
Henry Wick, Asahel Adams, George Parsons, John EatclifPe, 
Ephraim Brown, John Young, Calvin Pease, George Tod, 
William Rayen, Elisha Whittlesey, Thomas D. Webb, and Eben 
Newton. Leonard Case, Sr. , before he came to Cleveland, grad- 
uated on his father's farm, a little south of Warren. He was 
emi)loyed in the Recorder's office in Trumbull county, and in 
1816 he became a citizen of Cleveland, Those early settlers 
were fair types of the character of the early settlers of the W^est- 
ern Reserve. Their lives are shining examples of what can be 
accomplished by men with high and noble purposes when cir- 
cumstances and motives stimulate and develop their best facul- 
ties of mind and brain. Some of these men were connected with 
public duties of far-reaching importance, and with public and 
private trusts of immense value. The manner in which these 
duties were performed and these trusts administered are among 
the brightest chapters of the early settlers of the Western Re- 
serve. In illustration I will quote a few words from a letter 
written by Gideon Granger in December, 1807, then Postmaster 
General, to General Simon Perkins, of Warren: "You cannot 
be ignorant of the unpleasant aspect of public affairs between 
this nation and Great Britain, nor of the vigorous preparation 
making for war in Upper Canada. In this state of aifairs it has 
become necessary to establish a line of express through your 
country to Detroit. * * * * rp^ ^^^j^jl ourselves 
of the energy of your talents at this crisis, I have to solicit you 
(and even more, to express my opinion that it is your duty) to 
depart immediately for Detroit. * * * j j^j^Q-^y 

of no person whose experience would, at this time, be as satis- 
factory to the Government, and however inconvenient the dis- 
charge of this duty may be to yourself, it is what you owe to 
your country, and to the south shore of Lake Erie in particu- 



22 ANNALS OF THE 

lar." This difficult and laborious duty was immediately per- 
formed to the satisfaction of the Government. 

About 1835 the good people in Vienna, Trumbull county, built 
a meeting-house, now more properly, perhaps, called a church, 
on a joint stock plan, whereby each subscriber was to own such 
proportion of the church as his subscription bore to the entire 
cost of the building. Churches in those days were so inexpens- 
ive, and the attire of the people who worsliipi)ed in them so 
plain, that no one was deterred from attending them. I had 
then just commenced reading law in the office of David Tod. in 
Warren, and our minister wanted me to see Greneral Perkins or 
Leicester King, as the people in Warren had built a chiirch upon 
a similar })lan, to get the form of })aper which the several owners 
of the church ought to hold as evidence of their title, and 
suggested that they would furnish me with one. I called ui)on 
General Perkins, who cordially received me. He said in sub- 
stance that he believed that no formal ])aper of the kind had 
been drawn up for the owners of the church in Warren, but sug- 
gested that any paper stating the facts would be sufficient, and 
that his practice in such matters was to "tell the story and then 
stop."' This was good advice to one who was expecting to 
become a lawyer. In 1815 the State land tax paid by General 
Perkins, as agent and owner, amounted to one-seventh of the 
entire amount collected in the State. 

Calvin Pease, in April, 1803, was appointed President Judge 
of the third circuit, then comprising the counties of Trumbull. 
Washington, Belmont, Jefferson and Columbiana. He was then 
about twenty-seven years old and he held the office until March 
10, 1810. The first court held in Warren was between two corn- 
cribs, with a rough covering over them, owned by Ephraim 
Quinby. While upon the bench a case came before Judge Pease, 
involving the constitutionality of certain portions of an act of 
the Legislature of 1805, defining the duties of justices of the 
peace, and he decided certain sections unconstitutional and void. 
Public opinion then had not become settled upon the powers of the 



EABLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 23 

co-ordinate departments of the Government — the executiye, leg- 
islative, and Judicial. The separation of these dei)artments by 
clearly detined boundaries was attempted by American constitu- 
tions, National and State, but at this time these constitutions, 
upon this subject, had not been authoritatively construed, and 
Judge Pease had no precedents to guide him save his own con- 
victions of duty and his study of the theory of our then new 
form of government. It was insisted strenuously by many pub- 
lic men, and especially by members of the Legislature, that the 
Judgment of a majority of its members as to the constitution- 
ality of the law was evidenced by its passage, andthat that Judg- 
ment was final and not subject to revision by the courts, and 
that Judges who should decide otherwise were guilty of crime and 
liable to impeachment, the penalties of which were removal from 
office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, profit, or 
trust in the State. The question involved in this decision of 
Judge Pease was a grave one, requiring, in the then state of i)ub- 
lic opinion, great nerve and decision of character to make it. 
His reflections convinced him of his duty, and he faithfully per- 
formed it. His Judgment was afterwards affirmed by two of the 
Judges of the Sui)renie Court, Samuel Huntington and George 
Tod, but this did not satisfy public clamor, and articles of im- 
peachment were preferred by the House of Eepresentatives in 
December, 1808. against Judges Pease and Tod. Samuel Hunt- 
ington had been elected Governor, and the House of Represent- 
atives, no doubt, concluded it would be unwise to put him on 
trial. The charges against Judge Pease were three: 

1. That on an appeal from the Judgment of a Justice of the 
peace, for a sum exceeding twenty dollars, he had, as President 
Judge of the third circuit, reversed that Judgment on the 
ground that the Justice had no constitutional Jurisdiction of the 
case. 

2. That in an action for a sum lietween twenty and fifty 
dollars, commenced by an original writ from the Court of Com- 
mon Pleas, he had allowed the plaintiff his costs of suit upon 



24 ANA'ALS OF THE 

recovering judgments, contrary to the twenty-ninth section of 
the justices" act and the fifth section of the act organizing the 
judicial courts. 

3. That sitting as presiding judge of the Third Circuit, he 
had decided on various occasions that the court had full power 
to set aside, suspend and declare null and void the fifth section 
of the act defining the duties of justices of the peace. 

I have copied these charges from an article written by Gen. 
Crowell, of this city, and published in the Western Law Journal, 
and he informed me that he copied them from the State records 
at Columbus. 

The charges against Judge Tod were, substantially, that as a 
member of the Supreme Court he had affirmed the judgment of 
Judge Pease. On the first charge against Judge Pease the vote 
was unanimous for acquittal; on the second, for conviction, 15, 
for acquittal, 9: on the third, for conviction, 8, for acquittal, 
16. The Constitution requiring a concurrence of two-thirds of 
the Senators to convict, both Judges were acquitted. The pub- 
lic recejition of the recent decision of our Supreme Court decid- 
ing the Pond law unconstitutional, marks the change on that 
subject in public opinion since 1808. 

These impeachment proceedings did not shake the confidence 
of the public in the ability or integrity of Calvin Pease and 
George Tod, for both afterwards occupied prominent public po- 
sitions. Judge Pease, in 1815, was a])pointed Judge of the Su- 
preme Court of the State, and held the office two terms. Judge 
Tod was appointed the same year President Judge of the third 
circuit, and held the office two terms. Judge Pease was a man 
of few words, ])ut expressed himself with great force and clear- 
ness. His wit was overflowing and sparkling. About 1836 the 
AVhigs in the State of New York achieved quite a victory over 
the Democrats, an unusual event in those days, and a great jolli- 
fication meeting was held at the old court house in Warren, and 
eloquent speeches were made by leading public men ; and among 
them, if I am not mistaken, was Judge Daniel E. Tilden. Judge 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 35 

Pease was sitting at the bar table quietly enjoying the hilarity of 
the occasion. The audience began to call for him and were 
clamorous for a speech from him. He arose and said: " I feel 
like adopting the language of Simeon of old, ' Lord, now lettest 
Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word, for 
mine eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared bcr 
fore the face of all people. A light to lighten the Gentiles and 
the glory of Thy people Israel,' " and sat down amid tumultu- 
ous applause. 

Judge Tod was a learned lawyer and a cultured gentleman. 
His speeches on public affairs were able and elo(juent. He made 
Si profound written argument on his impeachment trial, which 
has been preserved by his descendants, in which he has asserted 
in a scholarly manner the right and duty of the judiciary in a 
proper case made to decide on the validity of the law. He was 
a friend of common schools and a patron of agriculture. The 
first agricultural society in Trumbull county was organized in 
1817, and he was elected its first president, and was connected 
with it many years. 

Thomas D. Webb was a lawyer, and in many respects a man 
of mark. He was the best posted lawyer in the history of the 
Western Reserve land titles I have been acquainted with. 
He had the energy of investigation into the minutest details, 
and a retentive memory that enabled him to profit by them. 
He was editor of the Trump of Fame, the first pai)er published 
on the Western Reserve. At the time of his death he had in his 
possession all the volumes of the published laws of Ohio from 
the organization of the State. His frankness was unusual. He 
was not a great advocate, but he was entrusted with important 
legal business, when such lawyers as Peter Hitchcock, J. R. Gid- 
dings, Elisha Whittlesey, Seabury Ford, Benjamin F. Wade, 
and Eben Newton were practicing lawyers at Warren and 
throughout the circuit. Mr. Webb was offered and refused the 
office of president judge of the third circuit made vacant in 1810 
by the resignation of Calvin Pease. 



26 ANNALS OF THE 

The early settlers of the A¥estern Keserve, for the noble pur- 
pose of bettering their condition, left old settlements where com- 
forts were abundant to found new ones where they were 
comparatively few. Not having a surplus of means they pro- 
posed to earn them, by setting up for themselves and executing 
their own plans instead of being the mere executers of the plans 
of others. This developed in them true manhood. Clerks and 
employes they might have been among the kinsfolk and friends 
they left liehind them, but this did not suit their plans of life. 
The command that '' in the sweat of thy face slialt thou eat 
bread," they did not regard "' a mistake of Moses." If intended 
as a curse, they turned it into a blessing. Hence all useful labor 
of hand or brain was regarded as equally respectable, and the 
farmer, the mechanic, the merchant, the artizan, and the pro- 
fessional man were on terms of social equality. Occupation was 
not the ground of social ostracism among the early settlers. 
Their habits and circumstances developed in them an independ- 
ent personality which dependence tends to destroy. The facil- 
ities of trade and commerce were quite limited, with little 
circulating medium as an agency of exchange. They used due 
l)ills and notes payable in commodities, raised or manufactured. 
I found a few years ago among my father's papers one of their 
mediums of exchange, which is worth more than its face as evi- 
dence of the manner in which the early settlers transacted 
business. I will read it: '•' Four months after date I promise to 
pay to Samuel Hutchins one dollar and fifty cents; for value re- 
ceived, in twelve pounds of good pork. Vienna, September 10, 
1812. Jacob Humason." Just seventeen days before the date 
of this paper I made application to my father's house for board 
and lodging. Whether this fact had any connection with my 
father's desire to add to his supply of pork, I do not know. The 
maker of this note was a good scholar for those days, as the notfr 
indicates. He had been educated in the schools of Connecticut^ 
and the style of writing is the old style — the George Washington 
and John Hancock style. 



EARL Y SETTLEBS' ASSOCTA TIOK. 2T 

Tlie early settlers were subject to many privations, and at 
times to multifarious inconveniences to which we are strangers. 
They encountered evils with which they had to struggle. They 
wrestled with intemperance, and some of them were thrown by 
it. The times are now largely changed, for better- or for' worse; 
for better in many respects, and in some for the worse, I fear; 
but that may depend upon the manner we heed the lessons the 
early settlers have given us. Cleveland, as well as the whole 
country, has made rapid advancement in wealth and pojralation. 
When your,honored President came to Cleveland in 1824, to make 
it his home, it had only a population of about four hundred, 
and its mechanical, manufacturing and mercantile capital was 
then quite limited, but probably adequate to the wants of the 
country. It now contains a population of over two .hundred 
thousand, and its wealth and the means of producing it have 
prodigiously increased. The increase of wealth and population 
of a country and city is generally regarded as evidence of their 
prosperity. That depends largely upon the character of the 
population and the manner in which wealth is employed. An 
idle population is likely to be vicious, learned or ignorant, rich 
or poor, and adds little, if any, to the prosperity of either city 
or country, and wealth which is employed exclusively or mostly 
for the seltish aggrandizement of those who possess it, is not a 
blessing without alloy. 

" 111 fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, 
Where wealth accumulates and men decay; 
Princes and lords may flourish or may fade, 
A breath can make them as a breath has made ; 
But a bold peasantry, their country's pride, 
When once destroyed can never be supplied." 

Greneral Garfield, in >September, 1880, when he was candidate 
for President of the United States, on the Northern Ohio Fair 
Clrounds made a few remarks from which I make brief quota- 
■ tions: 

" All who have though tfiilly considered the reports of the 



28 ANNALS OF THE 

National census during the last thirty years have observed the 
great growth of our cities and the comparatively small growth 
of population in our agricultural districts. * * * 
Let me ask you to reflect whether this is a good indication. I 
have time to notice but one feature of this problem. A careful 
study of the men who have won distinction in every field of ac- 
tivity, public and private, professional and commercial, will show 
that a large majority of them were born and bred in the country. 
* * * * Gentlemen, would you willingly see 

the present tendency continue until the majority of our people 
are the inhabitants of great cities? * * * * 

I see at this table lawyers and merchants whose eyes brighten at 
the remembrance of their country homes. One of the promi- 
nent lawyers and jurists of this State — an honored citizen of 
your city — does not regret his pioneer life in the woods of Portage 
county. I am sure that Judge Eanney does not regret the hard- 
ships and inspirations which country life gave to his boyhood." 
More than twenty years ago, Benjamin F. Wade, then a Senator 
in Congress, in a conversation I had with him, ex})ressed 
thoughts similar to those I have ((uoted from General Garfield's 
remarks. 

In connection with this subject it may be well to notice that 
none of the men who have been elected President of the United 
States were born and bred in our large cities. Only one of the 
]3resent judges of our Court of Common Pleas was born and bred 
in the city of Cleveland, and he was born of i)arents who were 
among the prominent early settlers of Cleveland, and who be- 
lieved with Solomon. " in training up a child in the way he 
should go.'' 

In our cities the "Pagans," the " Bill and Nancy Sykes" 
have their hiding places, and intemperance, followed by its 
ghastly train of evils, and seeking to ])erpetuate itself by the 
inherent tendencies of its own demoralization, has its strongest 
support in our populous cities. Our large cities are the centers 
of wealth and capital, and in them combinations are liable to be 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 39 

formed which tend to interfere with the natural course of trade 
and commerce, and which seek to regulate, for selfish purposes, 
the business of the country. Capital, clothed by law with the 
attril)iites of succession and perpetuity, may be. and frequently 
is, em})loyed oppressively and unjustly. N^o one need be sur- 
prised at the present day to learn respectable gentlemen had filed 
with the proper authority an application fdr a charter to trade in 
and control the air we breathe. 

With the increase of wealth and population the habits and 
customs of pioneer life will naturally be changed, and in some 
respects it may be well, but the benefits of a change which dis- 
penses with the industry and economy of pioneer life, and which 
stamps with disrespect any useful labor connected with it, may 
well be questioned. There is a tendency now-a-days among young 
people to seek occupations and positions which are lighter and 
esteemed liy many as more respectable than the drudgery of 
work in any of the avocations of life. Clerkships in private 
establishments and in government offices are much sought after 
by young men starting m life. These employments may be 
well enough as means to an end, and as stej^ping-stones to a 
higher plane of activity, but for a young man to make those 
avocations his business and to seek nothing above and beyond 
them is to dwarf his manhood and to make him dependent 
upon lirains not his own. Among the least desirable of these 
lighter occupations (I call them lighter because they seldom 
produce heavy results) is employment in the numerous depart- 
ments of the government. The labor is responsible and hard, 
but the chances of promotion to independent positions are small. 
They tramp and tramp on the same track year after year in 
the government treadmill. They have some privileges, to be sure, 
not enjoyed by the convicts in our penitentiaries. They are 
permitted to go home once a year and vote, Init the convicts 
have privileges not enjoyed by government employes. They 
are not obliged by " voluntary contributions" to pay a certain 
percentage of their earnings to keep their places. 



30 ANNALS OF TEE 

There is a tendency among parents who have the means to 
do it, to give their children the best opportunities and all the 
advantages that our scliools and colleges afford, without regard, 
always, to the tastes or capacity of the children; hence many 
young men and women are forced or dragged through a course 
of study which they may never use to much advantage to them- 
selves or others, and which may be the means of spoiling them 
for the rugged duties of honorable and productive labor, on the 
farm, in the workshop, or in the coimting-room. A farmer in 
the oil regions of Pennsylvania sold his farm for a sum which 
made him a millionaire, and he had a dear daughter who 
had been educated up to the standard of the circle in which 
she moved, but her kind father was not satisfied with this, as 
he wanted her to be a bright and shining light in the higher 
branches of education, and especially in music, but his daughter 
had little inclination or taste in that direction. The father 
was not to be l^affled in his laudable desire to elevate and re- 
fine his daughter, so he sent her to a ])rofessional teacher of 
music for instruction. In about three months he visited his 
daughter to see how she was getting along in her studies. The 
teacher told him she was not progressing as well as he could 
wish — she did not seem to have a capacity for music. " Ca- 
pacity," replied the father, "go and buy her one; I have plenty 
of money." 

A young man or woman who has the will to obtain a thor- 
ough education, and an ability to use it, will, at this day, find 
a way to acquire it. Leonard Case, Sr., is said to have ac- 
quired a good knowledge of arithmetic when making baskets 
on his father's farm. John Bright, of England, in a speech 
recently made at Birmingham, referred to a Scotch peasant 
authoress, Janet Hamilton, who never had any education ex- 
cept that derived from the reading of the plays of Shakespeare, 
which she had committed to memory. She was untaught in 
■ the rules of grammar, yet she wrote English according to the 
best standards. No writer has been able to tell us, when, where, 



EABLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 31 

or how, Shakespeare obtained his education. EliJiu Burritt, 
the learned blacksmith, acquired the rudiments of liis educa- 
tion while working at the anvil. 

We are indebted to the discipline and statesmanship of the 
early settlers of Ohio, and especially of the Western Eeserve, 
for our system of common schools, which ])laces within the reach 
of all children within the State, rich or poor, the means of a 
good education. The support of common schools in Ohio, by 
taxation, did not become fully crystallized into a system till 
after the adoption of the Constitution in 1851. The attention 
of the people had been repeatedly called to the subject by most 
of the governors of Ohio, and the Legislature had sparingly 
made provision for the support of schools by taxation, but their 
support by taxation met with strenuous opposition. Acts were 
passed in 1821 and in 1825 by the Legislature providing means 
for the support of schools, and may be said to be initiatory 
steps to the present system, but the amount raised by them 
and amendatory laws had not been uniformly assessed and had 
not been systematically administered. In 1830 and 1831 John 
W. Willey, one of the early and distinguished settlers of 
Cleveland, and Harvey Eice, now your President, were elected 
members of the Legislature — Mr. Willey to the Senate and Mr. 
Rice to the House — and through their exertions and influence a 
law was passed authorizing the sale of the lands which had been 
granted by Congress to the inhabitants of the Western Reserve 
for school purposes. Mr. Willey drew up the bill, and Mr. Rice 
was appointed agent to sell the lands. The amount realized 
from their sale was about $150,000, which was loaned to the 
State as an irreducible fund, the interest of which is to be an- 
nually paid to the counties of the Western Reserve according to 
the enumeration of children of school age in each county. The 
Constitution of 1851 made it the duty of the General Assembly 
to " make such provision by taxation or otherwise, as with the 
income arising from the school trust fund will secure a thorough • 
and efficient system of common schools throughout the State." 



33 ANNALS OF THE 

Many, very maiiy of the early settlers were members of the con- 
vention which framed this constitution. Peter Hitchcock, Ja- 
cob Perkins, and R. P. Ranney, were members from the counties 
of Trumbull and G-eauga, and Sherlock J. Andrews and Reuben 
Hitchcock from the county of Cuyahoo-a. It devolved upon the 
General Assembly of 1852-3 to make provision hy law for the 
establishment of a system of common schools in obedience to 
this provision of the constitution I have quoted. Harvey Rice, 
your President, Avas elected a Senator from this county in that 
Legislature, and was appointed chairman of the Senate Commit- 
tee to which the subject of " common schools and school lands" 
was committed. On the 39th day of March, 1852, he intro- 
duced a bill "to provide for the reorganization and maintenance 
of common schools" and it became a law March 1, 1853. This 
law has been amended and changed, but the system which it 
organized has not been changed. Perhaps the modesty of your 
President may lead him to object to the introduction of his name 
in referring to our school laws, Init he must consider, and I am 
sure you will agree that the omission of the name of Harvey 
Rice, when referring to the law of 1853, entitled " an act to pro- 
vide for the reorganization and maintenance of common schools," 
would be "■ the play of Hamlet with the part of Hamlet 
omitted." 

I have referred to some of the tendencies of the times as 
suggestions for consideration. Evils, to be avoided, must be 
understood and their location marked, as the dangers of navi- 
gation are indicated by buoys in our rivers and lakes. When 
American slavery raised its rebellious arm against the Govern- 
ment which protected it, its true character was seen, and it 
was swept away by the angry waves of public opinion; and all 
the Mrs. Partingtons with their mops and brooms were power- 
less to prevent it. I am not one of those who believe that 
our civilization is receding, or that our government is threat- 
ened with overthrow. If the fountains of the executive, legis- 
lative, and judicial branches of the government are kept pure, 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 33 

we are safe. It is the duty of the people to keep them pure, 
and I have confidence they will faithfully perform it, and that 
the government which the industry and wisdom of the early 
settlers have established will be preserved in the vigor of its 
youth, and in the strength of its manhood. 



A LIFE SKETCH OF THE LATE GOV. WOOD. 

BY NOBLE H. MERWIN, ESQ. 

Mr. Peesident: Descended from English parentage, Keuben 
Wood, the twenty-second Governor of Ohio, was born in the 
village of Middletown, Rutland County, Vt., in the year 1792. 

He was the eldest son of Nathaniel Wood, a minister, and 
during the war a chaplain in the revolutionary army. The fam- 
ily were distinguished for their devotion to the patriot cause. 
Three of his father's brothers were participants in the battle of 
Bennington. Maybe from their patriotic example in those stir- 
ring times were derived the principles, and devotion to demo- 
cratic, as distinguished from monarchial, institutions, that char- 
acterized the man during his long life. 

Arriving at a suitable age for study, he was sent by his father 
to a cousin named Fairfield, in Ernestown, Upper Canada, where 
he studied law with the Hon. Barnabas Bidwell, and at the same 
time began his classical and other studies with an English cler- 
gyman, with all the ardor of youth, thus laying the foundation 
of the education and culture that were to be of benefit to him in 
his future aspirations. To his dying day his constant compan- 
ions were well-thumbed editions of the Greek Testament and 
Caesar's Commentaries, which he read in the original with 
facility. 

Kt the commencement of the war in 1812, Eeuben Wood,, 
still a student, and while residing in Canada, was drafted into 
'the Royalist militia, then mustering under General Brock for 
3 



34 ANNALS OF THE 

the defence of the coast against the American fleet. He was 
tall, of powerful frame, and Avas detailed to a company of gren- 
adiers; hut being determined not to hear arms against his na- 
tive land, he took advantage of a stormy night and the excite- 
ment incident to a village hall, and in company with Bill John- 
son, afterwards so notorious as an American spy and the "Hero 
of the Thousand Isles," made his way to a birch-bark canoe, 
concealed for the purpose under a barn, and started for the 
American shore. 

The wind blew a gale, the rain fell in torrents, the lake be- 
came momentarily rougher; finally the adventurous spirits Avere 
obliged to seek shelter on an island, where for three days they 
lay secreted, suffering for food and drink: a bottle, supposed to 
contain brandy, which they had brought with them in their hur- 
ried flight, proving to be full of liquid blacking I At last, nearly 
famished, they reached Sacketts Harbor, then occupied by the 
fleet under Com. Chauncey, where they were arrested by the pa- 
trol boats and imprisoned four days as spies. At the expiration 
of that time an uncle from the neighboring town of "Woodville, 
hearing of the capture, gave satisfactory assurances of their loy- 
alty, when they were released, Wood going to his mothers at 
Woodville, New York, for a time, afterwards to Middletown, 
and Johnson entering the American service as a spy. 

At the time of the movement of the English forces by water 
and by land for the invasion of the Eastern States by way of 
Lake Champlaiu, young Wood raised a company of which he was 
chosen captain, and marched to assist in the defense of his coun- 
try, but before they reached the American army the battle of 
Lake Champlain had taken place, resulting in the defeat of the 
English; the company returned home and disbanded. 

' Wood, then at Middletown, entered the office of Gen. Jonas 
Clark, a distinguished practitioner, where he continued the study 
of law. In 1816 he married Miss Mary Rice, of the neighboring 
town of Ira, the next year removed with her to his mother's 
house in Woodville, and in September, 1818, came to Cleveland, 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 35 

in those days farther away than Oregon or Alaska are now, lit- 
erally to seek his fortune. 

It is not for us to tell his asi)irations for position, wealth and 
lionors, nor how high his hopes rose or fell as he stepped ashore 
in the scattering, straggling hamlet of that day. A few houses 
standing here and there on the river's bank, the clearings 
scarcely encroaching on the virgin forest that came to the 
water's edge; only a few years back the aborigines had hunted in 
those woods, and fished in the waters soon to bear the fleets of 
an empire. 

Although he had been admitted to practice in the Vermont 
courts, he was compelled for lack of means to go on foot to Ra- 
venna, where the Supreme Court was in session, to secure the 
diploma that enabled him to practice in the courts of the State. 
He afterwards brought his wife and infant daughter to Cleve- 
land, coming from Buffalo on the Walk-in-the- Water, the first 
steamer ever on Lake Erie. In the absence of piers, and owing 
to the sand-bars then across the river's mouth, the passengers 
were landed in small boats. When he thus finally made his res- 
idence in Ohio, his wife walked at his side; he carried his infant 
daughter in his arms; he had a silver quarter of a dollar in his 
pocket ; that was all. 

In 1825 he was elected to the State Senate, filling the posi- 
tion three consecutive terms of two years each. He was after- 
ward elected President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of 
the district of which Cuyahoga was one of the counties. This 
position he occupied six years, and was then chosen to the bench 
of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and twice re-appointed — the last 
three years as Chief Justice. His entire term of judicial service 
was about twenty years. 

The data are not at hand from which to give an analysis of 
his judicial decisions, it must suffice to say that his influence 
had a marked effect in shaping the judiciary of the State, some 
of his opinions being given on important questions of the day 
and receiving great attention; and that as a judge he was inflex- 



36 ANNALS OF TSE 

ible in the administration of justice, of grave and dignified de- 
meanor when npon the bench, highly esteemed by his fellow 
jvidges, and held in high regard by the bar and by honest liti- 
gants. For a number of years he was a prominent lawyer in 
Cleveland. He had two or three partners at different times, 
among others, the Hon. Harvey Rice. As a lawyer, he was keen 
and sharp in getting at the truth, being particularly skillful in 
criminal cases. He was a man of sound sense, who despised 
quibbles, seized the strong points, and endeavored to reach jus- 
tice in a case by the most direct path. 

Reuben Wood was a man of deep kindness of heart, of great 
geniality of disposition, and of tender symijathies. He had a 
keen wit, and admired wit in others. Possessing an inexhaustible 
fund of anecdote connected with the early days of Northern Ohio, 
he was one of the most agreeable of companions, retaining his 
freshness and vivacity to a good old age. When the country was 
new, and ''traveling the circuit" was part of a lawyer's duty, he 
was the center of a circle of talented legal gentlemen whose leis- 
ure hours were devoted to social intercourse, the pleasures of 
which were greatly enhanced by his overflowing humor and 
kindness of manner. Many are the stories of the unbending of 
the Solons, their mad pranks and practical jokes, that linger in 
the traditions of the early bar of Ohio. 

In the various official positions filled by him the breath of 
suspicion was never lisped against him. In his long career of 
public life he maintained a character above reproach. Even the 
heat and injustice of party conflict never left its mark upon his 
character, and his warm, personal, private friendships never 
were chilled by the bitterest political excitement. As a candidate 
for the suffrages of his fellow citizens he was very popular with 
his party, and his tall, erect form and commanding mien as a 
leader, had won for him the familiar and expressive title of the 
"Old Cuyahoga Chief." Thus, when in October, 1850, he was 
made the candidate for Governor by the Democratic party, al- 
though the dominant party had been Whig for a number of 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 37 

years, he was elected by a majority of 11,000 over Judge John- 
son, of Hamilton County, his opponent. Although the canvass 
was a spirited one, not a line of abuse or a blemish on his private 
character was ever hinted at by a single paper in the State. In- 
deed, such was his personal popularity throughout the State, ev- 
ery county of which he had visited either as an advocate or as 
judge, that many Whigs, personal friends, were found either 
electioneering or voting for him. 

He took his seat as Governor in 1851. 

In national politics it was a time when, after the passage of 
the odious Fugitive Slave law, the country was full of dissension 
and discussion. Governor Wood was always opposed to the ex- 
tension of the slave power, and was an anti-slavery man, although 
he deprecated unlawful or unconstitutional means for the aboli- 
tion of slavery. In his inaugural address he expressed his natu- 
ral aversion to the institution, and asserted that "the Demo- 
cratic party has opposed, and ever will oppose, either the diffu- 
sion or the extension of slavery into any territory of the United 
States by every legal and constitutional means, and would re- 
joice if any mode not doing violence to others coiild be devised 
to overthrow and eradicate the evil." 

During his administration the State enjoyed unusual peace 
and prosperity, and the gubernatorial chair was never filled more 
worthily. Always tempering justice with mercy, of great kind- 
ness of heart, one of the trials of the position was the constant 
appeals of convicts for pardon. The New Constitution, so called, 
went into effect in March, 1851, thus vacating the office. Gov- 
ernor Wood was re-nominated by the Democracy, and re-elected 
in October, 1851, by a majority of 26,000 over Samuel F. Vin- 
ton, the Whig candidate, a majority at that time unheard of in 
the political annals of Ohio. His second term of office began in 
January, 1852. 

At the assembling of the Democratic convention at Baltimore 
in June, 1852, that party was so strongly in the ascendant 
throughout the Union that a nomination was considered equiva- 



38 ANNALS OF THE 

lent to an election, and Governor AVood was spoken of as a 
prominent candidate. The strife between Lewis Cass and Ste- 
phen A. Douglass, the leading candidates, was a bitter one, last- 
ing for several days; finally, after forty or fifty ballots had been 
taken, the Virginia delegation sent a committee to the Ohio del- 
egation, offering to give the entire vote of Virginia in the con- 
vention to Governor Wood if Ohio would bring liim oiTt. Owing 
to the chairman of the Ohio delegation having personal feeling 
against the Governor, this proposition was declined. Then they 
made the offer to the New Hampshire delegation, who accepted 
it; Franklin Pierce was nominated and elected. Thus, personal 
jealousy and ingratitude prevented a nomination that would un- 
doubtedly have resulted in the election of Eeuben Wood to the 
Presidency, a position his experience in legislation, in the- judi- 
ciary, and in the State government would have qualified him to 
fill with credit to himself and satisfaction to his countrymen. 

Positions of public trust, such as Governor AVood had held 
during his long official life, while they are full of honor when 
occupied as he filled them, rarely are remunerative, especially 
when they take up tlie time that should be devoted to a profes- 
sion. Therefore, when in the spring of 1853 he was offered the 
consulate at Valparaiso, Soutli America, then said to be one of 
the most valuable offices in the gift of the President, he accepted 
it, resigning the Governorship into the hands of the Lieutenant 
Governor, William Medill, and left Cleveland for that far dis- 
tant land on the 12th of July, 1853, accompanied by his family. 

He issued an address to the people of Ohio, expressing his 
regret at leaving them, gratitude for their confidence in him du- 
ring all the years of his public life, and hoi^es for their contiinied 
happiness and prosperity. 

His departure was accompanied by the regrets of thousands 
of friends. The press throughout the State expressed the live- 
liest interest in his welfare. 

In the absence of the Envoy to Chili, he filled for a time, in 
addition to the consulate, the position of Plenipotentiary and 
Envoy Extraordinary to the Government of that Republic. 



EAEL Y SETTLESS' ASSO CIA TIOH. 39 

The consulate not proving as remunerative as had. been rep- 
resented, he tendered his resignation and returned to the United 
States in July, 1854. 

This was the last position he ever held, either by election or 
appointment. 

For a time he practiced law in Cleveland, but at last with- 
drew entirely from the profession, and devoted himself during 
his remaining years to the cultivation of his farm, Evergreen 
Place, eight miles west of the city, where he had resided since 
1833, and where he was wont to retire at intervals during his 
public life for relaxation. He had spent many years in beauti- 
fying and adorning this home, where he always dispensed a gen- 
erous hospitality, enlivened with reminiscence and anecdote, for 
which his conversational powers of the highest order well quali- 
fied him, and where he now lived like another Cincinnatus, 
sharing with his men the labors of his farm and field. 



^to 



" The remnant of his days he safely passed, 

Nor found they flew too slow, nor flew too fast; 
He made his wish with his estate comply, 
Joyful to Hve, yet not afraid to die." 

We have seen his devotion to the principles of liberty, and to 
the Union. He continued until the last to take great interest 
in public affairs; he foresaw the inevitable struggle with slavery 
and was strong in his support of the Government in the suppres- 
sion of the rebellion. 

He had lived more than the allotted three score and ten. 
His hair had become silvered, and his vigorous frame bent and 
enfeebled, although his mind was still active and his wit keen 
as in youth. He visited the city on Thursday, and return- 
ed at night apparently in his usual health, but toward morn- 
ing was seized with an acute disease of which he died on the fol- 
lowing Saturday, October 1, 1864, at the age of 72. His remains 
rest in Woodland Cemetery, at Cleveland. A plain marble shaft 
inscribed with his name marks the spot. 



40 ANNALS OF THE 

ANNOUNCEMENT OF MEMBERS DECEASED 
WITHIN THE PAST YEAR. 

BY REV. THOMAS CORLETT. 

The following are the names of members of the Association 
who have died since our last annual meeting: 

Age. Name. Born. Came to the Western Reserve. Died. 

70 Levi Bauder, 

80 Mrs. Maria A. Critteadeu, N. Y. 
72 Marshall Carson, 
74 Thomas Hird, 
80 Mrs. Deborah Crocker, 
66 Judge Jesse P. Bishop, 

71 Jacob Lowman, 
76 John Lloyd Slosson, 
74 John H. Gorham, 
76 Charles H. Norton, 
69 James W. Kingsbury, 
58 Ransom O'Connor, 
50 James A. Garfield, 

Of each of these deceased members of our Association I would 
briefly say: 

Mr, Levi Bauder was a business man, pursuing the trade of 
cabinet maker, and maintained through all the fluctuations of 
business the reputation of an honest and good man. 

Mrs. Maria A. Crittenden, wife of the late N. E. Crittenden, 
showed her business ability in conducting successfully the large 
jewelry store which has been for many years such an ornament 
to our city. 

Marshall Carson was a paper merchant, and kept the first 
paper store in Cleveland, and carried on painting. 

Thomas Hird commenced life as a day laborer, and by thrift 
and economy became one of our most thriving farmers. 

John Lloyd Slosson kept a boarding house. 

John H. Gorham was an active business man, and with a 
heart and hand ready for every good work. 



N.Y., 


1812, 


1834, 


Jan. 30, 


1882 


N. Y., 


1802, 


1837, 


Jan. 9, 


1882 


N. Y., 


, 1810, 


1834, 


Jan. 


1882 


Eng., 


1808, 


1830, 


Mar. 31, 


1882 


N. Y., 


1796, 


1801, 


Nov. 18, 


1881 


Vt., 


1815, 


1836, 


Oct. 28, 


1881 


Md. 


1810, 


1832, 


Oct. 26, 


1881 


Mich. 


, 1806, 


1812, 


Oct. 23, 


1881 


Conn. 


, 1807, 


1838, 


Dec. 18, 


1881 


N.Y., 


1805, 


1888, 


Feb. 23, 


1881 


Ohio, 


1813, 


1813, 


Sept. 30, 


1881 


Ohio, 


1824, 


1824, 


May 7, 


1882 


Ohio, 


1831, 


1831, 


Sept. 19, 


1881 



EAELY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 41 

Charles H. Norton was a dealer in cattle, and kept a meat 
market for some years, with better impulses of heart than his 
rough manner might indicate. 

Ransom O'Connor was a thriving farmer, and for many years 
an active member of the Disciple Church in Collamer. 

James W. Kingsbury, the last member of Judge Kingsbury's 
family, lived on the old homestead, formerly in the township of 
Newburgh, but now the city of Cleveland. He was an interest- 
ing and well disposed citizen, leaving to his orphan children the 
legacy of a good name and a Christian character. 

Mrs. Deborah Crocker was at the time of her death one of 
the oldest residents of this county; trained from early childhood 
in the school of pioneer life, and deeply impressed with the 
truths of religion, she developed into full grown Christian wom- 
anhood, and for many years her influence for good, strong and 
sustaining, did much good, and will long linger in the hearts 
and memory of those who knew her. 

Jacob Lowman commenced working in this city at the age 
of twenty-two; after working a year for Mr. Elisha Peet, at the 
smithing department of carriage building, he bought out his 
employer and employed one wagon maker and one carriage 
builder, he himself doing the smithing. From this small be- 
ginning he steadily prospered until he became one of the most 
extensive and best known carriage manufacturers of the State. 
The sterling qualities of head and heart which marked his ear- 
lier years, were prominent throiighout his whole life, and coupled 
as were those with the fear of God, he could be none other than 
what he was: a good citizen, a wise counselor, a, strong pillar in 
the Church of God, and a loving and judicious father. 

Judge Jesse P. Bishop was at the time of his death on,© of 
the vice-presidents of our Association, and a resident of Cleve- 
land forty-four years; and here I take the liberty of quoting from 
the notice in one of our city papers at the time of his death, of 
this good man: ''As an incorruptible judge, an honest and 
laborious lawyer, a public spirited citizen, a zealous Christian, 



42 ANNALS OF THE 

an exemplary husband and father, and a friend to the poor and 
needy, he was a man among men, and the people of Cleveland of 
all professions, sects and parties among whom he lived and 
wrought for nearly half a century, feel a personal and irrepara- 
ble loss in his death, which is the strongest and most eloquent 
tribute that can be paid to the worth and memory of any one." 
To the memory and worth of our deceased honorary mem- 
ber, James A. GarfieM, who was at the time of his death Presi- 
dent of the United States, it would be presumption, with all 
that has been said and written about him, to add anything. A 
nation's grief and sorrow at his cruel and untimely death, and 
the warm sympathy of the whole civilized world, must be ac- 
cepted as a better tribute to his memory than any thing that can 
be said here. 



CALL BY THE PRESIDENT FOR VOLUNTEER 

SPEECHES. 

The next on the programme was a call from the president for 
volunteer speeches. A number of responses were made, and 
they were without exception witty and extertaining, and were 
heartily appreciated and applauded. 

Judge Daniel E. Tilden was the first member called upon. 
He led off with a Joke at his own expense, and then informed 
the assembly that last year at their meeting he was discouraged 
on seeing so many black heads, but this year the case had altered 
a little. The white head was the badge of pioneerism, he said. 
He concluded by showing how our advanced civilization was 
worked out by the strokes of these hardy men and women. 



EA RL Y SETTLERS' ASSO CIA TION. 43 



RESPONSE BY A. J. WILLIAMS, ESQ. 

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : 

I am admonished that time is of the essence of these off-hand 
speeches, and that each must fall within the limitation of ten 
minutes. I am further advised by a kind whisper from our hon- 
ored treasurer that the early history of Chagrin Falls should be 
my theme. If I am to be restricted to matters of interest in the 
early history of that enterprising little village, then the time al- 
lowed me is more than ample to compass its entire history. 

I moved from Ontario county, N. Y., to Chagrin Falls, in 
1840; aboiit seven years after the woodman's axe was first sound- 
ed in the forest where the village now stands. The little village 
was then in three townships and two counties. The townships 
were Orange and Solon in Cuyahoga county, and Eussell in 
Geauga. The township of Chagrin Falls was not organized 
until about 1845. The principal street running through the 
village was on the line dividing Cuyahoga and Geauga counties. 
In 1841, by an act of the Legislature, Cuyahoga county was en- 
larged by adding thereto that portion of the present township of 
Chagrin Falls that theretofore had been in Geauga. Prior to 
the organization of Chagrin Falls township, the few voters of 
the village cast their ballots in the original three townships 
named. 

That year, 1840, was distinguished for the peculiar argu- 
ments and methods adopted by the Whigs in the Harrison- Van 
Buren campaign. These arguments and methods consisted of a 
free use of hard cider: making the air resonant with doggerel 
songs: 

" Tippecanoe and Tyler too, 

And with them we'll beat little Van," etc., 

and in the display in processions of coon-skins and miniature log 



44 ANNALS OF THE 

cabins. What could the poor locofocos say in answer to such 
logic? Simply, nothing. 

The Whigs had an oracle at Chagrin, Dr. J. H. A'incenfc, 
then a candidate for the Legislature. He played the fife, was a 
good singer, and could make a speech. The Democrats had no 
oracle. They were characteristically meek and forbearing. They 
partook of the hard cider, enjoyed the songs, and admired the 
emblematic displays of their enemies with Christian fortitude; 
but when the Whigs improvised a cannon with which to disturb 
their early morning slumbers, it proved too much, and they de- 
termined that that thing should be suppressed. Sure enough, 
one bright morning the Whigs awoke to find their gun non est. 
The Democrats had borrowed that gun and buried it in a swamp 
near by, where it remained until 1844, when it was resurrected 
to celebrate the election of James K. Polk. To the discomfiture 
of the jubilant Democracy, however, that year the Whigs, in 
turn, quietly horroived the gun and threw it over the falls, where 
it has since been buried in the waters of Chagrin Eiver. 

The hard-cider argument was a little more difficult for the 
Democrats to handle. There were so few of them that they 
found their caimcity inadequate to dispose of it by the rules of 
Democratic logic, in siich case made and provided. I remem- 
ber well, when, on a Saturday evening, oiir hilarious opponents 
laid in a barrel of hard cider preparatory to a cami)aign trip the 
next Monday. The barrel was rolled into the Whig store of 
Hillis & James. There was a double door to the store, only one 
of which was used. Through this door the barrel was taken, 
rolled around and left with one head about two feet from the 
other door. The Democrats were around, with their hands in 
their pockets, watching and whistling. One of their number, 
Ben Hull, who had an engineer's eye, took in the situation, and 
carefully measured the distance from the door to the barrel; 
keeping his own counsels, he at once procured an auger, took it 
to a forge, lengthened it as the necessities of the case required, 
and in the dead of that night, when all AVhigs were slumbering. 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 45 

bored through the store-door and into the barrel. On the next, 
Sunday, morning, the Whigs, one by one, came around to con- 
sult about the programme of the morrow, and to draw cheer and 
courage from tho bung-hole of that barrel. Their consternation 
was beyond utterance, when, upon examination, they found that 
their logical beverage had gone l^eyond the reach of their straws, 
and the barrel was empty! The news of this Democratic out- 
rage was soon communicated to all the faithful. It was Sun- 
day, but during that campaign Sunday was like any other day. 
Business and religion were alike suspended, and the '*' Smith 
Sunday Law " had not then been heard of. Another barrel of 
hard cider was readily procured and on hand for Monday's 
revelry. 

In 1843, C. T, Blakeslee and Jehu Brainerd inaugurated a 
monthly journal at Chagrin Falls, entitled Farmers and Me- 
chanics' JoiLrnal. It was a pamphlet publication, copiously il- 
lustrated. Mr. Brainerd did all the engraving, and he and 
Blakeslee made the wooden press upon which the Journal was 
printed. I am informed that it was the first agricultural paper 
published in Ohio. In a short time Blakeslee sold out his in- 
terest to one H. 0. Calkins, who, with Prof. Brainerd, contin- 
ued the publication of the Journal until 1844, when they sold 
the establishment to one H. G. Whipple. Whipple conceived 
that Chagrin Falls was a good field for missionary work. Mor- 
monism had flourished there; the Millerites had taken the place 
by storm in 1843; every phase of religious fanaticism had taken 
ready root there; and above all, Whiggery prevailed; and why 
was it not a good field for the missionary? Whipple thought so, 
and when he bought out Brainerd & Calkins he issued in Cha- 
grin Falls a red-hot Democratic newspaper. Think of it, — a 
Democratic newspaper printed in Chagrin Falls! I would as 
soon think of re-publishing the Standard of the Cross in the 
jungles of Central Africa, as to print a Democratic paper in 
Chagrin Falls. His missionary work went on thoroughly for 
about a month; perhaps a week or two longer. Whipple was 



46 ANNAL.S OF THE 

called awiiy on important business. He entrusted his foreman, 
M. S. Barnes, with writing the editorial, and making up the 
inside of that week's edition. The outside had already been 
printed and was chuck full of Democracy. Barnes took the 
inside in hand, but he was a Whig. He could not write a Dem- 
ocratic editorial to save his life. The result was that the outside 
of that issue was furious for the annexation of the " Lone Star," 
'for " Fifty-f our-Forty or Fight," and all other Democratic 
measures of that campaign, while the inside antagonized all 
these measures; was purely Whig, and intensely hostile to every- 
thing that even looked Democratic. The only explanation given 
by Barnes was in a little editorial saying that Whi})ple was " rev- 
elling among the Tombes." What he meant by this I have 
never been able to find out. In a few days Whipple returned, 
discharged his foreman, issued two or three more numbers of his 
paper, and from that day to this, neither patriot nor hero has 
been found who cared to publish a Democratic newspaper in Cha- 
grin Falls. 

In 1852 the good old Whig party expired. Strange and 
startling as it may seem, it received its death blow at Chagrin 
Falls, and at the hand of my distinguished friend Judge Tilden. 
It may be a sad reminiscence, but its importance entitles it to a 
place in recorded history. 

The Western Eeserve had been the stronghold of the Whig 
party in Ohio, but its anti-slavery convictions were stronger than 
its party ties. The National Convention of the party that year 
nominated General Scott for the Presidency, but in its platform 
it resolved against the further agitation of the slavery question. 
This was too much for the Whigs of the Reserve, and without 
them the State was sure to cast its electoral vote for the Demo- 
cratic candidate, Franklin Pierce — a result sure to follow if the 
Whigs of the Reserve supported the Free Soil candidate, John. 
P. Hale. 

Ben. Wade, then in Washington, took in the situation, inter- 
viewed General vScott, and received assurances from him that 



EA RL Y SETTLERS' ASSO CIA TION. 47 

rather than see slavery extended, he would sacrifice his right 
arm. Wade knew that that old hero meant Just what he said, 
and that the result of this important interview should at once be 
made known to the anti-slavery Whigs of the Western Reserve. 
Knowing that on the Reserve there was no Whig more influen- 
tial, and no abolitionist more earnest than Judge Tilden, Wade 
at once wrote to him what General Scott had said. Tilden was 
satisfied, and then determined that he could best place the good 
news upon the breeze at Chagrin Falls. He went* there, and in 
a vigorous Whig sjieech stated the substance of Wade's letter, 
and returned to his home in Cleveland. 

In a few days a good friend in Chagrin Falls wrote him that 
his statement in regard to the Wade letter was doubted; there- 
upon he sent the original letter to the Chagrin friend. But 
there it met the omnipresent and irrepressible Plain Dealer re- 
porter, who took a copy of the letter and published it in the 
next issue of that paper. That was a good thing if the Plain 
Dealer had not circulated beyond the Western Reserve. But 
unfortunately it went into the Southern States, and the letter 
was largely copied in the Democratic papers in that section, and 
threatened the ruin of the Whig party throughout the entire 
South. The Southern Whigs in Washington called on Wade 
and asked, "Is this so?" As good fortune would have it, the 
Plain Dealer had misprinted one word; entirely immaterial, but 
nevertheless a misprint, enough to justify Wade in denying the 
authorship of the letter. He did so with characteristic vehemence, 
and wrote to Tilden that the letter was raising hell with Scott 
in the South, and as the published copy was inaccurate, he had 
denied writing such a letter, and that he (Tilden) must destroy 
the original. I don't know whether Judge Tilden made another 
Whig speech on the Reserve or not; but faithful to his old friend 
Wade, and true to his party, he determined to consign the fatal 
letter to oblivion. With his true and tried friend S. I. Noble, 
and other Whigs, >lie took a steamer at Cleveland and sailed for 
the great Lundy's Lane Scott jollification. That letter weighed 



48 ANNALS OF THE 

heavily upon his mind. Consulting with Mr. Xoble they con- 
cluded that there was no better time to dispose of the letter than 
when they were beyond the sight of land. Tying a weight to 
the dread paper, and calling Noble as a witness, with judicial 
gravity Judge Tilden consigned it to the depths of Lake Erie. 
Oh, what relief was then given to a troubled breast! 

But it was too late; the die was cast; that letter had done 
its fatal work in the South, where Scott received the electoral 
vote of but two States, Kentucky and Tennessee, and Wade's 
denial had neutralized Scott's assurance on the Western Reserve, 
and Ohio cast her electoral vote for Pierce. The Whig party 
was dead. Who says Chagrin Falls has no place in history? 



RESPONSE BY HON. R. P. RANNEY. 

Judge R. P. Ranney was the next speaker, sup2:)lementing 
Judge Spalding's remarks with another version of the way in 
which the Western Reserve obtained its name, relating several 
facts and anecdotes of an amusing character. It is much to be 
regretted that a full report of his excellent speech has not been 
procured for publication in these pages. 



RESPONSE BY HON. R. P. SPALDING. 

Mr. President, and Ladies and Gentlemen: If my 
honored friend, Judge Tilden, had propounded his question to 
me: " Did you ever know a man attempt to speak when he had 
nothing to say?" he knows well what the reply would have 
been. 

Somewhere about fifty years ago that gentleman made his 
first effort to address a jury, as my associate in a cause on trial 
in the Common Pleas of Portage county. He arose with a good 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 49 

deal of dignity and said, with emphasis: " (Tentlemeii of tlie 
Jury! ! I "' But beyond this it seemed impossible for him to get, 
until finally, after many repetitions, he said: "Gentlemen of 
the jury, if you do not decide this ease in favor of my client, 
you will — you will — " ("dampen my aspirations," I whispered 
in his ear) " You will dampen my aspirations, gentlemen!" 
When he said this in a commanding tone of voice, I caught up 
my hat and left the Court House. He soon followed, and I was 
obliged to sue for peace. But badinage aside. 

We have heard much about the " Western Eeserve," its set- 
tlement and progress. It is about as good a country as the sun 
shines upon, but then what of its name? It is, properly speak- 
ing, the " Connecticut Western Reserve," and the name orig- 
inated in this wis6: 

In 1662 the charter of Charles II granted to the colony of 
Connecticut '•all lands between the parallels of 41 and 42 de- 
grees North latitude, from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. " 
After American independence was established, a com[)romise was 
effected whereby Congress secured to the State of Connecticut 
3,800,000 acres of land in the northeastern part of what is now 
the State of Ohio, and Connecticut relinquished all further 
claim to the Western territory. 

500,000 acres of this land, in the western part, was donated 
by Connecticut, in 1792, to certain sufferers by fire, in the war 
of the Eevolution. The residue was sold to an association of 
gentlemen known as the " Connecticut Land Company," who 
sent out Gen. Moses Cleaveland, in 1796, with a number of prac- 
tical surveyors to divide it into townships of five miles square. 
It was this body of men who, in the autumn of 1796, laid out 
the town of Cleveland and called it by the name of their leader. 
In February, 1823, when I first attended court in this county, 
Cleveland had a population of 400 souls. ' At this time the enu- 
meration in the city runs up to 200,000, and it may not be ex- 
travagant to say that the child is already born that may see it 
teeming with a population of more than half a million. 
4 



50 ANNALS OF THE 

In the spring of 1819 I was descending the Ohio Eiver from 
Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, in a skiff, with someyonng traveling 
companions who, like myself, had become tired of the stage 
coach. It took us some ten days to reach the end of our route, 
as we could not proceed in the niglit season, Imt we became 
highly interested in the scenery upon the river bank in the day 
time. 

I well recollect our visit to Backus' Island, a little below 
Marietta, Avhere, in 1800, Harmon Blennerhassett and his accom- 
plished wife had made for themselves a palatial residence which 
continued to be the abode of peace and hapi)iness until in an 
evil hour it was entered by Aaron Burr, who, like Satan in the 
Eden of old, visited this earthly paradise only to deceive and 
destroy. The place and tlie parties are made historical by the 
eloquence of AVilliam Wirt at the trial of Burr in Richmond. 

At the time of my visit the i)lace was in ruins, but enough 
remained to enable me to judge of its past splendor and magnifi- 
cence. The learned Dr. Hildreth, in his " Lives of Early Set- 
tlers of Ohio," has given a faithful picture of this " classical 
retreat," as it stood before the torch of the incendiary was 
applied, ;ind it is well worthy of examination. 

In 1793 John Armstrong lived on the Virginia side of the 
Ohio river, opposite the upper end of this island of Blennerhas- 
sett. A party of Indians crossed the Ohio from the mouth of 
the Little Hocking, and in the night season approached Arm- 
strong's house, killed Mrs. Armstrong and her three youngest 
cliildren, and carried into captivity three older children, the 
youngest of whom was Jeremiah, a lad then about eight years 
old. They were adopted into the Indian nation as their chil- 
dren, and lived for some years at Lower Sandusky, near Fre- 
mont. Jerry was afterwards recovered, by an older brother, 
from the hands of Billy Wyandot, an Indian chief, with whom 
he lived. When I was first a member of the Ohio Legislature, 
in the winter of 1839-40, I boarded at the house of this same 
identical Jeremiah Armstrong, who was, for many years, a well 
known and highly respected citizen of Columbus. 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 51 

We have many of us, in our school-boy days, admired the 
eloquent strains of the youthful declaimer, as he recited the 
l)laintive speech of Logan, the Indian Chief, made before Lord 
Dunmore, in the war of 1794: 

"I apjieal to any white man to say if he ever entered Logan's 
caliin hungry and he gave him no meat; if he came naked and 
cold and I clothed him not. * * * q^j^ Cressup, 

last spring, in cold blood, and unprovoked, murdered all the re- 
lations of Logan, not sparing even my women and children. 
There runs not one drop of my blood in the veins of any living 
creature." Etc., etc. 

It is not generally known that the famous speech was read to 
Governor Dunmore under an oak tree, ui^on the soil of Ohio, 
some seven miles from Circleville. In the winter of 1818 I vis- 
ited Caleb Atwater, at Circleville, and he asserts this fact in his 
History of Ohio, page IKi. 

In 1799 the settlement of Deerfield, in Portage county, com- 
menced; Lewis Ely and family moved in in July of that year. 
On the 7th of November, 1800, the first marriage in the county 
took place between John Campbell and Sarah Ely. They were 
joined in wedlock by Capt. Austin, Esq., a Justice of the Peace, 
of Warren, in Trumbull county. He came through the woods, 
on foot, a distance of twenty-seven miles, accomj^anied by a 
young lawyer of the name of Calvin Pease, who instructed the 
Justice in regard to the formulary, while on the road. 

In February, 1819, this same John Campbell, then a State Sen- 
ator, accompanied me in my journey on horseback, from Columbus 
to the Western Reserve, on my first visit to this section of the 
State, and I have ever felt indebted to him for many courtesies. 
In October, 1821, Calvin Pease, then Chief Justice of Ohio, 
admitted me to the practice of the law. 

But I am transcending [my limits, and must make my bow. 



52 ANJ^ALS OF THE 

RESPONSE BY GEORGE H. ELY, ESQ. 

Mr. Pkesidext: The story of the Western Reserve has 
been often told. Again have its gi-eat events and its thrilling- 
scenes been rehearsed by surviving actors, who can say concern- 
ing them, ••' All of whicli I saw and part of which I was." 

This is a theme which will never grow old. To you, at least, 
venerable fathers and mothers, whose eyes have followed the sun, 
almost to its setting, and to whom, looking now into the West, 
the glow of evening brings peace; it contains the fruitage of 
character and eartlily life. The significance of these events and 
your relations to them will only dee]ien with the passage of 
your remaining years. 

The settlement and the advancement of the Reserve consti- 
tute one of the finest passages of recent American history. 
Here is a conspicuous instance of the successful transi:)lanting- 
of ideas, principles and habits of a people, and the making of 
them a positive force in the subjugation of the wilderness, and 
the rearing of a new community. 

This was not done to any large extent l)y organization and 
combined effort for the movement of population. There was 
no exodus from New England for the planting of its counter- 
part west of the Alleghanies. Individual emigrants with wife 
and children, joined, perhaps, by a neigldior. took the path 
through the wilderness to the '"' Far West," and they gathered 
here upon the principle of natural selection. It is true that 
the Reserve attracted settlers also from other sections of the 
country, biit the majority came from New England, and to reach 
their future home they passed the falls of the Genesee and 
crossed the garden of the Emj^ire State. It followed that New 
England ideas and principles had a controlling influence in 
molding social and political conditions here. 

The party sent out by the Connecticut Land Comjiany to sur- 
vey its newly acquired domain, arrived at Conneaut Creek July 



EA RL Y SE TTLERS' A SS O CIA TION. 5 3 

4tli. niHJ. From that i)()int the work was immediately begun, 
one ])arty running the line of its eastern boundary southward 
and another going northw^ard. The mouth of the Chn'ahoga was 
laid out. and honored with the name of the leader of I he expe- 
dition — (reneral Moses Oleaveland. 

But the arrival at Conneaut Creek is worthy of mention. 
General Cleaveland made of this the following record: " On this 
creek (Conneaut), in New Connecticut land, July 4. IT'.HJ, under 
(reneral Moses Cleaveland, the surveyors and men sent out by 
the ( '(uinecticut Land Com])any to survey and settle the Con- 
necticut Reserve, were the first English people who took posses- 
sion of it.*" 

He further says: ''We gave three cheers and christened the 
place Fort Independence, and after many ditiiculties, i)erplex- 
ities. and hardships were surmounted, and we were cm tlie good 
and })romised land, felt tluit a just tribute of respect to the day 
ought to l)e ])aid. There were in all. including women and 
children, fifty in mnnl)er. The men under Captain Tinker 
ranged tliemselves on the beach aiid tired a federal salute of fif- 
teen rounds, and then the sixteenth, in honor of N^ew Connecti- 
cut; drank several toasts, closed with three cheers, drank several 
})ails of grog, supped and retired in good order." 

Notice in this record the claim to first English occupation, 
and the loyalty that would not let them forget in the wilderness 
the birthday of tlie Republic, and that quaint but honest declar- 
ation, that " after several pails of grog, they supped and retired 
in good order.'" 

The arrival of this i)arty on the shore of Lake Erie, and con- 
tem})oraneous events, mark an important epoch in the history of 
the new nation. 

During the two and a half centuries i)reyious to this time 
the continent had been penetrated by Spanish and French ex- 
l)l(n-ers from different points on the Atlantic coast. In the south 
Ponce de Leon and De Soto had sought gold and the "Fountain 
of Perpetual Youth,"* and in the north French missionaries and 



54 ANNALS OF THE 

exjilorers liad ascended through the St. Lawrence and the Great 
Lakes to the far northwest. But the object was discovery, with 
a view to military occupation and religious projiagandism. One 
hundred and seventeen years before the event at Conneaut 
Creek (in 16T9), a solitary sail had passed that spot, but it bore 
no intending settler. It carried cannon. It was La Salle seek- 
ing the pathway to China across the continent, and to plant the 
arms and the faith of France in the valley and at the mouth of 
the Mississippi. This he accomplished in the following year. 

There had been a long and doubtful struggle between the 
French and the English for supremacy in the new Avorld. Init 
long before this it had ended in favor of the English. This and 
the final subjection of the Indian tribes prepared the way for 
the new nation of the new world. The issue of the Eevolution- 
ary war afterwards settled the further cpiestion of infinite im- 
portance, that the control of this continent by the English- 
speaking race was to be administered under the highest conditions 
for success — free institutions. 

With the close of the Revolutionary war came rapidly on the 
settlement of many qttestions preliminary to the growth and ex- 
pansion of the national life westward. 

Several of the seaboard States had claims, througli royal 
grants, to extensive territory west of the existing State bound- 
aries. The extinguishment or adjustment of these claims, often 
conflicting, was among the first duties of the new Federal Gov- 
ernmeni. A few years saw this mainly accomplished. 

The claims of Connecticut to land in the new northwest ter- 
ritory, however, were measureably defined, at least on three sides. 
Tlie royal charter in 1G62 gave to her a strip of land, bounded 
on the east by Xaragansett river, on tlie north by Massachusetts, 
and on the south by Long Island Sound, and extending west- 
ward between the parallels 41° and 42° 2" north latitude to 
the mythical "South Sea." 

That portion of the charter lying immediately west she could 
not obtain, it having been previously granted to New York and 



EABLT SETTLESS' ASSOCIATION. 55 

in possession. The •" South Sea" she could never find, and that 
portion of her charter lying between it and the Keserve, we sup- 
pose, she rather reluctantly abandoned. In 1786 Connecticut 
relinquished to the United States all claims to territory outside 
of a line one hundred and twenty miles west of the boundary 
line of Pennsylvania and parallel with it. In 1792 she granted 
five hundred thousand acres (the Fire Lands) from the western 
side of this Eeserve to citizens whose property had been burned 
in tlie war. The remainder of her lands she sold in 1795 to the 
Connecticut Land Company for twelve hundred thousand dol- 
lars. 

This, I believe, was the final transaction which brought the 
entire domain of the new northwest territory under the jurisdic- 
tion of the United States. But I must not detain you with 
even these brief allusions to the events and influences which 
prepared the way for the Western Keserve of to-day. Here she 
is in her aiorv and strength, a I)eautiful creation. Your life- 
work, my friends, has been done upon it, and I knoAv tliat 
now. at last, with the whitened hair and the trembling step, 
there has also come into your hearts the joy and the pride 
of successful achievement. Tlie Reserve that we see might well 
have been predicted from the happy confluence of so many favor- 
ing elements in its origin and progress. 

The location central, and at the foot of the Great Lakes, was 
a guarantee of future commercial influence. The climate was 
good, the soil was fertile and the country well watered, while 
the heavy forest with which it wa^ covered, evoked and chal- 
lenged, as no prairie land bright with flowers could ever do, 
those sturdy qualities of manhood that are essential to the 
building of a state. These liigh material advantages have been 
pushed to their highest utility, it is needless to say, in the 
hands of a sober, industrious, intelligent and God-fearing peo- 
l)le, and so they have been made tributary to the highest ob- 
jects of social and political organization. Xaturally, the first 
endeavor was to utilize to tlie fullest extent the water commu- 



56 ANNALS OF THE 

iiications by the lakes. Then came the construction of canals, 
connecting the Ohio river and the Pennsylvania canal system 
with Cleveland harbor. Cleveland was now asserting herself 
as the metropolis of Northern Oliio. But about 1850 com- 
menced that marvelous advance whicb followed the construc- 
tion of railroads upon the Keserve. The track of commerce 
between the East and the West and the Southwest lay across 
the Reserve, and within ten years several roads reached out 
to tlie interior from this harl)()r. But railroad construction, with 
ship building, assumed vastly increased importance when the 
iron ores of Lake Superior were brought to the coal de])osits of 
the Reserve. 

This lighted the tires around our harbors and throughout our 
valleys, and the Reserve has rapidly become the seat of immense 
and varied manufacturing industries. 

But, my friends, what shall we say of the social, political 
and religious characteristics of the Reserve, underlying all 
this material progress? '^Die} are, thank God, what might 
have been expected from the early seed. 

The school-house at the cross-roads, and in the city the acad- 
emy and college, and the church and the home where faith in 
God and the qualities of a true manhood are nourished and vi- 
talized, these are the grand insignia of the inheritance we have 
received, venerable and bcldved friends, from you. 



r 

The exercises of the day were now closed by singing to tlu' 
tune of " Old Hundred" the " Early Settlers' Hymn,-' in which 
the audience joined with the Quartette Club, followed with the 
Doxology. 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 57 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



EARLY CIVIL AND COUNTY ORGANIZATIONS, 
SOUTH SHORE OF LAKE ERIE. 

Hon. Harvey Rice, Pres. Early Settlers" Association: 
It has occurred to nie tliat the members of yo\ir Association 
would be interested in a review of the successive civil jurisdic- 
tions which have attached to the soil of this county. 

While the French occupied the south shore of Lake Erie 
there was not the semblance of courts or ma-sristrates for the trial 
of civil or criminal issues. This occupation ended in 17(!(), Init it 
is an 02)en historical question when it l)egan. La Salle was in 
the Ohio country from 1669 to 1671 or 1672, though he estab- 
lished no ])osts, and the records of his occupation arc lost. 
There are, on the Western Reserve, quite a number of ancient ax 
marks upon trees, over which the growth of woody layers corres- 
ponds to those dates, and which a]qiear to me to have been made 
by ])arties of his expedition. The French had posts at Erie, 
Pa., on the Cuyahoga, on Sandusky liay. on the Maumee and 
■Great Miami rivers as early as 1749 and 1752; and ])rol)ably car- 
ier at sonu' points in Ohio and Pennsylvania. In 1748 the 
English colonists from Pennsylvania had a trading i)ost at San- 
dusky bay, from which they were driven by the French. 

Pennsylvania had, however, no civil authority west of her 
boundary, which is described as being five degrees of longitude 
west from the Delaware river. The C!olony of Vii'ginia had 
claims, under various charters and descriptions, to a jiart of 
Pennsylvania, and all the territory to the west and northwest as 
far as a su])posed ocean called the South Sea. Immediately 



58 ANNALS OF THE 

after the peace of 1763 with the French, the Proyince of Canada, 
was extended by act of Parliament, southerly to the Alleghany 
and Ohio rivers, (jreat Britain promised the Indian tribes that 
the whites should not settle north of the Ohio river. 

So far as I am now aware, the first civil organization under 
the authority of Virginia covering the Western Eeserve. was that 
of the County of Botetourt, erected in 1769, with the county 
seat at Fincastle, on the head w^aters of the James river, between 
the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies. But before this, there 
must have been a Virginia county covering the Forks of the 
Ohio, and extending, probably, to Lake Erie; for the troops 
captured at the Forks, now Pittsburgh, by the French in 1749, 
Avere Virginia militia, under Ensign "Ward. It is probable that 
he was, or supposed himself to be, within the county of Au- 
gusta. Settlers from that colonv located on the Monongahela 
and the Youghiogheny. In 1776 three counties were erected on 
those waters, some parts of which possibly included a part or all 
of the Eeserve. These covered a part of Westmoreland county, 
Pa., which was settled from that State. This conflict of author- 
ity brought a miniature civil war, which was soon overshadowed 
by the war of the Revolution, in which both Virginians and 
Pennsylvanians heartily joined. 

In 1778, soon after the conquest of the British forts on the 
Mississippi and the Wabash, by Gen. George Rogers Clark, A^ir- 
ginia erected the county of Illinois, with the county seat at Kas- 
kaskia. It embraced the south shore of Lake Erie, Detroit, 
Mackinaw, Green Bay, and Prairie Duchien; but for practical 
purposes, only Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and St. Vincent or A^'in- 
cennes. The British held possession of the Ohio country and all 
the lakes. For the English forts on both shores of the lakes 
there was no county or civil organization during the Revolu- 
tionary war. The government of this almost unlimited region 
was exclusively military, of which Detroit was the central jiost. 
British soldiers and officers were at all the trading forts in Ohio, 
exercising arbitrary authority over the Indians and the white 



EARLY SETTLEBS' ASSOCIATION. 59' 

traders, including the Moravian settlements on the Tuscarawas 
and the Cuyahoga. 

After the treaty of peace in 1783, the same state of affairs 
continued, until, by successive campaigns against the Indians, 
the United States drove them off by military force. All the 
lives lost, the forts built, and the expeditions made in the North- 
west, from 1785 to 1794, were a continuation of the war of the 
Eevolution against England. Even after the second treaty, in 
1792, she built fort Miami, on the Maumee, within the State of 
Ohio. The result of the battle of the Rapids of the Maumee, m 
August, ] 794, put a stop to her overt acts against us for a timej 
Init it was not until after the war of 1812 that she abandoned 
the project of recovering the American Colonies. While in her 
possession, until 1796, there were at the i^osts on the lakes, jus- 
tices of the peace or stipendiary magistrates, exercising some 
civil authority, but none of them resided on the south shore of 
this lake. 

This subject of early civil jurisdiction is a very obscure one, 
owing to indefinite geographical boundaries. I have received 
the assistance of Judge Campbell, of Detroit, of Silas Farmer, 
the historian of Detroit City, and of Mr. H. C. Gilman, 
of the Detroit Library, in the effort to trace out the extent 
of the Canadian districts and counties, with their courts, from 
1760 to 1796. Their replies agree, that it is difficult to follow 
the progress of civil law on the peninsula of Upper Canada west- 
ward to the Detroit river and around the lakes. In 1778, Lord 
Dorchester, Governor General of Canada, divided Upper Canada 
into four districts for civil purposes, one of wdiich included De- 
troit and the posts on the upjier lakes. Early in 1792 the Upper 
Canadian Parliament authorized Governor Simcoe to lay off 
nineteen counties, to embrace that lu-ovince. It is presumed 
that the county of Essex, on the east bank of Detroit river, in- 
cluded the country on the west and south around the head of 
Lake Erie, but of this the information is not conclusive. Some 
form of British civil authority existed at their forts and settle- 



■60 ANNALS OF THE 

ments until ])etroit Avas given u]), and all its dependencies, in 
17!t<;. When Gov. St. Clair erected the countv of Washington, 
in Ohio, in 1788, it embraced the Western Reserve east of the 
Cnyahoga. West of this river and the Tnscarawas was held hy 
the Indians and the British. 

The State of Connecticut claimed jurisdiction ovei- the Re- 
serve, but made no movement toward the erection of counties. 
W^hen she sold to the Land Company, in 1795. Ix^th j)arties im- 
agined that the deed of Connecticut conveyed i)owers of civil 
government to tlie com])auy, and that the grantees might organ- 
ize a new State. As the United States objected to this mode of 
setting up States, this region was. in ]iractice, Avithout any mag- 
isti'ates, courts or other organized civil authority until that ques- 
tion was settled, in 1800. Immediately after the British had re- 
tired, in 1796, Governor St. Clair erected the county of Wayne, 
with Detroit as the county seat. It included that part of the 
Reserve west of the Cuyahoga, extending south to Wayne's 
treaty line, Avest to the Avaters of Lake Michigan and its tributa- 
ries, and north to the territorial line. Its l)oundaries are not 
very precise, but it clearly embraced about one-third of the pres- 
ent State of Ohio. The question of jurisdiction when Wayne 
county Avas erected, in 1796, remained o]»en, as it had under the 
county of Washington. In 1797 the county of Jefferson Avas es- 
tablished, em])racing all of the Reserve east of the Cuyahoga. 
When Trumbull county Avas erected, in 1800. it embraced the 
entire Western Reserve, Avith magistrates and courts having full 
legal authoi'ity under the territorial government. Before this, 
although no deeds could be executed here, those executed else- 
Avhere Avere, in some cases, recorded at Marietta, the county seat 
of Washington county. Some divines had ventured to solemnize 
marriages before 1800, by virtue of their ministerial office. Du- 
ring the first four years of the settlement of the Reserve there 
was no law the force of .Avhich Avas acknowledged here, l)ut the 
law abiding sjiirit of New England among the early settlers was 
such that peace and order generally prevailed. By the organi- 



EARLY SETTLEBS' ASSOCIATION. 61 

zation of (leauga couuty, Marcli 1, 180G, what is now Cuyahoga 
county, east of the river, belonged to Geauga, until 1809, when 
this county was organized. 

Very respectfully, yours, 

Cha8. Whittlesey. 



MEMORIAL OF AHIMAAZ SHERWIN. 

BY HIS DAUGHTER, MRS. E. G. ROSE. 

During the past year many of those whose names appear in 
the "'Annals of Early Settlers' Association," have passed from 
among us, and with them is laid away volumes of unwritten his- 
tory of rare interest, relating to the early days of Cleveland and 
surroundings. 

One of these. Ahimaaz Sherwin, than Avhom ncme took 
greater interest in all that concerned the times, past or present, 
departed this life on the 24th of January, 1881, after a few 
hours' illness, at the ripe old age of 80 years. He retained, up 
to his last day, the perfect enjoyment of a most active and ver- 
satile mind, that was a complete storehouse of interesting and 
amusing reminiscences of Cleveland pioneer life. 

Mr. Sherwin was born on the oth of February, 1792, in the 
town of Baltimore, in the southeastern part of Vermont; after- 
wards living in Hartland and Middleliury till his marriage and 
subsecpient removal. He left Middlebury for Cleveland, Febru- 
ary 10th, 1818, making the entire journey in a two-horse sleigh, 
accompanied by his wife and little daughter (now Mrs. J. D. 
Carlton, of Elkhart, Ind.), and bringing some household goods. 
The sleighing was excellent all the way, and the weather very 
severe, the thermometer standing .for ten days below zero, mod- 
erating, however, as they reached Buffalo. 

An incident of the journey which illustrates the hardships of 
traveling in those days, occurred between Buffalo and Dunkirk. 



•62 annal:^ of the 

As they crossed the lake on \\\v ice between those points, they 
came, early in the evening-, nnexpectedly ujjon a sink-hole, into 
which the horses plung-ed. thoroughly wetting the occujiants of 
the sleigh; hut soon righting- themselves, they rode on with fro- 
zQn clothes, but with ardor undampened, to find a stopping 
place for the night. They arrived in Cleveland the 1st day of 
March, making an eighteen days" journey; a little snoAv covered 
the ground, but soon disappeared. Could find no place m the 
city to stop, was therefore obliged to go out to East Cleveland, 
then known as Doan's Corners, consisting at that time of the 
Doan Hotel, kept by Job Doan, a log house opposite, and a one 
story house on the corner of Doan street and Euclid avenue, oc- 
cupied by Judge John H, Strong. Eichard Blinn owned a farm 
on the Newburgh road; there Mr. Sherwin made his first home, 
and his first employment was to finish the inside carpenter work 
of Mr. Blinn's house, Avhich enabled him to return to Vermont 
on the 26th of August, 1818, with a two-horse team, to bring to 
Cleveland his parents and two sisters. 

On the return trip, upon reaching Buffalo, he left his parents 
to continue the journey with the team, while he and his sisters 
took passage on the sloop Huntington, commanded l)y Capt. 
Day, of Black Kiver. Left Buffalo on a clear, pleasant evening, 
but when near Erie, a most perilous storm arose, and they were 
driven back to Point Abino, where they remained until the 
storm abated, reaching Cleveland on the morning of the seventh 
day out of Buffalo. A flat-boat came out to the sloop and took 
off the baggage and passengers, landing them on the side-hill 
near the foot of Superior street. "Foot & Walker's Line" was 
the only accommodation in those days, so they were obliged to 
continue their journey to Doan's Corners on foot, the interme- 
diate distance being then an almost unbroken wilderness, with 
hut two or three openings l:»etween. The i)athway through the 
the Avoods and brush was delightful at that season; the trees in 
beautiful foliage and laden with nuts, many bushels being gath- 
ered that fall. Peaches were also abundant that season. They 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 63 

arrived at the "Corners" just in time to meet the other mem- 
bers of the family driving in. The journey consumed six weeks 
from time of leaving Cleveland. 

Mr. Sherwin's first i)urcliase of property was a piece of tim- 
ber land, fifteen acres, of Jno. H. Strong, where the Euclid Av- 
enue Congregational Church now stands. There his parents 
lived several years, till his father's death. The first large 
piece of work undertaken in this city was the finishing of the 
inside of the Johnson House, kej^t by Levi Johnson. The next 
was building a large two-story house for Horace Perry, now 
standing, corner of alley and the Square, occupied at present as 
a market; considered in those days a fine building. About this 
time he also built a steam flouring mill at the foot of St. Clair 
street, for Wm. G-. Taylor, the first in the city. Finished the 
home of Nathan Perry, on Euclid avenue, now occupied by N. 
P. Payne; then did the wood Avork of the Weddell stone dwell- 
ing, for Peter M. Weddell, now owned and occupied by Horace 
P. Weddell. These houses were the only ones on the avenue at 
that time, except Orlando Cutter's. The residence where Henry 
H. Dodge lives being built soon after. 

He assisted in surveying and laying out Prospect, Ontario and 
St. Clair streets, and many others. The year 1827 was attended 
by much sickness — fever and chills — which proved fatal to great 
numbers. Among those who fell victims to the fever was his 
wife. The canal was put through in that year, which probably 
caused the unusual sickness. In 1828 he contracted a second 
marriage with Miss Sarah M. King, who survives him after a 
union of over fifty years. Six children remain, a son and daugh- 
ter by his first wife, and four daughters by his present wife. 
Although nearly blind the last few years of his life, he never 
murmured, but was ever cheerful and j^atient, entertaining ev- 
eryone who visited him, and seeming to impart to them a meas- 
ure of his own happy nature. 

The first piece of property purchased by Mr. Sherwin in the 
city, was on the corner of Ontario and Prospect streets, eight 



64 ANNALS OF THE 

rods S([iiare. Tie afterward sold it to Clark & Willey, and is 
where the "Farmers' Block" stood. It afterwards reverted to 
his possession again and was held by him a number of years, 
In-inging when sold what was then considered a fair price, bnt 
which would now be a mere nothing. In 183"^he]mrchaseda small 
farm, part of the Richard Blinn farm, on the Newburgh road, 
and in March. 1832, moved out there, developing it into one of 
tbc finest farms in the vicinity of Cleveland — gratifying every 
sense Ijy its natural beauty and varied resources. There may be 
some yet who remember with pleasure riding out there to the 
sugar camp in the early spring to feast on maple syrup, warm 
sugar and wax. 

In 1853 N. C. Baldwin ])urchased the 2)lace, and Mr. Sherwin 
built a brick house on Fairmount street, near the village, being 
the only house then on that street between the Newburgh road 
and the Corners, except the old Stark house. During his latter 
years he built, occupied and sold several homes, residing a ])or- 
tion of the time with some of his daughters, s^tending the last 
two years of his life, however, at 51 Si])ley street, the last home 
he built. The enterprise of his youth which enabled him to 
make those two long, tedious Journeys from the east to the west, 
there to establish a home and help build up a city, seemed never 
to Hag. He took the greatest interest in everything progressive 
— in politics, religion and science. All recollections of early 
times given by others to the papers, were lived over in his mem- 
ory. He was greatly interested in the Early Settlers' Associa- 
tion, though not permitted to attend their meeting, owing to 
feebleness and advanced years. Of all the old friends of whom 
he often spoke, who have witnessed the growth of our beautiful 
city from its small beginnings, John W. Allen and Moses White 
alone remained at the tinie of his decease. 

With reverent hearts, scan the list of the noljle dead who have 

left behind so rich a legacy of worthy deeds and noble thoughts. 

For them, 

"Life's labors done, 
Life's battles won, 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 65 

No need of granite stone 

Their virtues to record. 
In loving hearts enshrined, 
The good shall ever find 

Virtue its own reward." 



Cleveland, July 2, 188-^. 



WHEN I CAME. 



Mr. President: 1 came to the Reserve in 1824 in a vessel; 
landed in Cleveland the third day of May, about five in the even- 
ing; Captain Williamson commanded the vessel; was obliged to 
cast anchor three miles out; no wharves or docks; came ashore 
in a small boat. The captain hesitated about trying to come on 
shore until morning, but finally he says: '"If you dare venture, 
I will take two sailors and your trunk." We had no such mam- 
moth trunks as there are in this age. There were a hundred and 
sixty passengers, and most of them sea-sick. I said I would as 
soon be at the bottom of Lake Erie as to be here; we made the 
attempt, and got on shore all right. The ca})tain took me up 
to Doctor Mcintosh, who then kept public house. There we 
found Doctor Burton and Rodney Strong, the doctor on horse- 
l)ack, and Mr. Strong in a buggy, who very kindly gave me a 
i-ide to Euclid, now Collamer. The road was very full of stumps, 
the trees were cut, but the stumps were still standing. After 
going about two miles there came up a heavy thunder-shower; 
we were in total darkness, only when it lightened. The doctor 
was directly behind us, urging us on, but we arrived safe at Mr. 
.Strong's door at eight in the evening; he was then keeping pub- 
lic house in the Lyndley House, now torn down; this was Sat- 
urday evening. Sunday, at noon, Mr. Adams came there, and 
after an introduction, he invited me to go to church with liim 
— a nice old gentleman, Mr. Darius Adams' father — he said he 
5 



66 ANNALS OF THE 

would give me the best seat iu the churcli. I went. He seated 
me with General Dille and wife on a bnggy seat that they had 
brought in for their own convenience. The minister was the 
Rev. Mr. Bradstreet; he boarded in our family, Doctor Burton's. 

The next week I attended a dancing party at the house of 
Mr. David Bonnell, quite a small log house. It stood where Mr. 
Harbeck's house now stands. The musician was Mr. James 
Hendershot — splendid music. I enjoyed it much; all plain, 
happy people — no strife for dr.ess or fashion. The same week 
the school directors came for me to teach the school in Frogville, 
now Collinwood; went down in an ox team; the roads were 
just logs thrown together, very rough. I taught three months; 
boarded in Mr. Hale's family, now all dead. Among the schol- 
ars was a large, hardy young chap. I was often amused, stand- 
ing at the window to see him crack chestnut burs with his heel. 
He is now an honorable member of your Association. 

Very few of the old settlers are left. I could mention many 
interesting circumstances of the early settlers. When the Doc- 
tor arrived at Euclid he had but two shillings left. He and an- 
other young man flipped a copper to see which should have 
the district school; it fell to the Doctor's lot to teach the school, 
and by that means he got into practice and was very successful. 

I will take no more time. 

Mks. a. p. Burton. 
Oollamer, Aug. 20, 1882. 



Note. — It may not be improper to state that the writer of the foregoing is 
the widow of Dr. Elijah Burton, deceased, who for many years was a resident 
physician of Euclid township. He came to Euclid in 1820, taught the school 
for awhile, and studied medicine with Dr. Farnsworth, a physician of that vi- 
cinity. Dr. Burton soon acquired an enviable reputation as a medical practi- 
tioner, and especially in diseases peculiar to a new country. He was a noble- 
hearted man, kind and liberal, and highly respected by all who knew him. He 
died in 1854. 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 67 

NAMES OF EARLY SETTLERS WHOM I KNEW. 

Cleveland, 0., July 20, 1882. 

The following, to the best of my recollection, are the names 
of men who lived in what was then Cleveland, in the fall of 1811 
and spring of 1812. Possibly a few names may be missing. I 
will begin north of the Kingsbury creek, on Broadway: 

The first was Maj. Samuel Jones, on the hill near the turn 
of the road; farther down came Judge John Walworth, then 
postmas:er, and his oldest son A. W. Walworth, and son-in-law. 
Dr. David Long. Then on the corner, where the Forest City 
House now stands, was a Mr. Morey. The next was near the 
now American House, where the little post office then stood, and 
Mr. Hanchet, who had just started a little store. Close by was 
a tavern, kept by Mr. George Wallace. Then on top of the hill, 
north of Main street, Lorenzo Carter and son, Lorenzo, Jr., who 
ke})t tavern also. The only house below on Water street was 
owned by Judge Samuel Williamson with his family, and his 
brother Matthew, who had a tannery on the side hill below. On 
the corner of Water and Superior streets, was Nathan Perry's 
store, and his brother, Horace Perry, lived near by. Levi 
Johnson began in Cleveland about that time, likewise two broth- 
ers of his, who came on soon after; Benjamin, a one-legged man; 
and I think the other name was John. The first and last were 
Like captains for a time. Abraham Hickox, the old blacksmith; 
Alfred Kelly, Esq., who boarded with 'Squire Walworth at that 
time; then a Mr. Bailey, also Elias and Harvey Murray, and 
perhaps a very few others in town not named. 

Then on what is now Euclid avenue, from Monumental 
Square through the woods to East Cleveland, was but one man, 
Nathan Chapman, who lived in a small shanty, with a small 
clearing around him, and near the now Euclid Station. He 
died soon after. Then at what was called Doan's Corners lived 
two families only, Nathaniel, the older, and Maj. Setli Doan. 



68 ANNALU OF THE 

Then on the south, now Woodland Hills tivenue, first came 
Richard Blinn, Rodolphus Edwards, and Mr. .Stephens, a school 
teacher; Mr. Honey, James Kingshury, David Burras, Eben 
Hosmer, John Wightman, William W. Williams, and tliree 
sons, Frederick, William W., Jr., and Joseph. Next, on now 
the Carter pUice, Philomen Baldwin, and four sons, Philomen, 
Jr., Amos, Caleb, and Runa. Next, James Hamilton; then 
Samuel Hamilton (who was drowned on the lake), his widow, 
;ind three sons, Chester, Justice, and Samuel. Jr., in what was 
since called Newburgh, and now Cleveland. Six by the name 
of Miles- — Erastus, Theodore. Charles, Samuel, Thompson, and 
Daniel. Widow White, with five sons, John, William, Solo- 
mon, Samuel, and Lyman. A Mr. Barnes. Henry Edwards, 
Allen (iaylord, and father and mother. In the spring of 1812, 
came Noble Bates, Ephraim and Jedediah Hubbell, with their 
aged fatliei- and mother, (the latter socm after died;) in each 
family were several sons; Ste})hen Gilbert, Sylvester Burk, with 
six sons, II B. Burk, (laius, Erectus, &c. ; Abner Cochran, on 
what is now called ^tna street. Samuel S. Baldwin, Esq., 
was sheriff and county surveyor, and hung the noted Indian, 
John Omic, in 1813, Next, V. L. Morgan, with three sons. 
Y. L., Ji. . Caleb, and Isham A. The next, on now Broadway. 
Dyer Sherman, Christopher Gunn, Elijah, Charles, and Elijah 
Gunii, Jr. ; Robert Fulton, Robert Carr, Samuel Dille, Ira En- 
sign, Ezekiel Holly, and two sons, Lorin and Aljihonso; Wid- 
ow Clark, and four sons. Mason, Martin, Jarvis, and Rufus. 

Newburgh was set off from Cleveland and named, I think, in 
1814 or 1815. I have never seen it on record, but well recollect 

the circumstance. 

Y. L. Morgan. 



A Complete List 



OF THE MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATIO>f SINCE ITS ORGANIZATION, NOVEMBER 19, 

1879, TO OCTOBER 1, 1881— TOTAL 394. 









CAME TO 




NAME. 


WHERE BORN. 


WHEN. 


THE RESERVE. 


DIED. 


Andrews, S. J. 


Connecticut, 


1801 


1825 


1880 


Allen, J. W. 


Connecticut, 


1802 


1825 


.... 


Adixms, S. E. 


New York, 


1818 


1837 


.... 


Adams, Darius 


Ohio, 


1810 


1810 


.... 


Ackley, J. M. 


Ohio. 


1835 


1835 


.... 


Abbey, Seth A. 


New York, 


1798 


1831 


1880 


Addison, H. M. 


Ohio, 


1818 


1818 


.... 


Adams, Mrs. Mary A. 


Ohio, 


1811 


1811 




Andrews, Mrs. J. A. 


Ohio, 


1816 


1816 




Adams, W.K. 


New York, 


1812 


1831 


.... 


Anthony, Ambrose 


Massachusetts, 


1810 


1834 


.... 


Adams, Mrs. E. E. 


Ohio, 


1836 


1836 


. . . 


Atwell, C. R. 


New York, 


1813 


1817 


.... 


Adams, G. H. 


England, 


1831 


1840 


.... 


Avery, .J. T., Rev. 


New York, 


1810 


1839 


.... 


Angell, George, 


Germany, 


1830 


1838 


. . . . 


Bingham, Elijah 


New Hampshire, 


1800 


1835 


1881 


Buruham, Mrs. M. W. 


Massachusetts, 


1808 


1838 


. . . . 


Baldwin, Dudley 


New York, 


1809 


1819 


. . . . 


Bailey, Robert 




.... 


1834 


. . . . 


Burgess, Solon 


Vermont, 


1817 


1819 


. . . . 


Burton, Dr. E. D. 


Ohio, 


1825 


1825 


. . . . 


Burgess, L. F. 


Ohio, 


1823 


1823 




Bull, L. S. 


Connecticut, 


1813 


1820' 


. . . . 


Beers, D. A. 


New Jersey, 


1816 


1818 


1880 


Bliss, Stoughton 


Ohio, 


1823 


1823 


. . . . 


Benedict, L. I). 


Vermont, 


1827 


1830 


. . . . 



70 



ANNALS OF THE 



NAME. 


WHERE BORN. 


WHEN. 


CAME TO 
THE RESERVE. 


DIED. 


Borges, J. F. 


Germany, 


1810 


1835 


Bury, Theodore 


New York, 


• • > > 


1839 




Beverlin Job a 


Pennsylvania, 


1813 


1834 




Brett, J. W. 


England, 


1816 


1888 




Bowler, N. P. 


New York, 


1820 


1839 




Bulirer, Mrs. Stephen 


Germany, 


1828 


1840 




Bishop, J. P. 


Vermont, 


1815 


1836 


1881 


Bishop, Mrs. E. W. 


Ohio, 


1821 


1821 




Beardsley, I. L. 


New York, 


1819 


1838 




Burnham, Thos. 


New York, 


1808 


1833 




Bingham, William 


Connecticut, 


1816 


1836 




Brooks, 0. A. 


Vermont, 


1814 


1834 




Barber, Mrs. J. T. 


New Hampshire, 


1804 


1818 




Burwell, G. P. 


Connecticut, 


1817 


1830 




Burwell, Mrs. L. C. 


Pennsylvania, 


1820 


1824 




Branch, Dr. D. G. 


Vermont, 


1805 


1833 1880 


Bartlett, Nicholas 


Massachusetts, 


1822 


1833 


Babcock, Chas. H. 


Connecticut, 


1823 


1834 


Barber, Josiah 


Ohio, 


1825 


1825 




Brayton, H. F. 


New York, 


1812 


1836 


. • t 


Bauder, Levi 


New Y''ork, 


1812 


1834 


1882 


Bowler, William 


New York, 


1822 


1833 


. > . 


Beavis, B. R. 


England, 


1826 


1834 


• • > 


Blossom, H. C. 


Ohio, 


1822 


1822 


• > > 


Beers, L. F. 


Ohio, 


1823 


1823 


• • • 


Bauder, L. F. 


Ohio, 


1840 


1840 


. . . 


BiHgham, E. Beardslej' 


Ohio, 


1826 


1826 


. . . 


Butts, Bolivar 


New York, 


1826 


1840 




Benham, F. M. 


Connecticut, 


1801 


1811 


. > . 


Burns, Mrs. F. M. 


Ohio, 


1832 


1832 




Butts, S. C. 


New York, 


1794 


1840 


• • • 


Brooks, S. C. 


Ohio, 


1820 


1820 


• ■ • 


Baldwin, N. C. 


Connecticut, 


1802 


1816 


■ ■ . 


Blair, Elizabeth 


Ohio, 


1820 


1820 


• • • 


Blair, Mary Jane 


Ohio, 


1818 


181ts 


* . . 


Buike, 0. M. 


Ohio, 


1823 


1823 




Burton, Mrs. Abby P. 


Vermont, 


1805 


1824 


'. > •. 


Gaboon, Joel B. 


New York, 


1793 


1810 


, . . 


Cannell, William 


Isle of Man, 


1811 


1837 




Cannell, John S. 


Isle of Man, 


1801 


1828 


. • . 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 



71 



Cox, John 
Coilett, Wm. K. 
Coe, P. S. 
Cross, David W. 
Cowles, Edwin 
Cottrell, L. Dow 
Corlett, John 
Cook, W. P. 
Coaliley, Mrs. Harriet, 
Cleveland, J. D. 
Clark, James F. 
Clark, Aaron, 
Carlton, C. C. 
Cozad, Elias 
Cutter, O. P. 
Corlett, Thomas 
Crittenden, Mrs. M. A. 
Chapman, H. M. 
Christian, James 
Carson, Marshall 
Craw, William V. 
Crawford, Lucian 
Crosby, Thomas D. 
Colahan, Samuel 
Curtiss, L. W. 
Crocker, Mrs. D. 
Cushman, Mrs. H. 
Chapman, G. L. 
Chapman, Mrs, G. L. 
Corlett, Mrs. M. H. 
Cottrell, Mrs. L. D. 
Dodge, George C 
Dodge, H. H. 
Dodge, Wilson S. 
Detraer, G. H. 
Doan, W. H. 
Doan, Mrs. C. L. 
Dibble, Lewis 
Duty, D. W. 
Doan, John 



WHERE BORN. 


WHEN. 


CAME TO 
THE RESERVE. DIED. 


England, 


.... 


1837 


Isle of Man, 


1820 


1837 


1 


1 


1837^ . .. 


New York, 


• • • ■ 


1836 


Ohio, 


. • • < 


1832 


New York, 


1811 


1835 


Isle of Man, 


1816 


1836 


New York, 


1825 


1838 


New Jersey, 


1797 


1814 


New York, 


1822 


1835 


New York, 


1809 


1833 


Connecticut, 


1811 


1832 1881 


Connecticut, 


1812 


1831 


New Jersey, 


1790 


1808 1880 


Ohio, 


1824 


1824 


Isle of Man, 


1820 


1827 


New York, 


1802 


1827 1882 


Ohio, 


1830 


1830 


Isle of Man, 


1810 


1838 


New York, 


1810 


1834 1882 


New York, 


1810 


1832 


Ohio, 


1828 


1828 . .. 


Massachusetts, 


1804 


1811 


Canada, 


1808 


1814 


New York, 


• 1817 


1834 


New York, 


1796 


1801 1881 


Ohio, 


18S0 


1820 


Connecticut, 


1795 


1819 


New Hampshire, 


1805 


1827 


New York, 


1829 


1833 


New York, 


1811 


1833 


Ohio, 


1813 


1813 


Ohio, 


1810 


1810 


Ohio, 


1839 


1839 


Germany, 


1801 


1835 


Ohio, 


1828 


1828 


Connecticut, 


1816 


1834 


New York, 


1807 


1812 


New Hampshire, 


1804 


1825 


New York, 


1798 


1801 



ANNALS OF THE 



NAME. 

Dockstader, C. J. 
Doan, J. W. 
Dunham, D. B. 
Dentzer. Daniel 
Dodge, Mrs. G. C. 
Doan, George 
Davidson, C. A. 
Diemer, Peter 
Dutton, Dr. C. F. 
Day, L. A. 
Dunn, Mrs. E. Ann 
Dunn, Mrs. Elizabeth 
Diebold, Fred 
Doan, Seth C. 
Davis, L. L. 
Davis, Mrs. Cynthia 
Edwards, R. 
Erwin, John 
Emerson, Oliver 
Flint. E. S. ■ 
Fitch, J. W. 
Foot, John A. 
Foot, Mrs. John A. 
Fuller, William, 
Fitch, James 
Foot, A. E. 
Flint, Mrs. E. S. 
Ford, L. W. 
Foljambe, Samuel 
Ferris William 
Fish, Electa 
Gill, Mrs. M. A. 
Gaylord, E. F. 
Gardner, George W. 
Gordon, Wm. J. 
Greenhalgh, K 
Goi-ham, J. H. 
Gayton, Mrs. M. A. 
• Gaylord, Mrs. E. F. 
Goodwin, William 



CAME TO 

WHEKE BORN. WHEN. THE RESERVE. 

Ohio, 1838 1838 

Ohio. 1833 1833 

New York, 1831 

Germany, 1815 1832 

Vermont, 1817 1820 

Ohio, 1828 1828 

Ohio, 1837 1837 

Germany, 1827 1840 

New York, 1831 1837 

Ohio, 1812 

England, 1806 1834 

New York, 1828 1834 

Ohio, 1840 1840 

Ohio, 1819 1819 

Connecticut, 1793 1839 

Pennsylvania, 1818 1839 

Ohio, 1818 1818 

New York, 1808 1835 

Maine, 1804 1821 

Ohio, 1819 1838 

New York, 1823 1826 

Connecticut, 1803 1833 

Pennsylvania, 1816 1832 

Connecticut, 1814 1836 

New York. 1821 1827 

Connecticut, 1810 1830 

New York, 1824 1830 

Massachusetts, 1830 1841 

England, 1804 1824 

Pennsylvania, 1808 1815 

New York, 1808 1811 

Isle of Man, 1812 1827 

Connecticut, 1795 1834 

Massachusetts, 1834 1837 

New Jersey, 1818 1835 

England, 1828 1840 

Connecticut, 1807 1838 

England, 1808 1832 

New York, 1801 1834 

Ohio. 1838 1838 



1881 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 



NAME. 


WHERE BORN. 


WHEN. 


CAME TO 
THE RESERVE 


Giddings, Mrs. C. M. 


Michigan, 


1805 


1827 


Gibbons, James 


Ohio, 


1840 


1840 


Gibbons, Mrs. M. B. 


Ireland, 


1829 


1838 


Gaylord, H. C. 


Connecticut, . 


1826 


1834 


Gardner, A. S. 


Vermont, 


1809 


1818 


Gardner, Mrs A. S. 


Ohio, 


1814 


1814 


Graham, Robert, 


Pennsylvania, 


1814 


1834 


Greene, S. C. 


Ohio, 


1822 


1841 


Herrick, R. R. 


New York. 


1820 


1836 


Hessenmueller, E. 


Germany, 




1836 


Hills, N. C. 


Vermont, 


180.^) 


1831 


Hills, Mrs. N. C. 


New York, 


1811 


1831 


Handy, T. P. 


New York, 


1807 


1832 


Hudson, W. P. 


Ohio, 


1820 


1820 


Heil, Henry 


Germany, 


1810 


1832 


Hubbell, H. S. 


Ohio, 


1832 


1832 


Hubby, L. M. 


New York, 


1812 


1839 


Hickox, Charles 


Connecticut, 


1810 


1837 


Howard, A. D. 


Connecticut, 


1803 


1834 


Honeywell, Ezra 


New York, 


1802 


1831 


Harris, B. C. 


Ohio, 


1832 


1832 


Hudson, D. I). 


Pennsylvania, 


1824 


1837 


Heisel, N. 


Germany, 


1816 


1834 


Hayden, A. S. 


Ohio, 


1813 


1835 


Harris, Mrs. J. A. 


Massachusetts, 


1810 


1837 


Harris, B. E. 


Ohio, 


1838 


1838 


Hurlbut, H. B. 


New York, 


1818 


1836 


Hurlbut, Mrs. H. B. 


New York, 


1818 


1836 


Hughes, Arthur 


Vermont, 


1807 


1840 


Hudson, Mrs. C. Ingersoll 


Ohio, 


1819 


1819 


Hawkins, H. C. 


Ohio, 


1822 


1822 


House, Martin 


Ohio, 


1835 


1835 


Haltnorth, Mrs. G. 


Prussia, 


1819 


1836 


Hird, Thomas 


England, 


1808 


1830 


Hastings, S. L. 


Massachusetts 


1813 


1836 


Harper, E. R. 


Ohio, 


1812 


1816 


Henry, R. W. 


New York, ' 


1809 


1818 


Ingham, W. A. 




• ■ ■ • 


1832 


Johnson, Mrs. L. D. 


Ohio, 


1825 


1834 


Jones, Thos., Jr. 


England, 


1821 


1831 



1880 



74 



ANNALS OF TEE 



WHERE BORN. 



WHEN. 



Jewett, A. A. 
Johnson, P. L. 
Jaynes, Harris 
Jaclcson, Chas. 
Jones, W. S. 
Johnson, W. C. 
Jolinson, A. M. 
Jayred, Wm. H. 
Keller, Henry 
Kellogg, A. 
Kelley, Horace 
Kelly, John 
Kingsbury, Jas. W. 
Keyser, James 
Keyser, Mrs. James 
Lewis, Sanford J. 
Lewis, Chittenden 
Lathrop, C. L. 
Lowman, Jacob, 
Lyon, R. T. 
Lamb, Mrs. D. W. 
Leonard, Jarvis 
Lyon, S.S. 
Layman, S. H. 
Lewis, G. F. 
Lee, Mrs. R. 
Lemen, Catherine 
Lathrop, W. A. 
Lyon, Mrs. S. S. 
Minor, Marion 
Morgan, A. W. 
Morgan, Y. L, 
Morgan, E. P. 
Myer, Nicholas 
Mackenzie, C. S. 
Mygatt, George 
Mcintosh, Mrs. A. 
Mcintosh, A. 
Mcllrath, M. S. 
Miller, Mrs. M. 



Ohio, 


1833 


Ohio, 


1835 


England, 


1829 


Ohio, 


1837 


Connecticut, 


1813 


Ohio, 


1823 


New Jersey, 


1831 


Germany. 


1810 


Ohio, 


1820 


Ohio, 


1819 


Pennsylvania, 


1809 


Ohio, 


1813 


New York, 


1818 


Ohio, 


1831 


New York, 


1823 


New York, 


1800 


Connecticut, 


1804 



Illinois, 1819 

Massachusetts, .... 

Vermont, 1810 

Connecticut, 1817 

Ohio, 1819 

New York, 1822 

Ohio, 1837 

Ohio, 1811 
New Hampshire, 1813 

Ohio, 1823 

New York, 1835 

Ohio, 1815 

Connecticut, 1797 

Connecticut, 1807 

Germany, 1809 

Maryland, 1809 

Connecticut, 1797 

Scotland, 1809 

Scotland, 1808 

New Jersey, .... 

Ohio, 1809 



CAME TO 
THE RESERVE. 

1831 

1823 

1835 

1835 

1837 

1835 

1823 

1833 

1832 

1820 

1819 

1832 

1813 

1833 

1831 

1837 

1837 

1831 

1832 

1824 

1837 

1834 

1818 

1831 

1837 

1837 

1820 

1816 

1822 

1831 

1815 

1811 

1840 

1834 

1836 

1807 

1836 

1836 

1820 



DIED. 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 



75- 



NAME. 


WHERE BORN. 


WHEN. 


CAME TO 
THE RESERVE. 


DIED. 


Marshall, George F, 


New York, 


1817 


1836 




Morgan, I. A. 


Connecticut, 


1809 


1811 




Miller, William L.. 


Ohio, 


1829 


1829 




Merchant, Silas 


Ohio, 


1826 


1826 




Mather, Samuel H. 


New Hampshire, 


1813 


1835 




Marble, Levi 


New York, 


1820 


1830 




Merwin, George B. 


Connecticut, 


1809 


1816 




Marshall, Daniel 


New York, 


1824 


1841 




Marshall, Mrs. Daniel 


Vermont, 


1830 


1841 




Merkel, M. 


Germany, 


1818 


1840 




Merkel, Mrs. M. 


Germany, 


1823 


1834 




McKeynolds, Mrs. M. D. 


Ohio, 


.... 


.... 




Morgan, Caleb 


Connecticut, 


1799 


1811 




Meeker, S. C. 


Ohio, 


1820 


1820 




Morgan, H. L. 


Ohio, 


1832 


1832 




Morgan, ^Sarah H. 


Ohio, 


1838 


1838 




Morgan, Mrs. N. G. 


Ohio, 


1815 


1818 




Marshall, I. H. 


Ohio, 


1822 


.... 




Mallory, Daniel 


New York, 


1801 


1833 




Morgan, Mrs. A. W. 


Ohio, 


1821 


1821 




Nott, C. C. 


Connecticut, 


1826 


1835 




Newmark S. 


Bavaria, 


1816 


1839 




Norton. C. H. 


New York, 


1805 


1838 


1881 


Neflf, Melchor 


Germany, 


1826 


1834 




Ogram, J. W. 


England, 


1820 






Ogram, Mrs. J. W. 


Ohio, 


1825 


1825 




O'Brien, 0. D. 


Ohio, 


1819 


1819 




O'Brien, Delia R. 


Vermont, 


1813 


1817 




O'Connor, R. 


Ohio, 


1824 


1824 




Pannell, James 


New York, 


1812 


1832 




Penty, Thomas 


England, 


1808 


1829 




Palmer, J. D. 


Connecticut, 


1831 


1835 




Payne, N. P. 


Ohio, 


1837 


1837 




Porter, L. G. 


Massachusetts, 


1806 


1826 




Pease, Samuel 


Massachusetts, 


1805 


1828 




Pease, Charles 


Ohio, 


1811 


1835 




Pelton, F. W. 


Connecticut, 


1827 


1835 




Proudfoot, D. 


Scotland, 


1809 


1832 




Piper. A. J. 


Vermont, 


1814 


1839 




Pier, Mrs. L. J. 


Ohio, 


1823 


1838 





76 



ANNALS OF TBE 



NAME. 


WHERE BORN. 


WHEN. 


CAMK TO 
THE RESERVE. DIED. 


Pease, Mary E. 


Connecticut. 


1816 


1835 


Panldiurst, Mrs. Sarah 


England, 


1832 


1835 


Paddock, T. S. 


New York, 


1814 


1836 


Phillips, B. F. 


Ohio, 


1833 


1833 


Palmer, Sophia 


Ohio, 


1818 


1818 


Payne, H. B. 


New York, 


1810 


1833 


Payne, Mrs. H . B. 


Ohio, 


1818 


1818 


Phillips, Mrs. Einily 


Ohio, 


1809 


1809 


Prescott, James 


Massachusetts, 


1826 


1826 


Quinn, Arthur 


Ireland, 


1810 


1832 


Quayle, Thos. 


Isle of Man, 




1827 


Kice, Harvey. 


Massachusetts , 


1800 


1824 


Rice, Mrs- Harvej' 


Vermont, 


1812 


1833 


Rouse, Rebecca E. 


Massachusetts, 


1799 


1830 


Russell, George H. 


New York, 


1817 


1834 


Rogers, C. C. 


Ireland, 


1813 


1839 


Kupel, S. D. 


Ohio, 


1808 


1808 


Robison. J. P. 


New Y^ork, 


1811 


1832 


Rouse, B. F. 


Massachusetts, 


1824 


1830 


Rannej^ W. S. 


Ohio, 


1835 


1835 


Rowley, Lucy A. 


Connecticut, 


. 1805 


1827 


Radcliflf, Mary A. 


Isle of Man, 


1822 


1826 


Rice, P. W. 


Ohio, 


1829 


1829 


Redingtou, Mrs. C 


New York, 


1821 


1839 


Rediugton, J. A. 


New York, 


1818 


1839 


Ranney, Hufus P. 


Massachusetts, 


1813 


1824 


Spalding, R. P. 


Massachusetts. 


1798 


1820 


Stickney, Mrs. C. B. 


Canada, 


1836 


1836 


Stickuey, Hamilton 


New York, 


1824 


18.30 


Spangler, Mrs. Elizabeth 


Maryland, 


1790 


1820 1880 


Sherwin, Ahimaaz 


Vermont. 


1792 


1818 1881 


Scovill, Mrs. J. Bixby 


Ohio, 


1800 


1816 


Silberg, F. 


Germany, 


1804 


1834 


Sherwin, Mrs. S. M. 


New Y'ork, 


1809 


1827 


Sabin, William 


New York, 


1817 


1839 


Skedd, W. Y. 


England, 


1816 


1833 


Shepard, D. A. 


Connecticut, 


1810 


1833 


Sargent, John H. 


New York, 


1814 


1818 


Skinner, 0. B. 


Ohio, 


1831 


1831 


Southworth, W. P. 


Connecticut, 


1819 


1836 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 




77 








CAME TO 




NAMK. 


WHERE BORN. 


WHEN . 


THE RESERVE. 


DIED. 


Slawson, J. L. 


• Michigan, 


1806 


1813 




Scovill, E. A. 


Ohio. 


1819 


1819 




Saxton, Mrs. E. A. 


Maine, 


1821 


1833 




Stepheason, Wm. 


Pennsylvania, 


1804 


1833 




Smith, Mrs. F. L. 


Connecticut, 


* ■ • • 


1836 




Shelley, .Tohn 


England, 


1815 


1835 




Sacket, Alex. 


Pennsylvania, 


1814 


1835 




Sacket, Mrs. Alex. 


Ohio, 


1815 


1815 




Sterling, Dr. E. 


Connecticut, 


1825 


1837 




Schiely, Mrs. Anna 


Germany, 




1832 




Sheldon, S. H. 


New York, 


1813 


1835 




Stanley, G. A. 


Connecticut, 




1837 




Spangler, M. M. 


Ohio, 


1813 


1820 




Slade, Horatio 


England, 


.... 


1834 




Sorter, Harry 


New York, 


1820 


1831 




Smith, W. T. 


New York, 


1811 


1836 




Strickland, B. 


Vermont, 


1810 


1835 




Strickland, Mrs. H. W. 


Ohio, 


.... 


1834 




Saxton, J. C. 


Vermont, 


1812 


1818 




Smith, Mrs. Wm. 




1811 


1836 




Strong. Charles H. 


Ohio, 


1831 


1831 




Sanford, A. S. 


Connecticut, 


1805 


1829 




Smith, Erastus 


Connecticut, 


1790 


1832 


Ib81 


Steward, J. S. 


Ohio, 


1818 


1818 




Severance, Mrs. M. H. 


Ohio, 


.... 


.... 




Strong, Homer 


Connecticut. 


1811 


1836 




Selden, N. D. 


Connecticut, 


1815 


1831 




Stillman, W. H. 


Connecticut, 


1808 


1833 




Simmons, Thomas 


Ohio, 


1832 


1832 




Shunk, Mrs. A. H. 


Ohio, 


1824 


1824 




Stevens, C. C. 


Maine, 


1819 


1833 




Simmons, Isaac B. 




1806 


1836 




Selden, Mrs. Elizabeth 


Ohio, 


1819 


1819 




Sorter, C. N. 


New York, 


1812 


1831 




Sharp, Clayton 


Ohio, 


1811 


1833 




Severance, S. L. 


Ohio. 


1834 


1834 




Slade, Samantha Doan 


Ohio. 


1817 


1817 




Spring, V. 


Massachusetts, 


1799 


1817 




Short, David 


Connecticut, 


1818 


1827 




Tilden, D. R. 


Connecticut, 


1806 


1828 





78 



ANNALS OF THE 



NAME. 

Taylor, Harvey 
Thompson, Thos. 
Turner, S. W. 
Thompson, H. V. 
Thompson, Mrs. H. V, 
Townsend, H. G. 
Truscott, Samuel 
Vincent, J. A. 
Williams, A. J. 
Wick, C. C. 
Whitelaw, George 
Walters, John R. 
Weidenkopf, F, 
Weidenkopf, Jacob 
Wightman, S. H. 
Watkins, George 
Weston, George B. 
Warren, Moses 
Wager, I. D. 
Williams, George 
Welch, John 
Welch, <). F. 
Wheller, B. S. 
Wheller, Jane 
Warner, W. J. 
Wiglitman, D. L. 
Williamson, Samuel 
Whittlesey, H. S. 
Winslow, E. N. 
Wilson, William 
Welch, Jas. S. 
Willson, Mrs. H. V. 
Wemple, Myndret 
Wellstead, Joseph 
Waterman, Wm. 
Williams, William 
Whitaker, Charles 
Walters, B. C. 
Weidenkopf. Mrs. 0. 
White, Moses 



WHERE BORN. 


WHEN. 


CAME TO 
THE RESERVE. DIED. 


Ohio, 


1814 


1814 1880 


England, 


1814 


1836 




Connecticut, 


1813 


1832 




New York, 


1816 


1839 




Vermont, 


1823 


1837 




New York, 


1812 


1834 




Canada, 


1829 


1838 




Pennsylvania, 


1807 


1830 




New York, 


1829 


1840 




Ohio, 


1813 


1835 




Scotland, 


1808 


1832 




New York, 


1811 


1834 




Germany, 


1819 


1837 




German}^ 


1828 


1837 




Ohio, 


1819 


1819 




Connecticut, 


1812 


1818 




Massachusetts, 


1805 


1826 




Connecticut, 


1803 


1815 




Ohio, 


1820 


18^0 




Connecticut, 


1799 


1833 




New York, 


1800 


1825 






> ■ • • 


1817 




England, 


. • • • 


1836 




England, 


■ • > • 


1831 




Vermont, 


1808 


1831 




Ohio, 


1817 


1817 




Pennsylvania, 


1808 


1810 




Ohio, 


1836 


1836 




North Carolina, 


1824 


1830 




Ohio, 


1819 


1819 




Ohio, 


1821 


1821 




Michigan, 


1802 


1835 




New York, 


1796 


1818 




England, 


1817 


1837 




Ohio, 


1818 


1818 




Connecticut, 


1803 


1836 




New York, 


1817 


1831 




New York, 


1807 


1837 




Alsace, 


1819 


1830 


. . 


Massachusetts, 


1791 


1816 18 


81 



EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. ' 79 









CAME TO 


NAME. 


WHERE BORN. 


WHEN. 


THE RESERVE 


AVilson, Fred. 


New York, 


1807 


1832 


Warren, Mrs. J. Y- 


New York, 


1816 


1816 


Walworth, John 


Ohio, 


1821 


1821 


Younglove, M. C. 


New York, 


.... 


1836 



HONORARY MEMBERS. 



NAME, WHERE BORN. 

Crosby, Charles Massachusetts, 
Garfield, James A., 

President United Slates, Ohio, 1831 1831 1881 

Garfield, Mrs. Eliza B., 

his mother, New Hampshire, 1801 



WHEN. 


CAJIIE TO 
THE RKSERVE. 


1801 


1811 


1831 


1831 


1801 


1830 



CI'. '■ a. 



NEW MEMBERS RECEIVED DURING THE 
PAST Y£AR TO SEPT. i, 4882. 









CAME TO 




NAME. 


WHERE BORN. 


WHEN. 


FHE RESERVE. 


DIED. 


Adams, Mrs. S. E. 


Vermont, 


1819 


1839 




Adams, E. E. 


Ohio, 


1830 


1830 




Barnett, James 


New York, . 


1821 


1826 




Brown, Mrs. Hiram 


England, 


1822 


1832 




Barr, Mrs. Judge 


Connecticut, 


1820 


1837 




Burgess, (Catharine 


New Jersey, 


1800 


1830 




Burke, Thos. 


New York, 


1832 


1839 




Berg, John 


Germany, 


1817 


1842 




I^uell, Anna M. 


Ohio, 


1837 


1837 




Beardsley, Mrs. I. L. 


New York, 


1821 


1836 




Bolton, Mrs. Judge 
Bingham, Mrs. Elijah 




1822 


1833 




New Hampshire, 


1805 


183.') 




Charles, .J. S. 


New York, 


1818 


1832 




Case, Zophas 


Ohioy 


1804 


1818 




Crawford, Mary E. 


Ohio, 


1834 


1834 




Callester, Mrs. M. 


Isle of Man, 


1824 


1828 




Callester, J. J. 


Isle of Man, 


1818 


1642 




Curtis, Mrs. Samuel 


England, 


1824 


1830 




Crosby, Mary A. 


Ohio, 


1813 


1813 




Chapman, Mrs. E. C. 


Ohio. 


1840 


1840 




Carver Stickney 


New York, 


1840 







Cannell, Thomas 


Isle of Man, 


1805 


1834 




Douw, Mrs. Melissa 


New York, 


1809 


1831 




Davis. Tliomas 


England, 


1799 


1819 




Degnon, Mrs. M. A. 


New York, 


1814 


1837 




Doan, Norton 


Ohio, 


1831 


1881 




Eckermann, M. 


Germany, 


1808 


1842 




Eckermann, Caroline 


Germany, 


1807 


1842 




Edwards, Mrs. S. 


New York, 


1819 


18.30 




Farr, E. S. 


Pennsylvania, 


1805 


1819 





EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 



81 



NAME. 


WHERE BORN. 


WHEN. 


CAME TO 
THE RESERVE. DIED. 


Fey, Frederick 
Ferris, Amanda 


Germany, 
Vermont, 


1810 

1808 


1832 
1820 


Gleason, I. L. 


Ohio, 


1835 


1825 


Gleason, Mrs. I. L. 


Ohio, 


1832 


1832 


Glidon, Joseph 


Vermont, 


1810 


1841 


Given, William 


Ireland, 


1819 


1841 


Given, Mrs. M. E. 


Ohio, 


1825 


1825 


Gage, D. W. 


Ohio, 


1825 


1825 


Gardner, 0. S. 


Ohio, 


1840 


1840 


Hough, Mary P. 


Ohio, 


1816 


1816 


Hadlow, H. R. 
Harbeck, John S. 


England, 
New York, 


1808 
1807 


1835 
1840 


Hamilton, A. J. 


Ohio, 


1833 


1833 


Hutchins, John 


Ohio, 


1812 


1812 


Hodge, 0. J. 


New York, 


1828 


1837 


Hurlbut, Mrs. H . A. 


Vermont, 


1809 


1834 1882 


Ingersoll, John 
Kerr, Levi 


Ohio, 
Ohio, 


1824 

1822 


1824 

1822 


Keller, Elizabeth 


Germany, 


1817 


1836 


Kerruish, W. S. 


Ohio, 


1831 


1831 


Kellogg, Louisa 


Ohio, 


1821 


1821 


Long, John 


England, 


1810 


1842 


McCrosky, S. L. B. 


Ohio, 


1833 


1833 


Martin, Eleanor L. 


England, 


1826 


1832 , . . . 


Marshall, Mrs. G. F. 


New York, 


1818 


1842 


Murphey, Wm. 


Ireland, 


1810 


1830 


McLeod, H. N. 


Canada, 


1831 


1837 


Palmer, E. W. 


New Yi.rk, 


1820 


1841 


Pannell, Mrs. James 


Massachusetts, 


1813 


1885 


Paine, R. F. 


New York, 


1810 


1815 


Parker, Henry 
Russell, C. L. 


Ohio, 
New York, 


1824 
1810 


1829 
1835 


Remington, S. G. 


New York, 


1828 


1834 


Ranney, Mrs. Anne 


New York, 


1811 


1834 


Sanford, Mrs. A. S. 


Rhode Island, 


1803 


1825 


Stewart, C. C. 


Connecticut, 


1817 


1836 


Spayth, A. 
Smith, Erastus 


Germany , 
Connecticut, 


1800 
1802 


1832 
1833 


Smith, Elijah 


Connecticut, 


1821 


1832 


Sabin, Mrs. Wm. 
6 


New York, 


1821 


1838 



83 



^]NNAL.S OF THE 



NAME. 


WHERE BORN. 


WHEN. 


CAJIE TO 
THE RESERVE. 1 


>IED. 


Southworth, Mrs. E. 


Connecticut, 


1801 


1819 




Spencer, T. P. 


Connecticut. 


1811 


1882 




Spangler, Mrs. M. M. 


Canada, 


1820 


188.-) 




Short, Lewis 


Connecticut, 


1811 


1827 




Short, Helen 


New Hampshire, 


1811 


1828 




Wilson, Jas. T. 


Ohio, 


1828 


184U 




Winch, Thomas 


New Yorli, 


1806 


1832 




Wiglitman, Mrs. D. L. 


Ohio, 


1822 


1822 




Wood, Mrs. M. S. 


Michigan, 


1821 


1840 


. . . 



HONOKARY MEMBER. 



.VAllE. WHERE BORN. 

Garfield, Mrs. Lucretia R. Ohio, 



CAME TO 
WHEN. THE RESERVE. 



Total members to Oct. 1, 1881 894 

New members received during the year 79 

Honorary members 4 

Total membership 477 



% 



Constitution. 



ADOPTED, AS AMENDED, JAN UARY lO, 1880. 



AETICLE I. 



This Association shall be know]i as the "Eakly Settleks" 
AsHOciATiox OF CuYAHOGA CouNTY," and its members shall 
consist of such persons as have resided in the Western Reserve 
at least forty years, and are citizens of Cuyahoga county, and 
who shall subscribe to this Constitution and pay a meml)er- 
ship fee of one dollar, but'sbidl not 1)e sul)ject to furthei' lia- 
bility. 

ARTICLE J I. 

TJie officers of this Association shall consist of a President, 
two Vice Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer, with the addi- 
tion of an Executive Committee of not less than five persons, 
all of wliicli officers shall be members of the Association and 
hold their offices for one year, and until their successors are 
duly a])|)ointed and they accept their a])pointnients. 

ARTICLE III. 

The object of the Association shall be to meet in conven- 
tion on the 22d day of July, or the following day if the 32d 
fall on Sunday, each and every year, for the purpose of com- 
memorating the day with appropriate public exercises, and 
l)ringing the members into more intimate social relations, and 
collecting all such facts, incidents, relics, and pei'sonal rem- 



f!,f> ANNALS OF THE 

iniscences respecting the early history and settlement of the 
connty and other parts of the Western Reserve, as may l)e re- 
garded of permanent value, and transferring tlie same to the 
Western Eeserve Historical Society for preservation; and also 
for the further purpose of electing otficers and transacting such 
other hnsiness of the Association as may l)e re(|nired. 

ARTICLE IV. 

It shall he the duty of the President to pi'csidc at j)ul)lie 
meetings of the Association, and in his ahsmce the like duty 
shall devolve ui)on one of tlu' Vice Presidents. The Secretary 
shall record in a l)ook fortlic |)iir|)os(' rhe ))roeeedings of the 
Association, the names of tlu' nieinl)ers in alpliahctical order, 
with the ages and time of residence at the date of heeoming 
meml)ers. and conduct the necessary coiTcspondence of the 
Association. He shall also he regarded as an additional niem- 
her, ex-offieio. of the Kxeentive Conimiltee. and may consult 
with them hut ha\e no vote. The Treasurer shall receive and 
])av out all the moneys helonging to the Association, luit no 
monevs shall l)e paid out exce])t on the joint ordei- of the 
Chairman of the Executive Committee and Secretary of the 
Association. No deht shall he incurred against the Associa- 
tion hv anv ofHcei" or mendjcr heyond its ready means of pay- 
jueut. 

AliTICLK v. 

The Executive Committee shall have the general sui)ervi- 
sion and direction of the affairs of the Association, designate 
the hour and place of holding its annual nu'ctings. and piih- 
lish due notice thereof, with a ])rogramme of exercises. The 
C(mimittee shall also have power to fill \acaiicies that nniy occur 
in their own !)<»dy oi' in any nther ofHct' of the .\ssoeiation. 
until the Association at a I'cgular meeting shall lill thesanu\ 
and shall appoint such nnmher of suhord iuate committees as 
they may deem expedient. It shall also he their duty to re- 



EARLY SETTLERS- ASSOCIATION. 87 

port to the Association at its regular animal nieetmgs the eoii- 
(lition of its affairs, its success jtnd ])rosi)ects, with such other 
matter as they \\va\ d^eni iniixirtant. Thev shall also see that 
tlie annual proceedings of the Associati(»ii. inchuling such 
other valuahlc informal ion as llicy nuiy have received, are 
jjroperly 2)rci)are(l and |)uhlisli(Ml in ]>am})hlet form, and gva- 
tuitcnislv distrihuted to the members of the Association, as 
soon as practical)lc after t'ach annual meeting. 

AKxrcLK vr. 

At any annual or special nu'cting of the Associaticm the 
])resence of twenty mend)ers shall constitute a ((uorum. No 
special meetings shall he held, except for hnsiness puri)oses 
and on call of the Executive Committee. This Constitution 
may be attested or amended at any regular annual meeting of 
the Association on a three-fourths vote of all the memhers 
present, and shall take effect, as amended, from the date of its 
ado])tion. The former Constituticm of Xov. 19. 1870. is hereby 
abolished. 



ANNALS 



POBLiCLioKAR 

/ r. - - ' ■ « ' ■ 

ASTOR, LENpj^AN. 



OF THE 



EAR 



\ 



Tirn 



1 i JjJJ 



m jss 



/^ 



v^ 



Ul 



rn 



N 



V 



OF 



CUYAHOGA COUNTY. 



NUMBER IV. 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 




CLEVELAND, O. 

PRINTED AT THE PUliLISHlNG HOUSE OF THE EV, ASSOCIATION. 

1883. 






*sr«R.^^'^ 



TICOEK +30 



TJO**""*" 



\&B 



OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION, 

1883. 



HON. HARVEY RICE, President. 

HON. JOHN ^Y. ALLEN, ^ ^^ ^ 

y Vice-Presidents. 
MRS. J. A. HARRIS, f 

THOMAS JONES, JR., Secretary. 

SOLON BURGESS, Treasurer. 



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 



GEO. F. MARSHALL, 
R. T. LYON, 
DARIUS ADAMS, 
JOHN H. SARGENT, 
M. M. SPANGLER. 



CHAPLAIN. 



REV. THOMAS CORLETT. 



Q ANNALS OF THE 

enterprise, but for its intelligence and refined civilization — a land 
that has produced, since its first settlement in 1796, more eminent 
men and accomplished women in proportion to its population, it is 
believed, than an}^ other part of